Sunday's best MLB bets
Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics (-172, 7)
Orioles closer Mike Gonzalez blew two saves right out of the gate and then was promptly placed on the 15-day DL.
His replacement, the hard-throwing Jim Johnson, didn?t fare much better in his first closing opportunity. Johnson surrendered two runs with a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth in Oakland on Saturday.
"You'd have to be in here living it and seeing it to believe it," said Baltimore manager Dave Trembley, whose team is off to a 1-11 start.
To compound matters, it doesn?t look like Miguel Tejada will be in Orioles lineup on Sunday after leaving Saturday?s game with a strained groin.
The A?s are the surprise of Major League Baseball, leading the AL West and 6-1 at home this season. Oakland has won nine straight at home versus the O?s and that trend should continue on Sunday.
Pick: Athletics
Milwaukee Brewers at Washington Nationals (+105, 10)
Don?t look now, but the perennial bottom-feeding Nationals are one game over .500 and aiming for a series sweep against Milwaukee.
To make the impossible happen, Washington will need a better performance from starting pitcher Jason Marquis than what he delivered in his first two outings. Marquis is 0-2 with a 12.96 ERA on the season but both of those losses came against the high-octane Phillies lineup.
"I'm not happy, but not concerned," Marquis said. "I know what I need to do to get back on track. It's just a matter of just doing it. I just have to make better pitches. I have to get the ball consistently down in the zone."
Marquis was an All-Star with the Rockies last season and should rebound into the solid veteran option that he is.
With the Caps? come-from-behind win over Montreal on Saturday, the nation?s capital could be riotous if the Nats bust out the brooms Sunday.
Pick: Nationals
Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics (-172, 7)
Orioles closer Mike Gonzalez blew two saves right out of the gate and then was promptly placed on the 15-day DL.
His replacement, the hard-throwing Jim Johnson, didn?t fare much better in his first closing opportunity. Johnson surrendered two runs with a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth in Oakland on Saturday.
"You'd have to be in here living it and seeing it to believe it," said Baltimore manager Dave Trembley, whose team is off to a 1-11 start.
To compound matters, it doesn?t look like Miguel Tejada will be in Orioles lineup on Sunday after leaving Saturday?s game with a strained groin.
The A?s are the surprise of Major League Baseball, leading the AL West and 6-1 at home this season. Oakland has won nine straight at home versus the O?s and that trend should continue on Sunday.
Pick: Athletics
Milwaukee Brewers at Washington Nationals (+105, 10)
Don?t look now, but the perennial bottom-feeding Nationals are one game over .500 and aiming for a series sweep against Milwaukee.
To make the impossible happen, Washington will need a better performance from starting pitcher Jason Marquis than what he delivered in his first two outings. Marquis is 0-2 with a 12.96 ERA on the season but both of those losses came against the high-octane Phillies lineup.
"I'm not happy, but not concerned," Marquis said. "I know what I need to do to get back on track. It's just a matter of just doing it. I just have to make better pitches. I have to get the ball consistently down in the zone."
Marquis was an All-Star with the Rockies last season and should rebound into the solid veteran option that he is.
With the Caps? come-from-behind win over Montreal on Saturday, the nation?s capital could be riotous if the Nats bust out the brooms Sunday.
Pick: Nationals
