Jeff Scott Sports
4 UNIT PLAY
Oakland/ NY Yanks Under 9
The Under is 16-5 in Athletics last 21 during game 1 of a series and 13-3-1 in Smiths last 17 starts overall, while the Under is 10-3-1 in Yankees last 14 home games with the total set at 9.0-10.5 and 7-1-1 in Mussinas last 9 starts as a home favorite of -151 to -200, plus the Under is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings in New York. Joe Blanton was to make this start, but his trade to Philly has Put Greg Smith in this spot and tyhat gives us a reall good chance at getting the under in this one. Greg comes in with a solid 3.43 ERA overall, with just 6.7 rpg being scored in his starts, including a 3.86 ERA on the road, with those starts averaging 6.8 rpg, plus he has a 3.14 ERA at night, with those games averaging just 5.4 rpg. Greg also has a nice 2.25 ERA in his last 3 starts, with those games averaging just 6.3 rpg. Mike Mussina has also had a good year, posting a 3.61 ERA overall, including a 3.72 ERA at home and a 3.64 ERA at night. Mike's home starts this year have averaged 8.1 rpg, including an average 4.6 rpg in his last 5 starts at home. Mike also has a 2.93 ERA in his last 7 starts, with those games averaging just 5.9 rpg. Both teams come in struggling offensively as the Yanks have put up just 3.9 rpg in their last 14 games, while the A's have averaged just 4 rpg in their last 16 games and just 3.2 rpg in their last 9 on nthe road. Both pitchers are rolling right now and have both been involved in many low soring games thsi year and with the way the offenses are struggling I don't see that changing here.
2 UNIT PLAY
Pittsburgh/ Colorado Over 10.5
The Over is 13-3 in Pirates last 16 road games vs. a left-handed starter and 5-0 in Snells last 5 starts as a road underdog, while the Over is 5-1 in Rockies last 6 games with the total set at 9.0-10.5. I had to make a play on the Over in at least one game in this series and that will be tonight. It is well known about the high scoring affairs the Pirates get in to on the road, as the over is 31-11, with an average of 11.9 rpg being being scored in their road games. The Pirates score 5.3 rpg on the road and 5.2 rpg vs lefty starters, plus they come in averageing 5.4 rpg in their last 9 games, with those 9 games averaging 12.3 rpg. The Pirate offense will square off vs Glendon Rusch, who is making just his 3rd start of the year. In his 2 starts Glendon has allowed 6 ER on 14 hits and 1 walk in just 10.2 innings of work Throw in his bullpen stats and his overall ERA is 6.25 on the year. Glendon also owns a 4.96 ERA in 15 career starts vs Pittsburgh, plus he has a career ERA of 5.28 when pitching at Coors Field. Ian Snell gets the ball for the Pirates and he has been struggling this year, as he comes in with a 5.92 ERA overall, including an 8.14 ERA on the road, which includes a 13.23 ERA in his last 4 raod starts. Ian's road starts average 13.1 rpg overall, including 15.8 rpg in his last 4 starts away from home. The Rockies do have some offensive injuries, but this team still scores 5.3 rpg at home, including 7.9 rpg in their last 8 at home, with those last 8 home games averaging 15.4 rpg. Two horrible pitchers on the mound, coupled with one of the best scoring road teams and a hot hitting home team, is certainly a recipe for an easy win on the Over here.
1 UNIT PLAY
CHISOX -1.5 (+130) over Kansas City
The Royals have not fared that badly on the road this year as they are 21-29 overall, but of their 29 losses 24 of them were by 2 or more runs and they have been outscored by 3.7 rpg in the losses. The Royals also don't play well in Chicago as they have a 14-42 record in their last 56 meetings here and have lost their last 5 games here by 2 runs or more. The Royals score 4 rpg on the road this year and just 3.7 rpg within the division. KC also doesn't score much for Zach Greinke as they put just 3.6 rpg for him in his road starts. The Sox have been awesome at home going 32-13, while outscoring their opponents by 1.9 rpg, including outscoring them by 4.2 rpg in their 32 home wins. Chicago is also 26-12 within the Division, including a 18-4 mark, while outscoring their opponents by 2.6 rpg in their divisional home games. The Sox are also on a run of 14 staright divisional home wins, outscoring opponents by 3.9 rpg over that stretch. Zack Greinke comes in with a 4-5 mark on the road and a 4.20 ERA and he has struggled in his career at US Cellular Field, going 0-5 with a 6.62 ERA. Mark Buehrle got off to a rough start this year, but has has settled down lately going 4-2 with a 1.55 ERA in his last 7 starts. His last start was against these same Royals and he allowed no ER on 6 hits and no walks in 7.1 innings of work, but lost got the loss due to 2 UER. In his career Mark is 16-7 vs the Royals with a 3.31 ERA and the Sox are 8-1 in his last 9 starts vs them, with Mark posting a 3.00 ERA over those 9 games. The Sox just dominat at home and should have no problems winning this one by 2 or more runs