Milwaukee Brewers @ Washington Nationals u8.0 (100)
Mon May 26 ‘08 1:35p
The Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals combined for 13 runs in the Nats’ 7-6 extra-inning win yesterday, but don’t expect similar fireworks in today’s holiday matinee.

Ben Sheets is off to a 5-1 start for Milwaukee, and that does not tell the whole story, as he has actually been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year. Sheets has a 2.92 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 61.2 innings, and he is holding the opposition to a tiny .263 On Base Percentage. He should be dominant here vs. a Washington lineup that is hitting a pathetic .232 vs. right-handed pitchers this season including an even more dismal .222 over the last 10 games.

Sheets’ biggest obstacle to another victory here though may be run support. The Brewers are batting a modest .241 vs. right-handed pitching on the road this year, and Nationals starter Jason Bergmann is in raging current form. Bergmann has tossed 14 scoreless innings in his last two starts while allowing a grand total of eight hits with 14 strikeouts. He also tossed a gem in his only start vs. Milwaukee last season, permitting only one run and two hits in six innings.

Thus, the Under is the way to go here as we expect both offenses to scramble for runs.

MLB Free Pick: Brewers, Nationals Under 8 (+100)
 
Chicago White Sox (-110)
Mon May 26 ‘08 7:05p
Javier Vazquez is quietly having a very fine season for the Chicago White Sox, and they get the call over Paul Byrd and the Cleveland Indians in Cleveland tonight.

Vazquez has a 3.53 ERA and an excellent 1.17 WHIP in 10 starts covering 65.2 innings. He has seven Quality Starts and he allowed only four runs in two of the non-quality efforts, and he is averaging just about one strikeout per inning with 65 punch-outs against just 13 walks, a nice 5/1 ratio.

Vazquez should also be familiar with the Cleveland lineup having faced the Tribe five times since the start of last season, and he allowed three earned runs in four of those outings. As if that is not enough, the White Sox also rank ninth in the Major Leagues in bullpen ERA at 3.29, making them a Bullpen System play here.

You just never know what you will get from the inconsistent Byrd, who has just two Quality Starts in his last five outings but did not allow a single run in 15 innings in the two quality outings. We are looking for the “bad” Byrd to show up again today after he allowed five earned runs in 5.1 innings vs. this same White Sox lineup last Wednesday.

Finally, these two teams are simply heading in opposite directions, as Chicago has won nine of their last 11 games while Cleveland is only 1-8 in their last nine contests. Look for both of those streaks to continue.

MLB Free Pick: White Sox -110

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