7/1/14<o
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Pirates vs. D’Backs<o></o>
Recommendation: Pirates -132<o></o>
ThePirates are home at PNC to welcome in the horrendous D’backs Tuesday night.Pittsburg is currently in great form, but have some work to do if they want tobe chasing a wild card spot come September. Leading the way is superstar AndrewMcCutchen, who is 10 for 31 in his last 8 ballgames. McCutchen is a glorifiedhitter who bats with power both in pull situations and to opposite field. Butwhat has impressed me the most over the last few weeks has been his platediscipline. He almost never goes out of the strike zone and works counts verywell. This leads to a lot of walks which as we know are as good as hits. So ontop of McCutchen’s tremendous hitting he is on base all that much more. He alsois coming off a day’s rest so he should be fresh and ready to go.<o></o>
SouthpawJeff Locke with throw for the Pirates. Locke is coming off a solid start andTampa and has a 2.54 ERA since being recalled from the minors. The eye testlooks like Locke is a capable pitcher, nothing special, and I think his statsresemble that. Arizona has been terrible against lefty’s so I don’t see themputting up many runs tonight, especially with Paul Goldschmidt slumping.Goldschmidt is 1 for his last 19 with 10 strikeouts. No surprise then that theD’backs are batting only .221 in their last 7 games.<o></o>
As Iexplained in more detail in a past write up, Arizona has given up on thisseason and are looking to unload everything they can before the tradingdeadline. This means that they don’t really care about wins and losses, butrather are looking to acquire young prospects for cheap and build for thefuture. The Pirates have every intention of making the playoffs this season,and must win games like these to have a chance. Take the Pirates. <o></o>
Royals @ Twins<o></o>
Recommendation: Royals -122<o></o>
RickyNolasco has been everything that the Twins didn’t want when they signed him toa 4 year contract in the offseason. He got lit up again in his last start,surrendering 6 earned against the Angels. His ERA now sits at an ugly 5.74. Thebiggest problem for Nolasco has been his fastball. Not even he knows where it’sgoing these days and you just can’t survive without fastball command at the bigleague level. <o></o>
JamesShields is a solid pitcher for KC but he has had his struggles lately as well.Although he has given up some runs, his stuff has looked much better thanNolasco’s and I would put my money on him to return to solid form before theTwins hurler. As a collective unit, KC ranks 5[SUP]th[/SUP] in the AL inoverall ERA. <o></o>
TheRoyals struggles at the plate have been a big topic all season, but theyshouldn’t have too much trouble getting the job done against Nolasco. KC’scurrent roster has a .333 BABIP against him and he is an ultimate “fade”pitcher in my book. It’s also worth noting that the Royals just signed RaulIbanez to give them some help on offense. Don’t know how much he has left inthe tank but maybe he can give them an energy boost at least. Take the Royals. <o></o>
Reds @ Padres <o></o>
Recommendation: Reds -106<o></o>
Allcredit to Jesse Hahn for the Padres win on Monday night. The rookie continuesto look strong, and the Padres were definitely the right side last night. Thatbeing said, you’re not going to win many games 1-0. San Diego has snuck out thefew wins that they have by dominating pitching. I’ll give credit where creditis due. I still love betting against the Friars because they just can’t hit,and that gives me a chance to win night in and night out. <o></o>
MatLatos pitched a great game last night and wasn’t rewarded. I see a muchdifferent outcome happening tonight as Mike Leake goes for his 4[SUP]th[/SUP]straight win. As good as San Diego’s pitching has been, Cincy’s has been justas good. Not to mention with Joey Votto back in the lineup they now have theoffense to go with it. Votto not onlymakes his presence known with his own play, but makes those around him betteras well. Since his return to the lineup, the Reds are showing a lot morepatience at the plate, not going out of the strike zone near as much. Thistells me that not only is Votto the best player on the team, he is also astrong leader. <o></o>
Mike Leakeis shutting down offenses with the best of them. With a fastball consistentlyaround 93-94, Leake can overpower hitters when he needs to but also beat themwith finesse when the situation calls for it. He’s be opposed by Ian Kennedy,who is one of the Padres currently not pitching well. He’s 0-3 with a 6.08 ERAin his last 4 starts. There’s just no way that Cincy gets shut out two nightsin a row, and that’s bad news for a team that flat out can’t score. Take theReds. <o></o>
