SPORTS WAGERS
Minnesota –1½ +1.28 over DETROIT
Carl Pavano has three quality starts in four tries this year and the best part about this guy is that he goes right after hitters. He’s only walked one guy in four starts covering 23.1 frames. He’s always pitched well at Comerica and any pitcher that stays ahead in the count and has a good strikeout rate like Pavano has a great chance to throw a gem. That’s the first thing to like about the Twins. Other things to like about them is that they’re 14-7 overall, they’re 8-4 on the road and they’re 4-1 against lefties. They’ll face one here in Dontrelle Willis. Willis can implode at any time and unlike Pavano he has serious command issues. He’s already walked 10 batters in 18 innings while striking out nine. He’s only pitched once at Comerica this year and was lit up to the tune of nine hits and two bombs in five innings of work. Incidentally, that lone home start was also a day game against the Royals. Overall this season, the league is hitting .297 against Willis and his 1.72 WHIP also indicates the disaster potential. Play: Minnesota –1½ +1.28 (Risking 2 units).
Oakland +1.21 over TORONTO
Losing is contagious and as long as the Jays are favored it’s worth a look to go against them until they snap out of it. The successive loss count is now at five and to make matters worse, the Jays have scored just one run over its last two ball games. The Jays are hitting a combined .210 during its current losing streak and things don’t figure to get much better against Justin Duchscherer. Duchscherer has not allowed a single run over his last three starts and his run-less inning streak is now up to 19. Duchscherer won’t keep it up but his pre all-star numbers have always been good (a 2.30 career ERA before the break) and he’s in a nice groove right now. It’s also worth noting that in 32 AB’s, current Jays hitters have only managed a .186 BA with just two extra base hits against him. Ricky Romero goes for the Jays and he’s damn tough indeed. He can throw a gem and has the opportunity here to do that. However, the Jays aren’t scoring runs and when that occurs, pitchers try and be too fine for fear that a single run will cost them a win. This is more about playing against the sinking Jays than it is about playing pitcher vs pitcher. Jays are playing to tiny crowds at home and are now a troubling 4-9 at the Rogers Center, where they look as lethargic as the crowds. Play: Oakland +1.21 (Risking 2 units).
SERIES
Detroit +1.11 over SAN JOSE Pinnacle
The Sharkies got by a pesky but not overly talented Av’s squad and while they looked very good on occasion, this is a vastly superior team than the one they saw in round one. Forget the Red Wings went seven or that they’re going to travel across the country for two consecutive series. That means jack. The Red Wings are fresh, they’re confident and for the first time in a long time they have an outstanding goaltender. Evgeni Nabokov is not going to face three shots a period like he did against the Av’s. The Sharks are just not playoff tough and like the Caps, they’re great in the regular season but not so great when the chips are down. Guys like Zetterberg, Datsyuk. Lidstrom and Holmstrom want it a lot more than guys like Thornton, Marleau and Heatley and that’s the reason that the Sharkies will not advance any further. Aside from that they’re also the second most talented team in this series and frankly, I give them very little chance of getting by Detroit. The Red Wings are peaking at precisely the right time and they look as sharp as ever and maybe even more so.
GAME ONE
Detroit +1.25 over SAN JOSE Pinnacle
For the same reasons above we’ll play the Red Wings in game one and should they lose game one we’ll press both our series bet and single game bet prior to game 2. Play: Detroit +1.25 (Risking units).
Minnesota –1½ +1.28 over DETROIT
Carl Pavano has three quality starts in four tries this year and the best part about this guy is that he goes right after hitters. He’s only walked one guy in four starts covering 23.1 frames. He’s always pitched well at Comerica and any pitcher that stays ahead in the count and has a good strikeout rate like Pavano has a great chance to throw a gem. That’s the first thing to like about the Twins. Other things to like about them is that they’re 14-7 overall, they’re 8-4 on the road and they’re 4-1 against lefties. They’ll face one here in Dontrelle Willis. Willis can implode at any time and unlike Pavano he has serious command issues. He’s already walked 10 batters in 18 innings while striking out nine. He’s only pitched once at Comerica this year and was lit up to the tune of nine hits and two bombs in five innings of work. Incidentally, that lone home start was also a day game against the Royals. Overall this season, the league is hitting .297 against Willis and his 1.72 WHIP also indicates the disaster potential. Play: Minnesota –1½ +1.28 (Risking 2 units).
