Minnesota Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers
Preseason Pick: Under 34.5 points -110 odds
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Free Play from Doc’s Sports. #430 Take Under in Minnesota @ San Francisco (Saturday 8 pm NBC) The expected return of Brett Favre will take place on Sunday night on the NBC Game of the Week. The first week of the NFL Preseason produced a ton of games that went over the posted total and thus the bookmakers have bumped up the points for Week 2 of the NFL Preseason. Week 2 is not Week 3 and thus the starters still do not play very much football. The Vikings gave up just 7 points in Week 1 and the 49ers gave up just 17 points. Last year San Francisco went over in just one of their four preseason games. The Vikings allowed just 26 total points in their first three preseason games in 2009 and expect another low scoring battle tonight. We will not worry about how well QB Favre plays and just collect with the under. Do not miss Doc’s NFL Preseason Top of the Ticket, as it will kick-off on Saturday. Doc easily collect with this game last year behind Green Bay over Buffalo and this will be yet another double digit winner.
Below are MLB baseball picks for August 18th 2010 from Touthouse.com handicappers. If you are looking for free MLB baseball predictions on a daily basis or premium picks from our MLB baseball betting experts visit Touthouse.com each day.
Pick: Atlanta Braves -1.5 +105 (Kyle Hunter)
*3 Star Free Play* The Atlanta Braves are playing great baseball at home, and Tim Hudson is pitching as well as anyone in baseball of late. Hudson has given up 2 earned runs in his last 37 innings pitched. That is absolutely dominating on the mound! Livan Hernandez has pitched well this year, but the Nationals are just 2-7 in his last 9 road starts. The Nationals are also only 5-11 in his 16 starts against Atlanta. On the other hand, the Braves are 9-3 in Hudson’s last 12 against Washington. The clear pitching edge goes to the Braves, and the Braves have the better lineup and defense as well. Take the Braves -1.5 in this one!
Pick: Seattle Mariners +135 (Jim Feist)
David Pauley picked up his first win this month and the kid has been very good overall, with a 3.31 ERA in 35 innings. He doesn’t walk anyone and faces a terrible Baltimore offense, one that is second to last in the AL in runs. Jeremy Guthrie of the Orioles is 2-3 against Seattle with a 4.50 ERA. The Mariners have better pitching, especially in the pen, as the Orioles are last in the AL in team ERA. Play the Mariners.
Pick: Minnesota Twins -145 (Rocky Atkinson)
White Sox come in with a 65-54 overall record this year while Minnesota is now 69-50 on the season. Minnesota is 50-20 the past 3 years and 19-3 this year as a home favorite of -125 to -150. Minnesota is 121-74 the past 3 years and 32-17 this year against division opponents. White Sox have lost 7 of their last 9 games overall. Minnesota has won 8 of their last 9 games overall. Minnesota bullpen has a 3.15 ERA overall this year and a 3.22 ERA at home this season. Gavin Floyd is 3-6 on the road this season. Francisco Liriano is 11-7 with a 3.26 ERA overall this year, 6-3 with a 2.32 ERA at home and 2-0 with a 2.60 ERA his last 3 starts. Minnesota is 20-5 at home vs Chicago White Sox the past 3 years. We’ll recommend a small play on Minnesota tonight! Thanks and good luck, Rocky
Pick: Cincinnati Reds -120 (Jimmy Boyd)
The Reds have won 14 of their last 17 games against the Diamondbacks, including 6 straight in Arizona. They enter tonight’s contest having also won 5 straight on the road and 8 straight road games against right-handed starters. The Reds are in good hands with Volquez on the hill when you consider they have won each of his last 4 starts and 18 of his last 22 road starts. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks are just 1-5 in Lopez’s last 6 starts and 0-5 in his last 5 starts vs. the National League Central. I’ll take the Reds tonight.
Pick: Tampa Bay Rays -155 (Doug Upstone)
Tampa Bay jumped on Texas starter Tommy Hunter, scoring four times in first three innings and piled on six more runs against Rangers pen for 10-1 thumping. The Rays go for the sweep this afternoon and a normally reliable baseball system (76%) has been in high gear this season and active today. Play Against road teams after the bullpen was rocked in previous contest for six or more earned runs, against opponent with a smoldering bullpen who’s WHIP is under 1.000 the last five games. In 2010 this sharp system is 9-1!
Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels
Betting Pick: Boston Red Sox -165 line
Visit Touthouse.com for more MLB baseball betting picks from Bryan Leonard
It’s been a long season for the Angel’s Scott Kazmir. He comes into this matchup with a 6.25 ERA on the road for the season. In his last three starts against the Red Sox he’s allowed 15 earned runs in just 15.1 innings of work. He’s lost his ability to strikeout the opposition and he’s been wild all season. The Angels have dropped 5 of his last 6 starts. Boston received a bit of good new yesterday as Dustin Pedroia returned to the lineup. He’s a spark plug of a player and a big key in their success. Former Angel John Lackey takes the mound tonight and he has been at his best against his former team. In two starts he’s permitted just 3 earned runs in 14.1 innings of work. He allowed just 12 baserunners in those games as Boston came out on top in each time. Boston has won all eight meetings between these two this season and their dominance continues on Wednesday.
Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees
Pick: Over 9.5 Runs -110 MLB odds
Visit Touthouse.com for more expert MLB picks from Big Al McMordie
At 7:05 pm, our complimentary selection is on the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees ‘over’ the total. It’s been another lost season for Detroit righthander Jeremy Bonderman. Bonderman, who’s never had an ERA under four runs for a season, is in the midst of another losing campaign (6-8) as despite making adjustments to his delivery and adding new pitches, the 27-year-old is only 6-8 with an ugly 5.16 ERA and 1.33 WHIP through his first 24 starts of the season. The good news for Bonderman is that even though his career record against the Yanks is – not surprisingly – abysmal at 3-8 with a 5.29 ERA, he has a realistic chance of picking up a win tonight because he will be going up against the bottom of the Yankee rotation which right now means 28 year-old righthander and spot starter Dustin Moseley. Moseley has done just enough to keep himself in the rotation until veteran southpaw Andy Pettitte comes back. That means that Moseley has been barely serviceable at 2-2 with a 4.41 ERA in four starts so far. He may be 1-0 against the Tigers in his career, but he also has a 4.85 ERA against them in 13 innings. Six of the eight games that Moseley has appeared in for the Yanks this season have gone a total of 10 or more runs. Take the ‘over.’ As always, good luck…Al McMordie.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Washington Redskins
Pick: Under 38.5 points -110 odds
Visit Touthouse.com for more preseason football picks from Nick Parsons
For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this contest is on the “under”: Baltimore saw the total go “under” the number in three of four pre-season contests in 2009. The Ravens won 17-12 last week over Carolina which saw the total go “under” the number. Baltimore’s defense was sharp and I expect it to have another big day on Saturday; it had two sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery last week. On the other side of the field: Washington saw the total go “under” the number in two of four pre-season contests in 2009. The Redskins demolished the Bills 42-17 last week, which saw the total go well “over” the posted number. Washington was also sharp defensively for the most part last week, even though it didn’t have to be. The Redskins scored their most points in a pre-season game since 1988, but it is clearly facing a different team this week in the Ravens.
Bottom line: This total is inflated after last week’s rout by the Redskins over the hapless Bills; great value on the UNDER in this situation. Good luck gentlemen…N Parsons
Los Angeles Angels vs. Boston Red Sox
MLB Prediction: Under 10 Runs -110 odds
Visit Touthouse.com for more MLB baseball predictions from Steve Merril
The Angels offense has disappeared at a bad time as they continue their series with the Red Sox in Boston on Wednesday night. Los Angeles has scored just 23 runs in their last eight games including being shutout twice. They’ll see an old friend in John Lackey tonight. Lackey is 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in two starts against the Angels already this season. In those two games, he gave up just three runs and nine hits in 14.3 innings of work. Torii Hunter (9-40), Hideki Matsui (8-34), Bobby Abreu (7-31), Maicer Izturis (0-6), Howard Kendrick (1-6), Mike Napoli (0-4), and Erick Aybar (0-3) all struggle with the Red Sox starter. The Angels are hitting right around .255 as a team on the road this season. Boston’s bullpen is 9-4 with an ERA close to 3.65 at home this season.
Scott Kazmir’s first two starts off the DL have been better than his earlier season results. He has given up just three runs and seven hits in 11 innings pitched against the Blue Jays and Tigers. Kazmir is familiar with the Red Sox with 27 career starts against them. Earlier this season, he was touched up by the Red Sox, but the lefty has improved since then. David Ortiz (9-44), Mike Lowell (10-43), Adrian Beltre (3-20), JD Drew (2-9), and Bill Hall (2-8) all have poor numbers against the lefty. Boston has gone Under the total in two of their last three games after scoring just 12 runs in those games. With Lackey’s success against his former team, and Kazmir’s improved form, we’ll recommend a play on the Under in this game between the Angels and Red Sox tonight.
Cincinnati Reds vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
MLB Pick: Cincinnati Reds -122 odds
Visit Touthouse.com for more MLB picks fromm Matt Fargo
We won with the Reds in this spot last night and we will come back with Cincinnati again on Wednesday. The Reds remain in control in the National League Central as they have a two-game lead over St. Louis. Cincinnati has surprised many this season with the way it has been playing as it has not fallen back like many thought would happen.
Prior to last night’s victory over Arizona, the Reds came off a home sweep against Florida which was impressive as that could have been the spot for the fold after they were swept at home against the Cardinals right before that. The Reds have won eight of their last nine road games to move to 32-25 on the road for the season.
While Cincinnati has surprised in a positive way, Arizona has been a huge disappointment this season. The Diamondbacks are 26 games under .500 as both the pitching and the hitting has led to a very underachieving season. Arizona has definitely been better at home than on the road however it is five games under .500 at Chase Field which shows there really is not a home edge at all.
