A few of us are looking to get 5 or more guys together to get access to stan sharps plays , we had 4 members provide the last few weeks & are hoping to have 5 new members provide the coming weeks ...due to the fact that we had 1 member (tman2000) back out in the last cycle we would like to get the $$ together within the next 7-10 days & then go from there . The cost would be approx. $50 . Thanks , g.l.
STAN #'S :
58%-59% winners over his last 750+ wagers
#8 mlb capper in 2007 (@ okla monitor )
#12 mlb capper in 2008 (@ okla monitor)
Please PM me if interested. Obviously the more we have, the lower the cost.
STAN #'S :
58%-59% winners over his last 750+ wagers
#8 mlb capper in 2007 (@ okla monitor )
#12 mlb capper in 2008 (@ okla monitor)
Please PM me if interested. Obviously the more we have, the lower the cost.
hno:Golden Contender Guaranteed Selections
Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2009
$19.99 Guaranteed: On Tuesday night its another big TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT totals play.Those with me last night cashed the over in the Mets game.This one gets there too.Jump on this big SUPER ANGLE money maker now. 4/13/2009
On Tuesday night the super angle totals play is o the OVER in the Florida-Atlanta game.Rotation numbers 901/2 at 7:10 eastern.The current line is 9 flat.The Braves have scored 7rpg while hitting .304 vs rights so far this year.Florida comes in scoring 5 rpg and hitting.311 vs rightys this year,4-2 over off a win,and 84-54 including 4-2 this year vs divisional teams.Both teams bullpens have been shaky.Atlanta pen with a 6.75 era and Floridas pen with a 5.19 era.Look for a high scoring affair here.
Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2009
$19.99 Guaranteed: On Tuesday night its another big TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT totals play.Those with me last night cashed the over in the Mets game.This one gets there too.Jump on this big SUPER ANGLE money maker now. 4/13/2009
On Tuesday night the super angle totals play is o the OVER in the Florida-Atlanta game.Rotation numbers 901/2 at 7:10 eastern.The current line is 9 flat.The Braves have scored 7rpg while hitting .304 vs rights so far this year.Florida comes in scoring 5 rpg and hitting.311 vs rightys this year,4-2 over off a win,and 84-54 including 4-2 this year vs divisional teams.Both teams bullpens have been shaky.Atlanta pen with a 6.75 era and Floridas pen with a 5.19 era.Look for a high scoring affair here.
COMPS
Tom Freese
Boston at Oakland
Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka is 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA in 4 career starts vs. Oakland. The Red Sox are 14-2 in the last 16 starts made by Matsuzaka and they are 40-18 when Dice-K is favored in a game. Oakland is 8-22 after allowing two or less runs in their game and they are 20-41 vs. an opponent that scored 2 or less runs in their last game. The Athletics are 6-18 their last 24 games vs. AL East teams and they are 0-4 with Dana Eveland on the mound vs. AL East teams. PLAY ON BOSTON - (Matsuzaka vs. Eveland)
Carlo Campanella
Cleveland Indians vs. Kansas City Royals
Cleveland has lost 6 of their first 7 games this season, including a 1-1 split as they play the third game in this series at Kansas City on Tuesday. The Royals should continue to kick Cleveland when they're down as they start Kyle Davies on the mound. Davies has each of his last 3 starts, including his season opener, by holding those opponents to just 3 Earned Runs in 20 Innings Pitched! Those numbers will be more than enough to beat a Cleveland squad that's allowed 4 Runs or more in ALL 7 games this season and now start Pavano on the mound, who allowed an INCREDIBLE 9 Earned Runs in only 1 Inning Pitched during his first effort of this new season!
7* Play On Kansas City
Scott Spreitzer
Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers
Prediction: Detroit Tigers
Detroit lost a 10-6 shootout yesterday, but I expect a quick bounce-back by the Tigers, who pounded southpaws in home day games a season ago. Detroit finished 2008 with a 6-2 mark in this situation, scoring an average of almost 5 1/2 runs per game. White Sox lefty John Danks sports a hefty 6.75 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, and .318 BAA in his two starts at Comerica Park...not a good sign considering how well the Tigers rip lefties at home in general. Detroit sends Rick Porcello to the bump today. The righty led the Florida State League in ERA last season (2.66) while sporting a strong 1.19 WHIP. He has developed a good, low-90s MPH sinker to go along with an incredible four-seam fastball. The 20-year old gave up four earned runs in five innings in his debut last week in Toronto. But he's back at home and I expect a winning result on Tuesday. He should get plenty of support (as mentioned above) and I'll back the Tigers with the youngster on the mound. I'm playing the underdog Tigers on Tuesday afternoon.
pluslinesports
St. Louis Cardinals -138
We Cover Spreads
Tampa Bay Rays -118
Al McMordie
Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals
Prediction: Kansas City Royals
At 8:10pm our member selection is on the Kansas City Royals over the Cleveland Indians. The Royals have to be excited about their young team, especially their pitching. At the top of their rotation they have Gil Meche and Zack Greinke and both have already pitched well this season, and perhaps most encouraging is that their #3 starter, righthander Kyle Davies has also looked impressive in his first start. This season it looks as though Davies may finally fulfill the promise that he brought with him into the league when he was a highly touted prospect coming up with the Braves in 2005. Davies is still relatively young (25) and last season was his most productive as he had career bests in wins (9) and ERA (4.06). Davies ended 2008 on a very strong note, going 4-1 in the month of September and he followed that up with a very strong Spring, then matched his career high with eight strikeouts in his season debut last Thursday. He pitches very well at home (two-thirds of his starts in 2008 came at Kauffman Stadium) and he did not disappoint the home crowd in most of those efforts while posting a sub-4 ERA there. KC almost reached the .500 mark against the Tribe in 2008 (8-10) and with the team they've assembled, nobody would be surprised if they take the season series against them in '09. The Indians avoided their worst start ever when they finally won their first game on Sunday, but chances are tougher times are still ahead for this group of under-achievers. Take the Royals.
ROCKETMAN
Chicago White Sox @ Detroit 1:05 PM EST
Play On: Chicago White Sox (Danks/Porcello) Listed
Detroit is 63-82 the past 3 years against division opponents. John Danks pitched 6 very good innings in his first outing this year and has a 0.00 ERA to prove it. Porcello is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA this year after his first start. Chicago White Sox are 24-13 overall vs Detroit the past 3 years. The White Sox are 5-1 vs Detroit when Danks has started. White Sox are 4-0 in their last 4 when their opponent scores 5 runs or more in their previous game. White Sox are 6-1 in their last 7 after scoring 5 runs or more in their previous game. White Sox are 5-1 in their last 6 games with the total set at 9.0-10.5. White Sox are 6-1 in Danks' last 7 starts during game 2 of a series. Tigers are 1-4 in their last 5 games as a home underdog of +110 to +150. Tigers are 1-5 in their last 6 games vs. a starter with a WHIP less than 1.15. Tigers are 1-5 in their last 6 after scoring 5 runs or more in their previous game. Tigers are 0-6 in their last 6 Tuesday games. We'll recommend a small play on the Chicago White Sox today! Thanks and good luck, Rocky
Alex Smart
Kansas City Royals -137
The Cleveland Indians enter into this road tilt against the Kansas City Royals with a lowly 1-6 record to start their season. Breaking out of their current funk is most probably not on todays agenda as they send the reeling Carl Povano out to the hill , who in his opening day assignment struggled with his location. The veteran righty threw just 39 pitches, allowing 9 runs on 6 hits including two home runs and three walks in just a little over inning , for a massive 81.00 ERA. The often injured Povano is 0-1 along with a bloated 10.50 ERA in two career outings vs the Royals. Meanwhile, the KC Royals with a 4-3 record, will return fire with the extremely capable Kyle Davies, who is off a 7 inning shut out performance in his opening day assignment, allowing just 3 hits, while striking out eight,in a 2-1 win vs the White Sox. That performance followed up last seasons perfect 3-0 September .Considering the current form of both pitchers, the edge must go to a Royals side playing the friendly confines of their own stadium (Kauffman).