Oakland +1.21 over TORONTO
Losing is contagious and as long as the Jays are favored it’s worth a look to go against them until they snap out of it. The successive loss count is now at five and to make matters worse, the Jays have scored just one run over its last two ball games. The Jays are hitting a combined .210 during its current losing streak and things don’t figure to get much better against Justin Duchscherer. Duchscherer has not allowed a single run over his last three starts and his run-less inning streak is now up to 19. Duchscherer won’t keep it up but his pre all-star numbers have always been good (a 2.30 career ERA before the break) and he’s in a nice groove right now. It’s also worth noting that in 32 AB’s, current Jays hitters have only managed a .186 BA with just two extra base hits against him. Ricky Romero goes for the Jays and he’s damn tough indeed. He can throw a gem and has the opportunity here to do that. However, the Jays aren’t scoring runs and when that occurs, pitchers try and be too fine for fear that a single run will cost them a win. This is more about playing against the sinking Jays than it is about playing pitcher vs pitcher. Jays are playing to tiny crowds at home and are now a troubling 4-9 at the Rogers Center, where they look as lethargic as the crowds. Play: Oakland +1.21 (Risking 2 units).
SERIES
Detroit +1.11 over SAN JOSE Pinnacle
The Sharkies got by a pesky but not overly talented Av’s squad and while they looked very good on occasion, this is a vastly superior team than the one they saw in round one. Forget the Red Wings went seven or that they’re going to travel across the country for two consecutive series. That means jack. The Red Wings are fresh, they’re confident and for the first time in a long time they have an outstanding goaltender. Evgeni Nabokov is not going to face three shots a period like he did against the Av’s. The Sharks are just not playoff tough and like the Caps, they’re great in the regular season but not so great when the chips are down. Guys like Zetterberg, Datsyuk. Lidstrom and Holmstrom want it a lot more than guys like Thornton, Marleau and Heatley and that’s the reason that the Sharkies will not advance any further. Aside from that they’re also the second most talented team in this series and frankly, I give them very little chance of getting by Detroit. The Red Wings are peaking at precisely the right time and they look as sharp as ever and maybe even more so.
GAME ONE
Detroit +1.25 over SAN JOSE Pinnacle
For the same reasons above we’ll play the Red Wings in game one and should they lose game one we’ll press both our series bet and single game bet prior to game 2. Play: Detroit +1.25 (Risking units).
Aaron Torres
The pitcher that Atlanta will send to the mound is one of their best, but one that the Braves have been unable to score many runs for, Jair Jurrjens. Looking at Jurrjens numbers, he’s hardly impressive, but if you dig deeper, you’ll see that a lot of his current state is because of a lack of offense. He has pitched great in his last two starts, allowing just six earned runs in 14.2 innings of work, but has been the hard luck loser in both, as Atlanta’s bats have gone stagnant on him.
And truthfully, that has been the biggest problem for the Braves of late, an abysmal offense. Looking at their season numbers, things get a bit troubling, as they average just 3.67 runs a game, bat just .227 as a team, and have a miniscule 12 home runs. All three of those categories rank them 27th or worse of 30 Major League teams. They’ve been especially awful against St. Louis, scoring just seven runs in their three losses.
Things won’t get any easier in Thursday’s baseball betting, as the Cardinals send superstar Adam Wainwright to the mound. After a 19-8 season a year ago, it was hard to fathom Wainwright getting any better in 2010, but that’s been the case so far, as he’s 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA. He has pitched into the seventh inning of all four of his starts, and has yet to give up more than two earned runs in any single appearance.
Offensively, the Cardinals are moving a bit slowly right now, but have recently picked up the pace of play, scoring 15 runs over the first three games of this series. Outfielder Colby Rasmus and first baseman Albert Pujols both had a pair of hits in Wednesdays 6-0 win.
So after three straight wins to open this series, should we expect St. Louis to go 4 for 4? Absolutely.
The truth is, that although the Cardinals have to lose at some point, it won’t be Thursday, especially with the spectacular Wainwright headed to the mound to face this struggling offense.
Expect it to be close early, and the Cardinals to open it up late, in a comfortable run line win. Make St. Louis your pick in Thursday afternoon’s baseball betting.
Aaron’s Pick: St. Louis -1 ½, +105
The pitcher that Atlanta will send to the mound is one of their best, but one that the Braves have been unable to score many runs for, Jair Jurrjens. Looking at Jurrjens numbers, he’s hardly impressive, but if you dig deeper, you’ll see that a lot of his current state is because of a lack of offense. He has pitched great in his last two starts, allowing just six earned runs in 14.2 innings of work, but has been the hard luck loser in both, as Atlanta’s bats have gone stagnant on him.
And truthfully, that has been the biggest problem for the Braves of late, an abysmal offense. Looking at their season numbers, things get a bit troubling, as they average just 3.67 runs a game, bat just .227 as a team, and have a miniscule 12 home runs. All three of those categories rank them 27th or worse of 30 Major League teams. They’ve been especially awful against St. Louis, scoring just seven runs in their three losses.
