MLB Series Wagerng- White Sox at Athletics

Manager Ozzie Guillen’s first place club makes the final stop on their 10-game road in the “other” city by the bay in Oakland. Chicago (52-42, +8 units) is 3-4 thus far on this sojourn and begins the weekend with a two game lead over Detroit in the AL Central. Since June 9, baseball fans and online sports betting fans alike have been amazed by the White Sox turnaround that shows them 28-9 and up +20.82 units. Chicago visits a place that was for a long time as bad as the Metrodome in Minnesota for them, but has signs of no longer as being so gruesome.

Starting in 2001, the White Sox were 6-27 at Oakland over a seven-year stretch; however the last two years they have headed the other direction with four wins in six tries. The Athletics will attempt to reverse that trend and return to supremacy over the Sox this weekend.

Oakland (48-47, +2.1) has matched their best streak of the year, winning seven of previous eight, due to scoring more runs and receiving solid pitching. The A’s are tallying 6.6 runs per contest, while permitting 2.34 earned runs. This has moved Oakland closer to second place Los Angeles and within seven games in the loss column of front-running Texas.

In spite of the top shelf pitching, the A’s ace hasn’t been as much help as presumed. All-Star Trevor Cahill (9-3, 3.19 ERA) is 1-1 with a 5.03 ERA over his last three outings, after reeling of seven straight wins and will look to get back on the beam. The talented right-hander and mates are 12-4 in his starts. SportBet.com has Oakland as -136 money line favorites and they are 9-2 in Cahill’s last 11 starts at McAfee Coliseum.

Mark Buehrle (8-8, 4.18) will provide the opposition for A’s hitters and their color scheme makes the veteran left-hander a little skittish. In his career, he is 3-12 with a 4.11 ERA vs. Oakland, including 0-6 with a 4.95 ERA in 10 career starts on the road. In fact, Buehrle and the White Sox are 4-14 in his road starts against clubs with positive records. The opener is on WGN at 10:05 Eastern.

Game 1 Edge: Oakland

The second game of the series is a FOX afternoon affair and Chicago will again unleash one of the big pitching surprises in baseball. Freddy Garcia (9-3, 4.37) was a pitcher the White Sox front office hoped could be an adequate fifth starter and chew up innings, while being a game or two over .500. Instead, Garcia is one of the best pitching bets in baseball at +9.37 units. The 35-year old right-hander no longer has the same bite on his pitches from his youthful days in Seattle, but with a sound shoulder this season, he’s pitched out of trouble continually, inducing ground ball outs. His ERA has fallen over a run since May 23 (5.68) and the White Sox are 12-1 when he takes the mound against AL West squads.

Vin Mazzaro (5-2, 3.50) toes the rubber for Oakland in the second game of the series. Mazzaro’s repertoire is built around a two-seam and four-seam low 90’s fastballs, with the former having excellent sink action. He’s a mostly pitch-to-contact hurler and if his pitches are up slightly in the hitting zone, even ground balls scoot thru holes quicker. Dating back to last season, the A’s are 2-7 in Mazzaro’s home starts and they have failed to register a victory in previous four contests against winning opponents.

Game 2 Edge: Chicago

As is the case with baseball today, bullpens play a key component day and day out. For Chicago, skipper Guillen has seen enough of closer Bobby Jenks high-wire act after blowing consecutive saves chances, sending his ERA to 5.09. “All options are open now,” Guillen said. “I get paid to win games. … I put the guy in with the best shot.” J.J. Putz and Matt Thornton are strong choices, with Putz riding franchise-record 25 consecutive scoreless appearances, holding opponents to a .140 average during that time span.

They may be called upon with Dan Hudson (1-0, 5.06) the starting pitcher to close the road trip. Hudson has mid-90’s heat, but his curveball has cement-mixer tendencies and can get hit hard. The White Sox began the weekend 20-10 in day baseball.

At press time, Ben Sheets (4-9, 4.53) was thought to be the Game 3 starter; however Oakland manager Bob Geren had not confirmed that. Whoever takes the ball from Geren likely won’t finish the game, but as long as the manager can get to Jerry Blevins and Andrew Bailey, he feels confident he can win the game. Blevins has reeled off 12 consecutive scoreless outings dating back to June 25, while the closer Bailey is 20 of 23 in save opportunities, with mini-me ERA of 1.56. Oakland can better the Sox record under natural sun light at 22-10.

Game 3 Edge: Oakland

I’d feel more secure in my selection if I knew for certain who the final game starter for Oakland was, nevertheless I like the way the Athletics are playing and they have to be brimming with confidence after taking a series against the Sox from Boston. Maybe I’ll be wrong about the middle conflict of the series and Oakland wraps this series up quicker and it won’t matter who the A’s pitch Sunday. No matter, Oakland gets the call to make the White Sox feel pale.

Sportsbook series odds: Chicago +125, Oakland -155

3Daily Winners Pick: Oakland

Hump Day Stuff

Even after a few so-so days, we are still a strong 117-65 here at 3Daily Winners. We posted a system earlier in the day and the Braves now also fit this killer tip at 85.7 percent system. Kendall’s Top Play and the Top Trend are from the same contest. Good Luck

What I noticed today – From Elias Sports: Tommy Hunter improved to 7-0 in nine starts with a win over the Tigers on Tuesday. He's the first pitcher in Rangers history to have at least seven wins and no losses in his first nine starts of a season.

