YESTERDAY'S RECAP:
SO close to a terrific day yesterday, as the Dodgers and Devil Rays both blew terrific opportunities as underdogs of +200 or more... the end result was a 4-5 day which saw us drop 3 Units... two afternoon MLB posted below, with several more evening plays to come!
4/2 AFTERNOON MLB:
Texas @ Anaheim 4:05 PM EST
Anaheim -165 over White Sox (4 Units)
The Angels quickly got back on track last night with a 10-0 victory over the Rangers, and look to make it two straight games when "Little Pedro" takes the mound against John Thomson... based on spring training stats alone, this should be a breeze for the Angels, as Ramon Ortiz finished up his preseason with a 2.59 ERA in 24.1 innings (with a 20/8 K-to-BB ratio), while Thomson struggled in his new habitat, ending his first spring training with the Rangers with a 6.86 ERA in 19.2 innings of work (and a 13/8 K-to-BB ratio)...
Considering that the Angels are now 7-2 in home games against the Rangers after last night's win, and are a perfect 5-0 at home against Texas in Ortiz starts, the foundation looks to be pretty solid for yet another Anaheim win this afternoon... with the departure of Ivan Rodriguez from the Texas lineup this season, Ortiz gets another break in this contest, as the only player on the Rangers with a career average of over .250 against Ortiz happens to be Alex Rodriguez... and while ARod has hit five home runs against Ortiz throughout his career, they have all been solo shots... with the rest of the Rangers batting a career .166 in 145 at-bats against Ramon, we have a difficult time seeing anoyone else doing any damage against the Angels' fireballer....
Having umpire Doug Eddings behind home plate should also help provide a winning assist to the Angels, as Eddings has been consistently in favor of heavy home favorites... home favorites of 165 or more are now an exceptional 6-1 the past two seasons with Eddings calling the balls and strikes, and home favs of 145 or more are 17-8 since the start of the 2000 season, and 23-11 since 1997 with Eddings serving as home plate ump...
Eddings has favored the home team in eight of his last ten games, and considering each team's offensive output with Eddings behind the plate (Anaheim has scored 4+ runs in each of their last six games, and an average of 5.5 per game, while Texas is averaging just 3.1 runs per game in their last seven), odds are that the Angels will come out on the winning end of this contest as well... take the Angels and lay the number, as Ramon Ortiz carries over his strong spring to the regular season, and Anaheim outscores the Rangers once again...
FINAL PREDICTION: ANAHEIM 7, TEXAS 3
White Sox @ Kansas City 2:05 PM EST
Kansas City/White Sox Under 9.5 (3 Units)
no analysis.
Good Luck on the Anaheim play. I am choosing to lay the wood with the W Sox this afternoon. I have a system, and I rarely back a fav, coming off a win as a fav (both -130 or more)therefore I will pass on Anaheim today.
Also Chi Sox coming off a loss, with their ace (Colon) going to hill against punchless KC. I like the revenge minded WSox to get things rolling today.
Thanks again for the great write-ups. You are a valuable asset to this forum!