Sports Pick Mlb - August 24, 2007
2-0 yesterday and now on a 12-6 run. We have three picks tonight.
Today's MLB Baseball Picks:
Game: Oakland at Tampa Bay (7:10 PM Eastern)
Pick: 4 units on Oakland +117 (risk 4 to win 4.7)
Oakland has won nine of their last eleven and sixteen of their last twenty-two and they're riding a season-high five game winning streak. Stick a fork in the D-Rays who are now 31 games below .500. Lenny Dinardo has a better record and better ERA than James Shields. Dinardo is 7-5 on the road with a 3.70 ERA and he's been on fire of late going 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA over his last three starts. Both of these teams' offenses are strange. They both score more on the road than at home. Oakland has had no trouble scoring on the road all season (5.1 per game) while Tampa Bay scores just 4.2 per game at home. Over their last seven, Oakland is averaging 5.6 while Tampa Bay is averaging just 2.3. The Athletics are just 28-38 on the road this season but break that out a bit. While only 12-29 vs. winning teams, they are 16-9 vs. losing teams!
Game: Cleveland at Kansas City (8:10 PM Eastern)Pick: 4 units on Kansas City +158 (risk 4 to win 6.3)
This line is a product of two primary things: Cleveland's 70-56 first place record and C.C. Sabathia. The reality is that Cleveland is there by default, not their recent play. Detroit has tanked, going 11-23 in their last 34 games. Cleveland has also tanked, but it has gone less noticed. The Tribe is just 19-24 in their last 43 games. The better team over the last quarter of a season? Kansas City. The Royals are 27-24 over their last 51 games. The Tribe went 12-1 in the first 13 starts by Sabathia, but followed that up with a terrible 2-7 record in his last nine starts. It isn't so much a decline by him, but more a product of a team that has scored 3 runs or less in half of the games during this 19-24 stretch. The Royals have owned the Tribe at Kansas City winning 9 of the last 13 played here. Zack Greinke has sorted out his woes working out of the pen. He had nearly a 6 ERA as a starter, but has worked 53.1 innings out of the pen yielding just 43 hits and a 3.45 ERA. The Royals are primed to be a barking dog tonight.
Game: Washington at Colorado (9:00 PM Eastern)Pick: 4 units on Washington +134 (risk 4 to win 5.4)
The New York Mets currently lead the NL with a .563 winning percentage. The Nationals are not in the pennant race, but what they are is a team sliding well under the radar. The Nats are better than the Mets .563 over their last 42 games, as they have gone 24-18 (.571). The Nats are 12 games below .500 on the season, but are 18-18 vs. LHP, and rank third in all of baseball in moneyline profits vs. southpaws. They will bring their ace to the mound in Sean Hill. Hill got off to a fast start, going 52 innings just 37 hits, before landing on the DL. He has come back even stronger posting 13 innings with 8 hits and a 1.38 ERA. Hill has made 10 starts, allowing 2 earned runs or less in nine of them! The other start he allowed just 3. Jeff Francis has been pitching poorly of late. The Rockies were 2-4 in his first six starts, then went 15-3, and now 0-2. The run is over. What a difference a year makes for these teams. Last year the Nats were 0-8 vs. the Rockies, allowing 78 runs (10 per game). This season they took 3 of 4 including two shutouts. Hill will be backed by a bullpen that has been pitching great, having yielded just 1 run to the Rockies this year in 13.2 innings for a 0.66 ERA. The Nats take the opener.
Results: 1-2
MLB Baseball Picks Resources:
Check out the last five MLB Baseball Picks Newsletters:
MLB-Baseball-Picks-August-23-2007
It has been a tale of two seasons for both these starting pitchers in today's game. Nate Robertson started off the season like he had turned the corner in his career. He was pitching to a sub-3 ER...
MLB-Baseball-Picks-August-22-2007
Jose Contreras was 9-0 at the All-Star break last season and then the wheels came off. After the All-Star break he was anything but an All-Star pitcher. He limped through the second half with a 4-9 re...
MLB-Baseball-Picks-August-21-2007
Chris Young has had a Cy Young year so far. He has an ERA of 1.93 and has been dominating hitters all season. Young has now allowed just 15 earned runs in his last 16 starts. He is actually a better p...
MLB-Baseball-Picks-August-20-2007
Sometimes even bad teams get on a little roll. The Giants have now won the first three games of this series, and four in a row overall. The same can't be said for the Marlins right now, who have n...
MLB-Baseball-Picks-August-19-2007
The starting pitcher matchup doesn't always decide a game but in this one it will. Roy Halladay starts for the Blue Jays who are 17-6 with him on the mound this season. He has been amazing at home...
