7/19/14 Yesterday's Results 1-1 July Record (17-14 54.84%)<o
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Reds @ Yankees <o></o>
Recommendation: Reds +116<o></o>
AlfredoSimon has been dynamite all year, and he’ll be going for a 9[SUP]th[/SUP]straight quality start today in the Bronx. Simon has 12 wins to go along with a2.70 ERA. Sharps have been waiting for his numbers to decline all season, ashis sabermetrics indicate that he should be primed for a regression. That just hasn’thappened, and we’re way too far into the season to suggest that his performancehas been any kind of a fluke. This is also an interleague matchup so theYankees bats won’t have seen Simon at all. <o></o>
BrandonMcCarthy will make his second start in pinstripes after giving up 4 runsagainst Cleveland in his first. McCarthy is essentially the exact opposite of Simon.With an ERA near 5 while in Arizona, most “wise-guys” have been looking for hisnumbers to improve. They’re actually dead on, as McCarthy has without a doubtbeen the most unlucky pitcher in all of baseball. His FIP along with othernumbers indicate that he should be having much more success, but I wouldexercise caution until we actually see the turnaround happen. Throwing for theYankees may actually be a disadvantage for McCarthy, as the infield behind himis one of the worst in the AL. <o></o>
TheReds are playing good ball despite Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips being on theshelf. They have plenty of motivation as the NL Central is completely up forgrabs. We’re getting good value with the underdog price so this side isdefinitely worth a play. Take the Reds. <o></o>
Indians @ Tigers GAME 1 (Kluber vs. Verhagen)<o></o>
Recommendation: Indians -128<o></o>
CoreyKluber was a great “bet on” pitcher at the start of the season. He has quality “ace”stuff, and is blossoming into a superstar. The market has since caught up withKluber and most of his games are now priced too high to bet. We have a rareinstance here where he is small chalk against a guy making his major leaguedebut. Kluber has had a very nice first half of the year, posting a 3.01 ERA.He has a 2.06 ERA is his last 5 starts, with a stellar 34/6 strikeout to walkratio during that span. <o></o>
Asmentioned, Drew Verhagen will be making his debut for the Tigers. He went 6-7with a 3.67 ERA for AAA Toledo. Verhagen has a low to mid 90’s fastball, which ishis best pitch. His breaking ball is well below average, lacking theappropriate spin resulting in him often leaving it hanging up in the zone. Hismechanics and delivery are inconsistent, which leads him to struggle with hiscommand. Verhagen may be better suited as a set up man in the bullpen rather thana full time starter. <o></o>
TheIndians we’re 7 ½ games behind Detroit heading into the All-Star break. They havea prime opportunity here to cut that gap significantly after putting 9 runs onthe board in their victory yesterday. Cleveland’s bats are hot and they havethe right guy on the mound to get a victory in the first game of theirdoubleheader. Take the Indians -128. <o></o>
Astros @ White Sox<o></o>
Recommendation: Astros +102<o></o>
Big pitchingadvantage to the Astros here as Dallas Keuchel takes the mound for Houston.Keuchel for the most part has pitched very well, going 9-5 with a 3.20 ERA. Hewas in the running to be an All-Star, but did slump his last 4 games headinginto the break. The southpaw is a rather unconventional type pitcher. He has aslow fastball that does contain some movement. His changeup is usually his outpitch, dropping out of the zone causing a lot of swing and misses. His commandis excellent, one of the reasons he’s has such success this season. <o></o>
Houston’soffense is in a major funk right now but there’s no better pitcher to face tohelp them come out of it than Hector Noesi. Noesi gave up 6 runs and walked 4in just 4 2/3 innings in his last start. The White Sox have lost 5 of his last6 starts. His command issues will likely help out the Astros tonight, leadingto some run support for Keuchel. With some time off to work on his mechanics,Keuchel should come out strong and be back in the same form he was in a coupleof weeks ago. Take the Astros. <o></o>
