MLB Picks: August 10th 2011
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Pick: Detroit Tigers +124
For whatever reason oddsmakers continue to overprice Ubaldo Jimenez this season. Jimenez was rocked in his first start for the Indians, giving up five runs in just five innings of work. He is now 6-9 with a 4.64 ERA on the season and 0-1 with a 11.45 ERA in his last three starts. If anyone should be favored in this game, it’s Tigers starter Rick Porcello, who is 6-2 with a 3.65 ERA and 1.261 WHIP in 12 road starts and 2-0 with a 3.10 ERA and 0.935 WHIP in his last three starts. If that isn’t enough to make you back the Tigers on Wednesday, Porcello is 4-0 with a 2.32 ERA in eight starts against the Indians, while Jimenez is 1-2 with a 5.63 ERA in three starts against the Tigers. Porcello is 9-2 vs. AL teams scoring 4.7 or less runs/game on the season this season, 10-2 vs. an AL team with a team batting average of .265 or worse this season. The Tigers are 20-8 in Porcello’s last 28 starts. BET THE TIGERS! -Steve Janus

Pick: Milwaukee Brewers +122
Having won 12 of 13, the Brewers look to clinch another series over the Cardinals when they play the middle game of their three-game series Wednesday. Milwaukee is 7-3 against St. Louis this season after Tuesday’s 5-3 win in 10 innings, and leads the Cards by four games in the NL Central. The Brewers have not held a division lead this big since 2007. Cardinals RH Jake Westbrook (9-5, 4.83 ERA) vs. Brewers LH Randy Wolf (8-8, 3.61 ERA). Westbrook’s ERA has dropped almost half a run over the last month, as he’s allowed 11 earned runs over his last five starts. TAKE MILWAUKEE PLUS -Bob Wingerter

Pick: Washington Nationals +111
You’re only as good as your next day’s starting pitcher! For the Cubs, that’s not good news with washed up Rodrigo Lopez taking the hill, with a 2-3 record and a 5.17 ERA. He has a 7.80 ERA his last three starts. Lopez gave up six runs and seven hits over just four innings at Pittsburgh on Thursday. He issued a pair of walks and did not record a strikeout. They face lefty Ross Detwiler here, who has a 2.66 ERA for the season and has already beaten the Cubs. The Nationals are 4-1 in their last 5 games vs. a starter with a WHIP greater than 1.30 and Lopez is 1-3 with a 4.62 ERA against Washington. Play the Nationals. -Jim Feist (Handicapperspicks.com)

MLB Picks: May 1st 2011
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Pick: Oakland Athletics -115
I can’t pass up the A’s at home at this price with Gonzo on the hill. That’s because the Athletics are 17-4 in Gonzalez’s last 21 starts as a favorite and 9-2 in his last 11 starts as a favorite of -110 to -150. It also can’t be ignored that the A’s are a perfect 8-0 in their last 8 Game #3′s of a series. The Rangers won Saturday, but they’re still only 2-5 in their last 7 road games and 2-5 in their last 7 games following a win. Take the A’s. -Dave Price

Pick: Pittsburgh Pirates +1.5 -110
We’ll take the Pirates catching 1.5 runs at this price considering the struggles of Colorado starter Ubaldo Jimenez. He’s 0-1 (0-3 on the money line) with an ERA of 6.75 this season. Dating back to last season, the Rockies are 0-6 in his last 6 starts, 0-5 in his last 5 starts as a favorite and 0-4 in his last 4 starts with the total set at 7.0-8.5 runs. Pittsburgh starter Charlie Morton is currently in better form. He’s 2-1 with an ERA of 3.00. He has given up a single run in 3 of his 5 starts this season. In addition, Pittsburgh is an impressive 7-2 in its last 9 games as an underdog of +150 or more. The Rockies are 1-5 in their last 6 games following a win and 1-5 in their last 6 home games versus a team with a losing record. Take Pittsburgh on the run line. -Jimmy Boyd (Handicapperspicks.com)

Our Wednesday night MLB predictions take us to AT&T Park where the NL West rival Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants will close out their three-game baseball betting set.
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After Colorado stole the series opener by a 2-1 final tally in a fabulous pitching duel, the Giants evened the series up with some late game heroics from the offense to capture the 5-2 victory. The Rockies hold an 8-6 season series advantage and 10 of the 14 games have combined to go ‘under’ the closing number.

