MLB Plays 4/20 - 4/26

Yesterday 1-1 +10
Week One Posted plays 4/13-4/19 8-6-1 +335
YTD 8-6-1 +335

Three plays I like for Wednesday. Lines hollywood

Baltimore +100 over Boston 100 to win 100

Got to go with the big bats in this one. A little nervous to back Orioles lefty Chen against the good right handed hitters on Boston, however he has turned in two solid starts this season against the Yankees. Plus he has been throwing strikes (only one walk in 15 IP this season). On the other hand Red Sox starter David Wells is looking like he may not have much left in the tank. Despite the fact is off a solid start against Tampa Bay, opposing hitters are batting .338 off of him this season. That doesn't bode well against an O's offense that is hitting .295 and scoring nearly 6 a game. Good value here.

Oakland +100 over Seattle 100 to win 100

While I normally make my plays based on stats and matchups. I'm going to go against the grain on this one and bet that Zito doesn't go to 0-4. M's starter Piniero was noticably rusty in his first start last Sunday against Chicago. He was hit hard and had trouble throwing strikes. The fact that he has won his last 6 decisions against the A's gives me some pause. Additionally historically Zito has had a tough time against Seattle. That said, Zito has been pretty tough on Righties, and the heart of Seattle's order Sexson Beltre, and Boone are all RH. I think that Zito steps up and gets his first W here, with the A's getting to Piniero for some early runs.

White Sox/Tigers under 9.5 -110 110 to win 100

In this one, you have two pitchers Garland/Ledezma who have pitched pretty well this season. Both get a lot of grounders when they are 'on', and did so in their last starts. Though the Tigers have been scoring a lot of runs this year, I feel that this one will be a fairly low scoring affair that will go under the fairly high 9.5 line.

Good luck

Yesterday 0-3 -310

YTD 8-9-1 +25

Three games I like today. Lines hollywood

Oakland -109 over Seattle 218 to win 200

I'm going to ride A's pitcher Harden in this one, as I believe that by the end of the year he's going to be talked about as one of the elite pitchers in baseball. The Oakland offense showed some signs of life last night, coming back from a 4-0 deficit only to lose 7-6. Seattle pitcher Ryan Franklin has pitched well in two starts this season, but frankly, I'm not convinced that he is anything more than average or slightly below.

Cleveland +139 over LA Angels 100 to win 139


In a battle of winless pitchers, I'm going to side with the dog, and who I believe is the better pitcher. While the Indians offense has been pretty poor, I think there is good value in this spot backing Millwood. Millwood is winless despite the fact that he pitched very well in his first two starts and was cruising against the Twins until he tired late in his last start. Angels pitcher Washburn has proven very hittable in the past, providing a good opportunity for the Indians to get off the schnide. I believe Millwood contains the Angels here in his first ever appearance against them and gets the W.

Arizona/San Francisco over 7.5 +110 100 to win 110

While both teams have been struggling offensively of late, I think that the over is a solid play here. While Giants pitcher Schmidt can be dominating, I've never thought much of D'backs pitcher Russ Ortiz. In three previous starts against the Giants, his ERA is nearly 10. Ortiz has been giving up a lot of baserunners this season, and that should continue tonight. Schmidt pitched poorly in his last start as well (granted at Coors) so I think the Diamondbacks will get some runs as well.

Good luck

as I just said in another post - Harden will win the Cy Young this year