SPORTS ADVISORS
NBA PLAYOFFS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(3) Orlando (8-5 SU, 6-7 ATS) at (1) Cleveland (8-0 SU, 7-1 ATS)
The Cavaliers, who coasted through the first two rounds of the playoffs as the top overall seed, return to action for the first time in more than a week when they open the Eastern Conference finals at Quicken Loans Arena against the Magic.
Cleveland has had an eight-day break since sweeping Atlanta out of the playoffs with an 84-74 road win, earning its second straight 4-0 series victory. However, the Cavs barely came up short as a 10½-point road favorite, failing to cash for the first time in the postseason. Newly crowned MVP LeBron James had 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the series-clincher in Atlanta, Delonte West chipped in 21 points and six assists, while center Zydrunas Ilgauskas had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Cavs have ridden their defense in the playoffs, allowing a league-best 78.1 ppg while scoring 94.9 ppg, with the 16.8 margin of victory also leading all playoff participants. Offensively, James is averaging a playoff-best 32.9 ppg, with Mo Williams ranking as Cleveland’s second-leading scorer at 14.8 ppg. James is also notching 6.8 assists (sixth) and 9.8 rebounds (10th) per contest.
Orlando survived a seven-game battle with Boston, staving off elimination with victories in Games 6 and 7, culminating with Sunday’s 101-82 rout as a 2½-point road underdog, giving the SU winner a 7-0 ATS mark in the second-round series. Dwight Howard had yet another double-double, with 12 points and 16 boards to go with five blocks, but Hedo Turkoglu was the difference maker with 25 points – hitting 4 of 5 from three-point range – along with a dozen assists.
Orlando hit 51.4 percent overall from the floor in Game 7 and an eye-popping 61.9 percent from long distance (13 of 21), while holding Boston to 39.2 percent shooting overall and 25 percent from three-point range (4 of 16).
Howard has been the catalyst for Orlando throughout the playoffs, averaging a team-leading 20.3 points and playoff-leading 16.6 rebounds, and Rashard Lewis is putting up 19.9 ppg.
The Magic are on a 10-1 ATS tear in this rivalry, including cashing in each of their last five games in Cleveland. This year, Orlando went 2-1 SU and 3-0 ATS against the Cavaliers, capped by a 116-87 home blitzing as a 3½-point chalk on April 3. Cleveland won its lone home game against Orlando 97-93 on March 17, but the Magic covered as a 6½-point ‘dog. The underdog is 8-3 ATS in the last 11 clashes.
Cleveland is 43-2 SU (32-13 ATS) at home this year, including 4-0 SU and ATS in the playoffs (all double-digit wins). Orlando is 31-17 SU (29-18-1 ATS) on the road (4-3 SU, 3-4 ATS in the postseason).
The Cavaliers are on virtually nothing but positive ATS runs, including 11-1 overall, 37-14 at home, 6-0 in the Eastern Conference finals, 8-1 going on three or more days’ rest and 18-5 as a playoff chalk.
The Magic are on ATS upticks of 5-1 against the Central Division and 15-6 as a road pup, and they won and covered in two of their four games at Boston in the conference semifinals. However, Stan Van Gundy’s squad is still just 7-12 ATS in its last 19 overall and 3-7 ATS in its last 10 on the highway.
The under for Cleveland is on rolls of 6-1 overall (all from the favorite’s role), 16-5-1 as a home chalk and 20-8 following a break of three days or more. Likewise, Orlando carries “under” streaks of 22-8 overall, 7-2 with the Magic catching points on the road and 7-3 when the Magic are a playoff ‘dog.
Finally, in this rivalry, the total has stayed low in four of the last five meetings overall and four of the last five clashes at Quicken Loans Arena.
ATS ADVANTAGE: CLEVELAND and UNDER
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Chicago Cubs (21-16) at St. Louis (22-17)
Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter (1-0, 0.00) is set to return to a big-league mound for the first time in more than a month when he pitches against Ryan Dempster (3-2, 4.65) and the Cubs in the middle game of a three-game set at Busch Stadium.
