Bettor's best friend (BBF): Monday's wagering tips


For openers, not so good

The Texas Rangers are very much in the American League wild card chase, partially because of their 41-24 record at The Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers are back home to face Toronto and are -162 faves. But Texas is just 5-5 in the first game of a homestand this season, including a loss to Toronto on June 8.

Pirates call up McCutchen

Pittsburgh’s top AAA arm will make his major league debut this afternoon in Game 1 of a double-header in Cincinnati. Daniel McCutchen, a 26-year-old righty, is 13-6 with a 3.47 ERA with Indianapolis this year and is 7-1 with a 2.29 ERA over his last 10 starts.

The Pirates were planning on holding off on McCutchen but injuries and their struggling rotation has left them no choice. Oddsmakers hadn't set a line for his first start as of 8:30 a.m. ET and will likely have one at some point later in the morning.

Whiteout

On Aug. 5, the White Sox were 56-52 and just one game behind first-place Deroit in the AL Central. They were about to claim Alex Rios on waivers and had Jake Peavy making rehab starts in preparation for the pennant push.

Since then, the White Sox are 8-16, including a horrendous 1-6 trip through Boston and New York last week, to fall below .500 and behind Minnesota into third place in the Central. Rios is mired in a 2-for-23 slump and Peavy experienced soreness in his elbow. The White Sox now visit Minnesota, where they are 7-19 in their last 26 games. Oddsmakers have the game listed close to a pick.

Favre from ready

With the national TV spotlight, all eyes figure to be on Brett Favre as he plays his second preseason game against the Houston Texans. Favre hopes to be better than he was last week, when he was just 1-of-4 for four yards.

Something else to watch will be Houston's run defense, which has been bad in the preseason. After allowing the Chiefs nearly four yards per carry in their opener, the Texans gave up 173 yards to the Saints last week. As 3-point home favorites, they will be trying to slow down Adrian Peterson, who figures to get a considerable amount of work.

No excuses for Nadal

Rafael Nadal said he is 100 percent healthy for the U.S. Open, the only Grand Slam event he has not won. Nadal is the third choice at +350 behind Roger Federer (+110) and Andy Murray (+250). He won neither of the two hard court events he entered since returning from a three-month absence due to tendinitis in both knees.

"The knees are perfect right now. I don't have any problem," Nadal said at a media briefing at the U.S. Open. Nadal is -1500 in his first-round match Tuesday vs. Richard Gasquet.

Twin killers

It's been a little easier to pitch to Joe Mauer recently. The AL's leading hitter and Minnesota's No. 3 batter is not getting much protection of late. Cleanup hitter Justin Morneau is in a 2-for-19 slide and No. 5 hitter Jason Kubel is in a 2-for-18 funk. The Twins have scored just nine times in their last four games with the under cashing each time. The total for tomorrow's contest is set at 9.

First-day jitters?

Looking for an underdog to pull a stunner on the first day of the U.S. Open? Try Viktoriya Kutuzova.

Kutuzova hasn't won a main draw match since Strasbourg in May and has one career main draw win in three U.S. Open appearances. In one of the first matches of the tournament, she is +1350 against Kim Clijsters, who has not played in the U.S. Open since winning it in 2005. Clijsters began playing again earlier this month after sitting out for more than two years to start a family. She did no better tan the quarterfinals in two hardcourt events.

Screw Real, the real champions are here

The defending European and Spanish League champs begin their La Liga schedule Monday night at the Nou Camp. Despite winning multiple trophies last season, league rivals Real Madrid drew all the attention this summer thanks to the purchases of all-world talents like Ronaldo and Kaka.

"We won the treble last season, yet everybody is talking about Madrid,'' Barcelona center back Girard Pique told reporters earlier this week.

The Catalans, who are -600 faves Monday against Sporting Gijon, will be without right winger Lionel Messi. The Argentina flew home to prepare for his country's World Cup qualifying matches against Brazil and Paraguay. Sporting Gijon manager still says his club will stick with a defensive formation in hopes of slowing Barcelona's offensive attack.

A small play on the under (books have the total set at 2.5) might be a sharp play.

Here are a few games that could be affected by the wind:

-The Astros visit the Cubs today and are +140 underdogs. The total hadn’t been released as of 9:00 a.m. ET, but over/under players should know the wind is blowing in at 7 mph.

-Runs are hard to come by in Oakland’s spacious ballpark, but Mother Nature could help turn a few fly balls into home runs. The forecast says there’ll be 12 mph winds blowing straight out to center field. The A’s are -127 faves against the Royals with the total set at 8.5.

-The Yankees have been piling up runs during their hot streak, but the wind will be coming in toward the plate at 7 mph in their game today at Baltimore. NY is a -175 road fave with the total hanging at 9.5.

Notable quotable

"That's the ultimate betrayal from a teammate. You hope it doesn't happen. You hope that your sense of team with your players comes before any sort of friendship with somebody on another team. Winning of the game should come first and foremost. Does it go on? I would hope that it doesn't. That's not to say that it hasn't happened. But who's to know?"

That was Tim Hudson to the New York Times after the newspaper published a story suggesting that Miguel Tejada was tipping pitches to fellow Dominicans while a member of the Oakland A's.

Tejada has denied the accusations, but he's already been caught lying twice before. He denied using steriods and lied about his age to big league scouts when he was a young prospect.