Monday August 22, 2011

Seattle Mariners @ Cleveland Indians

With the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees both struggling somewhat over the past couple of weeks, things have opened up in the MLB betting race for the American League pennant, as the defending AL champion Texas Rangers have crept back into the picture. The Rangers had won six straight heading into their weekend series against the Chicago White Sox, moving them to just 2.5 games back of the Yankees for first in the AL.

Boston Red Sox @ Kansas City Royals

Saturday, 7:10 PM ET

Consecutive losses to the Tampa Bay Rays pushed Boston back to a half-game back of the Yankees for first place in the AL East, and while they should have no problem getting into the postseason as the comfortable Wild Card, the Red Sox will not want to settle with the chance at a pennant and home field advantage on the line. Boston has an excellent opportunity to make up the ground that they lost this past week with a weekend series visiting one of the worst teams in baseball, especially considering that two of their better pitchers will get the chance to throw. Veteran Tim Wakefield will once again aim for his 200th career win on Saturday when he throws opposite of Felipe Paulino, who is 1-9 this season with a 4.30 ERA.

MLB Betting Free Pick: Kansas City Royals

New York Yankees @ Minnesota Twins

Saturday, 7:10 PM ET

While the Red Sox look to take advantage of the Royals, there is no sports betting reason to think that the Yankees won’t keep pace as they battle the Twins on the road. AJ Burnett has struggled with his consistency all season, but for the most part he has been able to give the team five innings with no more than three or four earned runs allowed. That should be more than enough to allow the New York offense to pick up the slack against Francisco Liriano, who is 8-9 with a 5.12 ERA this season. The Yankees have scored more runs than any other team, and had 29 in the four games before this series opened on Thursday.
MLB Betting Free Pick: New York Yankees

Texas Rangers @ Chicago White Sox

Saturday, 7:10 PM ET

The Wild Card in this race has to be the Rangers, who can very well take over top spot in the next week if they can keep their hot streak going. Texas will turn to ace Alex Ogando on Saturday to battle Jon Danks of the White Sox, and while Ogando has struggled somewhat lately, he still has a 12-5 record with a 3.33 ERA. Even despite his recent struggles the team has bailed him out as Texas’ offense has come alive for three straight wins in games that he has started and it wouldn’t be a MLB betting bonus surprise to see them get another.

MLB Betting Free Pick: Texas Rangers

Online betting players shouldn’t count out the defending World Series champions from San Francisco just yet, although the Giants need a big week to stay in the hunt for the wild card in case they can’t win the National League West. They’ll come up huge in Atlanta against the Braves, who have a few injuries in their rotation.

What: MLB Betting
When: Monday, August 15th- Thursday, August 18th
Where: Turner Field, Atlanta, GA
Free Pick: San Francisco Giants

(All pitching matchups are tentative)

Monday, 7:00 PM ET – Madison Bumgarner (7-11, 3.53) vs. Tim Hudson (12-7, 3.18)

Bumgarner is coming off his best performance of the season, tossing seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts against Pittsburgh, and he would like to avenge his lone meeting against the Braves, which came in his fourth start of 2011. The 22-year-old gave up four runs in 2.2 innings to Atlanta at home, and now he will make his first start at Turner Field with solid road splits. Despite a 3-5 record in 11 away starts, Bumgarner has a 3.06 ERA. Meanwhile, Hudson just keeps on going, and a win in Florida was his 12th straight start of allowing three runs or less. A win over the Giants back in May took his career record to 6-4 in 14 starts against San Francisco with a 3.43 ERA.

The Braves should be the MLB betting favorites here as Hudson has a 7-4 record in 14 starts at Turner Field this year, and he has been as hot as anyone in the majors over the last month or so. Bumgarner has allowed five runs or more in three of his last 10 starts, so he can be inconsistent at times.

