Yesterday 2-1-0 +4.92 Units
Last 30 Days 32-37-1 +8.64 Units
Season To Date (Since March 2010) 156-189-3 +11.62 Units
All games are listed pitchers unless stated otherwise.
San Francisco +1.72 over COLORADO
Note the 3:10 PM EST start. After the Rockies 12-game losing streak, including two losses to the Pirates, they finally won the series finale and subsequently swept the Cubs. Between them, the Cubs and Pirates are 83-140 and the Cubs have lost eight straight. Well, the Giants came in here last night and throttled the Rocks 10-0. They made Colorado look like a minor-league team and in fact, the Giants outhit them 19-3 and the Rockies struck out 13 times. Furthermore, the Giants are now 14-3 over its last 17 road games and what ailed them in previous years, a lack of offense, is ailing them no more. In fact, the Giants led the NL in runs scored in the month of July and the last time they faced Ubaldo Jiminez on July 3, in Colorado, they scored seven times in six innings en route to an 11-8 win. Jimenez threw seven strong innings against Pittsburgh on Thursday, however, prior to that he had five poor outings in his last six starts and needed 123 pitches to get through the Pirates. Jiminez could very well be feeling fatigued and one of the signs of fatigue is walks. He’s walked 12 and struck out 13 in his last three starts and in no way will the Giants be intimidated by him. The Giants have won four of Madison Bumgarner’s last five starts. The kid just keeps throwing quality games and gives the Giants a chance to win every time he takes the mound. He has yet to allow more than four runs in any start this season and that only occurred once, in his season debut. Since then, he’s allowed a total of 10 runs in six starts and while Jiminez has to be considered the better pitcher here, Bumgarner is in better form at the moment, the Giants overall are in much better form than Rockies and you can times that by 10 when discussing the respective bullpens. Overlay. Play: San Francisco +1.72 (Risking 2 units).
Toronto +1.69 over NY YANKEES
Note the 1:05 PM EST start. The Yanks were cruising along up until the trade deadline but a 65-35 record was not good enough for the New York Yankees. No, they had to bring in Austin Kearns, Lance Berkman and Kerry Wood. Not that they were bad moves but there’s an old cliché that says, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it and that’s precisely what the Yanks did. In a key situation on Monday night (2 on, 2 out with the score 8-5), Joe Girardi pinch-hit for Brett Gardiner with Kearns and Kearns promptly struck out. Surprise, surprise. Gardiner had been terrific all year in these situations and one can only surmise how he and the rest of the team felt when Kearns ended the threat. How about Curtis Granderson? He’s going to lose playing time also. Since the deadline, the Yanks have dropped four of five and were two-hit last night by Ricky Romero. Also consider the A-Rod distraction too. You can just sense that the whole team, aside from A-Rod, is sick of waiting for this thing to happen. They bring in new marked balls whenever he steps to the plate and that delays the game. A-Rod is in his glory knowing the whole world is watching but a look-in at the dugout shows the “get over yourself look” on the rest of the squad. The Yanks are a great team and they’ll snap out it for sure. However, they’re presently not in a good frame of mind and they’re way overpriced with Hughes on the hill. Hughes’ skills have been declining for weeks. The Yanks are just 3-3 over his lat six starts and one of those was against the Jays in which Toronto tagged him for five runs in six innings. Since June 8, Hughes ERA has steadily risen from 2.70 to the present 4.07 and a ground-ball rate of just 31% since that June 8 start is further proof that Hughes is laboring. Shaun Marcum is building a strong case for AL Comeback Player of the Year honors after missing the entire 2009 season due to September 2008 Tommy John surgery. In fact, he is currently flashing career-best skills. Marcum experienced elbow inflammation in early July, which resulted in a brief DL stint, but has impressed in his return, which includes a sparkling 19/1 K/BB in three starts spanning 17 IP. He posted a season-best ten strikeouts without a walk in Friday's dominating performance over the Tribe. Marcum has allowed two runs or less in six of his last seven starts and over that stretch he struck out 42 and walked just 10. On the year covering 125 frames, he’s walked a lousy 28 batters while striking out 102. Yeah, the Yanks are dangerous as hell and could break out at any time. However, this is still a big overlay and the Jays are absolutely feeling it right now. Play: Toronto +1.69 (Risking 2 units).
