MLB Baseball Betting Picks: August 24th 2011
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Pick: Boston Red Sox -109
Boston exploded for 11 runs to beat Texas yesterday, and I like its bats to come up big again in this one. The Red Sox, who are batting .279 and scoring 5.2 runs/game off lefty starters this season, will gladly welcome lefty Matt Harrison to the hill. Harrison has a 5.82 ERA in 3 starts against the Red Sox, who are 25-8 in their last 33 games vs. a left-handed starter. Look for Boston to stay hot at the plate and for Beckett to take care of the rest. Bet Bean Town. -Jeff Alexander

Pick: Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 +112
I really like the Blue Jays to bounce back with a big win against the Royals on Wednesday, especially after watching their ace get lit up on Tuesday. Toronto is a respectable 9-3 in their L12 games following a loss and 20-7 in their last 27 games as a favorite of -151 to -200. The Blue Jays will send out Ricky Romero to take the mound against Luke Hochevar of the Royals. Romero is 6-3 with 2.81 ERA at home this season and 3-0 with a 1.12 ERA and 0.542 WHIP in his last 3 starts. Hochevar is just 2-5 with a 4.87 ERA on the road and 0-2 with a 4.74 ERA in his last three starts. Romero is 10-0 vs. an AL team with an on base percentage .330 or worse in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons. Winning by an average score of Romero 5.9, Opponent 1.9! BET THE BLUE JAYS! -Steve Janus

Pick: San Francisco Giants -1.5 +134
The Giants have won 10 of Lincecum’s last 14 starts against the Padres, and the last six wins have all come by 2 runs or more. Lincecum has been pitching like the 2-time Cy Young winner he is for over 2 months now. He hasn’t allowed more than 3 earned runs in a game in 12 straight starts. He has allowed 2 earned runs or fewer in 11 of those starts. San Diego’s Stauffer hasn’t been nearly as good on the road. He’s been rocked in his last 3 road starts (all losses), giving up 18 runs in 15 2-3 innings of work. Take the defending champs on the run line. -Dave Price (Handicapperspicks.com)

Free MLB Baseball Betting Picks: July 28th 2011
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Pick: Boston Red Sox -1.5 -140
We’ll side with the Boston Red Sox Thursday on the Run Line as they send Ace Josh Beckett to the bump. The Red Sox are 19-4 in their last 23 games overall, winning 16 times by two runs or more. Kansas City send Luke Hochevar to the mound, who is 6-8 with a 5.29 ERA and 1.366 WHIP in 21 starts this season. Beckett is 9-3 with a 2.07 ERA and 0.905 WHIP in 19 starts, and 4-0 with a 1.61 ERA and 0.933 WHIP in eight home outings. He is the frontrunner to win the AL Cy Young award with what he has done this season. Kansas City is 1-9 against the run line (-11.3 Units) after allowing 12 runs or more over the last 2 seasons, losing by 5.3 runs/game in this spot. The Red Sox are 20-11 against the run line (+12.4 Units) in day games this season. Beckett is 10-1 against the run line (+9.0 Units) when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 38% to 46%) in the second half of the season over the last 3 seasons. Take the Red Sox on the Run Line. -Black Widow

Pick: Oakland Athletics -122
Tampa Bay seems to have lost their motivation to come to ballpark. A lot of that probably has to do with the fact that they are coming to terms with the fact that they aren’t going to make the playoffs. Not only are they not hitting the ball, but they aren’t pitching worth a crap either. While the A’s are also pretty much out of the playoff race, they are still playing hard and doing whatever it takes to bring home a win. Oakland is 7-3 in their last 10 games, and I think this team will be excited for the chance to sweep the Rays today. The A’s will start Rich Harden, who is coming off back-to-back strong starts. He allowed just 3 runs over 7 innings in a 4-3 win (no decision) over the Angels on July, 16 and held the Yankees to just 2 runs in his last start. Tampa Bay is just 2-16 in their last 18 games after losing the first 3 games of a series, while the A’s are 6-2 in their last 8 during game 4 of a series. -Steve Janus