Betting Edge: Atlanta Braves

Tuesday, 7:10 PM ET – Jonathan Sanchez (4-7, 4.29) vs. Tommy Hanson (11-7, 3.60)

Sanchez hasn’t made it out of the fifth inning in his last four starts, and he ranks second in the National League in walks, which drives his pitch count up. A no-decision in April gives the 28-year-old a 1-3 mark in eight games (six starts) against the Braves with a 5.63 ERA, and he is also 0-1 in two starts in Atlanta with an ERA of 6.30. Hanson has struggled mightily since the All-Star break (he was one of the bigger snubs in either league), allowing three runs or more in three of five starts, and after he allowed four homers in New York against the Mets, he was skipped in the rotation and received a cortisone shot in his shoulder. The 24-year-old allowed a run in seven innings to beat the Giants in April, and he is now 2-0 in three starts against San Francisco with a 2.14 ERA.

Again, the Braves will probably be MLB betting favorites here at home and Hanson is 5-4 in 11 home starts with a 3.15 ERA, but the youngster may be hurting physically and mentally. This may be the only game in this series in which you bet on the over in your best sportsbook.

Betting Edge: San Francisco Giants

Wednesday – Matt Cain (9-9, 3.00) vs. Jair Jurrjens (12-4, 2.63)

This could be the best pitching matchup of the series between these two, and Cain will be eager to get on the mound as he has dropped his last three starts, although it would help if the Giants scored more than a combined four runs in those three starts. Cain hasn’t faced the Braves in 2011, but in his career the 26-year-old is 2-2 in five starts against Atlanta with an ERA of 4.03, posting a 1-1 record in two starts at Turner Field with a 3.00 ERA. Jurrjens gave up five runs in Washington and has been having troubles with his knee, you’ll have to confirm that he will actually start this game on Wednesday. The 25-year-old has split his four meetings against the Giants, posting an ERA of 2.70, and he is 7-1 in 10 starts at home with a 2.39 ERA.

Atlanta will be favored at home, but the Giants should stage a slight upset on this day as no one knows how healthy Jurrjens is. He had issues with health last year and they seem to be creeping up again, and Cain will be looking to get back into the win column.

Betting Edge: San Francisco Giants

Thursday – Tim Lincecum (10-9, 2.69) vs. Mike Minor (2-2, 4.84)

With less than two months to play in the MLB betting regular season, things are beginning to heat up in the division races as the leaders look to make their marks and pull away while the other top contenders look to keep pace. Here is a quick look at some of the most intriguing matchups for this weekend in baseball.
Tampa Bay Rays @ New York Yankees
Friday, 7:05 PM ET

A year ago this game could have very well decided who was in sole possession of first place in the American League East, and although the Rays haven’t been able to maintain a postseason level of play, this will still be a crucial game for both teams. Tampa Bay will find out where they are in terms of their season and what they will need to improve on the most as they get New York at its best, while the Yankees are simply looking to keep pace with the Boston Red Sox for the division lead in the AL East. Everything will be there for this game under the bright lights of Broadway including a couple of Cy Young caliber pitchers in David Price and CC Sabathia, but it’s the offense that gives New York the edge in game one of a MLB Betting three-game series.

MLB Betting Free Pick: New York Yankees

Boston Red Sox @ Seattle Mariners
Friday, 10:10 PM ET

The Red Sox have managed to take over sole possession of first place in the AL East even with their projected starting rotation taking a huge hit beyond Josh Beckett and Jon Lester this season. No pitcher has fallen harder than John Lackey, who will make another start against the Seattle Mariners in a late game on Friday night. Lackey is 10-8 this season despite an awful 6.14 ERA, and although he has been marginally better of late, he is still a long ways away from being a dependable playoff starter. The veteran hurler should have an easier sports betting bonus time against a Mariners’ offense that has struggled this year, and a rookie pitcher in Blake Beaven.

MLB Betting Free Pick: Boston Red Sox

Los Angeles Angels @ Toronto Blue Jays
Saturday, 1:07 PM ET

A strong start to the month of August combined with the struggles of the defending AL champion Texas Rangers has the Los Angeles Angels in contention for a division title, as they take their game to what has suddenly become one of the most controversial stadiums to play in. According to an article released by ESPN on Wednesday, the Blue Jays have been accused of having a third party steal signs at the Rogers Centre over the past couple of seasons. However, cheating against Angels is something that the Blue Jays likely won’t want to attempt, as they send Ricky Romero to the mound to counter AL Cy Young award favorite Jared Weaver for Los Angeles in a matinee game on Saturday.

