Tweet
Kelso
15* Cincinnati Reds
15* Cincinnati Reds
-
Sports Wagers
CHICAGO +122 over Baltimore
Interesting matchup sees newly acquired Joe Saunders making his Oriole debut while the White Sox have called up Dylan Axelrod to replace an injured Gavin Floyd in the rotation. On paper, it would appear that Saunders has an edge but nothing could be further from the proof.
Saunders went 6-10 with the D-Backs with a 4.22 ERA pitching half his games in a tough venue. Problem with that logic is that he wasn’t much better on the road. This is a guy with a career BAA of .275 and a career ERA of 4.17 so he’s been right on par with his career numbers. The Diamondbacks had lost seven of his past nine starts before the trade and in August, he allowed 32 hits and 19 runs in 23 innings. Camden Yards is not the best fit for him either (+11% RH HR, +22% LH HR).
Axelrod is a pitcher that has ugly surface stats (1-2, 5.63 ERA) but small sample sizes can be extremely misleading. That 5.63 ERA (38 IP) is easy to pass up, but a strong 48% groundball rate, 31 k’s in 38 frames suggests something interesting here, as do solid performances against NYY and Boston (13.2 IP, 3 ER’s). Axelrod has pitched well at AAA—2.88 ERA, 92 K’s in 97 IP. The kid has been a victim of numbers in the South Side’s rotation. He’s highly skilled and could be a nice sleeper down the stretch. He certainly offers up more value taking back a price than Saunders does spotting one.
Our Pick CHICAGO +122 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 2.44)Comment
-
Sports & Profits
5* LA Dodgers/Joe Blanton at Colorado/Drew Pomeranz over/under Over 10.5 -110
5* Cincinnati/Mat Latos at Arizona/Patrick Corbin over/under Under 8.5 -115
5* Oakland/Travis Blackley at Cleveland/Corey Kluber over/under Under 8 -105
5* Tampa Bay/Alex Cobb at Texas/Matt Harrison moneyline Texas -151
5* Boston/Zach Stewart at LA Angels/C.J. Wilson over/under Over 9 -105Comment
Comment