Toronto Blue Jays vs. Tampa Bay Rays u8.5 (-115) – Thu July 9th 2009 12:05p
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The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 10-9 here last night, but do not look for similar fireworks today in this early matinee.

While Zack Greinke has gotten most of the publicity so fat this season, Roy Halladay is a perennial Cy Young candidate that cannot be discarded for that honor this year either. Halladay is 10-2 for the Blue Jays with a sparkling 2.79 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 116 innings. Yes, he was hit hard by the New York Yankees in his last start, but Halladay almost never has two bad starts in a row, and he has posted four consecutive Quality Starts vs. the Rays.

David Price could very well be a future Cy Young winner for Tampa Bay, and although he too was bombed in his last start by the Texas Rangers, Price has done his best pitching here at home. Yes, he has only made four starts at Tropicana Field this year, but he allowed exactly one run in three of those outings. He also has the advantage of facing the Blue Jays for the first time ever.

Finally, these teams may be lethargic offensively considering this 12 Noon local start time following a night game last night that finished later than usual due to all the scoring, which is also conducive to an Under today.

MLB Free Pick: Blue Jays, Rays Under 8.5 (-115)

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Cleveland Indians +120 over Chicago White Sox:
A battle of young lefties this afternoon in Chicago as David Huff takes on Clayton Richard in the finale of this three game series. The White Sox have won the first two and Cleveland will look to avoid the sweep. Huff (4-3, 6.06) hasn’t pitched nearly as bad as his record would indicate. He got off to a terrible start, losing his first two starts and being rocked in each. His last 5 starts he is 3-1 with a respectable 4.31 ERA. It’s been a terrible 2009 so far the Indians, but Huff’s semi emergence has been a bright spot. Clayton Richard (3-2, 4.75), on the other hand has struggled lately so his numbers are a bit deceiving as well. In his last 5 starts he’s 1-1 with a 6.14 ERA, and one of them was 5 shutout innings. Take that effort away and it’s safe to say he’s been pretty awful lately. He does have a bright future, but the White Sox need him to step up now if they want to catch the Tigers in the AL Central.

UNDER 9 Washington Nationals/Houston Astros:
Ok, let’s face it, the Nationals are terrible. They should really consider trading all of their veterans before the trade deadline and start to rebuild around some pretty decent young pitching. The leaded of that youth movmement on the pitching side is lefty John Lannan (6-5, 3.45). Lannan keeps the Nats in every game as evidenced by his ERA and is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA in his last 5 starts. He’s the closest thing they have to an “ace”, and should be a staple for years to come. Houston counters with veteran Russ Ortiz (3-4, 4.11). Ortiz was out of Baseball for the most part of 2008 but has really done a nice job for Houston in 2009. He’s 0-2 with a 4.31 ERA in his last 5 starts, but almost always pitches deep into the game and gives him team a chance to win every time out. Expect a low scoring affair tonight at Minute Maid Park.

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Another day with a good mixture of Afternoon and evening games highlighted by a few Cy Young candidates on the mound. Toronto sends Roy Halladay to the hill in Tampa to face the Rays, Felix Hernandez goes to the mound for the Mariners, and in the NL Tim Lincecum leads the Giants against the Padres. Good luck!

MLB Baseball Betting Odds: July 9th 2009
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Date # Team Money Spread Total
07/09/09 301 Cardinals(StLouis) Pineiro -112 -1.5 (+140) Over 9
14:05 ET 302 Brewers(Milwaukee) Parra +102 +1.5 (-160) Under 9

07/09/09 303 Reds(Cincinnati) Owings +132 +1.5 (-155) Over 10 (-115)
19:05 ET 304 Phillies(Philadelphia) Moyer -142 -1.5 (+135) Under 10 (-105)

07/09/09 305 Dodgers(LA) Wolf -150 -1.5 (+110) Over 8.5 (-115)
19:10 ET 306 Mets(NY) Hernandez +140 +1.5 (-130) Under 8.5 (-105)

07/09/09 307 Nationals(Washington) Lannan +107 +1.5 (-200) Over 9 (-120)
20:05 ET 308 Astros(Houston) Ortiz -117 -1.5 (+170) Under 9 (even)

07/09/09 309 Braves(Atlanta) Hanson +118 +1.5 (-175) Over 9
20:40 ET 310 Rockies(Colorado) Cook -128 -1.5 (+155) Under 9

07/09/09 311 Marlins(Florida) Miller -115 -1.5 (+130) Over 9.5 (-115)
21:40 ET 312 Diamondbacks(Arizona) Petit +105 +1.5 (-150) Under 9.5 (-105)

07/09/09 313 Padres(SanDiego) Geer +235 +1.5 (+110) Over 7 (-115)
22:15 ET 314 Giants(SanFrancisco) Lincecum -290 -1.5 (-130) Under 7 (-105)

