Comps
Boston (-130) at NY YANKEES Karl Garrett
G-Man delivers for free last night with the Yankees. Now 16-8-1 the last 25 days with my comp plays.
It took a while, but it finally looks like the New York bats have come to life. With last night's Red Sox-Yankees game going OVER the posted total, the Yanks have now played on the high side in 3 of their last 4 games.
Boston has also been involved in OVERS in 3 of their last 4 games, and the last time Beckett faced Mussina over the weekend, the hitters did account for 7 runs combined against the starters although the game did land just UNDER the total.
With the quick turnaround, look for the hitters to have the advantage in seeing these hurlers again in less than a week - that certainly was the case last night against Buchholz and Wang! - and look for this game to head OVER the total as the teams conclude their brief 2-game set.
Beckett's ERA is up over 6 for his first pair of starts, while Mussina's ERA is over 4 for his 3 starting assignments.
Hitters rule the roost again in this one.
3♦ OVER
Kansas City (+140) at L.A. ANGELS Bobby Maxwell
Delivered the FREE winner Wednesday with the Astros as Roy Oswalt shut down the Phillies just like we said he would. Today we go to Anaheim for a complimentary selection on the Royals as they take on the Angels.
Big plus-money we're jumping on with this one and all the numbers point to the Royals to get the job done in Anaheim.
Kansas City has won the last six matchups with the Angels, including Wednesday's 3-2 victory. They've won their last four games played in Anaheim and they've got a great shot to get this one tonight. Brett Tomko (1-1, 2.08 ERA) goes for the Royals against the Angels' Jon Garland (1-2, 5.50).
Tomko has been spectacular in his first two starts of the season, blanking the Twins on six hits for five innings in Minnesota and then allowing two runs through six innings at home against the Twins.
On the complete opposite end, Garland has been horrible for the Angels. he gave up seven runs on eight hits in five innings of a 10-4 home loss to the Rangers on April 6 and then gave up six runs on 12 hits in five innings of an 8-3 loss at Seattle on Saturday.
The Royals are 8-3 in their last 11 games as a 'dog and for some reason really like playing in the Angels' stadium. Grab the plus money and take a shot with Kansas City in this one.
3♦ KANSAS CITY
Seattle (-105) at OAKLAND Drew Gordon
With Seattle heating up, and Oakland unable to produce, there's no question you've got to like the Mariners in this one. Got to like what you've seen from this Mariners club over their last 6 games (4-2 over that span), with their only poor outing coming against the Royals surging Zach Greike. Ibanez, Beltre, and Suzuki (among others) are all swinging the bat well of late, and that's bad news for the A's Lenny DiNardo in this one.
Speaking of DiNardo, he has no record against Seattle, but has posted an ugly 5.52 ERA in 5 career appearances (2 starts) against them. In his last start against them, back on July 29th of last season, he got massacred for 7 runs over just 3 innings in one of his worst starts of 2007. Again, with Seattle's batting order starting to heat up, DiNardo will find himself in trouble once again tonight.
Opposing DiNardo is the Mariners Carlos Silva, who's not only pitched well in his 3 starts this season (2-0, 3.27 ERA), but also had plenty of success against the A's, going 3-2 with a 3.12 ERA in 9 career appearances (8 starts). He was rock-solid in his last one against them (as a member of the Twins), limiting the A's to 3 runs over 6 2/3 innings back on July 14th of last season.
Bottom line, the way Oakland is swinging the bats right now (batting .246 L10 games), there's little hope of keeping pace with a Seattle offense that crushed DiNardo the last time they saw him. Let's not forget the Mariners have taken 15 of the last 20 games from Oakland, and there's little reason to believe that's going to change tonight.
Take Seattle behind Silva over Oakland and DiNardo in this MLB match up.
3♦ SEATTLE
James Patrick
Diamond Club Selections
Nationals vs. Mets 7:10 p.m. est.
We?ll take #959 Washington ? New York Over the Total as our Thursday complimentary selection in Major League action.
Marc Lawrence
MLB
Play On: Minnesota w/Bonser
Note: Twins close out this two-game set with the Rays in Minnesota tonight behind Boof Bonser knowing he is 5-1 in his career team starts on Thursdays. He's also in solid KW form with 12 strikeouts and 2 walks in his three starts this season. Look for the Twins to improve to 13-2 as a host in this series behind Bonser tonight.
Dave Cokin
975 Mariners @ 976 A's 10:05PM ET
Play: Mariners +100
Carlos Silva has some flaws to be sure, but he's generally good for six or seven innings and does well enough to give his team a chance to win the game. The same cannot be said for Lenny DiNardo, who usually goes five or six tops, meaning much more work for the bullpen. The Mariners are off back to back solid wins, so I'm looking at them as a decent play to get past the A's in this series windup.
