Free Picks: Service Plays for Monday, April 29

Marc LawrenceFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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San Diego Padres at Chicago CubsFREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Prediction: Chicago CubsFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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The Cubs and Padres open a four-game series at Wrigley Park Monday night where Jeff Smardzija matches serves with Clayton Richard. Smardzija takes the hill in strong KW form with 39 strikeouts and 10 walks this season while Richard is in wobbly KW form with 9 strikeouts and 11 walks this campaign. With the Cubs 10-5 the last 15 games in this park in this series, look for the better arm to come up big tonight. We recommend a 1-unit play on the Cubs.

Jimmy BoydFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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Milwaukee Brewers -128FOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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Wandy Rodriguez has not had much luck in his career against Milwaukee. His team is 9-14 when he gets the start. Yovani Gallardo on the other hand has had an extremely successful career against Pittsburgh. He is 9-1 and his team is 13-1 when starting against the Pirates. He has a career ERA of 2.35 against Pittsburgh and he is coming off solid back to back performances against San Francisco and San Diego.
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The Pirates are batting .207 on the road this season and they average just 3 runs per game. Going up against Wandy Rodriquez is a very favorable matchup advantage for the Brewers. Milwaukee is batting .282 against left handed starters and they have a .333 on base percentage. This will be the 8th consecutive road game for Pittsburgh and the Pirates have dropped the opening game of the series in three of their last four on the road.

Jesse SchuleFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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Chicago Cubs -150FOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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The Cubs (9-15) will host the Padres (9-15) on Monday night at Wrigley. Chicago has actually looked a lot better this season than they did a year ago. While they have a losing record, they have played some stiff competition early this season, and against a weaker Marlins team, they have just taken 3-of-4 in Miami.
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Jeff Samardzija will toe the rubber on Monday night, and he'll be looking to put an end to a four game losing streak. Samardzija (1-4, 3.30 ERA) has pitched quite well this season, and deserves better than his 1-4 record. He tossed six innings allowing one run on seven hits in a 1-0 loss to Cincy his last time out.
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The Padres will send Clayton Richard to the mound at Wrigley, and the left-hander was rocked in his last start. Richard (0-2, 7.04 ERA) only went 1 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on six hits. Richard gave up 31 home runs in 33 starts last season, and that's a scary thought for the southpaw heading into Wrigley.
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The Padres are coming off a three game sweep of the Giants, and they have won four in a row at home. They haven't been nearly as successful on the road though, with a record of 4-8 this year.
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This is a favorable matchup for the Cubs, and the price is more than reasonable to back the home team with superior pitching.

Rob VincilettiFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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Houston Astros vs. New York YankeesFREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Play: New York Yankees -1½FOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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I know what your thinking. I'm giving you snow in the winter. No worries we are using the run line at -1.5 and this game becomes much more reasonable. The Yankees have won all 6 times the last 10 seasons vs Houston, the last 5 by more than a run. The Yanks are off a come from behind win over Toronto, completing the sweep. They have Andy Pettite on the mound and we note that they are 13-0 when Pettite through more than 100 pitches in his last outing. New York has won 9 of those games by more than a run. Lucas Harell goes for Houston and he has lost his last 5 April Road starts. Finally we note that Houston has lost 17 of the last 20 as a road dog in this range with 16 of those losses by more than 1 run. Look for the Yankees to deal Houston another road loss. Take the Yankees on the run line.

Bruce MarshallFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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Washington Nationals at Atlanta BravesSERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Pick: Atlanta BravesFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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True, Atlanta has hit the skids in a current four-game strreak, part of a 3-8 slump over the past eleven games. But the oddsmakers and wagering public appear to have once again been swayed by reputation and far overpriced Washington starter Stephen Strasburg, who lost an earlier matchup vs. Atlanta and has posted a 4.07 ERA in his last four starts but is still a prohibitive favorite for tonight's game in the Showcase City of the South. Nonetheless, Strasburg continues to be priced like he's the second coming of Walter Johnson despite a 6.28 career ERA at Turner Field. Not to mention the fact his Nats were swept in a three-game series by the Braves at Nationals Park earlier this month, when Atlanta outscored Washington a combined 18-5. Moreover, the Braves are on a 7-game series win streak, and they've won all of Julio Teheran's four starts, including his best effort of the season in his last outing, allowing only one run and eight hits ofver 7 innings of a 10-2 win over Colorado last Tuesday. Can't resist this tempting price on Atlanta.

