Jeff Alexander
Minnesota Twins -131
I'll fade the White Sox here on the road where they are 20-47 in their last 67. They are even 1-9 in their last 10 road games versus clubs with a losing home record. The Twins are 10-4 in their last 14 as a home chalk and 6-1 in their last 7 versus clubs with a winning percentage below .400. Mike Pelfrey isn't having a good season, but he's more proven than Andre Rienzo and he's been pretty good of late at home where the Twins have won 4 of his last 5 starts. Minnesota has won 6 of its last 7 against the South Siders.
Dave Price
Toronto Blue Jays +115
Toronto has the edge on the mound with veteran southpaw Mark Buehrle. He's been rock solid at home where he has a 3.09 ERA. The Blue Jays are 4-0 in his last 4 starts and 7-1 in his last 8 home starts. Lefties have given Boston trouble of late. It is just 2-5 in its last 7 games versus left-handed starters and 1-4 in its last 5 road games versus a southpaw starter. Boston's Jake Peavy has struggled on the road where he has a 6.65 ERA. His clubs have dropped 5 of 8 road starts this season. Take Toronto.
Brett Atkins
My free play for tonight is on the Minnesota Twins over the Chicago White Sox, and I want you listing both pitchers in this game, as I see Mike Pelfrey getting revenge on the South Siders and Andre Rienzo.
See, Pelfrey is facing the White Sox for the second straight start after he was roughed up in five-plus innings last Saturday in Chicago. He walked five and never really found a rhythm in the game. Now he's back at home, on his own mound, and should be able to resurface for this teammates.
Rienzo wasn't necessarily sharp in his trip to the hill on Saturday, as he walked five over 5-1/3 innings while throwing 112 pitches. Rienzo has three no-decisions in three starts, and doesn't look like he's going to get his first win today.
5♦ MINNESOTA
Scott Delaney
My free winner for tonight is on the San Diego Padres against the New York Mets, who stumble into this one on a three-game losing streak and off a disheartening loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers last night in L.A.
The Mets opened their 11-game road trip by winning two of three from the Diamondbacks in Arizona. Then they headed to Los Angeles, where they watched leads in all three contests dwindle away against the red-hot Dodgers.
Though I know San Diego has lost three straight series since taking two of three from the New York Yankees to start this month, and while I realize the Padres have lost four of their last six games, this is a great spot for them to step up and take advantage of what will be a travel-weary Mets team.
3♦ SAN DIEGO
Joe Duffy
Philadelphia Eagles -3
With the Eagles “new era” debut last week less than stellar, look for them to have a lot more of a sense of urgency this week. They are likely to play their starters through the first half.
Carolina head coach Ron Rivera admitted he had to do extra game preparation this week. Oh if he did so to simulate regular season against a traditional scheme, that would be a plus. But he admitted it so his defense is not overwhelmed by the Eagles hurry up offense. And with Philadelphia’s top two QBs having different skill sets, That makes it tougher to prepare for anything beyond the pace.
They big key is he said he’s not preparing for what Philadelphia will do, just the tempo. So it will still be a vanilla offense, just playing out of their comfort zone. Philadelphia ran 86 offensive plays in a 31-22 loss to New England last week in its preseason opener. The NFL average was 64.2 plays a game last season.
Also, on offense they are facing a 3-4 after practicing against a 4-3. So Philadelphia has an edge on both sides. Philadelphia has allowed seven safeties to practice against the first team, so they will slow down the Panthers enough even though Carolina will have a ton of snaps. They will get points, but not as well on points per possession.
RB LeSean McCoy and CB Williams are expected to play tonight after missing last week. Philadelphia wins by two scores and covers.