St. Louis snapped a three-game slide with Tuesday’s 3-0 victory over Chicago. Despite yesterday’s triumph, the Cardinals remain on slides of 5-10 overall, 3-6 at home, 3-8 against right-handed starters, 2-7 against winning teams and 2-5 versus N.L. Central rivals. The only positives for Tony LaRussa’s squad: It is 4-1 in its last five Wednesday outings and 19-7 in its last 26 as a home chalk.
Even though they came up short on Tuesday, the Cubs are still 11-5 in their last 16 games, yet they’ve split six games on the highway during this stretch. They’re also 5-2 in their last seven against right-handed starters, but they’ve lost seven of their last eight as an underdog.
This is the third series of the year between these hated rivals, with St. Louis now holding a slim 4-3 lead.
Carpenter was pulled from his most recent start on April 14 at Arizona after three scoreless innings because of a pulled ribcage muscle that landed the oft-injured right-hander on the disabled list. He’s allowed just one unearned run and five hits with two walks and nine strikeouts in 10 innings of work, including a 2-1 home victory over the Pirates in his 2009 debut on April 9.
Although Carpenter hasn’t pitched much in the last 18 months because of injuries, the Cardinals still sport several positive streaks with the former Cy Young winner on the mound, including 75-29 overall, 40-13 at home, 52-21 as a favorite and 36-15 against division foes. In 14 career starts against Chicago, Carpenter is 7-3 with a 3.08 ERA, and St. Louis is 4-1 in his last five home outings versus the Cubs.
Dempster is coming off Thursday’s 11-3 home victory over the Padres, as he yielded just two runs and three hits in seven innings. However, the veteran right-hander has struggled on the road this year, going 1-2 with a 5.34 ERA in five outings. In fact, Chicago has lost six of Dempster’s last seven road starts and seven of his last eight when he’s an underdog.
Dempster has faced the Cardinals twice already this season, getting a no-decision in both games as he gave up a total of seven runs in 12 innings (5.25 ERA), with the Cubs winning 7-5 at home and losing 4-3 on the road. Dempster is 6-5 with a 4.71 ERA and 15 saves in 39 lifetime appearances (13 starts) against St. Louis.
The over is 5-2 in Dempster’s last seven starts overall, 4-1 in his last five on Wednesday, 4-1 in Carpenter’s last five overall and 5-1 in Carpenter’s last six Wednesday affairs. However, with Carpenter pitching, the under is on streaks of 35-17-1 at home and 4-1 when facing Chicago in St. Louis.
The over is 4-1-1 in the season series so far, but the under is still 5-1-1 in the last seven battles at Busch Stadium. For Chicago, the over is on streaks of 6-2-1 on the road, 5-2 against right-handed starters and 11-5-1 as a road underdog. ... Conversely, the Cardinals carry “under” trends of 4-2 overall (all against the N.L. Central) and 7-2-1 on Wednesday.
ATS ADVANTAGE: NONE
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto (27-15) at Boston (22-17)
Blue Jays rookie Brett Cecil (2-0, 1.80) goes for his third straight victory when the southpaw makes his first ever appearance on the Fenway Park mound, while the Red Sox will counter with Brad Penny (3-1, 6.69).
Boston eked out a 2-1 victory over Toronto last night in the first of several meetings between these A.L. East foes. The Jays had a four-game winning streak snapped with that result, yet they’ve still surrendered three runs or fewer in eight of their last nine games, including the last six in a row. Cito Gaston’s crew is on solid surges of 12-6 overall, 4-1 against right-handed starters and 16-6 in the second game of a series. However, the Rays are just 5-7 in their last 12 road games and 1-5 in their last six as an underdog.
