Profile: The Dodgers have struggled to hit on their recent road trip, and they will have problems hitting today when they go up against Derek Lowe. Lowe has been pitching better and better throughout the season, and I expect him to be on his game against his old team. The Dodgers players haven't faced him in his career because he played for them over the last few seasons, so the hitters will be unfamiliar with his stuff. Meanwhile, Randy Wolf has been excellent for the Dodgers over the last few months, allowing three runs or less in eight out of his last nine starts. He has also pitched very well on the road. Wolf did get hit hard by Atlanta in his only start against them last year, but only Brian McCann will be the only hitter playing in this game that had any kind of success against him. I look for this national television game to be dominated by both starting pitchers.
2 UNIT SELECTION
Colorado at Cincinnati 7:10pm EST
Selection: COLORADO -143
Profile: Cincinnati has really struggled to hit lately, as they have hit around .200 as a team over their last ten games. The Reds are also missing Jay Bruce's bat in the line-up still. Colorado won against the Reds last night, as their line-up was simply better, even though they also struggled to hit. However, Cincinnati's starter today, Homer Bailey, has been very inconsistent and hit hard by the better line-ups he has faced. Meanwhile, Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez has been very consistent recently. I expect him to have no problem dominating the struggling Reds hitters.
2 UNIT SELECTION
Houston at St. Louis 7:15pm EST
Selection: HOUSTON +1.5 -107
Profile: This selection has tremendous value with Wandy Rodriguez being an absolutely huge underdog to Chris Carpenter. Rodriguez and the Astros should not be this high of a favorite today. Carpenter was lucky to not get scored on more in his last start, as the Dodgers had base runners almost every inning. In fact, he has allowed a tremendous amount of base runners recent, allowing 39 in his last 4 starts. Rodriguez has been the better pitcher lately, but Houston is in the middle of a losing streak. However, St. Louis doesn't hit lefties well, and they haven't been scoring much lately. Therefore, the run line with a total this low has tremendous value. Take the run line.
3 UNIT SELECTION
Seattle at Texas 8:05pm EST
Selection: UNDER 8.5 RUNS
Profile: Tommy Hunter is having a great season, including a shutout of the Mariners a month ago. Meanwhile, Felix Hernandez has been one of the best pitchers in the American League this season, but he is coming off of a poor start against Toronto. However, I look for him to be very focused in this game because of that outing. Hernandez has dominated the Rangers both at home and on the road over the last two seasons. Texas hasn't hit as well as they did last season, as they have focused more on strong pitching and good fielding. The Rangers have been scoring well over the last few games, but most of those games have come against very poor starters. Hernandez goes very deep into games, which also limits the effect that the struggling Mariners bullpen will have on the game. Take the under for a small play.
Evan altemus 8/1
Reply With Quote