07/09/09 315 BlueJays(Toronto) Halladay -123 -1.5 (+130) Over 8.5 (even)
12:05 ET 316 Rays(TampaBay) Price +113 +1.5 (-150) Under 8.5 (-120)

07/09/09 319 Indians(Cleveland) Huff +110 +1.5 (-190) Over 10 (-105)
14:05 ET 320 WhiteSox(Chicago) Richard -120 -1.5 (+165) Under 10 (-115)

07/09/09 321 Royals(KansasCity)Hochevar +185 +1.5 (-115) Over 9.5 (-105)
19:10 ET 322 RedSox(Boston)Penny -200 -1.5 (-105) Under 9.5 (-115)

07/09/09 323 Rangers(Texas) Hunter +170 +1.5 (-135) Over 8
22:10 ET 324 Mariners(Seattle) Hernandez -180 -1.5 (+115) Under 8

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Atlanta Braves @ Chicago Cubs o9.0 (-120) – Wed July 8th 2009 2:20p
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Getting the starting nod for the 16th time this season will be 34-year old rookie right-hander Kenshin Kawakami. He was a bit rusty on eight-days rest his last time out against Washington where he surrendered six hits and four earned runs while striking out six and walking three through just 4.1 innings of work. Kawakami can best be described as a hurler with great stuff, but control seems to be an issue. He’s K’d 64 batters on the year through 82.2 total innings of work, but he’s also walked 34. He’s been at his worst as a visitor where he’s 2-3 with a 5.65 ERA and 1.77 WHIP with a K/BB ratio of 25/21. He faced the Cubs offense at the beginning of June and got thrashed, but got the no decision after the Braves pulled off some late inning heroics to tie it up and eventually win in extras.

Righty Kevin Hart makes his MLB debut as a starter this afternoon after Ryan Dempster was put on the DL just hours before his Tuesday night scheduled start. He’s given up a total of one run and three hits with a K/BB ratio of 1/5 through 5 2/3rd innings of relief this season. He did make his final six appearances at Iowa as a starter and went 3-0 with a 1.41 ERA during that stretch.

Neither offense has settled into a groove throughout the first two games of this series, but I look for that to change in this afternoon’s finale. Kawakami is wild at best, and Hart is making his big league debut as a starter. A much weaker line-up got to Kawakami in Atlanta the lone time they faced him this season, and I look for more of the same today. Chicago should put a juicy number on the scoreboard. I also look for Hart to struggle as well. With Joyce’s tight strike zone behind the dish (61.3% K’s per game/1.6 K/BB), look for both offenses to have numerous scoring opportunities early on; I’m betting they cash them in!!!

Florida Marlins vs. San Francisco Giants – July 8th 2009
MLB Predictions: Under
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Ryan Sadowski has yet to give up a run in the majors. In 13 innings spanning two starts, Sadowski has allowed just seven hits. The rookie right-hander pitches to contact and has a solid sinking two-seam fastball. This serves him especially well in a pitcher-friendly stadium like AT & T Park is. The Marlins will be facing Sadowski for the first time and Florida, through Monday’s games, is hitting just .244 in road games. Like Florida, San Francisco will also be forced to deal with a tough right-hander in this match-up. Chris Volstad gets the start for the Marlins and he’s in his second MLB season. So far in his career Volstad is holding hitters to a .249 batting average. Also, even though Volstad is coming off of a tough start, he had previously produced five quality starts in his last seven outings. One of those quality outings came against the Giants as Volstad was very effective against San Francisco in his only career appearance against them. The biggest problem for Volstad this season has been the home run ball but AT & T Park isn’t conducive to home run hitting. The Giants had 28 homers at home through Monday’s games and that’s among the least in the majors. Note also that Florida has hit just 32 homers (through Monday’s games) on the road. This is among the lowest rankings in the league. Heading into Tuesday’s game, the Giants were 18-13 to the under when the total is an 8.5 or an 8. The Marlins have gone over the total just twice in Volstad’s eight road starts this season.

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers o9.5 (100) – Wed July 8th 2009 8:05p
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Todd Wellemeyer of the St. Louis Cardinals and Jeff Suppan of the Milwaukee Brewers are both off of their form right now, so look for these teams to reach double-digits combined tonight.

Now granted, Wellemeyer had a nice outing vs. the San Francisco Giants in his last start, but that snapped a string of seven straight starts without a Quality Start. He has a much tougher assignment tonight vs. a potent Milwaukee lineup that is batting .287 vs. right-handed pitching over the last 10 games. Wellemeyer has also been awful on the road this season despite his 3-2 away record, as he owns a poor 5.60 ERA and 1.67 WHIP when traveling.

