Fri, 09/19/08 - 8:05 PMAndre Gomes | MLB Total
double-dime bet976 TEX / 975 ANA Under 11 Bookmaker
Analysis: Divisional game between the Angels and the Rangers, but this doesn't mean much right now, as the Angels are miles in front of the Rangers right now. This game has a line of 11 runs, being the highest line of the day! However I think we are in presence of a game which will have few runs scored, with the under being a good option in here. The Angels have their fate solved: postseason! That's something what gives some tranquility to the team. However there is an important aspect, which can't be forgotten. The team has 5 good starting pitchers, with great records, but the rotation will just have 4 pitchers in the postseason. This means someone will be out of the rotation and neither of their pitchers will take it easy in the next 10 days.
Today it will be Jon Garland who will start and he is coming from a slump of 4 games, where he allowed 5 runs in each game. However he bounced back in the following two games, which can be explained what I've mentioned previously. After those four non-quality starts in a row, he allowed just 2 and 1 run in those two outings against the Mariners and the Yankees, showing that he is once again at a good level. He has faced the Rangers twice this season and he had poor outings by allowing 5 and 7 runs, however he was on his worst part of the season when he had those two non-quality outings and today I expect him to be much better.
On the other side, the Rangers will send the southpaw rookie Matt Harrison, who is coming from a tremendous quality start on his last outing against the A's, where he had a shutout in a complete game, allowing just 5 hits in the process! In normal conditions, I wouldn't like this spot, after all it's not everyday we see a rookie pitching a complete game and then having to face the best team of the AL in his following start. In this simple scenario, a letdown was likely to happen. Harrison had a natural very high count pitches with 118, however he had 6 days off to rest, which is much different than having just 4 days for example. He has already faced the Angels this season and he had a stellar performance, allowing just 2 runs in 7 IP.
The Angels hasn't been capable of being powerful on the offense and the truth is that they are 16-5-1 in their last 22 road games vs LHP. Today the spot for them doesn't seem to be great. The line is pointing for a game where necessarily the pitchers would need to have terrible performances and I think the opposite will happen, so the under is a great option, as don't forget the Angels are 4-1 Under in their last 5 games following a win. Take the under in here. Double Dime Pick.
Fri, 09/19/08 - 8:05 PMAndre Gomes | MLB Total
dime bet964 COL / 963 ARI Over 9 Bookmaker
Analysis: The D-Backs chose the worst time of the season to struggle, as with the end of the regular season, the team is behind the Dodgers in the fight for the NL West. However the team is now coming from four wins in a row, in a sweep against the Giants and so, not everything is bad news for the team. That's where I'm going to start this play: the momentum the D-Backs are bringing to this game. I expect an high scoring affair in here and I'm counting with the D-Backs offense for that, as the team has lost their last 10 road games and so, today this game will be extremely important for them. In this type of conditions, the momentum helps the teams in overcoming their struggles and the D-Backs, besides having won their last four games, also defeated yesterday one of the best pitchers in the league (Lincecum), in a game where they rallied back to get a 3-2 win. So, the team will be motivated for today.
The Rockies will send the southpaw De La Rosa, who is once again in a slump. He managed to get three quality starts in a row, but he had another letdown in the last two starts, allowing 4 runs in each game and having as much walks as strikeouts and that's not a good sign. So, I expect him to struggle today. However I also expect problems for the pitchers of the D-Backs today. First of all, this is what a player of the Rockies said about how the team feels about this series:
"We want to beat up on Arizona," outfielder Ryan Spilborghs told the Rockies' official Web site. "They've been beating up on us all year. It's a chance to get them back. If that means knocking them out of a chance to go to the playoffs, that's great."
Max Scherzer will start for the D-Backs today, who has an ERA of 2.08 on his five starts for the team, but has just started twice for Arizona this month, where he allowed 1 and 3 runs against the Dodgers and the Reds. He showed that he is a good pitcher, but he will have a tough spot for today. On his last game against the Reds, he had a quality outing, but he also had a maximum pitch count of 102 pitches and after that game he had just 4 days off to rest, while he had 6 days between his starts against the Dodgers and the Reds, which is a big difference for a pitcher, which still lacks the necessary endurance for this type of spot.
So, I expect both pitchers to struggle and with the game having some runs. The Over is 4-1 in the D-Backs last 5 road games vs a team with a losing record and the line is even at an accessible valor (9 runs), having in account what I'm expecting for this game. Take the over in here