Jimmy Boyd
Washington Nationals -132
The Nationals are showing value at this price with Gio Gonzalez on the hill. The southpaw will be looking to make one last case for why he should bring home the NL Cy Young. He leads the majors with 20 wins and is 6th in the NL with a 2.84 ERA. The Nats have won 23 of his 31 starts overall and 13 of his 17 on the road.
Tyler Cloyd is a nice looking young pitcher, but he's not to Gio's level yet. He looked good his last time out but gave up 7 runs in 7 innings in his previous two starts to the lowly Rockies and Astros.
The Phillies are 2-7 in their last 9 games as a home underdog of +110 to +150 while the Nationals are 8-2 in their last 10 games as a road favorite of -110 to -150. Take Washington.
Dave Price
NY Yankees -130
The Yanks have won 9 of 11 while the Jays have dropped 8 of 10. The Yankees are 22-8 in Nova's last 30 road starts and 4-0 in his last 4 starts versus the Blue Jays. Nova hasn't allowed more than 3 runs in any of those 4 victories, and I expect him to shut down Toronto again here.
Scott Delaney
My free pick for Thursday night is going to be the playoff-bound Atlanta Braves on the Run Line, over the visiting Miami Marlins, as I look to improve upon my 12-5 complimentary streak.
Though the Braves already clinched their playoff berth two nights back, last night was a clear indicator they're not going to let off the gas pedal just yet and is clearly looking to cement the No. 1 Wild Card seed for the one-game playoff. Realistically, the Braves could very well play three straight home games to start the postseason, provided they win their one-game Wild Card playoff against, most likely, the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.
Oh, and did I mention that while everyone has the Braves locked and loaded on a Wild Card spot, they're still thinking about a division crown. They're four games back of the Washington Nationals in the National League East, and as they say in baseball - anything's possible.
Riding a four-game win streak into tonight, the surging Braves will take advantage of a lowly Marlins team that has lost six in a row.
And make note, the Braves have won 13 of the 17 meetings this season. Take them on the run line tonight.
3♦ ATLANTA -1.5
Jeff Benton
Winner for free last night on the Marlins-Braves Under the total.
That makes 5 straight freebie winners.
Your Thursday freebie is the Rays over the drooping White Sox.
It seems to happen every year in the closing week(s) of the season, and this season it is happening to the Chicago White Sox. I am talking about an epic collapse.
Chicago is now officially out of sole possession of first place in the Central for the first time in two months. The Pale Hose have lost seven of their last eight games and must now face a Tampa Bay team that is looking for some "deja vu".
The Rays are making another late-season charge - winners of seven in a row, Tampa does also play their final three at home against Baltimore, so it is very possible Tampa can find their way into the postseason once again.
First things first, and that is for James Shields who is 2-1 his last three starts with an ERA under 2, and 7-2 overall his last nine starts to take care of business against Jake Peavy.
Expect it to happen, as Peavy is a non-descript 1-2 with an ERA of 5.40 his last three starts.
I know Chicago has won all three series meetings this year, and four in a row overall versus Tampa Bay, but Robin Ventura's club is in a free-fall right now and they are most definitely a go-against.
Take Tampa Bay.
3♦ TAMPA BAY
Matt Rivers
Free play winner last night on the underdog Oakland A's.
Now 23-13 with my comp play selections.
Your Thursday night free play is the Under in the NFL game between Cleveland and Baltimore.
While the Ravens have shown some early offensive prowess this season - nearly 33 points per game through their first three games - the same cannot be said for their opponent tonight. Cleveland is only averaging 19 points per game through their first three games, two of the three landing Under the posted price.
The Browns are on an overall 11-6-1 Under run since last season, so playing this game Over the total appears to be a good way to lose some cash.
Both series meetings last year held Under the total, and five of the last six meetings overall between these AFC North foes have also played Under the total.
No sense in trying to play the hero and look for points where points are scarce to be found. Play the Browns and Ravens Under the posted price this Thursday night.
1♦ CLEVELAND-BALTIMORE UNDER
Harry Bondi
Cleveland +12 over Baltimore
Simply a bad spot for the Ravens to be laying this big of a number. Not only is the team 1-5 ATS the last six tries as a favorite of 10 or more points, but it is also coming off a "Super Bowl-like" win on Sunday night over the hated Patriots and now has to come back four days later and try to get "up" for the lowly Browns.
OC Dooley
Stanford / Washington Over 48
For a game from the normally high scoring Pac-12 conference we are looking at a relatively low spot that has dropped from the opening offshore figure of 49-and-a-half points. The sinking number comes as no personal shock as an ESPN collegiate audience at this exact time one week ago was put through an extremely low scoring 7-6 contest that was played at Boise State. Exactly one week ago the country got to see a depleted Boise State offense operating without a star quarterback that has since graduated. Of course we have a similar situation with Stanford who no longer has #1 overall NFL draft pick Andrew Luck leading their attack. The Cardinal still have a very strong defense which two weeks ago in a stunning upset of Southern California produced 2 interceptions and 4 sacks of elite signal caller Matt Barkley. The problem for the Stanford stop-unit is that they have had a full two weeks to think about that stellar performance and may not be ready for the schemes of aggressive Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian who at one time directed the offense of Southern California. My research indicates that Washington is 23-10 OVER the total long term when facing a quality defensive opponent who on average allows less than 4.6 yards per play. Both sides involved in this contest have been “under” teams but Washington averages a healthy 36 points per game at home, while Stanford is putting up 30 points per contest so far.