The Asian Executive
7 units Minnesota +3.5
MTi Sports
4'* Padres
4* Mets Under
4* A's
Fantasy Sports Gametime
50* Play Florida (-190) over Houston
Florida has won 5 consecutive games and they have also won 8 of the last 9 games vs. Houston at home. Ricky Nolasco has won 7 of the last 9 games when pitching in the 2nd half of the season and he has also won 14 of the last 18 games after allowing one run or less in his last outing.
50* Play Detroit (-190) over Cleveland
Detroit has won 13 of the last 16 games as a favorite of -150 or higher and they have also won 7 of the last 8 games vs. Cleveland at home. Justin Verlander has won 12 of the last 13 day home games and he has also won 18 of the last 23 games when pitching on a Sunday.
Dave Cokin
Minn/S.F. Under 35
Atlanta Braves
Oakland A's
AZ Diamondbacks
Hotshot Sports
4* White Sox
ATS LOCK CLUB
3 Units Vikings +3
5 Units Tampa Bay -130
4 Units Twins -130
Scott Rickenbach
8* Minnesota / Los Angeles Over
The Twins have scored 27 runs in Scott Baker’s last five starts and they are likely to need similar offensive production today to hang around in this game. That’s because Baker is 0-5 with a 5.82 ERA in his eight career starts against the Angels. Also, the Twins right-hander has allowed four earned runs or more in 8 of his last 13 starts. That includes his two most recent outings where he’s allowed 9 runs (8 earned) on 15 hits (including 3 homers) in 10.2 innings of work. Other than a great start early in August, Baker has mostly struggled over the last 3 months. His June ERA was 6.07 and he compiled a 5.10 ERA in July. As for August, he had that solid first start but then has been roughed up in his last two outings. Facing the Angels is unlikely to help Baker get back on track. Los Angeles comes into this game having pounded out 16 hits yesterday and they’ve now averaged nearly 10 hits per game in their last 7 games. Their sticks are heating up again and the Angels are 11-6 to the over in Sunday games this season. The Twins are 8-5 to the over when they are at home and are priced between -100 and -125. Additionally, Minnesota has gone over the total in five straight games and the Twins have averaged 10 hits per game in their last six games.
Minnesota’s bullpen has been hurt by the injury to Ron Mahay but the Angels have a pitching concern of their own as well as Jered Weaver gets this start. The Los Angeles right-hander got roughed up at Boston in his last start as he allowed six earned runs in just five innings of work. Keep in mind, he’s dominated at home this season but the road has been a different story. Weaver is 5-2 at home with a 1.65 ERA but he’s 6-6 on the road with a 4.50 ERA this season. Also, his ERA in night games is a full 1.5 runs higher than what he’s produced in day games this season. Neither of these stats is a fluke either. In his career, Weaver’s ERA is 2.95 at home and 4.24 on the road. Also, in day games his career numbers show a 2.66 ERA while he shows a 3.96 ERA in night games. In his last 11 starts, the Angels are 10-0-1 to the under. However, keep in mind, there hasn’t been a single over recorded in a home game start for him this season while, conversely, there have only been 5 unders recorded in his 14 road starts! This game is not at pitcher-friendly Angel Stadium rather, it’s at Target Field where each of the first two games in this series have gone over the total and where the Twins are hitting .290 on the season. As for the Angels, their .261 batting average on the road ranks 7th out of all 30 MLB teams. Also, Baker’s last 14 starts for the Twins have resulted in just 4 unders! Look for another Twins game to go over the total for a 6th straight time as this match-up features two hurlers off of rough outings and it features two lineups that are among the tops in the league in terms of the Twins batting average at home and the Angels batting average on the road! Play OVER the total in Minnesota as an *8* Regular Play selection.
10* Los Angeles / Cincinnati Over
The Dodgers and Reds flew over the total last night as 13 runs were scored. That snapped a stretch for Los Angeles where they had stayed under in four straight games and gone 7-2-1 to the under in their last ten games. On a warm afternoon in Los Angeles, we expect another strong game for these two lineups today. The Dodgers pounded out four homers among their 12 hits last night. The Reds struck for five runs on nine hits and Cincinnati is averaging 11.4 hits per game over their last five games. As a road dog of +125 to +150, the Reds are 5-3 to the over this season and 28-19 to the over the last three seasons. Bronson Arroyo gets the start for Cincinnati today and the Reds have seen their games stay under the total with great regularity when he’s been taking to the mound. However, a start in Los Angeles could quickly change things. Arroyo is winless with a 5.82 ERA in his four career starts at Dodger Stadium. Overall, his teammates have lost eight of his ten career starts against Los Angeles. Arroyo, though he’s been pitching well recently, has match-up issues here as he’s facing a Dodgers lineup that will be loaded with hitters who have plenty of experience (and success) against him. Look for his struggles at Dodger Stadium to continue but his teammates should help him at the plate! That’s because the Reds are one of the top hitting teams in the league and we expect them to give Clayton Kershaw some trouble this afternoon.
