6/27/14
A’s @ Marlins
Recommendation: A’s -148
The Oakland A’s are the best teamin the majors at the moment averaging 5.1 runs per contest. They’re looking fortheir 7th win in 9 games and they figure to have a good shot atdoing so behind the brilliant Jesse Chavez. Chavez continued his dominance inhis last start allowing 0 runs over 7 innings. He actually had some bad luck inthe process. The A’s were up 1-0 in the 8th when the home plateumpire made a terrible call. Boston ended up tying the game and that led Chavezto receive a no decision. Nonetheless, it’s clear that Chavez has been one ofthe most pleasant surprises among starting pitchers this season.
The Marlins have been playing poorball at home lately, averaging only 3 runs over their last 16 home games.Rookie Anthony DeSclafani will try to turn the Fin’s struggles around, but itdoesn’t look likely. DeSclafani comes into this one with a 7.59 ERA. He got litup by the Mets in his last outing and we all know how woeful their offense is.That’s not good news against a team with one of the best offenses in theleague.
There’s also the “hangover” affectin play after Miami suffered a heartbreaking loss against the Phillies thatwent 14 innings Thursday night. The bullpen will be severely taxed after havinga total of 5 relievers used last night. That means that DeSclafani will have togo deep into the ballgame, something he’s not nearly equipped to do. Take the A’s.
Padres vs. D’Backs
Recommendation: UNDER 6.5
ThePadres head into this contest after a game in which you can’t play much worse,getting no hit by the Giants. We all know about the Friars anemic offense, butit’s just getting out a control now. Getting no hit by the “Freak,” a player whosevelocity is way down and has struggled mightily this year, is absolutelyridiculous!
They’ll take their swings against BrandonMcCarthy tonight. McCarthy’s numbers are terrible this season as he is alreadyat 10 losses. However, he has by far been the most unlucky pitcher in the game.His FIP indicates that his ERA should be a lot lower, and although he’s farfrom a strength for Arizona, a turnaround should come in the near future.Things have just not gone Brandon’s way, plain and simple.
Wordcame out this week that the D’Backs are looking to “unload the ship,” so tospeak. Realizing that they are far away from contending, GM Kevin Towers willlook to trade away as many pieces as possible before the trading deadline. Theproblem for AZ is they just don’t have any talent to give away. Things arelooking very bad in the desert, and may stay that way for a long time.
TysonRoss throws for the Padres. He’s been on and off his last couple of starts, butwhen he’s on, he looks like one of the best pitchers in the game. Ross hastremendous stuff and just doesn’t get enough recognition because he plays in asmall market. But this guy can flat out pitch!
We’lltake our chances that McCarthy will be able to keep San Diego’s offense incheck. Ross is more than capable of shutting down Arizona. This game smellslike a 2-1 finish. Take the Padres-D’Backs UNDER.
Braves @ Phillies
Recommendation: Braves -139
The Philliesfront office has conned their fans into believing that this team can actuallycompete this season. What they really need to do is unload a few big contractsbefore the trading deadline. Chase Utley to the Giants seems to be a perfectfit. Jimmy Rollins needs to go as well. Some of these guys do have no tradeclauses, by why wouldn’t Utley want to play for a team like San Fran? Rollinshas also been on record as saying that he would like to play for a contender.It’s time for Philly to stop hanging on and start from scratch.
The latestproblem for the Phillies is their inability to hit with runners in scoringposition. They are batting .149 with RISP in their last 6 ballgames. KyleKendrick toes the rubber for Philly. Kendrick is a below average pitcher andallowed 5 runs in his last outing against the Cards. The “hangover” affectcomes into play in this game, as the Phillies used 6 relievers in their 14inning game yesterday. The Phillies well no doubt be tired and that will affectan offense that is already struggling.
JulioTeheran has absolutely dominated the Phillies this season. His stats read 1-0with only run and 7 hits given up in the 2 times he’s faced them this season.The Braves are way too talented to be putting up the gaudy numbers at the platethat they have been lately. This is a prime spot to heat things up against astruggling Kyle Kendrick. Look for the Braves to easily handle a Philly teamthat is exhausted both physically and mentally. Take the Braves.