Today's Pick: "Standing Room Only" Parlay (+259)

I pulled out the two best bets on the board as far as I see it.  I'm going to package them up for a shot at a (+259) payday.  It would be a nice score after a couple days off and would set us up nicely for the weekend.  

STL (+110) ML vs. CHC

I put in some effort last night to review the travel schedule of teams across the league and I made note of the Chicago Cubs, who haven't had a day off since May 21st.  Tonight will be their eighth consecutive game and the fifth game of a seven-game road trip.  The team took the red-eye flight from Pittsburgh to St. Louis and they are getting cranky.

The Cardinals had a day-off on Thursday to think about their 5-game losing streak and will be charged up to end the skid and womp the Cubs in the process.  

Shota Imanaga (4-5) starts for Chicago.  The wheels fell off Imanaga's Toyota somewhere a couple weeks ago.  In his Last2 starts, the Japanese import has given up five homers and 15 earned runs.  Both starts were at Wrigley, the wind might have been blowing out, but 16 hits and five round-trippers in 10.1 innings says to me that opponents are putting the wood on his offerings.  Get to Imanaga early and the Cubs' bullpen is ripe for the picking.  Frankly, Chicago's bullpen hasn't pitched all that well this season and is always a liability.

Andre Pallante (5-4) gets the ball for St. Louis.  Pallante doesn't blow the ball past a lot of hitters but he has gone 6.0 or more innings in four of his Last5 starts.  Over his last 29.2 innings, Pallante has posted a 3.39 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP and a 3.83 K/BB ratio.  Those are nice numbers.  Pallante is pitching like a legitimate three with aspirations to be a two.

Pallante is the better pitcher as far as I see it and the Cardinals have the stronger bullpen.  A well-rested Cardinals' team against a road-weary Cubs' club has a big edge in the alertness department.  Cubs will be tired tonight and it is likely to factor in.  

The Cubs' offense has the ability to win this game, Imanaga could emerge from his slump and throw six strong innings but the trends and the travel schedules are against them tonight.  I like the Cardinals to win this game and at (+110), I think St. Louis is a good bet.  

First pitch at 6:10 PM CDT from Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO. 

NYY (-165) ML @ ATH 

The Yankees traveled on Thursday and bring a four-game winning streak with them into Sacramento where they'll face Luis Severino and the Athletics in Game One of a three-game series.
  
This one seems too good to be true.  Sutter Health Park is a launching pad and the Yanks lead the league in home runs.  Luis Severino (2-5) has been horrendous in home starts with the A's.  In four starts at Sutter Health Park this season, Severino carries a 5.55 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP with opponents hitting .272/.362/.533 against him.  He doesn't like pitching in Sacramento.  He has complained about the facilities and it's easy for him to punt the game if it isn't going his way.  Lefties have crushed Severino all season and the Yankees will stack six left-handed sluggers in their lineup.  The righties include future Hall of Famers Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt.  It's a tough lineup for a pitcher who can't shut down the lefty bats.  

Carlos Rodon (0-2) makes his fourth start of the season for the Yankees.  He hasn't dominated since returning from arthroscopic surgery in the spring, his command has been off, walks have led to losses, but he has only allowed eight hits in 13.0 innings of work.  He hasn't allowed a home run.  He pitched 5.0 innings in his last start and 6.0 innings is certainly the goal tonight.  I like Rodon, when he is on he is one of the toughest lefties in MLB to hit off and the A's don't hit left-handed pitching all that well.  

The A's haven't been the ball club many thought they were going to be offensively.  The team has been limited to two or less runs in 20 games this season.  

The Yanks' bullpen is well-rested.  Aaron Judge and company are giddy for an opportunity to hit dingers at Sutter Health Park.  There is something special about playing MLB games in a AAA ballpark.  In some way, visiting teams really enjoy playing games in the intimate setting.

It's a hot ticket this weekend.  It will be a fun series.  Stadium will be packed for all three games.  Standing room only.  

I like the Yankees to win and the price is nice at (-140).

-----------------Friday, May 29th------------------

Today's Pick: Two Team Parlay (+259)

-- STL (+110) ML vs. CHC
-- NYY (-140) ML @ ATH

Units in Play: 1.35 units

Amount Wagered: 1.35 units
Ticket Pays: 4.85 units

---------------------Cash Ticket----------------------

Popular posts from this blog

Today's Pick: CIN (-165) over MIA

The Reds and the Marlins conclude a four game series at The Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, OH, it's a 4:10 CDT first pitch.  The Marlins took the first two games of the series but the Reds battled back in game three, winning 7-2 on another quality start from lefty Andrew Abbott.   It's lefty Nick Lodolo starting for the Reds this afternoon.  Lodolo has been prone to giving up the long ball and leads the league in hit batsman.  Oddly, he doesn't walk that many hitters.  Strikeouts are his game, he has averaged nearly a strikeout per inning this season.  It's Lodolo's last start before the All Star break, he'll be charged up and should let it rip today.   Cal Quantrill starts for Miami.  I like Cal Quantrill.  He has pitched well this season and should be under consideration for a trade at the end of July.  Miami's management has been closely watching his pitch count and does everything in their power to keep him from get...
Read more

Wednesday, August 6th: No Pick Today

No pick today, there isn't much on the board that I liked.  I didn't dig into any games but the Giants and the Pirates early this morning.  I liked the Giants but they don't hit left handed pitching all that well and Pirates had a well rested bullpen.  The Giants won that game 4-2.   I had thought about putting on my three dogs play with the Rangers, Reds and the Royals.  The Reds are down 6-0.  That would have been a loser.   There are some games later this afternoon and some late games too but I am going to take a pass on the action today and see if I can find a good spot tomorrow.   I'm sitting at 5.36 units in play and have a four game Pickstreak on the line.  We'll look to make it five in a row tomorrow.  
Read more

Postgame Report: NYY (-215) Winner

That's six wins in a row for the Pickstreak blog.  We crushed that pick into the upperdeck. Carlos Rodon had a great start in front of the New York crowd and the Yanks' bats scored nine runs and hit three homers.  Twins' starter Travis Adams was out of the game in the third.  Minnesota's bullpen gave up seven hits, seven walks and five earned.   The Yanks bullpen locked it down.  Yankees win 9-1. The Yankees were not a sure thing.  Rodon had two fairly bad starts coming into last night's contest.  The Yankees were 3-7 over their last ten and the Twins had played some good baseball.   Following the game closely everyday, you can pick up on some minutia that isn't necessarily in the stats or in the boxscores.   I feel like this series with the Twins is a turning point for the Yankees' season.  I think the Yanks are going to win some games in August with Luis Gil, Cam Schlittler and Will Warren all turning it up a notch....
Read more