The southpaw the Dodgers are sending to the mound this afternoon has been an “over machine” in Los Angeles games lately. Yes, his most recent start saw the game stay under the total as he dominated a Rockies team that he’s dominated in many recent meetings. However, prior to that the Dodgers were on a 9-4 run to the over in Kershaw’s starts. Much of that had to do with the fact that the left-hander has often been benefiting from great run support (as he should again today with Arroyo’s long-term struggles in LA resuming). Note that the Dodgers have averaged nearly 5 runs per game in Kershaw’s last 14 starts. Keep in mind, with a total of just 7 on this game, we need just 3 runs from each team to guarantee us of no worse than a push as a 3-3 game means nothing less than a 4-3 final. We look for both teams to do some damage at the plate on this warm afternoon in Los Angeles. Kershaw had allowed 10 earned runs in 21.2 innings spanning his last three starts before he shut down the Rockies in LA in his most recent start. Overall, prior to that outing, Kershaw had given up 38 hits in his last 38 innings of work. Certainly that is solid but it’s also far from being dominant and we like our chances with the league’s top ranked offense taking their cuts against the southpaw. Kershaw will face mostly right-handed sticks in the Reds lineup and he’s been hit at a clip that is 56 points higher against righties in comparison with lefties. Look for Cincy to load up on the right-hand side of the plate for this one as they add to a strong stretch at the plate that has seen them average 5.6 runs per game since early August. Play OVER the total in the Los Angeles Dodgers game as a *10* Top Play selection.
JR O'Donnell
2* SF 49ers -2.5
The Niners are the Anti public side as the Vikings stole one last outing vs the poor starting Rams, Fact is they are still banged up on the wide out front! The Vikings and Brett Farve will be the public ticket and the "Our" camp will back the Niners and the D. Carr Show, the Vegas Lines makers & Rz do have respect for the Niners & coach Singletary's winning attitude, Our power ratings have the Niners - 5.7 The addition of B. Westbrook in the Niners mix and the pure fact that the these Niners want to make the playoffs will put another "W" on our NFLX BELT!
Bob Akmen
10* Florida Marlins
10* Boston Red Sox
10* LA Dodgers
Dave Malinsky
4* SAN DIEGO/MILWAUKEE OVER
Runs have come early and often in this series so far – 27 all told, with no starting pitcher managing to even finish five innings, and three of the four starters failing to last four. That means some overworked bullpens need some time off this afternoon, but we are not convinced that Jon Garland or Manny Parra can supply that for them.
Garland helps to bring us a favorable price point because of the appearance of decent current form, but take a closer look – that 0.90 for his last three starts comes despite the fact that he issued 13 W’s on 20 IP, which means that he has been more lucky that good in this span, with 19 of 20 base-runners failing to score. That changes here against a lineup that brings good wood throughout, making it tough for a “pitch to contact” guy to survive, and as always we must note that impact that Petco Park has on Garland’s numbers, with a 5-6/4.09 on the road that is a better indicator of who he really is.
Meanwhile Parra is another of those lefties that are so fortunate they were born the way that they were – he has worked to a 5.94 over 242.1 innings the past two seasons, which would get a right-handed starter a release notice, and there just is not any sign of him developing the command to be a full-time starter at this level. If anything, the fact that 17 unearned runs do not show on those charts from the last two seasons makes his time on the tight rope even more precarious. In terms of aiding a tired bullpen Parra is no help at all, never going beyond the 6th inning, and only getting that far three times in 15 starts, and over his last two outings we have charted PPI’s of 19.9 and 20.0, with 18 base-runners over just 10.1 frames. Like Garland, he has rolled the dice well recently, with 15 of the 16 that did not hit a HR in those two games being stranded, but that only helps to bring us this favorable price point.
King Creole
3* REDS / DODGERS OVER
Major League Baseball's Top 'OVER' Umpire will be working behind the dish in Dodger Stadium on Sunday afternoon. ANGLE CAMPOS comes in with a 16-6 O/U record on the year... and he's been even HOTTER as of late. He's gone 7-1 O/U in his last 7 games... and a PERFECT 4-0 O/U in his last 4, with an average of 10.5 combined runs per game. He's also gone 10-3 O/U this year in All National League games. With the winds blowing OUT to Center Field today... and a LOW Over / Under line of 7 runs.... we'll take a BITE with the 'OVER'!
Beat Your Bookie
10* Play San Francisco (-2.5) over Minnesota (Top Play)
San Francisco is 6-2 SU in pre-season August Games the last 2 seasonsSan Francisco is 3-1 SU as a favorite in pre-season home games
10* Play Texas (-160) over Baltimore (POD)
Baltimore is 5-19 when batting .240 or worse over the last 10 gamesKevin Millwood is 0-7 when pitching in the 2nd half of the season this yearKevin Millwood is 2-13 this season with an ERA of 5.49
5* Play NY Mets (-165) over Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 5-18 after batting .225 or worse over the last 10 gamesPittsburgh is 18-45 as an underdog of +125 to +175 this seasonPittsburgh is 12-32 when playing on a Sunday the last 2 seasons
NSA
20* Vikings +3
20* Yanks -1.5
20* Braves -135
KIKI SPORTS
2 Units San Fran -2.5
1 Unit NY Mets -162
1 Unit Milwaukee +122
Teddy Covers
Nats/Phillies Over
Padres/Brewers Over