Platinum MLB

[ThePlatinumStandard]

Here are the write-ups for the late MLB games:

$200 St. Louis -1.5(+125)
$100 St. Louis/Cincy OVER 9.5
Joel Pineiro has succeeded in Cincy and in his last 4 against the Reds he has allowed 9 ERs in 24 innings. Bailey has struggled against STL and has not had any success at home. Opponents have ran up the scoreboard on Bailey and the Reds bullpen putting up 40 total runs in the last 6 home starts. Look for the Cards to get busy with the bats today. Bailey has not seen many trips to the mound vs. STL. He has less than 4 innings pitched in both his previous home outings vs. Cards. Look for him to continue with the struggles. Cards should be able to get 7-9 in this one and the Reds should not see more than 4 today. Cards should take this by several. Prediction 9-4.

$100 Seattle/Boston UNDER 8.5
King Felix is back. Hernandez has shut down the opposition of late and has cruised in Fenway in the past. He is 2-0 in his last 3 outings with a 0.74 ERA. He also is not too shabby on the road with a 1.72 ERA and a 5-1 record away from home. Felix has allowed just 7 hits in his 2 starts in Boston and has not allowed a run there. He has struggled at home vs. Sox but obviously different ballparks give different results. Red Sox will struggle for runs today and so will Seattle. The Ms have only scored 26 runs in the 6 road starts by Hernandez. Wakefield has also posted just 3 ERs allowed in his last 15 innings vs. Seattle. Look for 5 at most.

$500 Oakland +110
$200 Oakland/Cleveland Over 9
Trevor Cahill looks to bounce back after a 7 ER allowance in his last start. The ball will travel today. Opponents average 5+ runs per game in Cahills last 10 outings. The As pen has also struggled in Cahill road outings. Cahill has a 4+ ERA on the road for the season. Huff has had a great run until his last outing where he allowed 6. Yes, and that was at home. The ball will fly today, as Cleveland has allowed 17 runs in Huffs last 2 home outings. This game should see a double digit figure, and Oakland should be able to score more than Cleveland in this one. Look for a 7-5 final.

$500 Atlanta -125
Kenshin Kawakami will lead the Braves to another win tonight as they face the Nats in the opening game of their series. Kawakami has had a great run allowing 3 or less ERs in 12 of his 14 starts. Since an 8 ER shelling in Cincy, he has settled in and has allowed 2 ERs in 6 of his last 10. Three of four previous road outings were 2 ER performances. The Braves have started making some real contact with the baseball and are finding ways to win ballgames. Look for them to at least get 5 somehow tonight, giving them the win in this one. I can see a 5-4 final here.

$500 Philly -140
Mets finally got some runs on the board yesterday but I see that fade into the night with having to face Lopez tonight. Rodrigo Lopez has not been seen in over a year, almost 2 years. The former Oriole was sent to Colorado, where he pitched very well. How about no more than 3 ERs in his last 5 outings as starter in Coors. Not bad. He should prosper in Philly as long as he stays healthy. I believe he will have a good return back tonight. Unless he exits early, the Phills should take this one easily as Livan Hernandez and his relievers have struggled on the road. In the last 6 road outings, opponents have put up 30 total runs on the Mets. Philly was also embarrassed in Atlanta where they won 20 of 27 previously. Look for them to take revenge on a weak Mets team at home.

$500 Pittsburgh +145
I will take my chances with Morton who is dogged today at Florida and Volstad. Morton allowed just 2 ERs in his last road outing in Colorado. Volstad has been too overvalued at home seeing as his ERA is 4.72 and over his last 3 games a whopping 7.47 ERA. Morton is familiar with Florida as he faced them 3 times while with the Braves. The Fish are just 3-7 in the last 10 games Volstad has started. I think the Pirates will get it done offensively and with Morton allowing just 5 ERs in 11 innings, I like the value here.

