Friday MLB Bases
From time to time, I enjoy a little sports betting, and quite regularly, I am up late at night checking out the early morning lines, deciding whether or not to wager on the day's games early. I don't bet a whole lot of money, as this is no way of getting rich, as I just do it for the enjoyment and the thrill of victory.
Here is a quick preview of a couple of the games coming up tomorow, as I posted this on a popular sports betting site Covers.com in their message forum.
Detroit / Minnesota
* In looking at this game, I like two things. For starters, with Verlander and Santana going at it, I like the UNDER (5 inn/game), as both of these pitchers should get locked up in an exciting pitchers duel at the Dome on Friday. Jim Leyland even said it best as when asked about Friday's expected pitching duel, he stated, "If I was in the neighborhood, I'd stop by,". In picking a team for this game, although Santana in an underdog (+110), I really like his chances Friday night. He will be facing a Detroit lineup that will be without Gary Sheffield, and his offense will hopefully give him some run support that Santana deserves. His record may be 8-6, but if he was on another team in the MLB, he would probably easily have 10+ wins right now (or if the Twins started hitting the ball on a regular basis ).
Washington / Pittsburgh
* This matchup seems to have me divided, as I was originally thinking Nats, but now am starting to sway towards the Pirates. Ian Snell seems to be having a descent year, and like Santana is not getting run support from his offense. His 6-5 record and 2.92 ERA speak for themselves. The Nats have lost 4 out of 5 coming into this game, and are looking to Matt Chico for a rebound. I liked Chico on the mound against the Pirates, but then after seeing this game is on the road, Chico is 0-4 with a 4.95 ERA when pitching away from the friendly confines of RFK Stadium. This game will come down to the Pittsburgh Pirates bats, as Snell should give them a chance to win, but it will all matter if he gets run support.
Tampa Bay / Cleveland
* If you want to sum this game up in one word, you would have to say "run-scoring". The D-Rays and Indians are sending two of the worst pitchers to the mound in MLB, and the result will not be pretty as both pitchers have ERA's over 7 coming into this game. However, taking a closer look at the game, the outlook may not be as it seems. It should be noted though that D-Rays pitcher Edwin Jackson got his first win of the season last game against the Dodgers, and pitched a pretty descent game, going six innings and giving up two runs. Also, Indians pitcher Jake Westbrook recently came off the DL, and had a good outing pitching 7 innings of six hit ball, giving up three runs. What does this all add up to? Well, basically I'd stay away from this game. The initial temptation is to bet OVER, but these pitchers have showed that they can have two different sides to them, as they can pitch both good and bad.
Watch Out - Indians (-200) / Red Sox (-235)
* I circle these two teams going into tomorrow, because they are all favored by a large margin and could get used as a parlay of sorts in a person's eyes. At the same time, I feel weary of these teams all winning, as they could easily slip. The Indians are high favorites due to the fact that Edwin Jackson has been horrible this season, but he came around this past weekend against the Dodgers and just might have another good start against the Indians. When looking at the BoSox here, I know they are heavy favorites becuase of Jamey Wright's rubber arm taking the hill, but just like Edwin Jackson, he too had a descent start last time out and could be in line for another strong outing. I guess I'd just say although its tempting to parlay these teams in some sort of way, I'd keep them out, because I see one if not both of these teams losing tomorrow. On a personal note, I am going to stay away from Parlays for awhile, as I am either hit or miss with them, and they have given me less confidence as of late. So there's another reason not to parlay right there.
Labels: parlay, sports betting, twins
