Washington Nationals RL (-105): This
play is a pure fade of the disaster team we called the Miami Marlins.
In what was suppose to be a season of great expectations, it has been
far from it for the hopeless Marlins. In Sunday's series finale they
will square off against Stephen Strasburg. Even though Stras hasn't
pitch that well lately, he should have the best opportunity he has had
in a long time to make amends. The Marlins line up is extremely weak and
is missing yet another piece in Bonaficio who was placed on the DL with
a thumb injury. The Marlins offensive line up lacks any serious threat
and Stras will have a very good opportunity for a solid outing. His
counterpart in this one will be the Marlins Ricky Nolasco. This guy has
been downright awful lately. In his last 3 outings he is 0-3 with a 7.77
era, he has also allowed 4 runs or more in 4 consecutive starts. He
will face a tough challenge trying to stop a Nats team who are finding
there offensive stride again since Jayson Werth has returned to the
starting line up. It seems like Adam LaRoche is hitting a home run every
game I watch him play, and what's not to like about Zimmerman and
Morse. The Nats have so many guys in that line that are coming through
in the clutch and there is no indication that won't happen Sunday. In
the later stages of the game the Marlins awful bullpen could also help
with this RL if that were to be the case. But I really think we will see
a lopsided affair from the get go and the Nats roll.
Detroit Tigers RL (-105): I am kicking myself for waiting
until this game to jump on board the red hot tiger train. This team is
finally starting to show signs of consistency, which has been something
they have lacked all year long. It might be too early to tell if they
have finally solved that problem, but the hapless Tribe shouldn't pose
any threat for it to stop. These 2 teams are headed in complete opposite
directions, with the Tigers making the Indians fully aware of where
they stand in the AL Central. August is just getting under way and we
are starting to finally see some separation from all the contenders and
pretenders. The Tribe played above average baseball for the 1st half of
the season, but they are coming back down to earth real quick. In
Sunday's series finally they will try and stop the red hot tigers, but
it seems like a daunting task with Chris Seddon taking the hill. This
will be the first time since 2010 that Seddon has pitched in the big
leagues, and it will also be his first as a starting pitcher. He had
been a relieve pitcher in his brief MLB career back in 2010 with the
Seattle Mariners. His era a sky rocketing 7.03 in his 39 innings of big
league play dating as far back as 2007 with the Marlins. Good luck to
him against a Tigers team seeking a big divisional sweep at home. The
Tigers will look to Max Scherzer to get the job done. Max was struggling
prior to his most recent outings and he might have to thank Justin
Verlander. The young pitcher reached out to Verlander for some
individual 1-1 training and it's benefit him alot. Since spending some
quality time with the CY Young winner, Max has improved dramatically
bringing his era total down to 3.57 in his last 3 starts compared to his
season era of 4.62. Max has also loved pitching at Comerica Ballpark in
front of the Tiger faithful. In his last 3 outing at home Max is 3-0
with a 0.82 era. In Sunday's contest he will have the benefit of facing
an Indians team who couldn't hit water falling out of a bucket right
now. The Tribe have scored a total of 28 runs in there last 10 games,
that 2.8 per game run average has them in a 1-9 slide, with slim chances
of it stopping on Sunday. The Tigers have also been RL covering
machines lately. The last 14 Tigers wins have all covered the RL,
including being 21-1 against the RL in the last 22 games. I feel
confident rolling with the RL in this one, knowing if the Tigers win, it
should be by a wide margin.
A's/Jays U 7.5 (-125) Once again I find myself playing a
total, for a reason I just can't pass up. These 2 teams are ice cold at
the plate lately with runs being at a premium. The Jays offensively are
just too banged up and missing too many pieces. Meanwhile the A's have
been one of the lowest scoring teams all year long. Even during there
long win streak, it was mainly there stellar pitching that was the
driving force behind it all. In this match up we will see the A's Tommy
Milone who loves pitching at the pitchers park in Oakland. During home
starts this year Milone is 5-2 with a 1.51 era, prior to a bad outing vs
TB (where he allowed 5 runs in 7 innings), Milone had held the Yankees
scoreless, Mariners to 1 run, LA to 1 run, Yankees to 2 runs, Angels to 1
run, Tigers to 1 run, White Sox scoreless and KC scoreless. Not too
shabby for a young south paw rookie. Due to Jays injuries, he could be
facing probably the worst offensive batting line he has seen all year,
which of course is great for this under. The Jays will be countering
with a south paw of there own in Aaron Laffey. He too will be entering
this game coming off a struggling outing in his most recent start. But
he has fared well on the road with a respectable 3.49 road era. Prior to
his poor outing vs Seattle, Laffey had held the Red Sox scoreless
twice, the White Sox to 3 runs, and the Brewers scoreless. His sample
size this year isn't as big as I would want it, but I feel confident
that he can have a good outing in this one. Neither the A's or the
current Jays pose a serious offensive threat, and having this game
played in the massive pitchers park in Oakland, makes me really like
this under. Both teams have already struggled to score this weekend,
while needing extra innings twice, including a 15 inning marathon just
to score the winning run. I don't see any of that changing heading into
this game.
Pirates ML (+119) Simply making a value play in this one. AJ
Burnett has been pitching great lately. He has a 1.13 era in his last 3
outings (3-0). The Pirates have also loved to get the W in AJ's starts.
The Pirates are 15-1 in there last 16 games that AJ has pitched in. I
firmly believe AJ is better than Homer Bailey and with the Pirates
having the starting pitching advantage, I am gonna take a stab with
them. Bailey has been good too, but he has struggled at home this year.
Bailey is 3-4 with a 5.17 era at home this season vs his 6-2 2.63 road
numbers. Bailey has a high home run to inning ratio at home. He has
allowed 14 home runs in 62 innings, which works out to be a home run
every 4.4 innings pitched at home. Teams have had success against Bailey
in this hitters ball park. Burnett has a better whip 0.71 vs Bailey's
1.45. These 2 teams have played 2 very close and tightly contested
games, which is to be expected when it's a huge NL Central match up. The
Pirates will desperate and determined to salvage the final game of this
weekend set and leave Cincy on a high note. I know the Reds are
ridiculously hot, but im taking a stab with a very live dog, getting
good value, in a game I feel they are more inclined to have a must win
type of approach.
bol
What are your best two plays? Thanks as always. 
Sharky
Hot Forum Topics
