Scott Spreitzer
Cleveland Browns vs. Detroit Lions
Play: Cleveland Browns +1
We don't expect to see much from the Detroit regulars on Saturday night. But the Browns are a different story from all indications. Now only will the very capable Brian Hoyer get the starting nod, but Johnny Manziel will see action with starters. When we get to the later stages of this game, we'll take Tyler Thigpen entering his 7th season in the NFL over the final two Detroit signal callers. The Lions will unveil their new-look offense, utilizing more 2-RB sets, more multiple formations, and quicker play-calling at the line of scrimmage tonight. The offense will resemble what New Orleans runs, somewhat. But this is week-one of the preseason and Jim Caldwell says his starters will play just one or two series. With Cleveland keeping their starters in the game for a longer period of time to give Manziel a chance to show what he's learned, the Browns own the advantage. And in early preseason play, I want a QB who can move the chains with his legs, especially young QBs who may not have the playbook down as of yet. "Johnny Football" certainly has the ability to create. I'm recommending a play on the Browns on Saturday.
Steve Rosen
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Play: Los Angeles Dodgers -140
I rarely lay -140 but when I feel so strong about it I am willing too. Greinke was brilliant at Miller Park when he was with the Brewers, posting a 15-0 record on that mound across parts of two seasons. He is a stud pitcher and best part yet is we are taking the Dodgers not just for him but because he is going up against Fiers. Fiers is being recalled to take over the rotation spot vacated by Matt Garza, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique. Fiers last pitched in the majors on June 24 against Washington, going four innings in relief while allowing two runs and four hits. The 29-year-old made 22 starts for the Brewers in 2012 and three in 2013, posting a 9-13 record with a 4.46 ERA in that role. I expect a huge revenge game for LA and they will put a crushing on Fiers.
Jeff Clement
St Louis Cardinals vs. Baltimore Orioles
Play: St Louis Cardinals -113
The Cardinals are 4-1 last 5 games following a loss and are 4-1 last 5 meetings with Baltimore. Baltimore is 0-6 last 6 Jimenez home starts as an underdog. Lackey is 14-7 with an ERA of 3.70 in his career against the Orioles.
MLB Predictions
Seattle Mariners -1.5 +135
The Mariners have won 4 straight games and 6 of their last 8 overall. They are 61-54 on the season and 30-31 at home. The White Sox have dropped 4 straight and 6 of their last 7 games overall to fall to 55-62 on the year and 26-34 on the road. This series started on Thursday night and so far the Mariners have won the first two games by a combined score of 17-4. The White Sox have scored just 5 runs over their last 4 games. Hector Noesi will be on the mound for Chicago and he is 6-8 with a 4.97 ERA, .271 OBA and 1.45 WHIP. On the road he is 2-4 with a 5.36 ERA, and although he had a good start his last time out, he had a 5.50 ERA in July. James Paxton will take the mound for the Mariners and the southpaw is 2-0 with a 2.76 ERA over his first 3 starts. So far batters are hitting just .175 against him. Note that the White Sox are just 9-23 in their last 32 road games vs a left handed starter, and 1-4 in Noesi's last 5 road starts. The Mariners are 5-2 in their last 7 games vs a starter with a WHIP greater than 1.30, 4-1 in their last 5 as a home favorite, and 4-0 in Paxton's last 4 starts. Seattle is also 4-1 in their last 5 home meetings vs the White Sox. Look for the Mariners to continue to roll tonight - I'm taking them by 2 or more at a nice +135 price.
Indians / Yankees Under 7.5
I have featured Corey Kluber numerous times recently and for good reason. I don't feel as if his success this season has been a fluke. He knows that if he can keep this up and carry it into next season a big pay increase will be on the horizon. He's been great against some really good offenses, such as the Tigers and Blue Jays, so Kluber has earned every bit of what he's accomplished. He enters this afternoon with a 2.55 ERA, which equals his ERA on the road, 2.55. His latest starts are dazzling and showcase why he is the hottest pitcher in the majors today. In Kluber's last three starts he has pitched for a 0.36 ERA, 0.51 WHIP, and .149 OBP. After handicapping all season long, I think that is the best stretch of numbers I have come across without a doubt. Brandon McCarthy since coming over from the Diamondbacks has made himself feel right at home quickly in Yankee Stadium. In five starts with the Yanks he's given up 1, 1, 1, 4 and no runs. All of his quality starts coming at home. He has a perfect 3-0 record in New York and averaging just over a run per game with an ERA of 1.02. Interesting pitching matchup here that has two of the hottest pitchers in the majors dueling off. McCarthy's first start as a Yankee was against the Indians, where he held them to only 1 run. With statistics on our side I'll be taking the UNDER 7.5 for early Saturday afternoon.
