Chris Jordan
Let's get to that free winner now, as I like the New York Yankees in their series-opener against their arch rivals, the Boston Red Sox. Straight action, no listed pitchers, as I love the Yankees to make good after yesterday's loss to the Rangers.
The Yankees had their three-game win streak snapped yesterday, and it was quite painful to watch. But this is the right time to jump on board and play them out til they lose again.
I've always liked the home team with momentum in a heated series. And I think the Red Sox are in deep trouble right now against the surging Yankees, who have won seven of 10. And make note, the last time the Red Sox came to 161st Street, the Yankees scored a 10-3 win in the series-opener.
The Sox are 5-10 in August and 3-4 on their 10-game road trip, and come in with the added baggage of having off-field distractions surrounding manager Bobby Valentine.
That just doesn't bode well against a Yankees (70-48) team that is 22 games above .500 and now just one game shy of their high-water mark for the season.
Lay the chalk.
2♦ N.Y. YANKEES
Matt Rivers
Your Friday night free play comes in preseason football, as I take the underdog Buffalo Bills plus a few points in Minnesota tonight.
Both teams were held to just 6-points last week in the preseason lid-lifters, as both teams landed on the wrong side of the win/loss column.
You know as well a I that preseason football is a crapshoot once the starters exit, but I also know that the quarterback rotation of Ryan Fitzpatrick, Vince Young, and Tyler Thigpen is definitely the more experienced of the pair of signal-calling units on the field in this one.
Second year QB Christian Ponder is still a far cry from where the Vikings' brass wants him to be, and with Joe Webb and some guy named McLeod Bethel-Thompson backing up Ponder, it is easy to see why the Vikes could only come up with a pair of field goals, and 126 total yards passing last week at San Francisco.
Granted, Buffalo did not show much better last week in their 7-6 home loss to Washington, but the Bills defense is definitely a stop unit that is capable of winning this game for the visitors this Friday night.
Go with the Bills plus the points as I can see them winning this one outright.
2♦ BUFFALO
WUNDERDOG
Pittsburgh at St. Louis
Pick: St. Louis -155
The Pittsburgh Pirates are beginning to show signs of the pressures of a long season. This is a team that has not contended for decades, and is showing some nerves now. The Pirates once led the NL Central, but are just 7-11 in their last 18 games, and have a losing record on the road. The Cardinals are in a battle with the Pirates and others for a wildcard spot. They have shown the ability to perform under pressure, as witnessed last year in the World Series. The Cardinals are 17-9 in their last 26 games and appear to be making their move now. James McDonald has really fallen apart for the Pirates, allowing 26 earned runs in his last five starts. The Pirates are just a dismal 43-105 in their last 148 on the road vs. a winning team, and just 7-15 here in their last 22. Play on St. Louis.
Rocketman
Jacksonville @ New Orleans
Play: Jacksonville +6.5
The Jacksonville Jaguars travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints in Week two NFL Preseason action. Jacksonville is off a win in their first game as they won 32-31 over the NY Giants. This is the Saints third game of the NFL Preseason as they beat Arizona 17-10 in the opening Hall of Fame Game but they lost this past week to New England. Jacksonville is 10-3 ATS since 1993 as an underdog of 3 1/2 to 9 1/2 points in the preseason. New Orleans is 3-11 ATS since 1993 as a favorite of 3 1/2 to 9 1/2 points in preseason action. New Orleans is 2-10 ATS since 1993 as a home favorite of 3 1/2 to 7 points. New Orleans is scoring only 11 1/2 points overall in their two preseason games this year. Jacksonville is 18-9 ATS last 27 games as an underdog in the preseason. With the Saints offensive output not very good so far this year, Jacksonville should stay within the number here tonight and don't be surprised if they win outright. We'll recommend a small play on Jacksonville tonight!
Andre Gomes
Cincinnati Reds -139
The Reds are coming from a home loss against the Mets, where their batters were completely dominated by rookie SP Harvey. They will start this series by facing SP Wood, who is in fact a former player of the Reds. He is 0-5 since the All-Star break, even though he has just allowed five runs and thirteen hits in 18 innings over his last three starts. Wood's last outing was also against Cincinnati and in a pitching duel against Arroyo. He had a good performance, but the Cubs bullpen blew a 2-1 lead after he left the game. Now in a rematch this time in Cincinnati, on a much hitter-friendly park than the Wrigley Field, I believe Wood will have a lot more problems in handling the Reds offense. Wood is a flyball pitcher and with the wind helping the hitters tonight, the Cubs' SP will be in big danger in the park that is the second park seeing more homeruns in the league this season. He is terrible against RH bitters (.247 BA, .500 SLG, 5.86 FIP and 5.10 xFIP) and the Reds know that, as they will use a lineup with eight RH batters! Therefore, this should really be very tough night for Wood.
Cincinnati will use Arroyo as their SP tonight and he has been alternating good outings with poor ones. His last start was also in that game against the Cubs where Wood was the home team's SP and he only allowed two runs in that game. Arroyo struggles a bit against LH batters (4.68 FIP), while he is clearly better against RH batters (3.59 FIP). However, the Cubs don't usually give him problems, as their roster in 125 AB against him have hit just .216 BA! The Cubs are likely to insert a good number of LH batters once again tonight like they did last week, however only DeJesus has been in good form this month, while Rizzo is clearly struggling. Therefore, I don't expect Arroyo to heavily struggle tonight, but even if he struggles, the Reds have their great bullpen to save the situation.
With I expecting Wood to struggle a lot tonight and with the Cubs not being able to cause a lot of problems to Arroyo, I believe Cincinnati will bounce back from yesterday's loss to the Mets with a comfortable win today. Therefore, I'll take the Reds tonight.