Michael Cannon
Detroit at ARIZONA -135)
Take the Diamondbacks for the home win tonight over the Tigers.
Not sure what's happening with Detroit this year. They have stumbled out of the gates to the tune of a 16-26 mark, which has them dead last in the AL Central.
The Diamondbacks, on the other hand, have been tearing it up in the desert. They are in first place in the NL West with a 27-15 record.
The Tigers have lost seven straight on the road and 11 of 13 overall.
Arizona, meanwhile, has won four in a row and owns an 18-7 mark at home this year.
Max Scherzer will start for Arizona and he's looked good since his call up. The first-round pick in 2006 has struck out 18 batters in 14 1-3 innings since being called up.
Detroit will counter with Armando Galarraga, who has tailed off a bit after a fast start to the season. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA over his last three outings.
Take Arizona as they grab the home win.
3* ARIZONA
Nelly
Minnesota + over Colorado
The Twins are 26-8 in the last 34 interleague games and this ballpark suits the Minnesota lineup perfectly with a lot of space for the solid contact hitters and speed for the Twins. Minnesota is 8-1 with Hernandez on the mound and he is backed by one of the top bullpens in baseball. Minnesota delivered a big win last night to snap a three-game losing streak but in reality all three losses to Toronto could have gone either way in close games. Greg Reynolds is essentially an emergency starter for the banged up Rockies and he was hit hard in his first outing. Colorado is just 7-11 at home this season and despite the ballpark edge the Rockies have worse overall offensive numbers than Minnesota and just a slight edge in home runs despite Minnesota?s small-ball mantra. Colorado has lost six straight games and the Rockies continue to be overvalued while underachieving.
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Chicago White Sox w/Buehrle -130
Dave Malinsky 6*
Brewers (RL) @ Boston (RL) May 17, 2008 3:55PM
PICK: Boston (RL)
Does a little rain change this one? Not at all. Except for costing us a few pennies in the lay price (of course), the unfortunate “Bookmakers Prerogative” for such occasions. And the less said about that the better. So we re-cap yesterday’s analysis -
Here is a chance to use the best of what Inter-League play brings, and that also means time to go to our Top Rating in a game that the Red Sox should not just win, but win big.
Ballpark adjustments are one of the major elements of these games, and few places are tougher from a practical standpoint, and more intimidating, than Fenway. That can become magnified by a fragile Milwaukee team that plays poor defense (watching Ryan Braun deal with this wall can provide some comic relief this weekend), and one that has a weak bullpen to have to gut through the tough late innings. We would make them the classic kind of team to be vulnerable here, especially with the hittable Jeff Suppan on the mound (less than six innings per start; 4-11/5.78 on the road the last two seasons), who forces that struggling bullpen into action early. And then there is the flip side.
As tough as Fenway can be on the first trip, Daisuke Matsuzaka is also among the toughest customers to face on the first look. In 2007 he was 10-6/3.18 the first time against an opponent, and 5-6/5.75 on subsequent looks, He was also a razor-sharp 3-1/2.00 against N.L. opponents in Inter-League play, before also getting a solid win at Colorado in the World Series. This season he is off to a sparkling 6-0/2.45, with only 28 hits allowed in 47.2 innings, while striking out 40, and his four Fenway starts have been won by a combined 26-8. A free-swinging Milwaukee offense is not going to get in the way of that form, and with Jonathan Papelbon rested and ready it does not get any easier in the latter innings - he has not been scored on at Fenway this season, with twice as many strikeouts as Hits + Walks combined.
The Red Sox are 18-9 as -1.5 in Inter-League play at home the last three seasons. the fact that we can play this one in a “pick’em” range makes it easy to step things up.
Chuck Franklin
Cleveland at CINCINNATI
Adam Dunn's bat is waking up and the Reds have won four in a row, including the opener in this interleague, interstate match-up against Cleveland. The Indians pitching has been amazing recently, going on a 43-inning stretch when the starters had not allowed a run. But home team Cincinnati will win again. This time it will be with Aaron Harang over Fausto Carmona.
Being from the American League, Harang has a career 3-1 record with a 2.38 ERA in seven starts against the Indians. The Reds are 5-1 in Harang's last six interleague starts. They have won five in a row at home and four in a row versus a righty starter.
The Indians are on a 3-7 run when on the road versus a team with a winning record at home and they are only 2-5 the last seven interleague games played when facing a right-handed starter.
