Friday: Rays Make Their Move YTD: 306-278, + 59.8 units

Thursday: 2-1, +2.5 units.

Tampa: -1. 5 units.
Tampa-1/2. First 5 IP. One unit. Tampa is just looking like a complete team (except Carlos Pena). They go out west and win 2 out of 3 from the red hot A's, 2 out of 3 from the Angels, and before that 2 out 3 from the O's in Baltimore. They're hitting finally, and hitting in the clutch. They beat some very good pitchers on their west coast swing. Now they have struggled at home, but Tommy Hunter might be someone just right to break their home slump. Hunter is a true HR pitcher, giving up one each 4 IPs this year. The Rays are now confident in their hitting, and it's a good time to start this home stand- against a poor pitcher.

Tampa's BP has also become lights out, while Baltimore's is fading. Matt Moore has gone through a mid-summer slump but now seems to be pitching well again. Shut down the Angels last start. His control also improved his last 2 starts, and hasn't given up a HR in his last 5 starts.

Tampa, cont.: I like a home team coming off a great road trip to win the first game of the series. Though Baltimore hit fairly well in NY, they were slumping before that. They hit Nova hard, but he seems to be downtrending anyways.

Texas: 2 units RL
Texas: 1 unit ML.
Texas -1/2. First 5 IPs. Two units. I know they're coming off a grueling series with LA, but this pitching matchup is too good to be true. Guthrie against the Rangers the way they are hitting. The Rangers hit all kinds of good pitching vs. LA. Could they be finally breaking out? Other than Beltre, it seems entirely possible. If you take out the Jered Weaver game, in which they only K'ed 3 times(not bad), scoring only twice, they have been hitting better going back longer than the last 2 games. Their BB:K ratio the past 7 games is very good, which means they are making great contact while facing good pitching- which Guthrie is not. Harrison is their best starter, though he is coming off 2 mediocre starts. Before that he had 12 quality starts in a row. KC has knocked around the crummy Indians starters, sending Lowe to the Waiver wire, but looked helpless vs. Seattle in 4 recent games. Other than Billy Butler, most of the Royals haven't seen Harrison much, and he'll be expected to pitch deep into this game to rest the Ranger BP. But KC is also coming off an extra inning game and has a used up BP, and no Broxton. The Rangers might be tired, but are used to the heat, and rested some players in the Angels series.

Atlanta:2 units. RL. The Astros battled at home winning one and almost winning a few more. But their BP is so dreadful, they can't hold anything except a very large lead. And did you notice how bad it got in Milwaukee? The Brewers all of a sudden looked like the 61 Yankees. I have a feeling this road trip is going to be a disaster for Houston, while they put together a piecemeal team(which made plenty of errors in Milw.) Facing a crafty pitcher like Hudson is about the worst kind of pitcher for a young, not confident team. He throws a wide repertoire of pitches and speeds. And the Braves have a BP. If not for one bad inning by Ben Sheets Wednesday, the Braves might have a 9 game winning streak. Anyways, they are hot and at home. This RL is at -130, but that might be a bargain. Galaragga is the x factor here. The Braves haven't seen him, but I'll give you his last 5 starts in the minors: 27 IPs, 16 runs, 6 HRs, and 12 BBs. Not too good. His last outing vs. Pittsburgh was okay, but the Pirates are not hitting well anymore and Houston is a pitcher's park.

Seattle:ML. One unit. This one is at +237 as I write this. Mariners off a 7 game winning streak, and hitting at Safeco. Usually they hit better on the road, so we'll see. Most of their dead bats like Pegeuro, Smoak and Ichiro are gone. Millwood has pitched well vs. the Yankees this year overall. A-Rod hit him well in Seattle recently, but he's on the DL. This Yankee lineup is not what it used to be, and Granderson looks like Dave Kingman. Many Ks and once in a while a HR. Sabathia can sometimes take an inning or 2 to loosen up, so I'm hoping he gives up some early inning runs. Both BPs solid, though the Yanks is more experienced.

After carefully scouring the rest of the card, the only play I could find is one of my pathetic totals. It'll count for me, but I'd run the other way if I were you.

Cubs/ LAD: under 24.5. H+R+E. One unit. Both pitchers are pretty good lately about avoiding the long ball, and both teams are hitting fairly poor in the past week. The Cubs don't usually hit too well on the road anyways. Also, Samardjzia has been almost dominating in his past 4-5 starts, whiffing many. And the Dodgers have only seen him for 3 innings- in which he did not give up a hit. The Dodgers only run outburst in a while was vs. soft tosser Zito. Samardjzia is the polar opposite. Since both pitchers can go far into a game, the bullpens may not be needed very much. First game of the series, in a pitcher's park.

o fred said:

Atlanta:2 units. RL. The Astros battled at home winning one and almost winning a few more. But their BP is so dreadful, they can't hold anything except a very large lead. And did you notice how bad it got in Milwaukee? The Brewers all of a sudden looked like the 61 Yankees. I have a feeling this road trip is going to be a disaster for Houston, while they put together a piecemeal team(which made plenty of errors in Milw.) Facing a crafty pitcher like Hudson is about the worst kind of pitcher for a young, not confident team. He throws a wide repertoire of pitches and speeds. And the Braves have a BP. If not for one bad inning by Ben Sheets Wednesday, the Braves might have a 9 game winning streak. Anyways, they are hot and at home. This RL is at -130, but that might be a bargain. Galaragga is the x factor here. The Braves haven't seen him, but I'll give you his last 5 starts in the minors: 27 IPs, 16 runs, 6 HRs, and 12 BBs. Not too good. His last outing vs. Pittsburgh was okay, but the Pirates are not hitting well anymore and Houston is a pitcher's park.

Click to expand...

Make this 3 units on ATL. After carefully looking through the Astros lineup, I think there are some inflated BAs. They are probably coming down. Sounds unbelievable considering how bad the Astros have been.

How did you miss Seattle?

Sorry Fred...just had to do it. LMAO

Fantastic night. Thank you for the effort.

BOL to you and your followers.