Free Picks: Service Plays for Sunday, August 11

WunderdogFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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Buffalo at IndianapolisFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Pick: Buffalo +4FOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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There has seemingly been an organizational wide policy to let these games go for Indianapolis. When they had Peyton Manning, they seemed to protect him through these games while the losses mounted knowing that when the bright lights went on it didn't matter. They now have another rising star at QB in Andrew Luck, and I would not be surprised to see a similar set of circumstances take place here. Buffalo is in need of a feel good, and nothing would feel better than coming out and winning their opener on the road. These games are meaningless, but in some cases they mean something to the psyche of the players, coaches and organizations. So after an 0-4 finish a year ago, another disappointing season followed, and the Bills may feel a need to change something here. Buffalo has just three wins in the last three years in the NFL preseasons, and one of those is against Indianapolis by 13 points, so I expect this one to take a similar course. Go with the visitors.

Marc LawrenceFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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Minnesota Twins at Chicago White SoxSERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Prediction: Chicago White SoxFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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The White Sox and Twins put the wraps on this three-game AL Central division series in the Windy City Sunday afternoon where Jose Quintana opposes Kevin Corriea at Comiskey Park. Quintana enters the game in sharp KW form with 16 strikeouts and 4 walks his last three starts, while soft-tossing Corriea checks in with only 5 strikeouts and 4 walks in his last three efforts. Corriea's 3-8 away mark with a 6.87 ERA pales in comparison his 7-4 home record with a 3.28 ERA this season. With that, look for the Twins to fall to 3-7 behind Corriea in games against the AL Central this season here today. We recommend a 1-unit play on the White Sox.

Art AronsonFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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Tigers vs. YankeesFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Play: Over 8½FOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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Justin Verlander (12-8, 3.50 ERA) gets the call for the visitors; Verlander gave up one earned run off four scattered hits with no walks and seven K's in a victory over the Indians on Tuesday. Verlander has won back-to-back starts with just two total runs allowed over 14 frames to go along with 13 K's. Verlander takes his 7-4, 3.32 ERA into New York to throw opposite Andy Pettitte (7-9, 4.71 ERA) who is coming off an outing to forget after giving up seven earned runs on 11 hits with one walk over just 2 2/3's innings vs. the White Sox on Monday; the veteran has now lost his last three decisions and has his career-long streak of finishing seasons over .500 is in jeopardy. Unfortunately for Pettitte, a date at home vs. the hard-hitting Tigers is not what the doctor ordered as the southpaw is a sub-par 3-4 with a deplorable 5.40 ERA in the Bronx this season. Many believe Verlander has turned the corner and fully returned to form, but I say the book is still out. Pettitte though can now firmly be labeled as a confirmed "gas can". Consider a second look at the "over" in this particular matchup.

Jim FeistFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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Milwaukee at SeattleFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Pick: UnderFOR FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
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Milwaukee's offense has gone to sleep, on a 21-8 run under the total and is worse on the road. The under is 10-3 in the Brewers last 13 interleague games as an underdog and 7-2 under the total against a team with a losing record. They won't score much against King Felix Hernandez (11-5, 2.39 ERA), one of the best arms in the game. His last three starts: 2.14 ERA, 5 walks and 22 strikeouts. He's winless in those starts, though, as his offense is terrible, 20th as a team in batting average, 17th in on base percentage. The under is 7-3 in the Mariners last 10 games as a home favorite and 33-16-2 under the total against the NL Central. Seattle has never seen Milwaukee starter Wily Peralta, a good strikeout pitcher, so don't look for much offense.

Rocketman

Pittsburgh @ Colorado
Play: Pittsburgh -146

The Pittsburgh Pirates travel to Colorado to take on the Rockies on Sunday afternoon. Pittsburgh is 58-34 this year against right handed starters. Pittsburgh is 43-19 this year when playing against a team with a losing record. Colorado is 56-90 last 3 years when playing in day games. Pittsburgh has won 5 of their past 7 games overall and look to avoid being swept by Colorado here today. Colorado has lost 5 of their past 7 games overall. Colorado is scoring only 2.9 runs per game their past seven games overall. Jeff Locke is 9-3 with a 2.47 ERA overall this year and 5-2 with a 1.83 ERA on the road this season. Chad Bettis is 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA overall this year in his two starts. We'll recommend a small play on Pittsburgh today!

