It's September, and while a lot of you are thinking about NCAA and NFL Football, this is crunch time in the bigs. Today we're serving up an MLB picks two-team parlay: The O's try to winnow the Yanks lead in the AL East even further and the A's battle the Red Sox.
MLB Record: 77-58 - +20.59 Units
Orioles vs. Yankees
I want to go right back to Yankee Stadium from yesterday. I hit with the UNDER but the Yankees have been getting hit around like a California beach ball.
The Baltimore Orioles have narrowed the division lead to a mere 2 games. The Orioles have the Yankees reeling like a prize fighter that got hit with an unforeseen uppercut. Can the Yankees recover?
One stat that really sticks out is the runs scored to runs allowed ratio. Baltimore has found a way to be a winner despite being -39 on the season. To be outscored and yet sporting a 73-58 record is simply amazing.
Saturday's game wont get any easier for the Bombers as the more experienced Wei-Yin Chen (12-7, 3.78) takes the mound for the Orioles to be opposed by inexperienced David Phelps (3-4, 2.96).
Phelps has done a great job this season despite the sub.500 record, but has only pitched 70 innings. Talk about going from the frying pan to the fire.
However, the Yankees still have a veteran offense that can pick a young pitcher up. It will be up to Jeter, Swisher, Granderson, and company to find a way to crack the code known as Chen. You get good value in this game as Phelps isn't near the status of C.C. Sabathia despite it's being about as close to a must win for the Yanks as possible.
Chen has been very solid. The opposition is hitting just .244 off him this season. The Orioles have the pitching advantage, but they're playing at Yankee Stadium, and the Yanks have the ability to come through when their backs are against the wall.
This game will come down to Chen's effectiveness against a Yankees club that's battle-tested.
Pick: Baltimore/New York UNDER 9
I'm not going to pick the side of this game although the Yankees haven't shown me much lately. Look for both starters to do just enough to keep this game competitive and below the total.
Red Sox vs. AthleticsThe Athletics are doing everything that they can to secure a post season berth and the Boston Red Sox have packed up the tent. Can you possibly see the Red Sox coming up with the "W" tonight at Oakland after the Athletics tore them to shreads on Friday night 20-2?
The same suspects were involved in the Athletics offensive barrage. Josh Reddick hit his 28th homer of the season, Brandon Moss hit number 15 while they both had 4 RBI apiece. Making things worse for the Sox, lite-hitting catcher George Kottaras had the best game of his career in the form of 2 home runs, 3 runs, 3 hits, and 5 RBI.
Looking through the rear view window!Oakland doesn't need to worry about other contending ballclubs when they're playing baseball like this The A's have won 7 straight games and are actually creeping up on Texas, just 4 games behind for the American West Division lead.
Starting pitching matchupBoth teams send some respectability to the mound as Felix Doubront (10-6, 4.79) takes the mound for the Red Sox to be opposed by A.J. Griffin (3-0, 2.42). The concern for most Oakland bettors is that Griffin hasn't pitched since August 4th, having been on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder.
Doubront has had a solid season but has struggled in his last 3 outings. In those appearances, he's given up 13 runs in 14 1/3 innings. There are a lot of question marks going into this game. I'm not one to jump on the OVER, but we might see another big display of offense again.
The given entityI'm going to stick with "the given entity," and that's the powerful and streaky offense of Oakland. Doubront could have the edge due to experience this season, but that goes out the window as Oakland is a speeding locomotive that can't be stopped.
House moneyIt's always possible that Oakland can eek out a 1 run win but, since I'm playing with such a large amount of house money (winning more than losing and playing with the books money), I'm going to take the runline in this game. Boston should be very demoralized after getting beaten by 18 runs on Friday.
Pick:
Oakland -1 1/2 +120
The parlay will be Yanks/Baltimore UNDER 9 and Oakland -1 1/2Make this a small play. I like the play but I always lean towards the single games as my record reflects.
Good Luck everyone!