Who let the dogs out? Joe Catalano did, and tonight he looks to do it again as he tries to extend his amazing run playing against the favorites. Find out which doors he believes the MLB odds makers have left open for us tonight.
I had a nice 2-0 day on Thursday fading the hot Yankees and taking the underdog Mets over the Dodgers. I'm very satisfied with my 7-4 record in picking legitimate underdogs as most people can't go 4-7. Let's try to make it 8-4 with the dog on Friday's MLB Picks of the Day.
New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers- Mets -134, total 6.5
I'm going right back to Dodger Stadium tonight as the Dodgers have proven to be vulnerable offensively, especially without their two best hitters in Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp.
R.A. Dickey takes the mound for New York for the first time since he proved that he was human in the Subway Series battle. Although he didn't pick up the loss, Dickey only went 6 innings, giving up 5 runs and 5 hits in his last outing. If Dickey can get past one poor outing it should be an easy win for the Mets over this LA team who has lost five games in a row.
Saying that, the knuckleball pitch is unpredictable, but Dickey's numbers don't lie. While Ike Davis and Lucas Duda cooled off in their last game, but David Wright continues to be one of the best contact hitters in the game. Wright went hard against LA last night and his batting average is now up to .361.
The Dodgers did keep last night close, losing 3-2 but their offense is far from effective, scoring in just 1 of their last 39 innings. Ride the Mets momentum and fade the Dodgers lack of productivity. The Mets will make it 2 straight against LA with R.A. on the mound.
Pick - New York Mets -134
Cincinnati Reds at San Francisco Giants- Giants -150, total 6.5
Everything is going right for the Giants, as they're once again the National League West Division leaders after a Dodgers collapse. The pitching is strong as
Lincecum finally showed the old Timmy in his last outing, Madison Bumgarner shutout the Reds to in a one hit complete game masterpiece last night against Reds ace Johnny Cueto, and the Giants now are enjoying a four game winning streak.
The Giants are getting hot right before the All Star break as they look to make a 2nd half run at a postseason berth. San Francisco is known for being a pitching oriented team, but they have some capable hitters in Buster Posey, Angel Pagan, Melky Cabrera, and Pablo Sandoval. Thanks to the New York teams, the Giants picked up Cabrera and Pagan who've excelled out on the West coast.
The Cincinnati Reds have made great strides this season at 41-34 and sport some big bats in the names of Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Jay Bruce, and even youngster Todd Frazier. However, as we all know, good pitching beats good hitting, and the San Francisco Giants are a perennial division leader because they have a loaded pitching staff.
Ace Matt Cain (9-2, 2.27) makes the start tonight for the Giants against an inferior Mike Leake. The deciding factors in this game are that the Giants have the momentum with the 4 game streak, they embarrassed Cincy last night with Cincy's ace starting, and
Matt Cain got his swagger back after one poor outing.
In Cain's last game against the Oakland Athletics, he gave up 1 run and 3 hits while striking out 7 batters as the A's beat the Giants and Cain earned a no decision. Cain has 107 strikeouts in 107 innings this season.
The Giants are a National League's best 25-14 at home this season. You have to go with SF in this spot.
Pick - Giants -150 and under the 6.5 (two separate bets) I dislike low run totals but Mike Leake has given several "quality" outings recently.
No Underdogs?As much as I had success with the underdog and want to come through for everybody, I don't want to force the issue. When you just bet to bet and are not selective problems occur in betting.
HOWEVER, I'll throw out a lean (not an official pick towards my 7-4 underdog record) just for the sake of logic.
Chicago White Sox +117 (not a major underdog) have a chance of beating the Yankees back to back. New York is ready to cool down and could be slightly demoralized by David Robertson's performance last night. Chicago leads the AL Central and is really starting to build their own momentum as a team. Facing 1st time starter Adam Warren, the White Sox might be able to give him an initiation into the big leagues.
Good Luck everyone. Let's have a successful Friday. I don't make the picks unless I'm confident.