PlusLineSports
KC vs Minnesota
Minnesota -1.5
Matt Fargo
Chicago Cubs at St Louis Cardinals
Prediction: Chicago Cubs
The Cubs got a much needed win last night after blowing a 3-0 lead on Tuesday which was their eighth loss in the last nine games. This comes after a seven-game winning streak so it is obvious that this is just a short-term issue. The pitching is getting back in form with three straight good performances after a stretch of seven games of allowing an average of 6.4 rpg. While winning on the road was a problem early in the season, the Cubs are 15-4 in their last 19 road games.
After that big come from behind win on Tuesday, the Cardinals gave one back last night and it could be lights out as Houston has now taken over third place in the Wild Card standings. It has not been a great run as they have dropped seven of their last 11 games and while the pitching has been hot, the batting has not. St. Louis has averaged just 3.6 rpg over this 11-game stretch while hitting only .249. St. Louis has dropped 16 of the last 24 meetings in this series.
The Cubs pitching has been streaky of late but one pitcher who has not has been Rich Harden. He has been spectacular since coming over from Oakland as he is 4-1 with a 1.50 ERA in nine starts. The Cubs have gone 7-2 in those nine games including wins in six straight. Even with the recent team struggles, the Cubs gave Harden a skip in the rotation as to keep him fresh for the playoff drive and the playoffs themselves. He has allowed only two runs in three road starts.
Todd Wellemeyer has been pitching very well also with two straight quality starts but they cane after two straight non-quality outings. While he has not blown up much, he has been rather inconsistent, especially at home. He has a 4.75 ERA in 15 starts with only five of those outings being quality performances. His WHIP of 1.41 does not bode well against this offense either. He is coming off the biggest pitch count of his career last time out so his arm could have some dead effects. Play Chicago Cubs 1.5 Units
Frank Jordan
Chicago Cubs vs. St Louis Cardinals
Play: Chicago Cubs
Rich Harden is back and ready to go after missing a start as the Cubs and Cardinals finish up their series in St. Louis. In their game on Wednesday St. Louis got out to the 1-0 with a run in the bottom of the first but Chicago Cubs came back with 4 in the top of the second and help off the Cardinals in the ninth where they scored 2 to win 4-3. Rich Harden is 9-2 with an era under 2 and Todd Wellemeyer is 12-6 with an era under 3.75. Look for Harden to end this series with a win for the Cubs. Play Chicago Cubs
Texas Rangers vs. Oakland Athletics
Play:Oakland Athletics
With the LA Angels win and Texas' loss the AL West goes to the Angels. Texas and Oakland are now just finishing out the schedule and battling for second place bragging rights. Lok for Oakland's Dallas Braden to continue to pitch well in September. Play Oakland
Jeff Scott Sports
2 UNIT PLAY
North Carolina/ Rutgers Over 46
The Over is 15-7-1 in Tar Heels last 23 road games, while the Over is 9-1 in Scarlet Knights last 10 games following a bye week and 7-1-1 in Scarlet Knights last 9 vs. a team with a winning record. Last year Rutgers offense put up 33 ppg and with 7 starters back this year they figure to approach that number again, even with the loss of Ray Rice. The Offense, though, sputtered in the opening game with just 7 points, but a closer look shows that they did move the ball as they had 369 total yards of offense, including 263 yards through the air from QB Mike Teel. Turnovers did them in as they last 24-7. Expect a big bounce back game from Teel here as he will be taking on a Carolina defense thta allowed McNeese State to put up 391 yards and 27 points. Not really a good sign for a Carolina defense that returns 8 starters. On the other side of the ball, the Carolina offense returns 10 starters and they put up 35 points and 384 yards of offense in the opener. They should find enough holes in a rutgers defesne that allowed Fresno State to put up 24 points and 422 yards of offense. The last 5 years only 5 of Carolina's 28 road games have scored less than 46 points, with those 28 games averaging 57.2 ppg. In Rugtgers last 10 non-conference home games there has been an average of 47.8 rpg, including an average of 55.8 ppg last year. Both teams have had extra prep time for this one and I see that as a benefit to the offenses. Plenty of points in NJ tonight.
Jeff Benton
Thursday’s play comes from late-night West Coast baseball action, as we’ll back the Padres as a home underdog against San Francisco.
For one thing, I expect a big letdown from the Giants, who just pulled off a surprising sweep of the Diamondbacks at home, playing the role of spoiler to a T. Now they head south to San Diego to face the last-place Padres, so you have to expect a bit of a comedown.
Also, I like what I’ve seen so far out of Padres rookie right-hander Josh Greer. He went five innings in each of his fist two big-league starts, giving up two runs both times. After taming the Rockies at home (9-4 win) in his first start, Green went to Milwaukee on Friday and went toe-to-toe with CC Sabathia, though San Diego lost 3-2 in 11 innings. Well, if Greer can hold down those two lineups, he should be able to handle the Giants.
