Handicappers Picks

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’

Kansas City Royals vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Free Pick: Kansas City Royals +220
Courtesy of Mike Rose (Handicapperspicks.com)
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Tropicana Field should be ready to rock and roll tonight for the first of a four game series between the Kansas City Royals and the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Royals have shown signs of promise this year, but they’ve lost a number of one run and extra inning games this season. They just wrapped up a six game home stand in which they went 2-4, but lost two of those games by one run and one in extras.

Tampa Bay is having no such problems. The 2008 American League champs are rolling, as they have the best record in baseball and have won four straight games.

No Royals pitcher has been better since the acquisition of C Jason Kendall than RHP Luke Hochevar. The righty was lit up for a 6.55 ERA a year ago, but he has settled down into four respectable starts this year.

Hochevar, formerly the #1 overall pick in the MLB Draft, is 2-0 with a 3.55 ERA, and he is out of the chute full of potential for a great third year in the majors.

RHP Matt Garza’s most recent start was his only lousy effort of the season to date. He allowed five runs in as many innings of work in the Rays’ 6-5 loss to the Blue Jays; the only loss so far on this home stand.

For the season, the right-hander is 3-1 with a 2.17 ERA, as he hadn’t allowed more than one earned run in any of his previous three starts.

Tampa Bay is just 2-10 in Garza’s L/12 starts against the AL Central.

It’s hard to argue with anything that Garza has done on the mound this year, but it’s also hard to lay this type of price on him in this game.

The Royals are a significantly better team than their record and history indicate, and we’ll take our chances tonight at some hefty odds that Hochevar can keep his solid season going and lead Kansas City to victory.

Take the big odds and back the Royals over Tampa on Thursday night!

Boston Red Sox vs. Texas Rangers
Free Pick: Boston Red Sox -148
Courtesy of Mike Rose (Handicapperspicks.com)
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Fenway Park is the site of Thursday night’s MLB Network broadcast where the Boston Red Sox will look to sweep the Texas Rangers at home in a series for the first time since August of 2008. Texas enters tonight’s battle hoping to snap its six-game losing streak; the Rangers haven’t dropped seven in a row since doing so way back in April of 2008.

Kevin Youkilis’ two-out RBI double in the bottom of the 12th inning of last night’s game saw the Red Sox take two in a row from the Rangers in walk-off fashion. A win this evening would mark the clubs first three-game winning streak of the season.

The Rangers are 0-2 in both of C.J. Wilson’s starts this season, but the lefty has pitched well enough to at the very least win one of those games. He boasts a 2.08 ERA and has allowed just 12 hits and three ER’s through 13 innings of work.

Both his defense and offense have plagued him early on with badly timed errors and a lack of offensive production; Texas has scored a whopping total of two runs in his first two starts.

Getting the starting call for the third time this season will be RHP Clay Buchholz. He’s 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA and has allowed 10 hits and seven runs (2 ER) with a K/BB ratio of 8/6 through 10 total innings of work on the year.

Texas is 1-2 in Game 3 of a series coming off a loss, while the Red Sox are 1-1 in Game 3 off a “W”.

Boston is 12-8 SU in the L/20 overall meetings with Texas, and has taken eight of the L/10 meetings in Fenway Park.

Though Boston comes in way overinflated right now and I suffered a gut wrenching defeat backing the Rangers last night, I think the Red sox pull off the sweep. Texas simply can’t get out of its own way right now, and I look for their misery to continue tonight before getting healthy back at home over their next seven games.

2010 NBA Playoffs: Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics
Free Pick: Miami Heat +4
Courtesy of Mike Rose (Handicapperspicks.com)
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The Heat were never quite up to par with teams like Atlanta and Orlando in their own division, but they were always good enough to stay in the middle of the pack in the playoff picture. Thanks to wins in 12 of their L/13 games, the Heat snuck all the way up to the #5 seed in the East, where they’ll get the most favorable draw of any of the first round underdogs.

The Celtics have to be feeling the exact opposite. They were a miserable home team this season by their standards at just 24-17 SU and 12-28-1 ATS in the Garden this season, and they went just 27-27 in their L/54 games of the year to finish in the #4 hole in the East.

Miami is 7-1 ATS in its L/8 games played away from South Beach.

Remember when the C’s were bounced by the Bulls in Game 1 of the playoffs last season? Can you say “de ja vu?”

Miami has the star power to be able to compete with this Boston team, and in spite of the fact that they lost all three regular season meetings this year, Wade and the Heat can pull this off; even on the road.

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs
Prediction: Over 11.5 Runs
Courtesy of Mike Rose of handicapperspicks.com
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The Cubs will look to sweep their first series of the season when they lock horns with the Milwaukee Brewers in the final game of their three-game set this afternoon from Wrigley.

Getting the call for his first start of the year is RHP Jeff Suppan. “Soup Can” was awful for the Brew Crew a year ago compiling a 7-12 record and 5.29 ERA through 30 overall starts.

Opposing him will be Carlos Zambrano who will be making his first home start of the season. Big Z’s home/road splits are shocking! He hasn’t fared nearly as well at home as he has as a visitor; especially last season where he went 7-2 with a 2.73 ERA on the road and a sickening 2-5 with a robust 5.03 ERA in 13 starts.

Yesterday’s dramatic victory improved the Cubs to 7-3 the L/10 times they squared off against their division rivals.

That said; I don’t trust either of today’s starting pitchers to back either side in this one. Instead, I’m looking at the total and I like the over to cash for the seventh time in the L/10 overall meetings (7-2-1) and sixth straight time at Wrigley Field.

The wind will once again be blowing out this afternoon, and the fact that Suppan comes into this one not at 100 percent and Zambrano’s historically poor at home, I look for both offenses to once again flex their muscles.

This one’s up for grabs and the victor will be the team that outslugs their opponent.