Final notes & Key Trends: The Royals have won their L/8 home games as favorites and have been very tough against right handed starters dating back to last season winning 10 of their L/11 contests. The Indians have lost 6 straight against right handers like Davies. Indians have lost 4 straight games at KC.
Play on the KC Royals
Jimmy The Moose
Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals
Prediction: Kansas City Royals
After another loss last night the Indians are now off to a 1-6 start to the season. Cleveland has really had trouble with their pitching this season. Prior to last night's game the Indians starting staff had an ERA of 11.62. Pavano takes his 81.00 ERA to the mound tonight. In his first start of the year Pavaon lasted 1 inning giving up 6 hits and 9 ER's. The Royals counter with Kyle Davies who had an excellent start to the season. Davies went 7 strong innings striking out 8 while giving up 0 ER's. Look for the Indians to struggle and lose another one tonight. Play on the Kansas City Royals -.
Ben Burns
Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals
Prediction: Kansas City Royals
It's never wise to read too much into a single performance. That said, it's also important to know what's going on. In tonight's game, we've got a pitcher going for the Royals who was dominant in his opener against an Indians' pitcher who was absolutely rocked in his.
Pavano goes for the Indians and he lasted only a single inning in his first start. Remarkably, he allowed a whopping nine runs in that span, giving him an 81.00 ERA heading into tonight's game. Cleveland lost that game by a score of 12-8. While Pavano is certainly better than he showed, let's also remember that he hasn't had an ERA below 4.76 since 2004.
Davies goes for the Royals and he pitched seven shutout innings in his first start, allowing a mere three hits during that stretch, striking out eight along the way. KC won that game by a score of 2-1. You may recall that Davies closed out last season with three straight victories. That prompted Royals manager Trey Hillman to comment: "He's on the same roll that he finished August with, and went through September with...Very impressive."
Davies doesn't have very good career numbers vs. the Indians. However, he was tough in his lone start against them last season. In that game, he gave up just one run through five complete innings. The Royals won by a score of 4-2. On the other hand, Pavano struggled in his lone start against the Royals. He lasted 5 1/3 innings but gave up nine hits (2 hrs) and five runs.
With yesterday's series opening victory, the Royals are 4-3 on the season while the Indians are just 1-6, including 0-4 on the road. It's also worth noting that the Royals are now 13-7 (+3.4) the last 20 times they were listed as road favorites in the -125 to -150 range. Consider a play on KC.
Matt Rivers
For Tuesday take the number back with the Diamondbacks.
Chris Carpenter had that absolutely brilliant first start which was a great sign for Cardinals fan across the world but I still do not believe he can be all of the way back from the injuries.
Albert Pujols is God and the Redbirds should be pretty good this season finishing up possibly above .500. But I do feel that Arizona is the better team and to get a very good young kid in Max Scherzer plus a quality price back at home is fine with me here.
Scherzer is a guy that absolutely dazzled when he was brought up last season. This kid has a huge upside with his nasty stuff and could outpitch the former Cy Young awar winner and I truly would not be all that shocked.
If Carpenter does what he did last outing then Arizona is clearly in trouble. But it is asking a lot to twirl a gem like that in a second straight outing when not pitching for so long. Let's face it, Carpenter is a guy that obviously still has an upside, as he just proved against the Pirates, but his mechanics and stuff will just not be there all the time, they can't be. Missing all of that time and the wear and tear now on his aging body will catch up to him and not let him just dazzle every time out.
The Diamondbacks are an 86 or so win type of a team this season with solid young guys in Chris Young, Connor Jackson, Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds and Stephen Drew. These guys overall are not a team I would deem as great and none of them are close to being the superstar that Pujols is but D-Backs are at home here, have a solid young hurler with a high ceiling and are up against a guy in Carpenter who I truly believe will regress a bit today.
Plus this number is too much to pass up, period!
Tony Weston
We’re coming through once again today as we’re taking the Yankees on the road at the Tampa Bay Rays.
Sure some of you might be scared off by that performance, or lackthereof, by the Yankees in Game 1 of this series yesterday, but don’t fret. Chien Ming Wang isn’t pitching and New York will even this series behind scheduled starter A.J. Burnett.
Consider that in 16 career starts against the Rays, Burnett is 7-4 with a solid 2.98 ERA. Also, in this series the Yankees are 6-3 their last nine games against Tampa and are 2-0 their last two matchups when the Rays send Matt Garza to the mound.
In those last two meetings against Garza, New York outscored Tampa 13-7.
Keep in mind, too, that Tampa has won only one of Garza’s last six starts when the Rays were installed as a favorite.
Garza and the Rays also have to deal with a Yankees team that has won 10 of its last 14 games against the AL East and is 15-6 overall its last 21 games.
The Yankees will avenge yesterday’s loss and get over on Tampa today.
3? YANKEES
Bobby Maxwell
Cincinnati +120 at MILWAUKEE
Got a winner on the pro hardwood Monday night when the Bulls went to Detroit and scored the outright upset. Today we'll score a comp winner on the Reds as they take on the Brewers in Milwaukee.
Cincinnati squeaked out a 7-6 victory on Monday in Milwaukee and today they will get it done again behind the pitching of Bronson Arroyo who went six innings in an 8-6 win over the Mets in his first start of the season.
The Reds have scored seven or more runs in three of their six games this season and they've won three of their last four. Plus look at what they've done in Milwaukee, winning seven of their last nine visits to Wisconsin.
Milwaukee has dropped three straight and their pitching has been brutal, allowing 21 runs in their last three games and giving up six or more in five of their seven games to start the season. Manny Parra is on the hill for the Brewers and in his first outing he gave up five runs through 4 1/3 innings in a 7-1 loss to the Giants. The Brewers have lost his last five starts dating to last season and eight of his last 10.
Parra faced the Reds twice last year and lost them both, givin up 11 runs in 12 1/3 innings. Look for Arroyo to deliver a solid outing and the Brewers pitching staff to surrender a lot of runs like they've done all season.
Get the plus-money and play Cincy on the road in this one.
3? CINCINNATI
Jeff Benton
Baltimore at TEXAS -140
Three straight free-play winners, all on the baseball diamond as the Cardinals eked out the win against the DBacks on Monday. I’m now on a 12-6 roll with freebies over the last 18 days, and we’ll look to build on that with another baseball winner Tuesday as we take the Orioles-Rangers game OVER the total.
