Jeff Scott Sports
5 UNIT PLAY
MINNESOTA -138 over Oakland
The Athletics are 6-20 in their last 26 road games and 3-13 in their last 16 road games vs. a right-handed starter, while the Twins are 25-10 in their last 35 games following a win and 16-5 in their last 21 when their opponent scores 2 runs or less in their previous game. Minnesota has done well vs the lesser teams in the league as they are 37-27 vs teams with losing records this year, including a superb 11-1 mark in their last 12 home games vs losing teams. Minnesota has also been excellent at home overall this year, going 44-22, while hitting .288 and scoring 5.3 rpg in the process. Minnesota sends Nick Blackburn to the mound tonight and he has been solid for them on the year, going 9-6 with a 3.73 ERA overall, including a 6-2 mark with a 2.90 ERA at home. The Twins are just 13-11 in his starts overall, but 8-3 in his home starts, including 5-1 in his last 6 starts at the Metrodome, while outscoring opponents by 2.8 rpg in the 6 games. The A's come in just 5-25 in their last last 30 games, including a 2-14 mark on the road during that stretch. The Oakland offense has been horrible the last month or so, as they have averaged just 2.7 rpg over their last 30 games, including just 2.3 rpg in their last 16 on the road. The A's have scored 3 runs or less in 13 of the 16 road games and now must face a Twins staff that has a a solid 3.37 ERA at home. Justin Duchscherer has been good for the A's this year, with a 10-8 mark and a 2.59 ERA overall, but he has struggled of late going 0-2 with a 6.17 ERA inhis last 4 starts. This should be a good series for the Twins as they look to keep pace with the ChiSox and they will begin it with an easy win tonight.
3 UNIT PLAY
LA Angels +108 over TAMPA BAY
Boy this is one of the games I wished I had put out last night, before realizing it was a top play of others on here as well. Jeff Bonds gave great insight on the travel of Tampa and what they're heading into, so I won't go into all that, but what I will go into is my usual key trends and stats that give this play even more merit. The Angels are 21-6 in their last 27 vs. American League East and 6-1 in their last 7 during game 1 of a series, while the Rays are 20-48 in the last 68 meetings and just 2-5 in their last 7 game 1 of a series. Jon Garland has pitched very well for the Halos, going 11-7 with a 4.26 ERA overall, including a 7-2 mark with 4.57 ERA on the road. Johnhas also always pitched well vs the Rays going 5-1 with a 3.04 ERA in 10 career starts vs them, including a 3-0 mark with a 2.13 ERA in 6 starts at the Trop. Andy Sonnanstine has also had a nice year so far, going 12-6 with a 4.35 ERA overall, including a 6-3 mark with a 4.36 ERA at home, but he has struggled in 2 starts vs the Halos, going 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA. The Rays are 5-2 without Longoria and Crawford, scoring 5.1 rpg in the process, but the loss of the two should begin to take its toll. The Rays score just 4.6 rpg at home and 4.5 rpg at night. The Angels are the best road team in the league, with a 39-24 mark, including a 10-2 mark in their last 12 road openers of a series. The last time the Angels were at the Trop they were swept by the Rays and only scored 5 total runs in the 3 games. Payback starts tonight as the halos have all the edges in this one, including the emotional and mental edges and that should propell them to a solid win vs a team that they just might meet later in the playoffs.
