8-21-14

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StatFox Super Situations

WNBA | WASHINGTON at INDIANA
Play Under - Road teams where the total is greater than or equal to 140 after going under the total by 48 or more points total in their last ten games, vs. division opponents
73-35 over the last 5 seasons. ( 67.6% | 34.5 units )
6-4 this year. ( 60.0% | 1.6 units )

WNBA | SAN ANTONIO at MINNESOTA
Play Against - Any team vs the money line (SAN ANTONIO) after beating the spread by 24 or more points total in their last three games against opponent after going under the total by 48 or more points total in their last seven games
41-25 since 1997. ( 62.1% | 0.0 units )
0-1 this year. ( 0.0% | 0.0 units )

WNBA | WASHINGTON at INDIANA
Play Under - Home teams where the first half total is between 65.5 and 70.5 points after having won 2 of their last 3 games
288-179 since 1997. ( 61.7% | 91.1 units )
7-9 this year. ( 43.8% | -2.9 units )

[Can'tPickAWinner]

WNBA Basketball Picks

San Antonio at Minnesota

The Lynx host the Stars tonight in the first round of the WNBA playoffs and come into the contest with a 7-2 ATS record in their last 9 games versus San Antonio. Minnesota is the pick (-10) according to Dunkel, which has the Lynx favored by 17. Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (-10). Here are all of today's WNBA picks

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21 Time Posted: 8:00 a.m. EST

Game 601-602: Washington at Indiana (7:00 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Washington 108.168; Indiana 115.759 Dunkel Line & Total: Indiana by 7 1/2; 146 Vegas Line & Total: Indiana by 5; 141 Dunkel Pick: Indiana (-5); Over

Game 603-604: San Antonio at Minnesota (9:00 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: San Antonio 104.196; Minnesota 121.024 Dunkel Line & Total: Minnesota by 17; 162 Vegas Line & Total: Minnesota by 10; 157 Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (-10); Over

[Can'tPickAWinner]

MLB

National League

Diamondbacks-Nationals
Miley is 0-2, 7.64 in his last three starts.
Gonzalez is 0-4, 5.13 in his last five starts.

Arizona lost eight of its last ten games.
Nationals won 12 of their last 14 games.

Six of last nine Miley road starts stayed under total.

Braves-Reds
Teheran is 1-3, 4.94 in his last four starts.
Holmberg gave up five runs in 2.2 IP (62 PT) in his only start.

Atlanta won five of its last six games.
Reds lost eight of their last nine games.

Six of last eight Teheran starts went over total.

Giants-Cubs
Bumgarner is 3-2, 2.36 in his last six starts.
Wood is 0-4, 6.80 in his last eight starts.

San Francisco lost four of their last five road games.
Cubs are 4-6 in last ten home games, pending result of suspended game.
Suspended game from Tuesday night will start at 4:05.

Seven of last ten Wood starts went over total.

Padres-Dodgers
Ross is 4-1, 1.88 in his last six starts.
Dodgers are 13-1 in last 14 Kershaw starts (11-1, 1.31).

San Diego lost four of its last six games.
Dodgers lost five of their last seven games.

Under is 12-4 in last sixteen Ross starts.


American League

Astros-Bronx
Keuchel is 0-1, 4.05 in his last three starts.
McCarthy is 4-2, 3.56 in seven starts for Bronx; they got shut out in both of his last two starts.

Astros lost seven of their last eleven road games.
Bronx lost seven of their last eleven home games.

Six of last eight Houston road games went over; under is 6-2-1 in last nine Bronx games.

Angels-Red Sox
Shoemaker is 3-1, 2.66 in his last four starts.
de la Rosa is 1-2, 6.00 in his last five starts.

Angels won seven of their last eight games.
Red Sox lost five of their last six games.

Seven of last nine Angel games stayed under total.

Tigers-Rays
Price faces his old team here; he is 1-0, 3.18 iu three starts for Detroit.
Cobb is 4-0, 1.55 in his last seven starts.

Tigers lost ten of their last fourteen road games, but won last two.
Tampa Bay lost seven of its last nine home games.

Under is 8-2-1 in last eleven Tampa Bay games.