Jim Feist
My free pick of the day is the game between (965) DET Tigers and (966) CLE Indians. Take "Under". Both teams have struggled with the bats early in the season, which was not expected. Cold weather in the Northeast hasn.5?t helped the bats. The Indians had to battle 38 degree weather in a game this week at home. Detroit comes to town averaging just 3 runs per game on the road. A pair of hard throwing hurlers won.5?t help the bats this game with Verlander against Carmona. Don.5?t look for an offensive show in Cleveland. Play the Tigers/Indians under the total!
BRAD DIAMOND SPORTS
Play on: New York (Mussina) over Boston (Beckett)
Veteran Mike Mussina (4.15) of New York has surely lost his velocity going back to his days in Baltimore, but the veteran still knows how to pitch and should benefit being at home on Thursday. With the Yankees off back-to-back losses (in Boston) versus the Bosaux, I like our chances going up against ace Josh Beckett who seemingly does not yet have the strength go 7 or 8 solid innings. Remember Beckett still exhibits a 6+ ERA overall, despite the recent up-tick in control. The Yankees have won 46 of 66 at home and show with a nice 8 of 11 mark against this talented and hated visitor. Finally, we find New York 5-0 L5 meetings versus Boston in Yankee Stadium.
Alex Smart
Game: Colorado Rockies vs. San Diego Padres
Game Time: 4/17/2008 10:05:00 PM
Prediction: San Diego Padres
Reason: Jake Peavy (3-0 , 1.64 ERA), the NL's reigning Cy Young Award winner, looks to continue his top tier performances as he goes for his fourth straight win to start his 2008 campaign this Thursday when the Padres close out a three-game series with the visiting Rockies. After getting buried 10-2 yesterday ,the Padres will be very motivated to get some redemption, and have the edge with their ace on the hill. Note: The Rockies will send Jeff Francis (0-2, 9.53) to the mound in return . Francis is fast becoming notorious for early season struggles, and has continued down that path this season, as was the case in both of his starts. Final notes & Key Trends: Francis went (1-3, 6.61 ERA in five starts) vs the Padres last year. Play on San Diego
Boston (-130) at NY YANKEES Karl Garrett
G-Man delivers for free last night with the Yankees. Now 16-8-1 the last 25 days with my comp plays.
It took a while, but it finally looks like the New York bats have come to life. With last night's Red Sox-Yankees game going OVER the posted total, the Yanks have now played on the high side in 3 of their last 4 games.
Boston has also been involved in OVERS in 3 of their last 4 games, and the last time Beckett faced Mussina over the weekend, the hitters did account for 7 runs combined against the starters although the game did land just UNDER the total.
With the quick turnaround, look for the hitters to have the advantage in seeing these hurlers again in less than a week - that certainly was the case last night against Buchholz and Wang! - and look for this game to head OVER the total as the teams conclude their brief 2-game set.
Beckett's ERA is up over 6 for his first pair of starts, while Mussina's ERA is over 4 for his 3 starting assignments.
Hitters rule the roost again in this one.
3♦ OVER
Kansas City (+140) at L.A. ANGELS Bobby Maxwell
Delivered the FREE winner Wednesday with the Astros as Roy Oswalt shut down the Phillies just like we said he would. Today we go to Anaheim for a complimentary selection on the Royals as they take on the Angels.
Big plus-money we're jumping on with this one and all the numbers point to the Royals to get the job done in Anaheim.
Kansas City has won the last six matchups with the Angels, including Wednesday's 3-2 victory. They've won their last four games played in Anaheim and they've got a great shot to get this one tonight. Brett Tomko (1-1, 2.08 ERA) goes for the Royals against the Angels' Jon Garland (1-2, 5.50).
Tomko has been spectacular in his first two starts of the season, blanking the Twins on six hits for five innings in Minnesota and then allowing two runs through six innings at home against the Twins.
On the complete opposite end, Garland has been horrible for the Angels. he gave up seven runs on eight hits in five innings of a 10-4 home loss to the Rangers on April 6 and then gave up six runs on 12 hits in five innings of an 8-3 loss at Seattle on Saturday.
The Royals are 8-3 in their last 11 games as a 'dog and for some reason really like playing in the Angels' stadium. Grab the plus money and take a shot with Kansas City in this one.