This will be the final match-up of the regular season in tonight’s venue between these clubs. The Giants have been one of the better home teams this season capturing baseball betting odds victories in 41 of 68 tries ($459), while ‘under’ bettors have made a modest profit overall (33-29-6). Manager Jim Tracy’s club has been a woeful visitor securing victories in just 26 of 67 overall attempts (-$1649); it has however been a solid ‘under’ bet away from Coors Field (39-26-2).

Colorado Rockies (69-62, -$491) vs. San Francisco Giants (73-60, $595)
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, September 1st, 9:15 ET
Game Location: AT&T Park, San Francisco, CA
TV/Radio Broadcast: FOX – Rocky Mountain, Comcast (Bay), XM

MLB Odds: Colorado Rockies -1.5 +150 -120 (Ubaldo Jimenez – R) vs. San Francisco Giants +1.5 -170 +100 (Tim Lincecum – R): Total 6.5 O -125 6.5 U +105

Though Ubaldo has churned out quality starts in each of his L/6 outings, the potential NL Cy Young Award winner has just two wins to show for it. He failed to pick up the 18 th win of his 2010 campaign his last time out at home against the Dodgers who got to him for nine hits and three ER’s through his seven innings of work. The defeat dropped him to 17-5 overall.

He’ll toe the AT&T Park bump for the second time this season having last tossed a complete game 4-0 shutout there back on May 31 st. The power righty has allowed just 10 ER’s through his L/28 innings of work, and has beaten the Giants twice in his three 2010 starts.

Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum has to be ecstatic that the month of August has come to a close. He dropped each of his five outings and posted an unheard of 7.82 ERA in doing so. He enters his 28 th start of the season 11-9 with a rather un-Lincecum-like 3.80 ERA & 1.35 WHIP.

He got shelled by the Diamondbacks his last time out to cost baseball bettors a pretty penny after going off the board as a -180 MLB betting odds favorite. He’s surprisingly had his roughest go at it at home in the pitcher friendly venue where he stands 7-6 with a 4.12 ERA & 1.41 WHIP through 87.1 total IP. San Fran has dropped his pair of starts vs. Colorado this season, and in his career, he’s 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA in 13 overall starts.

MLB Insider Tip : With these clubs separated by just three-games in the NL West standings, the pitching has really stepped to the forefront in this series. That’s normally the case in a playoff atmosphere, and I look for that trend to carry over into tonight’s finale.

I’m not exactly sure what Lincecum’s problem has been, but never underestimate the power of a new month; especially in the game of baseball. I look for him to bring his “A” game tonight but also expect Ubaldo to continue bringing it as well.

Home plate Ump Jerry Layne has been decent for ‘under’ bettors this season with his games playing to the low side of the baseball betting odds ‘total’ 14 of 24 times. With oddsmakers posting this number so low even though Lincecum has been severely struggling, it sounded alarms off for me immediately! Take the plus-money return and look for yet another pitcher’s duel to close out the series.

My MLB Prediction: Colorado/San Francisco Under 6.5 +105 (Jimenez/Lincecum)

Source: BetUS Locker Room Featured on: Handicapperspicks.com

Our Tuesday night All Star Game predictions take us to Angels Stadium where the American and National League will go at it once again in the Midsummer Classic for the rights of snagging home field advantage in the upcoming World Series.
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There have been 80 All Star Games played to date; the National League has won 40 overall and there have been two ties. The latest draw came back in 2002 when both leagues ran out of position players, so Commissioner Bud Selig pronounced the game a stalemate.

Since then, this former exhibition has turned into one of the most important games of the season with the victor holding home field advantage in the World Series. Since then, the AL has dominated winning six in a row; that mark includes last year’s 4-3 tally in St. Louis.

The American League will carry its 12-game winning streak heading into the 81st overall All Star Game; the National League last came out victorious in the Midsummer Classic back in 1996 when it extended its winning streak over the American League to three straight.

National League vs. American League
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, July 13th, 8:00 ET
Game Location: Angels Stadium, Anaheim, CA
TV/Radio Broadcast: FOX, XM

MLB Odds: National League Even (Ubaldo Jimenez – R) vs. American League -120 (David Price – L): Total Over/Under 8.5

Ubaldo Jimenez gets the starting nod from manager Charlie Manuel to be the NL’s starter this evening. The righty’s very much so deserving considering he stands a phenomenal 15-1 with a 2.20 ERA & 1.05 WHIP throughout his 18 overall first half starts. He became one of just 13 pitchers to earn 15 victories in his team’s first 85 games of a season, and threw a no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves back in April. The Colorado Rockies have won 16 of his 18 overall outings, and they went a phenomenal 9-1 the ten times he led their charge on the road.

