Saturday 5/17 Service Plays
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James Patrick Sports

Tigers vs. Diamondbacks

This pair of potential post season participants are at the back end of their respective rotations and we look for Detroit – Arizona to fly OVER the TOTAL as our Saturday selection in Major League action.

Marc Lawrence

Play On: NY Yankees w/Pettite

Note: The Pinstripes play host to their crosstown rival Mets at Yankees Stadium Saturday afternoon when they send Andy Pettite to the mound. Pettite has enjoyed hurling against the Mets in his MLB career, going 12-6 with a 3.15 ERA. He’s also win five of his last six team starts on Saturdays. With the Yankees having come up winners in 13 of the last 19 games as a host in this series, look for the big lefty to come up big here this afternoon.

Marc’s MLB Game of the Week plays have been on the money this season, especially in the National League where his top plays are 5-0. His MLB Game of the Week goes this Saturday and, best of all, it’s a National League team in a NEVER LOST winning situation in an Interleague game. Get it now and win good again with Marc today.

Dave Cokin

Astros @ Rangers
Play: Astros -125

Roy Oswalt isn’t anywhere close to his usual All Star status. The perennially tough Houston ace is lugging around an ERA that’s still on the wrong side of 5. But Oswalt has been coming around some, and has actually strung together six straight quality starts. None have been spectacular, but all have been okay. Vicente Padilla has been surprisingly effective for Texas. But in his last start, he had trouble getting untracked early, barely clocking 90MPH in the opening frame. His velocity increased as he loosened up, but this could be a signal that he’s on the verge of wearing down. I’m going to look for the Astros to get the jump early in this one and I’ll back Houston as a moderately priced road favorite.

Greg Daraban

Houston at Texas

Last night Texas pounded the ball enroute to a 16-8 win.Astros starter Oswalt seems off his game must support the home dog in this affair.

Take Texas

Jimmy The Moose

Game: Los Angeles Dodgers at Los Angeles Angels
Prediction: Los Angeles Angels

Reason: Prior to last night’s meetinge between the clubs the Dodgers had lost 6 of their last 8 games. The Dodgers are 10-29 in their last 39 interleague games. In their last 27 interleague road games they are 4-23. This afternoon the send Chan Ho Park to the mound and that’s not reassuring at all. The Angels come into this one limping having lost 6 of their last 8 games prior to last night’s meeting. The Angels are 14-3 in their last 17 interleague games as a favorite. The Angels are 20-8 in their last 28 interleague games overall. The Angels are 6-1 in Santana’s last 7 starts. The Dodgers had lost 7 of the last 8 meetings between the clubs prior to last night’s game. Play on the Los Angeles Angels

Matt Fargo

Toronto Blue Jays at Philadelphia Phillies
Prediction: Toronto Blue Jays

Reason: Philadelphia took the first game of this series last night to make it two in a row but I don?t expect much more. The Phillies are 7-6 over their last 13 games and they remain inconsistent as they are just 2-5 in their last five games following a win and also 3-7 in their last 10 games after plating five runs or more in its last game. The bullpen is one of the best in baseball but the Phillies are getting an ERA of just 4.68 from their starters including a rugged 6.16 ERA over their last 10 games.

The Blue Jays had their four-game winning streak snapped last night as the pitching was hit hard for the first time in a while. Emergency starter David Purcey was hammered for eight runs in just three innings but now we get back to the regular rotation tonight. The offense has been hit or miss as it has scored three runs or fewer in seven of its last nine games but the Blue Jays will be able to get the bats going tonight against a struggling starter that continues to be overvalued.

That starter is Adam Eaton. Eaton started the season with three consecutive quality starts but it has been a struggle since then as he has posted a 6.46 ERA over his last five starts. The Phillies won three of those but all were by just a single run and those were the first three. Eaton has allowed just five hits in each of his last four outings but he has averaged only 4.2 innings per start. Another big issue has been control as he has walked eight batters over his last two starts.

