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Free Baseball Predictions: Texas Rangers vs. L.A. Angels of Anaheim Preview

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With the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels both in the hunt for a postseason bid, this weekend’s three-game series sets the table for a big showdown at the Big A , beginning with Halos pitching ace Jared Weaver aiming to improve to 8-0 at home against the Rangers on Friday night.

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Free Baseball Predictions: Houston Astros v San Diego Padres Preview

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The teams started the four game series by splitting a pair, and headed into Wednesday’s Game 3 with the Padres coming off a rare 8-run win. But to the surprise of many, turned around and turned in another 8-run performance.

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Free Baseball Predictions: Miami Marlins vs. Chicago Cubs Preview

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While making the postseason seems a stretch, the Chicago Cubs have turned a corner, and will aim to extend their success with a win over the visiting Miami Marlins at Wrigley Field on Wednesday.

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Free Baseball Predictions: Chicago White Sox vs. Boston Red Sox Preview

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The Boston Red Sox spoiled Kevin Youkilis’ return to Fenway for the first time since being traded on Monday night, as they downed the Chicago White Sox–winners of seven straight in Boston–by the score of 5-1.

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Free Baseball Predictions: Washington Nationals vs. Miami Marlins Preview

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The Miami Marlins are in some desperate need of some wins after a miserable first half of the season, which currently has them sitting four games under .500 after skidding into the All Star break on a two-game losing streak.

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Free Baseball Predictions: Oakland A’s vs. Minnesota Twins Preview

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Oakland headed into the All-Star break bursting with confidence.

Winners of six of its last seven, and sitting at .500 on the year for the first time since 2008, when it was 51-44 at the half, but ultimately finished a disappointing 75-86.

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Free Baseball Predictions: Chicago White Sox vs. N.Y. Yankees Preview

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The White Sox arrived at Yankees’ Stadium on Thursday, winners of five of their last seven, but it was still a shocker when they rallied back from three runs down in the top of the ninth on a Dayan Viciedo three-run homer off David Robertson, ending the team’s string of six straight losses to the their New York nemesis.

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Free Baseball Predictions: Detroit Tigers v Tampa Bay Rays Preview

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Fresh off a three-game series in Texas, the Detroit Tigers continue their road swing with a trip to the Sunshine State to take on the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday.

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Free Baseball Predictions: Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets Preview

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The New York Mets take to the road on Monday night at Wrigley Field, looking to get back in the win column when they face a Chicago Cubs team that owns the worst record in major league baseball.

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Free Baseball Predictions: Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees Preview

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The New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians begin their three-game season series after the Yankees took four of seven 2011 meetings when the two meet up in the Bronx on Monday.

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Free Baseball Predictions: Toronto Blue Jays vs. Miami Marlins Preview

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The Toronto Blue Jays will fly south of the border this weekend to take on the Miami Marlins in a three-game set.

Both teams are teetering on the .500 mark, and they have both been wildly inconsistent. So this one is up for grabs.

TOR: Brett Cecil (1-0, 3.60 ERA) v MIA: Josh Johnson (4-5, 4.18 ERA)
Date/Time: Saturday, June 23, 2012, 1:10 PM ET
Venue: Marlins Park in Miami Florida
Broadcast: RSN (Toronto), FOX Sports (Florida)
Line: OFF
Over/Under: OFF

Matchup | Preview 

The Jays continue their current nine-game road trip with this set against Miami. They are coming off a series loss to the Brewers. They have actually won four of their last six, but when you look at it in a broader manner you see a team that is has actually lost 8-of-13.

The Jays will hope that they can turn things around before the All-Star break, and a good showing in the sunshine state could set the team in the right direction.

Meanwhile, the Fish have just been flat out awful as of late. After claiming first place in the division back in late May they have since fallen apart. The club has dropped 12 of their last 14, and shows no signs of reversing that trend anytime soon.

The pitching match-up:
Jays – Brett Cecil 1-0 3.60 ERA – 5 K’s – 1.20 WHIP

Cecil is no stranger to the big leagues, but he is coming off his first start of the 2012 season. The hard-slinging southpaw pitched as well as he needed to in his outing against the Phillies. Going five innings while walking just one batter. He gave up five hits and two runs in that start, picking up the win in the process. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]

Marlins – Josh Johnson 4-5 4.18 ERA – 70 K’s – 1.46 WHIP
Johnson has just has not been able to find his past form during the 2012 campaign. He has started to come around as of late though. The 28-year old has not given up more than three runs in his last eight starts. The Marlins have won six times during that span. In the two losses, he has been given just one run total of support. Maybe things are looking up for the young right-hander.