></o>Pirates vs. D’Backs<o
></o>Recommendation: Pirates -132<o
></o>ThePirates are home at PNC to welcome in the horrendous D’backs Tuesday night.Pittsburg is currently in great form, but have some work to do if they want tobe chasing a wild card spot come September. Leading the way is superstar AndrewMcCutchen, who is 10 for 31 in his last 8 ballgames. McCutchen is a glorifiedhitter who bats with power both in pull situations and to opposite field. Butwhat has impressed me the most over the last few weeks has been his platediscipline. He almost never goes out of the strike zone and works counts verywell. This leads to a lot of walks which as we know are as good as hits. So ontop of McCutchen’s tremendous hitting he is on base all that much more. He alsois coming off a day’s rest so he should be fresh and ready to go.<o
></o>SouthpawJeff Locke with throw for the Pirates. Locke is coming off a solid start andTampa and has a 2.54 ERA since being recalled from the minors. The eye testlooks like Locke is a capable pitcher, nothing special, and I think his statsresemble that. Arizona has been terrible against lefty’s so I don’t see themputting up many runs tonight, especially with Paul Goldschmidt slumping.Goldschmidt is 1 for his last 19 with 10 strikeouts. No surprise then that theD’backs are batting only .221 in their last 7 games.<o
></o>As Iexplained in more detail in a past write up, Arizona has given up on thisseason and are looking to unload everything they can before the tradingdeadline. This means that they don’t really care about wins and losses, butrather are looking to acquire young prospects for cheap and build for thefuture. The Pirates have every intention of making the playoffs this season,and must win games like these to have a chance. Take the Pirates. <o
></o>Royals @ Twins<o
></o>Recommendation: Royals -122<o
></o>RickyNolasco has been everything that the Twins didn’t want when they signed him toa 4 year contract in the offseason. He got lit up again in his last start,surrendering 6 earned against the Angels. His ERA now sits at an ugly 5.74. Thebiggest problem for Nolasco has been his fastball. Not even he knows where it’sgoing these days and you just can’t survive without fastball command at the bigleague level. <o
></o>JamesShields is a solid pitcher for KC but he has had his struggles lately as well.Although he has given up some runs, his stuff has looked much better thanNolasco’s and I would put my money on him to return to solid form before theTwins hurler. As a collective unit, KC ranks 5[SUP]th[/SUP] in the AL inoverall ERA. <o
></o>TheRoyals struggles at the plate have been a big topic all season, but theyshouldn’t have too much trouble getting the job done against Nolasco. KC’scurrent roster has a .333 BABIP against him and he is an ultimate “fade”pitcher in my book. It’s also worth noting that the Royals just signed RaulIbanez to give them some help on offense. Don’t know how much he has left inthe tank but maybe he can give them an energy boost at least. Take the Royals. <o
></o>Reds @ Padres <o
></o>Recommendation: Reds -106<o
></o>Allcredit to Jesse Hahn for the Padres win on Monday night. The rookie continuesto look strong, and the Padres were definitely the right side last night. Thatbeing said, you’re not going to win many games 1-0. San Diego has snuck out thefew wins that they have by dominating pitching. I’ll give credit where creditis due. I still love betting against the Friars because they just can’t hit,and that gives me a chance to win night in and night out. <o
></o>MatLatos pitched a great game last night and wasn’t rewarded. I see a muchdifferent outcome happening tonight as Mike Leake goes for his 4[SUP]th[/SUP]straight win. As good as San Diego’s pitching has been, Cincy’s has been justas good. Not to mention with Joey Votto back in the lineup they now have theoffense to go with it. Votto not onlymakes his presence known with his own play, but makes those around him betteras well. Since his return to the lineup, the Reds are showing a lot morepatience at the plate, not going out of the strike zone near as much. Thistells me that not only is Votto the best player on the team, he is also astrong leader. <o
></o>Mike Leakeis shutting down offenses with the best of them. With a fastball consistentlyaround 93-94, Leake can overpower hitters when he needs to but also beat themwith finesse when the situation calls for it. He’s be opposed by Ian Kennedy,who is one of the Padres currently not pitching well. He’s 0-3 with a 6.08 ERAin his last 4 starts. There’s just no way that Cincy gets shut out two nightsin a row, and that’s bad news for a team that flat out can’t score. Take theReds. <o
></o>