[ThePlatinumStandard]

The Standard: 200 units (last day 8/31/09)
Yesterday: 6-3, +14.65 units

Currently: -83.65 units
Units remaining: 283.65

JULY 13-5, +36.35 units in 3 days
Totals run of 14-4-1 last 19 plays

7/4/09

Just a few more winning days like the last 3, and I will be on my way. How about that STL game turning around from having 2 losses to 2 wins. Braves fought for the win, and totals go 2-1 to stay hot last night. Small card for Saturday, hoping to go at least 2 of 3.

$500 Atlanta/Washington UNDER 8.5
Has anyone else liked what Tommy Hanson has brought to the Braves rotation? I sure do. It is about time! Once Hudson gets back to full strength the Braves will have one of the best starting 5 in the league. All they need are some guys that can swing lumber and get runs across. Recently that has not been an issue. Against Lannan Saturday, they may go back to struggling. Both starters have a combined 3.56 ERA in this spot. Hanson a 1.54 on road and Lannan a 2.02 at home. Lannan has allowed just 8 ERs over his last 5 home outings. Braves have scored just 6 runs total in his 2 outings against them this season. Just 1 run in Washington. Hanson has never faced Wsh, but has allowed 2 ERs in 2 road starts and has not allowed a run over his last 3 gms over 17+ innings. Look for 5 runs at best.

$200 Pittsburgh/Florida OVER 8.5
I look at these team and starters and say 8.5 runs, are you kidding me? These teams hit the over in game 1 of their series and will do it again Saturday as Duke faces A.Miller. These teams will put up runs in this series. Duke holds a better home ERA and I feel too much weight is based on how well he has pitched at home. In Duke starts, opponents have averaged about 5 runs over his last 3 outings and the same over his last 4 on road. Duke gave up 6 ERs in his last mtg with FLA back in 2007. Florida should put up 6-7 in this one. Miller has not had much backing from his bullpen as he has only allowed 12 ERs over his last 6 at home but opponents scored a total of 27 runs in those gms. Miller already faced Pit this year allowing 4 ERs en route to a 8-0 loss. This one hits about a dozen.

$200 Tampa/Texas OVER 11
Texas totals have been the cornerstone of my totals rally I have going. Already 2 wins this week looking for the hat trick. After a low scoring game the other night Texas opened the flood gates with run scoring going over in two straight. Now a similar low output in the first of this series. I expect these teams will do some damage offensively, especially with Price and Holland facing off. Price has pitched good in several starts but his lack to go deep has given the pen a chance to blow it. In 2 of the 4 road starts this year for Price, the bullpen had a collapse. Price will not last long and Texas will tag the TB pen. Holland has suffered at home allowing 1 ER per home inning roughly. Both teams should put up a half dozen each with a total of 14 or more at the finish!

[ThePlatinumStandard]

The Standard: 200 units (last day 8/31/09)
Yesterday: 2-1, +4.80 units

Currently: -78.85 units
Units remaining: 278.85

JULY 15-6, +41.15 units in first 4 days
Totals run of 16-5-1 last 22 plays

7/5/09

Last Sunday there were a few games that were lost late giving me a 2-3 finish to the day. Could've easily went 4-1 and I am hoping this cinderella week continues today, keeping the July run piping hot!

$1000 Boston -270
Never really like laying the big chalk on games, but this systematic play comes with a rate of high return regardless of line. Personally Morrow will struggle against this Sox line-up. He has failed to go deep in games and although he is no longer on a strict pitch count he still gets into trouble and leaves the pen to clean up. The Sox will be doing the cleaning up. Lester has had rough times vs. Seattle but has never faced them at home. Should be a good outing for him, but I do like runs to be scored in this one. Lean to the over and the runline may be wiser for some. I rarely play RLs as my selections are based off of MLs only. Sox have won 5 of the last 6 games that Lester had started. Morrow is 0-3 on the road this season.