Indians-Twins
Kluber is 6-0, 1.45 in his last eight starts.
Hughes is 3-0, 1.33 in his last three starts.

Indians won seven of their last nine games.
Minnesota lost ten of its last fourteen games.

Eight of last nine Cleveland games stayed under total

Teams' record when this starting pitcher starts:
-- Miley 12-14; Gonzalez 11-9
-- Teheran 15-11; Holmberg 1-0
-- Bumgarner 14-12; Wood 13-12
-- Ross 13-13; Kershaw 16-4 (13-1 last 14)

-- Keuchel 12-11; McCarthy 4-14/5-2
-- Kluber 17-9; Hughes 16-9
-- Price 14-9/2-1; Cobb 9-10
-- Shoemaker 10-4; de la Rosa 6-6

Pitchers allowing runs in first inning:
-- Miley 5-26; Gonzalez 7-20
-- Teheran 8-26; Holmberg 0-1
-- Bumgarner 6-26; 6Wood 6-25
-- Ross 7-26; Kershaw 3-20

-- Keuchel 5-23; McCarthy 6-25
-- Kluber 4-26; Hughes 5-25
-- Price 9-26; Cobb 4-19
-- Shoemaker 1-14; de la Rosa 4-12

Umpires
-- Az-Wsh-- Favorites won 15 of last 18 Hoye games.
-- SF-Chi-- Last four Dimuro games stayed under total.
-- SD-LA-- Underdogs won nine of last eleven Johnson games.

-- Hst-NY-- Four of last five Baker games stayed under.
-- Det-TB-- 10 of last 14 Little games stayed under total.
-- LA-Bos-- Favorites won six of last seven Fletcher games.
-- Cle-Min-- Four of last five Knight games stayed under.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

STATSYSTEMS SPORTS MLB REPORT

***** Thursday, 8/21/14 MLB Information *****
(ALL RESULTS VS. ML) - Against The Money-Line - and most recent, unless noted otherwise. Each and every day during the 2014 Major League Baseball season we will analyze all of your daily baseball action, featuring on hot and cold pitchers, hot and cold teams, over/unders and home plate umpire trends. We will also highlight some of our Highly-Rated (Situational & Match-up) Power Trends, along with some of our Situational Analysis (Betting Systems) that pertain to some of that days match-ups.
__________________________________________________ ___

MLB Betting News and Notes - Week #21
•Derek Holland: “I Feel Like I’m Ready”: The Texas Rangers have listed TBA as their starting pitcher for Sunday against Kansas City, though right-hander Miles Mikolas is the front-runner to get the start on normal rest. They will also need a starter at some point during the three-game series at Seattle next week, Tuesday if Mikolas and Nick Martinez stay on schedule. It’s possible that the Rangers could dip into the minors for a spot starter, as they did last week with Robbie Ross. But one thing remains certain: left-hander Derek Holland is not an option for Sunday even though he said that he is ready to go after his latest rehab start Tuesday for Triple A Round Rock. Holland would be on normal rest after throwing 87 pitches in five-plus innings. He allowed four runs (two earned), but he struck out seven and maintained his velocity throughout the start.

Though he has one more start remaining on his rehab program, he said that he is ready now even though the club’s front office and medical staff might disagree. “I feel like I’m ready, but that’s up to them,” Holland said. “I can’t decide too much. They have to figure out what the call is. I’m ready. The whole thing down there was just making sure I could finish and go as long as I could. I feel good.” Holland said that there has been no discussion about not letting him pitch this season, and manager Ron Washington expects Holland to start at some point in September. Holland said that he and his surgically repaired left knee are ready to go now. “Whatever is going to happen, I have to respect it and do what they tell me,” he said. “I definitely want to pitch pretty bad. I really do.”