MLB Betting Free Pick: Los Angeles Angels

The baseball pennant races are starting to heat up as the contenders are rising to the top. The MLB betting world is watching all of the pennant battles to see which teams will wind up in the MLB playoff betting brackets. There are several games this week that have significant importance to the MLB playoffs and in deciding which teams will be left standing when the pennant races are over.

Tuesday August 9, 2011
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim @ New York Yankees
7:05 PM EST

The Angels and Yankees are both one game back of first place in their respective divisions. This entire series should contain some great baseball, but this opening game will be especially interesting. MLB betting experts are wondering who the Yankees will send to the mound to start this game as the Yankees have given no indication of who will take the mound. After losing two of three to the Boston Red Sox over the weekend, the Yankees are being very careful with every move they make. The Angels are putting ace Dan Haren on the mound for this game, and that could be some very bad news for the struggling Yankees.

Free Pick: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Wednesday August 10, 2011Houston Astros @ Arizona Diamondbacks
9:40 PM EST

The Arizona Diamondbacks refuse to go away in the NL West. Arizona took full advantage of a 2-8 10-game stretch by the NL West leading San Francisco Giants to pull to within a half-game of the defending World Series champs for the NL West pennant. While the Giants are battling the persistent Pittsburgh Pirates, the Diamondbacks will take on the struggling Houston Astros. This is the chance that the Diamondbacks have been waiting for to take over sole possession of first place in the NL West pennant race.

Free Pick: Arizona Diamondbacks

Thursday August 11, 2011
Detroit Tigers @ Cleveland Indians
7:05 PM EST

This will be the MLB game of the week. After starting off looking like it was going to run away with the AL Central and possibly have one of the best records in baseball, the Cleveland Indians have come crashing back down to Earth and are now four games out of first place. The MLB baseball scores as of late have the Indians losing games in bunches, and the Detroit Tigers are starting to run away with the division. The struggling Fausto Carmona starts for the Indians in this game. He is 5-11 on the season, but the Indians hope that Carmona’s 1-1 record since returning from the 15-day DL is an indication that he has turned a corner and is ready to win games.
The Tigers will be sending staff ace Justin Verlander and his 16-5 record to the mound for this important game. The Tigers have won six of its last 10 games, but dropped a critical game to the Kansas City Royals over the weekend. Verlander is 8-2 in his last 10 starts, and has been averaging eight strikeouts per game in that stretch.

Free Pick: Detroit Tigers

Friday August 12, 2011
Pittsburgh Pirates @ Milwaukee Brewers
8:10 PM EST

The Pittsburgh Pirates are on a stretch where they have lost 10 of their last 10 games. The NL Central pennant was within reach just two weeks ago, but now the Pirates sit 10 games back of the division lead. The Pirates need to sweep this series to get back on their feet and get back in the NL Central pennant race. Paul Maholm is starting on the mound for Pittsburgh in this game, and that is only one of the many factors working against the Pirates in this important divisional game.

Free Pick: Milwaukee Brewers

As far as the American League playoff race is concerned, the New York Yankees are on a seven-game winning streak in contests against teams other than the Boston Red Sox, a clear message that if they don’t take the division they will not be denied the AL Wild Card. After a three-game set at Fenway Park the Yankees return home to welcome one of the teams that they could fight for that Wild Card spot in the Los Angeles Angels, although anything less than an MLB betting sweep by the team from out west would mean New York would all but clinch that role.

