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Someone might want to wake up the world champion Philadelphia Phillies and tell them the 2009 MLB season has begun. The Phillies have looked awful so far in their first 4 games of the season, being outscored by a 29-16 margin along the way.
The good news for the Phillies is they go into this matchup with front end of the rotation, opening day starter Brett Myers on the hill. Myers pitched decent in the opener despite the 3 longballs he allowed, striking out 6 and only giving up 1 walk in the game. This was the first multi-HR game allowed by Myers in his past 16 starts. He was one of the big 2nd half of the season surprises in baseball last season and you would think the carry over from last years big leap in production should continue for the hard throwing righty.
Myers goes up against Rockies back end of the rotation starter Jorge De La Rosa who sports a 5.55 career ERA and last year only made it into the 7th inning in 4 of his 23 starts for the season. The Phillies roughed him up pretty good in their only meeting against the lefty touching him for 6 ER and 7 hits and walks combined. Jorge was unable to get out of the 4th inning in the 20-5 loss the Rockies suffered to the Phillies that day.
The Phillies dominated the Rockies last season winning all 5 contests played between the two sqauds by an average of 6 runs per game. The Phillies offense averaged 10 runs per game in the 5 wins.
The Phillies know it's time to put the party hats down and get back to work and should be able to do that starting today in Colorado.
ASA GAME OF THE YEAR 6* Boston Bruins Money Line (-110) @ Buffalo @ 3:05 Central Time – Two teams heading in different directions here late in the season and that makes this a very tough spot for Sabres and a very strong spot for the Bruins. Buffalo actually has been playing solid hockey and is coming off a 5 to1 win at Carolina on Thursday. However, it was that same night that the Sabres saw their playoff hopes vanish as they needed some “help” to get into the playoffs and they simply didn’t get it. That leaves them in a very tough spot here as it’s hard to get back up, after the great run they had, and still bring a strong effort to the ice when, mentally, you’re spent and your season is over. As for Boston, there will certainly be no problem getting motivated here. The Bruins have won seven of their last eight games and they still have a shot at The President’s Trophy. That would give Boston home ice throughout the playoffs. The Bruins are battling with San Jose for the best record in the NHL and if the Sharks lose today and Boston defeats Buffalo, the Bruins would then just need to defeat the Islanders tomorrow and the President’s Trophy is theirs. The Bruins hung on to beat Montreal on Thursday and their penalty kill had trouble in the second period of that game. However, the B’s seemed to have a let-up in intensity and they paid for it. Prior to the game against the Canadiens, the Bruins had killed 21 of the last 22 power plays they had faced. You can bet they are working to resume that penalty kill dominance effective immediately. The Bruins are 17-4-2 in games against divisional opponents this season but they’ve only beaten the Sabres twice in five games. You know what that means here! Extra focus and intensity from the Bruins and the Sabres simply will not be able to match that! This is especially true because Buffalo just got bounced from the playoff picture. Big edges for the Bruins here and they get revenge for a 4 to 2 home loss suffered against the Sabres the last time they met. *********Also, as a BONUS SELECTION, ASA is releasing a 4* on the Ottawa Senators on the Money Line for Saturday Night! That game goes at 6:05 Central Time.
Pro Hockey Picks
4/11/2009
3:05:00 PM Boston Bruins(-110) 0
over BUFFALO SABRES
The ducks come into Phoenix after clinching their playoff spot and while this game could mean something to them on who they would play I don't think it will matter. They face a young Coyotes team who will close out the year and I expect them to give a good effort here.
Last night's results put the Pistons in the playoffs and the Pacers on the sidelines. Detroit clinched a postseason spot with a win over New Jersey while the Pacers were eliminated by the Hawks. Detroit's rotation should remain the same the last three games as the bench has played a vital role down the stretch. Last night they scored 46 of the 100 points and they have been instant offense as of late. Detroit doesn't play very much defense in the second game of a back to back and considering they clinched yesterday we can see a free and easy running game tonight. The last four times Detroit has played unrested they went over the total by margins of 25, 22, 14 and 31 points.Despite being in an uphill battle to make the playoffs the Pacers have never stopped running. They have scored 106 points or better in their last seven games averaging 117.6 points in the process. Even with their scoring being impressive they only posted a 4-3 record during this stretch. That's because Indiana simply does not play defense.With both teams playing loosely tonight we can see this one flying over the posted total. PLAY OVER
Small price to be on the Twins later this afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field and the Godfather likes Minnesota to again get the job done on the Southside. Minnesota's Justin Morneau went deep last night, as did former White Sox Joe Crede as the Twins handed Chicago its third straight loss. Make it four straight Saturday as the Twins will rock the often injured Bartolo Colon, who has made just 35 starts the last three years combined. He has a 4.33 career ERA against Minnesota and didn't look strong in spring with a 9.90 ERA before tossing five scoreless innings in his final exhibition start. Francisco Liriano allowed four runs on four hits in seven innings in the opener against Seattle, but the Twins are confident in Liriano having a solid 2009 and I am believing in him today as he holds the Sox at bay in this Minnesota win.
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