Boston has dropped four of five … The Red Sox offense has been pedestrian of late, producing four runs or fewer in seven of the last eight games, and they’ve gone nine straight contests without tallying more than five runs. Still, Boston carries positive trends of 78-33 at home, 17-7 as a favorite, 8-2 against southpaw starters, 38-18 at home against lefties and 5-1 in divisional contests.
Boston is 5-1 in the last six clashes with Toronto.
Cecil, who was called up at the beginning of this month, has surrendered a total of five runs (four earned) in his first three big-league starts, walking four and whiffing 15 in 20 innings. He did give up a season-high three runs – including his first two home runs – in six innings in his most recent start against the White Sox on Friday, but still earned a 6-3 home win. In the left-hander’s lone road start, he scattered five hits and two walks over eight scoreless innings en route to a 5-0 victory at Oakland on May 10.
Penny has been idle since Thursday when he gave up four runs in 6 1/3 innings at the Angels, getting a no-decision as Boston eventually lost 5-4 in 12 innings, dropping to 1-3 in Penny’s last four starts. The veteran right-hander, in his first season with the Red Sox, is 2-0 in three starts at Fenway Park despite a bloated 7.63 ERA, with Boston winning all three games.
Penny pitched against Toronto twice in interleague play with the Dodgers back in 2007, allowing one earned run in each start while totaling 14 2/3 innings (1.23 ERA). He’s faced the Jays four times, but in the last three he’s 2-0 with a 1.33 ERA.
Toronto is on “over” stretches of 10-5 as an underdog, 14-7 on the road and 5-0 on Wednesday. Boston is 6-1-1 “under” in its last eight overall, but otherwise the Sox are riding “over” streaks of 7-4-1 at home, 17-7-2 as a chalk, 11-4 versus southpaw starters, 17-5 on Wednesday and 2-0-1 with Penny pitching at Fenway.
ATS ADVANTAGE: NONE
Dunkel
Orlando at Cleveland
The Magic open up on the road and look to build on their 15-6 ATS record in their last 21 games as a road underdog. Orlando is the pick (+8 1/2) according to Dunkel, which has Cleveland favored by just 7. Dunkel Pick: Orlando (+8 1/2).
Time Posted: 7:30 a.m. EST (5/18)
Game 503-504: Orlando at Cleveland
Dunkel Ratings: Orlando 123.705; Cleveland 130.893
Dunkel Line & Total: Cleveland by 7; 180 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Cleveland by 8 1/2; 185
Dunkel Pick: Orlando (+8 1/2); Under
MLB
Toronto at Boston
The Blue Jays look to rebound from yesterday's 2-1 loss and build on their 7-1 record in their last 8 games when their opponent allows 2 runs or less in the previous game. Toronto is the underdog pick (+120) according to Dunkel, which has the Blue Jays favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: Toronto (+120).
Time Posted: 6:30 a.m. EST
Game 901-902: Pittsburgh at Washington
Dunkel Ratings: Pittsburgh (Maholm) 13.836; Washington (Lannan) 14.716
Dunkel Line: Washington by 1; 10 1/2
Vegas Line: Washington (-135); 9
Dunkel Pick: Washington (-135); Over
Game 903-904: Philadelphia at Cincinnati
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia (Moyer) 14.586; Cincinnati (Harang) 15.760
Dunkel Line: Cincinnati by 1; 10 1/2
Vegas Line: Cincinnati (-130); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Cincinnati (-130); Over
Game 905-906: Colorado at Atlanta
Dunkel Ratings: Colorado (De La Rosa) 14.404; Atlanta (Vazquez) 13.706
Dunkel Line: Colorado by 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Atlanta (-165); 8
Dunkel Pick: Colorado (+155); Over
Game 907-908: Arizona at Florida
Dunkel Ratings: Arizona (Davis) 14.204; Florida (Volstad) 15.109
Dunkel Line: Florida by 1; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A
Game 909-910: Milwaukee at Houston
Dunkel Ratings: Milwaukee (Gallardo) 15.721; Houston (Rodriguez) 16.270
Dunkel Line: Houston by 1/2; 7
Vegas Line: Houston (-110); 8