Dave CokinFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks
Pick: San Francisco GiantsFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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What's wrong with Matt Cain? That's one of the big questions on the minds of Giants fans right now. The Giants have lost each of Cain's five starts and he's sporting a bloated 6.59 ERA. Naturally, there's plenty of concern among the team's faithful following.
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My advice to worried Giants fans would be to relax. There's just nothing to indicate that this is anything more than a short term blip for Cain. His velocity is down just a tick from where it usually resides, and that was mostly from one really bad start at St. Louis. Cain has a terrific BB/K ratio, and there's nothing out of the ordinary on the hit chart. About the only standout deviation is an abnormal HR/FB ratio. For Cain's career, that number is 6.9, this season it's 16.2. In other words, his mistakes are traveling a longer distance than they generally have in the past. But there's really nothing to suggest this is going to continue as Cain's stuff appears to be as good as ever.
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Ian Kennedy is also pitching a little better than his ERA would indicate, although the differential isn't as dramatic as Cain's. Kennedy is not a top tier starter, but he's solid. He's generally going to be above average and will give his team a chance to win most of his starts. I'd love to be able to pick apart his stats and give you a great reason to fade the Dismondbacks righty. But for the most part, Kennedy is pitching okay ball, and considering both his record at home and his good stats against the lineup he will face tonight, there's just nothing really negative here.
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My primary motivation for leaning to the Giants tonight is that Cain is now a little undervalued off what I would call a somewhat misleading slow start. The Giants have to be looking at this as a big game. They have now dropped five in a row after losing all three weekend scraps at Petco. The losing streak started with a pair of extra inning losses at home to the Diamondbacks, so there's a little payback in the mix tonight.
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The price on tonight's contest offers a bit of indication, in my opinion. With Cain owning the ugly ERA and the winless ledger, the Giants in a slump and the Diamondbacks on a current roll, it looks easy to take Arizona tonight at close to pick 'em odds. That will frequently get me looking at the other side, and with my perspective on Cain, I'm willing to shade the Giants as the right side tonight.

Jim Feist

Colorado Rockies at Los Angeles Dodgers
Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers

The NL West is a real free for all right now with 3 1/2 games separating first from fourth. The Rockies hold the top spot at 15-9 with the Dodgers in fourth at 11-12. Colorado has cooled a bit though, winning just five of the last 10 after Sunday's loss at Arizona, 4-2. The Dodgers took two of three games from the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers after winning Sunday's rubber match behind Clayton Kershaw, 2-0. The addition of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzales has been a shot in the arm to the lineup with both players hitting over .300 this season. Tyler Chatwood will start for the Rockies with a 0-0 Record and 6.00 ERA. Ted Lilly will toe the rubber for the Dodgers and also has no record this season with a 1.80 ERA. Lilly has been very good in his career against Colorado, posting a 10-2 mark with a 3.92 ERA in 14 games. Dodgers much better hitters at home than the road so don't mind laying a small price here with the home club. Colorado coming back down to earth these days too. Take the Dodgers here on Monday.

Cajun SportsFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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Cincinnati Reds vs. St Louis CardinalsFREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Play: St Louis CardinalsFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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We will take the host Cardinals on Monday evening in St. Louis as the Reds are 1-16 SU for a profit of +1487 Units as an underdog of +103 to +137 when they are coming off a win in which they never trailed. Take the Cards on Monday

Bryan PowerFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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NY Mets vs. MiamiFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Pick: NY MetsFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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In about two months, this line might be closer to -225. Seriously. We all expected the Mets' Matt Harvey to be good, but not THIS good, at least this quickly. In what is expected to be another down year in Queens, Harvey is unquestionably going to be the lone bright spot in a possible Cy Young campaign. I obviously like him facing the sorry Miami Marlins to start the week.
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This may be a matchup of the game's best pitcher against its worst lineup. Miami is atrocious. They at least avoided a sweep here at home vs. the Cubs with a 6-4 win Sunday. But the club is still only 6-19 on the year and has dropped six of eight. Going into yesterday's game, they were averaging just 2.1 runs per game here at home while batting a collective .187! Over the last two years, they are 14-33 in the month of April. They are also working on a 5-20 run as a home dog of +125 to +175.
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Marlins starter Jose Fernandez has allowed a total of nine runs over the course of his last two starts, which spanned only nine innings. That's more runs allowed than Harvey has given up all season. He's started five times and the Mets are 5-0 with Harvey allowing just six runs total in 35 innings. His ERA is 1.54 and his WHIP is an extraordinary 0.686. He will easily shut down this Marlins lineup as the Mets recover from a weekend sweep at the hands of the Phillies.

