Randall the Handle
WASHINGTON +1.12 over Philadelphia (1st 5 innings)
The Phillies are the world champs, they’re warming up, they’re loaded with talent and they’ll send the ever-reliable and crafty Jamie Moyer to the hill. The Nationals are 0-6, they can’t get anyone out and have allowed at least five runs or more in every loss. The Phillies opened as a very small favorite and they’ve been taking money since. We’ve seen a similar situation a few times already this year where the books are begging you to play the obvious. Specifically, the Giants over San Diego yesterday; Minnesota with Liriano going over the White Sox and a couple of others too. So, while the Phillies look very appealing indeed, so did the aforementioned others and I’m going to be paying a lot more attention to these types of games. Play: Washington in the first five innings +1.12 (Risking 2 units).
TAMPA BAY -½ +1.07 over NY Yankees (1st 5 innings)
The bYankls were really not impressive at all in their first two series against two of the weaker pitching staffs in the AL. In six games they faced one proven starter, Gil Meche and really only had success against two others and that was Alfredo Simon of the Orioles and Horacio Ramirez of the Royals. Most of the Yanks runs came when the starters were long gone. Scott Kazmir has all ability to be one of the premier starters in the game. He was very sharp in Boston to open the year, allowing one run in six innings and his slider was deadly. Kazmir went past the sixth inning just six times in 27 starts last season, thus the reason for the five-inning wager. Chien-Ming Wang has been getting progressively worse with each passing month over the past couple of years. He was brutal in his opener against the O’s, allowing nine hits and seven runs in just 3.2 frames. He didn’t strike out a single batter, walked three and if you think that was just a bad start, it happens, you’re wrong. Wang has never really been that impressive and now he’s lost both “it” and his confidence. Play: Tampa Bay in the first five innings -½ +1.02 (Risking 2 units)
