Thursday 4-26-18 Free Plays / Trends / Betting Info / Etc

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Seattle Mariners vs. Cleveland Indians Preview and Predictions 04-26-2018

25th April 2018 by Gracenote
mike clevinger looks to follow up the best performance of his career when the cleveland indians open a four-game series against the visiting seattle mariners on thursday. the right-hander allowed just two hits while recording his first career shutout in a 4-0 victory over the baltimore orioles last saturday.

seattle left-hander james paxton hasn't discovered last season's form and was touched up for five runs and six hits in four innings during a no-decision against the texas rangers in his last turn. paxton's substandard campaign began with a loss to the indians on march 31 when he served up a grand slam to yonder alonso and a two-run shot to yan gomes while giving up six runs in 4 2/3 innings. the mariners, who won the other two games of the season-opening three-game series, defeated the chicago white sox 4-3 on wednesday. cleveland posted a 4-1 victory over the chicago cubs on wednesday and has won four of its last five games.

tv: 6:10 p.m. et, root sports northwest (seattle), sportstime ohio (cleveland)

pitching matchup: mariners lh james paxton (1-1, 5.61 era) vs. indians rh mike clevinger (2-0, 1.75)

paxton went 12-5 with a 2.98 era and 1.10 whip in 24 starts last season but his era has nearly doubled and his whip has skyrocketed to 1.44. the 29-year-old has also served up four homers in 25 2/3 innings after giving up just nine in 136 frames last season. paxton is 0-3 with a 5.87 era in three career outings against the indians and has struggled with jason kipnis (4-for-8) and rajai davis (5-for-13).
clevinger, who is making his 36th career start, is holding opposing batters to a .205 average this season to go along with a 1.10 whip. a 12-game winner last season, the 27-year-old controlled baltimore hitters from the outset in his last effort despite striking out just three batters. clevinger has never faced the mariners but has experienced issues retiring andrew romine (3-for-8, two doubles) when the latter was on the detroit tigers.

walk-offs

1. indians lhp andrew miller (hamstring tightness) departed wednesday's game and manager terry francona said miller will undergo an mri exam on thursday.

2. seattle 1b ryon healy (ankle) is expected to be activated at some point during the four-game series.

3. cleveland announced the signing of veteran of melky cabrera for $1 million plus incentives and will have him working out at extended spring training in arizona before beginning a short minor-league stint and eventually joining the indians.

prediction: indians 6, mariners 4

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Tampa Bay Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles Preview and Predictions 04-26-2018

26th April 2018 by Gracenote
the surging tampa bay rays hope to make more history and sweep a two-game rain-shortened series when they visit the struggling baltimore orioles on thursday night. the rays have scored at least eight runs in four straight games for the first time in franchise history and are riding a five-game winning streak after recording 14 hits while rolling to an 8-4 victory on wednesday.

shortstop adeiny hechavarria homered for the second straight game wednesday and is 12-for-26 during a seven-game hitting streak for tampa bay, which started the season with one win in nine contests and has since won eight of 13. chris archer will try to match his last effort on the mound when he takes the ball for the rays against baltimore ace dylan bundy, who has managed just one victory despite five solid starts to open 2018. the orioles have lost four in a row and 10 of 11 to plummet to the bottom of the american league east after coughing up a 3-0 lead wednesday. manny machado went 0-for-4 in the series opener to end an 11-game hitting streak while adam jones registered a pair of doubles and an rbi to help baltimore build its lead.

tv: 7:05 p.m. et, fs sun (tampa bay), masn2 (baltimore)

pitching matchup: rays rh chris archer (1-1, 6.59 era) vs. orioles rh dylan bundy (1-2, 1.42)

archer comes in off his first quality start of the season last friday as he allowed two runs over 6 2/3 innings against minnesota before the bullpen coughed up a 6-2 lead. the 29-year-old two-time all star yielded four or more runs in three of his previous four outings and surrendered one homer in each of his five starts. chris davis boasts three homers and nine rbis in 28 career at-bats versus archer, who is 5-8 with a 4.81 era in 17 appearances (16 starts) against the orioles.
bundy earned his first victory of the season last friday and posted his fourth quality start in five outings, holding cleveland to one run on five hits over six innings of work. the 25-year-old oklahoma native has enjoyed just 10 runs of support this season and boasts 40 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings after fanning nine last time out. mallex smith is 2-for-5 with a walk against bundy, who is 1-2 with a 6.26 era in six career appearances (five starts) versus tampa bay.

walk-offs

1. baltimore inf tim beckham (groin) was placed on the 10-day disabled list and inf jace peterson took his place wednesday, knocking in two runs.