Los Angeles Angels @ New York Yankees
Tuesday, 7:05 PM ET

The Yankees could extend their possible Wild Card lead to 10 games with a sweep, as well as continue their push for a division title. The pinstripes have been stellar both at home and on the road, but they should have an even stronger advantage welcoming Los Angeles all the way from the west coast if they can solve their tough pitchers. Mark Teixeira and company won’t have it easy against Dan Haren, who is in the running for the AL Cy Young award this season. Haren is 12-6 with a 2.96 ERA, and has allowed just a single earned run in each of his last three starts. The Yankees continue to bring along Phil Hughes back from sports betting injury, and although he looked good in his last start he is still vulnerable.

MLB Betting Free Pick: Los Angeles Angels

Los Angeles Angels @ New York Yankees
Wednesday, 7:05 PM ET

Things certainly won’t get any easier for the Yankees as their pitching depth is exposed by the Angels, with Jered Weaver bringing his outstanding 1.88 ERA to the mound on Wednesday against AJ Burnett and his 4.54 mark. New York has gotten by with a relatively mediocre season from Burnett, but he could be exposed in this contest unless New York is able to solve Weaver early on. The Angels still feel as though they can catch the Texas Rangers in the AL West, so look for them to throw everything they have at the pinstripes to ensure at least two wins in the series.

MLB Betting Free Pick: Los Angeles Angels

Los Angeles Angels @ New York Yankees
Thursday, 1:05 PM ET

After facing Haren and Weaver in back-to-back games, the Yankees will look to take advantage of young Tyler Chatwood as the series wraps up with a matinee game on Thursday. New York has had little trouble with one of the league’s best offenses this year, but coming off an emotional series against the division rival Red Sox they may have been due for a letdown. The Yankees will look to bounce back with Ivan Nova on the mound, marking the first time in the set that their starter has the lower ERA. With Teixeira and Curtis Granderson leading the way for the offense, they should have no problem bouncing back and avoiding the sweep in front of their MLB Betting bonus fans.

MLB Betting Free Pick: New York Yankees

Nobody projected that the Pittsburgh Pirates would emerge from a suddenly stacked National League Central, so when the team was in the mix at the top of the division at the end of July, there were at least a handful of MLB betting skeptics anticipating a fall from grace. It didn’t take long for the Pirates to falter, as the team lost seven straight to fall that many games back of the Milwaukee Brewers heading into this past weekend. Things won’t get any easier this week as Pittsburgh travels to the Bay Area to take on the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants.

Pittsburgh Pirates @ San Francisco Giants
Monday, 10:15 PM ET

Most sports betting fans are surprised when they find out that the Pirates are actually not that bad of a team on the road, as they have hovered around the .500 mark this season while struggling in front of the hometown fans. There is hope in Pittsburgh that their baseball team can find some solid ground at AT&T Park, and that it is not too late to pursue a division title. The Pirates will need results this week as they look to turn things around, beginning on Monday when they send Charlie Morton to the mound. Morton was brilliant in a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs in which he went seven strong without allowing a single run, and this time it will be on the offense to help him out. That won’t be easy against Ryan Vogelsong, who is 9-1 with a 2.19 ERA.

MLB Betting Free Pick: San Francisco Giants

Pittsburgh Pirates @ San Francisco Giants
Tuesday, 10:15 PM ET

Pitching has been the Achilles heel for the Pirates all year, and it doesn’t get any prettier with James McDonald on the mound on Tuesday. McDonald was tagged for nine earned runs combined in consecutive losses during Pittsburgh’s losing streak, although he could go two games before that without allowing a run. Madison Bumgarner has been solid for the Giants all year with a 3.71 ERA, and is due for a win after going eight strong against the Philadelphia Phillies and not getting any run support from his offense.

MLB Betting Free Pick: San Francisco Giants

Pittsburgh Pirates @ San Francisco Giants
Wednesday, 3:45 PM ET

By the time that Jeff Karstens takes the mound on Wednesday the Pirates will be desperate for a MLB Betting bonus win, and if he can handle the pressure the team might get exactly that as the 28-year old has been one of their better arms all year. Karstens has not allowed more than three earned runs in a start since all the way back in April, so as long as the Pittsburgh offense can do some damage against Jonathan Sanchez on the mound for San Francisco, they should be able to avoid another embarrassing sweep and fall even further behind in the NL Central standings.