$200 Chisox/Royals OVER 9
This game has the most appealing total to me for the day. Bannister has proven he struggles against the Sox. Bannister has given up 5+ ERs in his previous 6 of 7 meetings with the White Sox. This year he gave up 7 in a 11-2 loss. Opponents have averaged 5-6 runs over his last 10 outings and the Sox average 7 runs per game in his last 10 meetings with them. Richard has not pitched well of late, only pitching in 28+ innings in his last 6 outings. He has only gone 6 or more in his last 3 of 6 road starts. KC has not hit the ball well nor have they scored tons of runs lately, but they scored 14 in a Richard outing last season. They managed just 2 runs in his one start against them this year. One of these guys will struggle today, leading to 13 or more runs!

$200 Cards/Reds UNDER 8.5
Caught this one in the nick of time, as this game has risen from a 7.5 to an 8.5 quickly. No one has much faith in Arroyo I guess. After all he has taken a beaten lately, allowing 5 ERs or more in 4 of his last 6 outings. However, he also is 7-1-1 to the under in his last 9 outings vs. STL. We know how well Carpenter can pitch. He already went the distance vs. Cincy this season allowing 1 run. I expect him to have a similar outing. This total will ride on the shoulders of Arroyo, who has only allowed 9 ERs in his last 5 home outings vs. STL. Reds are also 5-1-1 to the under in their last 7 games and have played to the under 11 more times than the over this season. Look for 5-7 in this one.

$200 Rays/Rangers UNDER 9.5
$300 Texas +115
Looking for a fourth straight win with a Texas total. Tonight I lean back to the under after flip flopping back and forth. This team is the best under team in the league, which is surprising at 29-47-3 on the year. Tampa comes into this one at 9-20 in the last 29 in Texas. They struggle to win here. Texas has Feldman facing off with Garza. You will slowly see the 10s and 11s fade down to 9 and 9.5 run totals. Garza is 1-1 in Texas including a 7-0 shutout win in his last meeting with them. Feldman allowed 2 ERs in 7 innings in his only home meeting with the Rays. Opponents have scored 17 runs total in the last 6 games Feldman has started at home. I expect this one to see a 3-2 game midway or even late. Look for the Rangers to continue the winning ways as they should win this one 4-3.

[ThePlatinumStandard]

The Standard: 200 units (last day 8/31/09)
Yesterday: 3-1-1, +13.25 units

Currently: -65.6 units
Units remaining: 265.6

18-7-1, +54.4 units in first 5 days of July
Totals run of 17-6-2 last 25.


7/6/09

$300 NY Yankees -145
$200 Tor/NYY Under 9.5
The Yanks look for the sweep from Jays who have gone 2-8 in their last 10 gms. Pettitte is 8-3 on the season. Pettitte has only allowed 6 ERs in his last 3 outings, 9 ERs in his last 3 at home. The Jays slumping offense needs to give Romero a cushion. After a few high scoring games these teams will come back to reality and struggle to get runs today. Romero has been impecable. He is 6-3(2.85) on the year but is 3-0, with a 0.82 ERA over his last 3. Jays have won the last 4 Romero has started but played TB who has scored 11 runs in their last 5 gms, the Nats(say no more), and Philly two times, a team that had lost 12 of 17 before the Mets series and scored 4 runs or less in 16 of their last 28. Does not say much for Romero and his stats.

$400 Cincy +155
Cueto faces Hamels. I like what Cueto has brought to the table in Cincy, and Hamels, well we know what he can do. Just have not seen much of that this season. Nothing to like about Philly. The public may think they are hot now after dropping a plenty over the last 30 days but they swept the Mets. Swept a team that has not been able to score enough to win games. Philly still lacked run support in that series. Hamels may be fighting injury and playing through it which could be why he is struggling this year. I think the Reds are a live dog in this spot. If things are normal in this one, we could witness a 4-3 game but I have a strange feel that this one could get out of hand. Play the plus money tonight as the Reds steal this one from the Phills on the road!

