Baseball Handicapping - October 22, 2008

The showdown that no one wanted is here. While baseball and the networks may have preferred Boston vs. Los Angeles, this series should turn out to be a good one. We have a pick in game one below. Good luck!

Today's MLB Baseball Picks:

Game: Philadelphia at Tampa Bay (8:20 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 units on Game Total OVER 7.5 +100 (risk 3 to win 3)

The World Series opens in Tampa tonight as the Rays host the Phillies. Cole Hamels goes for the Phillies and Scott Kazmir gets the call for the Rays. Hamels has had a good season, and has been solid of late, but his regular season road numbers vs winning teams shows something different. He has a 4.58 ERA on the road vs. top teams during the regular season. Scott Kazmir has pitched well at home with the Rays going 12-2, but his problem is too many pitches and he has exited before completing six innings more times than not. The Rays pen has been guilty of an additional 1.95 runs per game after his departure. The last 11 times Kazmir has taken the ball for the Rays an average of 12.36 runs have been scored! The last 11 times Kazmir has taken the mound, a bettor would be 11-0 playing the OVER to a total of 7.5. While both of these guys are very ogod, there's just too much here saying this one is set too low, and I'll play the OVER 7.5 which is actually an underdog line, showing great value.

MLB Baseball Picks Resources:

• Here we show our baseball blog.
• Updated today: 2008 baseball prior pick season results.
• Don't forget to read our MLB Baseball Game-of-Day Analysis here.
• Here we show our sportsbook reviews baseball.
• View our updated mlb baseball betting approach.
• Take a look at our MLB lines and odds here.
• Check out our updated baseball ATS standings.
• View our MLB picks here.
• Read our free mlb predictions here.
• Read our 2008 season MLB baseball betting preview here.

Check out the last five MLB Baseball Picks Newsletters:

MLB-Baseball-Picks-October-18-2008
The Red Sox made the second biggest comeback in postseason history by wiping out a 7-0 lead to win game five and stay alive in the playoffs. As they say in baseball, "momentum is only as good as ...

MLB-Baseball-Picks-October-16-2008
After falling behind 1-0, the Rays have put it to the Red Sox as Tampa Bay has now won three straight. The Sox have their backs to the wall and will send Dice-K Matsuzaka to the rescue. Although the R...

MLB-Baseball-Picks-October-15-2008
The Dodgers have their backs to the wall and will face the Phillies top pitcher at home in a do-or-die situation. Cole Hamels has had a big year, pitching to a 3.09 ERA, but he and the Phillies have n...

MLB-Baseball-Picks-October-14-2008
The Red Sox have now dropped two straight games and trail the series to the Rays 2-1. This is a huge game for Boston, especially at home and a loss would be devastating. They will send Tampa killer Ti...

MLB-Baseball-Picks-October-13-2008
The Tampa Bay Rays will head to Boston with the series tied at one game apiece. The Red Sox will send Jon Lester to the mound who has been money at Fenway this season as he is 11-1 with a 2.49 ERA. Ov...