LEE KOSTROSKI
St. Louis Cardinals @ Arizona Diamondbacks
PICK: Arizona Diamondbacks
St. Louis has lost eight of the past nine games in Arizona heading into this series and the Cardinals hot start has come completely at home as this is the first road series for the Cardinals. The Cardinals closed 2008 going 3-13 in the last 16 road games of the season so expectations should be grounded until this team proves it can get the same types of performances away from home. The Cardinals are greatly overvalued playing in this series against an Arizona team that should be a playoff threat. The Diamondbacks have had some bad news with early season injuries but this is a good lineup and a pitching staff that should eventually be one of the better units in the NL even the early numbers are not indicative of that.
Chris Carpenter had a brilliant spring and a near flawless first start of the season but he must now pitch on the road against a much more threatening lineup. Carpenter has not pitched more than five innings on the road since 2006 and although he was impressive the first time through the rotation he still has a long way to go. St. Louis has gotten by so far but the bullpen is still a major concern with no clear closer and durability questions with Carpenter, who will still be on a tight pitch count.
Max Scherzer has been a highly touted prospect for the Diamondbacks and although he is yet to pick up a MLB win he has tons of potential. Scherzer had 66 strikeouts in just 56 innings last season and featured a 3.05 ERA. Scherzer saw limited action this spring but he had nine strikeouts and just one walk in only eight innings. Arizona has been very cautious with his health so for him to start this game means he is definitely at full strength. Most Cardinals hitters have very limited experience if any against him which should be an advantage for the Diamondbacks, particularly at home.
Lenny Del Genio
New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays
Prediction: New York Yankees
The Yankees are off a humiliating 15-5 loss to the Rays last night that we were on the right side of. We?re calling for them to bounce back on Tuesday behind AJ Burnett, who looked sharp in his debut in Pinstripes ? an 11-2 win over Baltimore. Counterpart Matt Garza owns a poor 12-19 team start record in the favorite role. New York fares much better vs. right-handed pitching (5.1 runs per game) than lefties and turned a $415 profit on the road vs. righties. The Yankees were one of just two teams to post a winning record vs. the Rays last season, so at an underdog price, they are simply too good to pass up here. Take NY Yankees.
Vegasflyer Sports
Mike Hillin
Free Play- St. Louis Cardinals
JACK JONES
Yankees/Rays UNDER 8.5
After putting up a combined 20 runs (15 by the Rays, 5 by the Yanks) last night, I like the Rays and the Yankees to stay under the total on Tuesday. Rays' starter Matt Garza got off to a great start to the season with a 1 run, 4 hit, 3 walk performance in 7 innings of work against the Red Sox this year. A. J. Burnett also came out strong in his first outing of the year, allowing just 2 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. Burnett also has a solid history against the Rays. In 16 career starts has just a 2.98 ERA versus Tampa. Both teams are strong on defense and the starters should keep the ball in the park. There are some concerns with the bullpen on both teams, but I believe they will rise to the occasion if this is the close, low-scoring game I project it to be.
Jeff Alexander
1 Unit on Boston Red Sox -143
The Sox have lost 5 of 6 and were kicked in game 1 of this series, but I really like them to get back in the win column tonight. They have a big edge on the mound with Matsuzaka against Eveland. In Eveland's first and only start against the Red Sox, he was roughed up like few pitcher's are, now posting an ERA of 40.50 and a WHIP of 5.000 against Bean Town. The Sox sluggers will gladly welcome him to the hill tonight. Conversely, Matsuzaka is 2-1 when starting against Oakland with an ERA of 2.55 and a WHIP of 0.973. Boston is 16-3 against the money line when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 38% to 46%) over the last 2 seasons, winning these games by an average score of 5.7 to 3.2. After getting hit in the mouth by this bad team Monday, the Sox will strike back tonight.