Last 30 Days 32-37-1 +8.64 Units
Season To Date (Since March 2010) 156-189-3 +11.62 Units
All games are listed pitchers unless stated otherwise.
San Francisco +1.72 over COLORADO
Note the 3:10 PM EST start. After the Rockies 12-game losing streak, including two losses to the Pirates, they finally won the series finale and subsequently swept the Cubs. Between them, the Cubs and Pirates are 83-140 and the Cubs have lost eight straight. Well, the Giants came in here last night and throttled the Rocks 10-0. They made Colorado look like a minor-league team and in fact, the Giants outhit them 19-3 and the Rockies struck out 13 times. Furthermore, the Giants are now 14-3 over its last 17 road games and what ailed them in previous years, a lack of offense, is ailing them no more. In fact, the Giants led the NL in runs scored in the month of July and the last time they faced Ubaldo Jiminez on July 3, in Colorado, they scored seven times in six innings en route to an 11-8 win. Jimenez threw seven strong innings against Pittsburgh on Thursday, however, prior to that he had five poor outings in his last six starts and needed 123 pitches to get through the Pirates. Jiminez could very well be feeling fatigued and one of the signs of fatigue is walks. He’s walked 12 and struck out 13 in his last three starts and in no way will the Giants be intimidated by him. The Giants have won four of Madison Bumgarner’s last five starts. The kid just keeps throwing quality games and gives the Giants a chance to win every time he takes the mound. He has yet to allow more than four runs in any start this season and that only occurred once, in his season debut. Since then, he’s allowed a total of 10 runs in six starts and while Jiminez has to be considered the better pitcher here, Bumgarner is in better form at the moment, the Giants overall are in much better form than Rockies and you can times that by 10 when discussing the respective bullpens. Overlay. Play: San Francisco +1.72 (Risking 2 units).
Toronto +1.69 over NY YANKEES
Note the 1:05 PM EST start. The Yanks were cruising along up until the trade deadline but a 65-35 record was not good enough for the New York Yankees. No, they had to bring in Austin Kearns, Lance Berkman and Kerry Wood. Not that they were bad moves but there’s an old cliché that says, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it and that’s precisely what the Yanks did. In a key situation on Monday night (2 on, 2 out with the score 8-5), Joe Girardi pinch-hit for Brett Gardiner with Kearns and Kearns promptly struck out. Surprise, surprise. Gardiner had been terrific all year in these situations and one can only surmise how he and the rest of the team felt when Kearns ended the threat. How about Curtis Granderson? He’s going to lose playing time also. Since the deadline, the Yanks have dropped four of five and were two-hit last night by Ricky Romero. Also consider the A-Rod distraction too. You can just sense that the whole team, aside from A-Rod, is sick of waiting for this thing to happen. They bring in new marked balls whenever he steps to the plate and that delays the game. A-Rod is in his glory knowing the whole world is watching but a look-in at the dugout shows the “get over yourself look” on the rest of the squad. The Yanks are a great team and they’ll snap out it for sure. However, they’re presently not in a good frame of mind and they’re way overpriced with Hughes on the hill. Hughes’ skills have been declining for weeks. The Yanks are just 3-3 over his lat six starts and one of those was against the Jays in which Toronto tagged him for five runs in six innings. Since June 8, Hughes ERA has steadily risen from 2.70 to the present 4.07 and a ground-ball rate of just 31% since that June 8 start is further proof that Hughes is laboring. Shaun Marcum is building a strong case for AL Comeback Player of the Year honors after missing the entire 2009 season due to September 2008 Tommy John surgery. In fact, he is currently flashing career-best skills. Marcum experienced elbow inflammation in early July, which resulted in a brief DL stint, but has impressed in his return, which includes a sparkling 19/1 K/BB in three starts spanning 17 IP. He posted a season-best ten strikeouts without a walk in Friday's dominating performance over the Tribe. Marcum has allowed two runs or less in six of his last seven starts and over that stretch he struck out 42 and walked just 10. On the year covering 125 frames, he’s walked a lousy 28 batters while striking out 102. Yeah, the Yanks are dangerous as hell and could break out at any time. However, this is still a big overlay and the Jays are absolutely feeling it right now. Play: Toronto +1.69 (Risking 2 units).
