Sunday’s Recap (2-1 +1.05 units)
TB Rays -1.5
ATL Braves +115
NYY/SDP O 7.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rangers LHP Martin Perez (3-3, 3.93 ERA) at Angels RHP Jerome Williams (5-7, 4.60 ERA), 7:05 PM PST
Line: TEX -110, LAA +100
Today we’ll breakdown Game 1 of 3 in this division rivalry match up as the Rangers travel to Southern California to face the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels are falling behind the pack as they sit 12.5 games out first place while the Rangers who have won 6 of 7 come into tonight’s game trailing the first place Athletics by 2.5 games.
Ron Washington will hand the ball to Martin Perez in game 1 with hopes that the Rangers can continue their hot play. The 23 year old youngster will be starting his 16th career game and it looks like he’s starting to develop into a big league pitcher. He just faced the Angels last time out going 7 1/3, scattering 4 hits while allowing 1 earned run.
Journeyman Jerome Williams gets the nod for the Angels looking for his 39th career win through 108 starts. He hasn't won since June 11th and we don’t expect him to come away with a W tonight. Nelson (4 HRS, .611 BA) and Beltre (1 HR, .429 BA) own this guy and we expect one if not both of them to take Williams deep tonight. It should be a quick trip to the showers for Williams here as he’s been running on fumes for weeks.
With the Rangers rolling and the Angels struggling this is a story of two teams going in very opposite directions. We expect the Rangers to put up a 5 spot against Williams in game 1 and coast to an easy victory
Don’t let the smallish line fool you, Rangers big.
Prediction: Rangers 7, Angels 4, PLAY ON RANGERS -110
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Brewers RHP Tyler Thornburg (1-0, 2.22 ERA) at Giants RHP Chad Gaudin (5-2, 2.64 ERA), 10:05 EST.
Line: SF -160, MIL +145
The Brewers visit the Giants for a 3 game series featuring two teams with not much to play for. The Brewers have scored 10 runs in their past 4 games and narrowly avoided a sweep at home against the Nationals yesterday. Now they travel out to play 9 road games in the next 10 days starting in San Francisco.
The hapless Brewers send out 24 year old Tyler Thornburg to make his second start of the year. He’s small in stature but can really throw it, when dialed in his fastball can hit the high 90’s. As with most young pitchers control is usually the underlying issue and with Thornburg it’s no different. The Giants should be able to work his pitch count up which will lead to some walks which could lead to a potential big inning.
The Giants send 11 year journeyman Chad Gaudin to the hill. He’s pitched surprisingly well since being thrust into a starters roll last June. In his 9 starts this year he’s pitched a strong 49 innings allowing 17 runs and only 5 homeruns. We keep waiting for the wheels to fall off for this guy and we thought they would after his Las Vegas groping incident but he’s kept it together and keeps stringing together quality outings.
Both teams have really been struggling the past two months. However, as bad as the Giants have been, Gaudin has been pitching like a seasoned veteran. We expect him to keep the Brewers off balance for long enough before he turns the game over to the bullpen.
Prediction: Giants 5, Brewers 2, PLAY ON: Giants -1.5 +145
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Blue Jays RHP R.A. Dickey (8-11, 4.66 ERA) at Mariners RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (10-4, 2.76 ERA), 10:05 PM EST
Line: SEA -120, TOR +110
The Blue Jays travel up the coast to Seattle as they close out a brutal 10 game West Coast road trip with a 3 game series against the Mariners. Yesterday, the Blue Jays scored two runs in the 8th, then 2 more in the 9th to avoid a 4 game sweep against the Angels. The Mariners are back home and have been playing better ball lately.
Knuckle balling R.A. Dickey gets the start for the underachieving Blue Jays. Dickey was awarded an ace type contract this past off season and so far he has not lived up to the hype which surrounded him last year. R.A.’s last win came July 1 against the Tigers, since then he’s given up 20 earned runs in his last 5 starts. He’ll eat some innings, but unless the Jays can put up 4 or 5 runs it’s not likely they’ll come away victorious.
The Mariners send out second year sensation Iwakuma who has been lights out all year. The Japanese born pitcher started in the Mariners bullpen last year and was given a chance to start and has taken full advantage of his opportunity. His .97 WHIP trails only Max Scherzer this year and he also ranks in the top 10 in strikeouts and ERA. He is one of the top pitchers in the American League and should be able to keep the Blue Jays in check tonight.
Backing an undervalued Iwakuma and his profitable 9-3 home record here is a no brainer, especially at this price. We like the Mariners to get enough runs across against Dickey to get the job done.
Prediction: Mariners 7, Blue Jays 3, PLAY ON: Mariners -120