Dave Price
1 Unit on Seattle Mariners +100
The M's are rolling, having won 4 straight games, and now they carry their momentum into their home opener tonight. Carlos Silva gets the big edge in this pitching matchup as he has had the Angels number. He is 6-2 with an ERA of 3.82 when starting against them. The Mariners are 6-0 in their last 6 vs. the American League West, 5-1 in their last 6 games following a win, and 5-2 in their last 7 games as an underdog. The M's will be jacked up for this one and I'll grab them at a solid price.
Greg Shaker
Boston Red Sox at Oakland Athletics
I am playing this game at 1/2 Moneyline ad 1/2 Runline of +110. I hate to be so "Public" playing the Sox in this spot but it is worth a shot considering what we have going on tonight in Oakland. Dice K's first start verses TB was not a good one as he served up 3 Dingers to the Rays. He should have more success verses the light hitting Athletics who did not hit light last night in a 8-2 Win. Yes, they have improved their lot with Giambi and Holliday in the lineup, but they don't offer the same scoring capacity as TB does. Daisuke Matsuzaka is 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA in 4 career starts verses. Oakland. The Red Sox are 14-2 in the last 16 starts made by Matsuzaka and they are 40-18 when he is favored to win. The Sox are a good lefthanded hitting team and Eveland had no success the only time he threw against them allowing 9 runs over just 2 innings of work. I seriously doubt that the Sox will be beat by a lefty 2 nites in a row and especially with a decided pitching advantage going for them. Boston is in need of a win and with the Big Man on the mound, I think they get it.
Rob Homyak
5 UNITS on Florida Marlins
Play ON FLORIDA using the money line in All games on the road when the total is 9 to 9.5
The record is 24 Wins and 13 Losses for the last two seasons (+19.59 units)
The Marlins will give the ball to starter Chris Volstad in this one. Righthander Volstad is 1-0 this season with a 1.80 ERA.
Starting this game for the Braves will be Javier Vazquez. The righthander has a 4.50 ERA to go along with a 0-0 record this season.
The Marlins defeated the Mets 2-1 as a +130 underdog on Sunday. The three runs scored fell UNDER the posted over/under total (7.5).
Josh Johnson pitched a complete-game five-hitter, allowing only one run with seven strikeouts for Florida and Ronny Paulino delivered an RBI single in the win.
The Braves defeated Washington 8-5 as a -180 favorite on Sunday. The 13 runs scored went OVER the posted over/under total (9).
Jair Jurrjens allowed three earned runs on five hits in 5 1-3 innings for Atlanta, while Chipper Jones was 2-3 with a pair of RBI in the win.
Vazquez hasn?t faced Florida since 2005, is 6-5 with a 4.68 ERA in 17 career outings against the Marlins. VAZQUEZ is 3-12 (-10.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
ATLANTA is 76-89 (-18.8 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
Florida with Volstad is on runs of 5-1 overall, 5-1 on the road (all as an underdog) and 4-1 against the N.L. East. Volstad had two quality starts against Atlanta last year, he allowed three runs on six hits over six innings in each contest. He lost the first 4-0, then got a no-decision in his team?s 5-3 victory in early September. VOLSTAD: Florida 14-6 playing with day off.
FLORIDA is 88-76 (+24.3 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
FLORIDA is 59-37 (+30.3 Units) against the money line when the total is 9 to 9.5 over the last 2 seasons.
Dwayne Bryant
KAN (-145) vs CLE
Carl Pavano's attempt at reviving his pitching career with the Cleveland Indians got off to a rough start. The right-hander allowed nine runs, six hits and walked three on 39 pitches in just one-plus inning of Cleveland's 12-8 loss at Texas on Thursday.
While Pavano hopes to simply keep his team in the game, the inconsistent Indians' bats will try to get the best of Kyle Davies, who's picked up where he left off at the end of last season. After winning his final three starts of 2008, Davies allowed three hits and struck out eight in seven scoreless innings of the Royals' 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. "He's on the same roll that he finished August with, and went through September with," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "Very impressive."
The Indians' bullpen has been mediocre at best (5.20 ERA, 1.52 WHIP), while the KC pen has been very sharp (2.75 ERA, 0.97 WHIP).
I'll take Kansas City with Davies over Cleveland and Pavano.