•Lester Return To Boston A Long Shot: There have been a lot of nice things said by ace starter Jon Lester about the Red Sox since being traded to the Athletics, and that shouldn't be a surprise. There's no reason to think he didn't absolutely love his time in Boston, as he has said both before he left and since he has gone. Still, it's quite a leap from loving his stay in Boston to being likely to return there this winter as a free agent. The reality is, it's probably the opposite. The strong belief around the game is that Lester is likely to sign somewhere other than the Red Sox. Most folks around baseball would be surprised if Lester and the Red Sox could agree on a contract at a time other teams will be bidding hard for him. After all, the two sides couldn't come close to doing it when they had a clear shot at contract. A return by Lester to Boston was dubbed a "long shot" by league officials who have familiarity with the situation.

The Cubs and rival Yankees, among others, look like much more likely landing spots for Lester at this time, in fact. The Yankees have admired Lester's guts and clutch pitching for years (and especially that career 0.43 World Series ERA) and would surely make a play for the former Red Sox ace. Meanwhile, folks around the game suggest Lester's old friends Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer, who picked Lester for Boston and are now running the Cubs, are extremely likely to be in there pitching, as well. Epstein and Hoyer "absolutely love" Lester, is the word from one official who knows Chicago's top execs well. The Cubs are maybe a year away from contending, but they showed a willingness to spend more than $100 million for Cole Hamels and Masahiro Tanaka (before the Yankees signed Tanaka). Of course, the Yankees and Cubs are just two of many who may make a play for this marquee free agent.

The Red Sox obviously need pitching after trading or losing five of the six starters who started at least 10 games for them in their championship season of 2013, but one rival exec, speaking of Lester, stressed that Red Sox owner John Henry is "risk averse" when it comes to long deals, especially for pitchers. Boston's current front office seems to be of a similar mind considering their recent free-agent forays have been for three years or fewer. Lester should be able to command at least six years, and very likely seven, as a free agent. Lester, off his big season, is expected to be able to command $150 million or more as a free agent -- which is more than double Boston's initial offer to him back in spring. Boston's opening bid of $70 million for four years was just that, but they never got higher since, as one person put it he "cut things off," referring to the talks.

The issue now, is if they can restart the talks while Lester is a free agent, where do they start? With the assumption that Lester commands $150 million plus as a free agent, one rival executive said of Boston's chances to get anywhere close to that, "The Red Sox aren't going to admit they made an $80 million mistake by offering $150 million, one rival executive said. It isn't close to certain the Red Sox see their opening salvo as a mistake, anyway, but there's nothing to suggest the Red Sox would go anywhere near $150 million, not for a pitcher who is 30, not even for Lester. There was word when Boston broached the idea of re-starting talks around the start of July that they might have been willing to go to $100 million for five years at that time. However, Lester, as he told CBSSports.com at the All-Star Game, was "thrown off" by Boston's midseason attempt, suggesting he wanted to concentrate on a season that was slipping away, at least for the Red Sox.

•Giants File Official Protest Over Controversial Loss At Wrigley: The Giants have filed an official protest with Major League Baseball following Tuesday night’s 2-0 loss at Wrigley Field, when a 15-minute rainstorm in the fifth inning left the field unplayable because the grounds crew failed to fully cover the infield. A club source confirmed the Giants went through all the proper channels and filed paperwork with the league, even though the strict interpretation of Rule 4.12 would appear to leave them no loophole for MLB to consider it a suspended game to be resumed at a later date. The Cubs, who were embarrassed by their failure to preserve the field, also lobbied the league to suspend the game and complete nine innings prior to Wednesday night’s contest.

But precedent was set on July 23 when a similar incident happened to the Texas Rangers in the fifth inning of a game at Yankee Stadium, and the league awarded a 2-1 victory to the home team. A Giants official said via text message Wednesday morning “we are going to confirm that we have filed a protest but are going to hold off on discussing any specifics.” Given that the Giants are in a pennant race, and the Cubs (and Rangers) are not, there might be some sympathy from Commissioner Bud Selig to invoke his broad “best interests of baseball” powers to rule a suspended game. Given that this three-game series is the Giants’ last visit to Chicago this year, though, any reversal from the league would have to be made swiftly.