Dunkel Pick: Houston (-110); Under
Game 911-912: Chicago Cubs at St. Louis
Dunkel Ratings: Cubs (Dempster) 14.028; St. Louis (Carpenter) 15.550
Dunkel Line: St. Louis by 1 1/2; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: St. Louis (-130); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (-130); Under
Game 913-914: San Francisco at San Diego
Dunkel Ratings: San Francisco (Sanchez) 15.754; San Diego (Gaudin) 14.587
Dunkel Line: San Francisco by 1; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: San Diego (-130); 8
Dunkel Pick: San Francisco (+120); Over
Game 915-916: NY Mets at LA Dodgers
Dunkel Ratings: NY Mets (Hernandez) 15.318; LA Dodgers (Weaver) 16.972
Dunkel Line: LA Dodgers by 1 1/2; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A
Game 917-918: Texas at Detroit
Dunkel Ratings: Texas (Harrison) 17.462; Detroit (Verlander) 16.148
Dunkel Line: Texas by 1 1/2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Detroit (-160); 9
Dunkel Pick: Texas (-150); Over
Game 919-920: Baltimore at NY Yankees
Dunkel Ratings: Baltimore (Guthrie) 15.290; NY Yankees (Hughes) 15.632
Dunkel Line: NY Yankees by 1/2; 10
Vegas Line: NY Yankees (-160); 11
Dunkel Pick: NY Yankees (-160); Under
Game 921-922: Toronto at Boston
Dunkel Ratings: Toronto (Cecil) 16.693; Boston (Penny) 15.553
Dunkel Line: Toronto by 1; 9
Vegas Line: Boston (-130); 10
Dunkel Pick: Toronto (+120); Under
Game 923-924: Oakland at Tampa Bay
Dunkel Ratings: Oakland (Anderson) 14.747; Tampa Bay (Kazmir) 16.500
Dunkel Line: Tampa Bay by 1 1/2; 9
Vegas Line: Tampa Bay (-185); 10
Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (-185); Under
Game 925-926: Cleveland at Kansas City
Dunkel Ratings: Cleveland (Carmona) 16.825; Kansas City (Meche) 15.371
Dunkel Line: Cleveland by 1 1/2; 10
Vegas Line: Kansas City (-125); 9
Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (+115); Over
Game 927-928: Minnesota at Chicago White Sox
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota (Liriano) 13.757; White Sox (Danks) 15.383
Dunkel Line: Chicago White Sox by 1 1/2; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: Chicago White Sox (-125); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Chicago White Sox (-125); Under
Game 929-930: LA Angels at Seattle
Dunkel Ratings: LA Angels (Santana) 15.266; Seattle (Jakubauskas)
Dunkel Line: Seattle by 1/2; 10
Vegas Line: LA Angels (-145); 9
Dunkel Pick: Seattle (+135); Over
Game 931-932: Arizona at Florida
Dunkel Ratings: Arizona (Augenstein) 13.794; Florida (Penn) 15.499
Dunkel Line: Florida by 1 1/2; 11
Vegas Line: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A
Matt Fargo
Cleveland Indians vs. Kansas City Royals
Play: Kansas City Royals
The Royals started the season on absolute fire and they have definitely cooled off quite a bit following a miserable 0-5 roadtrip. After losing the first game against Baltimore in its four-game series against the Orioles, Kansas City won two of the final three games before winning this series opener last night to improve to 14-8 at home on the season. The Royals trail the Tigers by just a game in the American League Central and this is a rarity to be so close to first place a quarter of the way into the season. The run should go on. Prior to last night’s loss, the Indians won their opener in Tampa Bay but lost their final three games to the Rays as the pitching remains abysmal on the road. Cleveland has a 6.80 ERA on the road this season which is the worst in baseball. The loss last night is one that can stick to a team for sometime as the Royals scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull out the win. That knocked the Cleveland Bullpen ERA to 5.84 on the season including a dismal 7.32 in road games. Gil Meche gets the call for Kansas City tonight and he has hit a rough patch. He has gone four straight games without a quality start after starting the season