Edinson Volquez will be making just his seventh start of the season since coming off the disabled list for Tommy John surgery and after a rehab assignment in Louisville and he has gotten progressively better. Over his last three starts, totaling 17.2 innings, Volquez is 2-0 with a 1.53 ERA while allowing just one run in each of those three starts. He now faces the worst hitting team since his comeback so the success should carry forward.
The Diamondbacks go with Rodrigo Lopez and he has been as inconsistent as they come. He has given up 26 earned runs in 35 innings since the All Star break, a 6.69 ERA, while allowing nine home runs. The nine homers have added to his 28 total home runs allowed which is the most in baseball and the Reds have hit the third most dingers in the National League. That is not a good combination for Lopez.
The Reds are 13-3 in Volquez’ last 16 starts on the road when the line is between +125 and -125 while also going 8-0 in their last eight road games against right-handed starters.
Arizona has lost 14 of the last 17 meetings including six straight at home against Cincinnati. 3* Cincinnati Reds
St. Louis Rams vs. Cleveland Browns
Pick: St. Louis +3 -105 odds
Visit Touthouse.com for more NFL preseason picks from John Ryan
Currently, neither of these teams have any true hopes of reaching the playoffs. Win total odds at 5 1/2 for both Cleveland and the Rams. However, You have to lay 3/1 odds to play ‘under’ Rams win total and conversely lay -125 to ‘over’ Browns win total. As a win total bet, I do like the ‘Over’ Rams bet given their schedule and low public expectations. I also like the Rams +3 points in this game as well and is supported by the following system that has produced amazing results with a 23-4 ATS record since 1993 for 85.2% winners. Play on dogs or pick off a home loss by 10 or more points with the game taking place in the third week of the preseason. Take the Rams.
The AFL betting playoffs have been great this year but everything will come to an end Friday, August 20th at 8pm ET with ArenaBowl XXIII. The NFL Network will air the live telecast from the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena where the Tampa Bay Storm (13-5, 9-9 ATS) and Spokane Shock (15-3, 10-8 ATS) will go to war. Both teams won close Conference Championship games to advance to the Arena Bowl, as Tampa Bay won the third installment of the War on I-4 against hated rival Orlando 63-62 as 7.5-point chalk, while the Shock defeated Milwaukee 60-57 as 4.5- point favorites.
Tampa Bay’s QB Brett Dietz was the leader of the Storm’s offensive attack against Orlando racking up 260 yards through the air to go with a TD/INT ratio of 7/2. WR DeAndrew Rubin led the team with 10 receptions, 116 yards and two TD receptions, while WR Tyrone Timmons added three more TD receptions. The Storm’s defense was able to force two fumbles and recovered them both. As a visitor this season, head Coach Tim Marcum’s squad went 6-3 SU & 5-4 ATS.
Shock QB Kyle Rowley was the ringleader of Spokane’s offensive explosion against a feisty Milwaukee Iron team that fought until the bitter end. Rowley threw for an awesome 334 yards through the air which went along with a perfect TD/INT ratio of 7/0. Even though Rowley had an amazing game, WR Huey Whittaker was the standout player on the night hauling in a game high 14 receptions for 165 yards; his four TD grabs and one rushing score also paced the team. Spokane’s defense was pretty nonexistent only acquiring one sack, but Milwaukee kept QB Chris Greisen upright for the better part of the seasons entirety. Spokane stands an impressive 8-2 SU at home and made AFL bettors happy overall covering six of its ten games ATS.
There aren’t many pointspread trends that stick out in terms of the side for this ArenaBowl match-up, but that can’t and won’t be said when looking at the ‘total.’ Tampa Bay saw the ‘under’ cash each of the three times it played on the road with a number equal to or greater than 110; that streak extends to a perfect 6-0 ATS the L/3 seasons! The Shock played to the ‘under’ each of the six times a ‘total’ was posted when they were favored by 3.5 to 9.5-points in 2010.
2010 Arena Bowl Odds: The Shock currently sit as 3.5-point home favorites with the game “total” set at 114.5 for tonight’s ArenaBowl betting match-up. Visit Touthouse.com for arena football picks and arena football betting odds each week.
Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels
Pick: Boston Red Sox -137 odds
Visit Touthouse.com for more expert MLB baseball picks from Doug Upstone
Boston returns home after losing series at Texas, but has to feel good tonight hosting the L.A. Angels. The Red Sox are seven for seven against the Halos this season and will see the tosses of Jered Weaver (11-7, 2.87 ERA). The right-hander pitcher throws much better at the Big A in Anaheim as noted by his 4.11 ERA on the road and Weaver and friends are 4-13 as visitors playing against a team with a winning record since last season. BoSox starting pitcher Clay Buchholz (13-5, 2.56) has only permitted 105 hits in over 126 innings and his club is 13-3 in night games. Get more baseball betting picks from Doug Upstone at Touthouse.com
Boston has suffered an unusual amount of injuries, yet are stilled second in baseball in runs scored at 5.1 per contest. This evening look at home teams with a money line of -100 to -150, who average 4.7 to 5.2 runs a game, against a reliable AL starter with ERA of 4.20 or less, with a starting pitcher whose gives up 5.5 or less hits an outing. Since 2008 this system is 34-7.
