Comps
L.A. Dodgers at N.Y. METS (-165) Bobby Maxwell
After Saturday's winner on the Mets we've now hit seven of our last nine FREE plans on the diamond. Tonight we're right back at Shea Stadium as we go with the Mets again to get the best of the Dodgers.
New York has won four out of its last five and tonight they've got ace Johan Santana (6-3, 3.41 ERA) on the hill as the Mets try to make it three of four from the Dodgers.
Santana is 5-1 in his last seven starts and the Mets have won six of those seven, including a 5-3 win over the Marlins on Tuesday when he gave up three runs in seven innings. The southpaw is now 2-1 with a 4.26 ERA in four starts in front of the Shea Stadium crowd.
The Dodgers have struggled mightily on this seven-game road trip, going 1-5 entering today. Los Angeles starts Hiroki Kuroda (2-4, 3.29) and is just 1-2 in his last four starts. he faced the Mets on May 6 in Los Angeles and gave up four runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings but got bailed out by the offense as the Dodgers won 5-4.
The Mets rallied to win 3-2 on Saturday and they'll get the job done tonight as Santana pitches a gem on national TV. Play New York to get this one with ease.
3♦ N.Y. METS
James Patrick Sports
Dodgers vs. Mets 8:05 p.m. est.
Dodgers have gone OVER the TOTAL in 13 of their past 18 games against lefties and Sunday Night?s opponent Johan Santana has seen his games go OVER the TOTAL at a 6-2-1 rate. Our Sunday complimentary selection in Major League Baseball is #901 Dodgers-Mets OVER the TOTAL at Shea Stadium.
Rocketman Sports
#9 Kasey Kahne vs #12 Ryan Newman 2:15 PM EST
3* #12 Ryan Newman -120
Next in line I would go with Ryan Newman. Newman has three wins, six Top 5 finishes and eight Top 10 finishes in 12 starts here in Dover. Newman has an average finish of 10.0 here in Dover, which is good enough for 2nd best among active drivers. Kahne has an average finish of 25.3 here in Dover and no Top 5 finishes at all in his career. We'll play Ryan Newman to finish ahead of Kasey Kahne for 3 units today!
Marc Lawrence
Philadelphia w/Moyer
Note: Phillies wrap up their weekend series with the Marlins when they send veteran left hander Jamie Moyer to the hill in the rubber game of this three game set. With Moyer 7-0 in his MLB career team starts against Florida and the Phillies 14-6 home on Sundays, look for Florida to fall to 5-14 away on Sundays here today.
Jeff Benton
Astros as a small road underdog at Milwaukee.
Houston has hit the skids a bit, having lost four straight games, including the first two of this weekend series in Milwaukee, and it has scored a total of five runs in the four defeats. But believe it or not, the Astros have not been swept in a series all season long. At the same time, Milwaukee has notched just one sweep all season, and that was back in the second series of the season against the crappy Giants at home. Those are two real tough trends to ignore, even though the Brewers (5-1 last six) are playing better baseball right now.
Now, it would be one thing if the Brewers were going for the sweep today with an ace like Ben Sheets on the hill. But Sheets pitched last night?s gem. Today, the Brew Crew are going with Dave Bush, he of the 1-5 record and 6.04 ERA ? and that ERA is north of six despite his most recent outing on Tuesday, when he held the Braves to two runs in seven innings of a 3-2 victory. Bush has made nine starts this season, and only three have been quality starts ? and none were back-to-back. Also, the Brewers are just 3-6 in his nine starts, having yet to win consecutive games with Bush on the mound.
As for Houston?s Shawn Chacon, he may be a journeyman, but he?s pitched well this year (2-0, 3.95 ERA in 11 starts). And he?s gone at least six innings and allowed three earned runs or fewer in seven of his last 10, including the last two against the Cubs (5-3 win) and Cardinals (8-2 win). The Astros are 4-1 in Chacon?s last five starts and 6-2 in his last eight.