by tossing three quality outings in his first four. He lost his first outing to the Indians earlier this season but it was a quality performance and hew has now allowed three runs or fewer in five of his last six starts against Cleveland, posting a 3.29 ERA in those games. He faces off against Fausto Carmona who I backed in his last start and it paid off in an 11-7 Indians victory. He was not strong however as he allowed four runs in 5.1 innings, the sixth time in eight starts this season he has allowed at least four runs. He has a 7.07 ERA on the road and after posting five straight quality outings in his first five career starts against the Royals, he has an 8.26 ERA in his last three against Kansas City. The Indians are 8-22 in their last 30 road games against a team with a home winning percentage greater than .600 while the Royals are 16-6 in their last 22 home games against a team with a road winning percentage less than .400. 3* Kansas City Royals
Cajun Sports
Toronto Blue Jays @ Boston Red Sox
Selection: 2* Toronto Blue Jays +110
Fenway Park will be the site of tonights American League battle between the host Boston Red Sox and the visiting Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays would have to be one of the biggest surprises so far this season, with the best record in the league at 27-14. Toronto continues to play well having just swept the White Sox in a four-game series and also have the highest run differential in the league which is certainly helped by their league leading batting average of .289. The Jays are averaging 6.3 runs per game on the road and have a batting average of .308. Toronto will send Brett Cecil to the bump with his 2-0 W/L record and ERA of 1.89 in three starts this season. In those starts he has averaged 6.7 innings of work with 15 strikeouts and only 4 walks which includes a record of 1-0 W/L on the road with an ERA of 0.00. The Sox will counter with veteran right-hander Brad Penny who is 3-1 W/L on the year with an ERA of 6.69. In seven games this season he has averaged 5.2 innings of work, 20 strikeouts, 16 walks and 31 runs, 27 of those earned. When he takes the bump at Fenway he is 2-0 W/L in three starts but has an ERA of 7.63 and a WHIP of 1.826. Boston won the first game of this series on Tuesday night by the final score of 2 to 1. We look for the Blue Jays to rebound here and get a win in game two on Wednesday night with the big left-hander on the bump.
Graded Selection: 2* Toronto Blue Jays 5 Boston Red Sox 4
Marc Lawrence
Play On: Kansas City w/Meche vs Carmona
The Royals send Gil Meche to the mound against Fausto Carmona in a battle of AL Central division foes in Kansas City tonight. While Meche is not in peak form, he has cashed in 9 of his last 12 home team starts. On the flip side, Carmona can't find the plate, issuing 24 walks against 23 strikeouts this season. Back the better arm in their home park here this evening.
Jimmy The Moose
Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers
Prediction: Detroit Tigers
Two hot teams meet-up in Detroit tonight. The Rangers lost last night and are now 7-1 in their last 8 games. The Tigers win was their 4th in a row. In their last 8 road games vs. a team with a home winning % better than .600 the Rangers are 2-6. Verlander has been great for the Tigers over his last 4 starts giving up 2 ER's or less in all 4 games. The Tigers have won 3 of his last 4 starts. Detroit has won 5 straight at home. In their last 8 games vs. a lefty they are 7-1. Detroit has won the last 5 meetings and the Rangers are 0-9 in their last 9 trips to Detroit. Play on the Detroit Tigers -.
Craig Trapp
Colorado Rockies vs. Atlanta Braves
Play: Under 8
Rough day yesterday as Craig's Premium MLB picks split 1-1 but Craig's top NBA 5 star Selection won easy with the Under Total. Today Craig's free play will be a MLB Total. Lets look at the trends, records, and breakdown!!
