MLB Picks: September 16th 2011
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Pick: Chicago Cubs -157
I’m recommending a play on the Cubs on Friday. The Chicago Cubs have won six of Matt Garza’s last eight starts and the righty has pitched quite well. He’s allowed just 14 earned runs in those eight outings, to go along with 53 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings. That’s a smoking, 2.46 ERA with a 9.30 Ks/9 IP mark. Garza owns a sub-3.00 ERA in 12 daytime starts this season and he’s had little trouble with the Houston Astros in three outings. But despite posting strong numbers against Houston, he’s yet to pick up a win against them. I believe he’ll do so today against an Astro team that’s won just 17 of their last 59 road games. Houston is also on a 12-26 slide when Wandy Rodriguez toes the road rubber. The lefty is 0-2 against the North Siders this season with an ERA above 5.00. And he’s not been nearly as effective in daytime action as he has been when the sun goes down. The Cubs are on a 5-1 run against starting pitchers with a WHIP above 1.30 and I expect another win, behind Garza, in this one. I’m laying the price with Chicago on Friday afternoon. Thanks! GL! Scott Spreitzer

Pick: San Diego Padres -113
On Friday the Free play is on the San Diego Padres. Game 914 at 10:05 eastern. The Padres fIt a solid 19-1 system that plays on home teams that are off a road loss and had 4 or less hits and no more than 1 error, vs an opponent off a road dog loss and scored 2 or less runs , also with 1 or less error. We don’t play games based just on a system. Arizona does have some angles on their side in this one. However the system is strong enough to at the very least make the Padres a free play. The Pitching also favors the Padres as they have Stauffer going tonight. Stauffer has a fine 2.76 home era and went 6+ shut out innings in his only home start vs Arizona. Miley makes the start for Arizona and he has a 4.80 era over his last 3 start and allowed 5 runs in 5 innings vs San Diego earlier in the season. The Padres have a better home bullpen era than Arizona has on the road as well. SO we will back the Padres. On Friday I have the 15-1 College Football Power System Side and the AL Game of the Month from a 90% Power System and out ream has Several strong angles backing them. College Football cashed with LSU last night and was 24 games over. 500 last season. Jump on and start what I expect to be a solid weekend of High end system winners on the right sides. For the Free play take The Padres. -Rob Vinciletti (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: August 23rd 2011
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Pick: Chicago Cubs +135
The Braves send Mike Minor to the hill tonight where he 0-1 with a 4.98 ERA on the road this season. Atlanta is hitting only .235 on the road this year. 78% of the public is currently on the Braves in this game and we all know fading the public will get you money more times than not. Braves are 2-6 in their last 8 road games with the total set at 11.0 or higher. Cubs are 10-4 in their last 14 games as an underdog. Cubs are 7-3 in their last 10 vs. a team with a winning record. Cubs are 9-4 in their last 13 home games. Cubs are 5-1 in Colemans last 6 starts as an underdog of +110 to +150. Cubs are 4-1 in Colemans last 5 starts vs. a team with a winning record. We’ll recommend a small play on Chicago Cubs tonight! Thanks and good luck, Rocky Atkinson

Pick: Brewers vs. Pirates Over 8.5
I’ll side with the OVER in this game Tuesday between the Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates in NL Central action. These teams just played a double-header Monday, meaning that both bullpens are likely taxed. Two below-average starters are going at it tonight in Marco Estrada and Ross Ohlendorf, and neither is likely to go deep in this one. Estrada is 3-8 with a 4.28 ERA on the season, including 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA in two road starts. Ohlendorf is 0-0 with a 7.27 ERA adn 1.845 WHIP through two starts this year. Both teams are hot at the plate right now as well. The Brewers are putting up 6.6 runs/game over their last five contests, while the Pirates are scoring 5.4 runs/game over their last five. The OVER is 4-0 in Brewers last 4 games overall. The OVER is 6-1 in Pirates last 7 games overall. The OVER is 10-1 in Brewers last 11 games as a road favorite of -110 to -150. The OVER is 6-0 in Pirates last 6 games as a home underdog. Bet the OVER in this game Tuesday. -Jack Jones

