Washington Nationals (140) - Thu July 3 ‘08 7:10p
We cashed a nice ticket playing against John Lannan of the Washington Nationals in his last start, feeling that he had been pitching over his head, but we actually think this is a nice spot for Lannan to succeed at a nice price vs. the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds have struggled vs. left-handers in recent years, and after showing some improvement this season, they have reverted to their old ways lately, batting just .212 vs. southpaws over the last 10 games. Lannan did face the Reds once last season, and he pitched well allowing two runs in 5.2 innings of a 7-2 Nationals victory. Now we have no doubt that Johnny Cueto will be a stud in this league for years to come, and he is certainly in raging current form, allowing only three earned runs in 18.1 innings over his last three starts. But still, he is just 6-8 with a 4.68 ERA for the season, so we are not sure he is quite worthy yet of this much favoritism. We will go for the value play here, as we look for Lannan to regain his good for vs. a lefty-laden Reds lineup. MLB Free Pick: Nationals +140 Baseball Odds

Los Angeles Dodgers (-125) - Thu July 3 ‘08 2:05p
The Los Angeles Dodgers have taken the last two games of this four-game series with the Houston Astros, and we look for LA to win the road series this afternoon, given this pitching matchup. Chad Billingsley deserves much better than his 7-7 record, considering that he has a nice 3.38 ERA in 96 innings, and he is averaging better than one strikeout per innings with 102 punch-outs. He has held his fine form with a sparkling 1.96 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in his last three starts, and he has done his best pitching in the daytime this year, with a 2.83 ERA in six starts under the sun. Meanwhile, Brandon Backe is 5-8 with a 5.12 ERA and a terrible 1.61 WHIP for the year, and the worst part is that he is not really improving. He has just one Quality Start in his last six outings after getting beat up for six earned runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings last Saturday night. Finally, the Dodgers also rank third in the major leagues with a 3.05 bullpen ERA, while the Astros are at number 22 with a 4.19 pen ERA. MLB Free Pick: Dodgers -125 Baseball Betting

New York Yankees (-130) - Thu July 3 ‘08 7:05p
The Boston Red Sox just got swept by the Tampa Bay Rays in a 3 game set down in Florida, and now they have to come into the unfriendly confines, of the Bronx Zoo to play their long time rivals the NY Yankees. Needless to say, getting knocked down in 3 straight to TB was a blow to their pride and confidence. Thats not a good omen for their chances tonight, against a Yankees team that smashed out 16 hits and 18 runs in double digit win last night against Texas. Bottom line: With the Yankees sending one of their most consistent starting pitchers, Andy Pettitte to the hill tonight,I expect the Zoo crew have the edge! Final notes & Key Trends: Pettitte is 4-0 in his last four starts along with stingy 1.00 ERA. Play on the Yankees . Red Sox are 1-7 in their last 8 during game 1 of a series. Yankees are 5-0 in Pettittes last 5 starts and 4-0 in his 4 starts vs the Red Sox. Play on the NY Yankees MLB Picks