Toronto goes with A.J. Burnett who is coming off a quality start, his third in his last four games. The Blue Jays gave him no run support so he was handed the loss. He has performed much better on the road this season with four of his five starts being quality outings. After walking 14 over a three-game stretch, he has issued only four bases on balls over his last two games so the control is showing a huge improvement. His track record against the Phillies is no good but all of that came two and three years ago. Play Toronto Blue Jays 1.5 Units

Big Al McMordie

Chicago White Sox vs. San Francisco Giants
Play: Chicago White Sox

At 9:05 pm, our complimentary selection is on the Chicago White Sox with Mark Buehrle over the San Francisco Giants and Barry Zito. Clearly, the Giants’ signing of Zito after the 2006 seaon has been nothing short of a bust. In his 41 starts for San Francisco, his team has come out on top a mere 14 times, including 0 for 7 this year! Granted, Buehrle has not been much better with 1 win in 6 starts, but his 5.81 ERA and 1.54 WHIP compare favorably to the awful 6.58 ERA and 1.79 WHIP that Zito has put up in 2008. The White Sox are 6-4 vs. southpaw starters this season, while SF is 5-6. Take the White Sox.

Ross Benjamin

Game: San Diego (Wolf) @ Seattle (Bedard)
Pick: Seattle –140

In spite of not getting good results the Mariners are hitting a sizzling .333 at home versus left-handed pitching this season. Contrarily the Padres have hit an ice cold .212 as a team versus left-handed pitching this season. The Padres are a pathetic 2-10 versus a left-handed starting pitcher this season. San Diego has struggled mightily on the road in 2008 losing 17 of 24 in that role. The Seattle starter Bedard enters the game in good form off his last 4 starts and in 3 home starts this season has posted a brilliant 1.45 ERA. The San Diego starter Wolfe enters the game in horrible form off of his last 4 starts posting a 2.05 WHIP and a 8.55 ERA all resulting in San Diego losses. Wolf is 1-4 in his team starts on the road this season with a lofty 6.35 ERA. Play on the Seattle Mariners as my free selection of the night.

Gator Report

MLB 70% Super Situations (MLB Record 11-3 +770 units)

MLB (11-3 +770) Saturday: Play Against MLB (AL) teams who average <=4.5 runs per game against a NL starting pitcher whose ERA<=3.70, with a team batting .240 or worse over their last 15 games.34-4 since 1997 (89.5%)

PLAY: Cincinnati -115

JEFFERSONSPORTS

MLB EARLY RELEASE

METS +126
Santana as a dog and he has owned yankee stadium. Another great stat is that mets hit about .25 better against lefties and the yankees hit about .40 worse against lefties. Give me the dog.

ANGELS -154
Santana at home and bats might be waking up for the halos

SEATTLE -148
I have a handicapping rule, if I get the better pitcher (after a bad outing) and I have the better hitting team, the team with more power and speed, and they knock the hell out of lefty pitchers (.333), I take em.

MINNESOTA +111
Hernandez been on fire and I got to take a small dog against an unproven rook who has struggled

WNBA
LA SPARKS+1

Jim Feist

CLE Indians and CIN Reds
Take Under

Cleveland’s pitching staff has been terrific, especially the bullen, while the offense hasn’t yet clicked. That’s why the Indians are on a 15-3-1 under the total. The hit and miss Reds lineup won’t find the going easy against Indians ace Fausto Carmona, who is 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA. Cincy is 11-7 under the total at home and starter Aaron Harang has been outstanding with a 3.32 ERA. Don’t look for any offense in this Interleague game with a pair of aces on the mound. Play the Indians/Reds under the total

Chris Jordan:

Were going to back hard-throwing Roy Oswalt, as Houston has won five of his last six starts and in each of those outings hes held the opposition to three earned runs or less. On Monday, he was money, giving up just three runs while scattering five hits over eight frames of a 7-3 victory in San Francisco. He enters this Lone Star-state battle with a 4-3 record and a respectable 3.53 ERA in nine career starts against the Rangers.

And he?ll no doubt be looking to avenge last seasons 7-2 loss, in which he gave up just three runs on eight hits in 6-1/3 innings. He?s generally been quality in this series, as hes held the Rangers to three earned runs or less in seven of his nine starts against Texas; more importantly, the Astros are 6-3 in his nine starts against the Rangers.

Lay the road chalk.