Similarly, Suppan is also coming off of his best effort in a while vs. the Chicago Cubs, but he still has a 5.09 ERA and 1.64 WHIP over his last three starts. While one would think Suppan should have success vs. the Cardinals after pitching for them for so long, that was not the case the last time he faced them as he allowed five earned runs on seven hits while lasting only 3.2 innings here in Miller Park on May 26.

We look for both starter to bounce off of their improved outings last time out and revert back to their normal mediocre forms tonight.

MLB Free Pick: Cardinals, Brewers Over 9.5 (+100)

New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Free MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers (-144) – Wed July 8th 2009 7:10p
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This series has sweep written all over it. The Dodgers took care of business in Game 1 shutting out the Mets 8-0. Tonight Hiroki Kuroda goes to the mound as LA looks to take advantage again of a beat up New York squad.

The Mets have lost four straight and nine of 11 and have gone scoreless in 22 consecutive innings. Over that span they’ve gotten just 10 hits all singles and they’ve been outscored 21-3. The New York offense has for the most part been MIA since Carlos Beltran went out. They’ve gone 5-10 with a .229 average and scored one run or fewer seven times, including four shutouts. With no Beltran or Jose Reyes in the line-up David Wright is the only real threat remaining and he’s struggling big-time. Wright is 0-16 after drawing the collar Tuesday night against the Dodgers.

Tonight the Mets pin their hopes on lefty Oliver Perez who was just called up from Triple A. Perez has been a disaster going 1-2 with a 9.97 ERA. He’s given up 24 runs in 21 innings and has walked 21.

The Dodgers, who lead the majors with a 53-30 record, will counter with the steady Hiroki Kuroda who is 3-4 with a 3.98 ERA. Kuroda has won two of his last three starts striking out 16 while walking two.

Hopefully the umpires will let Manny play a little bit longer tonight. But even if he makes another early exit the Dodgers still have too much for a Mets team that can’t wait for the All-Star break to get here

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Baltimore Orioles +130 over Seattle Mariners:
This series is tied up at 1 game apiece after the O’s pounded the M’s bullpen last night en route to a 12-4 win. A battle of rookies today as David Hernandez takes on Jason Vargas. Hernandez (2-2, 4.15) probably projects as a reliever in the future, but for now he’s done a decent job as a fill in starter. AS long as he can pitch into the 6th or 7th inning, the O’s will be fine this afternoon. Their lineup has done a great job with young studs like Adam Jones, Nolan Reimold, and Nick Markakis. This is a team to watch in the future. Jason Vargas (3-3, 4.14) did a decent job when he first arrived in the bigs, but has really struggled lately. In his last 5 starts he’s 1-3 with a 6.92 ERA. Look for more of the same today as the O’s take the series 2-1.

OVER 9 Toronto Blue Jays/Tampa Bay Rays:
Interesting matchup tonight at the Trop between two lefties. Brian Tallet (5-6, 4.38) goes for the Jays, while Scott Kazmir (4-5, 6.79) takes the hill for the Rays. Tallet has done an admirable job filling in for a few of the Jays injured starters in ’09. He’s been a reliever througout his career so he deserves a lot of credit for starting 16 games thus far. He can’t get past 6 innings so Cito Gaston knows he’ll have to use his bullpen a lot tonight. They’ve worked too many innings of late and last night the game went into extra innings. Tallet has a 5.13 ERA in his last 5 starts. Kazmir is making his third start since coming off the disabled list and will more than likely still be on a pitch count. He hasn’t pitched more than 5 innings yet since coming back, and I’d expect more of the same tonight. He’s 1-2 with a 7.94 ERA in his last 5 starts.

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Full Wednesday of action today with day games and night games to keep us busy all day!! Scott Kazmir makes his second start back from the DL for the red hot Rays, and the AL West showdown between the Rangers and Angels continues in Anaheim. Good luck!

MLB Baseball Betting Odds: July 8th 2009
Click Here for Current MLB Baseball Odds

Date # Team Money Spread Total
07/08/09 251 Pirates(Pittsburgh) Morton +150 +1.5 (-155) Over 8
14:05 ET 252 Astros(Houston) Rodriguez -160 -1.5 (+135) Under 8

07/08/09 253 Braves(Atlanta) Kawakami +102 +1.5 (-200)
14:20 ET 254 Cubs(Chicago) Hart -112 -1.5 (+170)

07/08/09 255 Nationals(Washington) Detwiler +162 +1.5 (-130) Over 10.5 (-120)
15:10 ET 256 Rockies(Colorado) DeLaRosa -172 -1.5 (+110) Under 10.5 (even)

