Baseball Picks: July 18th 2012
Baltimore Orioles vs. Minnesota Twins
Prediction: Minnesota Twins -147
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Matt promised a strong July start and has not disappointed with a MASSIVE 21-10 MLB start to the month! He heads into the second half on a SMOKING 29-14 run while going back further he is a SWEET 39-19 his last 58 MLB plays! He WON his 3-Pack Tuesday and has another going Wednesday along with an Afternoon Dominator! 3-0 SWEEP!

Minnesota rallied from a 4-1 deficit to win the second game of this series last night and it looks for a series win at a minimum with a victory tonight. The Twins opened the second half by getting swept at home against Oakland which made it five straight losses and the offense really struggled but they have responded by scoring 25 runs in the first two games against the Orioles. Minnesota again has a pitching matchup advantage and it is now 5-0 in its last five home games against teams with a winning record.

Baltimore is now 1-4 since the All-Star break which has added to a run that has not been very good as the Orioles are now 7-17 over its last 24 games and has fallen from the top of the American League East to 10 games behind the Yankees. They are still over .500 on the road but are just 3-9 over their last 12 games on the highway. The pitching has started to implode as the starters have a 4.79 ERA on the season after a strong start. The Orioles are 3-13 in their last 16 games as a road underdog between +110 and +150.

All it took was a trip to the bullpen to sort things out for Francisco Liriano apparently. After posting a 9.45 ERA through his first six starts, he was sent to do some relief work to try and sort things out and after five games, he came back into the rotation and has tossed seven quality outings in nine starts. His command was off early on but since his return to the starting role, he has a 2.83 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 57.1 innings. The Twins are 5-2 in Liriano’s last seven starts against teams with a winning record.

Tommy Hunter has been recalled from Norfolk to make the start in place of the injured Jason Hammel. After posting a 7.31 ERA over five starts in May and June, he was sent to the bullpen and was eventually sent to the minors. During his time in the rotation, he went 0-3 with an 8.07 ERA in six road starts with only one of those resulting in a quality outing. Baltimore has averaged just 3.8 rpg in his road starts and it is 2-5 in his last seven starts as a road underdog between +110 and +150. 3* (928) Minnesota Twins