If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
JIM FEIST COMP
(927) LOS ANGELES ANGELS
(928) OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Take "Under"
Oakland is a large, pitcher-friendly park, which partly explains why the A's have no offense, 12th in the AL in runs scored. Scott Kazmir has a 1.42 ERA against light hitting Oakland this season, while veteran Ben Sheets has a 3.67 career ERA against the Angels. Oakland has been on a strong run under the total the last 3 weeks and this one shapes up as a defensive duel. Play the Angels/A's under the total.
1 Unit on Texas Rangers -310
I expect Cliff Lee's impact to be immediate with the Rangers in his first start for them. The Rangers already have one of the top offenses in the league, averaging 5.2 runs per game and hitting .280 as a team. At home they average 6.0 runs per game and hit .300 collectively. Now they add an Ace like Cliff Lee to the mix and they should find themselves winning Saturday, particularly against a poor offensive team like Baltimore, who averages just 3.4 runs per game and hits .249 as a team on the road. This is a huge number, but it's well worth the risk for 1 unit, as the Rangers have everything working for them in this situation.
Saturday’s complimentary selection comes in A.L. Central action, as I’ll lay the price with the Tigers against the Twins.
Detroit pounded the Twins 7-3 last night and has now won four in a row, six of seven and 17 of 25. And going back to June 2, the Tigers are 16-2 at Comerica Park, pushing their home record to 31-12 for the season.
Going the opposite direction are the Twins, who have dropped three in a row, five of their last six and 11 of their last 16. Lately, Minnesota’s pitching has been the main culprit, surrendering 42 runs during the ongoing 1-5 slump.
Speaking of crappy pitching, Twins right-hander Nick Blackburn is 1-5 with a 9.28 ERA in seven starts since June 1 (Minnesota also dropped his one no-decision). On Sunday at home, Blackburn got torched for seven runs on nine hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings, losing 7-4 to Tampa Bay. And on the road this year, Blackburn has been a disaster, going 2-5 with a 9.40 ERA and allowing nine home runs in 37 1/3 innings.
Like Blackburn, Detroit right-hander Jeremy Bonderman has struggled lately (1-2, 8.27 ERA), but he’s been solid at home this year (3.52 ERA, 1.15 WHIP). And that includes Sunday’s 8-1 loss to Cliff Lee and the Mariners (Bonderman gave up seven runs in five innings; prior to that he had allowed only 11 earned runs in 41 home innings).
The home team has dominated this rivalry this year, going 8-2 in 10 meetings, and going back to last year, the host is 14-5 when the Tigers and Twins hook up.
4? DETROIT (LISTED PITCHERS)
Today, I'm coming with a FREE winner on the Twins as they take on the Tigers in Detroit in Game 2 of this series.
Even with the loss on Friday, the Twins have still taken five of the last seven meetings with the Tigers and I expect them to get today’s victory behind Nick Blackburn (7-6, 6.00 ERA).
Blackburn has already faced the Tigers twice this season and gotten the win both times, pitching a complete game on May 4 in a 4-3 victory and then going seven innings in an 11-4 victory on June 29. He’s led the Twins to four straight wins over the Tigers dating back to last year, and his start in Detroit last September he gave up one run in seven innings of a 3-2 victory.
Jeremy Bonderman (4-6, 4.81 ERA) is on the hill for Detroit and he’s just 1-2 in his last three games with an 8.27 ERA. He started at home on Sunday against the Mariners and was torched for seven runs on nine hits in five innings of an 8-1 loss. He’s given up 15 runs in his last three games (16.1 innings) and he needed big offense to beat the Twins back on June 28 when he allowed four runs in 5.1 innings but Detroit won 7-5.
Minnesota is on streaks of 5-2 on Saturdays and 41-17 against A.L. Central teams. Detroit is on slides of 2-9 when Bonderman faces a winning team and 1-5 when he gets five days off.
I’ll back Blackburn in this one as Bonderman has looked just awful lately. Grab the plus-money and go with the Twins today.
2? MINNESOTA
I'll get you back on the winning track tonight with a free winner on the Cardinals as they take on the Astros in Houston in Game 2 of this series.
Look for the Cardinals to make it two in a row over the Astros tonight, especially as easy as it was for them on Friday in the series opener.
The road team has won five straight in this series and St. Louis is coming in with streaks of 6-1 in the second game of a series, 17-6 when Jeff Suppan starts the second game of a series and 7-3 when he pitches on Saturday.