07/08/09 257 Padres(SanDiego) Gaudin +151 +1.5 (-145) Over 9 (even)
15:40 ET 258 Diamondbacks(Arizona) Scherzer -161 -1.5 (+125) Under 9 (-120)

07/08/09 259 Marlins(Florida) Volstad +110 +1.5 (-200) Over 8 (-120)
15:45 ET 260 Giants(SanFrancisco) Sadowski -120 -1.5 (+170) Under 8 (even)

07/08/09 261 Reds(Cincinnati) Bailey +136 +1.5 (-160) Over 10 (even)
19:05 ET 262 Phillies(Philadelphia) Lopez -146 -1.5 (+140) Under 10 (-120)

07/08/09 263 Dodgers(LA) Kuroda -137 -1.5 (+110) Over 8.5 (-120)
19:10 ET 264 Mets(NY) Perez +127 +1.5 (-130) Under 8.5 (even)

07/08/09 265 Cardinals(StLouis) Wellemeyer +106 +1.5 (-200) Over 9.5 (-105)
20:05 ET 266 Brewers(Milwaukee) Suppan -116 -1.5 (+170) Under 9.5 (-115)

07/08/09 267 Orioles(Baltimore) Hernandez +111 +1.5 (-175) Over 9 (even)
16:40 ET 268 Mariners(Seattle) Vargas -121 -1.5 (+155) Under 9 (-120)

07/08/09 269 BlueJays(Toronto) Tallet +144 +1.5 (-150) Over 9 (-105)
19:05 ET 270 Rays(TampaBay) Kazmir -154 -1.5 (+130) Under 9 (-115)

07/08/09 271 Royals(KansasCity) Greinke -128 -1.5 (+125) Over 8 (-120)
19:05 ET 272 Tigers(Detroit) French +118 +1.5 (-145) Under 8 (even)

07/08/09 273 Athletics(Oakland) Cahill +160 +1.5 (-135) Over 9.5
19:10 ET 274 RedSox(Boston) Wakefield -170 -1.5 (+115) Under 9.5

07/08/09 275 Indians(Cleveland) Laffey +129 +1.5 (-165) Over 9.5 (-105)
20:10 ET 276 WhiteSox(Chicago) Contreras -139 -1.5 (+145) Under 9.5 (-115)

07/08/09 277 Yankees(NewYork) Burnett -130 -1.5 (+135) Over 9.5 (even)
20:10 ET 278 Twins(Minnesota) Perkins +120 +1.5 (-155) Under 9.5 (-120)

07/08/09 279 Rangers(Texas) Padilla +120 +1.5 (-165) Over 10
22:05 ET 280 Angels(LAA) Santana -130 -1.5 (+145) Under 10

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Cleveland Indians vs. Chicago White Sox o9.5 (-105) – Tue July 7th 2009 8:10p
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Lefty Jeremy Sowers will make successive starts against the White Sox when he takes to the starting bump for the 10th time this season. He’s 2-6 overall with a 5.68 ERA and 1.59 WHIP with a K/BB ratio of 26/23 through 52.1 total innings of work. He’s had absolutely no luck as a visitor in ’08 going 0-3 with an inflated 8.80 ERA and 1.83 WHIP. The Indians have been outscored by an average score of 7.67 to 2.33 in the three outings. He limited Chicago to just one run and a couple hits before letting it get away from him in the 5th. When it was all said and done, Sowers only managed to go six innings and allow 11 hits and five ER’s. He’s 0-5 with a bloated 7.72 ERA and 1.65 WHIP in six career starts against the White Sox.

Mark Buehrle’s 16th start of the season was masterful after going 8.2 innings against Kansas City to secure his 20th win against the Royals franchise along with career win #130. The lefty stands 8-2 on the year with a solid 3.09 ERA and 1.12 WHIP with a K/BB ratio of 62/24 through 107.2 total innings of work. He’s been a tough nut to crack for opposing offenses of late as he’s surrendered just four ER’s and 17 hits in the 20+ innings he’s tossed his L/3 times out. He’s been at his best within the comfy confines of US Cellular Field where he’s 4-1 with a 2.88 ERA, and has gotten 5.44 runs of support in his nine starts. He has however struggled against CLV throughout his career going 8-13 with a 4.86 ERA and 1.38 WHIP.

I don’t get this one at all! I figured Chicago would open up at least a -200 or higher favorite in this one, but Buehrle only opened at -180. Since then, JQP has hammered the Indians to lower the line to -155. I was all set to hammer the Indians today, but there’s just not enough value to do so anymore. Instead, hit the ‘over’ as I foresee the Indians hitting a bit better in this entire series starting tonight. Buehrle’s only on four-days rest and he’s been more hittable when that’s been the case this year. The White Sox always pound Sowers. Game 1′s a high scorer!!!