$500 LA Angels -150
This is a rematch from last week, one that Millwood and the Rangers won by a score of 9-7. Jered Weaver has been a home workhorse at 5-1 with a 1.68 ERA in LA. Weaver has only allowed 3 ERs in his previous 3 home mtgs with Tex. Rangers have won 3 of the last 4 Millwood has started vs. LAA, but previously were just 2-6. This time around, the public will perceive a result similar to the last meeting between these starters. I disagree with that. Weaver has the edge at home. Millwood has weaker numbers on the road. Texas is just 2-5 in Millwood road starts this year. LA has won 12 of their last 15 games following a win, and have won 8 of the last 9 opening series games.

$200 SD/Arizona OVER 10
Jon Garland has been anything but great this season, especially at home. Walter Silva will match-up against Garland. Both of these starters have been horrendous in this spot. Garland has a 7.51 home ERA, while Silva has a 16.71 ERA on the road. Both starters have a combined WHIP of 3.45 which means there will possibly be a lot of base runners. In Garlands last 4 home outings, opponents combined for 38 total runs. Garland allowed 33 total hits over those 4 outings at home in less than 20 innings of work. Garland allowed 6 ERs in his last meeting with the Pads, this season, in a 6-3 loss. Silva has gone over in his two road starts this year. The over has hit in 13 of the last 16 meetings between these clubs. Opponents have averaged 7 runs per game over Silvas 5 outings this year.

$200 KC/Detroit UNDER 9
Both the Tigers and Royals have struggled for runs lately. The Royals have scored 27 runs in their last 10, and 12 of those came in the last 2 gms. Detroit has only scored 38 in their last 10 but more importantly, they have scored more than 4 runs only in 3 of those recent 10 games. Last season these teams had a span of 9 of 10 games that went under. Gil Meche(4-8, 4.20) faces Galarraga(5-7, 5.34). Meche has had tremendous success vs. Det on the road allowing 9 ERs in his last 5 in Detroit. Galarraga is 2-0 in his last 3 starts and looks to be back. Armando has not had trouble facing the Royals. In 3 career outings the Royals managed just 5 total runs. Look for this one to finish in the 6 run range in 4-2 fashion, keeping this one well under the total.

[ThePlatinumStandard]

The Standard: 200 units (last day 8/31/09)
Yesterday: 3-3, -1.55 units

Currently: -67.15 units
Units remaining: 267.15

21-10-1, +52.85 units in first 6 days of July
Totals run of 19-7-2 last 28.

First losing day of July, only 1.55 units. I pulled the trigger on the Yanks total late, and it cost me a winning day. I had that total and the Astros total going under but trimmed the card to 5 plays, then adding the Yankee under. I never felt like posting back here for just one play on the Astros game. Still plenty of days left but it could very well come down to a little mistake like that causing a pass or fail for this thread!

7/7/09

$500 LA Dodgers -135
Kershaw(5-5, 3.49 ERA) will try to keep the Mets slumping as he will face Pelfrey(6-3, 4.26 ERA). The Mets have lacked pitching and of course the lumber at the plate. Pelfrey would certainly need one of his best outings of the year to come out victorious in this one. Pelfrey allowed 2 ERs over 7 innings in his home start last year vs. LA. The Mets are just 2-4 in his last 6 starts and opponents have scored 24 runs in his last 3 at home. LA has new life with Manny back, as they have scored 17 runs in his 3 games back while the previous 6 gms saw 16 total runs. That says a lot. Kershaw has gone 2-0(1.00) in his last 3. Opponents have scored 3 or less runs in 6 of his last 8 outings, and he has allowed just 2 ERs in his last 24 innings. Mets slide continues.

