Second Chaulkiest game on the board Go pirates!!
GC how about your free pick? I like your write ups. Thansk
Matchup: Pittsburgh at Florida
Time: 7:10 PM EDT (Tue)
Listed pitchers must go: Maholm, Paul (L) vs. Johnson, Josh (R)
Play: Pittsburgh (ML +180)
Line Source: STRATOSPHERE
Posted on: April 19, 2011 @ 9:21:35 AM EDT
Paul Maholm should give us a solid chance here. The Pirates are 4-2 since the start of the 2010 season with Maholm as a 170+ dog when they lost his last start. One of the two losses was vs Jimenez in Colorado and the other was an extra inning loss in Cincinnati in which he had a quality start. Josh Johnson is off a fine outing, going seven-and-a-third and allowing no runs in a 5-1 win over Tim Hudson and the Braves as a road dog. He might not have much left in the tank here. As evidence, the Marlins are 0-6 as a favorite with Josh Johnson with “normal” rest (not more than five days) and he is off a start in which he had a WHIP of less than one. The SDQL text is simply:
starter=Josh Johnson and F and s:SWHIP<1 and starter rest<=5 and 20100626<=date
As a team, the Marlins are very soft in a series opener vs a hot team. In fact, Florida is 0-5 as a favorite in the first game of a series vs a team that has won at least their last two games. Also, the Fish are a brutal 0-11 when HOSTING a team that has won at least their last two games, as long as they are not off a six-plus run loss. Florida has lost these eleven games by an average of 3.5 runs.
On Sunday, Florida blew a solid outing by Anibal Sanchez and lost 3-2 to the Phillies. The Marlins had their chances, but couldn’t push their runners across. They have not recovered well in this spot. Florida is 0-6 in the first game of a series after a one run loss.
The Pirates are 8-8 on the season and they have only been favored once (losing 6-4 at minus 110). They continue to get no respect from the linesmakers. The Marlins’ bats are going to play small-ball as they expect a couple of runs should be enough the way Johnson has been pitching. This will not be to their advantage. Grab this big price.
MTi’s FORECAST: Pittsburgh 5 FLORIDA 4