Jimmy Boyd

Detroit Tigers -170

The Tigers have every angle in this matchup against the Yankees going in their favor. Justin Verlander has a 3.76 ERA on the road this season and he is 7-4 in those 13 starts. Andy Pettitte has looked horrible in his last three starts with the Yankees going 0-3 and Pettitte posting a 6.32 ERA.

Offensively, the Tigers have scored 5.3 runs per game with a .273 batting average against left-handed starters. If they can even come close to that average against Pettitte they will have no problems winning this game. New York has scored just 2.9 runs per game over their past seven games with a .224 batting average.

Justin Bay

Toronto Blue Jays -113

A.J. Griffin will be on the mound for the A's tonight for the 3rd game of this 4 game series. In his last start against the Blue Jays he went 7 innings and let up four earned runs. Griffin has not done well on the road this year with a 4.19 ERA. The Blue Jays hitters have been hot lately and they have the opportunity to take the first 3 games of this series this afternoon.

Dickey will be pitching for the Blue Jays coming off two solid starts against the Mariners and Oakland. In his last game vs. Oakland he went 6 shutout innings. He has struggled at home this season, but look for him to gain some confidence coming off his past two starts to keep the Oakland lineup in check.

Jack Jones

Chicago White Sox -132

With the edge the Chicago White Sox have on the mound tonight over the Minnesota Twins, I'll gladly lay the juice and back them at this price as they go for their second straight victory over the weekend to cap off this series.

Jose Quintana is quietly having a solid season in Chicago. The left-hander has gone 6-3 with a 3.51 ERA and 1.236 WHIP in 23 starts, 4-3 with a 3.30 ERA and 1.181 WHIP in 12 home starts, and 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA in his last three outings.

Kevin Correia is just 7-8 with a 4.84 ERA and 1.481 WHIP in 22 starts and one relief appearance in 2013. The right-hander is 2-7 with a 6.87 ERA and 1.800 WHIP in 11 road starts. Correia has been a nightmare of late, going 0-2 with a 13.03 ERA and 2.896 WHIP in his last three starts.

The Twins are 1-7 in Correia's last 8 starts overall. Minnesota is 0-5 in Correia's last 5 starts as a road underdog. The White Sox are 15-4 in Quintana's last 19 starts following a Quality Start in his last appearance. Bet Chicago Sunday.

Rob Vinciletti

Seattle Mariners -180

The Mariners are off a pair of losses at home to the Brewers. Today they have their ace Felix Hernandez on the mound. Hernandez has a 2.63 home Era, while Milwaukee starter W. Peralta has a 4.48 road era. The Brewers are a horrendous 1-21 in the last game of a series if their bullpen did not allow 2 or more runs and they are not -150 or higher favorite. Seattle fits a 17-5 Power system based on last nights loss and they are 6-1 as a home favorite in this range. The Brewers are 4-15 as a road dog in this range. Look for Seattle to take the finale today.

Bruce Marshall

Miami vs. Atlanta
Pick: Miami +1.5

We know that these two teams are at opposite ends of the NL East spectrum, and that Atlanta had a 14-game win streak snapped last night by Miami starter Nathan Eovaldi and the Marlins bullpen last night. But we cannot overlook a pitcher who has been performing as well as Miami's Henderson Alvarez, who has won his last three starts and hardly been touched in his last four outings, with a 1.54 ERA over that stretch. Even considering the solid recent efforts of Braves starter Mike Minor, the Marlins have been a very "tough out" lately and are worth a look, especially getting a plus price on the Run Line.