Pick: Toronto Blue Jays -155
Toronto has won 20 of its last 23 home games against Baltimore and will have an excellent chance to build on this run with Baltimore’s Bergesen stepping to the hill. That’s because the Orioles have lost 11 of his last 13 starts. Plus, the Blue Jays are 4-0 in Villanueva’s last 4 starts versus a team with a losing record. Take the Jays. -Dave Price

Pick: Texas Rangers -152
After back-to-back losses to the Twins, expect the Rangers to come storming back to earn a split in the series. One thing you don’t want to do is make a habit out of fading the Rangers at home off 2 or more losses. That’s because they are 17-2 the last 2 seasons in home games after 2 or more consecutive losses, winning by an average of 3.3 runs/game in this situation. Baker hasn’t been quite as good on the road this year and the Rangers have won each of Harrison’s last 4 starts. We’ll take Texas on the money line. -Jeff Alexander (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Baseball Betting Picks: June 20th 2011
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Pick: Milwaukee Brewers -134
The Brewers are a major league-best 25-9 at home and I expect their dominance at Miller Park to continue this evening. The Brewers are 22-5 in their last 27 home games vs. a team with a winning road record and 5-1 in their last 6 interleague home games. They are also 4-1 in Narveson’s last 5 home starts. The Rays, meanwhile, are 3-8 in their last 11 games as a road underdog, 2-6 in their last 8 interleague road games, 3-10 in Niemann’s last 13 starts and 1-5 in his last 6 road starts. Bet the Brew Crew.

Pick: Los Angeles Angels -119
LA Angels are 29-13 the past 3 years in Inter-League play. LA Angels are 31-15 last 3 years on the road when the money line is -100 to -125. Florida is 2-12 this year after 3 or more consecutive losses. Florida is 13-34 last 3 years as a home underdog of +100 to +125. Jered Weaver is 8-4 with a 2.06 ERA overall this year, 5-3 with a 1.94 ERA on the road and 2-0 with a 1.90 ERA his last 3 starts. We’ll recommend a small play on the LA Angels tonight! Thanks and good luck, Rocky Atkinson

Pick: Texas Rangers -1.5 +113
The Astros and Rangers met a total of 12 times in 2009 and 2010 and the Rangers took 10 of those meetings. 7 of those 10 victories came by at least 2 runs. In addition, the Astros have lost each of Happ’s last 6 starts. 5 of those defeats have come by 2 runs or more. The Astros have lost 5 of Happ’s 6 road starts this season, during which he has posted an ERA of 6.82. 4 of those losses have come by at least 2 runs. Take Texas on the run line. -Dave Price (Handicapperspicks.com)

Our Wednesday night MLB predictions take us to AT&T Park where the NL West rival Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants will close out their three-game baseball betting set.
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After Colorado stole the series opener by a 2-1 final tally in a fabulous pitching duel, the Giants evened the series up with some late game heroics from the offense to capture the 5-2 victory. The Rockies hold an 8-6 season series advantage and 10 of the 14 games have combined to go ‘under’ the closing number.

This will be the final match-up of the regular season in tonight’s venue between these clubs. The Giants have been one of the better home teams this season capturing baseball betting odds victories in 41 of 68 tries ($459), while ‘under’ bettors have made a modest profit overall (33-29-6). Manager Jim Tracy’s club has been a woeful visitor securing victories in just 26 of 67 overall attempts (-$1649); it has however been a solid ‘under’ bet away from Coors Field (39-26-2).

Colorado Rockies (69-62, -$491) vs. San Francisco Giants (73-60, $595)
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, September 1st, 9:15 ET
Game Location: AT&T Park, San Francisco, CA
TV/Radio Broadcast: FOX – Rocky Mountain, Comcast (Bay), XM

MLB Odds: Colorado Rockies -1.5 +150 -120 (Ubaldo Jimenez – R) vs. San Francisco Giants +1.5 -170 +100 (Tim Lincecum – R): Total 6.5 O -125 6.5 U +105

Though Ubaldo has churned out quality starts in each of his L/6 outings, the potential NL Cy Young Award winner has just two wins to show for it. He failed to pick up the 18 th win of his 2010 campaign his last time out at home against the Dodgers who got to him for nine hits and three ER’s through his seven innings of work. The defeat dropped him to 17-5 overall.

