Dennis Macklin
Houston Astros at Pittsburgh Pirates
Houston is 0-5 getting outscored 42-5 since being displaced by Hurricane Ike. Their best bet to snap out of their funk is tonight with Randy Wolf, who is 9-2 since joing the Strohs. The Wolfman is also 6-1 in seven LT decisions vs Pitt who counter with Ian Snell who will give up five in five come hell or high water. Houston is still in the wild card chase if .... they can suck it up and get it done tonight. They do.
Play on: Houston
Vegas Experts
Philadelphia Phillies at Florida Marlins
Brett Myers has been terrible in the road favorite role all season long, winning just once in eight tries and his TSR is 0-6 in this price range of $1.25 to $1.50. The Phillies have a losing record against both right-handers and the Marlins this season, so seeing Josh Johnson (7-0 team start record in division play) will be an unwelcome sight. Florida beat Philly three of four on the road last month and have beaten their division rivals 9 of 15 times this season.
Play on: Florida
Steve Merril
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Florida Marlins
Play: Over
Both offenses enter this game red-hot as the Phillies are 8-3 Over in their past eleven games, while the Marlins are 6-3 Over in their past nine games. Philadelphia is averaging 6.3 runs per game offensively in their past ten games with an average total score of 10.7 runs per game, while the Marlins are averaging 7.1 runs during their past nine games with an average total score of 10.8 runs per game. My pitcher performance ratings also predict a below average outing for the Phillies’ Brett Myers who has pitched well during the past month, but still has a weak 5.46 ERA and 1.56 WHIP on the road this season.
Priceless Picks
1 Unit on Washington Nationals +132
I'll take the Nats in the home dog role against a Padres team that continues to have trouble putting runs on the board. It's a shame that this team has not been able to bring in better hitting to go with the solid pitching that it has. The Padres have lost 7 straight Friday games. They have dropped 6 straight following an off day and they are only 2-12 in their last 14 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400. I won't list the pitcher's tonight, but it is definitely worth noting that the Padres are 1-5 in Peavy's last 6 road starts and just 6-13 in Peavy's last 19 starts vs. the National League East. The Nationals are 10-3 in their last 13 home games and 8-1 in their last 9 home games vs. a right-handed starter. Take the Nats.
JB's Computer Picks
Chicago Cubs -175
New York Yankees -200
Florida Marlins +120
Sports Gambling Hotline
San Diego at WASHINGTON
We are going to go against the recent OVER trends these two teams are on, as San Diego comes to town on a 7-1 OVER clip, while Washington has gone OVER in their last pair, and are on a 3-1-1 HIGH clip their last 5 games.
We expect the pitchers to dominate this meeting tonight, as Jake Peavy may be coming off a shaky start, but Peavy's season ERA is still in the 2's, at 2.77 for the year, while rookie Balester is coming off a rock-solid 7 innings of 1 run ball in a no-decision against Florida.
2 of the 3 meetings this season between the teams have stayed LOW, and overall these teams have played UNDER the posted price to a tune of 8-5-2 since the 2006 season.
Look for Peavy and Balester to match pitches tonight, and for this game to feature more than a few goose eggs on the scoreboard.
Play on the UNDER tonight in DC.
2♦ UNDER
FRANK ROESENTHAL
PIRATES+105 SB
FISH+115 SB
DODGERS-185 SB
JAYS-135 SB
KC+120 SB
SEATRLE+110 SB+
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
BAYLOR+12.5 SB
UNDER 51.5 SB+
WILD BILL
St Louis Cardinals +165 vs Zambrano (5 units)
Pirates +105 (5 units)
Orioles vs Pavano +185 (5 units)
Red Sox +130 (5 units)
Tigers +105 (5 units)
Florida Marlins +125 (5 units)
Brewers +115 (5 units)
Twins +115 (5 units)
Padres -140 (5 units)
Mets -135 (5 units)
D-backs +105 (5 units)
Angels +105 (5 units)
Royals +120 (5 units)
Mariners +115 (5 units)
Giants +170 (5 units)
Baylor-Conn Over 50 (5 units)
Jeff Alexander Sports
1 Unit on Boston Red Sox +131
We'll bet the Sox at a nice price here. The Red Sox have taken 4 of the last 5 meetings in this series and if the Jays have had one weakness during its run, it's been Friday night baseball as they are just 1-5 in their last 6 Friday games. Meanwhile, the Red Sox are 4-0 in their last 4 Friday games and few teams are betting at starting off a series with a win. The Red Sox are 10-1 in their last 11 during game 1 of a series and 12-3 in their last 15 games following a loss. We'll take the Sox at a nice value here.