Things won’t get any easier in Thursday’s baseball betting, as the Cardinals send superstar Adam Wainwright to the mound. After a 19-8 season a year ago, it was hard to fathom Wainwright getting any better in 2010, but that’s been the case so far, as he’s 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA. He has pitched into the seventh inning of all four of his starts, and has yet to give up more than two earned runs in any single appearance.
Offensively, the Cardinals are moving a bit slowly right now, but have recently picked up the pace of play, scoring 15 runs over the first three games of this series. Outfielder Colby Rasmus and first baseman Albert Pujols both had a pair of hits in Wednesdays 6-0 win.
So after three straight wins to open this series, should we expect St. Louis to go 4 for 4? Absolutely.
The truth is, that although the Cardinals have to lose at some point, it won’t be Thursday, especially with the spectacular Wainwright headed to the mound to face this struggling offense.
Expect it to be close early, and the Cardinals to open it up late, in a comfortable run line win. Make St. Louis your pick in Thursday afternoon’s baseball betting.
Aaron’s Pick: St. Louis -1 ½, +105
The Sports Profit
take: Minnesota Twins/Detroit Tigers OVER 9.5 -102....1 unit...game time is 1:10 p.m e.s.t....Listed Pitchers: Carl Pavano and Dontrelle Willis. Pavano has been a nice surprise for the Twins, his only foilble on the year was, yes you guessed it, during a daytime start. He has an ERA of 7.71 during the day and a .340 OBP and last night these Tigers pumped out 11 runs and seem to have their bats coming around up and down this lineup. That said, Minnesota pumped out 6 runs in the loss but has been the more consistent batting team all year long and should get some good looks at Willis who hasn't been good at home with a 7.20 ERA and a daytime of ERA of 6.00 with a really bad OBP of .444. He gave up 8 hits and 4 runs and 2 walks to Minny in a previous start this year, lasting ONLY 4.2 innings and now Minnesota gets another shot at him today. Even with players sitting, this game staying under the number is in tough today. Like OVER 9.5 here for 1 unit.
take: Minnesota Twins/Detroit Tigers OVER 9.5 -102....1 unit...game time is 1:10 p.m e.s.t....Listed Pitchers: Carl Pavano and Dontrelle Willis. Pavano has been a nice surprise for the Twins, his only foilble on the year was, yes you guessed it, during a daytime start. He has an ERA of 7.71 during the day and a .340 OBP and last night these Tigers pumped out 11 runs and seem to have their bats coming around up and down this lineup. That said, Minnesota pumped out 6 runs in the loss but has been the more consistent batting team all year long and should get some good looks at Willis who hasn't been good at home with a 7.20 ERA and a daytime of ERA of 6.00 with a really bad OBP of .444. He gave up 8 hits and 4 runs and 2 walks to Minny in a previous start this year, lasting ONLY 4.2 innings and now Minnesota gets another shot at him today. Even with players sitting, this game staying under the number is in tough today. Like OVER 9.5 here for 1 unit.
Ferringo
2-Unit Play. Unit Play. Take #906 Houston (-170) over Cincinnati (8 p.m.)
0.5-Unit Play. Unit Play. Take #906 Houston (-1.5, +135) over Cincinnati (8 p.m.)
1.5-Unit Play. Take #920 Tampa Bay (-1.5, -120) over Kansas City (7 p.m.)
1-Unit Play. Take #911 Minnesota (-125) over Detroit (1 p.m.)
0.5-Unit Play. Take #910 L.A. Dodgers (-1.5, -130) over Pittsburgh (10 p.m.)
0.5-Unit Play. Take #914 Texas (-125) over Chicago (2 p.m.)
Today’s Totals
0.5-Unit Play. Take ‘Over’ 7.5 Cincinnati at Houston (8 p.m.)
2-Unit Play. Unit Play. Take #906 Houston (-170) over Cincinnati (8 p.m.)
0.5-Unit Play. Unit Play. Take #906 Houston (-1.5, +135) over Cincinnati (8 p.m.)
1.5-Unit Play. Take #920 Tampa Bay (-1.5, -120) over Kansas City (7 p.m.)
1-Unit Play. Take #911 Minnesota (-125) over Detroit (1 p.m.)
0.5-Unit Play. Take #910 L.A. Dodgers (-1.5, -130) over Pittsburgh (10 p.m.)
0.5-Unit Play. Take #914 Texas (-125) over Chicago (2 p.m.)
Today’s Totals
0.5-Unit Play. Take ‘Over’ 7.5 Cincinnati at Houston (8 p.m.)
