Drew Gordon
Florida +135 at PHILADELPHIA
Great spot to grab some of the plus money, as the Marlins visit the Phillies Tuesday night. Fish have won two straight, and appear to be getting their feet back underneath them after a prolonged period of inconsistency. The Phillies meanwhile continue to be dynamite on the road, but the same cannot be said of their play at Citizens Bank Park, where they're just 8-13 and a number of their players have struggled thus far there this season. Yesterday's 5-3 loss was a perfect example, as the Phillies managed only 6 hits and if not for a couple Howard dingers would've done nothing in that contest.
It doesn't get any easier tonight, as Andrew Miller finally delivered the start manager Fredi Gonzalez and Marlins-faithful were waiting for, allowing 2 runs over 7 innings, while striking out 9 against the Diamondbacks last Thursday! I've said time and again, that the young southpaw has plenty of upside, and I'm banking on the fact he'll build off that excellent effort tonight. Note, he's 0-1 with a 4.35 ERA in 7 career games (3 starts) against Philadelphia.
Opposing Miller is the Phillies Joe Blanton, who quite frankly has been a disaster this season, and especially at home. His already ugly 7.11 ERA on the season baloons to an 8.87 ERA (with an 0-2 record) at Citizens Bank Park... So much like his teammates, he's been garbage at home. And the fact he's posted a 5.40 ERA against the Marlins in 2 career starts is nothing to write home about.
Bottom line, way too much value to look any other way here. The Phillies have been incredibly inconsistent at home, and with the Marlins showing signs of improvement (incl. Adrew Miller), the play here rest squarely on the Fish.
Take Florida behind Miller over Philadelphia and Blanton in this MLB match up.
2♦ FLORIDA
Chris Jordan
Tampa Bay at CLEVELAND +110
Cleveland has the worst team in the American League. Tampa Bay is the defending AL champion. Yet with a 10-0 lead, the Rays squandered it and lost 11-10. And so the losing streak continues. Tampa has lost 14 straight in Cleveland, and with Carl Pavano and Matt Garza meeting for a second time in 11 days, I’m going to take the underdog here, as Pavano will be looking for revenge.
The veteran right-hander has won four of his last five starts and comes in after allowing three runs and six hits in six innings of an 8-3 victory over Kansas City this past Thursday. And prior to beating the Tribe and Pavano, Garza had been 0-3 with a 6.12 ERA in his previous five starts against the Indians. I’ll side with history and think the Tribe will carry the momentum over from last night’s dramatic comeback win.
1♦ INDIANS