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></o>Reds @ Yankees <o
></o>Recommendation: Reds +116<o
></o>AlfredoSimon has been dynamite all year, and he’ll be going for a 9[SUP]th[/SUP]straight quality start today in the Bronx. Simon has 12 wins to go along with a2.70 ERA. Sharps have been waiting for his numbers to decline all season, ashis sabermetrics indicate that he should be primed for a regression. That just hasn’thappened, and we’re way too far into the season to suggest that his performancehas been any kind of a fluke. This is also an interleague matchup so theYankees bats won’t have seen Simon at all. <o
></o>BrandonMcCarthy will make his second start in pinstripes after giving up 4 runsagainst Cleveland in his first. McCarthy is essentially the exact opposite of Simon.With an ERA near 5 while in Arizona, most “wise-guys” have been looking for hisnumbers to improve. They’re actually dead on, as McCarthy has without a doubtbeen the most unlucky pitcher in all of baseball. His FIP along with othernumbers indicate that he should be having much more success, but I wouldexercise caution until we actually see the turnaround happen. Throwing for theYankees may actually be a disadvantage for McCarthy, as the infield behind himis one of the worst in the AL. <o
></o>TheReds are playing good ball despite Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips being on theshelf. They have plenty of motivation as the NL Central is completely up forgrabs. We’re getting good value with the underdog price so this side isdefinitely worth a play. Take the Reds. <o
></o>Indians @ Tigers GAME 1 (Kluber vs. Verhagen)<o
></o>Recommendation: Indians -128<o
></o>CoreyKluber was a great “bet on” pitcher at the start of the season. He has quality “ace”stuff, and is blossoming into a superstar. The market has since caught up withKluber and most of his games are now priced too high to bet. We have a rareinstance here where he is small chalk against a guy making his major leaguedebut. Kluber has had a very nice first half of the year, posting a 3.01 ERA.He has a 2.06 ERA is his last 5 starts, with a stellar 34/6 strikeout to walkratio during that span. <o
></o>Asmentioned, Drew Verhagen will be making his debut for the Tigers. He went 6-7with a 3.67 ERA for AAA Toledo. Verhagen has a low to mid 90’s fastball, which ishis best pitch. His breaking ball is well below average, lacking theappropriate spin resulting in him often leaving it hanging up in the zone. Hismechanics and delivery are inconsistent, which leads him to struggle with hiscommand. Verhagen may be better suited as a set up man in the bullpen rather thana full time starter. <o
></o>TheIndians we’re 7 ½ games behind Detroit heading into the All-Star break. They havea prime opportunity here to cut that gap significantly after putting 9 runs onthe board in their victory yesterday. Cleveland’s bats are hot and they havethe right guy on the mound to get a victory in the first game of theirdoubleheader. Take the Indians -128. <o
></o>Astros @ White Sox<o
></o>Recommendation: Astros +102<o
></o>Big pitchingadvantage to the Astros here as Dallas Keuchel takes the mound for Houston.Keuchel for the most part has pitched very well, going 9-5 with a 3.20 ERA. Hewas in the running to be an All-Star, but did slump his last 4 games headinginto the break. The southpaw is a rather unconventional type pitcher. He has aslow fastball that does contain some movement. His changeup is usually his outpitch, dropping out of the zone causing a lot of swing and misses. His commandis excellent, one of the reasons he’s has such success this season. <o
></o>Houston’soffense is in a major funk right now but there’s no better pitcher to face tohelp them come out of it than Hector Noesi. Noesi gave up 6 runs and walked 4in just 4 2/3 innings in his last start. The White Sox have lost 5 of his last6 starts. His command issues will likely help out the Astros tonight, leadingto some run support for Keuchel. With some time off to work on his mechanics,Keuchel should come out strong and be back in the same form he was in a coupleof weeks ago. Take the Astros. <o
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