Recap:
Last Night: 1-3 -2.25 **Consensus lost
Consensus Pick 5-6 --2.49 ----*gonna start tracking
YTD: 60-37 +28.20
MLB Tue, Aug 23, 2005
MLB Hot Lines: Tuesday`s best bets
Covers.com staff
Houston Astros at San Diego Padres – under 6 ½
Oh, it’s tempting. Totals don’t get much lower than this 6 ½-point limbo stick, but before you take a header over the top, step back and look at the big picture. There are three things you have to consider here: Roger Clemens, Jake Peavy and PETCO Park. Granted, Clemens is coming off a fairly pedestrian start, but remember that the five earned runs he allowed last week was an uncharacteristic outing for the future Hall of Famer. Only once this season did Clemens have what could be considered a “bad start.” He bounced back with a three-hit, one earned run, seven-strikeout performance five days later.
Peavy has been looking like a young Roger Clemens, averaging more than nine strikeouts over his last five starts. And at PETCO Park, the most influential pitcher’s park in the majors, the under is 4-1 in his last five appearances even though the total never climbed above 7 ½ runs.
Cleveland Indians at Tampa Bay Devil Rays – Devil Rays (+144)
Here’s an interesting statistic: The Tampa Bay Devil Rays have won more money at home than all but two major league teams this year. Of course, their record 33-30 is far worse than either Houston or Boston, but with more than 11 units in the safe at Tropicana Field, you have to like this line against a Cleveland starter that has looked very hittable recently. Jake Westbrook has been helped out by good run support, but his ERA has risen to 6.35 over his last three starts. In his only start against the D-Rays this year, he got lit up for six runs in four innings. Tampa’s Mark Hendrickson hasn’t exactly been stellar either, but the Devil Rays have won in his last four starts.
St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates – Pirates (pick)
As long as Zach Duke keeps winning, you absolutely must keep backing him. Unlike another rookie phenomenon on the other side of the country, Duke’s heroics have gone largely unsung, keeping prices under control. The 22-year-old has a personal 6-0 record (including five shutouts) and the Pirates are 6-3 when he’s got the ball. Duke seems to have it all together, while the Cards’ Jason Marquis is absolutely falling apart. He’s dropped more than 12 units in his last 10 starts and enters this game on a six-game losing slide.
"It seems like it`s just snowballing," Marquis said. "It`s like last year, when I had that streak when I didn`t lose games, it snowballed into a good streak. Now it`s the opposite."
Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees – Blue Jays (+151)
The Jays need this win badly. They just got swept by Detroit and followed it up with a bad loss in New York last night, but even though they’re slipping out of the wild card picture, this is not a bad team. They have good bats throughout the lineup and their relief pitching is more dependable than that of the Yankees. A decent starter is all they need to complete the picture. Unfortunately, with Roy Halladay and Ted Lilly on the shelf, the only time they get solid production out of their starter is once every five games when Josh Towers is on the mound. Fortunately, tonight`s his night. The right-hander has won five of his last six starts and hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of them.
Towers will be up against New York’s Al Leiter, who has finally climbed out of the depths of the Yankee rotation where he was struggling against high pitch counts and poor location. Now he’s rolling with three consecutive quality starts, but consistency hasn’t exactly been the 40-year-old’s calling card this year.
Last Night: 1-3 -2.25 **Consensus lost
Consensus Pick 5-6 --2.49 ----*gonna start tracking
YTD: 60-37 +28.20
MLB Tue, Aug 23, 2005
MLB Hot Lines: Tuesday`s best bets
Covers.com staff
Houston Astros at San Diego Padres – under 6 ½
Oh, it’s tempting. Totals don’t get much lower than this 6 ½-point limbo stick, but before you take a header over the top, step back and look at the big picture. There are three things you have to consider here: Roger Clemens, Jake Peavy and PETCO Park. Granted, Clemens is coming off a fairly pedestrian start, but remember that the five earned runs he allowed last week was an uncharacteristic outing for the future Hall of Famer. Only once this season did Clemens have what could be considered a “bad start.” He bounced back with a three-hit, one earned run, seven-strikeout performance five days later.
Peavy has been looking like a young Roger Clemens, averaging more than nine strikeouts over his last five starts. And at PETCO Park, the most influential pitcher’s park in the majors, the under is 4-1 in his last five appearances even though the total never climbed above 7 ½ runs.
Cleveland Indians at Tampa Bay Devil Rays – Devil Rays (+144)
Here’s an interesting statistic: The Tampa Bay Devil Rays have won more money at home than all but two major league teams this year. Of course, their record 33-30 is far worse than either Houston or Boston, but with more than 11 units in the safe at Tropicana Field, you have to like this line against a Cleveland starter that has looked very hittable recently. Jake Westbrook has been helped out by good run support, but his ERA has risen to 6.35 over his last three starts. In his only start against the D-Rays this year, he got lit up for six runs in four innings. Tampa’s Mark Hendrickson hasn’t exactly been stellar either, but the Devil Rays have won in his last four starts.
St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates – Pirates (pick)
As long as Zach Duke keeps winning, you absolutely must keep backing him. Unlike another rookie phenomenon on the other side of the country, Duke’s heroics have gone largely unsung, keeping prices under control. The 22-year-old has a personal 6-0 record (including five shutouts) and the Pirates are 6-3 when he’s got the ball. Duke seems to have it all together, while the Cards’ Jason Marquis is absolutely falling apart. He’s dropped more than 12 units in his last 10 starts and enters this game on a six-game losing slide.
"It seems like it`s just snowballing," Marquis said. "It`s like last year, when I had that streak when I didn`t lose games, it snowballed into a good streak. Now it`s the opposite."
Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees – Blue Jays (+151)
The Jays need this win badly. They just got swept by Detroit and followed it up with a bad loss in New York last night, but even though they’re slipping out of the wild card picture, this is not a bad team. They have good bats throughout the lineup and their relief pitching is more dependable than that of the Yankees. A decent starter is all they need to complete the picture. Unfortunately, with Roy Halladay and Ted Lilly on the shelf, the only time they get solid production out of their starter is once every five games when Josh Towers is on the mound. Fortunately, tonight`s his night. The right-hander has won five of his last six starts and hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of them.
Towers will be up against New York’s Al Leiter, who has finally climbed out of the depths of the Yankee rotation where he was struggling against high pitch counts and poor location. Now he’s rolling with three consecutive quality starts, but consistency hasn’t exactly been the 40-year-old’s calling card this year.