Pick: Cincinnati Reds -139
Play on Cincinnati at 7:10 ET. Florida has fallen off the map, having lost 15 of 17, and things get no less difficult this evening at home vs. the Reds and Johnny Cueto. Cueto is MLB’s ERA leader at 1.89 in 19 starts. He’s allowed just one run his L15 IP, picking up two wins. The Marlins are 5-19 as a home dog this season. Starter Ricky Nolasco has a 4-10 TSR at home and a 7.00 ERA his last three starts overall. 10* on Cincinnati (w/ Cueto). -Tom Freese (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: August 11th 2011
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Pick: Chicago Cubs -114
Washington is very good at home, but struggles badly on the road, which is nothing new as they were like this last season. Jordan Zimmermann goes for the Nats, 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA in 11 career innings against Chicago. And the Cubs go with Ryan Dempster, who has dominated Washington in his career, with an 8-1 record and a 2.97 ERA against them. Dempster gave up two runs on four hits over six innings Friday against the Reds while picking up his ninth win of the season. And the Cubs are 12-4 in Dempster’s last 16 starts. Play the Cubs. -Jim Feist

Pick: Chicago White Sox -119
The White Sox get the call as our free play tonight as they stand a good chance of bouncing back from last night’s extra innings defeat. First off, the Orioles are a poor 5-16 in their last 21 games following a win. They are also 0-6 in their last 6 home games vs. a left-handed starter. That’s not good news with Buehrle stepping to the hill for Chicago. The White Sox are 13-3 in his last 16 starts, and he hasn’t allowed more than 3 earned runs in any of those starts. The White Sox are 7-1 in their last 8 road games, and I expect them to keep sizzlin’ away from home tonight. -Jimmy Boyd

Pick: Milwaukee Brewers +120
The Brewers dominance over the Cardinals continued on Wednesday, and I really like Milwaukee’s chances of completing the sweep tonight. Both teams will send out one of their top pitchers,as Yovani Gallardo takes on Chris Carpenter. Gallardo has clearly been the better start of late, posting a 1.23 ERA and 0.727 WHIP in his L3 starts, while Carpenter has a 3.86 ERA and 1.339 WHIP in his L3. The Brewers are also swinging the bats a lot better than the Cardinals right now. Milwaukee has scored 5 or more runs in each of their last 10 games, while the Cardinals are averaging just 3.4 over their last five games. Milwaukee is 21-6 in their last 27 vs. National League Central, 8-2 in Gallardo’s last 10 starts vs. a team with a winning record, and 4-0 in their last 4 during game 3 of a series. BET THE BREWERS! -Steve Janus (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: July 2nd 2011
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Pick: Chicago White Sox -105
The Chicago White Sox have been the most dominant team in the game in interleague play over the last few years. They are 10-6 in interleague play and have won 18 of 19 series against the Senior Circuit. The White Sox (41-42) are trying to win their 10th consecutive interleague series on the road after posting a 6-4 win Friday, their 14th in 19 meetings with the Cubs (34-49). White Sox are 41-15 in their last 56 interleague games overall. Phil Humber is one of the most underrated starters in all of baseball. Humber is 7-4 with a 2.89 ERA and 0.972 WHIP in 14 starts and two relief appearances this year. I’ll gladly fade Matt Garza, who is 4-6 with a 4.07 ERA and 1.333 WHIP in 14 starts this season for the Cubs. Garza is 1-3 with a 6.44 ERA and 1.943 WHIP in six career starts against the White Sox. The Sox are 5-1 in Humber’s last 6 starts overall, and 4-0 in his last 4 road starts. The Cubs are 1-10 in their last 11 during game 2 of a series. Take the White Sox Saturday.

Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers +124
Rarely ever will you get the Los Angeles Dodgers as this big of an underdog with Clayton Kershaw on the mound. We’ll gladly take the value here and side with Kershaw and the Dodgers to beat the crosstown rival Angels tonight. Kershaw is 8-3 with a 2.93 ERA and 1.028 WHIP this season, including 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 0.500 WHIP in interleague play. He has pitched back-to-back complete games against both the Tigers and Angels, giving up only 2 earned runs and 9 base runners in 18 innings while striking out 22. The Dodgers are 7-0 in Kershaws last 7 starts with 5 days of rest. Take the Dodgers on the Money Line. -Black Widow (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: June 5th 2011
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Pick: Chicago White Sox -145
The White Sox saw their 4-game winning streak snapped yesterday. With Jake Peavy on the mound, they’ve got a solid shot at bouncing back with a victory. Peavy has been superb of late. Indeed, he’s got a 2.37 ERA and 0.789 WHIP his last three starts. The Sox won all three of those and are 4-0 in his four starts overall. In his lone home start, Peavy tossed a complete game 3-hit shutout. He didn’t walk a batter and had eight K’s. On the other hand, Penny got rocked in each of his last two starts. Last time out, facing lowly Minnesota, he gave up 10 hits and five runs. Before that, in his last road start, he gave up six hits (and walked five) and five runs, en route to taking a 10-1 loss at Pittsburgh. Including that result, Penny is 1-3 (Tigers are 1-4) with a brutal 7.71 ERA in five road starts. Penny is supported by a Detroit bullpen which has an awful 6.78 ERA and 1.727 WHIP on the road this season. Peavy is supported by a Chicago bullpen which has a more respectable 3.96 ERA at home. With the Tigers at just 14-28 (-9.2) the past few seasons, when listed as road underdogs in the +125 to +150 range, consider “laying the wood” with Peavy and the home team.

Pick: Chicago Cubs +1.5 -152
Despite 5 straight defeats, including a 1-run extra innings loss Saturday, the Cubs are worth a shot catching a 1.5 runs with ace Carlos Zambrano on the bump. Big Z is one of the best competitors in the game, and he’ll do everything in his power to make sure his team isn’t swept. Giving the ball to Zambrano in the 3rd game of a series has worked out well for the Cubs as they are 5-1 in his last 6 starts in these spots. Also, the Cubs are 10-3 in their last 13 when Zambrano takes the mound following a team loss. Plus, Big Z has long been one of the best road warriors in the bigs. The Cubs are 59-25 in his last 84 road starts and 15-5 in his last 20 starts overall. And there’s more. Zambrano has been Chicago’s only answer against the Cards. In fact, the Cubs are 16-5 in his last 21 starts vs. St. Louis and 7-0 in his last 7 road starts vs. the Cards. The Cubs are even 5-1 in the last 6 meetings when Zambrano faces Carpenter. The Cardinals are just 4-13 in Carpenters last 17 starts and even 1-10 in his last 11 starts vs. a team with a losing record. They are also 0-5 in his last 5 starts in the 3rd game of a series. We’ll take the Cubs on the run line. -Jimmy Boyd (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: May 30th 2011
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Pick: Chicago Cubs -133
I won with the Cubs yesterday. While I don’t feel quite as strongly about them this afternoon, I still feel that they’ve got an excellent shot at another victory. The Astros are currently really struggling. They lost again yesterday and are now an ugly 7-17 their last 24. Note that Houston’s 8-17 road record is tied for the worst in the National League. Lopez will be making his first “big league” start of the season and first as a Cub. He’s no stranger to starting in the majors though, as this will be the 200th start of his career. Lopez, who had a solid 3.46 ERA vs. the Astros last season, has been pitching well in the minors this season. Indeed, he was 6-1 with a super 2.59 ERA at Triple-A. He knows this is his chance and is excited to be here: He was quoted as saying: “I like this kind of environment – this old ballpark, people pretty close to you … I’m ready.” The Astros are 14-28 (-12.6) as road underdogs in the +125 to +150 range the past few seasons. On the other hand, the Cubs are 34-21 (+5.3) as home favorites in the -125 to -150 range, including a profitable 7-1 (+5.8) mark as home favorites in the -125 to -150 range. Consider “laying the wood” with the home team. -Ben Burns

Pick: New York Yankees +100
The Yankees have completely dominated the A’s the past two seasons, winning 16 of 19 overall and 7 of 9 in Oakland. Going back, the Yankees are 40-18 in the last 58 meetings in this series. Oakland starter Trevor Cahill is one tough cookie but he hasn’t been himself lately. The A’s have dropped his last 3 starts and he allowed 10 hits in two of those contests. Plus, New York has had no problem against him. Cahill is 0-2 with an ERA of 12.60 in 2 career starts against the Yankees. The A’s lost those games by 5 and 6 runs respectively. Take the Yanks. -Jeff Alexander (Handicapperspicks.com)