$500 TB Rays -185
This line has crept down from the opening of over -200 for Shields and the Rays. Primarily for the fact that the Rays will not face Brad Mills tonight. Instead, Rzepczynski, tough to spell, will get his first start. Either way, the Rays are miserable after losing to the Rangers in all 3 games. They will get a measure of revenge tonight. Shields has not pitched bad against the jays and I feel if Tampa can put up at least 5-6 in this one they will win it easily. More and more shy away from this game, because of the dominant pitching that has come up into the majors this year, but for every star there is a not so hot prospect. Tampa by 3.

$200 Boston -1.5(-120)
Not taking the juice as the Sox have been sour lately losing some games they should have won. The way things are looking with the Eveland, and Beckett match-up they should win this by 4+ tonight. Dana Eveland has struggled lately, allowing 7 ERs in his last outing and has allowed 4 or more ERs in 4 of his last 6. Not to mention in 2 starts he allowed 14 ERs to the Sox. Beckett doesnt need an explanation as he has proven he can pitch, especially at home. Against Oakland, the As have managed just 12 runs in his last 4 against him. Nothing proves that they will put up more runs than usual in this one. Beckett really has not changed over the course of those 3+ seasons. Look for an over in this one as Boston should roll 7-3 or 8-4.

$200 NY Yankees/Minnesota UNDER 9
Sabathia and Baker come into this game with nearly identical WHIP at 1.15 and 1.14 respectively. Sabathia comes off the rough outing against Seattle so I expect the bounce back. Since 2007, he has not allowed more than 2 ERs in any of the 6 starts vs. Min. CC has actually gone 17 straight innings with 0 ERs allowed vs. Minnesota. Baker is not too shabby either, as he has settled in nicely after the Twins were having trouble with starters early on. Baker had a rough May, but is cruising in June, not allowing more than 3 ERs in any of his 6 starts. He has not faced the Yanks since 06, where he allowed 2 ERs in 12 innings, allowing 5 hits in those 2 games with 8 Ks. It has been a few years, but Baker will control this game. Minny has gone 20-6-2 to the under, last 28 as dogs. 4-2 final.

$200 Baltimore/Seattle UNDER 8
The Ms will send Bedard to the hill to face off with Guthrie and the Os. In Guthries last 3, opponents have averaged 3 runs per game. All 3 games went under the total. Guthrie has only allowed 9 ERs in his previous 4 starts against Seattle, which has been a hair over 2 per outing. Seattle managed just 11 runs in those 4 gms, and all 4 of those starts went under by a combined 12.5 runs. That is clearing the under by 3 runs per game. Bedard has a 2.15 ERA at home this season. He has failed to allow the opposition more than 2 ERs at home all year. He already faced the Os this season, at home, only allowing 1 ER over 6+ innings of work. Bedard and the Ms have gone 4-1 to the under in his last 5 outings, which have usually been set at 7.5 runs. I expect a 3-2 final or similar to it.

[ThePlatinumStandard]

The Standard: 200 units (last day 8/31/09)
Yesterday: 3-2, +7.6 units

Currently: -59.55 units
Units remaining: 259.55

24-12-1, +60.45 units in first 7 days of July

Totals run of 19-9-2 last 30.

Sides 3-0 Wed, totals 0-2. Not a storybook Wednesday but completely flipped around the last days of June. Went from 6 under .500 in 3 final days in June to +12 over .500 in the first 7 days in July. A difference of a week makes a big impression.
Let's keep this going through the end of August!

7/8/09

$300 San Fran -115
$200 Florida/San Fran UNDER 8.5
Sadowski tries to keep the scoreless innings streak alive. Not every up and coming new face will have success like this. Sadowski has completely shut down the opposition. He has allowed 7 hits over 13 innings. Sadowski has a WHIP of 0.85 after the 2 starts. Volstad will try to out duel Sadowski but it wont be easy. He has allowed 16 ERs in his last 4 away from home. Volstad is 8-2-1 to the under in his last 11 as a plus money starter. He faced SF this season allowing just 2 ERs at home in a 2-1 final. The total will rest on Volstad, and if he can pitch similar to the last mtg, this one should clear the under easy. Florida has scored 38 over their last 10 games, and in their 7 other than the Nats series, just 22 runs. Roughly 3 RPG. If this occurs again the Giants win a low scoring contest.