SPORTS REPORTER
*CONNECTICUT over BAYLOR by 17
“That quarterback makes everybody look slow," said Washington State’s head coach about Baylor freshman Griffin, who has helped generate 51- and 45-point home outings for the Briles bunch. But UConn has the first defense that will offer resistance against him – quick, can’t be bullied by Baylor’s personnel, hurries and sacks quarterbacks and produces more than its share of picks. With ball-controlling RB Andre Brown being launched into a Baylor defense looking for steals it won’t get, UConn’s non-scoring drives should pin Baylor far enough back and onto long fields in their first road game, where all the fun could begin if your ticket is stamped “UConn.” CONNECTICUT, 34-17.
THE GOLD SHEET
*CONNECTICUT 33 - Baylor 13—Sure, moribund Baylor program getting jolt of excitement from electric new QB Robert Griffin (school-record 217 YR on just 11 carries last week). But this is the precocious true frosh’s first road start.UConn’s veteran defense hasn’t allowed a meaningful TD in first 3 games, jr.RB Donald Brown has 566 YR (2nd in nation) & 8 TDs, and Huskies 15-4 vs.spread last 19 at Hartford. (FIRST MEETING)
Power Sweep
Baylor at CONNECTICUT - 1st meeting. BU is 0-6 SU & 2-4 ATS on the road vs BCS non-conf and just 1-6 SU & 2-5 ATS in road openers (avg loss by 28 ppg). BU is 11-2 SU & 9-2 ATS prior to a bye. Conn is 14-7-1 as a HF, riding a 9 gm home win streak, but does have a huge Big East gm on deck vs UL. Both of these teams won 4H LPS for us LW. BU seems to have bought into Brile’s schemes and are led by QB Griffin (school record 217 rush yds LW, 683 yds in 2 starts TY) while Conn RB Brown has topped 200+ the L2W (566 yds, 7.2).
Winning Points
Connecticut* over Baylor by 15
Huskies have been pointspread demons of late in Hartford (9-2 ATS in their L11), and as much as we like youn Bear QB Robert Griffin, the savvy to take on this class of defense on the road is still a season away. CONNECTICUT 31-16.
Pointwise
CONNECTICUT 41 - Baylor 14 - (8:00 - ESPN2) -- No questioning improvement of Bears. Check 426 RYs (10.1 ypr) vs defenseless WashSt, after ranking 113th in running LY. Check QB Griffin with 346 total yds in that one, & solid run "D" to date. But Donald Brown (566 RYs, & 8 TDs) is smoking, with QB Lorenzen off a 13-of-15 outing, & UConn has allowed only 98 pts in its last 9 HGs. Lay the wood.
Nelly's Sportsline
CONNECTICUT (-14) Baylor
Baylor rolled to a big win last week but they caught a very favorable situation with extremely taxing travel placed on the opponent.Connecticut earned the first ATS win of the season for the Big East with a convincing win over Virginia last week. Both of these teams had over 380 yards rushing last week and the ground game will again be the focus. Connecticut is one of the top rushing teams in the nation and they had success with starting RB Dixon sitting out last week. The Huskies have also been very tough defensively,allowing just over seven points per game. Although Connecticut could letdown a bit after a big win it has been a very hectic week for the Bears and facing long travel will be tough against a consistently underrated opponent. Baylor was soundly defeated at home in its opening game and there is little weight to Baylor’s win streak as the competition was not of high quality. CONNECTICUT BY 21
Tom Freese
Game: Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics
Prediction: Oakland Athletics
Oakland is 9-3 vs. an opponent who allowed 5 or more runs in their last game and they are 11-5 after allowing 5 runs in their last game. The A's are 7-1 with Dana Eveland on the mound vs. losing teams. Seattle is 20-45 their last 65 road games and they are 9-23 their last 32 games vs. AL West teams. The Mariners are 0-6 their last 6 road games vs. losing teams and they are 0-7 off a loss. PLAY ON OAKLAND
LT Profits
Houston Astros @ Pittsburgh Pirates Under 9.0
Randy Wolf of the Houston Astros has been in good form lately and Ian Snell of the Pittsburgh Pirates had had success vs. the Astros, so look for a relatively low scoring game tonight.
