MLB Baseball Predictions: July 22nd 2011
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Prediction: Atlanta Braves -108
Atlanta is 58-41 overall this year while Cincinnati comes in with a 48-50 overall record this season. Cincinnati is 17-30 this year after a win. Atlanta is a decent 28-22 on the road this year. Atlanta bullpen has a 2.94 ERA overall this year and a 3.62 ERA on the road this season. Jair Jurrjens is 12-3 with a 2.26 ERA overall this year, 5-2 with a 1.96 ERA on the road this season and 2-0 with a 3.15 ERA his last 3 starts. Bronson Arroyo is 3-7 with a 5.35 ERA at home this year and 0-2 with an 8.66 ERA his last 3 starts. We’ll recommend a small play on Atlanta tonight! Thanks and good luck, Rocky Atkinson

Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays -102
The Rays enter their series at Kansas City with plenty of momentum on their side following a 2-1 win over the Yankees that earned them a series split. The Rays have won 13 of their last 18 meetings against the Royals, including 5 of their last 7 in Kansas City, and I expect their dominance in the matchup to continue. The Royals have gone down the last 4 times Hochevar has taken the ball in a series opener. They have also lost each of his 4 career starts against the Rays, during which he has posted an ERA of 10.00. After a good rehab outing and a strong bullpen session this week, Davis is ready to return to the rotation. The Rays have won both of his starts against the Royals, during which he has posted an ERA of just 1.29. The Rays are 13-5 in Davis’ last 18 road starts and 12-1 in his last 13 road starts vs. a team with a losing record. Take Tampa. -Jimmy Boyd

Prediction: San Diego Padres +175
The San Diego Padres are going to be busy by the phone over the coming weeks as they will be fielding calls about their talented pitchers as the contenders try and bulk up for the stretch drive. The Padres have won their last three games in a row. The Padres pitching staff has a team ERA of 3.20 with the starters at 3.41 and the bullpen at 2.80. For game one against the Phillies San Diego starts Cary Luebke who has won two of his last three starts and has allowed four runs total over that span. For the season Luebke has allowed 36 hits and 18 earned runs while strikingout 69 in 63 innings of work. TAKE SAN DIEGO PLUS -Bob Wingerter (Handicapperspicks.com)

The Reds were dropped out of first in the National League Central division but they’ve won three straight games to regain the top spot. A three-game series against the bottom-dwelling Arizona Diamondbacks could be what Cincinnati needs to give some breathing room between them and second place St. Louis Cardinals. Arizona is near the bottom of the money standings having cost baseball bettors -21.13 units on the moneyline and another -16.50 on the runline.
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The line for tonight’s game is closer than their records would suggest with the MLB odds setting the Reds as -115 favorites, the comeback on the Diamondbacks is -105 and the game total is set at 9 runs.

The Reds were bounced from first by the St. Louis Cardinals in a series that had as much animosity as anything the Yankees and Red Sox ever had. Players were kicked out after a bench clearing brawl, there was genuine hate happening and as it happens in these situations, the team that fired the first shot had their butts handed to them. It all began with Brandon Phillips calling the Cardinals a bunch of whiney B’s (I’m paraphrasing). The Cardinals came out motivated and took all three games from the Reds.

The Reds took their lumps but bounced back with a sweep of their own against the Florida Marlins to retake the top spot. Until the Brandon Phillips comment, the rivalry and race in the NL Central was the best story that nobody was talking about.

On the mound tonight for the Reds is Bronson Arroyo. Arroyo has been solid but not spectacular with a 12-7 record and a 3.94 ERA. His numbers have been excellent on road over the past six starts, as Arroyo is 4-1 with 1.90 ERA.

The Diamondbacks have been showing improvement lately, and they just finished a seven game road trip where they won four games. It’s a marked improvement over early in the season but they are still 25 games under .500.

Taking the mound for the Diamondbacks is Daniel Hudson. Hudson was acquired from the White Sox at the trade deadline and it’s been so far so good for the young right-hander. Since the trade he’s 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA including a 7 inning, 8-2 win over the Brewers, he struck out nine in the win.

Both players have been excellent lately, and if Hudson can keep his fine pitching ways about him and combine that with Arroyo’s hot road streak, this game should stay way under the nine run baseball betting total.

MLB Betting Free Pick – Cincinnati Reds/Arizona Diamondbacks Under 9 Runs
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Our Friday night MLB predictions take us to the shores of the Ohio River at the Great American Ball Park where the Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds will partake in the series opener of their baseball betting weekend set.
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Though they dropped their final game before the All Star Break, the Rockies rattled off victories in eight of their previous 10 games ($463) to tie the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL Wild Card lead. Manager Jim Tracy’s club currently sits just two-games in back of the NL West leading San Diego Padres. The Rockies have reeled in upwards of $345 on the year, but sit five-games under .500 as a visitor (18-23) where they’re in the red for $444.

Cincinnati ended up going into the break with a one-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central Division race, but it finished up their final series before the Midsummer Classic on a major downer having gotten swept in their four-game series at Philadelphia. Still, the Reds are $760+ in the green for MLB bettors to date, and they’ve been a better host (27-19, $501) than visitor (22-22, $266) overall.