For starters, both of these squads have been involved in a slew of shootouts already this year, with the Rangers going 4-1-2 “over” the total in their first seven games and Baltimore going 5-2 “over” in their first seven. That includes Monday’s 10-9 slugfest won by the Orioles in Texas.
So far, the Rangers have played four home games, and the combined run totals in those four contests were 10, 13, 20 and 19. Even though we’re still two months away from summer, the ball is flying out of the Rangers’ home ballpark, with a whopping 17 home runs hit in those four games!
Not only are there a ton of quality hitters on both of these squads, but both pitching staffs have been shaky (and that’s being kind). Even before last night’s 10-9 outburst, Baltimore had a 5.67 overall team ERA and an 8.34 bullpen ERA, while Texas had a 6.00 ERA overall and a 9.19 ERA from its relievers.
Throw in the fact that the two starting pitchers in this game – Baltimore’s Alfredo Simon and Texas’ Brandon McCarthy – combined to allow seven earned runs in just 10 innings of work in their first two starts, and the only way to look in this game is OVER the total.
4? Orioles-Rangers OVER
Chris Jordan
Utah at L.A. LAKERS
If the Jazz want any chance of avoiding the No. 8 seed and a return trip to Los Angeles for the opening round of the playoffs, they’ll have to avoid a sixth straight road loss to the Lakers. Can they win outright? I don’t know that for sure. But I do know they’ll do everything they can to avoid a loss on the hardwood tonight, and should stay inside the number. Utah is one game behind New Orleans and Dallas with one game to play, and it has much more to play for than the Lakers, whose chances at the No. 1 overall seed in the NBA disappeared last night, when the Cavaliers toppled the Pacers.
Utah holds the tiebreaker over the Hornets and Mavericks, so a win over Los Angeles gives it a chance to move up if either New Orleans or Dallas loses their finale tomorrow night. I realize the Lakers would like to make a statement in case these two do meet in the first round, so a blowout win would earn the mental edge, but Phil Jackson has been relaxing his players in the fourth quarter quite a bit, and that would put a crimp in the home favorite covering.
1? JAZZ
Vegas Experts
St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamonbacks
Arizona starter Max Scherezer was once considered a very promising prospect, but the Diamonbacks have done nothing to boost his resume by losing all seven of his career starts. Don't look for win #1 tonight vs. the Cardinals and Chris Carpenter, who looked sensational in his first start of the year, allowing just one unearned run in seven innings of work. Carpenter has never lost to Arizona and the Redbirds are currently riding a five-game win streak.
Play on: St. Louis
LT Profits
New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays Under 8.5
The Tampa Bay Rays took the series opener from the New York Yankees 15-5 last night, but we expect a much lower scoring affair tonight.
Rays starter Matt Garza picked up where he left off in his breakthrough 2008 season in his first 2009 start, limiting the Boston Red Sox to just one run and four hits in seven innings at Fenway Park. Garza has some of the best stuff in the American League, and he can be downright dominant when he is on top of his game. He also has success vs. the Yankees last year, allowing three runs or less in two of his three starts against them.
Speaking of dominant, Yankees starter A.J. Burnett has always had great stuff, but he struggled with his control for much off his career. That changed last year when Burnett has the best season of his career with the Blue Jays, and his first start as a Yankee was a promising one, as he allowed two runs in 5.1 innings with six strikeouts. He was brilliant the last time he faced Tampa Bay last year, not allowing an earned run while posting 10 strikeouts in seven innings.
Look for the pitchers to dominate this evening in Tampa Bay.
Pick: Yankees/Rays Under 8.5
LARRY NESS
Boston Red Sox @ Oakland Athletics
PICK: Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox won the World Series in 2007 and came within a Game 7 loss last year to Tampa Bay in the ALCS, of returning to the Series. However, the Red Sox have opened the 2009 season at 2-5, hardly looking like a championship contender. The team is batting just .235 and averaging a measly 3.4 RPG. Reigning AL MVP Dustin Pedroia is hitting .179, David Ortiz is batting .208 with just three RBI while still looking for his first extra-base hit and Mike Lowell is batting .154. Boston owns a team ERA of 5.55 and will turn to Dice-K to get the team back on the right track tonight, after losing 8-2 in Oakland last night. Matsuzaka is coming off a season in which he lost only three times in 29 starts (he was 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA and Boston went 23-6 in his starts) but he lost his 2009 season debut, allowing four runs on nine hits and three walks in 5.1 innings in a 4-3 loss to the Rays in Fenway last Thursday. He allowed three HRs in a game for only the third time in his career. The A's are off to a 3-5 start with last night's win and will counter with Dana Eveland. The lefty made 41 appearances from 2005 through 2007 but only six starts. With Oakland trading away (and losing via free agency) so many starting pitchers, Eveland made 29 appearances in 2008 (all starts). He finished 9-9 with a 4.34 ERA, as the A's were a respectable 16-13 in those games, going plus-$460 vs the moneyline. He was very good at home last year, posting a 3.25 ERA (team was 11-4), as opposed to posting a 5.63 road ERA (team was 5-9). Eveland's first start of 2009 came against the Angels last Wednesday, a game in which the A's won 6-4. Unfortunately, that night will be best-remembered for what happened after the game, as Angels pitcher Adenhart was tragically killed in a car accident. As for Eveland, he allowed eight hits and three runs in six innings. He commented after the game that his velocity felt a little down from where it is normally. In his lone career start vs the Red Sox (Aug 2 of last season at Fenway), not much went right for the lefty, as he lasted just two innings, allowing eight hits and nine ERs. The Red Sox haven't hit yet but they will. Let's nor forget that they were 27-13 vs lefties last season, averaging 5.9 RPG. As for the A's, they were just 15-22 (minus-$1,045) vs right-handers at home in night games last season, scoring just 3.6 RPG. Matsuzaka went 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA in three outings against Oakland last year (Red Sox went 3-0) and I'll come back with the Red Sox in Game 2 of this series (my only loser in a 4-1 Monday was on Boston) for a small play.
EZWINNERS'S FREE SELECTION
(919) Boston Red Sox -$155
(Listing Matsuzaka and Eveland)
I look for Dice K to bounce back from his poor first outing this season.
Eveland was hammered in his only start by Boston last season and I
expect the Sox to do enough damage here to pick up the win.
GoodFella
DET (+122) vs CWS
NOT going to be a popular play & really more of a GUT feeling on this kid pitching AT HOME today & Detroit rakes lefties pretty good, .297 on the season & last year they got atleast 6 runs in 2 of the 3 starts Danks made vs Detroit last year...This is really just a SMALL gut play on Porcello to dial it in & have his best stuff pitching at HOME....The talented 20-year-old right-hander - a hard-throwing first-round pick who earned a spot in the rotation despite never before pitching above Single-A - was a bit shaky in his major league debut Thursday in Toronto, allowing four runs and nine hits in five innings of a 6-2 loss. "He looked a little young at times, bounced some curveballs, but he also threw some nasty ones and got some strikeouts on them," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "He's got some work to do, but that's something to work with.". I am going to go ahead & back the young kid here in this spot & look for the Tigers to touch up Danks some here today.