Harry Bondi
CLEVELAND (+1) over Detroit
Coming off a preseason winner last night on the Bills, tonight we'll go against the Lions and their new head coach Jim Caldwell. We were excited when Detroit made this hire because it will present some golden opportunities to go against Caldwell, who is a horrible head coach and someone we have made big money going against dating way back to when he was walking the sidelines at Wake Forest. In his time as the head man with the Colts, Caldwell was a dismal 2-10 in the preseason, so that gives you an idea of how much he cares about games in August. Starting QB Matthew Stafford will get very few reps tonight and the cupboard of talent behind him is bare, with guys like Dan Orlovsky, Kellen Moore and undrafted rookie James Franklin. Compare that to the Browns' QB rotation that will feature Brian Hoyer and Johnny Manziel, battling for the starting job, followed by Tyler Thigpen, who while not very talented has 11 NFL starts to his credit. Caldwell tanks again. Take the Brownies.
Bob Balfe
Houston Texans +2
We are talking about a Houston team that was a front runner to win the super bowl that totally fell apart right before our eyes last year. This team has not won a game in sometime and it might be a preseason game, but they are playing to win more than other teams. You have to get the confidence back in this young team. Take Houston
Arizona Diamondbacks -105
Colorado was built for their home park, but outside of it this team rarely ever wins games. Cahill has had a rough season and is looking to pick up his first win of the year and is the fresher pitcher with less innings thrown. The Rockies are always a good team to bet against on the road. Take Arizona.
Dave Price
Los Angeles Dodgers -138
The Dodgers have the edge on the mound with Greinke, who went 16-0 in 25 home outings at Miller Park as a member of the Brewers from 2011-12. He's 12-7 with a 2.71 ERA in 23 starts this season and has tightened things up with a 1.64 ERA over his last three starts. The Dodgers are on a 22-6 run when Greinke gets the ball on four days' rest. I fully expect him to outduel Fiers, who hasn't started in the bigs in over a year. The Brewers are 0-5 in his last five starts. The Dodgers are an impressive 25-10 this season as a road favorite of -110 or higher.
Andrew Lange
San Diego at Pittsburgh
Play: Pittsburgh -160
After a rough start following a stint on the DL, Pittsburgh's Francisco Liriano has been absolutely dominant. His velocity is up and the arm action on his changeup is as good as I have ever seen it. Over his last four starts, Liriano sports a 1.44 ERA, 29-7 K-to-BB ratio, and 51 swinging strikes. Bottom line is he's a completely different pitcher than he was two months ago when his ERA was hovering around 4.50. San Diego's Eric Stults too has seen a slight uptick in velocity and thus performance but his margin for error continues to be small away from Petco Park. Stults' road ERA showed 5.78 and while PNC is favorable for lefties, the Pirates should be able to plate a fair amount of runs. While Arizona and Colorado have quit on their respective seasons, San Diego continues to fight (52-62, -23 run diff). However, the Pirates own a lot of advantages tonight including the most important one, starting pitcher. That makes laying the mid-sized price worth it.
Jeff Alexander
Arizona D-backs +100
The Rockies are a brutal 17-46 in their last 63 overall and 26-63 in their last 89 on the road. They've dropped 4 of De La Rosa's last 5 road starts, which comes as little surprise given his 5.29 season ERA on the road. Additionally, Colorado is 0-6 lifetime in De La Rosa's road starts versus the D-backs. The Rockies have lost five straight in the series and are 17-39 in the last 56 meetings in Arizona. Cahill is yet to pick up a win this season but was very sharp last time out and has been good 4 of the last 5 times he's faced the Rockies.
Jeff Benton
Your Saturday freebie is the Under in the Indians-Yankees matinee from the Bronx.
The Yankees have been getting the job done lately with some outstanding starting pitching, and Brandon McCarthy has been the main cog in New York's staff since coming over from Arizona.
Last night was a rare Over for New York, but they have still held Under the total in 4 of their last 5, and 6 of their last 9 overall.
Expect another low-scoring Yankees game on Saturday afternoon, as McCarthy makes his 6th start for New York and looks to improve on his 4-0 mark with a 2.09 ERA. His lone no-decision came back on July 9th against the Indians, as he allowed 4 runs, but ONLY 1 of them earned in his 6-plus innings worked.
Corey Kluber will get the nod for the Indians, and he is 2-0 with a 0.36 ERA in his last 3 starts, and has allowed 2 earned runs or less in 4 straight starts, and 9 of his last 10 assignments overall.
The Under is 7-3 the last 10 times Kluber has made the start.
