Free Baseball Picks (Sunday April 11, 2010)
Johnny Detroit offers his free baseball picks on the Devil Rays/Yankees game and the Brewers/Cardinals. Check out Pregame.com for all the latest free picks.
The Tampa Bay Rays host the New York Yankees in the final game of an American League East series clash. The Yankees almost pitched a no hitter yesterday, so the Rays bats will be eager to get back on the field. The Rays are -120 favorites, with a total of 9 runs expected. TBS will begin coverage of this game at 1:40 EDT.
Tampa Bay is certainly going to have to improve their offense if they are going to be successful this season. Only once this season have the Rays scored more than 4 runs. The Rays bats have been relatively quiet to start the season, and those same bats were downright dismal yesterday as they didn't score a single run. Tampa Bay will need to be on point offensively today, as James Shields hasn't fared very well against the Yankees. Shields is 1-7 with an ERA of 6 lifetime against the Yankees. Tampa Bay has won their past 3 home games started by Shields. The Rays are also 5-2 in their last 7 games as the listed favorite started by Shields. The Rays go on the road for the 1st time this season after concluding their game today.
The Rays are 12-3 in their last 15 against the American League East. The Under is 7-1 in the Rays last 8 games as the listed home favorite. RF Matthew Joyce is OUT with an injured elbow.
New York is coming off a game where they were 4 outs from a no hitter, as they dominated the Rays 10-0. A.J. Burnett will try to follow up with a performance similar to what C.C. Sabathia showed yesterday. If anyone can follow up with a scintillating start against the Rays, it's Burnett. Burnett went 4-0 with a 1.97 ERA in 5 starts against the Rays last year. Also, Burnett is 5-2 with a 2.05 lifetime ERA in 10 career outings at Tropicana Field, including 2 complete games. Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano have tasted success against James Shields, with each batter better than .400 lifetime against Shields. The Yankees are an impressive 9-2 against the American League East with Burnett on the mound. The Yankees are also 4-0 in games Burnett starts with a total between 9 and 10.5 of late.
The Yankees are 42-17 in their last 59 against the American League East. The Over is 6-0 in the Yankees last 6 games against a team with a winning record.
Pregame.com projects the final score to be 6-4 in favor of the New York Yankees. The Yankees +110 is the Play of the Day!
Another free baseball pick....
he Milwaukee Brewers host the St. Louis Cardinals in an NL Central clash. The Brewers have struggled mightily against the Cardinals of late, and would love nothing more than to get some revenge on a national stage. The Cardinals are -150 favorites, with a total of 7.5 runs expected tonight. ESPN will broadcast this game starting at 8:05 EDT.
Revenge will be front and center on all of the Brewers minds, as they've lost their past 6 home games against St. Louis. The Brewers lost 1-7 yesterday to the Cardinals, to drop their season long record below .500% at 2-3. Milwaukee has been outscored 12 to 5 during this series, mostly due to their anemic offense. The Brewers are only hitting .177 during this series and only .238 for the entire season. The once feared Brewers lineup has been far from that so far this year. Randy Wolf will take the mound trying to reverse some of the mojo favoring the Cardinals. Wolf hasn't beaten the Cardinals since 2007, so he will have his work cut out for him. Wolf won his 1st start this season, but was far from dominant. Wolf has a 5.40 ERA so far this season, and will clearly need to be better to earn his 2nd win in as many starts. The Brewers are 0-5 in their last 5 games as a home underdog of +110 to +150.
The Brewers are 22-6 in their last 28 home games against a team with a road winning percentage greater than .600%. The over is 6-1 in the Brewers last 7 games as the listed home underdog of +110 to +150. Third Baseman Matt Gamel is on the disabled list with an injured shoulder.
Anytime Chris Carpenter takes the mound for St. Louis, they are expected to win. Carpenter has been absolutely dominant for quite some time now, as he's easily one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. Carpenter was 17-4 with a 2.24 ERA last year in placing 2nd in the Cy Young voting for the National League. Carpenter hasn't allowed an earned run in his past 17 innings in Milwaukee. St. Louis is already off to a hot start this season, as they are 4-1 this year. The Cardinals have high expectations this year, as they are on the short list of World Series hopefuls. Offensively, the Cardinals start and end with 1B Albert Pujols. Pujols is the most feared batter in the game, and this year is no different. Pujols already has 2 home runs this season while hitting .333. LF Matt Holiday has been even hotter than Pujols, as he also has 2 HR's while batting an impressive .471% this year. The Cardinals are 6-2 in Carpenter's last 8 road starts as the listed favorite.
The Cardinals are 16-7 in their last 23 games as the listed road favorite. The Over is 4-0 in the Cardinals last 4 games as the listed road favorite.
Pregame.com projects the final score to be 6-3 in favor of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Over 7.5 is the Total of the Day!
