Brad Wilton
Thursday night comp play selection is the A's and Angels to stay Under the total with Gray and Wilson toeing the slab.
First place showdown the next four nights between Oakland and Los Angeles, and I like the pitching to be front-and-center tonight with Sonny Gray ending his 4 game losing streak his last time out - against the Halos no less - as Gray worked 8-plus innings with 3 runs surrendered.
C.J. Wilson counetrs for L.A., and Wilson did not receive a decision his last start against Oakland, but has a 1.96 ERA for his last 3 starts this year.
I like the pitching to dominate tonight, and for game one of this long four game set to hold Under the total in Anaheim.
4♦ OAKLAND-L.A. ANGELS UNDER
Rocketman
Tulane vs. Tulsa
Play: Tulsa -6.5
The Tulane Green Wave travel to Tulsa to take on the Golden Hurricane on Thursday night. Tulsa is 8-1 ATS since 1992 overall vs Tulane including 4-0 ATS ast home. Tulane is 1-6 ATS last 7 games when playing on a weekday. Favorite is 8-1 ATS last 9 meetings overall in this series. Tulsa returns 15 starters from last years squad including 10 on defense which should be much better after a year of playing together. The last 3 times Tulsa had a losing record they bounced back the following season going 10-3, 9-4, 8-5 and 25-11-1 ATS combined. We'll recommend a small play on Tulsa tonight!
OC Dooley
Athletics / Angels Over 7.5
Due to a solid statistical pitching matchup between Sonny Gray and the suddenly red hot C.J. Wilson, the oddsmakers have low-balled tonight’s total for which I am taking advantage. To make a long story short the Oakland offense has struggled ever since the trade deadline which saw slugger and Homerun Derby two-time champion Yeonis Cespedes move to an eastern time zone address. Just last night in a game played in Houston the offense of the Athletics was having another difficult time in the seventh inning of what was then a 1-1 tie, but the team did end up winning a 5-4 final verdict as they put DOUBLE DIGITS in the hit column. Oakland survived last night even though a bullpen now operating without injured Sean Doolittle surrendered a run and multiple runners on base in the bottom of the ninth frame. Much to my personal chagrin the Angels last night despite crossing the plate SIX different times stayed below the posted spot which to me was an aberration. For the first time since being acquired from the White Sox in a trade, former #1 draft pick Gordan Beckham swatted a homerun while the suddenly hot veteran Josh Hamilton went 2-for-4 at the dish while driving in a run. The big news for the Halos offense last night was MVP candidate Mike Trout (2-for-3 with two runs batted in) who nailed homerun #30 on the campaign. He is now on a short list of just FOUR other players in major league history with a pair of “30 homer” seasons by 22 years of age. In the last six games alone Trout is hitting at a vicious .375 clip at the plate with 4 homers and 4 different “multi hit” efforts along the way