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Free Baseball System -1) It turns out in the article below; the Atlanta Braves also fit the same criteria.

Free Baseball Trend -2) This is a different number; Joe Blanton of the Phillies is 2-14 against the money line in road games when playing on Wednesday in his career. (Team's Record)

Free Baseball Pick -3) Kendall nailed yesterday’s winner and comes back with the Cardinals to flip the Phillies.

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MLB Series Wagering- Rays at Yankees

The two best teams in baseball square off in the Bronx to begin their second half of the season. Tampa Bay (54-34, +2.7 units) trails New York (56-32, +7.4) by two games and would like to close the gap even further with a series triumph. The Rays have played with the off-kilter intensity of Mel Gibson, not in the present form, but like his character in “Mad Max –Road Warrior”. Tampa Bay has far and away the best road record in baseball at 28-14 (+12) and they are flat out fantastic in the division with 12-2 mark, which includes a pair of wins May 19-20 at Yankees Stadium.

For New York fans and many of the players, this series starts with a melancholy feel, as legendary public address announcer Bob Sheppard and “The Boss” George Steinbrenner, both passed away this past week. “I think he’s a father figure to everyone that was in our organization in the past or present, because he really took care of his players,” Jeter said. “You know, whether it was a player that’s on the team now or someone that played for a week 30 years ago.

The Yankees will wear patches on their uniforms for the remainder of the season to honor Steinbrenner and Sheppard.

New York returns home like they are just out of the microwave, winners of eight of last nine. Among the hottest Yankees is pitcher C.C. Sabathia (12-3, 3.09 ERA), whose been delivering as consistently as UPS. Sabathia is 8-0 since June began with miniscule 1.81 ERA. In fact, in his last 38 2/3 innings, the big lefthander has permitted four earned runs. The Bronx Bombers are -175 money line favorites at online sports betting outlets and no wonder with the big man 15-0 vs. teams averaging 2.75 or less extra base hits per game in the second half of the season over the last three seasons. (Team's Record)

After scuffling for awhile, the Rays are back online, also winners of eight of last nine outings. Tampa Bay deserves notice for 12-1 record vs. an AL starting pitcher with ERA of 3.20 or better this season, nonetheless, James Shields (7-9, 4.87) is curious choice as starting pitcher for series opener. Shields is 1-8 with a 7.00 ERA in his last nine outings and 2-7 with 5.54 ERA in 11 career starts against the Yankees.

“I’m happy that we’re playing them right out of the gates,” Shields told MLB.com. “We’re right behind them right now and it’s a good chance for us to pick up a couple of games on them.” With those words in mind, you can’t help of thinking of Ace Ventura saying “All righty than”.

Game 1 Edge: New York

The team in pinstripes has the third best home record in baseball starting this series at 28-13. For those seeking sports betting tips, New York is playing 40 of final 74 games at home, which will give them definite edge along with inflated money and run lines. A.J. Burnett (7-7, 4.75) will again pitch on this FOX Saturday afternoon affair. Two weeks ago Saturday, he was dreadful at Los Angeles, lasting just three innings and permitting six runs. That concluded a stretch of five June starts with an ERA over 11 and the Yankees coaches deducted Burnett needed to start using his change-up more and this has brought immediate results, allowing two total runs in last two starts covering 13 2/3 innings. The Yanks are 43-18 in Game 2’s, but have won just one of Burnett’s previous six starts.

Jeff Niemann (7-2, 2.77) has arguably been manager Joe Maddon’s most dependable starter all season, particularly on the road. Niemann is 4-0 (the Rays are 8-0 in 2010 when he starts) in visiting uniform and Tampa Bay is inconceivable 17-2 in the second game of a series when the 6’9 right-handed toes the rubber. The Rays best bet to win is grab the lead before the eighth inning since New York is 4-26 when trailing after seven frames and 48-4 when leading.
Game 2 Edge: Tampa Bay

The series finale matches a pair of lefties, one representing the past and present, with the other already an All-Star with unlimited future. Andy Pettitte (11-2, 2.70) is 38 years old and is getting better with age, being an All-Star again this season. Pettitte is extremely knowledgeable hurler, quickly figuring out what pitches are working from his repertoire and keeping hitters off-balance. Pettitte and teammates are 12-3 as favorites this year and 22-10 in day games. Skipper Maddon would be wise to load lineup with right-hand sticks as opposing LH hitters are batting .167 vs. Pettitte’s tosses.

The Rays counter with All-Star starter David Price (12-4. 2.42) who is fulfilling the promise as Tampa Bay’s top pick of the 2007 June draft. The 24-year old has all the pitches, including a tight slider and improving change-up. He and the Rays are 6-0 in the division and 6-1 in the day time.

Game 3 Edge: New York

This should be a highly competitive series given how each team has played. Tampa Bay has 3-2 lead this season and somewhat surprisingly, the last six meetings have gone Over the total for those betting on sports. Both clubs are exceptional in their roles of home and away, yet the visiting team has taken five of past six. Despite this, it’s very difficult to bet against the Yankees at home, thus will be betting them for this weekend.

Sportsbook series odds: Tampa Bay +170, New York -220

3Daily Winners Pick: New York