LEE KOSTROSKI
St. Louis Cardinals @ Arizona Diamondbacks
PICK: Arizona Diamondbacks
St. Louis has lost eight of the past nine games in Arizona heading into this series and the Cardinals hot start has come completely at home as this is the first road series for the Cardinals. The Cardinals closed 2008 going 3-13 in the last 16 road games of the season so expectations should be grounded until this team proves it can get the same types of performances away from home. The Cardinals are greatly overvalued playing in this series against an Arizona team that should be a playoff threat. The Diamondbacks have had some bad news with early season injuries but this is a good lineup and a pitching staff that should eventually be one of the better units in the NL even the early numbers are not indicative of that.
Chris Carpenter had a brilliant spring and a near flawless first start of the season but he must now pitch on the road against a much more threatening lineup. Carpenter has not pitched more than five innings on the road since 2006 and although he was impressive the first time through the rotation he still has a long way to go. St. Louis has gotten by so far but the bullpen is still a major concern with no clear closer and durability questions with Carpenter, who will still be on a tight pitch count.
Max Scherzer has been a highly touted prospect for the Diamondbacks and although he is yet to pick up a MLB win he has tons of potential. Scherzer had 66 strikeouts in just 56 innings last season and featured a 3.05 ERA. Scherzer saw limited action this spring but he had nine strikeouts and just one walk in only eight innings. Arizona has been very cautious with his health so for him to start this game means he is definitely at full strength. Most Cardinals hitters have very limited experience if any against him which should be an advantage for the Diamondbacks, particularly at home.
Lenny Del Genio
New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays
Prediction: New York Yankees
The Yankees are off a humiliating 15-5 loss to the Rays last night that we were on the right side of. We?re calling for them to bounce back on Tuesday behind AJ Burnett, who looked sharp in his debut in Pinstripes ? an 11-2 win over Baltimore. Counterpart Matt Garza owns a poor 12-19 team start record in the favorite role. New York fares much better vs. right-handed pitching (5.1 runs per game) than lefties and turned a $415 profit on the road vs. righties. The Yankees were one of just two teams to post a winning record vs. the Rays last season, so at an underdog price, they are simply too good to pass up here. Take NY Yankees.
JACK JONES
Yankees/Rays UNDER 8.5
After putting up a combined 20 runs (15 by the Rays, 5 by the Yanks) last night, I like the Rays and the Yankees to stay under the total on Tuesday. Rays' starter Matt Garza got off to a great start to the season with a 1 run, 4 hit, 3 walk performance in 7 innings of work against the Red Sox this year. A. J. Burnett also came out strong in his first outing of the year, allowing just 2 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. Burnett also has a solid history against the Rays. In 16 career starts has just a 2.98 ERA versus Tampa. Both teams are strong on defense and the starters should keep the ball in the park. There are some concerns with the bullpen on both teams, but I believe they will rise to the occasion if this is the close, low-scoring game I project it to be.
Jeff Alexander
1 Unit on Boston Red Sox -143
The Sox have lost 5 of 6 and were kicked in game 1 of this series, but I really like them to get back in the win column tonight. They have a big edge on the mound with Matsuzaka against Eveland. In Eveland's first and only start against the Red Sox, he was roughed up like few pitcher's are, now posting an ERA of 40.50 and a WHIP of 5.000 against Bean Town. The Sox sluggers will gladly welcome him to the hill tonight. Conversely, Matsuzaka is 2-1 when starting against Oakland with an ERA of 2.55 and a WHIP of 0.973. Boston is 16-3 against the money line when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 38% to 46%) over the last 2 seasons, winning these games by an average score of 5.7 to 3.2. After getting hit in the mouth by this bad team Monday, the Sox will strike back tonight.
Dave Price
1 Unit on Seattle Mariners +100
The M's are rolling, having won 4 straight games, and now they carry their momentum into their home opener tonight. Carlos Silva gets the big edge in this pitching matchup as he has had the Angels number. He is 6-2 with an ERA of 3.82 when starting against them. The Mariners are 6-0 in their last 6 vs. the American League West, 5-1 in their last 6 games following a win, and 5-2 in their last 7 games as an underdog. The M's will be jacked up for this one and I'll grab them at a solid price.
Greg Shaker
Boston Red Sox at Oakland Athletics
I am playing this game at 1/2 Moneyline ad 1/2 Runline of +110. I hate to be so "Public" playing the Sox in this spot but it is worth a shot considering what we have going on tonight in Oakland. Dice K's first start verses TB was not a good one as he served up 3 Dingers to the Rays. He should have more success verses the light hitting Athletics who did not hit light last night in a 8-2 Win. Yes, they have improved their lot with Giambi and Holliday in the lineup, but they don't offer the same scoring capacity as TB does. Daisuke Matsuzaka is 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA in 4 career starts verses. Oakland. The Red Sox are 14-2 in the last 16 starts made by Matsuzaka and they are 40-18 when he is favored to win. The Sox are a good lefthanded hitting team and Eveland had no success the only time he threw against them allowing 9 runs over just 2 innings of work. I seriously doubt that the Sox will be beat by a lefty 2 nites in a row and especially with a decided pitching advantage going for them. Boston is in need of a win and with the Big Man on the mound, I think they get it.
Rob Homyak
5 UNITS on Florida Marlins
Play ON FLORIDA using the money line in All games on the road when the total is 9 to 9.5
The record is 24 Wins and 13 Losses for the last two seasons (+19.59 units)
The Marlins will give the ball to starter Chris Volstad in this one. Righthander Volstad is 1-0 this season with a 1.80 ERA.
Starting this game for the Braves will be Javier Vazquez. The righthander has a 4.50 ERA to go along with a 0-0 record this season.
The Marlins defeated the Mets 2-1 as a +130 underdog on Sunday. The three runs scored fell UNDER the posted over/under total (7.5).
Josh Johnson pitched a complete-game five-hitter, allowing only one run with seven strikeouts for Florida and Ronny Paulino delivered an RBI single in the win.
The Braves defeated Washington 8-5 as a -180 favorite on Sunday. The 13 runs scored went OVER the posted over/under total (9).
Jair Jurrjens allowed three earned runs on five hits in 5 1-3 innings for Atlanta, while Chipper Jones was 2-3 with a pair of RBI in the win.
Vazquez hasn?t faced Florida since 2005, is 6-5 with a 4.68 ERA in 17 career outings against the Marlins. VAZQUEZ is 3-12 (-10.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
ATLANTA is 76-89 (-18.8 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
Florida with Volstad is on runs of 5-1 overall, 5-1 on the road (all as an underdog) and 4-1 against the N.L. East. Volstad had two quality starts against Atlanta last year, he allowed three runs on six hits over six innings in each contest. He lost the first 4-0, then got a no-decision in his team?s 5-3 victory in early September. VOLSTAD: Florida 14-6 playing with day off.
FLORIDA is 88-76 (+24.3 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
FLORIDA is 59-37 (+30.3 Units) against the money line when the total is 9 to 9.5 over the last 2 seasons.
Dwayne Bryant
KAN (-145) vs CLE
Carl Pavano's attempt at reviving his pitching career with the Cleveland Indians got off to a rough start. The right-hander allowed nine runs, six hits and walked three on 39 pitches in just one-plus inning of Cleveland's 12-8 loss at Texas on Thursday.