Colorado Rockies (49-39, $347) vs. Cincinnati Reds (49-41, $767)
Game Date/Time: Friday, July 16th, 7:10 ET
Game Location: The Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH
TV/Radio Broadcast: FOX – Rocky Mountain & Ohio, XM

MLB Odds: Colorado Rockies +1.5 -190 +110 (Jason Hammel – R) vs. Cincinnati Reds -1.5 +160 -130 (Bronson Arroyo – R): Total 8.5 O -105 8.5 U -115

Jason Hammel enters his 16 th start of the season having not been defeated since getting blitzed by the Kansas City Royals way back on May 21 st. Since then, the righty has rattled off wins in six of his L/9 starts to go along with three no decisions; Colorado’s gone an impressive 8-1 during that stretch. However, only one of his L/7 starts has come on the road where his numbers have dramatically tapered off this season. He’s 1-2 with a 6.11 ERA & 1.50 WHIP having allowed 36 hits and 19 ER’s through 28 overall IP. He fared well in his lone career start against the Reds last season lasting 7.1 innings and allowing just three hits and a pair of ER’s.

Opposing the recently red hot Hammel will be Cincy’s Bronson Arroyo who enters his 19 th start of the 2010 MLB betting season 9-4 with a 4.04 ERA & 1.23 WHIP. He earned victories in his final two starts before the break having last tossed a gem in Citi Field limiting the Mets to just one run through eight innings of work. Cincinnati is 12-6 with him leading its charge this season, but stands an even 4-4 in his eight home starts. He has however been at his best under the lights going 6-1 overall while serving up just 62 hits through 67 total innings of work. In six lifetime starts vs. the Rockies, the righty is 1-2 with a 3.89 ERA & 1.41 WHIP.

MLB Insider Tip : Even though the Reds sit atop the NL Central standings, they aren’t being taken seriously. Oddsmakers are disrespecting them as well installing them very manageable chalk at the open before JQP came in and lowered the vig even more. Granted the Rockies went into the break red hot, the ASB was more than enough time to cool them off. On top of that, Cincy’s got to be stark raving mad after getting swept by the Phillies their last time out. It should also be taken into account that Colorado currently holds a nine-game winning streak in the series and a six-game winning streak at the “GAB”.

With the Rockies a bankroll depleting 3-10 (-$680) as road underdogs up to +125 and all the reasons already mentioned for the Reds to make a statement, my MLB predictions for tonight have Cincy humbling the Rox in a big way!

My MLB Prediction: Cincinnati Reds (Arroyo)
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Our Sunday MLB predictions take us to the nation’s capitol where the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals will close out their three-game weekend series at Nationals Park.
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The Reds fell into a 1st place tie in the NL Central after it dropped two of three in St. Louis before taking on off-day and heading out east. Cincy’s dropped three of its L/4 games played, but enters Game 1 of this series on Friday night winners in six of their previous 10 games (+$51). The Reds currently stand an even .500 on the year as a visitor good for $138 worth of baseball betting profit.

As for Washington, it lost in walk-off fashion in its Thursday matinee finale in Houston after Carlos Lee launched a two-run bomb into the bleachers. The defeat was manager Jim Riggleman’s squads third in a row and seventh in its L/10 overall games played (-$221). Though the Nationals sit three-games under .500 heading into Friday night’s game, they’re the fourth best MLB wager reeling in upwards of $780 on the year. They’ve only played in front of their home crowd five times since May 9th, and will most definitely look to build upon the 14-10 (+$610) mark the teams put together in this spot.

Cincinnati Reds vs. Washington Nationals
•Game Date/Time: Sunday, June 6th, 1:35 ET
•Game Location: Nationals Park, Washington, DC
•TV/Radio Broadcast: FOX-Ohio, MASN, XM

Getting the starting nod for the 12th time this season will be the Reds RHP Bronson Arroyo. He’s 5-3 on the year with a 4.92 ERA & 1.36 WHIP through 71.1 total innings of work in 2010. He was trounced his last time out in St. Louis where the Redbirds touched him up for 10 hits and seven ER’s through his 4.1 IP. After getting trounced for eight ER’s against San Diego earlier this season, Arroyo bounced back with a seven K and two ER effort through 6.2 innings in a win against the Houston Astros. He hasn’t allowed a run against the Nationals in a pair of starts against them the L/2 seasons; he tossed a two-hit shutout against them at the Great American Ballpark last in 2009.

Opposing the righty will be Nationals RHP Craig Stammen who enters his 12th start of the season 1-2 with a 5.88 ERA & 1.49 WHIP and K/BB ratio of 30/16 through 59.2 total innings of work. He’s served up four ER’s or more in four of his L/5 overall starts, but sports a 1-0 mark with a 3.94 ERA & 1.06 WHIP in five 2010 Nationals Park appearances. He’s only thrown there once in his L/5 outings. He’s made it past the 6th inning only once in his L/5 starts, and this will be his first career look at the Reds.

MLB Insider Tip: Now that we’re two-plus months into the season, we’re starting to get a feel for who the contenders and pretenders are in each division. The Reds are certainly worth taking seriously as they currently sit atop the division with the Cardinals. As for Washington, not so much.

While they play good in spurts, they just don’t have the team in place to compete within the heavily competitive NL East throughout the rest of the season. Save for a 14-run outburst on Memorial Day, the offense has been feast or famine of late, and they’re going to have to score as many runs as possible in this one with Stammen throwing junk at the Reds

Arroyo had been rock solid up until his most recent outing, but I look for him to return to the norm and continue to excel against the Nats like he has in each of the last two MLB betting seasons. My MLB predictions for the finale of this one has Arroyo and the Reds coming out on top.

My MLB Prediction: Cincinnati Reds (Arroyo)
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