•Greinke (Elbow) Skips Bullpen Session: The Los Angeles Dodgers are concerned enough about some discomfort in Zack Greinke's elbow that they scratched his between-starts bullpen session heading into Thursday's outing. They are still hopeful Greinke will start Thursday, but it's a situation they're monitoring closely, particularly because they already have three starting pitchers on the 15-day disabled list, with two likely lost for the rest of the season. "He was having some soreness and things like that," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "I guess you would have to say something's come up medically, but nothing that's hit our radar or on my daily e-mails [of injuries]."

Greinke said his arm felt better in his latest outing, in which he pitched five scoreless innings against the Milwaukee Brewers but needed 99 pitches to do it. He also touched 95 mph in that start, which led to hope his arm is bouncing back. That makes his decision to skip his bullpen a bit puzzling. It's not the first time Greinke has elected not to take the mound between starts and elected instead to throw off flat ground. The Dodgers' starting rotation is a bit stretched with Hyun-Jin Ryu, Josh Beckett and Paul Maholm on the disabled list and with Dan Haren's 5.30 ERA since May 1. Maholm has had season-ending knee surgery, and the Dodgers are doubtful that Beckett, who has a left hip impingement, will pitch for them again this season. It appears Ryu (strained gluteus) will return shortly after he is eligible.

Around The League
--The Cleveland Indians signed right-handed reliever Scott Atchison to a contract extension for next season and a club option for 2016.
Atchison, 38, has been a versatile member of the Tribe’s bullpen in his first season with the club. He’s 6-0 with a save and a 2.95 ERA in 53 relief appearances. He has struck out 37, walked nine and limited opposing hitters to a .218 average in 55 innings. Atchison ranks among American League relief leaders in wins (tied for second), percentage of inherited runners scored (10th at 18 percent) and relief innings (19th in 55 innings) while limiting right-handed hitters to a .214 average. A Texas native, Atchison has a career record of 16-10 with two saves and a 3.51 ERA in 258 appearances since he made his debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2004.

--Outfielder Ryan Raburn was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right wrist and outfielder Tyler Holt was recalled from Triple-A Columbus to take his spot on the roster. Raburn, who has been battling soreness in his wrist most of the season, aggravated it on Aug. 13 making a diving catch against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He is hitting .191 (36-188) with three home runs and 21 RBI in 70 games.
Holt is hitting .385 (5-for-13) in six games with the Indians.

--Arizona League first baseman Bobby Bradley was named the Indians’ Minor League Player of the Week for the period of Aug. 11-17. Bradley, 18, hit .400 (6-for-15) with two doubles, two home runs and owned a 1.333 OPS (.400 on-base percentage and .933 slugging percentage) in four games. Bradley also had 10 RBI, which was tied for the third most across all levels of Class-A Short Season baseball during that span. Bradley was the Tribe’s third-round pick (97th overall) in this summer’s draft out of Harrison Central High School in Gulfport, Miss.

In his first 34 professional games, the left-handed hitter leads the Arizona League in virtually every offensive statistical category. He’s tops in batting average (.375), home runs (seven), doubles (12), slugging percentage (.662), extra-base hits (22) and runs scored (35). His hot start also includes an Arizona League-best 16-game hitting streak compiled from July 16 through Aug. 13. During that span, he hit .419 with five doubles, two triples, three home runs, 22 RBI and 19 runs.

--Selig: A's need new park. As part of the 10-year lease extension the Oakland Athletics signed in July to remain at O.Co Coliseum, owner Lew Wolff vowed to continue seeking a new ballpark for the franchise. The extension was not expected. The team reached agreement on a 10-year lease extension to remain in a facility that has experienced sewage and lighting problems in recent seasons. Outgoing commissioner Bud Selig said a new ballpark must be on the frontburner for the Athletics to remain competitive. The A's have played in the Coliseum since 1968 and are in contention for the American League West division title. "This is always something I wanted to get resolved before I leave office, which is another 5 1/2 or six months," Selig said during a vist to Oakland and fraternity brother Wolff on Tuesday. "I've always said the local club, they know their market best."

