IndianCowboy
Take the Texas Rangers -1.5 (+125) over the Toronto Bluejays
I almost made this a play today but I am just not a fan of the RL so I decided to take a play in the O's/M's game. The Rangers were spanked 0-9 yesterday and now they have their ace in Millwood on the mound. Yes, Millwood is an ace and has pitched extremely well this year. He is one of the reasons why this team is 33-25 and 18-11 at home as the North Carolina native has a 2.96era this year. Heck, he has given up just 2 earned runs in his last 13 innings. This includes his shutout at Fenway of Boston and helping the Rangers win 5-0. Its nice to get the Rangers at home, off a burial and with their ace on the mound today for a decent value on the RL with the dog price. Romero is a good looking lefty from Cali, but the only thing he is not capable of back to back quality starts in my book. Check out how his w/l works out: W, ND, W, L, L, W. He had a solid 9-3 win over KC but I look for him to have a let down today. The Jays are 1-6 when the total is set this high while the Rangers are 9-2 when the total is set this high. Besides, my over 73.5 for the Rangers for the season is looking good and it will be nice to pick up another W for that unit pendnig future.
Drew Gordon
Now on a 12-3 roll with the plays I'm giving away, including the Tigers over the White Sox 2-1 Wednesday. For tonight's complimentary play, we're looking at the LA Angels at Tampa Bay match-up.
Critics of this play will immediately point to Ervin Santana's career numbers at the Trop, going 1-3 with an ugly 6.81 ERA in 5 starts there. That being said, I was thoroughly impressed with his last start, his best since coming off the DL, allowing 1 run on 6 hits over 8 2/3 stellar innings at Detroit! He was in a one word: Dominant. And that's exactly the kind of effort he can build off of tonight, against a Rays offense that's been relatively cold in losing 3 of their last 4. In case you were wondering, despite all his troubles this season, he has proven effective on the road, going 1-1 with a miniscule 1.17 ERA!
Opposing Santana is the Rays David Price, and while many bettors are all over the young lefties jock strap, I'm just not there yet. True, he's 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA thus far this season, but he's yet to make it out of the 6th inning in any of his 4 career starts, AND its still way too early to declare this kid a "must-play" as many bettors already have.
Also, while its true the Rays have hit righties well at the Trop this season, do not discount the Angels effectiveness against southpaws, averaging 5.2 runs per game against them on the road, batting .274 in the process! Again, I know it'll be hard for some bettors to side against Price (and therefore side with Santana at the Trop), but in this spot, a small but solid play on Santana, who appears to finally "be back" from his injury is the right move. Let's grab some of that plus money with the Halos Thursday night!
Take the LA Angels behind Santana over Tampa Bay and Price in this MLB match up.
1♦ LA ANGELS
Karl Garrett
NBA Finals tonight, and I will look for the Lakers and the Magic to play to their second straight OVER in Game Four.
Yes, the first two games contested stayed well UNDER the posted price, but Tuesday the shooters found their eye, and we sailed well OVER the total.
Los Angeles has now scored in triple-digits in 9 straight playoff games, and a triple-digit output tonight will most assuredly put us in the OVER column once again.
As for Orlando, they have eclipsed the posted price in their last three playoff home games, and 6 of their last 9 playoff games overall have also landed on the HIGH side.
Have to stick with the emerging OVER trend, and play Game Four of the NBA Finals OVER the posted total.
2♦ OVER
Chris Jordan
1♦ NATIONALS
Worst team in the bigs laying a pretty respectable price, makes you wonder what the oddsmakers are trying to tell you. I’ll side with John Lannan over Micah Owings, absolutely; as Washington’s most consistent hurler has given up more than three earned runs just once. He comes in off a stunning complete-game victory of the Mets last Saturday, and is now 2-0 at home with a 1.76 ERA. It was his first career complete game, and if not for an Elijah Dukes error in right field, Lannan would have tossed a shutout.
He should get the run support he’ll need against the Reds’ Micah Owings, who is a dismal 3-7 with a 4.90 ERA on the year. He’s lost two straight starts, including his last road outing, as the Brewers tagged him for five earned runs over six frames back on May 31. He’s 1-4 with a suitcase in hand and has a road ERA of 5.46. He’s also lost two straight to the Nationals – both last season – as the D.C. boys tapped him for nine earned runs in 12 innings last season.
