MLB Weekend Top 10
The Milwaukee Brewers were 10-1 favorites heading into Thursday’s action to win the National League pennant. Bargain or bust? The Brewers were only two games behind the St. Louis Cardinals (6-1) in the NL Central, but the Cards have a run differential of +25 on the season compared to –6 for Milwaukee. It’s going to take a very strong second half to get the Brew Crew into the playoffs.
They might get one if they trade for Roy Halladay. But it looks like he’ll make at least one more start for the Blue Jays this Friday, one of the 10 games in our latest Top 10 betting preview.
All stats are at press time; for the freshest MLB betting lines, visit sports.bodog.com.
Top 10 paying teams
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (61-34, 21.30 units)
2. Los Angeles Angels (55-38, 17.35 units)
3. Texas Rangers (52-41, 13.81 units)
4. Colorado Rockies (52-43, 9.45 units)
5. Seattle Mariners (50-44, 8.49 units)
6. Philadelphia Phillies (53-39, 7.78 units)
7. San Francisco Giants (50-44, 6.29 units)
8. Chicago White Sox (49-45, 5.20 units)
9. Houston Astros (49-46, 4.85 units)
10. Boston Red Sox (55-39, 4.55 units)
Top 10 paying pitchers
1. Matt Palmer, L.A. Angels (9-2 team record, 10.64 units)
2. Jeff Niemann, Tampa Bay (13-4, 9.99 units)
3. Tim Wakefield, Boston (13-4, 9.22 units)
4. Felix Hernandez, Seattle (15-5, 8.80 units)
5. Jason Marquis, Colorado (13-6, 8.76 units)
6. Josh Johnson, Florida (14-5, 8.60 units)
7. Matt Cain, San Francisco (14-5, 8.19 units)
8. Mark Buehrle, Chicago White Sox (14-5, 7.60 units)
9. Wandy Rodriguez, Houston (14-6, 7.49 units)
10. Josh Beckett, Boston (14-5, 6.72 units)
This weekend’s top 10 storylines
1. Pittsburgh trades 1B Adam LaRoche to Boston for two minor-leaguers
2. Cardinals send OF Chris Duncan to Red Sox for SS Julio Lugo
3. Kansas City OF Jose Guillen hospitalized with leg pain
4. Rockies push next start for Jason Marquis (blister) from Friday to Tuesday
5. Jason Schmidt earns second start for Dodgers Sunday against Florida
6. Bobby Jenks to remain White Sox closer, says manager Ozzie Guillen
7. Nationals place SP Jordan Zimmerman (elbow) on 15-day DL
8. Twins starter Glen Perkins (shoulder) to visit specialist
9. Colorado closer Manny Corpas (elbow) to undergo surgery Friday
10. Dodgers OF Manny Ramirez (bruised left hand) comes off bench to hit grand slam versus Reds
This weekend’s top 10 games to bet on
1. Sunday: Chicago White Sox at Detroit (8:05 p.m. Eastern, ESPN)
It’s off to Comerica Park for the Sunday Night Baseball crew. The under is 41-20-4 in the last 65 games these two AL Central rivals have played in Detroit.
2. Saturday: Minnesota Twins at L.A. Angels (4:10 p.m., FOX)
The Halos are just heavenly right now at 26-9 in their last 35 contests.
The Twins split the first six games of this 10-game road swing; they’re 20-27 (–4.99 units) on the road this year.
3. Friday: Tampa Bay at Toronto (7:07 p.m.)
Halladay (11-7 team record, –0.03 units) pitched a complete game against Boston last week and won 3-1. The Rays, undaunted, are 5-2 in their last seven encounters with Halladay.
4. Sunday: St. Louis at Philadelphia (1:35 p.m., TBS)
The Phillies had their 10-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday by the Chicago Cubs. They’ll send J.A. Happ (6-5, +0.34 units) to the mound; the converted reliever is officially 7-0 with five no-decisions and a 2.68 ERA.
5. Friday: San Francisco at Colorado (9:10 p.m.)
The Rockies have climbed their way up the money standings with 32 wins in their last 43 games. Jason Hammel (10-6, +5.43 units) will start against our No. 7 money pitcher, Cain.
6. Sunday: Florida at L.A. Dodgers (4:10 p.m.)
The Dodgers have won five in a row and easily have the best run differential in the majors at +114. The Marlins are back above .500 at 49-47 after winning their last three, but their run differential is still in the red at –16.
7. Saturday: Oakland at N.Y. Yankees (1:05 p.m.)
The Yankees (57-37, +1.45 units) are back in the black and two games ahead of Boston in the AL East after winning six straight – all six going under.
8. Friday: Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs (2:20 p.m.)
The best pitcher in the Cubs rotation could be Randy Wells (7-6, –0.11 units) who has the under at 9-4 on the season and 5-1 in his last six starts. The Cubs are also 5-1 in his last six.
9. Saturday: Baltimore at Boston (7:10 p.m.)
The Sox are clinging to life in our Top 10 thanks to a five-game losing streak. Jon Lester (12-7, +2.02 units) will look for a win after getting victimized by Halladay on Sunday.
10. Sunday: Cleveland at Seattle (4:10 p.m.)
This is a pitcher’s matchup deluxe with Cleveland’s Cliff Lee (3.17 ERA, but last in the majors at –10.69 units) squaring off against King Felix (2.45 ERA and No. 4 on our money list). The under is a combined 25-15-1 in their starts.
