Mlb Predictions - August 17, 2009

We took another broom to the bases last night as we finished 5-0-1 for +14 units! Over the last week, we have gone an amazing 23-4 (85%), for +55.7 units! Today, we feature a trio of premium MLB picks...

Today's MLB Baseball Picks:

Game: Milwaukee at Pittsburgh (7:05 PM Eastern)
Pick: 4 units on Pittsburgh +110 (moneyline) (risk 4 to win 4.4)

The Brewers started the season apparently not missing the big losses in their rotation, but it has caught up to them. Tonight it will be sometimes starter, and sometime-reliever Carlos Villanueva. Villanueva has not had success in either roll and the Brewers are 4-9 in his 13 starts the last two years. The Pirates will get a lift on the mound tonight as Kevin Hart takes the ball. Hart has made six starts and allowed more than three runs in just one of them while pitching to a more than adequate 3.69 ERA. The Brewers are just 5-14 in their last 19 road games against a home team with a winning record on the season, and Villanueva has lost all of his last six starts against the NL Central. I'll go with the Pirates in this one.

Chris Carpenter has become something special since arriving in St. Louis, and his track record on the road has been brilliant with the Cards at 28-16 in his last 44 road starts. The Cards have been a scorching hot team, winners of eight of their last nine, and have not failed to score less than four runs in any of them. That certainly makes Chris Carpenter look good in this one, because if the Cards give him four runs, he is a pretty good bet to deliver a win. The Dodgers have struggled and are just 9-14 in their last 23 games and three of those losses were pinned on them in St. Louis. They will go with a rookie pitcher that is making his '09 debut, but has failed in a few attempts at the big league level. That’s not the option you want against a hot-hitting Cards team. The Dodgers have gone cold, scoring two or less in half of their last eight games. I'm going with St. Louis in this one.

Chris Carpenter is always worth a look on the runline, because he is a shutdown top of the rotation pitcher in peak form. So are his St. Louis teammates that have not scored less than four runs in any of their last nine games. The Dodgers meanwhile, have gone cold after a big first half of the season. A rookie pitcher with no track record of success in his brief major league career vs. an ace that has his team scoring in bunches, as the Cards lineup is hot, spells runline. I will go with the Cards on the runline as well.

Results: 2-1

MLB Baseball Picks Resources:

• Take a look at our 2009 baseball picks here.
• Hop over to our blog baseball here.
• Read our betting mlb baseball here.
• Don't forget to visit our baseball prior picks.
• Updated today: Baseball Game-of-Day Analysis.
• Check out our updated baseball betting.
• View our MLB Baseball spreads here.
• Read our baseball free picks here.
• Updated today: mlb against-the-spread records.

Check out the last five MLB Baseball Picks Newsletters:

MLB-Baseball-Picks-August-16-2009
The Blue Jays are just 24-34 on the road this season and in division games they are downright awful, having gone 16-28 on the season, scoring only 4.0 runs per game. At home, the Rays rock. They are 3...

MLB-Baseball-Picks-August-15-2009
The Pirates have played well at home, but when they take to the road, the wins have been hard to come by as they enter this one at just 18-42 on the season, or winning at a 30% rate. The Cubs really g...

MLB-Baseball-Picks-August-14-2009
The Cardinals have now had two aces at the top of their staff, with the return of Chris Carpenter and the emergence of Adam Wainwright. Wainwright has really turned into a No. 1 type starter. He has p...

MLB-Baseball-Picks-August-13-2009
There was a time that Mike Hampton was a highly-coveted pitcher. That was a longtime ago, and he hasn't been up to the 22-4 pitcher he was in Houston back in '99. What is left isn't much a...

MLB-Baseball-Picks-August-11-2009
The Sox rebounded nicely at home last night with a much-needed win over the Tigers. The Tigers have played great at home, but have really struggled on the road where they are now 7-19 in their last 26...