MLB Baseball Betting Picks: August 24th 2011
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Pick: Boston Red Sox -109
Boston exploded for 11 runs to beat Texas yesterday, and I like its bats to come up big again in this one. The Red Sox, who are batting .279 and scoring 5.2 runs/game off lefty starters this season, will gladly welcome lefty Matt Harrison to the hill. Harrison has a 5.82 ERA in 3 starts against the Red Sox, who are 25-8 in their last 33 games vs. a left-handed starter. Look for Boston to stay hot at the plate and for Beckett to take care of the rest. Bet Bean Town. -Jeff Alexander

Pick: Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 +112
I really like the Blue Jays to bounce back with a big win against the Royals on Wednesday, especially after watching their ace get lit up on Tuesday. Toronto is a respectable 9-3 in their L12 games following a loss and 20-7 in their last 27 games as a favorite of -151 to -200. The Blue Jays will send out Ricky Romero to take the mound against Luke Hochevar of the Royals. Romero is 6-3 with 2.81 ERA at home this season and 3-0 with a 1.12 ERA and 0.542 WHIP in his last 3 starts. Hochevar is just 2-5 with a 4.87 ERA on the road and 0-2 with a 4.74 ERA in his last three starts. Romero is 10-0 vs. an AL team with an on base percentage .330 or worse in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons. Winning by an average score of Romero 5.9, Opponent 1.9! BET THE BLUE JAYS! -Steve Janus

Pick: San Francisco Giants -1.5 +134
The Giants have won 10 of Lincecum’s last 14 starts against the Padres, and the last six wins have all come by 2 runs or more. Lincecum has been pitching like the 2-time Cy Young winner he is for over 2 months now. He hasn’t allowed more than 3 earned runs in a game in 12 straight starts. He has allowed 2 earned runs or fewer in 11 of those starts. San Diego’s Stauffer hasn’t been nearly as good on the road. He’s been rocked in his last 3 road starts (all losses), giving up 18 runs in 15 2-3 innings of work. Take the defending champs on the run line. -Dave Price (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: July 20th 2011
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Pick: San Diego Padres +150
San Diego has as many road wins as Florida has at home. Plus, the Padres have had no trouble winning at Florida. The Padres have won 7 of the last 9 meetings overall and 6 straight on the road in this series. In addition, Harang is quietly having a terrific season. He’s 7-2 with an ERA of 3.29 and the Padres have won 4 of his last 5 road starts. Take the Padres. -Dave Price

Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers +120
Wednesday on the MLB diamond, sports betting players will be treated to a Rockstar matchup as two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum will lead San Francisco out at home while taking on fellow All-Star Clayton Kershaw, who is a leading candidate for this year’s Cy Young award. Kershaw (10-4, 2.88) allowed four runs, but there were none earned in a 6-4 win in Arizona, as he scattered five hits over seven innings, striking out eight and walking a pair of batters. Lincecum (8-7, 2.99) returned from the break with a victory in a 6-1 win in San Diego, giving up a run on three hits over six innings with seven strikeouts and three walks. “The Freak” stumbled in June but has since bounced back to go 3-1 in his last five starts. These aces met on Opening Day in Los Angeles, with Kershaw coming away with a 2-1 win and you should expect another low-scoring affair. The key here may be the time of day: Kershaw is 3-0 in five afternoon starts with a 2.70 ERA, while Lincecum is 3-3 in six day starts with a 3.76 ERA. -Ray Monohan

Pick: Chicago White Sox -113
Look for the White Sox to bounce back behind Danks this evening. The southpaw was on a tear prior to suffering a right oblique injury and I expect him to pick up right where he left off against a team he’s dominated. The Sox have won each of Danks’ last 4 starts, during which he has allowed just 3 earned runs in 23 2/3 innings of work. He’s 2-0 (5-3 on the ML) with an ERA of 2.74 in 8 career starts against Kansas City. The Sox have won 4 of his 5 career starts at Kauffman Stadium, where he has an ERA of only 1.87. We’ll take the White Sox. -Jeff Alexander (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: July 15th 2011
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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 Betting Picks: June 23rd 2011
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Pick: Minnesota Twins +158
A great price on a team that just won 15 of 17 games, including 7-1 on the road. The Twins go with lefty Brian Duensing, who has a 2.81 ERA his last three starts and the Giants have never seen him. And he faces a poor San Francisco offense, one that is 30th in runs scored and 27th in on-base percentage. Ace Tim Lincecum (5-6) goes here, but is not throwing well, with a 7.80 ERA his last three starts. Control has been a problem, walking 12 his last 15 innings and he’s lost two in a row allowing 10 runs in 10 innings. Play the Twins. -Jim Feist

Pick: Seattle Mariners -116
We look for the Mariners to avoid the sweep behind young ace Michael Pineda, who is 7-4 with a 2.64 ERA in his rookie season. Pineda should be even better than what we have grown accustomed to so far this season, as he basically gets a free out with the pitcher in the lineup. Another reason to back the Mariners today is they haven’t lost more than two games in a row in well over a month. -Info Plays