Add it all up, and throw in the fact Houston is plus-money here, and the Astros are a solid play.
(Based on a 1♦ to 10♦ rating system)
5♦ HOUSTON ASTROS
Matt Rivers
Take the Pirates in Busch.
Why not take Ian Snell here at this price?Sure the Cardinals have been a very good team so far this season as Tony LaRussa has done a great job with not a lot of talent and Braden Looper can look good at times but the Pirates are far from terrible and Snell is pretty darn good.
Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Freddy Sanchez and these visitors are really not that dreadful anymore. Today's visitors have a legitimate shot to finish the season right around .500 which is a huge step up from the past 10 or 15 years and after Looper's last subpar start the Pittsburgh offense has a very good chance to wreak some havoc.
Albert Pujols is no doubt a beast and Ryan Ludwick and a few others have been pretty good but all in all the Redbirds are not the most talented team out there and can easily lose this game.
Flat out, this game is not that far from being 50-50 so I'll certainly take the money and run with the scrappy Bucos!
Jake Timlin
Today Selection Chicago Cubs
Take the Cubs at home for the sweep!
Yep going against the Rockies once again, but this time on the money line as there is no need to chance the Rockies killing another run line selection as I look for Colorado?s struggles to continue against the best team in the majors. You heard me right thanks to the Cubs six straight wins it is Chicago at 35-21 who has the best record in baseball. Meanwhile for the Rockies losers of their last 11 games on the road the defending champs have the worst record in baseball. Well thanks to the Rockies still depleted with four starters on the disabled list and clearly outmatched on the mound thanks to just 1-10 when Jimenez starts look for Colorado to continue their winless road swing as Chicago makes it 7 wins in a row.
All Chicago!
Tony Weston
We?re switching gears and focusing on some National League baseball as the San Diego Padres play at the San Francisco Giants.
Both teams have been pretty awful this season and even though the Giants have lost the first two games of this series, take San Francisco at home.
In seven meetings so far this season the Giants are 4-3 against San Diego. And San Fran has won four of their last six meetings.
The advantage today lies with Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum, who has been the lone bright spot for San Francisco this season. Lincecum is 7-1 this season with a 2.33 ERA. He is also 3-1 in his last four starts.
Lincecum has faced the Padres twice so far this season and he?s 1-0 with a no decision, while the Giants are 2-0 in those two starts. Against San Diego this season Lincecum allowed only one earned run in 12 1/3 innings of work. He?ll shut them down again today.
Take Lincecum as your starting pitcher and take the Giants at home.
3♦ GIANTS (1♦ to 5♦ Scale)
Jim Feist
(911) COL Rockies
(912) CHI Cubs
Take "Over"
You need to throw strikes and not walk batters if you want to avoid big innings and a high ERA. That's a problems with Colorado starter Ubaldo Jimenez, who has walked 33 in 58 innings. That's why his ERA is over 5. In fact, on the road it is 6.95! Chicago starter Sean Gallagher is no control specialist, either, with 10 walks in 26 innings and a 4.50 ERA. The Cubs are No. 1 in the NL in runs scored, so look for a high scoring game in tiny Wrigley Field. Play the Rockies/Cubs over the total!
Dave Cokin
(903) ATL Braves
(904) CIN Reds
Take "(904) CIN Reds"
Tim Hudson continues to do a terrific job for the Braves. But even Hudson hasn't been immune to the Atlanta miseries on the road, where they've won only seven times all season. On the flip side, Cincinnati has been a terrific home team, and the Reds have played with a great deal of energy since the recall of rookie phenom Jay Bruce. The Braves have the edge on the mound with Hudson over Johnny Cueto, but the team home/road splits are the key factors here. I can't pass up the Reds as home dogs against the poor traveling Braves."