$200 SD/Arizona OVER 9
The over is 14-4, last 18 mtgs, and 58 runs were scored in the previous 5 in Arizona. Both starters help vouch for an over today. Gaudin has a 5.23 ERA on road, while M.Scherzer has a 5.40 ERA at home. Gaudin has allowed 12 ERs in his 2 mtgs with Zona while Scherzer has allowed just 2 ERs in his 2, but the relief has allowed 9 runs in those 2 ballgames. All four games these guys pitched in went over. Opponents have brought in 29 runs total in Scherzers last 5. Between all of the 4 starts in this series between these starters, there were 45 totals runs in those games, averaging 11 per. Even if each starter gives up a few each, the relief should allow at least 3-4 putting this one at the 10+ run mark. Zona has averaged 7.5 RPG over Gaudins last 2, and SD averaged 5.5 RPG in Scherzers last 2.

$200 Boston -165
Wakefield will look to master the As for a third straight time Wednesday. Wake is 6-0 at home this year. The As have only scored 3 total runs in his last 2 outings against them. Tim didnt allow a run in his lone home start vs. Oak last season. This year he went the distance in Oakland allowing 2 ERs. Oakland has only scored a total of 14 runs in his 4 outings previous to today. Cahill will go for the As, and after 7 consecutive quality starts, his recent 2 outings were anything but quality. He allowed 12 ERs over 7 and a third, and the opponents put up a combined 26 runs in those games. Opponents have scored 36 runs in his last 4. Wakefield is on the bounce-back and is 3-1 in a bounce-back effort on the season. Sox have also outscored Oakland in the last 5 Fenway mtgs by a 24-13 margin.

[ThePlatinumStandard]

The Standard: 200 units (last day 8/31/09)
Yesterday: 2-2, -1.65 units

Currently: -61.20 units
Units remaining: 261.20

26-14-1, +58.80 units in first 8 days of July

Totals run of 20-10-2 last 32.


7/9/09

$1000 NY Yankees -105
Minnesota will try its best to stop a home sweep vs. Yanks today but will come up short. I know Liriano faced the Yanks earlier this season allowing just 1 ER on the road, but Liriano has not been the dominant pitcher he once was. He is 4-8 on the season with a 5.5 ERA just about. Not an ace in my book. The yanks have owned the Twins for years, and they send Aceves to the hill to fill in for Wang. Acevas has started previously and has not looked shabby. Yanks are 4-0 in Aceves starts and have outscored opponents 31-11 in those games. He has only allowed 7 ERs in his 4 starts so look for the Twins offense to sputter again. Yanks by a run.

Back with the rest later on.

[ThePlatinumStandard]

Remaining card for 7/9/09:


$1000 Houston -110
The Nats are in a bad position in this one, as they are 1-13 in game 1s of a series on the road this year. It gets worse as they are 5-23 in game 1s for the season and have yet to win in the road game following a road loss (0-5). Lannan has had some stellar outings this year, however, he has not gone deep in his last 3 following a long outing. He has faced the Stros 3x, allowing 7 ERs in 17 innings. Houston gets at least 4 on the board and that will be enough for the win. Nats have scored an average of 3 RPG over their last 15 road games. Ortiz has only allowed 12 ERs in his 6 home outings, and just 4 ERs in his last 3. Astros 4-3. Nats are 5-14 in last 19 Lannan rd starts. Astros are 24-11 in last 35 as a home fave.