Following threats that the team could move from Oakland concessions were made for the team to pay reduced rent. The A's considered San Jose, and the city is appealing a judge's decision that the San Francisco Giants own the territorial rights to that city, preventing the Athletics from relocating there -- for now. "They've done a remarkable job under the circumstances," Selig said. "One of the reasons for the resurgence of this sport, there are multiple reasons, are the new stadiums.... I wish it had been resolved. I understand people's frustrations, I do understand. There's a lot of history here." The Athletics are co-tenants with the Oakland Raiders, who are on a one-year lease and looking at other cities as options due to a stalemate in regional stadium project plans. The NFL's San Francisco 49ers last opened new Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.

--A.J. Burnett’s major league-leading walks total wasn’t the only number that rose in the Phillies’ 5-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night. With his 27th start of the season, Burnett passed a plateau that took his contract from $8.5 million to $10 million if he decides to pitch next season. The value of that contract will swell to $12.75 when Burnett reaches 32 starts. He is on pace for 34. The ball is completely in Burnett’s court -- or should we say wallet? -- because his deal is a player option. If the 37-year-old right-hander comes back for a 17th season, he gets the money. If he packs his baseball memories in a duffel bag and takes it to the house, he doesn’t get the money.

So, is Burnett going to pitch next season? “I have no idea,” the pitcher said after taking the loss Tuesday night. “Probably not. But we’ll see.” For some folks would walk to spring training to come back for $10 million, but Burnett has already made over $135 million in his career. He strongly considered retirement last winter only to be convinced to continue pitching by a $16 million offer from the Phillies on the eve of spring training. The wisdom of that expenditure now has to be seriously questioned. The Phillies, long on a road to nowhere, have not been better than a fourth-place team since April and Burnett has been inconsistent for much of the season.

On Tuesday night, he went deep into the game but allowed five mostly self-inflicted runs over 7 2/3 innings. He gave his team a handful of solid innings, but in the end the Phillies' offense could not overcome a couple of bouts of wildness by Burnett. Seattle pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma had a lot to do with the Phillies' problems on offense. The guy was brilliant over eight scoreless innings. Burnett’s first eight pitches of the game were balls. Both of those walks ended up as Mariners’ runs as the Phils fell behind 2-0 in the first inning. Burnett allowed a solo homer to Kyle Seager on a 3-0 pitch in the sixth inning. In the eighth, he walked his fourth batter and hit another. Both of those baserunners scored. So, four of the Mariners’ five runs came on free passes.

“He just wasn’t in the strike zone right from the bullpen,” manager Ryne Sandberg said. “His stuff is still good. His breaking pitch and velocity is good. It’s just more of an execution thing and getting ahead of hitters.” Burnett is 6-14 with a 4.42 ERA on the season. He leads the majors with 76 walks. He has now lost five straight starts dating to July 28. His ERA in that span is 7.51. “It’s been a rough stretch, but I still come in and try to do my job,” Burnett said. Burnett has not missed a start despite pitching with a hernia for most of the season. He said the issue has not impacted his pitching. Sandberg added that Burnett has not complained about the condition at all.

While Burnett’s control was an issue, Iwakuma’s was not. He did not walk a batter over his eight innings. He struck out 11. The Japanese import has racked up 17 2/3 straight scoreless innings. He has not given up a run in three career starts (22 innings) in National League parks. “He’s a pitcher we had not seen,” Sandberg said. “He was really a master at changing speeds. He threw his curveball at three different speeds. It was hard to get a gauge on him.” That’s not the first time that’s been said this season.

For the game, Phillies hitters struck out 13 times. The Phils were on their way to being shut out for the 14th time this season (San Diego leads the majors with 16 shutouts) when Seattle’s bullpen gummed up the works and allowed a couple of runs with two outs in the ninth inning. Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon was forced to bring in closer Fernando Rodney for the save. He struck out Cody Asche, the potential tying run, with two men on base to end the game.
__________________________________________________ _______

Betting Notes - Thursday

National League
•Diamondbacks-Nationals - 4:05 PM
--Miley is 0-2, 7.64 in his last three starts.
--Gonzalez is 0-4, 5.13 in his last five starts.

--Arizona lost eight of its last ten games.
--Nationals won 12 of their last 14 games.

--Six of last nine Miley road starts stayed under total.