Players to watch for:
Jays – Jose Bautista .232/22/52/.353

Bautista doesn’t have much of a track record against Johnson, but he has started to find his stroke as of late. He has piled up 22 long balls this season, and looks poised to build on his back- to-back campaigns of 43-plus home runs.

Marlins – Giancarlo Stanton .269/14/42/.344
Stanton has just two hits in his last seven games, but he is just too talented to be kept down for too long. He has 14 homers on the season, but just one has come in the current month. This was back on the June 6. He has yet to face Cecil this season, but hits lefties at a .328 clip. Including a homer every 13 at-bats.

Matt’s Free Prediction: Toronto

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Free Baseball Predictions: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Los Angeles Angels Preview

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While the Dodgers came on strong since opening day, the Angles lagged way behind in the AL West, but have recently shifted things into high gear and now challenge a slumping Texas Rangers for top spot in the division.

LAD: Chad Billingsly (4-5, 3.75 ERA) v LAA: Dan Haren (4-7, 3.97 ERA)
Date/Time: Friday, June 22, 2012, 7:15 PM ET
Venue: Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California
Broadcast: Fox Sports West / Prime Ticket
Line: Angels -165
Over/Under: 7

Matchup | Preview 

The Dodgers meanwhile, were a bit of a surprise team this season, and have found a way to keep things rolling even without triple crown candidate Matt Kemp, who went down with an injury a few weeks back.

Nothing has been able to slow this team down as of yet, except for a precious outing against Anaheim.

The Halos took 2-of-3 at Dodgers Stadium, and since then have won 4-of-6.

An uptick to an otherwise disappointing season, in which people pointed fingers all over the place, but most in the direction of Albert Pujols when the team sat under .500 49 games into the 2012 season.

However, Prince Albert has reclaimed his royalty, and the Angels have been soaring ever since.

Ad into the mix that Mike Trout has been sensational since being recalled, and it’s possible the Angels could be on the verge of a miracle season.

The pitching match-up:
Dodgers – Chad Billingsley 4-5 3.75 ERA – 75 K’s – 1.35 WHIP

Billingsley got off to a good start in April, but since then he has been pretty inconsistent with more than a couple of clunkers thrown. In fact, in his last 10 starts, the veteran righty has allowed at least four runs in five of them. Including his last outing against the White Sox. If the Dodgers expect to be contenders into October, Billingsley has to get his stuff back. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]

Angels – Dan Haren 4-7 3.97 ERA -77 K’s – 1.34 WHIP
It’s been pretty surprising to watch Haren this season-or frustrating if you’re an Angels fan. The experienced right-hander has shown flashes of brilliance, bit has also tanked, like losing he last three straight. A few of his starts have gone the other way though has he’s tallied four wins. While Haren has gotten off to a rocky start in June, he should still approach 200 strikeouts again this season, and certainly has the talent to get things back on track this weekend.

Players to watch for:
Dodgers – Bobby Abreu .285/1/15/.390

After being cast from Anaheim Stadium, Abreu found a home with the other team from LA, and has actually been quite productive. He may be shy of .300 with his average, but his OBP more than makes up for that as it sits at .390. It will be interesting to see how he performs at the place that he spent 4+ seasons.

Angels – Mike Trout .338/6/28/.397
The 20-year old Trout he has been nothing short of phenomenal since being reinstated in the bigs. Besides his offensive numbers, the defense, attitude and hustle are all right there with them.

Matt’s Free Prediction: Angels

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Free Baseball Predictions: San Francisco Giants vs. LA Angels Preview

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After falling short of making the postseason two consecutive seasons, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim went on a giant free-agent spending spree. So far, it hasn’t paid huge dividends.

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Free Baseball Predictions: Colorado Rockies vs. Philadelphia Phillies Preview

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Starting pitcher Cole Hamels has been on the downturn much like the rest of the Phillies, winning just one of his last three starts.

However, he and his teammates will look to turn things around when they host the slumping Colorado Rockies in the opener of a three-game set on Tuesday.

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Free Baseball Predictions: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. L.A. Angels Preview

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After taking two of three games in their Freeway series with the Dodgers earlier in the week, the Los Angeles Angels will make the short trip back to Anaheim Stadium, where they will open a three-game set against an Arizona Diamondbacks’ team that has been enormously inconsistent in putting runs on the scoreboard.

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Free Baseball Predictions: L.A. Angels vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Preview

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The Dodgers continue to rack up wins, even without slugger Matt Kemp. Now they will look to piggyback on a very successful road trip, when they host the surging Los Angeles Angels at Chavez Ravine in Game 2 of a three-game Freeway Series on Tuesday.