Finally, I can’t help but take this kind of plus money against San Francisco’s Matt Cain. No question, Cain has filthy stuff, but the dude cannot win on the road – the Giants are 8-22 in his last 30 starts outside of Frisco – and he cannot beat the Padres – the Giants have lost eight of Cain’s last nine starts against San Diego.
Throw in the fact that Cain comes into this contest off of two poor starts against the Reds and Pirates (nine runs, 18 hits allowed in 11 2/3 innings), and I’ll back San Diego in what essentially probably will amount to a battle of mostly minor-league lineups.
3♦ SAN DIEGO PADRES
Matt Rivers
For Thursday take the price back with the Pirates.
Sure we should lose this game but come on!?!?!? Roy Oswalt has certainly been a ton better of late than over the first four or so months of the season but I am still not 100% sold that the righty can continually dominate right now and will pay to make him do just that with a small play here. Oswalt just dazzled in that two hitter at Coors and could come back down to Earth a bit here and I would not be at all surprised.
Zack Duke is certainly inferior to Oswalt and fairly sketchy at times. He could struggle here against the red hot Astros but this price is still way too much!
No matter how great Houston has been of late they are still far from a great team that can be laying a number like this. Carlos Lee is out and the 'Stros still do not scare me as such a hefty chalk as they can fail against anybody at anytime. Obviously Lance Berkman is great and the home boys are definitely better than what the Pirates have to offer but this takeback is still way too much to pass up.
Hopefully Duke can keep this thing in range and we will take our chances late but if not it's still a no-brainer on this too big of a number!
The Gold Medal Club
N.Carolina vs Rutgers
PLAY: RUTGERS -5.5
Teams playing in front of a national television audience can do wonders for the betting edge, especially when they flop. We will gladly lay the points here, as the odds makers have low balled the Scarlet Knights.Rutgers offense struggled mightily in there opener with Fresno State, failing to put up any points in the first half despite having control of the ball in Fresno territory 4 times.We take note N.Carolina is 0-3 ats vs the Big East Conference during the last 3 years, while Rutgers is 9-2 ats home in non conference action during the last 3 years.
DUNKEL
Toronto at Chicago White Sox
The Blue Jays look to bounce back from their first loss of the month and build on their 16-14 record as a road underdog from +100 to +125. Toronto is the underdog pick (+105) according to Dunkel, which has the Blue Jays favored straight up by 1 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Toronto (+105). Here are all of today's games
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
Game 951-952: Milwaukee at Philadelphia
Dunkel Ratings: Milwaukee (Sheets) 14.345; Philadelphia (Moyer) 15.795
Dunkel Line: Philadelphia by 1 1/2; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: Milwaukee (-120); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (+110); Under
Game 953-954: Colorado at Atlanta
Dunkel Ratings: Colorado (Jimenez) 15.056; Atlanta (Jurrjens) 13.951
Dunkel Line: Colorado by 1; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Atlanta (-125); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Colorado (+115); Over
Game 955-956: Pittsburgh at Houston
Dunkel Ratings: Pittsburgh (Duke) 13.737; Houston (Oswalt) 16.306
Dunkel Line: Houston by 2 1/2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Houston (-300); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Houston (-300); Over
Game 957-958: Chicago Cubs at St. Louis
Dunkel Ratings: Chicago Cubs (Harden) 15.949; St. Louis (Wellemeyer) 14.607
Dunkel Line: Chicago Cubs by 1 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Chicago Cubs (-140); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Chicago Cubs (-140); Over
Game 959-960: San Francisco at San Diego
Dunkel Ratings: San Francisco (Cain) 15.822; San Diego (Geer) 14.124
Dunkel Line: San Francisco by 2; 7
Vegas Line: San Francisco (-140); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: San Francisco (-140); Under
Game 961-962: Kansas City at Minnesota
Dunkel Ratings: Kansas City (Duckworth) 13.673; Minnesota (Liriano) 15.494
Dunkel Line: Minnesota by 2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Minnesota (-275); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (-275); Over
Game 963-964: Cleveland at Baltimore
Dunkel Ratings: Cleveland (Jackson) 14.654; Baltimore (Bass) 13.460
Dunkel Line: Cleveland by 1; 10
Vegas Line: Baltimore (-115); 11
Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (+105); Under
Game 965-966: Toronto at Chicago White Sox
Dunkel Ratings: Toronto (Marcum) 17.098; White Sox (Floyd) 15.505
Dunkel Line: Toronto by 1 1/2; 10
Vegas Line: Chicago White Sox (-115); 9
Dunkel Pick: Toronto (+105); Over
Game 967-968: Seattle at LA Angels
Dunkel Ratings: Seattle (Morrow) 15.769; LA Angels (Weaver) 15.378
Dunkel Line: Seattle by 1/2; 9
Vegas Line: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A
Game 969-970: Texas at Oakland
Dunkel Ratings: Texas (Nippert) 17.132; Oakland (Braden) 15.061
Dunkel Line: Texas by 2; 10
Vegas Line: Oakland (-110); 9
Dunkel Pick: Texas (+100); Over
North Carolina at Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights try to bounce back from a Week 1 loss to Fresno State, but come into the game with just a 1-4 ATS record over the last three seasons as a favorite between 3 1/2 and 10 points. North Carolina is the underdog pick (+5 1/2) according to Dunkel, which has Rutgers favored by only 1. Dunkel Pick: North Carolina (+5 1/2).