Houston is on slides of 5-22 on Saturdays, 2-6 at home against winning teams and 1-5 against teams with winning records.
Suppan has held each of his last four opponents to three earned runs or less, but his offense has let him down. He has dominated the Astros lately, leading his teams to wins in six of his last seven appearances against Houston and last year he led the Brewers to three wins against the Astros.
Florida at Arizona
The Diamondbacks look to take advantage of a Florida team that is 1-5 in Nate Robertson's last 6 starts as an underdog of +110 to +150. Arizona is the pick (-135) according to Dunkel, which has the Diamondbacks favored by 1/2 a run. Dunkel Pick: Arizona (-135)
Game 901-902: Atlanta at NY Mets (4:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Atlanta (Hudson) 15.376; NY Mets (Pelfrey) 15.813
Dunkel Line: NY Mets by 1/2; 6 1/2
Vegas Line: Atlanta (-120); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: NY Mets (+100); Under
Game 903-904: Chicago Cubs at LA Dodgers (4:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Cubs (Gorzelanny) 15.068; LA Dodgers (Ely) 15.713
Dunkel Line: LA Dodgers by 1/2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: LA Dodgers (-150); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: LA Dodgers (-150); Over
Game 905-906: San Francisco at Washington (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: San Francisco (Sanchez) 14.674; Washington (Stammen) 15.762
Dunkel Line: Washington by 1; 8
Vegas Line: San Francisco (-120); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Washington (+100); Under
Game 907-908: Cincinnati at Philadelphia (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Cincinnati (Wood) 16.218; Philadelphia (Halladay) 16.065
Dunkel Line: Cincinnati by 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Philadelphia (-230); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Cincinnati (+190); Over
Game 909-910: St. Louis at Houston (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: St. Louis (Suppan) 15.410; Houston (Myers) 16.208
Dunkel Line: Houston by 1; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Houston (-120); 9
Dunkel Pick: Houston (-120); Over
Game 911-912: Pittsburgh at Milwaukee (7:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Pittsburgh (Karstens) 13.815; Milwaukee (Bush) 13.383
Dunkel Line: Pittsburgh by 1/2; 9
Vegas Line: Milwaukee (-200); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Pittsburgh (+170); Under
Game 913-914: San Diego at Colorado (8:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: San Diego (LeBlanc) 15.375; Colorado (Hammel) 15.833
Dunkel Line: Colorado by 1/2; 10
Vegas Line: Colorado (-155); 9
Dunkel Pick: Colorado (-155); Over
Game 915-916: Florida at Arizona (8:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Florida (Robertson) 13.993; Arizona (Kennedy) 14.974
Dunkel Line: Arizona by 1; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Arizona (-135); 10 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Arizona (-135); Under
Game 917-918: Boston at Toronto (1:07 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Boston (Lackey) 14.480; Toronto (Morrow) 15.174
Dunkel Line: Toronto by 1/2; 10
Vegas Line: Toronto (-120); 9
Dunkel Pick: Toronto (-120); Over
Game 919-920: Minnesota at Detroit (4:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota (Blackburn) 13.855; Detroit (Bonderman) 14.677
Dunkel Line: Detroit by 1; 10
Vegas Line: Detroit (-155); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Detroit (-155); Over
Game 921-922: Kansas City at Chicago White Sox (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Kansas City (Bannister) 16.829; White Sox (Floyd) 16.599
Dunkel Line: Kansas City by 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: Chicago White Sox (-200); 9
Dunkel Pick: Kansas City (+170); Under
Game 923-924: Cleveland at Tampa Bay (7:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Cleveland (Laffey) 15.397; Tampa Bay (Garza) 15.023
Dunkel Line: Cleveland by 1/2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Tampa Bay (-250); 9
Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (+210); Over
Game 925-926: Baltimore at Texas (8:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Baltimore (Tillman) 14.962; Texas (Lee) 15.915
Dunkel Line: Texas by 1; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Texas (-250); 10 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Texas (-250); Under
Game 927-928: LA Angels at Oakland (9:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: LA Angels (Kazmir) 14.514; Oakland (Sheets) 15.231
Dunkel Line: Oakland by 1/2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Oakland (-125); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Oakland (-125); Over
Game 929-930: NY Yankees at Seattle (10:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: NY Yankees (Vazquez) 15.730; Seattle (Hernandez) 16.054
Dunkel Line: Seattle by 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: Seattle (-110); 7
Dunkel Pick: Seattle (-110); Over
Comment