Art AronsonFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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Colorado vs. LA DodgersFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Pick: LA DodgersFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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Tyler Chatwood (0-0, 6.00 ERA) gets the call for the visitors. Chatwood made his first start of the year on Wednesday vs. the Braves and gave up five runs off nine hits over six frames of work, lucky to come away with a no-decision (Chatwood was called up from Triple-A Colorado to make the spot start). He'll be opposed by Ted Lilly (0-0, 1.80 ERA) who also made his first start of the season last time out, but Lilly's experience was much better than Chatwood's as he'd strike out seven over five frames of one-run ball vs. the Mets. Lilly now has a big opportunity to build off that performance (note Lilly has posted a very respectable 3.71 ERA for his career at Dodgers Stadium). And while past success does not necessarily mean one will do so again in the future, it's still significant to note that Lilly was 2-0 with a respectable 4.38 ERA vs. Colorado last season. While the Rockies have jumped out to a quick start to the year, their achilles heel remains their play on the road, going just .500 entering Sunday away from friendly confines thus far. I believe the clear talent and experience level on the mound justifies in laying this mid-sized price.

CHRIS JORDAN

My free play for tonight is a momentum play in Major League Baseball, as I'm taking a look at one of the worst team in the bigs - the Miami Marlins - catching a decent price against the New York Mets. Sometimes, you have to pinpoint the right times to side against a much-better team in a predicament, and tonight the value is with the Fish.

New York arrives after a tough homestand in which it lost its last four and six of nine in Queens against the Nationals, Dodgers and Phillies. After starting off with a decent 2-1 showing against preseason favorite Washington, the Mets dropped two of three to the Dodgers and then were swept by division-rival Philadelphia. Now, to have to travel and take on a Miami team that would love to kick any dog while its down, I think the Mets could be in trouble tonight.

The Marlins just beat the Cubs to snap a three-game skid, and have this last three-game set before heading out for a 10-game road trip that will send them to Philly and the West coast. They're going to want to start this series out on the right foot.

Momentum play on the home underdog Miami Marlins.

3* MIAMI

SCOTT DELANEY

My free winner for Monday is on the San Francisco Giants, snapping this five-game losing streak, as I think they go into Phoenix saying enough is enough! The Arizona Diamondbacks are a formidable opponent, but they're beatable, and the Giants are the defending World Series champs.

So just because the Snakes are sitting in a first-place tie with the Colorado Rockies, in the National League West, doesn't mean the Giants can't take over the division lead by midweek. They're 2 games back of the Diamondbacks, and with a sweep would be in front, presumably if the Rockies don't go into Los Angeles and sweep the Dodgers.

That's the kind of mindset the Giants play with, generally, is that nothing is impossible, and I think they're going to be pissed off after being swept by last-place San Diego over the weekend.

Enough is enough! Take the Giants as a short road dog.

2* GIANTS

Stephen NoverFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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SD Padres +130FOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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The Padres are a better hitting team away from Petco Park. Their bats alive have come alive, too. San Diego scored 14 runs in its last two games against the Giants at home blasting three home runs on Sunday.
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On paper, the Cubs have the superior starter going in Jeff Samardzija. But he's dropped his last four games with a 4.01 ERA during this span. The Padres are going with southpaw Clayton Richard, who is better than what he has shown and is past a nasty virus that caused him to miss his turn in the rotation two starts ago.
San Diego hasn't committed an error in 12 straight games and has the more reliable bullpen. The Padres also are playing well now with four straight wins.
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The Cubs have a losing record against left-handers. Richard has pitched well against the Cubs going 2-0 with a 0.57 ERA in two starts giving up one run in 15 2/3 innings.

Wunderdog

Los Angeles Angels at Oakland
Pick: Los Angeles Angels +115

It is a matter of time before the Angels go on a run, as they are too talented to continue struggling. Oakland made its mark early in the season as they rattled off nine straight wins, but otherwise they have been bad. Over their last 10 games they stand at just 2-8 and have fallen to .500 at home. Dan Straily has had problems with the Angel's lineup a year ago, as he pitched to a 6.35 ERA against them. The Angels have thrived after a great pitching performance, as they are 12-3 in their last 15 after allowing 2 or less runs in their previous game. By the same token, the A's have been 3-8 in their last 11 when facing a team that allowed 2 or less in their previous game. The Angels have found comfort here, as they have won six of the last eight in Oakland. Play on the Angels in this one.