Take the home team and specify the pitchers as listed.
3* CINCINNATI
Alex Smart
Seattle Storm -7
One of the most improved teams in the WNBA during the offseason was the Seattle Storm, thanks to the addition of three time MVP Sheryl Swoopes, and 1999 League MVP Yolanda Griffith via free agency, and all star forward Sin Cash from Motown who comes here, via a trade with Motown for their 4th pick in this years draft. With 6 '5 super star Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird returning , inconsistent league opponents like the visiting Chicago Sky are big trouble, and very likely to be on the wrong side of a lop sided score. Final notes & Key Trends: Seattle has won all 4 meetings in this series, by an average of 14 PPG , with lowest margin of victory clicking in at 11 PPG. Play on the Seattle Storm
LT Profits
Florida Marlins -115
The Florida Marlins have now lost four straight after a very hot start, while the Kansas City Royals have won five straight after taking the series opener last night, but we feel that has given some nice line value to the Marlins here.
We are huge fans of Florida southpaw starter Scott Olsen, who is 4-1 with a nice 2.63 ERA and 1.08 WHIP so far, with the Marlins as a team going 7-1 in all of his starts. Olsen has three scoreless outings in his last six starts, and he allowed just one run in one other outing. Even if Olsen is in need of relief, the Marlins still rank 10th in the Major Leagues with a bullpen ERA of 3.41, which barely makes them a Bullpen System play in this spot.
Now Brian Bannister is usually solid for the Royals, but he has had terrible difficulties on the road lately. In his last two starts away from home, Bannister was lit up for seven earned runs in just three innings in Texas, and for five earned runs in five innings in Oakland. Throw in the fact that the Marlins reached him for four runs and nine hits in six innings in Kansas City last season, and we look for the Florida offense to have some success tonight.
That should be all the support that Olsen and the fine Marlins pen need.
Pick: Marlins -115
Minnesota Twins +115
The Minnesota Twins improved to 26-8 in their last 34 interleague games by beating the Colorado Rockies here last night, and we look for that success to continue tonight with Livan Hernandez on the bump.
Hernandez is 6-1, albeit with a mediocre 3.90 ERA, and the Twins are 8-1 in all of his starts. He does have three straight Quality Starts though, all of them Minnesota victories, and he has a much better 2.05 ERA over those outings. Also, Hernandez has five Quality Starts in his last five appearances vs. the Rockies, with two of those coming here in the altitude of Colorado.
The Rockies counter with rookie Greg Reynolds, who was not impressive in his Major League debut at San Diego. Reynolds allowed four earned runs and eight baserunners in 5.2 innings vs. what is currently the worst-hitting team in baseball, and the jury is still out on how he will handle pitching in Colorado.
Finally, the Rockies have now lost eight consecutive interleague games, and we are not convinced they deserve to be favored here.
Pick: Twins +115
Larry Ness
Kansas City Royals @ Florida Marlins
PICK: Florida Marlins
REASON FOR PICK: Kansas City opened the season by winning six of its first eight games but had fallen six games below .500 (15-21) before winning its fifth straight last night, 7-6 in Florida. The Marlins began the week 23-14 but have lost four in a row, while allowing 24 runs. They are hoping that Scott Olsen can get them turned around tonight and why not? The lefty has rebounded from last year's poor 10-15 season to go 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA in eight starts. The Marlins have won SEVEN of those eight starts, as Olsen has kept opponents in check all season, allowing just 38 hits over his 54.2 innings. KC will send Brian Bannister to the mound. Bannister opened the '08 season almost unhittable, going 3-0 with an 0.86 ERA (allowed just 10 hits and two ERs over 21 innings)! However, he lost that 'magic' very quickly, dropping four consecutive starts, while allowing 33 hits and 19 ERs over 21.1 innings (8.02 ERA). KC is hoping that last Sunday's start (8 IP / 2 hits / 0 runs) against Baltimore (4-0 Royals win) will get Bannister "back on track" but I'm not completely sold. The Royals have scored just 153 runs (3.73 per), which is the second-fewest in MLB and I don't expect them to get much here vs Olsen. I'm backing Olsen and anticipate that the Marlins will end their four-game losing streak and snap KC's five-game winning streak, all at the same time. Take Florida.
