Kyle Hunter sports picks – A degree in finance and a great ability to follow important trends and statistics set him apart from the rest. Totals are Kyle's specialty, so look for a lot of totals picks from NBA, NCAAF, & the NFL. Check out his plays today.
The Todd Graham era at Pittsburgh lasted less than 12 months. Graham left Pittsburgh after one season to be the Head Coach at Arizona State. Pittsburgh Panthers fans were not fond at all of the way Graham left, and you can’t blame them one bit.
The home run derby has gained popularity over the years, and you could argue it is more popular with many fans than the All-Star Game itself. People love to see home runs, and there is no better time to see the power hitters blast long balls than at the home run derby.
Last night’s Yankees vs. Red Sox series opener had plenty of fireworks. Both teams put up a five spot in the first inning. The Yankees ended up winning a slugfest 10-8. On Saturday, the teams will play a day-night doubleheader.
For the fourth time in the last five years the Cincinnati Bearcats finished with double digits in wins in 2011. The Bearcats went just 4-8 in Butch Jones’ first year, but they went 10-3 and beat Vanderbilt in the Liberty Bowl at the end of the season. Cincinnati made a big move in 2011, but they return just 11 starters from that team.
New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox MLB Betting Preview
Starting Pitchers: New York (Kuroda) vs. Boston (Beckett)
Date/Time: July 6, 7:10 p.m. EST on MLB Network
MLB Gambling Odds from BetOnline
Moneyline: Boston (-107) New York (-103)
Runline: Red Sox -1.5 (+135) vs. Yankees +1.5 (-155)
Total: 9.5
The Yankees and Red Sox have only seen each other once so far this year, which means they’ll be seeing a lot of each other from here on out. The Yankees have gotten hot and ran out to a healthy lead in the AL East, while the Red Sox have been streaky all season long. It’s the best rivalry in all of baseball. Let’s take a look at Friday night’s series opener.
The Bronx Bombers continue to pile up the home runs this season. New York has bashed out 126 homers so far this year, which is the most in the majors. Robinson Cano may be the hottest hitter in baseball right now. Cano has at least two hits in 7 of his last 10 games. He has his average up to .316 for the season, and he leads the team with 50 RBI’s. Derek Jeter’s resurgence has really helped this offense as well. Jeter is hitting .303 so far this year. Six Yankees have at least 11 home runs. Even though the offense is very good, it has been the improved pitching which has helped the team make a run over the last month.
Josh Beckett has seen plenty of the New York Yankees in his career. Beckett is 14-7 with a 5.36 ERA in his career against the Yankees. It’s very surprising to see such an impressive record with a high ERA, but the Red Sox have clearly supported him well against the Yankees. Beckett is 4-7 with a 4.06 ERA in 2012. The Red Sox haven’t been getting many innings out of their starters, and they would really like to see Beckett go deep into this game. Offensively, the Red Sox have been very good this season. Despite missing Ellsbury and Crawford, the Red Sox are averaging 5.01 runs per game. Boston has scored two runs or less in each of their last five games, so they’ll need to get it going again against the high-powered Yankees offense.
The oddsmakers couldn’t decide who to favor in this one. The lineups are both very good. At essentially even money I like the team with the better pitching staff.
MLB Free Pick: Yankees ML
South Florida started the 2011 season 4-0 before falling apart and losing 7 of their last 8 games. The team lost four games by a field goal, so there were plenty of close calls. In fact, Coach Skip Holtz called it by far his most frustrating season ever as a coach.
Greg Schiano was a legend at Rutgers for putting the football program back on the map. He broke a lot of hearts when he left to coach the Tampa Bay Bucs after last season. You can’t really blame the guy for taking an NFL job over a Big East college football job, but the Scarlet Knights program was definitely disappointed.
Heading into the 2011 season, no one expected much of anything from the Louisville Cardinals. Louisville finished with 5-2 record, which tied for the best mark in the Big East.
These teams enter this game with nearly identical records. Both have been surprises, but in different ways so far this year. The Orioles have been much better than expected, while the Angels haven’t lived up to expectations.
A few weeks ago the Dodgers had the best record in baseball and everything was looking great. Now, the Dodgers are in a tailspin and looking like a team destined to head back to the .500 mark.
Oakland dominated the first game of this three-game set, but Boston starts Ace Jon Lester in this one. The Red Sox started the season poorly, but they have been playing good baseball for the last month or so.
Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics MLB Betting Preview
Starting Pitchers: Boston (Lester) vs. Oakland (Colon)
Date/Time: July 3, 10:05 p.m. EST
MLB Gambling Odds from TopBet
Moneyline: Boston (-131) Oakland (+121)
Runline: Red Sox -1.5 (+125) vs. Athletics +1.5 (-145)
Total: 7.5
Oakland is proving to be a scrappy team that is difficult to beat, especially at home. Let’s take a look at this Tuesday night matchup.
The Red Sox might consider Jon Lester their Ace, but he hasn’t pitched like one so far this season. Lester is 5-5 with a 4.53 ERA in 2012. He has allowed 109 hits in 101 innings pitched. He has a very disappointing 1.34 WHIP. Lester has been one of the better pitchers in the American League over the past four years, but he hasn’t been able to find his command this year. Boston’s offense has been short-handed all season, but this team has still managed to pile up the runs. Boston is averaging an impressive 5.14 runs per game. Veteran David Ortiz and youngsters Daniel Nava and Will Middlebrooks are all exceeding expectations and leading the way for this offense.[dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Bartolo Colon will start for the Athletics in this contest. Colon hasn’t started a game since June 17due to an oblique injury. He is 6-7 with a 4.22 ERA this year. The Athletics have managed to stick around .500 despite having the worst team batting average in the majors. Oakland is 20-19 at home so far in 2012. Josh Reddick leads a more powerful than expected middle of the order. Reddick has 19 homers already this year. Yoenis Cespedes has missed a lot of time this year, but he looks like a guy who will hit a lot of home runs for many years to come. The Athletics are fifth in the majors in stolen bases. The pitching staff has a solid 3.53 ERA.
Both of these pitchers have been inconsistent at best this year. Colon is coming off an injury against a good lineup, and Lester has yet to prove himself this season. I like this one to go over the posted total.
MLB Free Pick: Over 7.5
High profile pitching matchups are always a lot of fun, and they don’t get much better than Verlander vs. Price. Justin Verlander won the American League MVP award last year, and David Price leads all of baseball with 10 wins already this year.
Washington Nationals vs. Colorado Rockies MLB Betting Preview
Starting Pitchers: Washington (Zimmerman) vs. Colorado (Outman)
Date/Time: June 27, 8:40 p.m. EST
MLB Gambling Odds from BetOnline
Moneyline: Washington (-145) Colorado (+135)
Runline: Nationals -1.5 (+105) vs. Rockies +1.5 (-125)
Total: 10.5
It’s certainly a surprise to most people that the Washington Nationals are at the top of the ultra-competitive National League East in late-June. The dominance of the pitching staff has allowed the Nationals to win a lot of close games this year. Colorado is having a surprisingly terrible season thus far. The Rockies are 14 games out of first place in the NL West. Let’s take a closer look at this matchup.
Jordan Zimmerman doesn’t get a ton of hype in the media, but he is a very solid pitcher for the Nationals. Zimmerman hasn’t gotten any run support this year. He is just 3-6 despite a brilliant 2.89 ERA. Can the Nationals provide some him with some run support at Coors Field? Bryce Harper has been a big contributor in his rookie season with Washington. Ian Desmond and Adam Laroche are both hitting for more power this year. Ryan Zimmerman is batting just .224, and the team needs more from him as the season moves along. The Nationals pitching staff leads the majors with a spectacular 2.98 ERA.
Colorado is still piling up the runs, but their pitching staff is so terrible that they haven’t been able to win consistently in 2012. The Rockies have a team ERA of 5.29, which is easily the worst mark in the majors. Josh Outman is 0-3 with an 8.64 ERA so far this season. Carlos Gonzalez is batting .327 with 17 homers and 53 RBI’s. Dexter Fowler started the season in a major slump, but he has been red hot over the last month. Fowler is becoming more of a power hitter, and he still has terrific speed as well. The absence of Troy Tulowitzki hurts this offense quite a bit. Tulowitzki will be out several more weeks with a severe groin injury. The Rockies simply have to outscore the opposition to win games right now.
Zimmerman gives the Nationals a major pitching advantage here. Look for Washington to actually give him some run support here and allow him to pick up a win.
MLB Free Pick: Washington ML
There isn’t a more heated rivalry in baseball than the Dodgers vs. the Giants. The bad blood between these two runs extremely deep.
Two streaky teams square off in this Interleague series finale Thursday night in Boston. Both Miami and Boston have looked great at times this year and looked terrible at times this year.
Two streaky teams square off in this Interleague series finale Thursday night in Boston. Both Miami and Boston have looked great at times this year and looked terrible at times this year.