He’ll toe the AT&T Park bump for the second time this season having last tossed a complete game 4-0 shutout there back on May 31 st. The power righty has allowed just 10 ER’s through his L/28 innings of work, and has beaten the Giants twice in his three 2010 starts.

Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum has to be ecstatic that the month of August has come to a close. He dropped each of his five outings and posted an unheard of 7.82 ERA in doing so. He enters his 28 th start of the season 11-9 with a rather un-Lincecum-like 3.80 ERA & 1.35 WHIP.

He got shelled by the Diamondbacks his last time out to cost baseball bettors a pretty penny after going off the board as a -180 MLB betting odds favorite. He’s surprisingly had his roughest go at it at home in the pitcher friendly venue where he stands 7-6 with a 4.12 ERA & 1.41 WHIP through 87.1 total IP. San Fran has dropped his pair of starts vs. Colorado this season, and in his career, he’s 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA in 13 overall starts.

MLB Insider Tip : With these clubs separated by just three-games in the NL West standings, the pitching has really stepped to the forefront in this series. That’s normally the case in a playoff atmosphere, and I look for that trend to carry over into tonight’s finale.

I’m not exactly sure what Lincecum’s problem has been, but never underestimate the power of a new month; especially in the game of baseball. I look for him to bring his “A” game tonight but also expect Ubaldo to continue bringing it as well.

Home plate Ump Jerry Layne has been decent for ‘under’ bettors this season with his games playing to the low side of the baseball betting odds ‘total’ 14 of 24 times. With oddsmakers posting this number so low even though Lincecum has been severely struggling, it sounded alarms off for me immediately! Take the plus-money return and look for yet another pitcher’s duel to close out the series.

My MLB Prediction: Colorado/San Francisco Under 6.5 +105 (Jimenez/Lincecum)

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Our Tuesday night MLB predictions take us to Sun Life Stadium in beautiful Miami, Florida, where a pair of NL East dregs in the Washington Nationals and Florida Marlins partake in the second game of their current baseball betting series.
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The Nationals powered their way to the 9-3 victory in last night’s series opener launching a pair of long balls and 11 overall hits. Jason Marquis secured his first victory of the season after tossing 5.2 innings of three-run ball, and the Nats now have a nice little three-game winning streak in the works after swiping a pair from the Redbirds.

Since letting go of clubhouse sparkplug Cody Ross, the Marlins have dropped four of seven and enter tonight’s contest losers of three in a row. The pitching staff has surrendered a whopping 28 runs during that stretch. Now playing with a rag tag lineup with just a few notables, the Fish have seemingly given up on the season.

Washington Nationals (57-75, -$493) vs. Florida Marlins (65-65, $123)
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, August 31st, 7:10 ET
Game Location: Citi Field, Flushing, NY
TV/Radio Broadcast: FOX – Florida, SNY, XM

MLB Odds: Washington Nationals +160 (Jordan Zimmerman – R) vs. Florida Marlins -190 (Anibal Sanchez- R): Total 8.5 O -115 8.5 U -105

Jordan Zimmerman’s first start since returning from Tommy John surgery hardly went as planned. The righty surrendered seven hits (1 HR) and five ER’s while K’ing four and walking one through just four total innings of work. He said he felt strong throughout the outing, but just left a few pitches up that St. Louis batters teed off on.

There are simply no trends backing the youngster in this spot! The Nationals have lost each of his L/6 road starts, and each of his L/5 when installed a road underdog. He did however pick up a no decision against the Marlins in his lone career start against them tossing six innings of two-run ball with a 6/1 K/BB ratio last season.

Opposing the flamethrowing righty will be Anibal Sanchez who sports the second best starting ERA on the team at 3.29. Florida’s won three of his L/4 MLB predictions outings which includes a shellacking of the Mets his last time out after limiting NY to four runs through five innings of the Marlins 11-4 road victory.

He’s been at his best at home where he sports a 4-3 record with a 2.69 ERA & 1.26 WHIP through 73.2 innings of work; Florida’s just 6-6 in his 12 starts in front of the home crowd. He earned a no decision and a win in a pair of outings against the Nats this season, and in his career, he’s a perfect 4-0 with a 2.66 ERA in 11 starts vs. Washington.