Game 101-102: North Carolina at Rutgers
Dunkel Ratings: North Carolina 86.328; Rutgers 87.544
Dunkel Line: Rutgers by 1; 48
Vegas Line: Rutgers by 5 1/2; 43 1/2
Dunkel Pick: North Carolina (+5 1/2); Over
JB's Computer Picks
Atlanta Braves -130
Houston Astros - 300 * * *
Los Angeles Angels -150
Best Bet ***
Psychic Sports Picks
PSYCHIC
1 unit NC/Rut OVER 45.5
DA STICK
10 units Rutgers -5
Tony Matthews
Oakland A's -125
We will side with the Oakland Athletics as they face-off against the Texas Rangers in Thursday's MLB contest. The Texas Rangers will use starting pitcher Dustin Nippert. Dustin Nippert has struggled pitching this entire season. In fact, Dustin Nippert has a 6.59 ERA on the season. We see Dustin Nippert pitching another bad game today. The Oakland Athletics will use starting pitcher Dallas Braden. Dallas Braden has been pitching very well as of late. In fact, Dallas Braden has a 1.50 ERA in his last 3 starts. We see Dallas Braden pitching another great game today. To say the least, there is a lot of value with the Oakland Athletics tonight! Take the Oakland Athletics!
Jeff Alexander Sports
Chicago Cubs vs. St Louis Cardinals
Play: Over
There hasn't been much for offense in this series thus far, but I like both teams to slug it out tonight, shattering this small number in the process. The Over is an impressive 15-5 in the Cubs last 20 road games, 8-1 in the Cubs last 9 Thursday games, and 20-8 in the Cubs last 28 road games vs. a right-handed starter. The Over is 5-1 in Cardinals last 6 games vs. a starter with a WHIP less than 1.15 and 17-8-1 in the Cardinals last 26 games vs. a right-handed starter. Bet Over 7½ Runs tonight.
Drew Gordon
San Francisco -130 at SAN DIEGO
Got to like the Giants here behind Matt Cain, even if his last two starts were shaky, he gets just what the doctor ordered with a soft-hitting, struggling Padres club tonight. The fact the Giants have won 5 in a row, including a 3-game sweep of Arizona in their last series, proves they're still playing hard. While the Padres on the other hand, appear to have thrown in the towel and it'll show in tonight's match up.
Despite going 0-4 in his last 9 career starts against the Padres, Matt Cain has posted a rock-solid 2.88 ERA over that span, losing in large part to lack of run support as opposed to bad pitching. In his last start at Petco, he limited the Friars to 1 run on 5 hits over 7 strong innings, striking out 7, back on April 23rd, and I expect more of the same tonight. Note, the Padres average 4.0 runs per game against righties at Petco, batting just .249 in the process!
Speaking of run support, look for the suddenly surging Giants to get plenty of oppurtunities against Josh Greer, making his 3rd Major League start tonight. While he's shown promise, his high pitch counts and penchant for walks do not bode well in this match up, especially with Giants crushing righties of late, batting a blistering .326 against them over their last 10 games! Greer is catching this Giants team at the wrong time, as they build off their 3-game sweep of the D-Backs to add another "W" tonight!
Bottom line, Cain finally gets rewarded for his consistently strong efforts against the Padres tonight, getting the support he needs, while he locks down a sputtering Padres offense that's counting down the days until seasons end. Giants extend their winning streak behind one of their best late Thursday at Petco!
Take San Francisco behind Cain over San Diego and Greer in late MLB action.
3♦ SAN FRANCISCO
SportsKingz
MLB
WHITESOX -120
CFB
N.CAROLINA/RUTGERS OVER 46
Tom Freese
Chicago at St. Louis
Chicago is 6-0 in the last 6 starts made by Rich Harden and they are 10-4 their last 14 road games vs. righty starters. The Cubs are 15-4 their last 19 road games and they are 9-3 in Game 3 of a series. St. Louis is 3-7 in the last 10 starts made by Todd Wellemeyer and they are 2-9 their last 11 Thursday games. The Red Birds are at a disadvantage here as they have never faced the Cubs Rich Harden. PLAY ON CHICAGO