Sunday's Card *** 8/3/2014 ***
I really like today's card and put a lot of thought into these lines last night. Time to bounce back!
On the wrong side of several unfortunate outcomes yesterday, and wound up having my worst day of the season. It was uncanny how everything unfolded at the end of each game, whether it was run totals (e.g., Sea/Bal and Pit/Ari) or side bets (e.g., Reds and Braves). It could have just as easily been a positive day, which is what makes it so frustrating. Oh well moving on.
Ran out of time with the write-ups… so hard to get these done before the games start on Sundays. Best of luck everyone!
Sides
Texas Rangers F5 (-115) --- 1.50 Units / 1.50% of Bankroll
Bauer is coming off a bad outing that was preceded by a few mediocre outings. Darvish, on the other hand, has looked great his last few outings against players not named Gardner! The Rangers' offense, scoring runs in a bimodal fashion (i.e., all or nothing), could quite possibly be the most difficult lineup to cap in MLB (outside of the Braves and Padres). For this reason, I am going to stick with the F5 and make this play about Darvish keeping the Indians bats down and squeezing out a win.
St. Louis Cardinals ML (-118) --- 1.50 Units / 1.50% of Bankroll
The line has moved about 15 points since I locked this one down. Every pitcher has that team(s) who give them fits, and for Garza you can throw the Cardinals into that camp. The Cardinals tagged have scored 9 runs off him in 10 innings this season (including 5 runs in 3 IP @ STL in April). Here is how the likely starters have fared against Garza. Outside of Matt Carpenter, most of the Cardinals hitters have hit Garza very well.
Jon Jay: .615 BA (8-13) w/ 2 2B and 1 HR
Matt Adams: .750 BA (6-8) w/ 1 2B and 1 HR
Matt Holliday: .375 BA (9-24) w/ 2 2B
Jhonny Peralta: .433 BA (13-30) w/ 2 2B and 1 HR
AJ Pierzynski: .286 BA (4-14) w/ 2 HRs
Matt Carpenter: .125 (1-8)
John Lackey is making his first start for the Cardinals and I expect him to do very well tonight. He gives his team a chance to win the game every time he takes the ball, and I am confident that he will pick up his first win as a Cardinal tonight.
Cincinnati Reds ML (-104) --- 1.50 Units / 1.50% of Bankroll
Call me crazy, but I am rolling with the Reds again today despite two tough losses backing them this week. Leake is a far better pitcher than Turner, and if Turner can shut down the Reds' offense then I will officially back off the Reds until they get it together.
Pittsburgh Pirates ML (-142) --- 1.50 Units / 1.50% of Bankroll
Oakland A's ML (-156) --- 1.00 Units / 1.00% of Bankroll
Oakland A's -1.5 RL (+135) --- 0.50 Units / 0.50% of Bankroll
New York Yankees ML (+113) --- 1.50 Units / 1.50% of Bankroll
Totals
Philadelphia/Washington Under 6.5 (-115) --- 1.00 Units / 1.00% of Bankroll
Texas/Cleveland Under 7.5 (-125) --- 1.00 Units / 1.00% of Bankroll
Atlanta/San Diego Under 7 (-125) --- 1.00 Units / 1.00% of Bankroll
Kansas City/Oakland Under 7 (-120) --- 1.00 Units / 1.00% of Bankroll