JEFF BENTON
Your Sunday freebie is the under in the Angels-Rangers primetime contest, as Jered Weaver and Neftali Feliz settle in for a good old-fashioned pitcher's duel.
Weaver sports a season ERA of just 1.60, and he has allowed a scant one earned run over his last three starts one of those starts happens to be a no-hitter over the Twins.
Neftali Feliz is not quite in Weaver's league, but Feliz is 2-1 with an ERA of 3.00 in his 27 innings of work under the lights this season.
After opening the series on Friday with 13 combined runs and an Over, the teams calmed down for just 6 combined runs and the Under in Saturday's contest.
Los Angeles is on a 5-3-1 Under run their last nine games, and while Texas is on a pretty pronounced Over run (5-1 last six games), they have held Under the total in three of Feliz' five starts this season.
Time for the hitters to take a little break from plating so many runs, pitchers rule the hill tonight in the Angels-Rangers game.
3♦ UNDER
John Ryan
New York Mets at Miami Marlins
Prediction: Miami Marlins
5* graded play on the Miami Marlins as they take on the Mets and looking to win the series two games to three. This game will start at 1:10 PM ET. The Mets are a quite surprising five games over .500 and Zambrano is rebuilding his career and I fully expect him to dominate the Mets. he has allowed a .239 batting average to the current members of the Mets in their respective careers spanning 117 at-bats. Jason Bay is one of the few that has had consistent success against Zambrano (15-for-44, .341). but he is on the 15-day DL with rib injuries. So, without him in the lineup, there is an even greater probability that Zambrano will have least a quality start in this matchup. Moreover, he is coming off an impressive complete game shutout allowing just three hits, one walk while striking out nine batters in 4-0 win at Houston May 7. He has posted a 1.98 ERA with a 1.02 WHIP in six starts and has allowed a .203 opponent batting average this season. Take the Marlins.
Hollywood Sports
Kings at Coyotes
Prediction: Over
With the Total set at 4.5, the Over becomes the smart play -- especially considering the fact that any 2-2 score in this game ensures the Over with the shootout period. On paper, this series features two elite goalies in Jonathan Quick and Mike Smith. But this was the same expectation when Phoenix (50-28-5-10) began their serious against Nashville and their outstanding goaltender Chekka Rinne. The Coyotes responded with nine goals in the first two games of that series. Phoenix has also played 4 of their last 5 home games Under the Total as an underdog. The Kings, for their part, have scored fifteen goals in their last four games to close out their series against a St. Louis team that had a very good defense themselves. Furthermore, the Over is 4-1-1 in the last 6 meetings between these two teams in Phoenix -- including a 5-4 win by the Kings in the shootout in the last meeting between these two teams. Take the Over in this one.
Matt Fargo
Atlanta Braves vs. St Louis Cardinals
Play: St Louis Cardinals
St. Louis looks to avoid the sweep on Sunday after dropping the first two games of this series, giving up 16 runs in the process. The Cardinals are now 8-6 at home with four more games at home following this before the start of Interleague play. Lance Lynn looks to turn this situation around and judging by the season he has had, he should do it no problem. He is coming off his first non-quality start of the season but it was due to a lack of innings and not bad pitching as he allowed no runs in five innings of work at Arizona. He is a perfect 6-0 with a 1.40 ERA and 0.85 WHIP and his solid pitching has been bolstered even more with awesome run support as he is receiving 7.3 rpg. The Braves record is a half-game better than the Cardinals after winning the last two days and they have improved to 13-8 on the road. This includes a 6-2 record on this current roadtrip but the situation for today is not in their favor. Tommy Hanson has pitched ok this season but he has been all over the place with just three quality outings in his seven starts on the season. The three quality effort have come in his last four games so he is pitching better of late but his velocity is still not where it should be and that is a major concern. The Cardinals are 20-6 in their last 26 home games against right-handed starters.
Ross King
San Diego Padres vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Play: Philadelphia Phillies -1.5
San Diego currently 2-11 versus left handed starters. Philadelphia 23-4 as a home favorite of -200 to -225. Suppan 3-8 7.09 e.r.a whip 1.898 versus the Phillies while Hamel 7-2 e.r.a 2.22 whip 0.852 versus the Padres. Suppan has not beat Philadelphis since 2004 while Hamels looks for his 5th straight win.Take Philadelphia on the runline.
Jack Jones
Tampa Bay Rays -122
The Tampa Bay Rays are showing solid value as a small road favorite over the Baltimore Orioles. The Rays have a huge edge on the mound behind James Shield this afternoon, and he'll get the job done in this one.
Shields is coming off a great season, and he has picked up right where he left off in 2011. The right-hander is 5-1 with a 3.23 ERA and 1.225 WHIP through seven starts in 2012. Jake Arrieta is off to a decent start for Baltimore, going 2-3 with a 4.23 ERA. However, he's no Shields.
Tampa Bay is 9-1 against the money line after having lost 6 or 7 of their last 8 games over the last 2 seasons. The Rays are 8-1 in Shields' last 9 starts as a favorite. Tampa is 36-15 in their last 51 games as a favorite. The Orioles are 1-5 in Arrieta's last 6 home starts. Bet the Rays Sunday.
WUNDERDOG
Los Angeles at Memphis
Pick: First Half Under 88.5
Teams can tense up when there's a Game 7, especially early on with so much at stake. Both squads have played great defense this series, riding a 3-1 run UNDER the total, and that will continue with everything on the line tonight. The Clippers shot just 42% in Game 6 at home as Memphis played outstanding defense and scored just 38 first half points. That was a byproduct of having injuries to Chris Paul (strained right hip flexor) and Blake Griffin (sprained left knee) and there's no way the Clippers want to come out running in this one. In Game 5, that was played on this court, the Clippers shot 37% and scored just 42 first half points. Look for both teams to play slow, cautious basketball in the first half with their seasons on the line. Play the first half UNDER.
MLB Predictions
Los Angeles Dodgers -142
The Dodgers are 14-3 at home, compared to the Rockies who are 5-9 on the road. Ted Lilly has been stellar this season going 4-0 with a 1.41 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and .156 opponents batting average. The Rockies are hitting just .238 against lefties, while the Dodgers are hitting .255 against righties. Los Angeles has out scored opponents by an average of 2 runs at home, while the Rockies are getting outscored by almost a full run on the road. This is a good place to lay a bit of chalk on a home team.