Check this out:
The Braves have covered the run line in 12 out of 19 games so far this year. 12-7 for a +6.76 payoff. Pretty amazin huh?
Well how about this:
The Braves have covered the run line in 10 out of 10 wins so far this season. No shit, check it out. 10-0 against the run line when they win.
Today the Braves take on the lowly Washington Nationals. Granted the Nats have taken 2 of 5 against the Braves this year, but the first was the first game of the season and we all remember how shitty the Braves were playing then. The second was when Tom Glavine left the game in the 1st inning with a strained hammy and the Nats put like 5 runs on the board in the first inning or two. Lately, the Braves have been tearing the f'in cover off of the ball and have gotten great pitching from their starters and relievers. Today they hand the ball to Mr. John Smoltz - playing in front of the home crowd and going for his 3,000th strikeout. This is game day and Smoltzie rarely lets down on game day. Smoltzie's ERA on the year??? A filthy .56 through 3 games. Add to that the fact that the Braves absolutely shelled young John Lannan in their last matchup and you have the makings for a full-on beatdown in the ATL today.
Take this for what it's worth because anything can happen on any given day, but the Braves RL, Braves/Nats under 8.5, and a parlay of the two could pay of very nicely today.
Good luck gentlemen.
So far I have been on fire for my early picks and have tapered off in the evenings, but still doing well.
If I'm able to start of well again today I probably won't play any late games.
The early round:
Mariners +123
Mariners/Rays under 10 -135
The wheels have officially come off for the Rays after a promising start. I can't ignore the fact that Seattle has had Tampa's number so far and I look for that to continue today. Batista is not as bad as his numbers appear and Jackson is not as good as his early numbers appear. Batista should tighten up and keep the Rays around 2-3 runs scored today. Enough for the under and a Mariners win.
Reds -105
Reds/Brewers over 8.5 even
I like the Reds today for the same reason I liked them yesterday. They are just a better team. Nothing against the Brewers, but they have beaten up on the slow kids so far. Now they are facing a potentially dangerous lineup in the Reds. Harang is consistently one of the better pitchers in the NL and the Reds are starting to get warm. Also, I just don't think Villanueva is that good. I look for the Reds to put up another solid offensive showing today.
Braves -107
Braves/Rockies under 9 -115
I know, I know. I fully intended to lay off of the Braves for a while, but I can't ignore this situation. Tim Hudson takes the mound and he is the stopper for ATL. So far in this series the Rockies have benefited from shitty Atlanta pitching from fill-ins and bullpen meltdowns. Hudson will take this game as far as he can to keep it out of the bullpen. The Rockies have NEVER taken four straight games from the Braves. And the fact is, the Braves are seriously underperforming right now. Normally I would continue to fade the team until they showed me a reason to do otherwise. But I really feel like the Braves should win this game. Also, super cold weather and snow should theoretically keep the scoring low. I imagine it must hurt like a son-of-a-bitch to hit a baseball when your hands are frozen.
Parlay Braves & Reds
I really like both of these to win, so I'll roll a little parlay on it.
By the way, the Orioles/Rangers is not on Sportsbook right now, but unless there is no value I like Texas. Millwood has owned the Orioles in recent years and I am thinking that the rainout might have cooled off the red-hot Orioles. Small bet if I play it.
Good luck to those of you on these same picks.
Had a solid day yesterday (not posted). A few missed totals and UNC kept it from being a very good day.
Todays picks:
Tampa ML +190
Too much value in Tampa right now. They are scoring well, which is more than I can say for the Yanks. This should be a good pitching matchup and I have a slight lean towards the under. Wang and Shields is a pretty neutral pairing in my opinion, so I will stick with the guys that are actually scoring runs here.
Toronto ML -106
A tough situation here as Beckett will be making his first start of the season. I am hoping he will only turn in 6 innings or so before turning it over to the bullpen. Boston's bullpen has been unreliable so far, unlike Toronto's. Boston also not scoring up to their potential as of yet.
Florida ML +115
Florida RL -145
Florida/Pittsburgh under 9.5 -125
Pitching edge here definitely goes to Pittsburgh, but they just suck. There is no nice way to say it. The only reason Pitt is sitting on 2 wins at this point is the Braves played like ass in their series. Pitt is also missing a couple of regulars today which should give Florida more of an edge. Plus I just like the way the Marlins are playing right now. I don't expect either team here to put up a lot of runs. I expect to see a 2-3 or 3-4 type game here.
Philadelphia ML -130
Philly/Cincinnati under 9.5 -115
Expect Myers to settle back into the starting role this time out. He looked pretty sharp for the first few innings his last time out and then went to shit. Not surprising for a converted closer. This time around he should be better acclimated to going a little deeper into the game. Neither team doing anything impressive offensively at this point, hence the under pick.
Seattle ML -130
Seattle/Baltimore under 9
If Hernandez can duplicate his last performance and go a little deeper to keep the shitty Seattle bullpen where they belong (on the bench), the M's should have no trouble dealing with the Orioles here. Baltimore has been very lucky to this point and have relied on a very solid bullpen to win a few games. If Hernandez doesn't go at least 7 innings, things could go sour quickly. I'm guessing he will make every effort to stay in the game given what happened in his first start.
Atlanta ML +120
Atlanta/NYM over 8.5 even
I will take John Smoltz until he gives me a reason to do otherwise. He always figures out a way to get it done and he always does well vs the Mets. Santana is an unknown for the Braves at this point, but they have been tearing the cover off the ball so far and I think they may get to him a little today. To me this is a very similar situation to yesterday's game between Hudson & Maine. I see the Braves winning this one 6-5 or 7-5.
I usually bet every game, so there will be more to come unless I am cleaned out after these picks. It makes me want to vomit to be on so many favorites and so many unders, but I guess they have to win sometimes.