6-21-13

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Bob Balfe

Atlanta Braves -130

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Scott Landau Friday:

NYM +175
CIN -108

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TMC Sports Advisors

Marlins +135

Baltimore/Toronto Over 9

Mets +1.5 -140

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Ultra Sports MLB

NY Yankees -105 action
Texas +100 action

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the machine

dodgers f5 ml

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Andre Gomes

MLB Money Line
966 TOR (-117) vs 965 BAL

MLB - 965 Baltimore Orioles @ 966 Toronto Blue Jays
(Starting Pitchers: J. Hammel vs R. Dickey)
Toronto is now 35-36 on the standings and this comeback has been the result of very good pitching (bullpen included), while their offense has been solid as usual. They will face Jason Hammel, who is on an extra rest spot, but due to illness. Hammel's last starts were against good offenses, but where he showed poor command with 1/2, 3/2 and 0/3 K/BB ratios, while allowing homeruns on every of these outings. Now against a confident Blue Rays' lineup, I expect Toronto to pound him tonight.

R.A. Dickey will start for Toronto tonight and he has been inconsistent with 1, 7, 0, 6, 6, 2, 2, 2 and 7 runs allowed on his last nine starts. Dickey allowed just one run against the Rangers on his last outing last Saturday and he is now on a revenge spot against the Orioles, as he has struggled against Baltimore twice earlier on the season. However, it's important to note that Dickey had 5 days of rest for tonight's game and he has a 3.14 ERA and .581 OPS on this kind of spot, while he has 5.80 ERA and .853 OPS with 4 days of rest. Those two outings against the Orioles were on 4 day rest spots, so this might be the key in here. Anyway, Toronto is now playing much better than they were earlier on the season and so, I expect them to pick up a comfortable win in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 966 Toronto Blue Jays ML (w/ R. Dickey) @ -117

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RICH SPORTS

MLB Friday

1* 969 Min +.5 1st 5 - 120

2.5* 956 Mil - UNDER 8.5

1.5* 957 Cin -105

2* 972 KC - UNDER 8.5

1* 961 Mia +1

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Joe Gavazzi Friday, June 21st

MLB

Baltimore (Hamel) at Toronto (Dickey) (-125) 7:05 ET

3% Toronto (Dickey) (-125)

This is a battle of two excellent hitting teams with 2 mediocre starters. But we have been riding the Blue Jays 8 game winning streak and will not stop now that they have the opportunity to get to the .500 mark tonight. In the last 7 games, Toronto starters have a 1.18 ERA. And the bullpen has not allowed an earned run in 24 IP. Even the underachieving Dickey got into the act when he allowed just 1 run in 5 2/3 IP of a 6-1 victory vs. Texas in his last outing. Hamel profited from prodigious run support for the Baltimore bats in the early part of the season. But in his last 3 starts, that rubber band has snapped. Hamel has gone 0-2 with a 6.32 ERA. In a trio of starts vs. the Jays, Hamel has a 5.40 ERA. Let’s ride the Toronto winning streak one more night.



Atlanta (Teheran) at Milwaukee (Peralta) (-130) 8:10 ET

3% Atlanta (Teheran) (-130)

Not the best situation for Atlanta forcing me to reduce the rating. But there is such a dominant advantage in the starters that we must take advantage. First the bad news: Atlanta is just 13-17 /loss (compared to 29-14/win). Their strength has obviously been at home. They stand just 18-20 away including 6-12 recently and have lost the last 6 appearances at this site by a score of 27-9. That, however, was against a Milwaukee team who is far better than this year’s addition. The Brewers are just 29-42 including 16-20 on their strong home field. They enter tonight on a run of 15-31 including their return from a road trip in which they went 4-5. The pitching matchup is a joke. Peralta has a 6.08 ERA and 1.66 WHIP. On this field, Peralta is 0-3 with a 9.26 ERA. Teheran is a quickly improving young pitcher. In his last 10 starts, Teheran has a 2.42 ERA with 54/9 KBB. We have won with Tehran Sunday night in a 3-0 shutout of the Giants in which he worked 6 IP with an 8/1 KBB. No reason he can’t beat Milwaukee and Peralta even on the road.



Cincinnati (Cueto) (-115) at Arizona (Miley) 9:40 ET

4% Cincinnati (Cueto) (-115)

Despite a 2-2 split vs. the Pirates earlier this week, the Reds 7-4 earlier run is better thant the D Backs 4-7 slide in which they have averaged 2.3 RPG in their last 6. Following a hot start in his last 7 games, Miley has gone 1-5 with a 6.47 ERA. Far prefer the slants of Cueto who showed no ill signs following his 2nd stint on the DL. For the season, Cueto is 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 37/13 KBB. In his most recent 3 starts, Cueto has an 0.86 ERA. In 6 appearances vs. Arizona, Cueto is 5-0 with a 1.66 ERA and .143 BAA.



Boston (Lester) at Detroit (Fister) (-135) 7:05 ET

4% Detroit (Fister) (-135)

A 2 run walk off blast by Peralta last night gave Detroit a 4-3 victory in the opening of this weekend set. It lifted the Detroit record to 5-0 in this series at this site. The Red Sox bats have gone a bit cold scoring just 30 total runs and going 4-6 in their last 10. Lester has not been the answer. In his last 6 starts, Lester is 0-4 with a 7.20 ERA. In 10 starts on the road, Lester has a 5.25 ERA. In addition, 5 recent starts vs. Detroit have seen Lester go 0-2 with a 4.78 ERA. Far prefer the more consistent Fister who has a 3.21 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 76/14 KBB and comes off a start in which he allowed just 2 runs on 2 hits in 8 2/3 IP of a 5-2 Minnesota win.



Houston (Kauchel) at Chicago Cubs (Garza) (-175) 2:10 ET

4% Houston (Kauchel)

When Pena plouted a 3 run homer in the 10th for a 7-4 victory vs. Milwaukee last night, it lifted the recent Houston record to 13-9 and 6-2. Kauchel has been part of the reason for the upturn. In his last 4 starts, Kauchel is 3-1 with a 2.13 ERA. In a trio of road starts, Kauchel has a 2.66 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 15/4 KBB. Clearly the Cubs do not deserve this level of favoritism. The Cubs enter this afternoon on slides of 6-12, 1-4 and 2-7 at home. In a pair of home starts this season, Garza has an 8.25 ERA. That is bad news when you are backed up by a bullpen whose index is 117, among the worst in MLB. In 6 starts vs. Houston, Garza has a 4.46 ERA.



Pittsburgh (Cole) at LA Angels (Weaver) (-155) 10:05 ET

3% Pittsburgh (Cole) (+145)

LAA came from 7 down vs. King Felix to beat us last night 10-9 for their 6th win in 8 starts. But this line is based on perception rather than reality. That reality includes a 33-40 record for the Angels who send Weaver to the mound with a record of 1-3 and 4.41 ERA. In his first 2 starts off the DL (broken elbow), Weaver looked solid. But he has busted in his last 2 outings allowing 9 runs in 11 2/3 IP. Following a split with the Reds, Pittsburgh enters on an 8-5 run, 43-30 for the season. IN his 1st 2 MLB starts, Cole showed command, control and poise well beyond his 22 years. Now, he returns to his home town for his first road start. In a pair of home outings, Cole allowed 5 runs on 14 hits in 12 IP with a 3/0 KBB. Play the Pirates as big dog at a value price.

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Dave Essler

2* Arizona