2. tampa bay inf joey wendle is 10-for-20 during his five-game hitting streak and has three hits in two of his last three outings.

3. davis has 29 homers and 76 rbis in 109 career games against the rays, but went 0-for-4 in the series opener.

prediction: rays 3, orioles 2

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Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays Preview and Predictions 04-26-2018

26th April 2018 by Gracenote
mookie betts gave the boston red sox a much-needed offensive boost and a chance to claim a series win when they take on the host toronto blue jays on thursday in the finale of a three-game series. betts slugged a leadoff homer and later added a go-ahead two-run shot to lift the red sox - who scored a total of four runs during a three-game losing streak - to a 4-3 victory wednesday.

the star right fielder has reached base in 19 straight games against the blue jays while batting .349 with five homers and 23 rbis. "they're special," red sox manager alex cora told reporters of players like betts. "like the trouts, the altuves, the most at-bats they get the better you feel about it. ... i'm glad that he's on my team." chris sale has been dominant through his first five starts for boston but has just one win to show for it and will aim for victory no. 2 when he gets the nod opposite blue jays right-hander marco estrada. sale tossed 22 scoreless innings while fanning 35 batters across three starts at toronto last year.

tv: 7:07 p.m. et, mlb network, nesn (boston), sportsnet one (toronto)

pitching matchup: red sox lh chris sale (1-1, 1.86 era) vs. blue jays rh marco estrada (2-1, 5.32)

the major-league leader in strikeouts a season ago with 308, sale notched double figures in that category for the first time this year in seven solid innings of a hard-luck loss at oakland on saturday. he has 41 punchouts and six walks in his first 29 frames while holding opponents to a .206 average. the six-time all-star is 6-3 with a 2.03 mark in 12 career games (nine starts) versus toronto.
home runs continue to be an issue for estrada, who surrendered three more in five innings but still got the win at yankee stadium on friday. he's allowed nine runs in nine innings over his last two outings after opening the year with back-to-back quality starts. boston's starting lineup for wednesday's game is a combined 20-for-123 with 30 strikeouts against estrada, who has a 3.97 era in 14 career encounters (12 starts) with the red sox.
walk-offs

1. red sox ss xander bogaerts (ankle) could be activated friday.

2. blue jays 3b yangervis solarte has four homers in his last nine games.

3. toronto c russell martin went 0-for-3 on wednesday and is 2-for-34 over his last 10 games.

prediction: red sox 5, blue jays 3

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Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs Preview and Predictions 04-26-2018

25th April 2018 by Gracenote
The Milwaukee Brewers take an eight-game winning streak into a big four-game road series against the Chicago Cubs starting Thursday. The Cubs took three of four at Milwaukee earlier this month, and the Brewers would love to return the favor to their National League Central rivals.

Milwaukee's pitching has been outstanding during the winning streak, allowing three runs or fewer in seven of the last eight games. Brewers right-hander Chase Anderson will try to keep it going when he gets his second crack at the Cubs this season after ending up on the wrong end of a 3-0 loss April 8. The Cubs split two games at Cleveland and have won four of their last six. Star third baseman Kris Bryant missed both games in Cleveland after leaving Sunday's contest at Colorado when he was hit in the helmet with a German Marquez fastball, but Chicago manager Joe Maddon indicated Bryant could be back in the lineup Thursday.

TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), NBCS Chicago Plus

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Chase Anderson (2-1, 3.25 ERA) vs. Cubs RH Kyle Hendricks (1-1, 4.09)
Anderson has won his last two starts after going winless in his first three outings. The 30-year-old gave up a pair of home runs but not much else in a win over Miami last time out, allowing three runs and five hits over 5 1/3 innings. Anderson is 3-3 with a 3.67 ERA in eight starts against the Cubs.