Records
Colorado Rockies 15-23, 8-13 away (De La Rosa 0-3, 3.16 ERA)
Atlanta Braves 19-19, 7-11 home (Vazquez (3-3, 3.71 ERA)
Betting Trends
-Under is 8-0 in Rockies last 8 games as an underdog.
-Under is 5-1 in De La Rosas last 6 starts overall.
-Under is 7-3-1 in Braves last 11 games as a favorite of -110 to -150.
-Under is 5-2-1 in Braves last 8 games as a home favorite of -110 to -150.
Atlanta broke out of there home offensive slump yesterday scoring 8 runs but before yesterdays game at home there previous 14 games they only had averaged 2.8 runs at home. They may have trouble putting together another big game offensively Tuesday as they face Jorge De La Rosa (0-3, 3.16 ERA). In his last two starts, De La Rosa has given up three runs in 15 innings with one walk and 22 strikeouts, but he remains winless mainly because his average of 2.74 runs of support is among the lowest in the majors. Think both teams will struggle to score and both pitching staffs will dominate the average batters on these two lineups. SCORE COL 2 - ATL 1
Bob Harvey
Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Play: Under 184½
Get ready for the NBA version of the “Big East” as the Cavs and Magic battle in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Cleveland is favored by 8.5 and while that number looks intriguing for an ORLANDO play, I say the money to be made on tonight’s game is to play the UNDER. Two of the three regular season meetings stayed below the number and the one game that topped the total occurred on a very rare off day for the Cavaliers league best defense. The Cavs gave up 116 points to the Magic and allowed them to shoot 54%. Outside of that anomaly the games have predictably stayed on the low side.
In fact the slew of low scoring games dates back to the ’07-’08 season in which four of the five series meetings finished below the number.
This should be a great series and I think much closer than the so called “pundits” have projected. In the last five meetings between the Magic and Cavs, Orlando is 4-1 SU and 5-0 ATS. Exhibit A is Cleveland's impressive 39-2 home court record this year including a 32-13 home ledger. But the veteran sports bettor will raise you Orlando’s 27 road victories.
Based strictly on this post-season, Cleveland looks like an unstoppable juggernaut posting an 8-0 SU record and 7-0-1 vs the spread. They’ve won all eight games by double-digits. But Orlando is the one team left that will slow down Cleveland’s run. Orlando was 3-0 ATS against Cleveland this season even with Lebron James averaging 30 ppg.
My money is on a low-scoring Game 1 and a close win for the Cavs. This series won’t be a cake walk for either team especially Cleveland.
My series prediction for what it’s worth: Orlando Magic in 6.
Bobby Maxwell
Milwaukee -110 at HOUSTON
We handed you a FREE winner Tuesday night with the Tigers and they dominated the Rangers for an easy win. Tonight we've got another one for your as we play the Brewers in Houston taking on the Astros.
The Brewers got the 4-2 win on Tuesday and look for their early-season ace Yovani Gallardo (4-1, 3.09 ERA) to get the job done today in Houston.
Milwaukee has taken four of the last five meetings with the Astros and the Brewers have won each of Gallardo's last three starts. The Brewers have rattled off seven straight wins, four in a row on the highway.
Gallardo is 2-0 with a 2.20 ERA on the road, allowing just seven runs in 28.2 innings with 25 strikeouts. Milwaukee has won his last four starts and he's allowed only seven runs in his last five trips to the mound. He faced Houston back on April 24 and gave up just two runs in a 5-2 complete-game victory.
Wandy Rodriguez (4-2, 1.90 ERA) is on the mound for the Astros, and while he's had a great start to the season, the Astros have lost seven of his last eight starts against the Brewers.
Milwaukee is 21-6 in their last 27 overall and 19-7 in their last 26 Wednesday games. Play the red-hot Brewers in this one.
