MLB Picks: August 16th 2011
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Pick: Atlanta Braves -140
The reigning MLB champs are struggling. They have lost 12 of their last 17 and haven’t had an answer for Atlanta all year. The Braves, winners of 8 of their last 11, are a perfect 4-0 against the Giants this year and have won 6 straight regular-season games in the series dating back to last season. It’s unlikely the struggling Jonathan Sanchez will bring this skid to an end. The southpaw is 0-4 with a 6.14 ERA in his last six starts and 1-3 with a 5.63 ERA in eight games (six starts) versus the Braves. A Giants’ club only batting .239 on the road will have a tough time breaking out of its offensive funk against Randall Delgado, a pitcher they have never faced. We’ll back the Braves in this one. -Jimmy Boyd

Pick: Detroit Tigers -1.5 -122
Detroit is 20-2 all-time at home with Verlander on the mound against clubs winning just 38% to 46% of their games. The Tigers have won these contests by an average score of 7.2 to 3.7. Minnesota is 3-19 all-time on the road with Blackburn on the bump against a team with a winning record. The Twins have lost these games by an average score of 6.8 to 3.8. We’ll take the Tigers on the run line. -Dave Price

Pick: Toronto Blue Jays -104
The Red Sox and Yankees get all the hype in the AL East, but Toronto has a good team, competitive on the road and an offense that is 6th in baseball in runs and slugging. The Blue Jays are 17-8 in their last 25 vs. a team with a losing record. Toronto goes with lefty starter and the Mariners are 9-24 in their last 33 overall and 15-42 in their last 57 games vs. a left-handed starter. Seattle righty Jason Vargas is hittable and the Blue Jays have pounded him this season for a 5.59 ERA, as well as 4.96 ERA in his career, allowing 24 base runners in 16 innings. And the Mariners are 2-10 in Vargas’ last 12 starts vs. the American League East. Play the Blue Jays! -Jim Fiest (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: July 24th 2011
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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: June 19th 2011
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Pick: Arizona Diamondbacks -123
Look for the D-backs to bounce back from yesterday’s 6-2 defeat. They are 22-10 in their last 32 overall, 8-3 in their last 11 games following a loss and 9-0 in their last 9 in the third game 3 of a series. Humber has been good for the White Sox but Collmenter has been better for the Snakes. His ERA is just 2.06 through 7 starts, 5 of which have been Arizona wins. I like his chances against a Chicago lineup hitting .255 and scoring 4.1 runs/game on the road better than I do Humber’s chances against an Arizona lineup batting .263 and scoring 4.9 runs/game at home. We’ll play the D-backs. -Jeff Alexander

Pick: San Francisco Giants -103
Since getting out of the gate 6-0, Oakland’s Trevor Cahill has fallen apart. The A’s have lost each of his last 7 starts, and he hasn’t looked good at all in his last 3, as evidenced by the 9.64 ERA he’s posted during this span. Matt Cain has been much better for the Giants, who have won 10 of his 14 starts in 2011. He’s 3-0 with an ERA of 2.78 over his last 3. In addition, the Giants are 24-8 in Cain’s last 32 starts and 9-3 in his last 12 road starts. Despite losses in the first 2 games of this series, the Giants have still won 6 of the last 8 against Oakland. We’ll take the reigning champs here with the hotter starter on the hill. -Jimmy Boyd

Pick: Colorado Rockies +126
Verlander is on the hill for the Tigers, but the Rockies are still showing solid value at home at this price when you consider they have won 4 in a row against Detroit and 9 of their last 10 at home against the Tigers. Colorado is swinging hot bats right now, amassing 11 hits or more in 8 of its last 10 games. Verlander is pitching well but is yet to hurl in flighty Coors. Plus, the Rockies are 44-16 in their last 60 interleague home games, 22-9 in their last 31 interleague games overall and 23-5 in their last 28 interleague home games vs. a right-handed starter. The Rockies are also 35-17 in their last 52 games as a home underdog. Take the Rockies. -Dave Price (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: June 15th 2011
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Pick: Detroit Tigers -130
These two teams are headed in opposite directions heading into Wednesday’s game. Detroit has won 8 of their last 11, while the Indians are just 2-10 in their last 12. The Tigers won easily on Tuesday 4-0 thanks to an amazing starting performance from Justin Verlander. Detroit should have the advantage on the mound again on Wednesday. Tigers starter Brad Penny has been a completely different pitcher at home this season. Penny is 5-5 with a 4.69 ERA overall, but is 3-2 with a 2.83 ERA in seven home starts. Indians starter Fausto Carmona is 3-8 with a 5.71 ERA on the season and 1-5 with a 6.64 ERA on the road. -Info Plays

Pick: New York Mets +145
Tim Hudson has been struggling, with a 4.50 ERA his last three starts, plus the Braves are 1-4 in Hudson’s last 5 starts vs. a team with a losing record. The Atlanta offense has been in a big slump and faces a red-hot starter in Dillon Gee (7-0, 3.05 ERA), who is 3-0 his last three starts with a 1.64 ERA. He has dominated the Braves this season with a 2-0 record and a 0.71 ERA! Meanwhile, Hudson has already lost to the Mets this season with an 11.25 ERA, giving up 7 hits and 5 runs in 4 innings. The Mets are 10-1 in Gee’s last 11 starts. Play the NY Mets. -Jim Feist