5* ASTROS

Rocky Atkinson

San Diego (Wolf) @ Seattle (Bedard)
Play On: Seattle -140

In spite of not getting good results the Mariners are hitting a sizzling .333 at home versus left-handed pitching this season. Contrarily the Padres have hit an ice cold .212 as a team versus left-handed pitching this season. The Padres are a pathetic 2-10 versus a left-handed starting pitcher this season. San Diego has struggled mightily on the road in 2008 losing 17 of 24 in that role. The Seattle starter Bedard enters the game in good form off his last 4 starts and in 3 home starts this season has posted a brilliant 1.45 ERA. The San Diego starter Wolfe enters the game in horrible form off of his last 4 starts posting a 2.05 WHIP and a 8.55 ERA all resulting in San Diego losses. Wolf is 1-4 in his team starts on the road this season with a lofty 6.35 ERA.

Play on the Seattle Mariners

Bobby Maxwell

Cleveland -105 at CINCINNATI

Today’s play on the diamond comes from Cincinnati as we go with the Indians to get the road win over the Reds.

Going with the hot pitcher in this one as we play the Indians’ Fausto Carmona (4-1, 2.40 ERA) against the Reds and starter Aaron Harang (2-5, 3.32).

Cincinnati edged the Indians 4-3 on Friday, but expect Carmona to get the Tribe even with a big pitching performance today.

Carmona is 1-0 in his last three starts with a 1.74 ERA and only once this season has he allowed more than three earned runs in a start. On Monday he threw a complete-game shutout at the Blue Jays, winning 3-0 and allowing just five hits.

Harang gave up four runs on seven hits in an 8-7 win over the Marlins on Monday but it was the first time in four games the Reds won a Harang start. He’s seen the Indians plenty in his career and been up and down. He gave up five runs in a start against the Tribe last year and then shut them out for seven innings in another.

The Tribe has won eight of 11 and six of eight overall and they are 17-5 in Carmona’s last 22 starts against a team with a losing record, and 20-8 in his last 28 trips to the hill.

Cincinnati is just 2-4 in their last six interleague games and 3-7 when Harang starts on a Saturday.

Let’s play Carmona and the Tribe in this battle of Ohio.

3* CLEVELAND

HotLocksports

Minnesota Twins vs Colorado Rockies
Minnesota Twins +111

Minnesota is 26-8 L 34 Interleague contests, Colorado is 0-8 their L 8 Interleague. Hernandez has pitched well with a 2.15 ERA L 3 starts while Reynolds carries in a 6.35 ERA his L 3. Rockies are struggling anywhere they play and Minny has the edge here. Twinkies for 4 units!

Lucky Leprechaun Sports

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs -240

I used this play yesterday and will come right back with it today. The Cubs this year have simply owned the Pirates, going 7-0 while scorig an average of 8.4 rpg in the process. In fact, dating back to last year the Cubs have gone 10-0 vs the Pirates, while outscoring them by 4.8 rpg, included in that stretch is a 7-0 mark at home with an average margin of victory being 5.7 rpg. The Cubs have Zambrano on the mound today and he has been tough this year going 6-1 with a 2.03 ERA, including a 4-0 mark with a 1.89 ERA at home. Big Z is also 9-5 with a 3.40 ERA in his career vs the Pirates. Pittsburgh sends Zach Duke to the mound and even though has has been decent in his last 3 starts he is still 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in 4 road starts this year. The Cubs are scoring 7 rpg at home this year and that should be plenty enough, with Zambrano on the mound, to get a win by 2 or more.

DCI

Playoffs: 28-14 (.667)
Season: 442-337 (.567)

Western Conference Finals
Game 5, best-of-7
DETROIT 3, Dallas 2

1. Sports

Chicago @ San Francisco

OK, so Buehrle against Zito…a pitchers’ duel supreme, right? Not this season as the White Sox lefty (1-5, 5.81 ERA) has been slapped around for 62 hits through 48 innings over 8 starts while The Giants southpaw (0-7, 6.58 ERA) has fared no better yeilding 53 hits over 39 2/3. OK, so the Sox power lineup should bash the light-hitting G-men out of AT&T Park, right? Chicago does top San Fran with 47 homers to 26 but this is field swallows long fly balls and Bruce Bochy’s crew enjoys solid advantages in batting average (.259 to .242) as well as doubles (88 to 70). NL rules basically parks Sox DH Jim Thome (7 HR, 23 RBI) on the pine while Buhrle hasn’t managed a base hit since 2003.