MLB Insider Tip: This line is simply absurd for a pair of teams going nowhere this season. Yes, Sanchez is yet to suffer a defeat against the Marlins throughout his career, but Florida’s a .500 team with him leading its charge at home and the Nats have been playing some decent ball of late.

Washington’s gotten the better of each of the L/4 right-handers its opposed, and the Marlins are just 1-4 the L/5 times they were favored and 0-fer in Sanchez’ L/4 Game 2 starts.

Washington knows exactly what to expect with Sanchez as it’s opposed him numerous times. That’s simply not the case with Zimmerman, so both MLB bettors and the Marlins don’t fully know what to expect tonight. With that being the main reason for tonight’s MLB predictions against the heavily favored Marlins, take a stab with the Nats as they simply don’t deserve to be dogs of this magnitude to the Fish at this point in the season!

My MLB Prediction: Washington Nationals (Zimmerman)

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Our Wednesday night MLB predictions take us to Citizens Bank Park for the second game of the non-divisional NL series battle between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies; first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 ET.
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Tuesday night’s series opener was a slugfest right from the onset as both clubs managed to combine for 11 runs through the first five innings of play. Unfortunately for Philly, it was the Dodgers that tallied seven of those runs, and they ultimately cruised to the impressive 15-9 road victory to increase their winning streak to three in a row.

The triumph also halted Manager Joe Torre’s clubs road losing streak at five in a row to move them to 23-30 (-$797) as a visitor to date. With Tim Lincecum and the Giants falling as hefty favorites to the Chicago Cubs, LA now trails the NL Wild Card leaders by five-games.

The defeat was only the Phillies second in their L/8 overall games played ($385), but with the Braves scoring the 4-2 home victory against the Houston Astros, Manager Charlie Manuel’s defending NL Champs fell 2.5-games back in the NL East standings.

Los Angeles Dodgers (59-54, -$564) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (62-50, -$183)
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, August 11th, 7:05 ET
Game Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
TV/Radio Broadcast: FOX – Prime Ticket, Comcast (Philadelphia) XM

Chad Billingsley has been stuck on win #9 since the end of July as the righty just hasn’t gotten any run support to complement his fine pitching. He’s allowed just nine hits and three ER’s through his L/12.2 innings of work, but his teammates managed to plate him a grand total of one run during that stretch. He’s been at his best away from Dodgers Stadium where he stands 5-2 with a stellar 2.95 ERA & K/BB ratio of 53/21.

Los Angeles Dodgers is 6-2 in his L/8 road starts and he’s fared well at ‘CBP’ throughout his career going 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA while K’ing 19 through 20 IP and allowing zero long balls.

Roy Oswalt’s arm picked a heck of a time to die out on him. In a pair of starts since coming over from the Houston Astros at the trade deadline, the righty is 0-1 with a no decision and has allowed 10 hits and six ER’s with a K/BB ratio of 9/6 through 12.1 total IP. He says he goes through this “dead arm” period every season.

If ever a team presented him with a chance to tally his first career victory as a member of the Phillies, it would be the Dodgers. The Astros won each of his L/4 starts against them dating back to 2007, and in his career, he’s 6-2 with a 3.39 ERA & 1.13 WHIP in nine overall appearances.

MLB Insider Tip : The City of Brotherly Love has waited patiently for Roy-O to show them why they traded a number of solid prospects for him a couple weeks ago. I feel with the weather being of the hot and sticky variety, it will loosen the righty’s arm up and help him toss some of his nastiest stuff in weeks.

Billingsley’s been locked in ever since he got bludgeoned for seven runs on 10 hits in St. Louis back on July 16 th, and he’s churned out quality outings three of the four times he’s pitched in the Philadelphia Phillies.

Seven of his 11 road outings have come in under the closing ‘total’ while 13 of Oswalt’s 21 ‘total’ decisions have stayed on the low side of the number. My MLB predictions have the starters ruling the night with the bullpens keeping things in order to cash this ‘under’ ticket.

My MLB Prediction: Los Angeles/Philadelphia Under (Billingsley/Oswalt)
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