Baseball Predictions: September 21st 2011
CLICK HERE FOR TODAY’S EXPERT BASEBALL PICKS

Prediction: Los Angeles Angels -175
We’ll lay the juice on the Los Angeles Angels Wednesday. The Angels picked up a game in the wild-card race yesterday, and now sit just 3.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox. They are also five back to the Rangers, and this is clearly a must-win situation for them. We like their chances with Ace Dan Haren on the mound. Haren is 15-9 with a 3.24 ERA and 1.026 WHIP in 32 starts this season. He’ll be up against Dustin McGowan, who has struggled mightily in limited action for the Blue Jays. McGowan sports a 7.50 ERA and 1.750 WHIP in 12 innings pitched in 2011, giving up 10 runs, 11 hits and 10 walks. The Angels are 10-2 in their last 12 games as a favorite of -151 to -200. Los Angeles is 37-14 in their last 51 games as a favorite. The Blue Jays are 1-7 in McGowan’s last 8 starts as an underdog of +151 to +200. Take the Angels on the Money Line. -Black Widow

Prediction: San Diego Padres -110
Colorado is 18-31 this year in day games. San Diego has won 4 of their last 5 games overall. Colorado has now lost 6 games in a row. San Diego bullpen has a 3.04 ERA overall this year and a 3.48 ERA on the road this season. Anthony Bass is 1-0 with a 1.88 ERA overall in 25 appearances this year. Bass has started one game where he is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA and that happened to be in Colorado on June 13th of this year. Aaron Cook is 3-9 with a 5.47 ERA overall this year, 1-4 with a 4.73 ERA at home and 0-2 with an 8.22 ERA his last 3 starts. We’ll recommend a small play on San Diego today! Thanks and good luck, Rocky Atkinson

Prediction: Cleveland Indians -145
A pair of teams that are out of it after contending for much of the year. Chicago lefty Mark Buehrle is looking his age, tiring out with an 0-3 record and an 11.74 ERA his last three starts. The White Sox are 1-5 in Buehrle’s last 6 starts. The Indians have pounded him this season for 33 base runners in 19 innings (7.11 ERA). Cleveland has home field and a young arm in Ubaldo Jimenez, who has a 2-1 record and a 2.79 ERA his last three starts. The Indians are 4-1 in Jimenez’s last 5 starts. Play the Indians! -Jim Feist (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: July 31st 2011
CLICK HERE FOR TODAY’S EXPERT MLB PICKS

Pick: Cleveland Indians -121
The Cleveland Indians get the call Sunday as a small home favorite over the Kansas City Royals. Cleveland sends Fausto Carmona to the mound, who is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 1.143 WHIP in his last three starts. Carmona has allowed just two earned runs and 16 base runners in 14 innings during this stretch. In his last two starts against Kansas City, Carmona has given up just 4 earned runs in 12 innings for a 3.00 ERA. I’ll fade Danny Duffy of the Royals, who is 2-4 with a 5.17 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in 12 starts this season. The Royals are 0-6 in Duffy’s last 6 starts vs. a team with a winning record. The Indians are 22-8 in their last 30 games as a home favorite, including 5-0 in Carmona’s last 5 starts as a home fave. Cleveland is 7-1 in their last 8 home meetings with Kansas City. Roll with the Indians Sunday. -Jack Jones

Pick: Boston Red Sox +107
The Red Sox may be throwing cold pitcher in Andrew Miller, but they have more than enough offense to make up for it. Boston is one of the few teams in the American League to post a winning record on the road this season. The reason they’ve had so much success is their offense, which can stay with any team in the league, almost regardless of who is pitching. -Jimmy Boyd

Pick: Seattle Mariners +110
I’ll take my chances on Seattle with Vargas on the mound for the Mariners. He’s been rock-solid at home this season, posting a 3.78 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 12 starts at Seattle. The Mariners don’t typically score a lot of runs, but neither do their opponents when they play in Seattle. This season their opponents are averaging just 3.6 runs per game. -Jeff Alexander (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: July 29th 2011
CLICK HERE FOR TODAY’S EXPERT MLB PICKS

Pick: Cleveland Indians -134
I’ll side with the Cleveland Indians Friday in Game 1 of this series with the Kansas City Royals. The Indians come into this series rested after having Thursday off, while the Royals travel from Boston after finishing off their 4-game set with the Red Sox yesterday. I’ll back the Indians because of the rest factor, having the better starter on the mound, and the fact that they are actually playing for something as they are squarely in the middle of the AL Central race. Carlos Carrasco is 8-8 with a 4.25 ERA and 1.295 WHIP in 19 starts this season for Cleveland, while Jeff Francis is 3-11 with a 4.44 ERA and 1.371 WHIP in 21 starts this year for Kansas City. Francis is 1-6 with a 6.11 ERA and 1.572 WHIP in 10 road starts as well. The lefty is 1-2 with a 7.98 ERA and 1.704 WHIP in three career starts against Cleveland. In his lone start against the Indians this season, Francis gave up 5 earned runs in 3 innings of a 2-7 loss. The Royals are 1-9 in Francis’ 10 road starts in 2011. The Royals are 0-6 in their last 6 meetings in Cleveland. Bet the Indians Friday. -Jack Jones

