Detroit Tigers (-150) MLB Odds - Monday August 11th ‘08 7:05p
The Detroit Tigers(58-59) started their 2008 campaign, as one of the publics favorite choices for an American League championship. After starting their season with 7 straight losses, the Tigers have never completely rebounded and remain 1 game under .500 . Motown s streaky play has seen them win 3 of their L/4 after a 6 game slide, heading into a three game series against a Toronto Blue Jays(59-59) squad that is off getting swept by the Cleveland Indians this past weekend. With that said, I think the Tigers have the edge , and getting the much needed victory , as they send their most talented hurler , Justin Verlander (8-12, 4.56 ERA) to the hill. I know the southpaws numbers do not instill confidence for his betting backers , but this kid can be dominating when he gets in a groove, as was the case in his last outing when he mowed down 12 batters in a row and 21 of 24 overall, despite of suffering a loss. This is going to be his first ever start against the Jays, which will give him an edge over an offense that scored only 4 runs in their last 27 innings of play. Meanwhile, his Toronto pitching opponent, Shaun Marcum( 6-5, 3.44 ERA) is making his 5th start ,since coming off the DL, with an elbow strain. In my opinion he looked a lot stronger and had more zip on his pitches before the layoff. I know he pitched well last time out, in a 5-1 win over the light hitting As, but against Detroit Tigers team that is hitting .303 at home this season while averaging 5.7 RPG , I think a much different ending will unfold.

Final notes & Key Trends: Tigers are 7-1 in Verlanders last 8 starts vs. American League East..Detroit has won 4 of 5 Verlanders L/5 home starts . Detroit has faired well at home against top tier bullpens , with a 3.00 ERA or better winning 10 of 11 games. Play on the Detroit Tigers

Free Baseball Betting Picks Courtesy of Alex Smart, A Professional Baseball Handicapper at Touthouse.com

Philadelphia Phillies (120) - Mon August 11th ‘08 10:10p
The Los Angeles Dodgers just lost a series to the lowly San Francisco Giants mainly due to their porous defense, while the Philadelphia Phillies have been at their best as underdogs lately. As much as the trade for Manny Ramirez helped the Dodgers offensively, his presence in the outfield actually makes what was already a shaky defense worse, and LA simply kicked away the last two losses to the Giants. Also, their starter Derek Lowe was terrible in his last start in St. Louis, allowing eight earned runs and 13 hits in just 3.1 innings. Now we have never been fans of Philadelphia starter Kyle Kendrick, but he has now allowed two runs or less in three straight starts while going a minimum of six innings in all of them, and he has a great bullpen behind him. In fact, the Phillies rank third in the majors with a 3.15 bullpen ERA, so if Lowe struggles again and the Phillies get a quick lead, the Dodgers will have a tough time coming back. Finally, the Phillies are on a lucrative 11-4 run as underdogs. MLB Free Pick: Phillies +120