Stu Finer
Oakland Athletics at Tampa Bay Rays
What is there not to like about the Rays here tonight on a Wednesday afternoon? Sure this team ended the first half on a tough note but that happens to all baseball teams over the course of a season. Did you think they weren’t going to have a losing streak? Did you think they were just going to run away with the AL East?
James Shields has been great this season. You don’t have to look much further than his last start to see how well he has performed this season. He pitched against fellow right-handed power arm A.J. Burnett.
Shields went out there and threw seven innings of just one run ball. In those seven innings he allowed just four hits and two walks. Shields has 104 strikeouts this season to just 24 walks. What else do you need to know?
Tampa Bay Rays (-)
Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees
The Yankees have finally turned things on in the last week. They have come out and posted an impressive record since the break. Tonight they actually send their most reliable starter to the hill. Who would have thought that Mike Mussina could have won 20 games this season? Well that is possible.
Mike is 12-6 on the season and he has earned it. Mike has logged 113 innings on the season and has only issued 16 walks. 16 walks in 113 innings is a fantastic ratio. He also has gotten a lot more swings and misses. This season Mike already has 74 strikeouts.
The Yankees will continue their winning ways at home.
New York Yankees (-)
Texas Rangers at Chicago White Sox
We like the White Sox t get the job done at home tonight against the Rangers. The Rangers are a team that depends just on offense. If any of you out there pay attention, you know that hitting comes and goes during the course of a season. It especially comes and goes for the Texas Rangers.
When they talk about the effect of the “Dog Days” of summer, they are really taking about the Texas Rangers. Playing thirty or forty games in 110 degree weather does not help a team stay locked in. Sure this game is on the road but their offense has already begun to slow down.
The Rangers are just an average team on the road. The White Sox on the other hand are more than fifteen games over the .500 mark. Look for them behind Clayton Richard to get the job done.
The Sox pounded the ball last night and the Rangers pitching staff is a six run inning waiting to happen.
Chicago White Sox (-)
Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals
Love this line tonight for the Royals. Any time you can get the team’s best pitcher at home at this type of number you have to jump all over it. I don’t care if he was going up against Roger Clemens in 1990. It is just too good of a value. That is what this is about value.
Zack was hit hard in his last start but so what? He is not going to be perfect all season. At home this season though he has been perfect while throwing gem after gem. Zack is 3-0 at home with an ERA under 2.40. Does it get much better than that? We don’t think so, the Royals have showed a ton of fight this season. At home, at this price we are with them.
Kansas City Royals (-)
Cleveland Indians at LA Angels
Sometimes there are games that you look at, and think to yourself something must be up. There must be a reason why this game looks too easy. Tonight this Indians at Angels game is one of those. You look and think there is no way the Angels lose behind their ace. Guess what? Go with your gut.
Listen Vegas is going to make you pay for it. You aren’t going to get Lackey for cheap, especially at home. Especially now that the Angels are a 60 win baseball club. Yes they have a better record now than the Red Sox. They actually just came off a sweep against those same Red Sox this season, to stake their claim a top the American league.
Lackey has lost just two games all season that includes just one loss in his building. This guy has 72 strikeouts to just 17 walks. Anything more you want from an ace?
LA Angels (-)
Boston Red Sox at Seattle Mariners
I am sure many of you out there are thinking how in the world can the Mariners be favored? How in the world does a team like this actually lay wood against the Red Sox. Two words for you on that notion…. Felix Hernandez. This is a guy worth every penny here tonight. This is a guy that shuts down the best line-ups in baseball with regularity.
How about his last start? Six innings just four hits allowed to along with eight strikeouts. That is what an ace goes out and does. How about his last start against the Boston Red Sox? He went in to Fenway and shut-out the Sox. You are telling me he can’t shut down this line-up in Safeco field? Sure he can.
His last start against the Sox he went six innings and allowed six hits and no runs. Look for a similar line tonight. The Mariners will push across enough runs against the Sox young starter.
Seattle Mariners (-)
Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles
Jeremy Guthrie doesn’t get any credit. For a guy with his numbers he sure does fly under the radar. This is a pitcher that hasn’t pitched well just this season, but since he has been a given a chance to start. In 2007 he started 26 games and posted an ERA of close to 3.50. That included logging a 175 innings while allowing just 165 hits.
This season Guthrie has once again been doing his job. In his last ten outings he has allowed more than four runs just one time. One time! He is a starter that knows the importance of battling and going deep in games. Just take a look at his last six starts. All six innings or more.
A.J. Burnett is a little up and down for our liking. He pitched a great game last time out, but still gave up the key hit when it mattered. Give us the Orioles tonight as this game will be a low scoring affair.
Baltimore Orioles (-)
National League
San Diego Padres at Cincinnati Reds
Make no mistake about it Bronson Arroyo is auditioning for another job. There is a lot of talk that the New York Yankees are looking out Bronson. See teams have been looking at him for quite a while. He had one of the worst all-time starts though about a month ago. On June 24, 2008 he went to Toronto and allowed eleven hits and ten runs in just one inning of work. Ouch! Does that not bloat the ERA?