•Braves-Reds - 7:10 PM
--Teheran is 1-3, 4.94 in his last four starts.
--Holmberg gave up five runs in 2.2 IP (62 PT) in his only start.

--Atlanta won five of its last six games.
--Reds lost eight of their last nine games.

--Six of last eight Teheran starts went over total.

•Giants-Cubs - 8:05 PM
--Bumgarner is 3-2, 2.36 in his last six starts.
--Wood is 0-4, 6.80 in his last eight starts.

--San Francisco lost four of their last five road games.
--Cubs are 4-6 in last ten home games, pending result of suspended game.
--Suspended game from Tuesday night will start at 4:05.

--Seven of last ten Wood starts went over total.

•Padres-Dodgers - 10:10 PM
--Ross is 4-1, 1.88 in his last six starts.
--Dodgers are 13-1 in last 14 Kershaw starts (11-1, 1.31).

--San Diego lost four of its last six games.
--Dodgers lost five of their last seven games.

--Under is 12-4 in last sixteen Ross starts.
__________________________________

American League
•Astros-Yankees - 1:05 PM
--Keuchel is 0-1, 4.05 in his last three starts.
--McCarthy is 4-2, 3.56 in seven starts for New York; they got shut out in both of his last two starts.

--Astros lost seven of their last eleven road games.
--New York lost seven of their last eleven home games.

--Six of last eight Houston road games went over; under is 6-2-1 in last nine Yankees games.

•Indians-Twins - 1:10 PM
--Kluber is 6-0, 1.45 in his last eight starts.
--Hughes is 3-0, 1.33 in his last three starts.

--Indians won seven of their last nine games.
--Minnesota lost ten of its last fourteen games.

--Eight of last nine Cleveland games stayed under total.

•Tigers-Rays - 1:10 PM
--Price faces his old team here; he is 1-0, 3.18 in three starts for Detroit.
--Cobb is 4-0, 1.55 in his last seven starts.

--Tigers lost ten of their last fourteen road games, but won last two.
--Tampa Bay lost seven of its last nine home games.

--Under is 8-2-1 in last eleven Tampa Bay games.

•Angels-Red Sox - 1:10 PM
--Shoemaker is 3-1, 2.66 in his last four starts.
--De La Rosa is 1-2, 6.00 in his last five starts.

--Angels won seven of their last eight games.
--Red Sox lost five of their last six games.

--Seven of last nine Angel games stayed under total.

•Incredible Stat of the Day
Cleveland Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is 17-4 in his team starts (80.9%) against the money line versus poor power teams averaging 0.9 or less home runs per game over the last two seasons. The right-hander looks to continue his red-hot second half Thursday as he faces the host Minnesota Twins. Kluber is 17-3 in the second half of the season over the last two seasons, including a spotless 4-0 mark this season with a 0.76 ERA in six second-half assignments to vault himself to 15th in pitcher value at $655.

Among the major league leaders in ERA, Kluber is 6-0 with a 1.31 ERA in his last eight outings and has allowed four earned runs, struck out 55 and held opponents to a .161 average over 47 2/3 innings. The 28-year-old gave up a run, five hits and fanned 10 for the second straight start over 7 2/3 innings of a 2-1, 11-inning victory over Baltimore on Friday. He's 2-1 with a 4.82 ERA in seven meetings against the Twins and prevailed in his last one, a 12-6 win at Minnesota on Sept. 27 despite yielding six runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Preview: Tigers (67-56) at Rays (60-65)

Game: 3
Venue: Tropicana Field
Date: August 21, 2014 1:10 PM EDT


David Price admits he's not thrilled about facing the Tampa Bay Rays for the first time since they traded him to Detroit last month.

While Price might have a difficult time harnessing his emotions Thursday at Tropicana Field, he'll try to remain focused on helping the Tigers complete a three-game sweep of his former team.

Since arriving in Tampa this week, Price (12-8, 3.12 ERA) has played video games with his former teammates and received a standing ovation following a video presentation in his honor during Detroit's 8-6, 11-inning victory Tuesday.

From September 2008 until the left-hander was dealt last month, Price went 82-47 with a 3.18 ERA in 175 games for Tampa Bay, helped the Rays (61-65) win the AL pennant as a reliever in 2008 and won the 2012 AL Cy Young Award.