Opposing the potential NL Cy Young Award winner will be Tampa Bay Rays southpaw David Price. The youngster exploded onto the MLB scene in the Rays memorable 2007 season that saw them fall short against the Philadelphia Phillies in the world Series. He leads the league in victories with 12 and ERA (2.42), he’s led the Rays to victories in 12 of his 17 overall MLB betting starts. When he throws out the first pitch Tuesday night, he will become the youngest pitcher (24) since Brett Saberhagen did in ’87 to get the starting nod for the American League in All Star Game betting. Other starting pitchers to be thrown into the mix will be Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay, Florida’s Josh Johnson, St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright, San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum, New York’s Philip Hughes, Boston’s Jon Lester, Texas’ Cliff lee, and Detroit’s Justin Verlander.

MLB Insider Tip: I’ve seen a limited return with my All Star bets each of the L/2 seasons by backing the NL larger on the run-line and playing smaller on the $$$-line. However, my 2010 All Star Game predictions finally have the National League putting an end to their 12 year drought! I simply can’t ignore the pitching the NL will be throwing at the AL with Jimenez leading off, followed by the trio of Halladay, Lincecum, and Johnson. The AL’s starting pitching staff is still rock solid, but it just doesn’t do it for me the way the NL’s does this season.

Having not won this exhibition since it turned into one of the most important games of the year has got to be driving the NL’ers crazy! I expect them to come out the hungrier team and finally get the best of the AL. With the Yanks running so well in defense of their World Series Title, why not make it a bit tougher for them to pull off the repeat? I expect manager Charlie Manuel’s side to do just that this evening!

My MLB Prediction: National League (Jimenez)
Source: BetUS Locker Room Featured on: Handicapperspicks.com

Best Pitchers To Wager On
Trying to find the best pitchers in baseball to bet on isn’t as simple as looking at ERA, wins and losses, and WHIP all the time. Check out who tops our MLB betting list of the best arms in the bigs.
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Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies (14-1, +$1,272) – The bad news for MLB betting fans of Jimenez’s is that the days of getting good numbers on him are absolutely gone. The good news is that he just keeps on finding ways to win games, which keeps putting money in their pockets one unit at a time. His ERA ballooned up to 1.60 in his most recent start against the Red Sox, but the team just continues to win. At 13-1, 30 wins still seems like a possibility.

Mike Pelfrey, New York Mets (11-3, +$931) – Pelfrey had his first bad start last week when the Bronx Bombers knocked him around for five earned runs in seven innings of work. It was the first time that one of the top righties for the Mets was beaten in a game since May 1st. This is going to be the first time that New York has had itself a starting pitcher in the All-Star Game that hasn’t been named Johan Santana. We still aren’t totally sure that Pelfrey can keep this pace up for the whole season, but for as long as he is winning, he is worth backing.

Philip Hughes, New York Yankees (11-2, +$764) – The man that beat Pelfrey in that game last week in the Big Apple was none other than Hughes. Who would’ve thought that the best starter that the Yankees would have right around the halfway point of the season wouldn’t be named CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, AJ Burnett, or Javier Vazquez? Hughes just continues to put up consistent start after consistent start, and though his 3.17 ERA isn’t necessarily a stud type of a number at this point in the year, that consistency with New York’s lethal lineup keeps producing wins.

Carlos Silva, Chicago Cubs (10-3, +$725) – Is the window of opportunity closing on Silva and the Cubs? His hamstring is acting up right now, which has caused manager Lou Piniella to push him back a few days for his next start. After winning games for the Cubs in ten straight starts, the last two starts haven’t worked so well. Silva has been given two straight losses, even though he only allowed five earned runs in 13.0 innings. The six inning start against the Angels only took 70 pitches, but it was cut short due to that hammy.

Freddy Garcia, Chicago White Sox (9-4, +$716) – The White Sox have won nine straight games, and Garcia is a big part of the season why the team is gaining ground quickly in the AL Central standings. Since allowing seven runs to the Marlins in just 2.1 innings on May 23rd, Garcia has won five straight starts. He has thrown exactly seven innings in four of those five starts, and didn’t allow more than three runs in any of those outings.

Worst Pitchers To Wager On
Pitchers that burn holes in our pockets is just another day in the life of trying to beat the MLB odds. Here at BetUS Sportsbook, we’ve got the five worst money burning pitchers in the bigs listed for you to steer clear of in the future. Take a look at the toughest luck pitchers against the MLB odds this year.
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Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals (3-12, -$1,111) – Poor Zack Greinke still can’t figure out how to get back on track. The oddsmakers are still burying Greinke because of his name in spite of the fact that the Royals flat out stink. The good news for last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner is that he did strike out 12 batters in a complete game victory against the Reds two starts ago, but all in all, a 3.94 ERA doesn’t warrant much in the way of special treatment, especially with a 2-8 record to boot.