MLB Betting Free Pick: Pittsburgh Pirates

With two MLB betting months left to go in the regular season, there is just one division in which a team has built a lead bigger than three games. The Philadelphia Phillies are seven games ahead of the Atlanta Braves for the top spot in the National League East, and will look to continue to work towards clinching the pennant when they travel to play a four-game set against the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants.

Philadelphia Phillies @ San Francisco Giants

Thursday, 10:15 PM ET

The Phillies have looked good this season regardless of where they have played, and they will open this series with the man they expect to help make the difference in their postseason this year, with free agent addition Cliff Lee getting the call against Madison Bumgarner for San Francisco. Lee followed up an outstanding month of June with some inconsistencies throughout July, including allowing a combined nine earned runs through his past two starts, and will need to refocus heading into the final stretch. The Giants own one of the weakest offenses in the majors this season, and Bumgarner has been one of their more inconsistent arms this MLB betting season.

MLB Betting Free Pick: Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies @ San Francisco Giants

Friday, 10:15 PM ET

It won’t get any easier for the Giants in game two of the series, and for all of the talk about Lee, Roy Halladay, and Cole Hamels, perhaps the incredible pitching of youngster Vance Worley hasn’t been talked about enough. The 23-year old Worley is 7-1 with a 2.33 ERA, perhaps taking something from the All Star pitching around him in his first full major league season as a starter. Jonathan Sanchez has been consistently mediocre all year with a 3.81 ERA, and it would take an off night from Worley for the Phillies’ offense not to be able to do enough to take this one.

MLB Betting Free Pick: Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies @ San Francisco Giants

Saturday, 4:10 PM ET

It is scary that the Phillies actually had the edge in pitching matchup for the first two games even though they didn’t have either of their top two arms on the mound to open the series. Cole Hamels will get the call for game three against Matt Cain for the Giants, and while the latter hasn’t been awful he did allow five earned runs in a loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in his last start. Hamels meanwhile has allowed more than two earned runs just once over the past three months.

MLB Betting Free Pick: Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies @ San Francisco Giants

Sunday, 4:05 PM ET

Just when the Giants were getting desperate they will finally get some relief, as their ace Tim Lincecum gets the start against a former reliever another start in Kyle Kendrick. Lincecum has allowed just three earned runs combined over his past four starts and will continue to be the bottom line for San Francisco as they avoid the sports betting bonus sweep at home.

MLB Betting Free Pick: San Francisco Giants

As we enter the final stretch of the 2011 MLB betting season, the focus will be on the division leaders as they look to close out their year and make it into the postseason. There will be a number of crucial games early this week with some of those division leaders facing some tough tests, as the playoff races intensify with the MLB trade deadline now in the rearview mirror.

St. Louis Cardinals @ Milwaukee Brewers

Tuesday, 8:10 PM ET

The National League Central remains wide open with the Cardinals, Brewers, and Pittsburgh Pirates all jockeying for position at the top. This series will represent a crucial turn for whichever team can take control, and with Shaun Marcum on the mound for Milwaukee Tuesday they get the edge for this game. Marcum will throw against Jaime Garcia for the Cardinals, giving the Brewers the edge in both pitching and hitting.

MLB Betting Free Pick: Milwaukee Brewers

Arizona Diamondbacks @ San Francisco Giants

Tuesday, 10:15 PM ET

The Diamondbacks were able to pull to within two games of the top spot in the NL West after the defending World Series champions dropped three straight games over the weekend. Arizona has been solid on the road this season but will be in tough if they want to take the division from the Giants in their own house, especially with Tim Lincecum getting the start for San Francisco on Tuesday. Lincecum will throw against Daniel Hudson with the division lead on the line, and he should be counted on to get the job done in a crucial MLB betting situation.