It's understandable he'd be nervous for this contest.

"Pitching against friends is always the worst," Price told MLB's official website. "I'm definitely going to have to be a little bit more focused on Thursday.

"I spent a lot of time here. I built a lot of memories, made a lot of long-lasting friendships and stuff like that. Without Rays baseball, I'm not myself."

Like those within the Rays organization and their fan base, Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon feels Price returned the favor.

"(Price is) a big part of the Rays becoming the Rays," he said. "When he gets into the Hall of Fame, hopefully he goes in there as a Ray."

Since the three-team trade July 31, Price is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA. The best of his three starts for Detroit (68-56) came Saturday when he allowed a run and three hits over eight innings and bested Felix Hernandez in a 4-2 victory over Seattle.

"He's been what we'd hoped for," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said of Price, who can become a free agent after this season. "He certainly has not disappointed."

Price will oppose good friend Alex Cobb (8-6, 3.19), who still has a hard time grasping that the longtime face of the Rays franchise is no longer in town.

"It's just weird. The normal is not the normal anymore," Cobb said. "It's just something you don't want to get used to, but you do eventually get used to it."

While Price will be the focal point Thursday, Cobb has been stellar while going 6-0 with a 2.24 ERA in his last nine starts. The right-hander has allowed four runs and struck out 40 while walking seven in 34 innings to go 3-0 in the last five.

Cobb gave up six hits and fanned eight in 7 1-3 innings of a 5-0 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday.

He allowed three runs and five hits over five-plus innings in a 6-3 win at Comerica Park on July 4 to improve to 1-1 with a 3.04 ERA in four starts against the Tigers.

Victor Martinez is 2 for 8 against Cobb, but is hitting .429 with two homers and nine RBIs in his last six games versus Tampa Bay. Martinez hit a grand slam and drove in five while Rick Porcello tossed a three-hitter in Wednesday's 6-0 victory.

A winner in five of seven following a 2-7 stretch, Detroit is trying for its first series sweep at Tampa Bay since 2009.

Though the Rays have dropped four in a row, Ben Zobrist is batting .426 during a 14-game home hitting streak. He's 11 for 22 in the last five against the Tigers overall.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Arthur Ralph Sports

Free play THURS

SF Giants w/ Bumgarner -150

[Can'tPickAWinner]

2Halves2Win

MLB COMP

CLE @ MIN

1* Indians ML

[Can'tPickAWinner]

NFL

'Dress-Rehearsal'

The third full week of NFL preseason football continues with one game on tap Thursday, followed by five Friday and ten running Saturday through Sunday. Preseason results don’t count for anything in the end, but any NFL head coach would be concerned if his team went winless during the preseason. That said, the six winless teams at this juncture should play with a lot more urgency during dress-rehearsal week. NFLx sports bettors thinking of siding with these winless teams in WK-3 do so at some risk as they're a vig losing 17-17 ATS the past five years split between 10-12 ATS wearing a home jersey, 7-5 ATS on the road. NFLx sports bettors thinking of siding with the undefeated need to be cautious with home teams as they're 2-7 ATS while roadies are a profitable 14-8 ATS. In looking at how squads have done overall in what is the closest thing to a regular season game teams play in August. The Saints (7-0), Seahawks (10-2-1), 49ers (6-1), Eagles (7-2) have been some of the best bets recently while Patriots (0-6), Chiefs (2-9-1), Dolphins (2-7-1) have some of the worst stretches vs the betting line. As always best of luck this season but above all enjoy the games.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Hondo

The Diamondbacks rallied to die Wednesday night in D.C., succumbing in the ninth to raise Hondo’s NRN (nasty red number) to 1,400 garcias.