2♦ MILWAUKEE
Drew Gordon
Cleveland +105 at KANSAS CITY
Solid Free Play winner with the Royals (+115) over the Indians 6-5 Tuesday! I'm staying with the same series tonight, except this time I'm taking the other side, and here's why:
This is one of those match ups that at first glance seems to favor the Royals, as Meche carries the better ERA, and the Royals 13-8 record at Kauffman is nothing to sneeze at. However, upon further review, Meche hasn't been nearly as solid of late, going 1-2 with a 6.29 ERA over his last 3 starts, AND with the Royals going 2-7 over their last 9, its clear the entire team isn't playing well of late either.
I know full well Fausto Carmona has had his ups and downs this season, and it all begins and ends with his control. Although he walks way too many for my liking, you can't argue with the fact he's shown flashes of his 2007 form, when he went 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA. Carmona is 1-1 with a 4.82 ERA over his last 3 starts, a solid jump from his early season struggles. Expect to see a much better effort than the last time he faced the Royals at Kauffman, back in April, where he allowed 4 runs in 5 innings for the loss. He's not showing the same inconsisteny he was earlier this season, and it'll show tonight.
Finally, getting back to Meche, I'm not convinced his back is right. He says publicly that it is, but you don't allow 16 runs in your last 19 2/3 innings unless something is wrong. Look for the Indians offense, which pounded righty Brian Bannister yesterday for 5 runs on 9 hits, to add to Meche's misery in this one. In the end, Carmona is getting back to form, just when Meche is seemingly starting to fall apart... Play here rests squarely on the Tribe.
Take Cleveland behind Carmona over Kansas City and Meche in this MLB match up.
2♦ CLEVELAND
DAVE COKIN
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES / CINCINNATI REDS
Take CINCINNATI REDS
The Phillies are on a hot roll, and because of that I'm not able to make a big play against them tonight. But I certainly have to lean to the Reds this evening. Jamie Moyer has enjoyed a remarkable run through middle age, but he's looking as though he may be shot. Moyer's command is not what we're used to seeing and he's really getting belted around. Micah Owings and the Reds get the free opinion nod for Wednesday.
JIM FEIST
CHICAGO CUBS / ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Take CHICAGO CUBS
It's tough to back the Cardinals with all their injuries, losing 5 of 6 to fall out of first place. Chicago has a winning road record and is hot, not losing a game last week. Starter Ryan Dempster has been solid, at 2-1 with a 3.54 ERA his last three starts. There's an old wagering adage about going against a pitcher making his first start after being on the shelf a while, and that's the case here with St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter. Play the Cubs.
Carlo Campanella
Oakland Athletics at Tampa Bay Rays
These teams are heading in two different directions, as Oakland enters Wednesday's game losing 6 of their last 8 games, including 4 straight losses. On the other hand, Tampa Bay hosts this on a 4 game winning streak and starts lefty Kazmir on the mound. Kazmir has dominated Oakland, owing a 7-2 record while allowing just 2 Earned Runs in 18 Innings Pitched during his last 3 starts against the A's. Lay the lumber with this home Favorite as Tampa Bay is now 34-5 as home Favorites between -150 and -200.
Play on: Tampa Bay
Vegas Experts
San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres
San Diego fresh off a three-game sweep over the much improved Cincinnati Reds took the first game against San Francisco last night 2-1. They have won all four games at home against San Francisco this season. Padres starter Chad Gaudin has a 2-0 TSR against the Giants lifetime with a 2.84 ERA. His last start against them he was able to defeat Tim Lincecum. Gaudin has cashed 15 of 20 games when the total between 7 and 8 ½. San Diego is a safe bet here.
Play on: San Diego
Game Time Sports Advisors
Texas Rangers vs. Detroit Tigers
Play: Under 9
Both of these pitchers, Harrison and Verlander have been pitching lights out of late. Harrison is 4-0 with a 1.80 era his last 4 trips to the hill, while Verlander is 3-0 with a microscopic .92 era. Two hot pitchers dualing in a pitcher-friendly park.