BEGINNING MONDAY AUGUST 16
Cincinnati at St. Louis (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
The last time these teams met the Redbirds swept the Reds in Ohio and have now won 11 of 13 (+$755) in this series. The Reds pitching is a disaster, particularly on the road (starters? ERA is 6.00, relievers? is 5.98) while the St. Louis staff (3.82 ERA) continues to be one of the biggest surprises in the NL. Combine that pitching with perhaps the most volatile offense in MLB and it looks like another long, hot weekend for the Reds. PREFERRED: Cardinals in all games.
Pittsburgh at Arizona (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
First meeting of the year between the Pirates and double A D?backs. Should Oliver Perez or Sean Burnett start for the Pirates will be pleased to back them because Arizona is 3-15 (-$1510) at home vs. portsiders. And, should Casey Fossum or Randy Johnson take the hill, we?re all over the ?Backs given that Pittsburgh is 3-8 (-$410) on the road vs. southpaws. PREFERRED: Diamondbacks? when lefty meets righty/Pirates when lefty meets righty.
Atlanta at San Diego (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
The Braves are in good shape here. They fare much better against righties (44-29, +$1265) then lefties (19-18, -$45) and the only southpaw starting these days for the Padres is David Wells. And, with the Braves? pitching staff (starters? ERA is 3.81 on the road, relievers? is 3.52) seemingly improving by the week, the unproductive Padres? offense (.250 BA, 3.7 RPG, 36 home runs at home), is in for a tough time. PREFERRED: Braves in all games.
Florida at Los Angeles (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
The Dodgers took two of three (+$180) from the Marlins in Florida in early May including a (9-4) thumping of Dontrelle Willis and are poised to repeat that success in California. The Marlins are giving no indication that they?re capable of putting a streak together like the one that catapulted them to a world championship last year. They?re 10-12 since the All-Star break and 3-4 since sending Brad Penny to LA. Penny is scheduled to start here where he was 5-3 with a 3.34 ERA before he was traded. PREFERRED: Penny.
Montreal at San Francisco (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
The Expos are giving signs lately (won six of 10, +$790) that they actually are a major league team while the Giants have shown no resemblance to the team that won 100 games a year ago. In fact, the Giants are below .500 since mid-July (lost 19 of 33) and still haven?t developed a dependable starter outside of the great Jason Schmidt. Do you want to lay heavy wood on a team playing that inconsistently? San Francisco is a money burning 17-24 (-$1465) vs. righties at home and the last time we looked, the Expos? starters were all righty. PREFERRED: Expos vs. all but Schmidt.
Toronto at Boston (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
The Red Sox have dominated (9-4, +$250) the disappointing Blue Jays, one game short of their total number of victories against them last year. And, now that the Sox are resigned to competing with the Athletics et al. for the wildcard berth in the AL, we?ll be surprised if they relax against a below .500 team that they?re supposed to beat like a drum. Boston is 11-6 at home vs. lefties averaging 6.1 RPG and 22-12 at home vs. righties averaging 5.9 RPG. Those stats point to Boston no matter whom Toronto starts, but please watch those prices. PREFERRED: Red Sox at -$175 or less off a Blue Jays? loss.
Oakland at Baltimore (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
This is a story of pitching, pitching and still more pitching against one of the best offenses in the game and conventional baseball wisdom states that pitching usually wins the day. And, if Oakland has its lefties lined up for this series (Orioles are 15-21, -$920 vs. southpaws), they should take at least two in Camden Yards. PREFERRED: Lefthanders vs. the Orioles.
Cleveland at Texas (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
It?s been an exciting year for the up-and-coming Tribe except when it plays the Rangers (1-5, -$500). But, the Tribe (38-31, +$1355 vs. righties) has its top starters, lefties Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia, scheduled for this series and we won?t be surprised if they come out on top. PREFERRED: Indians? lefthanders vs. righthanders.
Cincinnati at St. Louis (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
The last time these teams met the Redbirds swept the Reds in Ohio and have now won 11 of 13 (+$755) in this series. The Reds pitching is a disaster, particularly on the road (starters? ERA is 6.00, relievers? is 5.98) while the St. Louis staff (3.82 ERA) continues to be one of the biggest surprises in the NL. Combine that pitching with perhaps the most volatile offense in MLB and it looks like another long, hot weekend for the Reds. PREFERRED: Cardinals in all games.
Pittsburgh at Arizona (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
First meeting of the year between the Pirates and double A D?backs. Should Oliver Perez or Sean Burnett start for the Pirates will be pleased to back them because Arizona is 3-15 (-$1510) at home vs. portsiders. And, should Casey Fossum or Randy Johnson take the hill, we?re all over the ?Backs given that Pittsburgh is 3-8 (-$410) on the road vs. southpaws. PREFERRED: Diamondbacks? when lefty meets righty/Pirates when lefty meets righty.
Atlanta at San Diego (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
The Braves are in good shape here. They fare much better against righties (44-29, +$1265) then lefties (19-18, -$45) and the only southpaw starting these days for the Padres is David Wells. And, with the Braves? pitching staff (starters? ERA is 3.81 on the road, relievers? is 3.52) seemingly improving by the week, the unproductive Padres? offense (.250 BA, 3.7 RPG, 36 home runs at home), is in for a tough time. PREFERRED: Braves in all games.
Florida at Los Angeles (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
The Dodgers took two of three (+$180) from the Marlins in Florida in early May including a (9-4) thumping of Dontrelle Willis and are poised to repeat that success in California. The Marlins are giving no indication that they?re capable of putting a streak together like the one that catapulted them to a world championship last year. They?re 10-12 since the All-Star break and 3-4 since sending Brad Penny to LA. Penny is scheduled to start here where he was 5-3 with a 3.34 ERA before he was traded. PREFERRED: Penny.
Montreal at San Francisco (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
The Expos are giving signs lately (won six of 10, +$790) that they actually are a major league team while the Giants have shown no resemblance to the team that won 100 games a year ago. In fact, the Giants are below .500 since mid-July (lost 19 of 33) and still haven?t developed a dependable starter outside of the great Jason Schmidt. Do you want to lay heavy wood on a team playing that inconsistently? San Francisco is a money burning 17-24 (-$1465) vs. righties at home and the last time we looked, the Expos? starters were all righty. PREFERRED: Expos vs. all but Schmidt.
Toronto at Boston (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
The Red Sox have dominated (9-4, +$250) the disappointing Blue Jays, one game short of their total number of victories against them last year. And, now that the Sox are resigned to competing with the Athletics et al. for the wildcard berth in the AL, we?ll be surprised if they relax against a below .500 team that they?re supposed to beat like a drum. Boston is 11-6 at home vs. lefties averaging 6.1 RPG and 22-12 at home vs. righties averaging 5.9 RPG. Those stats point to Boston no matter whom Toronto starts, but please watch those prices. PREFERRED: Red Sox at -$175 or less off a Blue Jays? loss.
Oakland at Baltimore (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
This is a story of pitching, pitching and still more pitching against one of the best offenses in the game and conventional baseball wisdom states that pitching usually wins the day. And, if Oakland has its lefties lined up for this series (Orioles are 15-21, -$920 vs. southpaws), they should take at least two in Camden Yards. PREFERRED: Lefthanders vs. the Orioles.
Cleveland at Texas (3) 16th, 17th, 18th
It?s been an exciting year for the up-and-coming Tribe except when it plays the Rangers (1-5, -$500). But, the Tribe (38-31, +$1355 vs. righties) has its top starters, lefties Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia, scheduled for this series and we won?t be surprised if they come out on top. PREFERRED: Indians? lefthanders vs. righthanders.