Pick: Diamondbacks vs. Royals Under 8.5
Arizona starter Daniel Hudson is sizzlin’. He’s 8-1 with a 2.82 ERA over his last 11 starts and 5-0 with a 2.70 ERA in his last 7 starts. Hudson’s nasty stuff has made him an unders machine. The under is 15-5 in his last 20 starts overall and 10-4 in his last 14 starts with the total set at 7.0-8.5. Kansas City starter Felipe Paulino is carrying an ERA of 2.78 through 4 starts. His ERA is only 0.77 in 2 home starts this season – both unders. The Under is 5-1-1 in the Diamondbacks’ last 7 overall and 9-2 in their last 11 in the 3rd game of a series. The Under is 5-2-2 in the Royals’ last 9 home games and a perfect 7-0 in their last 7 interleague home games vs. a right-handed starter. Take the Under tonight. -Jimmy Boyd (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: May 27th 2011
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Pick: Milwaukee Brewers -109
I’m not in the habit of fading Tim Lincecum, but I’ll make an exception in this game. The Brewers are rested, have momentum riding 13 wins in their last 16 games and are at home. Milwaukee is a major league-best 19-6 at Miller Park. The Brewers also are throwing a pitcher who is in the argument for best pitcher in the National League this season – Shaun Marcum. Marcum is thriving away from Toronto and the brutal American League East. He’s 6-1 with a 2.37 ERA. Marcum hasn’t lost since his second start of the season, a span of nine games. He’s given up one run or fewer in six of those nine outings. The Giants rank second-to-last in the majors in runs scored. They are 25th in homers, 25th in on-base percentage and 23rd in slugging percentage. And this is before they lost cleanup hitter and star catcher Buster Posey. The shock of losing Posey, who broke his leg in a home plate collision late Wednesday night, still is lingering for the Giants. San Francisco also had to play yesterday, not getting into Milwaukee until late while the Brewers were idle on Thursday. Normally the Giants still would be worthy of respect because of Lincecum. But Lincecum is 2-3 lifetime versus the Brewers with a 4.62 ERA in seven starts. Lincecum also threw 133 pitches, the second-highest total of his career, during his last start this past Saturday against Oakland. Lincecum is 7-10 with a 4.00 ERA following starts in which he threw more than 115 pitches. He’s 54-20 with a 2.50 ERA in all other games. -Stephen Nover

Pick: Washington Nationals -125
On Friday the Free MLB System Play is on the Washington Nationals. Game 954 at 7:05 eastern. Washington fits a nice system here tonight that plays on home teams with a total of 8 or less off a road loss where they scored 4 or less runs and are now taking on an opponent off a home dog win in which they scored 4 or less runs on 5+ hits. Washington has won 5 of 7 off 3 or more losses. The Padres are one of the worst offensive teams in the majors. They are 8-23 in night games and 4-15 off a win. They are averaging a paltry 1.3 runs per game on .163 hitting over their past seven games. They have C. Richard making the start tonight and he has an elevated 7.27 road ERA this season. In his last 2 starts vs Washington he has been mediocre allowing 9 runs in 13 innings. Tonight he opposes Washington lefty J. Lannan. In his career vs the Padres Lannan has a 2.73 ERA. In his home starts this season he has a 2.62 ERA. Based on the system, the angles and Pitching We will back Washington tonight. On Friday the lead play is a Rare 6* MLB Total of the Month backed by a never lost 18-0 Totals system. I also have a 92% Side system and an NHL Game seven Play. Jump on and start Memorial day weekend big. For the free play take Washington. -Rob Vinciletti (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: May 16th 2011
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Pick: Atlanta Braves -224
At 7:10 pm, our complimentary selection is on the Atlanta Braves over the Houston Astros. When things have gone well for veteran righthander Brett Myers in his career, they have gone very well, but when things have gone bad for him, they’ve gone very, very bad. It seems to be feast or famine for Myers with very little middle ground and such is the case in the first six weeks of this season. After having a very successful first season in Houston in 2010, Myers continued his solid run in an Astros uniform in his first four starts of 2011, putting up a 2.39 ERA although he only won a single start in April. But the wheels have completely fallen off in his last four starts, as Myers has gone 0-3 with an ERA around eight-and-a-half runs and he’s walked 10 batters in his last three outings. And it doesn’t get any easier for him having to head to Atlanta tonight, where the Astros are just 6-15 in their last 21 meetings and with his lineup having to face a very tough customer in righthander Tommy Hanson. Hanson is near-perfect in three career starts vs. the ‘Stros, going 1-0 with a 0.78 ERA while allowing just 11 hits and two walks in 23 innings against them. Atlanta just handled the Phillies and Roy Halladay on Sunday, so chances are the Braves can handle the Astros tonight. Take Atlanta. As always, good luck…Al McMordie. Be sure to visit our premium picks page above to purchase Big Al McMordie’s expert MLB baseball predictions for May 16th 2011. Don’t miss out on another hot streak from our professional sports handicappers.

Pick: Colorado Rockies +137
I am backing the Colorado Rockies Monday as a home underdog to the San Francisco Giants. Rarely will you get the Rockies as a home dog, so I’ll take full advantage tonight. Clayton Mortensen is scheduled to make his second start for the Rockies. His other start came at San Francisco on May 7 when he allowed one earned run in six innings of a 3-2 loss. Mortensen has posted a 0.55 ERA and 0.798 WHIP on the season while allowing just 1 earned run and 13 base runners in 16 1/3 innings. I know he’s up against Tim Lincecum tonight, but Mortensen and the Rockies are clearly undervalued here. Colorado has revenge in mind after getting swept in San Francisco earlier this month. The Rockies are 93-67 in home games with triple revenge – 3 straight losses against opponent since 1997. Colorado is 36-16 in their last 52 home games vs. a team with a winning record. The Rockies are exactly .500 at 149-149 as a home underdog of +100 or higher since 1997. Great value here. Bet the Rockies Monday. -Jack Jones (Handicapperspicks.com)