Playing on the road, on an unfamiliar field, with different rules is a pretty big hill to climb. We’ll take the Giants

Drew Gordon

Oakland is struggling mightily, losers of 6 of their last 7, including their 3-2 loss in Atlanta yesterday. That win improved Atlanta’s Major League leading home record to 15-4, including 8 straight wins! More of the same tonight, as the Braves do what they do best (win at Turner) behind one of their best in the surging Tim Hudson.

Hudson has been ridiculously good over his last 3 starts, going 3-0 with a miniscule 0.78 ERA! In other words, he’s allowed 2 earned over his last 23 innings, shutting down Cincy, San Diego, and Pittsburgh along that way! With the A’s bats struggling, its hard to imagine a match up against Hudson is going to do much for their confidence. Note, the A’s are batting just .239 against righties over their last 10 games.

Opposing Hudson is Oakland’s Rich Harden, who was shaky in his first start of the DL, getting tagged for 5 runs on 8 hits in just 3 2/3 innings by the Rangers on Sunday. Although Harden has some solid numbers against the Braves in the past, I’d temper my expectations for him, especially after watching him struggle in Arlington. Braves are great at Turner, and the fact their smashing righties to the tune of a .317 average there this season is bad news for Harden.

Bottom line, look for the Braves to add to the A’s miserable road trip with another solid effort tonight at Turner. Hudson has been spectacular over his last 3 starts, and there’s little reason not to expect another lockdown effort tonight, especially when you consider the A’s struggles at the plate

Take Atlanta behind Hudson over Oakland and Harden in this MLB match up.

4* ATLANTA

Karl Garrett

After a rain out last night in the Bronx, the Yankees have bumped Rasner back, and have Andy Pettitte penciled in to match pitches with the Mets Johan Santana.

I like the pitchers to have their way today against the hitters, and for this game featuring a pair of quality southpaws to stay UNDER the posted total.

The Mets have played their last pair of games UNDER the total, while the offensively-anemic Yankees have been involved in 5 straight UNDERS, and UNDERS in 8 of their last 9 games

Also consider that seven of Andy Pettitte’s eight starts this year have played LOW, and so will this one.

Take the Mets-Yanks this afternoon to go UNDER the total.

4* UNDER

Sports Gambling Hotline

If ever we saw a game that screamed “bet the OVER, bet the OVER”, it is on the schedule tonight!

Chicago and San Francisco just played a 2-0 game last night, but watch how fast the hitters get locked in tonight with Mark Buehrle, and Barry Zito on the hill.

These southpaws have been knocked around all season long, and we don’t see that changing tonight. Buehrle is 1-5 for the year with an ERA of 5.81, while Zito is 0-7 for the year with an ERA of 6.58.

With those kinds of numbers, it is hard to imagine we will be seeing many innings that go 1-2-3 that is for sure!

Chicago has played 4 straight unders, while San Fran is on a 1-2-1 under clip their last 4 games. That all changes tonight.

Play the OVER.

5* OVER

VEGAS EXPERT Tip of the Day

Cleveland Indians at Cincinnati Reds

The Indians are just an Under machine at this point having gone Under in 13 of 14 contests this month. Today’s starter Fausto Carmona has allowed just 13 earned runs all season long and is coming off a complete-game shutout on Monday afternoon. That’s nothing new for the Tribe, who are 12-2 Under in day games this season. Reds starter Aaron Harang will also do his part as he’s gone 15-3 Under all-time in Interleague Play.

Play on: Under

Chris Jordan

Houston -115 at TEXAS

Were going to back hard-throwing Roy Oswalt, as Houston has won five of his last six starts and in each of those outings hes held the opposition to three earned runs or less. On Monday, he was money, giving up just three runs while scattering five hits over eight frames of a 7-3 victory in San Francisco. He enters this Lone Star-state battle with a 4-3 record and a respectable 3.53 ERA in nine career starts against the Rangers.

And hell no doubt be looking to avenge last seasons 7-2 loss, in which he gave up just three runs on eight hits in 6-1/3 innings. He?s generally been quality in this series, as hes held the Rangers to three earned runs or less in seven of his nine starts against Texas more importantly, the Astros are 6-3 in his nine starts against the Rangers. Lay the road chalk.

5* ASTROS

Matt Rivers

Take the White Sox by the Bay.