Jimmy The Moose
Game: Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds Jun 1 2008 1:15PM
Cincinnati Reds
Reason: Atlanta is 7-22 in their last 29 road games. The Braves are 2-10 in their last 12 road games vs. a team with a losing record. In their last 9 vs. NL Central team's the Braves are 2-7. Atlanta is 2-5 in Hudson's last 7 road starts. The Reds have won 11 of their last 12 home games. The Reds are 6-2 in their last 8 games overall. In their last 11 games vs. a team with a winning record they are 8-3. The Braves are 0-5 in their last 5 trips to Cincinnati. Play on the Reds +.
Robert Ross
Game: Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds Jun 1 2008 1:15PM
Atlanta Braves
Reason: Braves have dropped a pair of one-run decisions in the first two games of this series. Look for them to avoid the sweep behind Tim Hudson. HUDSON is 101-42 against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record since 1997 (Team's Record)
while CINCINNATI is 41-61 (-19.8 Units) against the money line vs. poor power teams - averaging 0.9 or less HR's/game over the last 2 seasons. Take Atlanta!
Ross Benjamin
KANSAS CITY ROYALS -110
It is unordinary for me to use a team as cold as the Kansas City Royals are right now but it is not like the Indians have been that much better in the last couple of weeks. Going into Saturday?s action the Indians had dropped 10 of their last 13. The Indians have lost 7 of the last 8 on the road and 8 of the last 10 versus a right-handed starting pitcher. The Royals are 4-1 in day games at home this season while the Indians are 1-7 on the road during the day in 2008. The Kansas City starting pitcher Brian Bannister has a very good 2.68 ERA in 6 home starts this season, 2.36 ERA in 4 day game starts in 2008, and in 3 starts versus the Indians in his young career has a 1.98 ERA. Bannister is 10-3 in his last 13 team starts versus a team with a less than .500 winning percentage. The Cleveland starting pitcher Paul Byrd is 0-5 with a 6.93 ERA in 5 team starts on the road in 2008. In 9 starts versus the Royals since the 2005 season Paul Byrd has posted a lofty 5.20 ERA. Play on the Kansas City Royals as my free selection of the day.
L.A. Dodgers at N.Y. METS (-165) Bobby Maxwell
After Saturday's winner on the Mets we've now hit seven of our last nine FREE plans on the diamond. Tonight we're right back at Shea Stadium as we go with the Mets again to get the best of the Dodgers.
New York has won four out of its last five and tonight they've got ace Johan Santana (6-3, 3.41 ERA) on the hill as the Mets try to make it three of four from the Dodgers.
Santana is 5-1 in his last seven starts and the Mets have won six of those seven, including a 5-3 win over the Marlins on Tuesday when he gave up three runs in seven innings. The southpaw is now 2-1 with a 4.26 ERA in four starts in front of the Shea Stadium crowd.
The Dodgers have struggled mightily on this seven-game road trip, going 1-5 entering today. Los Angeles starts Hiroki Kuroda (2-4, 3.29) and is just 1-2 in his last four starts. he faced the Mets on May 6 in Los Angeles and gave up four runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings but got bailed out by the offense as the Dodgers won 5-4.
The Mets rallied to win 3-2 on Saturday and they'll get the job done tonight as Santana pitches a gem on national TV. Play New York to get this one with ease.
3♦ N.Y. METS
James Patrick Sports
Dodgers vs. Mets 8:05 p.m. est.
Dodgers have gone OVER the TOTAL in 13 of their past 18 games against lefties and Sunday Night?s opponent Johan Santana has seen his games go OVER the TOTAL at a 6-2-1 rate. Our Sunday complimentary selection in Major League Baseball is #901 Dodgers-Mets OVER the TOTAL at Shea Stadium.
Rocketman Sports
#9 Kasey Kahne vs #12 Ryan Newman 2:15 PM EST
3* #12 Ryan Newman -120
Next in line I would go with Ryan Newman. Newman has three wins, six Top 5 finishes and eight Top 10 finishes in 12 starts here in Dover. Newman has an average finish of 10.0 here in Dover, which is good enough for 2nd best among active drivers. Kahne has an average finish of 25.3 here in Dover and no Top 5 finishes at all in his career. We'll play Ryan Newman to finish ahead of Kasey Kahne for 3 units today!