Wolf did not pitch well against the Cubs in his last outing, but that snapped a nice string of three consecutive Quality Starts, and he has still not allowed more than four earned runs in any of his last five outings. He also recorded a Quality Start in his only other start vs. Pittsburgh this year, allowing three runs and just four hits in seven innings.
Now Snell has had a disappointing season for the Pirates, but he does have five Quality Starts in his last seven outings. He posted a Quality Start vs. these Astros earlier this month, the fifth time in his last six career starts vs. Houston that he has allowed three runs or less. Furthermore, he is catching the Astros at a good time, as they are batting only .213 as a team over the last 10 games.
With the Pirates scoring three runs or less in three of their last four games, go Under in this spot.
Pick: Astros, Pirates Under 9
Bob Majors
FLA (+112) vs PHI
The Phillies travel to the Florida Marlins for an evening game.
The Phillies will have Brett Myers on the mound facing Josh Johnson of the Marlins.
Myers is 5.46 ERA and 3-7 on the road and when he pitches the team is 5-10. He has pitched previously against the Marlins 20.2 innings; 0-2 with a 5.23 ERA.
Johnson is 2-0 at home with a 4.02 ERA. His team is 4-1 when he starts. In his previous starts against the Phillies, Johnson is 1-0 in 12.2 innings and a respectable l.42 ERA.
This is a very crucial game for both teams as they vie for a playoff spot in the NL East.
The Phillies are on top at present and the Marlins are 5 games out. The Phillies have won 7 in a row and are 42-36 away. The Marlins have an 8 game win streak and are 44-34 at Home this year and are 5 games back in the Wild Card Race. The Phillies are ? game ahead of the 2nd place NY Mets.
This game is more important for the Marlins and they are playing in front of a Home crowd. I like their chances of winning and you get a plus on the Money Line.
Take the Marlins to win this game easily with Josh Johnson on the mound.
Wunderdog
Los Angeles Angels at Texas
Pick: Los Angeles Angels -101
The Angels have added value here as the oddsmakers are treating them as a team that has clinched a playoff spot and are just playing out the string. This team has an 18.5 game lead, but has still gone out and won six of their last eight. They are in a race with the Rays who trail the Angels by just two games in the loss column for home field advantage throughout the playoffs. This one is chock full of value especially against a mediocre lefthander in Harrison, who enters with a 5+ ERA for the Rangers. The Angels have been a gold mine all season against lefthanders where they have posted a 31-15 mark. The Rangers have really tanked against .500+ teams as they have put up a 3-12 mark in their last 15. I'll back the Angels in this one.
Dwayne Bryant
Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies
Play: Arizona Diamondbacks +103
The D'backs are fighting for their playoff lives. With the wildcard out of reach, Arizona must win the NL West to secure a playoff spot. They trail the Dodgers by 3.5 games heading into tonight's action. Arizona has dropped 10 straight on the road, but their confidence should be high tonight. Arizona knows they have won 10 of 12 against Colorado this season, including five of six at Coors Field.
When Arizona's Max Scherzer made his starting debut earlier this season, I wrote on this page that everyone should keep an eye on this kid. He has not disappointed. Arizona may have lost all five of his starts, but Scherzer is certainly not to blame. In 14 appearances, including five starts, Scherzer owns a 2.80 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. He has struck out 54 batters in just 45 innings. He has also been solid on the road, posting a 3.15 ERA while striking out 26 hitters in just 20 innings. In his last four starts, Scherzer has allowed just 4 earned runs in 22 innings.
Colorado's Jorge De La Rosa has struggled a bit, especially at home where he sports a 4.93 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and .345 OOBP. De La Rosa made one start against Arizona this season (in May at Arizona). In that start, De La Rosa allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks in just 4.2 innings.
In their last five games, Colorado has batted .154 and scored 2 runs per game against righties. In that same span, Arizona has batted .312 and scored 6.5 runs per game against lefties.
Take Arizona