Drew Gordon
Florida at ARIZONA +105
Now on a 24-15 roll with the plays I'm giving away, incl. the White Sox over the Twins 8-7 Saturday! For today's complimentary play, we're looking at the Florida/Arizona match-up.
The Marlins have gotten their asses handed to them in back-to-back games, as both Nolasco and West got lit up Friday & Saturday. It may be tempting to ride the Fish here expecting a bounce back behind their ace, Josh Johnson, but that's a mistake and here's why:
First off, the pitching match up is A LOT closer than bettors think, as Doug Davis has been great over his last 4 starts, allowing a total of 4 runs over his last 27 1/3 innings! The southpaw has also been stellar at Chase Field, albeit his 2-5 record is nothing to write home about, his 2.83 ERA speaks for itself! True, he got roughed up in his last start at Florida, but that was nearly a month and a half ago, and things are different this time around.
How are they different? The Marlins offense has fallen asleep at the wheel for one thing! All-Star Josh Johnson has received just 2.7 runs of support over his last 4 starts, and it isn't going to get any easier against Davis this afternoon! While Florida has hit lefties well at Land Shark Stadium, they have NOT done so on the road, averaging just 4.1 runs per game in that spot, batting .237 in the process!
On the flip side, while bettors are down on this Arizona offense overall, you can't complain with their production at home, where they average a hearty 4.8 runs per game against righties this season. Led by a resurgent Justin Upton, who's a ridiculous 7 for 13 in thus far this series, look for Arizona to get it done this afternoon. Note, for all his gaudy numbers, Johnson isn't nearly as good on the highway, where his ERA rises almost 2 runs, from 1.98 at home to a beatable 3.91 away! In the end, giving me Davis at home, at this price, is too much to pass up against this below average Marlins offense.
Take Arizona behind Davis over Florida and Johnson in this MLB match up.
3♦ ARIZONA