Pick: Chicago White Sox +100
White Sox RH Gavin Floyd (8-9, 4.11 ERA) vs. Red Sox RH Tim Wakefield (6-3, 5.15 ERA). Floyd has been sharp over his last two outings, allowing a total of one earned run in 15 2/3 innings while striking out 10 and issuing one walk. The former first-round draft pick earned a win at Boston on June 1 and has never lost to the Red Sox, owning a 5-0 record with a 3.83 ERA in seven games. Wakefield will be searching for his 200th career win on Friday. The ageless knuckleballer has been getting knocked around quite a bit of late but has been bailed out by the Boston offense, which is averaging 10 runs in Wakefield’s last four starts. He is 7-12 with a 4.97 ERA in his career against Chicago. TAKE THE WHITE SOX HERE -Bob Wingerter

Pick: Oakland Athletics -145
The A’s, who are 5-0 in their last 5 games following a loss, hold the edge tonight with Gio Gonzalez stepping to the mound. The southpaw is 7-2 at home with an ERA of 1.87. The Athletics are 19-7 in his last 26 home starts, 25-6 in his last 31 starts as a favorite and 20-6 in his last 26 starts as a home favorite. The A’s are 15-3 in his last 18 starts as a favorite of -110 to -150. It is also worth noting that the Twins are 1-5 in their last 6 road games vs. a left-handed starter. Francisco Liriano is carrying an ERA of 4.82 on the season and is coming off a terrible start in which he gave up 4 runs in just 2 1-3 innings. The Twins are 3-7 in Lirianos last 10 starts when he takes the mound with just 4 days’ of rest. They are also 1-5 in his last 6 starts as a road underdog of +110 to +150. Also, the Athletics are 4-1 in their last 5 home games vs. a left-handed starter. -Jimmy Boyd (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: July 24th 2011
CLICK HERE FOR TODAY’S EXPERT MLB PICKS

Pick: Tigers vs. Twins Over 8.5
Minnesota started Monday five games out of first place in the AL Central and will finish the week in that same spot if it can find a way to topple the Tigers on Sunday. That would be a good result for the Twins, who looked as though they might drop out of the race completely after losing the first two of each series to Cleveland and Detroit. But Baker came off the disabled list Saturday and turned in five scoreless innings, giving the Minnesota offense enough time to grab a four-run cushion. The 4-1 victory snapped the Twins’ 11-game losing streak to the rival Tigers. With only a week left until the trade deadline, teams are looking over Minnesota’s roster in anticipation of a sell-off. Michael Cuddyer’s name has been the most prominent, though the Twins are still hoping to get back into the race and make another run at the playoffs. Detroit used Minnesota’s two wins over Cleveland on Tuesday and Wednesday and its own victories over the Twins on Thursday and Friday to grab a 1 1/2-game lead in the AL Central – it’s biggest lead this season. The Tigers have another key series at the Chicago White Sox starting Monday before a seven-game homestand against AL West powers Anaheim and Texas. Detroit is hoping it can survive this stretch behind Justin Verlander and the suddenly resurgent Max Scherzer, each of whom earned wins in the current series. The problem is the rest of the rotation, with Brad Penny and Porcello inconsistent at best. The Tigers are in the market for a frontline starter and should be active this week in the trade market. TAKE THE OVER -Bob Wingerter

Pick: Cleveland Indians -118
Edwin Jackson takes the hill for the White Sox following a shutout in his last start at Detroit. That sets up a great play against situation as we like to fade non-elite starters that are coming off performances such as that. And the fact that it was on the road makes it even stronger. Jackson has a 5.12 ERA on the road through nine starts and that shutout was only his third quality start on the road this season. He has owned Cleveland throughout his career as he is 8-1 but sports a shoddy 1.42 WHIP in 12 career starts. Justin Masterson is also coming off a great start in his last outing as he limited the Twins to just four hits and no runs in 7.2 innings. The difference between playing against Jackson and playing on Masterson is that it was not a complete game shutout for the latter as well as him heading home for this one. Masterson has a 2.86 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 10 home starts, seven of which have been quality. He also has had success against the opposition as in eight career starts against Chicago, he has allowed one run seven times. 3* (918) Cleveland Indians -Matt Fargo (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: July 15th 2011
CLICK HERE FOR TODAY’S EXPERT MLB PICKS

