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Our 3 selections include the Mets, Orioles, and the 'over' in the Yankees/Tigers game.
Hornets
Our 3 selections include the Mets, Orioles, and the 'over' in the Yankees/Tigers game.
Hornets
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Re: 4-29-09
Larry Ness' 15* NL Game of the Week (18-6 in MLB the L11 days!)
My 15* NL Game of the Week is on the SF Giants at 10:15 ET. A lot of people were worried about Tim Lincecum (last year's NL Cy Young winner) after the young right-hander went just three innings in his first start and had a 7.86 ERA after two starts in 2009. Lincecum went 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA last year (team was 21-12 in his starts), striking out 265 batters while allowing a modest 84 walks. However, he had a serious case of bronchitis during spring training and after those two poor performances, concerns regarding his health were raised. He underwent a medical examination but doctors found nothing wrong. After Lincecum's last two outings, no one is concerned any more. The Giants beat the D'backs 5-1 last Friday, with Lincecum allowing one run and five hits in eight innings. The previous Saturday he received a no-decision in San Francisco vs the D'backs, striking out 13 over eight shutout innings of a 2-0 loss. He's now gone eight innings in each of his last two starts, allowing only 10 hits and one ER (0.56 ERA) with 25 strikeouts and one walk. He'll start tonight vs the hated Dodgers, in an effort to take the series (teams have split the first two games). The 14-7 Dodgers will counter with Eric Stults (2-0 with a 3.52 in three starts). The left-hander has done a decent job filling Hiroki Kuroda's spot in the rotation. Stults won his first two starts but struggled with his control in his last outing. He received a no-decision Friday night at Colorado after allowing seven hits, five walks and three runs over five innings of a 6-5 loss. He's gone five innings in his last two starts, after going 5.1 innings in his first. LA's bullpen will be needed tonight. Stults is 1-1 with a 5.50 ERA in four career starts vs the Giants, while Lincecum is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in three games (two starts) against LA. He struck out 13 Dodgers over seven innings in his lone start vs LA in 2008, allowing just four hits and one run in a 3-1 home win last September. The Giants are just 9-10 this season but they are 7-3 here at home, holding opponents to an average of only 2.5 RPG. LA struggled all last year on the road vs righties (22-33, while averaging just 3.7 RPG) and has opened just 6-6 in that situation in 2009. This just in! Lincecum is one tough righty. NL Game of the Week 15* SF Giants.
Goog Luck..Larry
Larry Ness' Las Vegas Insider-MLB (Perfect 7-0 TY with MLB Insiders)
My Las Vegas Insider is on the TB Rays at 8:10 ET. Everyone knows Tampa's story from last year. The team dropped the "devil" from its nickname and the newly-named Rays went on to win 97 games, capturing the AL East and the AL pennant (in seven games over the Red Sox), before falling to the Phillies in the World Series. All this from a franchise which had finished in last place for NINE of its first 10 seasons. Most of the baseball world and surely the people in the Tampa organization anticipated it wouldn't be "clear sailing" in 2009. And, it hasn't been. The Rays are just 8-13 to open the year and the team's moneyline mark of minus-$635 is better than only one other MLB team, the 4-15 Nationals (at minus-$972). Tonight's game in Minnesota is the final one in what's been a nine-game road trip and a loss would mean the Rays would have lost all three series (they've dropped two of three in Seattle and Oakland before splitting the first two games here in Minnesota). As for the Twins, who missed out on last year's postseason when they lost a one-game playoff 1-0 at Chicago to the White Sox last year, they've opened 10-11. The Twins have been an excellent home team for most of this decade and last was typical (53-28 and plus-$1,854) but Minnesota is only 7-6 (minus-$57) at home so far in 2009. The Twins will give the ball to Nick Blackburn, who went 11-11 with a 4.05 ERA as a rookie last season. The Twins were only 15-18 in his starts in 2008 but he was much better at home (team was 10-4 as he posted a 2.95 ERA) than they were in his road starts (5-14 with a 4.97 ERA). Blackburn was winless in his first three starts (5.71 ERA) this season but pitched seven solid innings as the Twins beat the Indians 5-1 last Friday night in Cleveland. Blackburn is 1-1 with a 4.44 ERA in four starts this season, allowing 28 hits in 24.1 innings. This will be just his second career start against Tampa and the Twins better hope it is better than his first. He gave up six runs and got just four outs of an 11-1 home loss to the Rays last Sept 18. I mentioned the Rays are 8-13 but note that the team is a horrific 1-8 when facing a left-handed starter in '09 but 7-5 (averaging 5.6 RPG) when facing a righty. You may remember that the Rays 'killed' righties last year, going 71-41 (plus-$2,830 vs the moneyline). Scott Kazmir gets the call for the Rays and I like to point these numbers out each time I'm playing 'on' the Rays with Kazmir pitching. I rarely go against the Rays when Kazmir is on the mound and here's why. Kazmir went 33-26 (.559) with a 3.52 ERA for the Rays from 2005 through 2007. In games he didn't get a decision in, the Rays were 161-266, or .377. The Rays were 46-44 in all his starts (.511), going 23-22 at home and the same on the road. Compare that to the team's record of 148-248 (.373) in games he didn't start and you realize how much of a "difference-maker" he really was (look again at Tampa' won-loss record with and WITHOUT Kazmir on the mound!). When the Rays broke through last year, Kazmir got a late start due to an injury but did finish 12-8 with a 3.39 ERA during the regular season. Including the postseason, the Rays went 21-11 in his 32 starts and while the breakdown was 14-3 at home and 7-8 on the road, let's note that his home ERA (3.38) was not significantly better than his road ERA (3.83). Kazmir is 3-1 with a 3.97 ERA in four starts this year. He allowed just two hits over six scoreless innings of an 8-2 win at Oakland on Friday and coupled with his 7-2 win at Fenway on Aril 8, has won both of his road starts this year, posting an 0.75 ERA. Kazmir did lose his first three career starts against Minnesota (4.50 ERA) but he's bounced back to win his last two, with a 1.29 ERA. The Rays return home to Tampa after the game and will open a four-game series with the Red Sox. They'd sure like to be flying back off a win and who better to help them get it than Kazmir? Las Vegas Insider TB Rays.
Good Luck...Larry -
Re: 4-29-09
Brandon Lang
Wednesday ...
10-Dime Denver Nuggets - Knockout punch tonight, it's that simple.
There's no getting around the fact the Nuggets destroyed the Hornets two nights back, I know this. But there's more to this series than that defining game. There's the fact Denver has played team basketball every step of the way. There's the fact Denver won the first two games handedly. There's the fact Denver has isn't dinged up like the Hornets.
And there's the fact Denver is playing at home and can wrap things up to sit comfortably in the second round along the Lakers and Mavericks, while the Rockets and Blazers continue their physical series.
Denver will prove to be too much from the outset of this one, and will coast to the easy cover over a wiped-out and humiliated New Orleans team.
Free pick - Atlanta Hawks (See daily video for your analysis on this game)Comment
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