Hendricks picked up his first win of the season Friday at Colorado, allowing three runs and five hits over five innings. The 28-year-old did not issue a walk after allowing seven in his first three starts, but he did give up his fifth homer of the season. Hendricks is 6-4 with a 3.01 ERA in 16 meetings with the Brewers.
WALK-OFFS

1. The Brewers placed 1B Eric Thames on the disabled list Wednesday with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb and recalled RHP Brandon Woodruff.

2. Cubs 2B/OF Ben Zobrist is 9-for-17 with three homers against Anderson.

3. Chicago 2B Javier Baez (17-for-39) and CF Albert Almora Jr. (14-for-36) are riding eight-game hitting streaks.

PREDICTION: Brewers 4, Cubs 3

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Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals Preview and Predictions 04-26-2018

26th April 2018 by Gracenote
the two worst teams in the american league begin a stretch of five games in four days against one another when the chicago white sox visit the kansas city royals on thursday. the white sox are just 5-16 for their worst start since 1950 while the royals have an even worse record at 5-17.

kansas city has lost 12 of its last 14 games and began a seven-game homestand with back-to-back setbacks against the milwaukee brewers. the royals are a porous 1-9 at home, a dubious mark that includes two losses to the white sox to open the season. chicago has lost 14 of its last 16 games and could be without slugger jose abreu, who departed in the fourth inning of wednesday's 4-3 loss to the seattle mariners due to flu-like symptoms. "it goes to show you, they want to play, they want to fight," white sox manager rich renteria told reporters. "he wasn't feeling very good, and ultimately, we had to make a decision to go ahead and do that. i give him credit for even trying."

tv: 8:15 p.m. et, nbcs chicago, fs kansas city

pitching matchup: white sox rh lucas giolito (0-3, 9.00 era) vs. royals rh jakob junis (3-1, 2.03)

giolito is coming off a horrific performance in a loss to the houston astros as he walked seven in two-plus innings and allowed nine runs and five hits. the 23-year-old has dropped three straight outings and has a 10.93 era and 2.07 whip during the stretch. giolito is 1-0 with a 2.33 era in three career starts against the royals, including a no-decision on march 31 when he allowed three runs and six hits over six innings.
junis pitched superbly while beating the detroit tigers in his last turn as he gave up two runs and four hits over eight innings. the 25-year-old has allowed just two runs and eight hits over 22 innings in his three victories as he displays that he could soon be the team's ace. junis, who has never faced the white sox, is holding batters to a .190 average in 11 career appearances (nine starts) at kauffman stadium.

walk-offs

1. royals 3b mike moustakas homered in wednesday's 6-2 loss to the brewers and has at least one hit in 15 of the past 16 games.
2. chicago 2b yolmer sanchez had two hits on wednesday and is 8-for-18 during a five-game hitting streak.

3. kansas city rhp ian kennedy (foot) indicated he intends to make sunday's start - he departed tuesday's game after three innings due to being struck by a liner off the bat of milwaukee's ryan braun.

prediction: royals 4, white sox 2

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Mike Wynn

Free Play: Free Bosto w/Sale -180 Over Toronto

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Free Selection from Jim Feist

Jim Feist's Comp Pick, Thursday, April 26, 2018



4/26 05:15 PM PT / 8:15 PM ET

MLB (917) CHICAGO WHITE SOX VS (918) KANSAS CITY ROYALS

Take: UNDER

Reason: Your free play for Thursday, April 26, 2018 is in the MLB scheduled contest between the Chicago White Sox and the Kansas City Royals. Your free play is on the UNDER

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Razor Sharp

YOUR RAZOR SHARP FREE PICK FOR THURSDAY: Take ARIZONA (Koch) over Philadelphia

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Totals4U

Thursday's Free Selection: Tampa Bay/Baltimore over 7 1/2

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John Anthony Sports

Thursday's Free Selection: Vegas - 140

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Atlantic Sports

Thursday's Free Selection from Atlantic Sports: Pittsburgh Penguins + 120

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#1 Sports

Thursday's Free Selection: Boston Red Sox - 185

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Easy Money Sports

Lee's Free Thursday Selection Is

Seattle/Cleveland OVER 7½ +105

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Nevada Sharpshooter

Your free winner for Thursday: Take PITTSBURGH (Nova) -135 over Detroit

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Huddle Up Sports

Free Play: Kansas City Junis -140