While Pavano hopes to simply keep his team in the game, the inconsistent Indians' bats will try to get the best of Kyle Davies, who's picked up where he left off at the end of last season. After winning his final three starts of 2008, Davies allowed three hits and struck out eight in seven scoreless innings of the Royals' 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. "He's on the same roll that he finished August with, and went through September with," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "Very impressive."
The Indians' bullpen has been mediocre at best (5.20 ERA, 1.52 WHIP), while the KC pen has been very sharp (2.75 ERA, 0.97 WHIP).
I'll take Kansas City with Davies over Cleveland and Pavano.
MADDUX
Today's Free Pick is Minnesota -137
Vegasflyer Sports
Mike Hillin
Bonus Play- St. Louis Cardinals
Valley Sports MLB: St. Louis Cardinals -140
Poor Joe's Forecasts MLB: Seattle Mariners Over 9
MVPCapper
4/14: Florida @ Atlanta Under 9
Bankroll Free Sports
4/14/09: Boston Red Sox (-1.5) -115
Rob Vinciletti
New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays
8½ un-110
who2beton
MPS
Tom Freese
Boston at Oakland
Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka is 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA in 4 career starts vs. Oakland. The Red Sox are 14-2 in the last 16 starts made by Matsuzaka and they are 40-18 when Dice-K is favored in a game. Oakland is 8-22 after allowing two or less runs in their game and they are 20-41 vs. an opponent that scored 2 or less runs in their last game. The Athletics are 6-18 their last 24 games vs. AL East teams and they are 0-4 with Dana Eveland on the mound vs. AL East teams. PLAY ON BOSTON - (Matsuzaka vs. Eveland)
Carlo Campanella
Cleveland Indians vs. Kansas City Royals
Cleveland has lost 6 of their first 7 games this season, including a 1-1 split as they play the third game in this series at Kansas City on Tuesday. The Royals should continue to kick Cleveland when they're down as they start Kyle Davies on the mound. Davies has each of his last 3 starts, including his season opener, by holding those opponents to just 3 Earned Runs in 20 Innings Pitched! Those numbers will be more than enough to beat a Cleveland squad that's allowed 4 Runs or more in ALL 7 games this season and now start Pavano on the mound, who allowed an INCREDIBLE 9 Earned Runs in only 1 Inning Pitched during his first effort of this new season!
7* Play On Kansas City
Scott Spreitzer
Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers
Prediction: Detroit Tigers
Detroit lost a 10-6 shootout yesterday, but I expect a quick bounce-back by the Tigers, who pounded southpaws in home day games a season ago. Detroit finished 2008 with a 6-2 mark in this situation, scoring an average of almost 5 1/2 runs per game. White Sox lefty John Danks sports a hefty 6.75 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, and .318 BAA in his two starts at Comerica Park...not a good sign considering how well the Tigers rip lefties at home in general. Detroit sends Rick Porcello to the bump today. The righty led the Florida State League in ERA last season (2.66) while sporting a strong 1.19 WHIP. He has developed a good, low-90s MPH sinker to go along with an incredible four-seam fastball. The 20-year old gave up four earned runs in five innings in his debut last week in Toronto. But he's back at home and I expect a winning result on Tuesday. He should get plenty of support (as mentioned above) and I'll back the Tigers with the youngster on the mound. I'm playing the underdog Tigers on Tuesday afternoon.
pluslinesports
St. Louis Cardinals -138
We Cover Spreads
Tampa Bay Rays -118
Al McMordie
Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals
Prediction: Kansas City Royals
At 8:10pm our member selection is on the Kansas City Royals over the Cleveland Indians. The Royals have to be excited about their young team, especially their pitching. At the top of their rotation they have Gil Meche and Zack Greinke and both have already pitched well this season, and perhaps most encouraging is that their #3 starter, righthander Kyle Davies has also looked impressive in his first start. This season it looks as though Davies may finally fulfill the promise that he brought with him into the league when he was a highly touted prospect coming up with the Braves in 2005. Davies is still relatively young (25) and last season was his most productive as he had career bests in wins (9) and ERA (4.06). Davies ended 2008 on a very strong note, going 4-1 in the month of September and he followed that up with a very strong Spring, then matched his career high with eight strikeouts in his season debut last Thursday. He pitches very well at home (two-thirds of his starts in 2008 came at Kauffman Stadium) and he did not disappoint the home crowd in most of those efforts while posting a sub-4 ERA there. KC almost reached the .500 mark against the Tribe in 2008 (8-10) and with the team they've assembled, nobody would be surprised if they take the season series against them in '09. The Indians avoided their worst start ever when they finally won their first game on Sunday, but chances are tougher times are still ahead for this group of under-achievers. Take the Royals.
ROCKETMAN
Chicago White Sox @ Detroit 1:05 PM EST
Play On: Chicago White Sox (Danks/Porcello) Listed
Detroit is 63-82 the past 3 years against division opponents. John Danks pitched 6 very good innings in his first outing this year and has a 0.00 ERA to prove it. Porcello is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA this year after his first start. Chicago White Sox are 24-13 overall vs Detroit the past 3 years. The White Sox are 5-1 vs Detroit when Danks has started. White Sox are 4-0 in their last 4 when their opponent scores 5 runs or more in their previous game. White Sox are 6-1 in their last 7 after scoring 5 runs or more in their previous game. White Sox are 5-1 in their last 6 games with the total set at 9.0-10.5. White Sox are 6-1 in Danks' last 7 starts during game 2 of a series. Tigers are 1-4 in their last 5 games as a home underdog of +110 to +150. Tigers are 1-5 in their last 6 games vs. a starter with a WHIP less than 1.15. Tigers are 1-5 in their last 6 after scoring 5 runs or more in their previous game. Tigers are 0-6 in their last 6 Tuesday games. We'll recommend a small play on the Chicago White Sox today! Thanks and good luck, Rocky
Alex Smart
Kansas City Royals -137
The Cleveland Indians enter into this road tilt against the Kansas City Royals with a lowly 1-6 record to start their season. Breaking out of their current funk is most probably not on todays agenda as they send the reeling Carl Povano out to the hill , who in his opening day assignment struggled with his location. The veteran righty threw just 39 pitches, allowing 9 runs on 6 hits including two home runs and three walks in just a little over inning , for a massive 81.00 ERA. The often injured Povano is 0-1 along with a bloated 10.50 ERA in two career outings vs the Royals. Meanwhile, the KC Royals with a 4-3 record, will return fire with the extremely capable Kyle Davies, who is off a 7 inning shut out performance in his opening day assignment, allowing just 3 hits, while striking out eight,in a 2-1 win vs the White Sox. That performance followed up last seasons perfect 3-0 September .Considering the current form of both pitchers, the edge must go to a Royals side playing the friendly confines of their own stadium (Kauffman).
Final notes & Key Trends: The Royals have won their L/8 home games as favorites and have been very tough against right handed starters dating back to last season winning 10 of their L/11 contests. The Indians have lost 6 straight against right handers like Davies. Indians have lost 4 straight games at KC.