Pick: Indians vs. Orioles Under 9
With the O/U line currently having climbed from 8.5 to nine (at some shops) I believe we’re getting some solid value with the “under.” Tomlin gets the call for the Tribe. He’s got a stingy 3.15 ERA with an excellent 0.85 WHIP his last three starts. Each of those was of the “quality” variety. He hasn’t beaten himself. Over those three starts, he walked just two – striking out 11. Note that the last two of those games finished with exactly nine combined runs – emphasizing the importance of getting nine rather than 8.5 here. Note that Tomlin was tough against Baltimore back in the spring. In six innings, he allowed only two runs. Admittedly, Arrieta hasn’t been quite as good as Tomlin. However, after four straight road starts, he should be thrilled to finally pitch at home again. In his last start here, he tossed seven shutout innings vs. Tampa. In fact, six of his last seven home starts, including three straight, have been of the “quality” variety. He’s been excellent in seven of nine starts here, while struggling in the other two. The O’s have seen the “under” go a lucrative 34-17-1 the past few seasons, when playing a home game where the line ranged from +100 to -125. Assuming you can get nine, consider a play on the Under. -Ben Burns

Pick: New York Mets +101
Doc’s Sports COMP Pick: Take #954 Ny Mets over Philadelphia (7:10pm est): I love to bet against rookie pitchers on the road, especially in highly intense divisional match-up like we have here in this one. Phillies starter Vance Worley has done a really good job so far in his short stretch of games in the Philadelphia starting rotation but keep in mind his last four good starts, three of them came against the light hitting Marlins, A’s and Mariners. Things don’t get much easier than pitching against that trio of offenses. In those four games Worley didn’t manage to go above a 2-1 ratio of strikeouts to walks either, which shows he was far from dominating on the hill. The Mets counter with knuckle ball pitcher R.A Dickey in this one. Dickey started the season off a little slow but has been very strong since May 20th. In those last ten starts Dickey has posted an ERA of 2.41 and has been even more impressive at home with an ERA of under 2.00 during this time. The Mets are 8-3 in Dickey’s last 11 home starts versus teams with winning records like the Phillies bring into this game tonight. Overall the Mets have won four straight games with Dickey on the hill. Big game for the Mets here as they have to decide soon if they are going to play for this season or pack it up and trade off their key pieces to build a better team for the future. This series may go a long way in deciding all of that. Overall the Mets rank higher than Philadelphia in hitting and have the better pitcher on the mound in this one. Both of those things combined with playing at home as an underdog makes them way too good to pass up on here. Take the Mets in this one. -Doc’s Sports

Pick: San Francisco Giants -133
This is a very decent price to get Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants at Friday. Lincecum is having yet another tremendous season, going 7-7 with a 3.06 ERA and 1.200 WHIP with 132 strikeouts in 123 1/3 innings. Lincecum has pitched his best on the road, going 4-4 with a 2.53 ERA and 1.182 WHIP in 10 starts. He’ll be up against Dustin Moseley, who is 1-4 with a 3.83 ERA and 1.383 WHIP in eight home starts this year for San Diego. Lincecum is 6-4 with a 2.20 ERA in 15 lifetime starts versus San Diego. The Giants have won three straight and five of six overall to sit atop the NL West division at 53-40. San Diego has lost six straight, and they’ve scored a combined 4 runs in their last five games overall. The Padres are hitting .217 and scoring 2.7 runs/game at home this year. Moseley is 2-13 (-10.6 Units) against the money line as an underdog of +100 or higher over the last 2 seasons. Take the Giants on the Money Line. -Black Widow (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: July 10th 2011
CLICK HERE FOR TODAY’S PREMIUM MLB PICKS

Pick: Pittsburgh Pirates -128
Pittsburgh is the surprise team in baseball this season, and continue to show great value on the money line. The Pirates loss 3-6 to the Cubs on Saturday, but that sets up multiple systems to lay big money on Pittsburgh on Sunday. The Pirates are 6-0 in their last 6 games following a loss, while the Cubs are 28-62 in their last 90 games following a win. Chicago is also just 17-35 in their last 52 during game 3 of a series, and only 20-42 in their last 62 after scoring 5 runs or more in their previous game. Pittsburgh is a solid 10-3 in their last 13 vs. National League Central, 7-3 in their last 10 home games, and 22-15 when Paul Maholm starts against division opponents over the last 3 seasons. Take the Cubs. -Jimmy Boyd

Pick: Tampa Bay Rays +154
Let down game for NYY as Jeter gets 3k hits yesterday plus many are looking for All star game and or time off. TB have been so good against NYY over L3 years. Shields has been under radar and even against CC he should be give much better odds respect. Will take the extra juice as this Underdog wins taking us into break, 4 star play -Craig Trapp

Pick: Cleveland Indians -125
Play on Cleveland at 1:05 ET. After taking the first game of this series in walk-off fashion, the Indians have lost two straight. However, no worries considering Toronto’s Brett Cecil has an 0-8 TSR off BB team wins. He’s also 0-3 his last 3 starts with a 6.52 ERA. Cleveland is 19-7 as a favorite this season and 27-17 at home. 10* on Cleveland. -Tom Freese (Handicapperspicks.com)