Tuesday's Tip Sheet
By Brian Edwards
With the calendar striking June and the NBA Finals not set to start until Thursday, bettors have to focus on baseball whether they like it or not – at least for the next 48 hours.
If you haven’t been betting much bases, we’ll try to lead you to some winners with a few tips and factoids in the next few minutes.
First of all, I suggest fading Washington and doing so on a daily basis. The Nationals are the laughingstock of the majors and have served as a goldmine for gamblers, assuming they have been betting against them. They have lost six in a row and are poised to host San Francisco on Tuesday.
Manny Acta’s bullpen has been an unmitigated disaster since Opening Day. The Nats have a 5.86 ERA with relievers blowing 12 of 20 save opportunities.
Let’s check out a few of tonight’s games.
**Cubs at Braves**
--Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Atlanta (25-25, -285) as a minus-120 favorite with a total of nine flat (minus-110 either way). Gamblers can take the Braves on the run line (minus 1 ½ runs) for a plus-170 payout (risk $100 to win $170).
--Chicago (25-24, -514) is looking to bounce back from Sunday’s 8-2 loss to the Dodgers at Wrigley Field. The Cubs open a nine-game road trip in this spot. They are 9-14 on the road and will head to Cincinnati and Houston after battling the Braves at The Ted.
--Bobby Cox’s team is 4 1/2 games back of the National League East leaders, the Phillies, who won 5-3 at San Diego last night. The Braves are coming off a 2-5 road trip and open a 10-game homestand here. After getting swept at San Francisco, they salvaged the final two games by winning Saturday and Sunday at Arizona.
--Cox will turn to Kenshin Kawakami (3-6, 4.87 ERA), who has pitched much better at The Ted. The 33-year-old righty from Japan is 2-3 with a 3.60 ERA in five home assignments.
--Lou Piniella will give the starting nod to Randy Wells (0-2, 1.80), a rookie that has been snake bitten in three straight quality starts. He’s taking the spot of Carlos Zambrano, who was suspended six games for his antics last Wednesday.
--The Cubs are in fourth place in the NL Central, four games behind division-leading Milwaukee. They could be without Alfonso Soriano in the series opener. According to LVSC’s Sports Screen, Soriano is “questionable.”
--Atlanta first baseman Casey Kotchman was hit in the shin by a pitch in Sunday’s 9-3 win at Arizona. Kotchman, who is hitting .277 with a pair of homers and 24 RBIs, is listed as “doubtful” and could miss several games.
--Atlanta LHP Tom Glavine is tentatively set to return to the rotation on June 12. He is expected to make one more minor-league rehab start. Omar Infante remains “out,” while Tim Hudson is on schedule to return in August.
--The ‘under’ is on a 14-5 run in the Cubs’ last 19 games. For the season, they have watched the ‘under’ go 25-22 overall, 11-10 in their road games.
--The ‘under’ is 25-22 overall for Atlanta, 11-9 in its home games.
--Chicago swept the season series with Atlanta last year with six consecutive victories. The ‘over’ is on a 6-2-1 run in the last nine head-to-head meetings between these NL rivals.
--WGN will have the telecast at 7:10 p.m. Eastern.
**Rangers at Yankees**
--LVSC opened New York (29-21, -47) as a minus-185 favorite with a total of 10 ‘over’ (-120). As of early this morning, most books had the Yankees as minus-200 ‘chalk’ with a total of 11 ‘under’ (-115). Bettors can take the Bronx Bombers on the run line at a minu-105 price.
--Texas (30-20, +1138) is in first place in the AL West, 4 ½ games in front of the Angels. As for the Yankees, they have sureged into the AL-East lead, one game ahead of the Red Sox and two games in front of the Blue Jays.
--Joe Girardi’s team return to the Bronx after winning five of seven on its recent road trip that included a visit to Arlington, where the Yankees won two of three from the Rangers.
--New York is 14-9 at home, while Texas is 12-11 on the road.
--Texas RHP Vicente Padilla (3-2, 4.71) will return from the DL to make his first start since May 16. The veteran right-hander was 2-0 with a 1.57 ERA in his three appearances prior to being sidelined. Padilla is 1-1 with a 5.51 ERA in three lifetime starts against the Yankees.
--A.J. Burnett (3-2, 4.78) will be on the rubber for the team in pinstripes. In his last outing, Burnett worked six scoreless innings in a 9-2 win at Texas. The righty is now 2-2 with a 4.02 career ERA against the Rangers.
--While the Rangers enjoyed a day off Monday, New York captured a 5-2 win at Cleveland behind a strong effort from Joba Chamberlain.
--The ‘under’ is 6-2-1 in the Yankees’ last nine games.
--Texas All-Star OF Josh Hamilton is "out" after recently going on the disabled list with an abdominal injury. Hamilton is struggling this year with a .240 average, six homers and 24 RBIs.
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