Thursday: Mr. Aitch expects Corey to author another success story — 10 units on Kluber and the Native Americans to cream the Twinkies. Also, His Aitchness will tee it up again for a pair of 10-unit plays on Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia, both at 20-1.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Indian Cowboy

WNBA

8* Under 141.5 Wash/Indi

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Today's MLB Picks

San Diego at LA Dodgers

The Dodgers look to bounce back from last night's 4-1 loss to the Padres and come into tonight's contest with a 10-1 record in Clayton Kershaw's last 11 starts with the total set at 6 1/2 runs or lower. LA is the pick (-160) according to Dunkel, which has the Dodgers favored by 1 1/2. Dunkel Pick: LA Dodgers (-160). Here are all of today's MLB picks.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21 Time Posted: 7:30 a.m. EST

Game 951-952: Arizona at Washington (4:05 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Arizona (Miley) 15.644; Washington (Gonzalez) 14.731 Dunkel Line: Arizona by 1; 8 Vegas Line: Washington (-200); 7 1/2 Dunkel Pick: Arizona (+170); Over

Game 953-954: Atlanta at Cincinnati (7:10 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Atlanta (Teheran) 17.402; Cincinnati (Holmberg) 15.322 Dunkel Line: Atlanta by 2; 9 Vegas Line: Atlanta (-160); 8 Dunkel Pick: Atlanta (-160); Over

Game 955-956: San Francisco at Chicago Cubs (8:05 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: San Francisco (Bumgarner) 16.302; Cubs (Wood) 14.724 Dunkel Line: San Francisco by 1 1/2; 6 Vegas Line: San Francisco (-160); No Run Total Dunkel Pick: San Francisco (-160); N/A

Game 9057-958: San Diego at LA Dodgers (10:10 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: San Diego (Ross) 15.312; LA Dodgers (Kershaw) 16.809 Dunkel Line: LA Dodgers by 1 1/2; 6 Vegas Line: LA Dodgers (-160); 6 1/2 Dunkel Pick: LA Dodgers (-160); Under

Game 959-960: Houston at NY Yankees (1:05 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Houston (Keuchel) 16.399; NY Yankees (McCarthy) 15.212 Dunkel Line: Houston by 1; 9 Vegas Line: NY Yankees (-180); 8 Dunkel Pick: Houston (+160); Over

Game 961-962: Cleveland at Minnesota (1:10 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Cleveland (Kluber) 15.896; Minnesota (Hughes) 16.922 Dunkel Line: Minnesota by 1; 8 Vegas Line: Cleveland (-160); 7 Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (+140); Over

Game 963-964: Detroit at Tampa Bay (1:10 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Detroit (Price) 15.398; Tampa Bay (Cobb) 16.984 Dunkel Line: Tampa Bay by 1 1/2; 6 Vegas Line: Detroit (-125); 6 1/2 Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (+105); Under

Game 965-966: LA Angels at Boston (7:10 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: LA Angels (Shoemaker) 16.549; Boston (De La Rosa) 15.109 Dunkel Line: LA Angels by 1 1/2; 8 Vegas Line: LA Angels (-130); 9 Dunkel Pick: LA Angels (-130); Under

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WNBA

Thursday, August 21

Total bettors cashing in heading into playoffs

With the WNBA playoffs set to tipoff Thursday, there are fewer chances for total bettors to cash in on the often neglected league. In the final 17 games of the season, the over/under went 4-13.

Those 17 games saw an average of 146 with eight games scoring 140 points or less.

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Ecks and Bacon


Ben lee lost on Wednesday in MLB in Interleague Play with the Marlins -$160/Rangers and has Np for Thursday.

Ben lee is 1-2 -$100 for week forty three 191-223-5 -$3062

"Mr Chalk" is 65-49 -$455 for the 2014 MLB season.

All E&B selections will be for $50 unless noted.

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Giants win protest; game at Wrigley will resume

The San Francisco Giants will get another shot at the Chicago Cubs after Major League Baseball reversed the umpires' decision to end Tuesday's game after 4 1/2 innings due to unplayable field conditions at Wrigley Field.

Baseball officials on Wednesday agreed with the Giants' protest and called for the game to be resumed Thursday at 4:05 p.m. CT.

The Cubs confirmed the game would pick up with the hosts coming to bat in bottom of the fifth inning with a 2-0 lead.

The regularly scheduled series finale will follow at approximately 7:05 p.m.

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RICH SPORTS

NFLX

3* Philadelphia Eagles-3 -130