How can you not go against Barry Zito here? I’m not saying that the former Cy Young award winner isn’t overdue for a win but overall the guy is just not right and his San Francisco team is awful.

The Giants are as bad as they come with slow mediocre veterans like Molina, Winn, Durham and others and fairly untalented young guys like Velez, Lewis, etc.. There is absolutely nothing appealing about Bruce Bochy’s squad now that Barry Bonds is gone. These guys have actually overachieved to the max so far this season and are still well below. 500.

Ozzie Guillen’s Sox are not the team that won the World Series a few years ago, I fully admit that, but they are also much better than the terrible season they had last season. Chicago has powerful bats with Thome, Konerko, Pierzynski, Crede and others and should be just fine here against the struggling and reeling Zito.

Mark Buehrle is also a former Cy Young award winner who is not pitching up to his usual standards but this southpaw has not been as dismal as Zito. Buehrle still has the ability to hurl a gem at the drop of a hat and especially here against this weak Giants lineup.

If Zito somehow gets that elusive first win, which he will at some point, then so be it, but I really do not see it happening today and certainly not at this cheap price.

Jeff Benton

Play the Mariners and ace Erik Bedard on the run line (-1? runs) against the Padres.

I know I went against Bedard in his last start at Texas, and the Rangers delivered a wild 13-12 victory, with Bedard getting rocked for six runs on seven hits (two HRs) in two innings ? easily his worst and shortest outing of the season. But that game was in Texas (a notorious hitters? park) against the Rangers (a potent offense). Tonight, he?s back at home at pitcher-friendly Safeco Field (where Bedard has a 1.45 ERA in three starts), and he?s facing the worst offense in baseball (no team has scored fewer runs than San Diego, which hits just .233 as a team, including .212 against left-handers).

It should come as no surprise, then, to learn that the Padres carry a bunch of negative slumps into this contest, including 7-21 overall, 7-20 on the road, 5-17 as an underdog and 0-4 against left-handed starters (not to mention 2-6 in their last eight games in Seattle).

Now, while the Padres have struggled against lefties, the Mariners have thrived, batting .300 overall and .333 at home against southpaws. Tonight, Seattle gets to tee off against lefty Randy Wolf, who had a 1.42 ERA after his first three starts, but in his next five has given up 23 runs in 26 1/3 innings, with that 1.42 ERA ballooning to 5.16. And what do you know, the Padres are 0-4 in Wolf?s last five outings, including 0-3 on the road after Monday?s 12-3 loss at the Cubs.

Bottom line: Because I don?t want to lay this kind of chalk and because I think the Mariners? bats will get to Wolf, we?ll play this game on the run-line and take a little plus money back when Seattle wins by at least two runs.

4* SEATTLE MARINERS

Jake Timlin

Chicago Cubs -1 1/2 Runs

Starting the day off a winner take the Cubs on the Run Line as they blowout away the Pirates. After all with the Cubs 7-4 victory to open the series Chicago is now an impressive 7-1 over their last 8 home games, including winning all 7 games against the Pirates this season with all but one game by more then 1 run. Well making it 8 straight wins in a blowout look for the Cubs to limit the Pirates behind Zambrano and his 6-1 record and 2.03 ERA while continuing to get production from their offense and off of Duke who allowed 5 earned runs in 4 innings of work just one month ago to the Cubs. Flat out with the Cubs rolling at home and the Pirates a bad road team look for Chicago to continue their hand at home today. All Chicago in a blowout!

Tony Weston

We?re nailing another easy winner tonight as we?re going with the Chicago White Sox over the San Francisco Giants.

The White Sox kicked off this interleague series last night by blanking the Giants 2-0 in San Francisco. That win upped the Sox winning streak to three games and gives them a 6-3 record over their last nine games.

The Giants come into tonights game 3-9 over their last 12 games and are 3-5 their last eight home games.

Oh yeah, and taking the hill today for San Francisco is Barry Zito-for-the-season. Zito is 0-7 this season with a 6.58 ERA and the Giants are 0-8 this season in Zitos starts. Also consider that in Zitos starts the Giants have been outscored by an average score of 5.5-1.5.

The Sox will drill Zito and hand him and the Giants another loss. Take Chicago on the road.

3* WHITE SOX

Scott Delaney

Orioles over the Nationals.