Ryan Dempster, Chicago Cubs (5-10, -$897) – Theoretically speaking, Dempster deserves a heck of a lot better than what he has gotten of late from his teammates. The offense continues to fail to put runs on the board on a consistent basis. As a result, the righty has ended up with plenty of starts this year like he had on Tuesday when he allowed two runs over eight innings and lost 2-0. The righty will reach 100 strikeouts in his next start, and as long as his ERA ends up staying around the 3.56 range it sits at right now, he’ll probably get off of this list sooner than later.

Brian Matusz, Baltimore Orioles (3-12, -$801) – The young lefty for the Orioles was pitching quite well in the month of June, as he had four straight starts in which he allowed three or fewer runs. That all went up in smoke against the Marlins on Wednesday when he gave up six runs in 6.1 innings in a 7-5 defeat. Unfortunately, that was the first time since May 20th that his team had given him more than four runs of support.

Jeremy Guthrie, Baltimore Orioles (3-12, -$799) – It should come as no surprise that the Orioles have a pair of starters amongst the five worst in the game considering the fact that they are on pace to break all sorts of records for futility in baseball history. Guthrie’s 4.28 ERA would look fantastic on the Yankees, and against any reasonable team in the game, that would at least post a marginal record. However, because he is an Oriole, Guthrie is just 3-9 and things aren’t looking to get better any time soon.

Charlie Morton, Pittsburgh Pirates (1-9, -$758) – The good news for Pirates bettors is that Morton hasn’t been in the lineup. He has been on the disabled list since May 27th and probably still has a week or so until he comes back from his shoulder fatigue. You never like hearing “shoulder fatigue” on a pitcher, particularly on a bad team, and particularly on one that is playing as poorly as Pittsburgh is right now. Stay away at all costs!

Source: BetUS Locker Room Featured on: Handicapperspicks.com

If you look at baseball betting as if it were the stock market, here’s a look at what we’re buying and selling through another week of play on the diamond.

Bullish Squads
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (6-1, +$526) – The Halos could’ve easily just folded up the tent and called it a season after 1B Kendry Morales broke his leg celebrating a walk off home run back on May 29th, but that just hasn’t been the case. The team has won eight out of nine games since that point, including taking six of the first seven games of this wild 14 game road trip that it is on.

Houston Astros (5-1, +$509) – What is that? The Astros are finally bullish? This could be a case of market correction, but Houston is finally getting pitching that is good enough to make up for its miserable offense. The Astros have won five out of six and six out of eight to claw back to the point where they could possibly get out of the gutter in the NL Central, but with a four game roadie into Colorado and a three game set at Yankee Stadium coming this week, keeping that up seems to be unlikely.

Bearish Squads
Baltimore Orioles (1-6, -$451) – This is about as bearish as you can get. The Orioles had lost ten straight games before beating the Red Sox 4-3 on Sunday afternoon. Manager Dave Trembley had to go and was finally dismissed, as the team is only on a pace to win 45 games all season long.

Arizona Diamondbacks (2-5, -$280) – Though we’ll talk more about the D’Backs in just a moment, there is not a doubt in anyone’s mind that this could be the most disappointing team in baseball and is certainly a bearish squad to stay away from. MLB betting fans were crushed by this team’s offensive output in LA over Memorial Day (see below). Taking two out of three against Colorado at home over the weekend didn’t nearly erase that ugly ten game losing streak that the team had to endure, though.

Player to Buy – Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies: The Rocks are staying in the race for the NL West crown thanks to Jimenez, who is on pace to shatter all sorts of records this year. His string of 33 consecutive scoreless innings came to a close on Sunday, but he still now holds the Colorado franchise record in that department. Jimenez has a 0.93 ERA and is cruising towards Bob Gibson’s infamous 1.12 ERA season, and he is only a pace to win 32 games this year.

Players to Sell – Arizona Diamondbacks Starting Lineup: When your pitchers have two of your 12 hits in two extra inning games, that’s generally not a very good sign. Arizona went scoreless in 25 innings over two days against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and only batter .139 in those two games. That really just won’t cut it at the MLB level under any circumstance, but especially when you have a pitching staff that gives you two great outings in a row after posting a 5.50 ERA, the worst in baseball, for the rest of the season.