Marc Lawrence
Philadelphia w/Moyer
Note: Phillies wrap up their weekend series with the Marlins when they send veteran left hander Jamie Moyer to the hill in the rubber game of this three game set. With Moyer 7-0 in his MLB career team starts against Florida and the Phillies 14-6 home on Sundays, look for Florida to fall to 5-14 away on Sundays here today.
Jeff Benton
Astros as a small road underdog at Milwaukee.
Houston has hit the skids a bit, having lost four straight games, including the first two of this weekend series in Milwaukee, and it has scored a total of five runs in the four defeats. But believe it or not, the Astros have not been swept in a series all season long. At the same time, Milwaukee has notched just one sweep all season, and that was back in the second series of the season against the crappy Giants at home. Those are two real tough trends to ignore, even though the Brewers (5-1 last six) are playing better baseball right now.
Now, it would be one thing if the Brewers were going for the sweep today with an ace like Ben Sheets on the hill. But Sheets pitched last night?s gem. Today, the Brew Crew are going with Dave Bush, he of the 1-5 record and 6.04 ERA ? and that ERA is north of six despite his most recent outing on Tuesday, when he held the Braves to two runs in seven innings of a 3-2 victory. Bush has made nine starts this season, and only three have been quality starts ? and none were back-to-back. Also, the Brewers are just 3-6 in his nine starts, having yet to win consecutive games with Bush on the mound.
As for Houston?s Shawn Chacon, he may be a journeyman, but he?s pitched well this year (2-0, 3.95 ERA in 11 starts). And he?s gone at least six innings and allowed three earned runs or fewer in seven of his last 10, including the last two against the Cubs (5-3 win) and Cardinals (8-2 win). The Astros are 4-1 in Chacon?s last five starts and 6-2 in his last eight.
Add it all up, and throw in the fact Houston is plus-money here, and the Astros are a solid play.
(Based on a 1♦ to 10♦ rating system)
5♦ HOUSTON ASTROS
Matt Rivers
Take the Pirates in Busch.
Why not take Ian Snell here at this price?Sure the Cardinals have been a very good team so far this season as Tony LaRussa has done a great job with not a lot of talent and Braden Looper can look good at times but the Pirates are far from terrible and Snell is pretty darn good.
Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Freddy Sanchez and these visitors are really not that dreadful anymore. Today's visitors have a legitimate shot to finish the season right around .500 which is a huge step up from the past 10 or 15 years and after Looper's last subpar start the Pittsburgh offense has a very good chance to wreak some havoc.
Albert Pujols is no doubt a beast and Ryan Ludwick and a few others have been pretty good but all in all the Redbirds are not the most talented team out there and can easily lose this game.
Flat out, this game is not that far from being 50-50 so I'll certainly take the money and run with the scrappy Bucos!
Jake Timlin
Today Selection Chicago Cubs
Take the Cubs at home for the sweep!
Yep going against the Rockies once again, but this time on the money line as there is no need to chance the Rockies killing another run line selection as I look for Colorado?s struggles to continue against the best team in the majors. You heard me right thanks to the Cubs six straight wins it is Chicago at 35-21 who has the best record in baseball. Meanwhile for the Rockies losers of their last 11 games on the road the defending champs have the worst record in baseball. Well thanks to the Rockies still depleted with four starters on the disabled list and clearly outmatched on the mound thanks to just 1-10 when Jimenez starts look for Colorado to continue their winless road swing as Chicago makes it 7 wins in a row.
All Chicago!
Tony Weston
We?re switching gears and focusing on some National League baseball as the San Diego Padres play at the San Francisco Giants.
Both teams have been pretty awful this season and even though the Giants have lost the first two games of this series, take San Francisco at home.