Jesse Schule

Oakland vs. Toronto
Pick: Toronto

The Jays held on to beat Oakland in Game 2 of this series on Saturday, and these teams will meet in the rubber match this afternoon. You might expect to see a high scoring affair, as A.J. Griffin has allowed a major league worst 28 home runs, and R.A. Dickey isn't far behind. Dickey has pitched well in recent starts though, allowing just a single run over 13 2/3 innings in consecutive Blue Jays wins.

Dickey (9-11, 4.49 ERA) pitched well in his only previous start versus the A's, going six innings without allowing an earned run, but not factoring in the decision in a 5-2 Jays win at Oakland at the end of July.

Griffin (10-8, 3.91 ERA) allowed four runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings in a 4-0 loss to Texas his last time out. He allowed a pair of home runs in that loss, and he's given up 10 homers in his last four appearances.

Jose Bautista will be licking his chops at the prospect of facing a struggling Griffin, he's 6-for-9 in the series and he's hitting .467 in his last nine games versus Oakland.

Despite an offensive outbreak in the series opener in Toronto, Oakland is slumping, losers of seven of their last nine. The Jays have won 4-of-6, they come in as the hotter team with a hotter pitcher, and they are at home.

JEFF BENTON

Your Sunday freebie will be to play the streaking Dodgers on the Run Line over the suddenly stumbling Tampa Bay Rays.

Los Angeles shutout Tampa last night by a 5-0 count, as the Rays losing streak has now hit 4 in a row, and the task of stopping that skid is no easy one, as they must face the major league's ERA leader in Clayton Kershaw.

Kershaw enters this game with a 1.91 season ERA. He comes into this game off a loss at St. Louis, but it still 5-2 his last 7 decisions.

The Dodgers have won their last 4 and are a major league best 19-3 since the All-Star break.

Jeremy Hellickson will counter for the Rays, and has dropped his last pair of starts. Hellickson has allowed 9 runs his last 9 innings pitched, and is only 1-5 with a 6.89 ERA in his 9 interleague starts for his career.

Easy to see Los Angeles sweeping this season tonight, and easy to see them taking this game by at least 2 runs.

3* L.A. DODGERS -1.5

CRAIG DAVIS

Free play of the day on the Chicago White Sox over the Minnesota Twins on the run line.

Surprisingly, the White Sox are playing some of their best baseball right now... and ironically, it started with the solid pitching of today's starter, Jose Quintana.

He hasn't been nearly as successful against the Minnesota Twins, though.
Chicago seeks a split of its four-game set with visiting Minnesota behind Quintana on Sunday.

The other reason for the recent success is the sudden surge of the offense. After averaging under two runs per game over a 10-game losing skid, they've turned that around and have averaged over five runs per game, winning four of six.

Quintana (6-3, 3.51 ERA) dominated the Yankees last week, allowing just one run over seven innings in an 8-1 win over the bombers.

Over hast last seven starts, he's 3-1 with a 2.58 ERA... and he's starting to get some run support.

Kevin Correia (7-8, 4.84 ERA) counters for the Twins, and looks to bounce back from a horrendous start in his last outing.

His only time to face the White Sox this year, he lost 4-2 after allowing all four earned runs in 6+ innings of work.

Take the White Sox on the run line as your free play of the day.

2* WHITE SOX

BRETT ATKINS

My free winner for tonight is on the Philadelphia Phillies, plus a mighty big number, against the Washington Nationals.

I simply don't believe the number is that fair, to be honest, as I'm not sold on Stephen Strasburg. I won't list either pitcher, cause here's the deal, by betting this straight action at this big a price, you keep your ticket with whomever is on the slab for both teams. And I'm cool with that.

Back to Strasburg, who saw his winless streak stretch reach five starts when he settled for a no-decision. And while it's true he allowed merely two runs and struck out nine over seven innings in Monday’s 3-2 home loss to the Atlanta Braves. But I need to see more out of the fire-baller before I can defend laying big $2 prices with him.

Take the Phillies as your free play.

1* PHILADELPHIA