I understand full and well that Brian Burres has been terrible in his last three starts, going 0-3 after allowing a total of 10 earned runs over 17 innings of work. But this isnt about him although I do think he has a chance in this battle of D.C. its about a Baltimore team that has reeled off three straight wins and six of its last seven. The Os are finding ways to win, like in last nights 5-3 victory in the series-opener, and come into this one having won 13 of their last 18 at Camden Yards. Theyre also 4-1 the last five times Burres has started on a Saturday.

The young southpaw is 1-1 with a 2.31 ERA in his two home starts this season, and should out-pitch Odalis Perez. The Nationals don?t perform too well on Saturdays, as theyre now on a 1-5 skid the last six weeks, while theyre on a 2-11 run in their last 13 Interleague games against AL teams sporting winning marks. And when it comes to Perez, Washington is 1-4 in his last five road starts.

4* ORIOLES

Strike Point Sports

DEVIL RAYS / CARDINALS UNDER

Friday’s game was low scoring, and I see this one staying under the posted total as well. Matt Garza has looked really good his last couple of outings, and Adam Wainwright will come to play at home. The under has hit in Matt Garza’s last four starts, while also staying under in ten of Wainwright’s last 16 home starts. Starting pitching comes through here, and we’ll see a score indicative of two strong efforts on the mound.

Michael Cannon

Detroit at ARIZONA -135)

Take the Diamondbacks for the home win tonight over the Tigers.

Not sure what’s happening with Detroit this year. They have stumbled out of the gates to the tune of a 16-26 mark, which has them dead last in the AL Central.

The Diamondbacks, on the other hand, have been tearing it up in the desert. They are in first place in the NL West with a 27-15 record.

The Tigers have lost seven straight on the road and 11 of 13 overall.

Arizona, meanwhile, has won four in a row and owns an 18-7 mark at home this year.

Max Scherzer will start for Arizona and he’s looked good since his call up. The first-round pick in 2006 has struck out 18 batters in 14 1-3 innings since being called up.

Detroit will counter with Armando Galarraga, who has tailed off a bit after a fast start to the season. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA over his last three outings.

Take Arizona as they grab the home win.

3* ARIZONA

Nelly

Minnesota + over Colorado

The Twins are 26-8 in the last 34 interleague games and this ballpark suits the Minnesota lineup perfectly with a lot of space for the solid contact hitters and speed for the Twins. Minnesota is 8-1 with Hernandez on the mound and he is backed by one of the top bullpens in baseball. Minnesota delivered a big win last night to snap a three-game losing streak but in reality all three losses to Toronto could have gone either way in close games. Greg Reynolds is essentially an emergency starter for the banged up Rockies and he was hit hard in his first outing. Colorado is just 7-11 at home this season and despite the ballpark edge the Rockies have worse overall offensive numbers than Minnesota and just a slight edge in home runs despite Minnesota?s small-ball mantra. Colorado has lost six straight games and the Rockies continue to be overvalued while underachieving.

Dave Malinsky 6*

Brewers (RL) @ Boston (RL) May 17, 2008 3:55PM
PICK: Boston (RL)

Does a little rain change this one? Not at all. Except for costing us a few pennies in the lay price (of course), the unfortunate “Bookmakers Prerogativeâ€? for such occasions. And the less said about that the better. So we re-cap yesterday’s analysis –

Here is a chance to use the best of what Inter-League play brings, and that also means time to go to our Top Rating in a game that the Red Sox should not just win, but win big.

Ballpark adjustments are one of the major elements of these games, and few places are tougher from a practical standpoint, and more intimidating, than Fenway. That can become magnified by a fragile Milwaukee team that plays poor defense (watching Ryan Braun deal with this wall can provide some comic relief this weekend), and one that has a weak bullpen to have to gut through the tough late innings. We would make them the classic kind of team to be vulnerable here, especially with the hittable Jeff Suppan on the mound (less than six innings per start; 4-11/5.78 on the road the last two seasons), who forces that struggling bullpen into action early. And then there is the flip side.