$1000 San Fran -260
Lincecum has done everything right at home vs. SD in the past. He allowed 2 ERs in 4 home starts vs. SD in 28 inngs. Looking at his numbers vs. SD, he has only really had one bad outing vs. SD and that came on road. He allowed 4 ERs in less than 6 inngs. His last 10 vs. Pads shows a 7-3 team record, with only 11 ERs allowed over 69 innings. He usually allows 0-1 ER per outing. SF has won all 4 home outings, and outscored SD 16-8 in those gms. Josh Geer will counter for the Pads who were swept by Arizona. Padres have lost 6 of 7. Geer has allowed 20 ERs in his last 4 on road. SD will only compete with a superb effort from Geer, who on the road is 0-2(6.55 ERA). Pads are 5-9 in Geer starts, and 0-4 in his road ones. Pads run scoring over their last 8: 1 2 3 7 then 6 5 3 and 2.

$500 Atlanta +120
$200 Atl/Col Under 9
Hanson has been a great find. Glavine and Smoltz are distant memories. Hanson has been sharp over his last 5, allowing just 3 ERs which were bookends to 3 scoreless outings. Hanson is 4-0(2.25) on the year. He has gone an avg of 6 inngs per start, and looks sharper each time out. He had his longest outing his last start. Braves are 5-1 in Hansons starts. Rockies are 25-7 in their last 32 ballgames. Braves have won 7 of 10. The Rockies will have a letdown game after an easy sweep vs. Wsh. Cook is 8-3(3.76) and has dominated opponents of late allowing 1 ER in 4 of his last 6. The other two were 2 ER and 3 ER efforts. Too impressed with Hanson as he carved through the Sox and Yanks like they were non contenders. Braves 4-2.

$200 Fla/Arz Under 10
Andrew Miller will take to the hill to battle Petit tonight in Arizona. Miller has faced Zona 3 times previously, all quality starts. He allowed 2 runs over 7 innings in his most recent, back in May. Arizona has had trouble putting up massive amounts of runs and they will find themselves in another situation like that today facing Miller. Petit has been pretty awful lately allowing 18 ERs in his last 4 outings. He has however, pitched against the Marlins, where he allowed 1 ER over 6 innings just last season. That contest went under and so did Miller at a 2-0-1 clip to the under in his 3 vs. Arz. One of these starters, if not both, will have an outstanding effort in this one. Look for a 4-3 final at best if both pitchers have decent outings.

$200 Boston -1.5(Even)
Sox and Yanks continue their battle for supremacy in the AL East. One thing is for sure, the Red Sox will need to keep winning in this division. KC has started to slump as they do each and every year. Penny goes against Hochevar tonight. Penny has never faced KC, while Hoch has faced Boston 2x and allowed 12 ERs. Boston won those games by a 15-2 margin. Penny has been outstanding at home of late, and the Sox own KC at home. In their last 4 meetings in Boston, the Sox outscored KC 26-12, and in their last 7 meetings, Boston has a 45-20 scoring edge. Red Sox by 4.

[ThePlatinumStandard]

The Standard: 200 units (last day 8/31/09)
Yesterday: 3-4, +18.6 units

Currently: -42.60 units
Units remaining: 242.60


26-14-1, +77.40 units in first 9 days of July

Totals run of 20-12-2 last 34


7/10/09

$1000 Baltimore -105
The Orioles defeated the Jays 7-2 the last time Berken took the hill against this team. Look for similar results today as Baltimore will defeat Brett Cecil. Cecil has never faced Baltimore, but Toronto has lost his last 3 road starts and his last 4 all together. Opponents have scored 23 runs in his 4 road starts this year and 39 runs in his 7 starts total. That averages out to 5-6 per game. That will be enough against a Jays team who has lost 10 of their last 12 and are 16-30 in their last 46 gms. Talk about down the toilet. Throw in a 2-8 mark in their last 10 rd gms and 7-18 in their last 25 road gms you have trouble. Berken has not pitched bad at home and even if allowing 3-4 in this one, his team will get runs off the Jays. Look for a 3-4 run win by Baltimore.