In seven meetings so far this season the Giants are 4-3 against San Diego. And San Fran has won four of their last six meetings.
The advantage today lies with Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum, who has been the lone bright spot for San Francisco this season. Lincecum is 7-1 this season with a 2.33 ERA. He is also 3-1 in his last four starts.
Lincecum has faced the Padres twice so far this season and he?s 1-0 with a no decision, while the Giants are 2-0 in those two starts. Against San Diego this season Lincecum allowed only one earned run in 12 1/3 innings of work. He?ll shut them down again today.
Take Lincecum as your starting pitcher and take the Giants at home.
3♦ GIANTS (1♦ to 5♦ Scale)
Jim Feist
(911) COL Rockies
(912) CHI Cubs
Take "Over"
You need to throw strikes and not walk batters if you want to avoid big innings and a high ERA. That's a problems with Colorado starter Ubaldo Jimenez, who has walked 33 in 58 innings. That's why his ERA is over 5. In fact, on the road it is 6.95! Chicago starter Sean Gallagher is no control specialist, either, with 10 walks in 26 innings and a 4.50 ERA. The Cubs are No. 1 in the NL in runs scored, so look for a high scoring game in tiny Wrigley Field. Play the Rockies/Cubs over the total!
Dave Cokin
(903) ATL Braves
(904) CIN Reds
Take "(904) CIN Reds"
Tim Hudson continues to do a terrific job for the Braves. But even Hudson hasn't been immune to the Atlanta miseries on the road, where they've won only seven times all season. On the flip side, Cincinnati has been a terrific home team, and the Reds have played with a great deal of energy since the recall of rookie phenom Jay Bruce. The Braves have the edge on the mound with Hudson over Johnny Cueto, but the team home/road splits are the key factors here. I can't pass up the Reds as home dogs against the poor traveling Braves."
Jimmy The Moose
Game: Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds Jun 1 2008 1:15PM
Cincinnati Reds
Reason: Atlanta is 7-22 in their last 29 road games. The Braves are 2-10 in their last 12 road games vs. a team with a losing record. In their last 9 vs. NL Central team's the Braves are 2-7. Atlanta is 2-5 in Hudson's last 7 road starts. The Reds have won 11 of their last 12 home games. The Reds are 6-2 in their last 8 games overall. In their last 11 games vs. a team with a winning record they are 8-3. The Braves are 0-5 in their last 5 trips to Cincinnati. Play on the Reds +.
Robert Ross
Game: Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds Jun 1 2008 1:15PM
Atlanta Braves
Reason: Braves have dropped a pair of one-run decisions in the first two games of this series. Look for them to avoid the sweep behind Tim Hudson. HUDSON is 101-42 against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record since 1997 (Team's Record)
while CINCINNATI is 41-61 (-19.8 Units) against the money line vs. poor power teams - averaging 0.9 or less HR's/game over the last 2 seasons. Take Atlanta!
Ross Benjamin
KANSAS CITY ROYALS -110
It is unordinary for me to use a team as cold as the Kansas City Royals are right now but it is not like the Indians have been that much better in the last couple of weeks. Going into Saturday?s action the Indians had dropped 10 of their last 13. The Indians have lost 7 of the last 8 on the road and 8 of the last 10 versus a right-handed starting pitcher. The Royals are 4-1 in day games at home this season while the Indians are 1-7 on the road during the day in 2008. The Kansas City starting pitcher Brian Bannister has a very good 2.68 ERA in 6 home starts this season, 2.36 ERA in 4 day game starts in 2008, and in 3 starts versus the Indians in his young career has a 1.98 ERA. Bannister is 10-3 in his last 13 team starts versus a team with a less than .500 winning percentage. The Cleveland starting pitcher Paul Byrd is 0-5 with a 6.93 ERA in 5 team starts on the road in 2008. In 9 starts versus the Royals since the 2005 season Paul Byrd has posted a lofty 5.20 ERA. Play on the Kansas City Royals as my free selection of the day.