Wizard of Odds
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LA ANGELS w/Santana -158
Scott Rickenbach
NHL 1* OVER the total in Detroit vs Dallas
After scoring 11 goals in the first three games of this series, the Red Wings were held to just one goal in Game Four. Detroit lost that game in Dallas by a 3-1 final and, after having their offensive onslaught temporarily halted, we look for them to bounce back in a big way tonight! The Red Wings are plenty capable of putting on a huge showing offensively at the Joe Louis Arena and this has been a house of horrors for goalie Marty Turco of the Stars. The Dallas netminder still is winless in his NHL career here and he?ll be facing a Red Wings team that is looking to lock this series up by leaving no doubt on the scoreboard! The word out of Detroit is that they will go on the attack right away in this one and never let up. They certainly wont be playing cautious as they want to bury the Stars and advance to the next round.
With the Stars still suffering with some key injuries, the Red Wings can absolutely take advantage! However, besides the prohibitive price on the Red Wings here, the reason were on the over rather than Detroit is because Dallas has proven theyre not going to go down without a fight. They battled hard to notch three goals in Game Four and they also scored two goals in the first two periods of Game Three before falling short on home ice in that game. The Red Wings are going to put pressure here on the Stars by looking to score early and often. This will quickly force the Stars to answer so that taking chances and gambling a bit will have to be a part of the Stars philosophy today. This means that this could quickly become a high scoring affair as Dallas will have to gamble knowing its their last chance to ?hang around or it will already be their time to start a summer vacation! Play OVER the total in Detroit as a regular selection.
Jorge Gonzalez
Oakland Athletics vs. Atlanta Braves
Play:Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Starter Tim Hudson will get to face the Oakland As, his former team, for the first time since being traded. Hudson (6-2, 2.54 ERA) will take on As starter Rich Harden (1-0, 3.68). The Braves have the best home record in the majors at 15-4. The As are struggling on their current road trip having lost four straight and six of seven. Over nine innings the Braves are averaging 6.34 and batting .315 when they are playing at home. The Braves offense is led by veteran third baseman Chipper Jones who leads the majors hitting .423. Take the Braves to continue their winning ways at home with Hudson on the mound
Stevie Y
Cleveland Indians vs. Cincinnati Reds
Play: Cincinnati Reds
Aaron Harang is all we need today as this Reds Rock sports a 2-5 over all record this year but if you look inside the #'s his ERA is only 3.32,this season opponents are a terrible .240 @ home this year. we will back Harang and his #'s vs the Indians are IMPRESSIVE
Terron Chapman
Tampa Bay Rays vs. St Louis Cardinals
Play: Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays continue to win ballgames behind solid pitching. They look to continue their winning ways today with another one of their young guns taking the hill. The Rays have jumped out to one of the best records in baseball and have won eight of their last nine games. Matt Garza gets the call for the Rays as they look to continue their winning ways this afternoon against the struggling St. Louis Cardinals.
The Rays took the first meeting between these two last night in the first game of their interleague set 3-1 behind an impressive pitching performance by Andy Sonnastine. Matt Garza pitched well in his last outing, a 7-1 win over the Yankees in which he allowed only 5 hits and 0 earned runs. The same cannot be said for his opponent on the mound today, Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals. Wainwright has been the Cards most consistent pitcher this season, but lost his last start. He was tagged for 8 hits and 6 earned runs while giving up 3 home runs in an 8-3 loss at Milwaukee.
Wainwright will try to help stop the Cards struggles as they have lost eight of their last ten ballgames overall. They are just 1-3 during their current six game homestand and are 0-5 in their last five games against a right handed starter. The Rays starting pitching has been outstanding of late. In the last ten games the starters have a collective ERA of just 1.16. The Rays are 8-3 in day games this year and should improve that mark behind another solid pitching performance. Play on the Tampa Bay Rays for 1 unit.
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QUADRUPLE BASEBALL WINNER
Cleveland w/Carmona +110
Tom Freese
Houston at Texas
Houston is 7-0 with Roy Oswalt when favored by -110 to -150 and they are 49-15 with Oswalt after scoring 5 or more runs in their last game. The Astros are 38-18 with Oswalt vs. losing teams. Texas is 2-7 on Saturday and they are 1-5 in the last 6 Saturday starts made by Padilla and he is 1-5 vs. the Astros with a 5.09 ERA in 6 career starts vs. them.
PLAY ON HOUSTON (Oswalt vs. Padilla)