$500 LA Angels +120
Yankees are 13-2 last 15 gms. Angels have won the last 7 of 9 mtgs at home with NY. Saunders will face Chamberlain. Joba has struggled at times this year. Opponents have tallied 17 total runs over his last 3 outings. He is 4-0 on road this year but Yanks come off a bullpen workout in the finale against Minny and will need Joba to go deep in this one to have a chance. Angels outscored Yanks 59-36 last year and 42-22 at home. Saunders will be happy he doesnt have to face Texas this time around as 15 of the 39 ERs he has allowed in his last 10 were at Texas. Besides those 2 outings, it shows over the other 8 gms he allowed just 24 ERs. He allowed 3 ERs in his last mtg with NY in a 4-3 win. Saunders has given up 23 ERs in 60+ inn at hm which makes LAA a live home dog.

$500 Oakland +150
The As have gotten some quality pitching of late and TB has struggled to score runs. A look back over each teams last 10 shows Oakland has allowed 5 or less total runs per game in 9 of their last 10. Tampa has only scored 5 runs or more in 2 of their last 10, making for a nice attempt at an upset. Tampa is over valued at home coming off the sweep of the lowly Jays who have lost 30 of their last 46 games. Niemann will go for TB and has allowed 14 ERs in nearly 30 innings at home. Mazzaro started out his Oakland career on fire but has simmered in his last 3 allowing 12 ERs in just 17 inn. He has been able to go 6+ in all but one start this year. He has allowed 10 ERs in 4 rd starts and opponents have netted an average of about 3 RPG in his rd outings. Should see a 4-3 final here.

$500 Chisox +115
Somehow, the White Sox come out victorious more than not with Danks on the hill against Minnesota. His stats arent the greatest but the Sox have won 4 of last 5 Danks outings against Minny. Blackburn can not say the same as the Twins are just 2-4 in his last 6 against the Sox. Both starters can definitly pitch a quality start tonight. Danks has only allowed 2 ERs in his last 2 outings vs. Minny over nearly 14 innings. Blackburn has allowed 3 ERs in his last 13 innings vs. Chicago. I give the edge to Danks who is in the zone right now pitching 7+ innings in his last 5 starts. Sox are 6-3 in Danks last 9 outings. Chicago 5-3.

$300 Florida/Arizona UNDER 8 (Nolasco/Haren)
Nolasco and Haren will both keep this one under the total. Nolasco is on fire of late as are the Marlins in his recent 5 outings. Florida is 5-0 in his last 5 starts, and he has gone 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA over his last 3. Opponents have only combined for 11 runs over his last 6 outings. Nolasco and the fish are 4-0 in his 4 previous outings against Arz. He allowed just 4 ERs in his 3 outings last season over a span of over 22 innings. All three of those outings went under the total. Haren has been anything but a slouch recently, as he has gone 2-1 in his last 3, with a 1.80 ERA. He has a 1.95 ERA at home. Haren has allowed 2 ERs or less in his last 8 starts, one of the longest streaks in the bigs right now. Last season he allowed 4 ERs over 2 outings vs. Fla. Look for 5 runs max in this one.

$200 Boston -1.5(-115)
(Bannister/Lester)
Red Sox are 4-2 after an opening series loss at home in gm 2. They send Lester to face Bannister. The Red Sox should bounce back after the loss last night but it seems like they are on a downswing as far as runs go. They are only 5-5 in their last 10. The good thing is their pitching has been great of late. Lester is at the top of that list going 2-0 in his last 3 with a 1.83 ERA. Boston has won 6 of his last 7 outings. Bannister and the Royals are complete opposites, losing 6 of his last 8 starts. The Sox have scored 23 runs in his previous 3 outings against them while KC was shutout last time they faced Lester. Last year, Lester went the distance allowing just 2 walks. A no-hit complete game. Royals should get a beat down after last night. Boston 7-1.

[Qbins Missile Crisis]

Nice run, keep it up.

Q