Play on the KC Royals
Jimmy The Moose
Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals
Prediction: Kansas City Royals
After another loss last night the Indians are now off to a 1-6 start to the season. Cleveland has really had trouble with their pitching this season. Prior to last night's game the Indians starting staff had an ERA of 11.62. Pavano takes his 81.00 ERA to the mound tonight. In his first start of the year Pavaon lasted 1 inning giving up 6 hits and 9 ER's. The Royals counter with Kyle Davies who had an excellent start to the season. Davies went 7 strong innings striking out 8 while giving up 0 ER's. Look for the Indians to struggle and lose another one tonight. Play on the Kansas City Royals -.
Ben Burns
Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals
Prediction: Kansas City Royals
It's never wise to read too much into a single performance. That said, it's also important to know what's going on. In tonight's game, we've got a pitcher going for the Royals who was dominant in his opener against an Indians' pitcher who was absolutely rocked in his.
Pavano goes for the Indians and he lasted only a single inning in his first start. Remarkably, he allowed a whopping nine runs in that span, giving him an 81.00 ERA heading into tonight's game. Cleveland lost that game by a score of 12-8. While Pavano is certainly better than he showed, let's also remember that he hasn't had an ERA below 4.76 since 2004.
Davies goes for the Royals and he pitched seven shutout innings in his first start, allowing a mere three hits during that stretch, striking out eight along the way. KC won that game by a score of 2-1. You may recall that Davies closed out last season with three straight victories. That prompted Royals manager Trey Hillman to comment: "He's on the same roll that he finished August with, and went through September with...Very impressive."
Davies doesn't have very good career numbers vs. the Indians. However, he was tough in his lone start against them last season. In that game, he gave up just one run through five complete innings. The Royals won by a score of 4-2. On the other hand, Pavano struggled in his lone start against the Royals. He lasted 5 1/3 innings but gave up nine hits (2 hrs) and five runs.
With yesterday's series opening victory, the Royals are 4-3 on the season while the Indians are just 1-6, including 0-4 on the road. It's also worth noting that the Royals are now 13-7 (+3.4) the last 20 times they were listed as road favorites in the -125 to -150 range. Consider a play on KC.
Matt Rivers
For Tuesday take the number back with the Diamondbacks.
Chris Carpenter had that absolutely brilliant first start which was a great sign for Cardinals fan across the world but I still do not believe he can be all of the way back from the injuries.
Albert Pujols is God and the Redbirds should be pretty good this season finishing up possibly above .500. But I do feel that Arizona is the better team and to get a very good young kid in Max Scherzer plus a quality price back at home is fine with me here.
Scherzer is a guy that absolutely dazzled when he was brought up last season. This kid has a huge upside with his nasty stuff and could outpitch the former Cy Young awar winner and I truly would not be all that shocked.
If Carpenter does what he did last outing then Arizona is clearly in trouble. But it is asking a lot to twirl a gem like that in a second straight outing when not pitching for so long. Let's face it, Carpenter is a guy that obviously still has an upside, as he just proved against the Pirates, but his mechanics and stuff will just not be there all the time, they can't be. Missing all of that time and the wear and tear now on his aging body will catch up to him and not let him just dazzle every time out.
The Diamondbacks are an 86 or so win type of a team this season with solid young guys in Chris Young, Connor Jackson, Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds and Stephen Drew. These guys overall are not a team I would deem as great and none of them are close to being the superstar that Pujols is but D-Backs are at home here, have a solid young hurler with a high ceiling and are up against a guy in Carpenter who I truly believe will regress a bit today.
Plus this number is too much to pass up, period!
Tony Weston
We’re coming through once again today as we’re taking the Yankees on the road at the Tampa Bay Rays.
Sure some of you might be scared off by that performance, or lackthereof, by the Yankees in Game 1 of this series yesterday, but don’t fret. Chien Ming Wang isn’t pitching and New York will even this series behind scheduled starter A.J. Burnett.
Consider that in 16 career starts against the Rays, Burnett is 7-4 with a solid 2.98 ERA. Also, in this series the Yankees are 6-3 their last nine games against Tampa and are 2-0 their last two matchups when the Rays send Matt Garza to the mound.
In those last two meetings against Garza, New York outscored Tampa 13-7.
Keep in mind, too, that Tampa has won only one of Garza’s last six starts when the Rays were installed as a favorite.
Garza and the Rays also have to deal with a Yankees team that has won 10 of its last 14 games against the AL East and is 15-6 overall its last 21 games.
The Yankees will avenge yesterday’s loss and get over on Tampa today.
3? YANKEES
Bobby Maxwell
Cincinnati +120 at MILWAUKEE
Got a winner on the pro hardwood Monday night when the Bulls went to Detroit and scored the outright upset. Today we'll score a comp winner on the Reds as they take on the Brewers in Milwaukee.
Cincinnati squeaked out a 7-6 victory on Monday in Milwaukee and today they will get it done again behind the pitching of Bronson Arroyo who went six innings in an 8-6 win over the Mets in his first start of the season.
The Reds have scored seven or more runs in three of their six games this season and they've won three of their last four. Plus look at what they've done in Milwaukee, winning seven of their last nine visits to Wisconsin.
Milwaukee has dropped three straight and their pitching has been brutal, allowing 21 runs in their last three games and giving up six or more in five of their seven games to start the season. Manny Parra is on the hill for the Brewers and in his first outing he gave up five runs through 4 1/3 innings in a 7-1 loss to the Giants. The Brewers have lost his last five starts dating to last season and eight of his last 10.
Parra faced the Reds twice last year and lost them both, givin up 11 runs in 12 1/3 innings. Look for Arroyo to deliver a solid outing and the Brewers pitching staff to surrender a lot of runs like they've done all season.
Get the plus-money and play Cincy on the road in this one.
3? CINCINNATI
Jeff Benton
Baltimore at TEXAS -140
Three straight free-play winners, all on the baseball diamond as the Cardinals eked out the win against the DBacks on Monday. I’m now on a 12-6 roll with freebies over the last 18 days, and we’ll look to build on that with another baseball winner Tuesday as we take the Orioles-Rangers game OVER the total.
For starters, both of these squads have been involved in a slew of shootouts already this year, with the Rangers going 4-1-2 “over” the total in their first seven games and Baltimore going 5-2 “over” in their first seven. That includes Monday’s 10-9 slugfest won by the Orioles in Texas.
So far, the Rangers have played four home games, and the combined run totals in those four contests were 10, 13, 20 and 19. Even though we’re still two months away from summer, the ball is flying out of the Rangers’ home ballpark, with a whopping 17 home runs hit in those four games!
Not only are there a ton of quality hitters on both of these squads, but both pitching staffs have been shaky (and that’s being kind). Even before last night’s 10-9 outburst, Baltimore had a 5.67 overall team ERA and an 8.34 bullpen ERA, while Texas had a 6.00 ERA overall and a 9.19 ERA from its relievers.
Throw in the fact that the two starting pitchers in this game – Baltimore’s Alfredo Simon and Texas’ Brandon McCarthy – combined to allow seven earned runs in just 10 innings of work in their first two starts, and the only way to look in this game is OVER the total.