Pick: Boston Red Sox -126
Motivated by its first defeat in 10 games and its third straight to Tampa Bay on the season, expect Boston to bounce back strong this evening. The Rays are a game below .500 at home where they are only scoring 3.2 runs per game, and I expect their offense to continue to struggle against Josh Beckett. The Red Sox are 6-1 in Beckett’s last 7 starts and 4-0 in his last 4 road starts vs. a team with a winning record. His ERA is an impressive 2.06 on the season. It is also worth mentioning that the Rays are on a 3-7 slide in the second game of a series and are just 3-10 in their last 13 games following a win. Bet Boston. -Dave Price (Handicapperspicks.com)

Two teams that are in dire straits for their playoff lives duke it out in MLB betting action at Fenway Park on Sunday, as the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox wrap up a three game set in Beantown.
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The Tigers are in a whole boat load of trouble with the trade deadline looming, as they are just barely holding over .500 and are six games back of the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

Boston isn’t in much better shape, as it is 5.5 games out of the AL Wild Card chase. The difference is, the Red Sox aren’t chasing a Chicago team that has looked vulnerable at points during the year. They are heading after the team with the second best record in baseball in the Tampa Bay Rays.

Detroit Tigers vs. Boston Red Sox
Game Date/Time: Sunday, August 1st, 1:35 ET
Game Location: Fenway Park, Boston, MA
TV/Radio Broadcast: Fox Sports Detroit, NESN, XM

The Tigers are going to be throwing RHP Justin Verlander on Sunday afternoon. Verlander has thrown eight innings in each of his L/2 starts, but he only has a 1-1 record to show for it. For the season, Verlander is already 12-6 with two complete games. His 3.74 ERA is the best in the Detroit rotation. A 1.21 WHIP is fantastic as well. Verlander has an excellent 2.65 K/BB ratio. His 8.50 K/9 is great, and that’s up from his 8.07 K/9 for his career. For his career, Verlander is 2-2 with a 3.90 ERA in four career starts against the Red Sox.

Verlander might not be the only Cy Young Award hopeful on the mound on Sunday. Boston is going to throw RHP Clay Buchholz. After spending a few weeks on the DL right around the All-Star Break, Buchholz has had a mixed bag of two starts. He allowed five runs in four innings in Oakland on July 21st, but he fired back with just one earned run allowed in seven innings for his 11th victory of the season on July 26th. For the season, Buchholz has a 11-5 record and a 2.71 ERA. He has already reached a career high in strikeouts at 73, but manager Terry Francona would love to see more starts like his last one with more than a handful of punch outs. Buchholz has already beaten Detroit once this season, and he is 1-1 with a 3.63 ERA in his three starts against the Tigers for his career.

MLB Insider Tip: The Tigers are just 3-13 in their L/16 games overall coming into this weekend. The Red Sox haven’t fallen apart at this point, while Detroit really has. Unless the Tigers nail down a bat or two at the trade deadline before Sunday, we tend to believe they are going to be a great fade here. Backing Boston is the way to go in MLB betting action on Sunday.

My MLB Prediction: Boston Red Sox (Buchholz)
Source: BetUS Locker Room Featured on: Handicapperspicks.com

Detroit Tigers vs. Oakland Athletics
Free Pick: Under 7 Runs
Courtesy of Mike Rose (Handicapperspicks.com)
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MLB fanatics are in for a pitching treat on Wednesday night in the Bay where Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers will look to get the best of Dallas Braden and the Oakland Athletics.

Justin Verlander enters his ninth start of the season in very fine form having gone 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA & 0.90 WHIP in each of his L/3 starts against the Yankees, Indians, and Angels. He’s allowed just 11 hits and four ER’s while striking out 20 and walking eight through 21 combined IP during that stretch.

The Tigers are 3-1 in his four road starts where he boasts a 5.48 ERA & 1.43 WHIP. He’s allowed just three HR’s on the year and hasn’t served one up in each of his L/4 outings.

Lefty Dallas Braden wasn’t able to build off his perfect game his last time out against the Los Angeles Angels who got to him for seven hits (1 HR) and four ER’s while striking out five and walking one through eight IP. The southpaw has lasted seven or more innings in each of his L/3 starts.

Oakland is 4-1 in Braden’s five Coliseum starts this season where he’s boasts a rock solid 2.00 ERA & 0.75 WHIP and has allowed just 24 hits and eight ER’s through 36 IP.

Oakland has been a nightmarish venue for the Tigers to visit evidenced by the fact that they’re 2-8 their L/10 overall visits. However, with Verlander locked in at this point, I believe he’ll give the Tigers as good a chance as possible to snag Game 1 of this series.

That said; Braden has been lights out in this venue, and has gone deep in each of his L/3 starts.

With that being the case, I expect this to be an epic pitcher’s duel with righty squaring off against lefty. Runs will be very hard to come by for both offense’s, so look for Game 1 of this abbreviated set to finish under the posted ‘total’