Marc Lawrence MLB Free Play! - Friday 4/24
Play On: Atlanta w/Vazquez vs Volquez
Note: The Braves open a 3-game weekend series with the Reds in the Queen City this evening when they send Javier Vazquez to the mound against Edison Volquez. With Volquez nowhere near the plate early on this season (13 walks and 15 strikeouts) and Vaquez in commanding KW form with 6 walks and 25 strikeouts in his last three starts, look for him to improve to and 6-2 in his MLB career team starts against the Reds here tonight.
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Campanella
Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons
Cleveland heads to Detroit for Game #3 on Friday night on a 7-1 SU & ATS winning streak, that includes a 2-0 lead in this first round Playoof series. This is one of the few series where the road team will be favored both on the home and on the road, as the Cavs are slight Favorites to win Game #3. Cleveland lead Game #2, 46-32, at Halftime but then fell asleep to have that large margin slip away late in the game to win, 94-82. LeBron James and the rest of the team realized that you can't let your guard down during the Playoffs, and expect a solid wire to wire performance after that wake up call, especially as we find Detroit 0-10 ATS following a loss against a Division rival this season!
Play on: Cleveland
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Craig Trapp
Atlanta Braves vs. Cincinnati Reds
Play: Cincinnati Reds
Hope everybody was all in with our Free Play yesterday!! The Dodgers pulled off an easy win and hopefully will start a nice winning streak for Craig. Today we have a great free MLB play that Craig has winning easily. Todays free matchup is between the Braves and Reds in Cincinnati today!!
Records
Atlanta Braves 7-8 Vazquez 1-1 (3.00 ERA)
Cincinnati Reds 9-6 Volquez 2-1 (6.46 ERA)
Betting Trends
Braves are 2-5 in their last 7 road games.
Braves are 7-24 in their last 31 games as a road favorite.
Reds are 5-1 in their last 6 games as a home underdog.
Reds are 4-0 in Volquezs last 4 starts as a home underdog.
The Reds are coming home after a long road trip where they were 7-3. Finishing with 2 straight wins over the divisional favorite Chicago Cubs. With great weather predicted Cincinnati will have a big friday night crowd and welcome a very hot Reds team. The Braves are very average on the road the last few years and only going 4-5 thus far this year. Volquez had two average starts to this season but last game looked like his old self shutting down the Astros. He will shut down the Braves today and the Reds bats will give him a few runs to play with early. SCORE CIN 3 - ATL 0
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. San Diego Padres
Play: Pittsburgh Pirates +1.5
A pair of 9-6 teams begin this series in San Diego with the Padres hosting the Pirates. Pittsburgh is sending Ian Snell to the hill. He's 1-2 with a 4.24 ERA but he has allowed two earned runs in his last 13 innings pitched. Snell has had good success against the Padres going 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA and a WHIP of 0.667. Last year he faced San Diego and won 6-3 on the road as a +130 underdog. Padre hitters struggle mightily with the righty hitting .197 as a team against him with Chris Burke (0-6), Kevin Kouzmanoff (0-5) looking for their first hit against him. San Diego sends Kevin Correia to the hill. He is 0-1 with a 4.09 ERA this season only managing to get to 6 innings once in his two starts. Correia is a converted reliever taking up a spot in SD's rotation. He faced the Pirates once last season losing 7-0 giving up three of those runs in 4.3 IP. The Pirates hit .371 against him in limited at-bats. Adam LaRoche (.556), Freddy Sanchez (.600) and Nyjer Morgan (.333) lead the charge against him. The Pirates are hot coming off a sweep of the first place Marlins and the Bucs should continue their momentum tonight.
Colorado still owns a reputation as one of the highest scoring parks in baseball but the Rockies have only played three home games so far this season and although all three games went 'over' too much is being read into that series with Philadelphia. As a team Colorado is batting just .243 as a team and although the Rockies hit left-handed pitching well the Dodgers pitching staff has been among the best in baseball. Colorado's offense has scored five or fewer runs in nine of the last ten games and expecting an outburst tonight would be a reach.Eric Stults is far from a young pitcher but he is a relative unknown after bouncing back-and-forth between the Dodgers and the minors the past few seasons. This year injuries have given him a regular spot in the rotation and he has delivered. Stults has allowed just three runs in two starts and he is yet to allow a home run. The Los Angeles offense is hitting just .247 away from home and the Dodgers have not been the same team on the road. Los Angeles also faced a night game in Houston Thursday and travel could take a toll for this game.Aaron Cook was one of the best pitchers in the NL last season and his rocky start should be overcome in short order. Cook will get a chance at redemption against, and the last time he faced LA at home he delivered eight innings of shutout ball for a 1-0 win.
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James Patrick Sports
Rangers vs. Orioles
Texas and Baltimore usually like a slugfest when they match up and we look for another here in Camdem Yards as these teams average 15.7 rpg here. Our Friday complimentary selection in the Major Leagues is Rangers - O's Over the Total.
Tampa Bay is scoring 5.8 runs per game against right handed starters this year. Tampa Bay bullpen has been good with a 2.53 ERA on the road this season. Scott Kazmir is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA on the road this year. Kazmir is 6-2 with a 2.70 ERA overall vs Oakland since 1997. Rays are 37-14 in their last 51 after scoring 2 runs or less in their previous game. Rays are 17-5 in Kazmirs last 22 starts vs. American League West. Rays are 6-2 in Kazmirs last 8 starts following a team loss in their previous game. Rays are 20-7 in Kazmirs last 27 starts as a favorite. Rays are 20-8 in Kazmirs last 28 starts after allowing 2 runs or less in their previous game. Rays are 14-6 in Kazmirs last 20 starts when their opponent allows 5 runs or more in their previous game. Rays are 9-4 in Kazmirs last 13 starts as a favorite of -110 to -150. Rays are 23-11 in Kazmirs last 34 starts. Athletics are 16-39 in their last 55 games with the total set at 7.0-8.5. Athletics are 8-21 in their last 29 when their opponent allows 2 runs or less in their previous game. Athletics are 8-23 in their last 31 vs. American League East. Athletics are 1-9 in their last 10 after allowing 5 runs or more in their previous game. Rays are 9-3 in the last 12 meetings. We'll recommend a small play on Tampa Bay tonight!
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Dennis Macklin
Chicago Cubs at St Louis Cardinals
Prediction: St Louis Cardinals
Last year Ryan Dempster had a breakout career year but if you really look at the numbers closely, you'll see he did most of his damage in the Friendly Confines of Wrigley. Dempster off to a very ordinary start at 1-0 and 5.00 in three starts, 16 hits over 15 innings. Wainright is 2-0 and 3.31 over three starts but enjoys extra rest knowing Cards are 7-2 defending home turf. Take the homestanding Red Birds in this classic MLB rivalry.
Other Comp Plays 4-24-09
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