Brad Wilton
Friday's comp play is for the Houston Astros to cool down the Baltimore Orioles.
Baltimore just took care of one team from the Lone Star State, as the O's bombed the Rangers, sweeping a 4 game set at Camden Yards, as they outscored Texas by a 34-11 count!
That fact should have the Astros alert and ready to play tonight in Charm City. Houston is just 4-3 their last 7 games on the year, but they have done a number on Baltimore in recent meetings, going 3-0 this season, and 13-3 overall the last 16 series meetings versus the Orioles.
Mike Fiers has been steady in the Houston rotation, going 6-4 on the year, while the team is 11-7 when he starts. He sports a 2.65 ERA over his last 3 turns and will match pitches with Ubaldo Jimenez who sports a 9.88 ERA for his last 3 starts, and a season ERA of 7.01.
Something tells me Baltimore's recent upswing hits a bump in the road tonight.
Back Houston as the road favorite.
3* HOUSTON
Jack Brayman
My free play for Friday is on the Kansas City Royals against the Chicago White Sox, and I want you playing the home team on the Run Line.
And this is real simple here, as the Royals trail the Indians by 1 1/2 games in the American League Central, and the White Sox have lost six straight and are mired in a 1-9 skid. Even worse, the South Siders are 38-54, the worst record on the junior circuit.
All Royals tonight.
3* ROYALS -1.5
Bob Balfe
Brewers +120
A lot of the times when you see a bad team favored its almost like a trap, but the Brewers who are a first place team have lost 6 in a row. There is no taking it easy tonight because this team needs a win and they need a punching bag. Both pitchers have been excellent as of late however I do expect Milwaukee to be all business tonight.
OC Dooley
Braves +220
Regular clients are aware this is the second consecutive card that I am stepping out on a limb with the Braves who cashed as a 195-underdog last night against an opponent who had been on an incredible 31-4 tear. There is major news regarding Atlanta's starting PITCHER (veteran Jamie Garcia) who was supposed to be traded at this point, but a deal with Minnesota at the very last second fell through. The trade was so close to being completed that the Braves flew a minor league pitcher out west for a possible major league assignment. Not only do the Braves still have Garcia's services, the team MANAGER has talked glowingly about how well the long time Cardinal has been pitching and arguably tonight is an AUDITION as the trade deadline is still in effect. On the mound for the Dodgers is Alex Wood (10-0, 1.66 ERA) who actually spent most of his career and was developed by the Atlanta organization creating what I feel is a unique revenge setup for tonight's visitors. At the beginning of the week Atlanta had actually reached the .500 mark overall and statistically they are in a POSITIVE setup yet again tonight. Not only is Atlanta on a 13-5 roll against teams from the National League West division, they have WON at an outstanding 11-4 clip on the ROAD versus poor baserunning teams who average less than 0.6 steals per contest