4? Orioles-Rangers OVER
Chris Jordan
Utah at L.A. LAKERS
If the Jazz want any chance of avoiding the No. 8 seed and a return trip to Los Angeles for the opening round of the playoffs, they’ll have to avoid a sixth straight road loss to the Lakers. Can they win outright? I don’t know that for sure. But I do know they’ll do everything they can to avoid a loss on the hardwood tonight, and should stay inside the number. Utah is one game behind New Orleans and Dallas with one game to play, and it has much more to play for than the Lakers, whose chances at the No. 1 overall seed in the NBA disappeared last night, when the Cavaliers toppled the Pacers.
Utah holds the tiebreaker over the Hornets and Mavericks, so a win over Los Angeles gives it a chance to move up if either New Orleans or Dallas loses their finale tomorrow night. I realize the Lakers would like to make a statement in case these two do meet in the first round, so a blowout win would earn the mental edge, but Phil Jackson has been relaxing his players in the fourth quarter quite a bit, and that would put a crimp in the home favorite covering.
1? JAZZ
Vegas Experts
St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamonbacks
Arizona starter Max Scherezer was once considered a very promising prospect, but the Diamonbacks have done nothing to boost his resume by losing all seven of his career starts. Don't look for win #1 tonight vs. the Cardinals and Chris Carpenter, who looked sensational in his first start of the year, allowing just one unearned run in seven innings of work. Carpenter has never lost to Arizona and the Redbirds are currently riding a five-game win streak.
Play on: St. Louis
LT Profits
New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays Under 8.5
The Tampa Bay Rays took the series opener from the New York Yankees 15-5 last night, but we expect a much lower scoring affair tonight.
Rays starter Matt Garza picked up where he left off in his breakthrough 2008 season in his first 2009 start, limiting the Boston Red Sox to just one run and four hits in seven innings at Fenway Park. Garza has some of the best stuff in the American League, and he can be downright dominant when he is on top of his game. He also has success vs. the Yankees last year, allowing three runs or less in two of his three starts against them.
Speaking of dominant, Yankees starter A.J. Burnett has always had great stuff, but he struggled with his control for much off his career. That changed last year when Burnett has the best season of his career with the Blue Jays, and his first start as a Yankee was a promising one, as he allowed two runs in 5.1 innings with six strikeouts. He was brilliant the last time he faced Tampa Bay last year, not allowing an earned run while posting 10 strikeouts in seven innings.
Look for the pitchers to dominate this evening in Tampa Bay.
Pick: Yankees/Rays Under 8.5
LARRY NESS
Boston Red Sox @ Oakland Athletics
PICK: Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox won the World Series in 2007 and came within a Game 7 loss last year to Tampa Bay in the ALCS, of returning to the Series. However, the Red Sox have opened the 2009 season at 2-5, hardly looking like a championship contender. The team is batting just .235 and averaging a measly 3.4 RPG. Reigning AL MVP Dustin Pedroia is hitting .179, David Ortiz is batting .208 with just three RBI while still looking for his first extra-base hit and Mike Lowell is batting .154. Boston owns a team ERA of 5.55 and will turn to Dice-K to get the team back on the right track tonight, after losing 8-2 in Oakland last night. Matsuzaka is coming off a season in which he lost only three times in 29 starts (he was 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA and Boston went 23-6 in his starts) but he lost his 2009 season debut, allowing four runs on nine hits and three walks in 5.1 innings in a 4-3 loss to the Rays in Fenway last Thursday. He allowed three HRs in a game for only the third time in his career. The A's are off to a 3-5 start with last night's win and will counter with Dana Eveland. The lefty made 41 appearances from 2005 through 2007 but only six starts. With Oakland trading away (and losing via free agency) so many starting pitchers, Eveland made 29 appearances in 2008 (all starts). He finished 9-9 with a 4.34 ERA, as the A's were a respectable 16-13 in those games, going plus-$460 vs the moneyline. He was very good at home last year, posting a 3.25 ERA (team was 11-4), as opposed to posting a 5.63 road ERA (team was 5-9). Eveland's first start of 2009 came against the Angels last Wednesday, a game in which the A's won 6-4. Unfortunately, that night will be best-remembered for what happened after the game, as Angels pitcher Adenhart was tragically killed in a car accident. As for Eveland, he allowed eight hits and three runs in six innings. He commented after the game that his velocity felt a little down from where it is normally. In his lone career start vs the Red Sox (Aug 2 of last season at Fenway), not much went right for the lefty, as he lasted just two innings, allowing eight hits and nine ERs. The Red Sox haven't hit yet but they will. Let's nor forget that they were 27-13 vs lefties last season, averaging 5.9 RPG. As for the A's, they were just 15-22 (minus-$1,045) vs right-handers at home in night games last season, scoring just 3.6 RPG. Matsuzaka went 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA in three outings against Oakland last year (Red Sox went 3-0) and I'll come back with the Red Sox in Game 2 of this series (my only loser in a 4-1 Monday was on Boston) for a small play.
EZWINNERS'S FREE SELECTION
(919) Boston Red Sox -$155
(Listing Matsuzaka and Eveland)
I look for Dice K to bounce back from his poor first outing this season.
Eveland was hammered in his only start by Boston last season and I
expect the Sox to do enough damage here to pick up the win.
GoodFella
DET (+122) vs CWS
NOT going to be a popular play & really more of a GUT feeling on this kid pitching AT HOME today & Detroit rakes lefties pretty good, .297 on the season & last year they got atleast 6 runs in 2 of the 3 starts Danks made vs Detroit last year...This is really just a SMALL gut play on Porcello to dial it in & have his best stuff pitching at HOME....The talented 20-year-old right-hander - a hard-throwing first-round pick who earned a spot in the rotation despite never before pitching above Single-A - was a bit shaky in his major league debut Thursday in Toronto, allowing four runs and nine hits in five innings of a 6-2 loss. "He looked a little young at times, bounced some curveballs, but he also threw some nasty ones and got some strikeouts on them," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "He's got some work to do, but that's something to work with.". I am going to go ahead & back the young kid here in this spot & look for the Tigers to touch up Danks some here today.
LEE KOSTROSKI
St. Louis Cardinals @ Arizona Diamondbacks
PICK: Arizona Diamondbacks
St. Louis has lost eight of the past nine games in Arizona heading into this series and the Cardinals hot start has come completely at home as this is the first road series for the Cardinals. The Cardinals closed 2008 going 3-13 in the last 16 road games of the season so expectations should be grounded until this team proves it can get the same types of performances away from home. The Cardinals are greatly overvalued playing in this series against an Arizona team that should be a playoff threat. The Diamondbacks have had some bad news with early season injuries but this is a good lineup and a pitching staff that should eventually be one of the better units in the NL even the early numbers are not indicative of that.
Chris Carpenter had a brilliant spring and a near flawless first start of the season but he must now pitch on the road against a much more threatening lineup. Carpenter has not pitched more than five innings on the road since 2006 and although he was impressive the first time through the rotation he still has a long way to go. St. Louis has gotten by so far but the bullpen is still a major concern with no clear closer and durability questions with Carpenter, who will still be on a tight pitch count.