Since then the kid has been pitching great. He actually hasn’t lost a game since then. In fact he has won all four of his starts since then. In those four starts he has allowed a total of just eight runs. He also is coming off two big starts. Two starts that saw him beat first place teams. He shut down the Cubs and the Mets en route to two victories.
Cincinnati Reds (-)
Pittsburgh Pirates at Houston Astros
We like the Astros to get back on track here tonight. After all can you trust the Pirates on the road? Even a die hard Pittsburgh Pirates fan would say they aren’t trust worthy. The Pirates are eight games under .500 on the season. That is respectable in a tough division. The only problem is they are seven games over .500 at home. Yes this team is a whopping 17-32 on the road.
The Pirates send arguably the worst road pitcher in all of baseball to the bump. This is a guy that everyone liked before the season. Where are all his supporters right now? Ian is 3-8 on the season with an ERA of 5.83. On the road Ian is 1-6 with an ERA of 7.71. On the road Ian is 1-6 with an ERA of 7.71. Yes folks we had to repeat those numbers, just so it can have that lasting effect. If you want to play the Pirates, be our guest but you are making a huge mistake. Houston Astros are the play.
Houston Astros (-)
Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies
We are here once again. The Rockies are in a similar position this season just as they were during last season. The Rockies have struggled a lot this season. No matter what we can’t ignore tat fact. That fact is the main reason we get them so cheaply tonight. The Rockies are better than what they have shown.
Mr. Kuroda has been two totally different pitchers this season. Kuroda has been great at home. In fact he hasn’t lost a single game in Los Angeles. His record sits at a perfect 3-0 with an ERA of just 2.63.
A little different story on the road though. He is just 2-6 on the road this season with an ERA of 4.99. In just 52 innings he has given up 63 hits and a total of 34 runs. Those numbers won’t cut it against a Rockies team that can still mash.
Colorado Rockies (-)
Atlanta Braves at Florida Marlins
We like the Braves to bounce back here tonight. We told you two nights ago that the Braves would be able to knock off the Marlins in the first game of the series. Tonight we are telling you they will take care of business again.
It is a nice pitching match-up in Florida, but call us crazy we will still take our chances with Tim Hudson. Tim Hudson has been great this season. His name has gone under the radar all season. A lot has to do with the fact that the Braves have under-achieved.
Tim is 10-7 this season with an ERA of just 3.31. He just doesn’t allow base-runners. Only three out of every ten batters even get on base against him. We will take the road team in this NL East match-up.
Atlanta Braves (-)
Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets
How about the game between these two teams last night? This was a classic July contest. This was a game that may have changed the landscape of the entire NL East division. You had Johan Santana going for the Mets. The big 20 million dollar min, the big off-season hired gun. He faced off against Joe Blanton. Joe was making his first start in the NL and his first start for the Philadelphia Phillies.
To make a long story short the Mets collapsed. The Mets collapsed almost as bad in this game as they did last season. This was a team that was up 5-1 heading to the seventh inning. This was a team that was up 5-2 in the ninth inning. The Phillies then stunned the Mets and pounded out six runs on five hits.
We promise you that the momentum will carry over. It is still unknown if Billy Wagner will be unavailable tomorrow. Either way we like the Phillies in that spot. If Wagner pitches he won’t be 100 percent. If Wagner doesn’t pitch, well we all saw what their bull-pen was capable of. Look for the Phillies to start taking the NL East right by the throat.
Philadelphia Phillies (+)
Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals
C.C. Sabathia has really been great for the Brewers. He has already come to the NL Central and already picked up three wins. Sabathia has gone nine innings in both of his last start. All told C.C. has pitched 24 innings since coming over from Cleveland. He has allowed just five runs in those starts.
We just feel that those innings are going to catch-up with him. C.C. had dead arm issues earlier in the season and this is when those type of bumps and bruises arise. Throwing back to back complete games is something no pitcher outside of Roy Halladay is used to doing.
The Cardinals blew a big lead last night and you know they will step up tonight. The Cardinals want to protect their home field. Look for Looper to pick up the W here tonight.
St. Louis Cardinals (-)
Chicago Cubs at Arizona Diamondbacks
We know the Cubs have been bad on the road this season. We aren’t going to ignore that fact, but can everyone say relax. This team is not fifteen games over .500. After all this team is still the best team in the National League. No they aren’t a great team, but they are a very good team.
The Cubs are such a balanced ball club. This is one of the few teams in the league to rank in the top ten in both offense and defense. The Cubs offense is the second best in all of baseball. The only offense that is better is the Texas Rangers and we all know what their pitching staff looks like.
The Cubs also have a team ERA of 3.83. That is an excellent number. Tonight with Ted Lilly on the mound they will show why they are the best team in the National League.
Chicago Cubs (-)
Washington Nationals at San Francisco Giants
Somebody has to actually win this ball game folks. If there were ties in baseball we would predict that would occur in tonight’s game. As we said last night though, these two teams are almost equally as bad. One team struggles mightily on the road, the other team is the worst home team in all of a baseball.
There is something that people are ignoring though. Playing at home is still an advantage. When two teams are so close, when the line is so close you look for any little advantages you can obtain. One of those advantages tonight is the fact the Giants are playing in their own ball park. They will win his game tonight.
San Francisco Giants (-)
<!-- / message --><!-- controls -->
<!-- / message -->