3♦ KANSAS CITY
Seattle (-105) at OAKLAND Drew Gordon
With Seattle heating up, and Oakland unable to produce, there's no question you've got to like the Mariners in this one. Got to like what you've seen from this Mariners club over their last 6 games (4-2 over that span), with their only poor outing coming against the Royals surging Zach Greike. Ibanez, Beltre, and Suzuki (among others) are all swinging the bat well of late, and that's bad news for the A's Lenny DiNardo in this one.
Speaking of DiNardo, he has no record against Seattle, but has posted an ugly 5.52 ERA in 5 career appearances (2 starts) against them. In his last start against them, back on July 29th of last season, he got massacred for 7 runs over just 3 innings in one of his worst starts of 2007. Again, with Seattle's batting order starting to heat up, DiNardo will find himself in trouble once again tonight.
Opposing DiNardo is the Mariners Carlos Silva, who's not only pitched well in his 3 starts this season (2-0, 3.27 ERA), but also had plenty of success against the A's, going 3-2 with a 3.12 ERA in 9 career appearances (8 starts). He was rock-solid in his last one against them (as a member of the Twins), limiting the A's to 3 runs over 6 2/3 innings back on July 14th of last season.
Bottom line, the way Oakland is swinging the bats right now (batting .246 L10 games), there's little hope of keeping pace with a Seattle offense that crushed DiNardo the last time they saw him. Let's not forget the Mariners have taken 15 of the last 20 games from Oakland, and there's little reason to believe that's going to change tonight.
Take Seattle behind Silva over Oakland and DiNardo in this MLB match up.
3♦ SEATTLE
James Patrick
Diamond Club Selections
Nationals vs. Mets 7:10 p.m. est.
We?ll take #959 Washington ? New York Over the Total as our Thursday complimentary selection in Major League action.
Marc Lawrence
MLB
Play On: Minnesota w/Bonser
Note: Twins close out this two-game set with the Rays in Minnesota tonight behind Boof Bonser knowing he is 5-1 in his career team starts on Thursdays. He's also in solid KW form with 12 strikeouts and 2 walks in his three starts this season. Look for the Twins to improve to 13-2 as a host in this series behind Bonser tonight.
Dave Cokin
975 Mariners @ 976 A's 10:05PM ET
Play: Mariners +100
Carlos Silva has some flaws to be sure, but he's generally good for six or seven innings and does well enough to give his team a chance to win the game. The same cannot be said for Lenny DiNardo, who usually goes five or six tops, meaning much more work for the bullpen. The Mariners are off back to back solid wins, so I'm looking at them as a decent play to get past the A's in this series windup.
Jim Feist
My free pick of the day is the game between (965) DET Tigers and (966) CLE Indians. Take "Under". Both teams have struggled with the bats early in the season, which was not expected. Cold weather in the Northeast hasn.5?t helped the bats. The Indians had to battle 38 degree weather in a game this week at home. Detroit comes to town averaging just 3 runs per game on the road. A pair of hard throwing hurlers won.5?t help the bats this game with Verlander against Carmona. Don.5?t look for an offensive show in Cleveland. Play the Tigers/Indians under the total!
BRAD DIAMOND SPORTS
Play on: New York (Mussina) over Boston (Beckett)
Veteran Mike Mussina (4.15) of New York has surely lost his velocity going back to his days in Baltimore, but the veteran still knows how to pitch and should benefit being at home on Thursday. With the Yankees off back-to-back losses (in Boston) versus the Bosaux, I like our chances going up against ace Josh Beckett who seemingly does not yet have the strength go 7 or 8 solid innings. Remember Beckett still exhibits a 6+ ERA overall, despite the recent up-tick in control. The Yankees have won 46 of 66 at home and show with a nice 8 of 11 mark against this talented and hated visitor. Finally, we find New York 5-0 L5 meetings versus Boston in Yankee Stadium.
Alex Smart
Game: Colorado Rockies vs. San Diego Padres
Game Time: 4/17/2008 10:05:00 PM
Prediction: San Diego Padres
Reason: Jake Peavy (3-0 , 1.64 ERA), the NL's reigning Cy Young Award winner, looks to continue his top tier performances as he goes for his fourth straight win to start his 2008 campaign this Thursday when the Padres close out a three-game series with the visiting Rockies. After getting buried 10-2 yesterday ,the Padres will be very motivated to get some redemption, and have the edge with their ace on the hill. Note: The Rockies will send Jeff Francis (0-2, 9.53) to the mound in return . Francis is fast becoming notorious for early season struggles, and has continued down that path this season, as was the case in both of his starts. Final notes & Key Trends: Francis went (1-3, 6.61 ERA in five starts) vs the Padres last year. Play on San Diego