Pitcher's duel here, Indians and Yankees Under the total.
3* CLEVELAND-N.Y. YANKEES UNDER
Brad Wilton
My natural inclination during the preseason - especially in the early going - is to look Under the total in these exhibition games.
Last Sunday, the Giants won a 17-13 Hall-of-Fame Game meeting against the Bills in a game that held Under the total.
Thursday night saw the Under go 5-1 in the 6 opening preseason games for teams in action, and that was followed by a 6 game split (3-3) in the Friday night games that were contested.
That makes a 9-4 Under mark thus far in the preseason.
You detecting the trend here?
With the Giants playing their second game in less than a week, cannot expect Big Blue to go "all out" to score points. You couple that with the fact the Steelers are 7-1 Under the total in their first preseason game the past 8 years, and I think we are staring at another Under in the preseason here on Saturday.
Giants-Steelers Under the total.
2* N.Y. GIANTS-PITTSBURGH UNDER
Gabriel DuPont
I like the New York Yankees, who have won three straight, over the Cleveland Indians, who have lost four in a row.
The SMART INTANGIBLE with the Yankees - Brandon McCarthy. The right-hander is unbeaten in five starts since arriving from Phoenix to join the Yankees.
The SMART INTANGIBLE working against the Indians - Getting scalped. The Tribe isn't just losing right now. It hasn't just lost four straight, it's gotten crushed. Cleveland has lost four straight by a combined tally of 31-11.
In conclusion, why New York is my SMART PLAY in this game - McCarthy is in after limiting the Tigers to one unearned run over 5-2/3 innings his last time out, and now he revisits his first Yankees start, which came in Cleveland on July 9, when he stifled the Indians to just one earned run over 6-2/3 innings.
I'd be remiss - or called on the carpet - if I didn't mention Corey Kluber, Cleveland's starter who is 3-0 with a 0.79 ERA, 35 strikeouts and three walks in his last four starts. But here's the thing, that's why I'm not insisting on listed pitchers in this one, because I don't care much and am not necessarily pinning my hopes on one guy - it's more about the streaks these teams are on.
5* N.Y. YANKEES
Chris Jordan
My free winner tonight is on the Oakland Athletics over the Minnesota Twins, and because of the large price, I want you laying the run line.
MAKE NOTE: All Run Line/Total plays automatically list pitchers with the starters who are scheduled to go at the time of the wager. But with this game I am not concerned with who goes for either team tonight and want you playing this game on the Run Line regardless. That being said, IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to be sure you have action even if one of the pitchers scheduled to start is scratched, by re-wagering the game if that takes place.
Minnesota has lost three straight and is sitting in the basement of the American League Central division, while it's also 26-33 on the road. The Twins lost last night, 6-5, in Oaktown, and might be deflated after their comeback fell short last night. They were trailing 6-0, scored five in the top of the seventh then fell flat.
The A's are simply too good - from offense, to starting pitching, to the bullpen - and just might be the best team in baseball as we speak. And I say that in terms of playing, albeit Oakland is proving it with the best record in the league. The A's have the best home mark in the bigs as well.
After last night's close one, tonight will be a blowout.
5* OAKLAND -1.5
Scott Delaney
My free play for Saturday is on the Kansas City Royals against the San Francisco Giants, who are in big trouble on this road trip.
Talk about being in trouble, the Giants have lost two straight and three of four. And while one might argue they've won five of nine, they've also lost 10 of 15 since July 24. San Fran has been a decent road team this season, but during this road trip, they've lost five of eight.
Kansas City, meanwhile, is in second place in the American League Central, just 2.5 games back of the Detroit Tigers, but it's the Royals who look like the team to beat. They've won eight of 10 and have most certainly surged back into the division race.
I like the Royals here, as they will make it six straight victories.
3* KANSAS CITY
Brad Wilton
My natural inclination during the preseason - especially in the early going - is to look Under the total in these exhibition games.
Last Sunday, the Giants won a 17-13 Hall-of-Fame Game meeting against the Bills in a game that held Under the total.
Thursday night saw the Under go 5-1 in the 6 opening preseason games for teams in action, and that was followed by a 6 game split (3-3) in the Friday night games that were contested.
That makes a 9-4 Under mark thus far in the preseason.
You detecting the trend here?
With the Giants playing their second game in less than a week, cannot expect Big Blue to go "all out" to score points. You couple that with the fact the Steelers are 7-1 Under the total in their first preseason game the past 8 years, and I think we are staring at another Under in the preseason here on Saturday.
Giants-Steelers Under the total.
2♦ N.Y. GIANTS-PITTSBURGH UNDER