MLB Betting Free Pick: San Francisco Giants

Texas Rangers @ Detroit Tigers

Wednesday, 7:05 PM ET

The Rangers and Tigers both entered this series with two game leads in their respective divisions, and holding on to those leads will come down to much more than this series. But in a potential playoff preview gaining a psychological edge will be key to both teams, and the game will feature a solid pitching matchup with Matt Harrison getting the call against Doug Fister. Fister has not won a game since late May, and Detroit has managed to clinch just a single win in his past 10 starts. On the other hand, Harrison has looked incredible over the past month, leading the Rangers to five straight wins while allowing one or fewer runs in three of the five starts.

MLB Betting Free Pick: Texas Rangers

New York Yankees @ Chicago White Sox

Wednesday, 8:00 PM ET

The Yankees surprised everyone by electing not to make a move at the MLB trade deadline, which means that they will look internally to make up the difference between them and the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox. New York will hand the ball to AJ Burnett for Wednesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox, and he will need to be better than he has been to prevent his losing streak from reaching three-straight. Burnett will get the call against Gavin Floyd for the White Sox. Floyd is red-hot, having allowed just two earned runs over a span of three straight wins over the past couple of best sportsbook promo weeks, but may be due for a letdown performance against a powerful offense.

MLB Betting Free Pick: New York Yankees

The San Francisco Giants may have secured the NL West pennant by bringing on Carlos Beltran, but the Arizona Diamondbacks are not about to go away quietly. The sports betting baseball world was a bit surprised to see the Diamondbacks in or near first place in the NL West for most of the season. But the Diamondbacks have shown that they are going to be a force to be reckoned with right to the very end. As Arizona sits four games out of first place in the NL West, a first place spot occupied by the San Francisco Giants, the Diamondbacks are handed the perfect opportunity to make up some ground as they travel to San Francisco to take on the Giants.

National League Series Betting Free Pick:

Arizona Diamondbacks @ San Francisco Giants – Monday, August 1 – 10:15 PM ET

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There is no speculation as to who will start this game on the mound for the Giants because San Francisco is still adjusting its rotation because of injuries. MLB betting experts are speculating that Tim Lincecum may start for the Giants, and that would be fine for the Diamondbacks because Arizona is putting their ace on the mound for this game.

Ian Kennedy and his 12-3 record take the mound for the Diamondbacks. He is 6-1 in his last 10 starts and has a 3.28 ERA in that stretch. The last time he faced San Francisco was a no-decision on June 16th. But the Giants, with Beltran in the line up, are better equipped to handle Kennedy this time.

Diamondbacks Giants Betting Free Pick: San Francisco Giants

Arizona Diamondbacks @ San Francisco Giants – Tuesday, August 2 – 10:15 PM ET

There is no logical reason for saying that the San Francisco Giants will have problems in this game other to say that the Giants have troubles in the second game of a series. In June, the Giants lost the second game of the first two series of the month, and both of those series were at home.

The Diamondbacks will put Daniel Hudson on the mound, and Hudson has had problems his past few starts. In his last two starts, Hudson is 0-2 and has given up a total of nine earned runs in those games. But prior to that streak, Hudson was 4-0 in his previous eight starts. If the Diamondbacks are going to be part of the World Series betting, then they need Hudson to get back on track. That is what he will do in this game.

Diamondbacks Giants Betting Free Pick: Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona Diamondbacks @ San Francisco Giants – Wednesday, August 3 – 3:45 PM ET

The Arizona Diamondbacks will put up an exceptional fight in this series, but there is too much working in favor of the Giants to allow the Diamondbacks to pick up ground in this series. Tim Lincecum is pitching like the World Series champion that he is, closer Brian Wilson and his beard remain all powerful in saving games and Carlos Beltran has snapped in perfectly with the Giants’ batting order. In the end, it will be pure talent that rolls over the Diamondbacks.

For their part, the Arizona Diamondbacks have a lot to look forward to for next season. They need to pick up some middle relief for the bullpen and a couple of more prolific bats, but there is the core of a good team in Arizona. The only thing is that it will be next season before the Diamondbacks can really put together an impressive run. For now, Arizona will have to watch the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants make another run at the title.

Diamondbacks Giants Betting Free Pick: San Francisco Giants