As tough as Fenway can be on the first trip, Daisuke Matsuzaka is also among the toughest customers to face on the first look. In 2007 he was 10-6/3.18 the first time against an opponent, and 5-6/5.75 on subsequent looks, He was also a razor-sharp 3-1/2.00 against N.L. opponents in Inter-League play, before also getting a solid win at Colorado in the World Series. This season he is off to a sparkling 6-0/2.45, with only 28 hits allowed in 47.2 innings, while striking out 40, and his four Fenway starts have been won by a combined 26-8. A free-swinging Milwaukee offense is not going to get in the way of that form, and with Jonathan Papelbon rested and ready it does not get any easier in the latter innings – he has not been scored on at Fenway this season, with twice as many strikeouts as Hits + Walks combined.

The Red Sox are 18-9 as -1.5 in Inter-League play at home the last three seasons. the fact that we can play this one in a “pick’em� range makes it easy to step things up.

Chuck Franklin

Cleveland at CINCINNATI

Adam Dunn’s bat is waking up and the Reds have won four in a row, including the opener in this interleague, interstate match-up against Cleveland. The Indians pitching has been amazing recently, going on a 43-inning stretch when the starters had not allowed a run. But home team Cincinnati will win again. This time it will be with Aaron Harang over Fausto Carmona.

Being from the American League, Harang has a career 3-1 record with a 2.38 ERA in seven starts against the Indians. The Reds are 5-1 in Harang’s last six interleague starts. They have won five in a row at home and four in a row versus a righty starter.

The Indians are on a 3-7 run when on the road versus a team with a winning record at home and they are only 2-5 the last seven interleague games played when facing a right-handed starter.

Take the home team and specify the pitchers as listed.

3* CINCINNATI

LT Profits

MLB Tampa Bay Rays 2 units

MLB LA Dodgers 2 units

WUNDERDOG

Game: Tampa Bay at St. Louis
Pick: Game Total OVER 8

Tampa Bay enters red-hot while the Cards have been struggling mightily after a good start. The problem for the Cards is they can’t seem to get anyone out anymore, and in the past 14 games, the opponents are battering the pitching staff to the tune of 5.6rpg, and in 5 of these games the opponent has reached this posted total, all by themselves! At the same time the offense has been very consistent, as they have scored 3+ runs in 19 of the last 20. This is a different Ray’s team than in the past, as they have put up 5+ in 22 games already on the season. This total appears to be quite low all things considered, and we will play this one over.

Kelso

20 unit Cleveland
15 units Minnesota
3 units Mets and Angels

Brandon Lang

15 Dime – Braves

5 Dime – Red Sox – 1 1/2 Run in Game 1 of Doubleheader

Specify Pitchers – Matsuzaka vs. Suppan

FREE – Houston Astros

MTi

5-Star SAN FRANCISCO +120 over Chicago – Yesterday, these two were scoreless after six, but the White Sox pushed across two in the top of the seventh and that was all the scoring. The Giants, despite their woes this season, remain deadly after a loss that was tied after the sixth. San Francsico is a sparkling 29-11 when seeking immediate revenge for a loss in which they were tied at the end of 6 innings. This season, they are 4-1 in this situation with the only loss by a single run. We can tighten this trend up a bit by insisting that the Giants line be within 135 of pick and the trend moves to a best-in-league 25-7, including a perfect 4-0 this season.

Buehrle is having a tough season. He has a record of 1-5 and an ERA of 5.81. In his last two starts the Sox lost 13-1 and 10-7. In the most recent loss the Sox were up 4-2, but Buehrle couldn’t hang onto the lead, allowing 10 hits and 8 runs. Chicago seems to adopt a defeatist attitude when their starter is struggling, as they are a bankroll-crushing 27-54 when they lost the last two games their starter started, dropping 33.7 units. In addition, Chicago is 36-56 when they blew a lead in their starter’s last start and lost and 8-15 as a FAVORITE vs a team that has lost at least their last three games and it is not the first game of a series.

While it is true that Zito has a record of 0-7 this season and was vanquished to the bullpen as a result, he last two starts upon his return to the starting rotation were solid. This gives us tremendous line value here as no one wants to back Barry Zito. The +120 here is a gift. Accept it with open arms.