I know we’re taking a shot with this team, you are any time you play the worst team in the league, but this is baseball, and any team can beat a better one on any given day. Take the Nats.
Mike Rose
Los Angeles Lakers +115
The Lakers got off to a blistering start in Game 3, but failed to execute late in the contest turning the ball over and missing shots to take a close loss. LA shot 51% from the field for the game, but was doomed by shooting just 61% (16/26) from the free-throw line. Lakers G Kobe Bryant was an abysmal 5/10 (50%) from the charity stripe after making 87% of his free throws up to this point in the 2009 NBA Playoffs. Kobe didnt take a shot until 5:17 remained in the first quarter and finished that stanza with 17 points, including a four-point play. Bryant seemed gassed and Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson kept him on the bench for half of the fourth quarter while the Magic took a nine-point lead they would never relinquish. The Lakers are a respectable 4-4 ATS on the road in the postseason after covering a 4.5-point spread for Game 3.
The Magic managed to win by shooting the lights out on Tuesday night as they shot an NBA Finals record 62.5 % from the floor. Orlando shot 75% in the first half (NBA Finals record), but led by just five-points at halftime. Magic F Hedo Turkoglu was a big part of their success scoring 18 points, dishing out seven assists, while grabbing six rebounds. Turk will need to be a huge factor for Orlando tonight if they want to even this series with the Lakers. Another key for the Magic is the outstanding play of reserve G Mickael Pietrus who scored 18 points and got the steal from Bryant that propelled his team to victory. Orlando is 8-3 ATS in its L/11 contests with a 4-1 ATS mark at home in that stretch.
The Lakers will no doubt have their hands full with the Magic tonight, but that 62.5% shooting for Orlando and just a four-point win doesnt bode well for the home team. NBA bettors can expect to see the Lakers cover this spread tonight and take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Tommy Gill
Texas ML -160 for 2 units
Millwood has done an outstanding job for the Rangers this year he has allowed no more than three ERs in 9 of his 12 starts and his ERA on the year is an impressive 2.96. The starter for Toronto is rookie left-hander Ricky Romero. He is coming off his first win in three starts and in his last outing, after missing more than a month with a strained right oblique. He gave up three ERs and five hits in seven innings to beat Kansas City 9-3 last Friday. Texas is 13-8 at home vs lefties this year averaging 5.8 runs a game including 7-2 in home night games with a 7.6 runs a game average. I believe this is a good spot for Texas having the day off yesterday to regroup on offense today.
Blue Jays are 5-13 in their last 18 games as an underdog.
Blue Jays are 3-9 in their last 12 games as a road underdog.
Blue Jays are 2-6 in their last 8 road games vs. a team with a winning record.
Blue Jays are 2-7 in their last 9 road games vs. a right-handed starter.
Blue Jays are 1-4 in their last 5 when their opponent scores 2 runs or less in their previous game.
Blue Jays are 2-9 in their last 11 road games.
Blue Jays are 1-5 in their last 6 during game 3 of a series.
Blue Jays are 1-6 in their last 7 road games with the total set at 9.0-10.5.
Blue Jays are 0-5 in their last 5 Thursday games.
Rangers are 9-2 in their last 11 home games with the total set at 9.0-10.5.
Rangers are 12-3 in their last 15 after allowing 5 runs or more in their previous game
Rangers are 13-3 in Millwoods last 16 starts when their opponent allows 2 runs or less in their previous game.
Rangers are 4-1 in Millwoods last 5 starts vs. a team with a winning record.
Rangers are 21-9 in Millwoods last 30 home starts.
Rangers are 13-6 in Millwoods last 19 starts as a home favorite of -110 to -150
Home team is 13-1 in Dreckmans last 14 games behind home plate vs. Toronto
Dave Price
1 Unit on NY Yankees -144
The Yankees are 0-7 against Boston this season, which only means they are overdue for a win against their bitter rivals. Boston has dominated this season series because its starting pitching has been superior but that won't be the case tonight. The Yanks send C.C. Sabathia and his 3.07 road ERA to the hill. He gives the Yanks the edge over Boston's Penny and his 6.51 home ERA. The Yankees are 9-1 in their last 10 games following a loss and an incredible 41-13 in their last 54 games after losing the first 2 games of a series. Bet the Yankees.