Max Scherzer has been a highly touted prospect for the Diamondbacks and although he is yet to pick up a MLB win he has tons of potential. Scherzer had 66 strikeouts in just 56 innings last season and featured a 3.05 ERA. Scherzer saw limited action this spring but he had nine strikeouts and just one walk in only eight innings. Arizona has been very cautious with his health so for him to start this game means he is definitely at full strength. Most Cardinals hitters have very limited experience if any against him which should be an advantage for the Diamondbacks, particularly at home.
Lenny Del Genio
New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays
Prediction: New York Yankees
The Yankees are off a humiliating 15-5 loss to the Rays last night that we were on the right side of. We?re calling for them to bounce back on Tuesday behind AJ Burnett, who looked sharp in his debut in Pinstripes ? an 11-2 win over Baltimore. Counterpart Matt Garza owns a poor 12-19 team start record in the favorite role. New York fares much better vs. right-handed pitching (5.1 runs per game) than lefties and turned a $415 profit on the road vs. righties. The Yankees were one of just two teams to post a winning record vs. the Rays last season, so at an underdog price, they are simply too good to pass up here. Take NY Yankees.
JACK JONES
Yankees/Rays UNDER 8.5
After putting up a combined 20 runs (15 by the Rays, 5 by the Yanks) last night, I like the Rays and the Yankees to stay under the total on Tuesday. Rays' starter Matt Garza got off to a great start to the season with a 1 run, 4 hit, 3 walk performance in 7 innings of work against the Red Sox this year. A. J. Burnett also came out strong in his first outing of the year, allowing just 2 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. Burnett also has a solid history against the Rays. In 16 career starts has just a 2.98 ERA versus Tampa. Both teams are strong on defense and the starters should keep the ball in the park. There are some concerns with the bullpen on both teams, but I believe they will rise to the occasion if this is the close, low-scoring game I project it to be.
Jeff Alexander
1 Unit on Boston Red Sox -143
The Sox have lost 5 of 6 and were kicked in game 1 of this series, but I really like them to get back in the win column tonight. They have a big edge on the mound with Matsuzaka against Eveland. In Eveland's first and only start against the Red Sox, he was roughed up like few pitcher's are, now posting an ERA of 40.50 and a WHIP of 5.000 against Bean Town. The Sox sluggers will gladly welcome him to the hill tonight. Conversely, Matsuzaka is 2-1 when starting against Oakland with an ERA of 2.55 and a WHIP of 0.973. Boston is 16-3 against the money line when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 38% to 46%) over the last 2 seasons, winning these games by an average score of 5.7 to 3.2. After getting hit in the mouth by this bad team Monday, the Sox will strike back tonight.
Dave Price
1 Unit on Seattle Mariners +100
The M's are rolling, having won 4 straight games, and now they carry their momentum into their home opener tonight. Carlos Silva gets the big edge in this pitching matchup as he has had the Angels number. He is 6-2 with an ERA of 3.82 when starting against them. The Mariners are 6-0 in their last 6 vs. the American League West, 5-1 in their last 6 games following a win, and 5-2 in their last 7 games as an underdog. The M's will be jacked up for this one and I'll grab them at a solid price.
Greg Shaker
Boston Red Sox at Oakland Athletics
I am playing this game at 1/2 Moneyline ad 1/2 Runline of +110. I hate to be so "Public" playing the Sox in this spot but it is worth a shot considering what we have going on tonight in Oakland. Dice K's first start verses TB was not a good one as he served up 3 Dingers to the Rays. He should have more success verses the light hitting Athletics who did not hit light last night in a 8-2 Win. Yes, they have improved their lot with Giambi and Holliday in the lineup, but they don't offer the same scoring capacity as TB does. Daisuke Matsuzaka is 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA in 4 career starts verses. Oakland. The Red Sox are 14-2 in the last 16 starts made by Matsuzaka and they are 40-18 when he is favored to win. The Sox are a good lefthanded hitting team and Eveland had no success the only time he threw against them allowing 9 runs over just 2 innings of work. I seriously doubt that the Sox will be beat by a lefty 2 nites in a row and especially with a decided pitching advantage going for them. Boston is in need of a win and with the Big Man on the mound, I think they get it.
Rob Homyak
5 UNITS on Florida Marlins
Play ON FLORIDA using the money line in All games on the road when the total is 9 to 9.5
The record is 24 Wins and 13 Losses for the last two seasons (+19.59 units)
The Marlins will give the ball to starter Chris Volstad in this one. Righthander Volstad is 1-0 this season with a 1.80 ERA.
Starting this game for the Braves will be Javier Vazquez. The righthander has a 4.50 ERA to go along with a 0-0 record this season.
The Marlins defeated the Mets 2-1 as a +130 underdog on Sunday. The three runs scored fell UNDER the posted over/under total (7.5).
Josh Johnson pitched a complete-game five-hitter, allowing only one run with seven strikeouts for Florida and Ronny Paulino delivered an RBI single in the win.
The Braves defeated Washington 8-5 as a -180 favorite on Sunday. The 13 runs scored went OVER the posted over/under total (9).
Jair Jurrjens allowed three earned runs on five hits in 5 1-3 innings for Atlanta, while Chipper Jones was 2-3 with a pair of RBI in the win.
Vazquez hasn?t faced Florida since 2005, is 6-5 with a 4.68 ERA in 17 career outings against the Marlins. VAZQUEZ is 3-12 (-10.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
ATLANTA is 76-89 (-18.8 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
Florida with Volstad is on runs of 5-1 overall, 5-1 on the road (all as an underdog) and 4-1 against the N.L. East. Volstad had two quality starts against Atlanta last year, he allowed three runs on six hits over six innings in each contest. He lost the first 4-0, then got a no-decision in his team?s 5-3 victory in early September. VOLSTAD: Florida 14-6 playing with day off.
FLORIDA is 88-76 (+24.3 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
FLORIDA is 59-37 (+30.3 Units) against the money line when the total is 9 to 9.5 over the last 2 seasons.
Dwayne Bryant
KAN (-145) vs CLE
Carl Pavano's attempt at reviving his pitching career with the Cleveland Indians got off to a rough start. The right-hander allowed nine runs, six hits and walked three on 39 pitches in just one-plus inning of Cleveland's 12-8 loss at Texas on Thursday.
While Pavano hopes to simply keep his team in the game, the inconsistent Indians' bats will try to get the best of Kyle Davies, who's picked up where he left off at the end of last season. After winning his final three starts of 2008, Davies allowed three hits and struck out eight in seven scoreless innings of the Royals' 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. "He's on the same roll that he finished August with, and went through September with," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "Very impressive."
The Indians' bullpen has been mediocre at best (5.20 ERA, 1.52 WHIP), while the KC pen has been very sharp (2.75 ERA, 0.97 WHIP).
I'll take Kansas City with Davies over Cleveland and Pavano.
MADDUX
Today's Free Pick is Minnesota -137
Vegasflyer Sports
Mike Hillin
Bonus Play- St. Louis Cardinals
Valley Sports MLB: St. Louis Cardinals -140
Poor Joe's Forecasts MLB: Seattle Mariners Over 9
MVPCapper
4/14: Florida @ Atlanta Under 9
Bankroll Free Sports
4/14/09: Boston Red Sox (-1.5) -115
Rob Vinciletti
New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays
8½ un-110
who2beton
MPS