MTi’s FORECAST: SAN FRANCISCO 6 Chicago 3

Feist

5* Arizona
IC Baltimore
Plat Twins

Cokin

Hat Atlanta
Win Cleveland
Bgun Arizona
3* Seattle

Spreitzer

5* Angels

MTi

5-Star SAN FRANCISCO +120 over Chicago – Yesterday, these two were scoreless after six, but the White Sox pushed across two in the top of the seventh and that was all the scoring. The Giants, despite their woes this season, remain deadly after a loss that was tied after the sixth. San Francsico is a sparkling 29-11 when seeking immediate revenge for a loss in which they were tied at the end of 6 innings. This season, they are 4-1 in this situation with the only loss by a single run. We can tighten this trend up a bit by insisting that the Giants line be within 135 of pick and the trend moves to a best-in-league 25-7, including a perfect 4-0 this season.

Buehrle is having a tough season. He has a record of 1-5 and an ERA of 5.81. In his last two starts the Sox lost 13-1 and 10-7. In the most recent loss the Sox were up 4-2, but Buehrle couldn’t hang onto the lead, allowing 10 hits and 8 runs. Chicago seems to adopt a defeatist attitude when their starter is struggling, as they are a bankroll-crushing 27-54 when they lost the last two games their starter started, dropping 33.7 units. In addition, Chicago is 36-56 when they blew a lead in their starter’s last start and lost and 8-15 as a FAVORITE vs a team that has lost at least their last three games and it is not the first game of a series.

While it is true that Zito has a record of 0-7 this season and was vanquished to the bullpen as a result, he last two starts upon his return to the starting rotation were solid. This gives us tremendous line value here as no one wants to back Barry Zito. The +120 here is a gift. Accept it with open arms.

MTi’s FORECAST: SAN FRANCISCO 6 Chicago 3

4-Star Pittsburgh +200 over CHICAGO

In Zambrano’s last two starts, the Cubs have won 3-0-and 12-3. The Venezuelan just can’t keep up his intensity when starting against a mediocre team after a couple of easy wins. In fact, the Cubs are an amazing 0-8 in Zambrano’s starts when he is at least a 140 FAVORITE and they won the last two times he started, costing $100 players a whopping $1410. In three of the eight losses he was a 200+ favorite, as he is today.

In yesterday’s match-up, the Cubs were up 6-0 after two innings, but did little thereafter and coasted home 7-4. The hits were roughly even at seven for the Pirates and only eight for the Cubs. Chicago is very soft in this situation, going 22-38 when FAVORED after a win as a favorite in which they had fewer team-left-on-base than their opponent.
Yes, the Cubs are 0-7 vs the Pirates this season, but this is exactly why Zambrano will not be at his best here. Pittsburgh’s starter, Zach Duke has been terrific lately. He is 2-0 his last three starts, with an ERA of 2.21. The Pirates have an excellent chance to win today and they are at a price that is ridiculous. Grab it.

MTi’s FORECAST: Pittsburgh 7 CHICAGO 4

4-Star Cleveland +100 over CINCINNATI

Yesterday, the game was tied at three at the end of six, but the Reds scored in the bottom of the eighth to win 4-3. This results strongly indicates a play on the Tribe here. Cincinnati is a very poor 7-18 after a win in which they were tied at the end of 6 innings and Cleveland is a very profitable 18-10 when seeking immediate revenge for a loss in which they were tied at the end of 6 innings.

In addition, the Indians are 18-13 as a road dog after a one run loss, netting $1090 for a $100 player. Finally, the Reds are 25-43 when they are off a win in which they never trailed, dropping 18.7 units and 13-25 after a win in which they allowed 6 or fewer hits and it is not the first game of a series, costing a $100 player $1205.

Carmona has been fantastic this season, with a record of 4-1. Harang has gotten poor run support overall and is 2-5.

Cleveland should gain revenge here. Take the Indians.

MTi’s FORECAST: Cleveland 5 CINCINNATI 2

3-Star Texas +105 over HOUSTON

We had the Rangers as a dog yesterday and they hammered the Astros 16-8. They are a dog again today and we’ll go with them again. The main reason is that the Astros are the worst team in the league on the road after a big loss when the game is a close call. Specifically, Houston is 3-20 on the road when their line is within 130 of pick and they are off a 4+ run loss.

Oswalt is a solid pitcher but his Achilles’ heel is starting away7 from home in May. The Astros are a money burning 2-12 in Oswalt’s road starts in May.

This season, Oswalt’s ERA is 5.05 and Padilla’s is a much better 3.23. Let’s grab the home dog again, as the Astros simply do not respond well to a bad loss.

MTi’s FORECAST: TEXAS 5 Houston 3