Monday 9-25-17 Free Plays / Trends / Betting Info / Etc

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Buster Sports

Mariners at Athletics
Play: Over 9

The Seattle Mariners come to Oakland to face the red-hot Athletics. The A’s have won seven in a row and look to continue their winning streak. Our play will be on the OVER in this game and this is why. The starting pitchers for tonight’s game are for the Mariners RH Felix Hernandez (5-5, 4.57 ERA) and he will face the Athletics RH Daniel Gossett (4-9, 5.38 ERA) King Felix has not had the 2017 season that he would’ve liked. He has been inconsistent and had to deal with injuries all year. Since his latest injury he could only pitch 3 2/3 innings in his first start and in his last start he allowed 6 runs in 3 1/3 innings. We see a red-hot Athletics club getting to the King tonight. As for Gossett, he has had a real tough go in 2017. When he has faced the Mariners for his career he is sporting a 6.75 ERA with an ugly WHIP of 2.375. We see Seattle getting to Gossett early and often tonight.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Bob Balfe

Giants +110

The DBacks clinched a wild card spot last night so you know the players had a couple too many drinks last night and obviously are not taking a Giants team serious tonight. San Fran has been owned the last few games in this series and will be looking to spoil the mood just a bit. Look for Arizona to give a few guys some rest after their big achievement.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

MLB Daily Line Drive: Monday's picks, betting odds and analysis

There are 12 games on the MLB schedule today, including Yu Darvish and the Dodgers who are still trying to get their season turned back around in time for the playoffs. Get analysis on all of today's games as well as tips on weather, umpires, and other betting trends with our daily MLB Line Drive.

Double-Play Picks

Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies (-135, 8.5)

The Nationals and Phillies open a three-game series this evening in Philadelphia. It's a very rare occasion when the Phillies are favored over their division rivals from Washington, D.C. - and even more rare is when we actually pick them to win as favorites over the Nats.

Aaron Nola is the ace of the young Phillies' pitching staff and brings with him a very impressive 9-4 win/loss record at home this season (keep in mind, this is the Phillies) with an also very impressive 2.98 ERA and 1.03 WHIP at Citizens Bank Park. Over his last three starts Nola is 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA, and in his only home start against the Nats this season he worked six innings and allowed three runs in an eventual 17-3 win by the Phils.

A.J. Cole will get the road start for the Nationals. Washington has lost five of his last six starts and he has spent some time in the bullpen during that span, which also did not go very well. As we reach the end of a long season these young arms will begin to tire, and over his last two appearances Cole owns an ERA of 7.71 and a WHIP of 2.00.

This is a tough time of year to handicap baseball games, your best strategy is to take the starting pitcher you feel most comfortable backing. Today that is Aaron Nola.

Pick: Phillies -135

San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers (-265, 8)

The Padres hit the road to end their 2017 season with the first stop being Los Angeles where they will take on the Dodgers for three games.

The Dodgers' big trade deadline acquisition, Yu Darvish, will makes his ninth start as both he and the club try to right the ship after a very dicey fourth quarter of the season. For Darvish's part, he really seemed to put things together on the team's recent road trip where he made a pair of starts and pitched to a 0.00 ERA and a 0.6487 WHIP over 12.1 innings of work.

The Dodgers still aren't scoring a lot of runs, averaging only 3.00 runs per game over their last nine. This is great news for Padres lefty Travis Wood, who is listed as our Slumping Starter today but is coming off a solid outing against the Diamondbacks where he allowed only three hits over six innings.

Call it a hunch. The Dodgers (1.15) and Padres (1.25) rank No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in National League bullpen WHIP, so if this becomes a bullpen battle we should see plenty of zeros hitting the board.

Pick: Under 8

Yesterday's Picks: 1-1
Season To Date: 156-140-15

Streaking and Slumping Starting Pitchers

Streaking: Luke Weaver, St. Louis Cardinals (7-1, 2.05 ERA, $604)

Luke Weaver is going to be part of the St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff for a long time and that must make Cards fans very happy. The 24-year old is having a breakout season sporting a 7-1 record (9-2 team win/loss) with a 2.05 ERA and has won six straight trips to the mound.

During this six-start stretch, he has thrown 36.1 innings allowing six runs (1.49 ERA), has a WHIP of 0.9083, struck out 49 and only walked four.

Weaver looks to extend his personal winning streak when the Cubbies visit today and the Cardinals are available at -123.

Slumping: Travis Wood, San Diego Padres (4-6, 6.55 ERA, $162)

Not a lot to be excited about at the end of September for the San Diego Padres, the season can’t end quickly enough. Travis Wood might not have already packed his bags for the off-season but I suspect he’s mentally checked out.

The Padres left-hander is 1-2 in his last three starts with a whopping 14.81 ERA and a 2.23 WHIP. Throwing a total of 10.1 innings and allowing 7 home runs.

Wood and the Padres take the field (in body) as +236 road pups against Yu Darvish and the Dodgers.

Monday's Top Trends

* Braves are 9-2 in the last 11 meetings in New York. -111 @ Mets.

* Over is 12-2 in Aaron Nola’s last 14 starts after scoring 2 runs or less in their previous game. WAS/PHI Total: 8.5

* Under is 8-1 in Collin McHugh’s last 9 starts overall. HOU/TEX Total: 10.5

* Angels are 0-7 in Ricky Nolasco’s last 7 road starts vs. a team with a losing record. -151 @ White Sox.

* Athletics are 8-0 in their last 8 home games. +101 vs. Mariners.

Weather To Keep An Eye On

According to the forecast, there shouldn’t be any precipitation that will interrupt any of today's games on the MLB schedule.

It should be a pretty calm day in the wind department as well, with the only wind getting into double digits is at Oakland Coliseum, where 8-10 mile per hour winds will be blowing out to right center field. The Athletics are hosting the Seattle Mariners tonight and the total is currently at 9.5.