MLB Premium Play 08/28: Milwaukee Brewers @ Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB - 955 Milwaukee Brewers @ 956 Pittsburgh Pirates

(Starting Pitchers: T. Gorzelanny vs C. Morton)

***TOP PLAY***
Pittsburgh will start Charlie Morton tonight and he is currently in great form by allowing just 1, 2, 2 and 2 earned runs on his last four games! He is coming from a great start at San Francisco and his 3.21 ERA, 2.71 FIP and 3.32 xFIP in August don't lie: he's on fire right now! His only weakness is pitching against LH batters, but Milwaukee's lineup is loaded with RH batters, so this won't be a problem tonight.

Tom Gorzelanny will start for Milwaukee and after a nice span with quality starts, he was pounded on his last two games against Cincinnati and the Cardinals by allowing 7 and 5 earned runs! Therefore, all his confidence is gone! Pittsburgh's offense is streaky, but they are actually very solid while facing LH pitchers with .277 BA on their last 10 games against them, besides being #5 in the league on hitting against LH pitchers with a .740 OPS! After losing yesterday's game, I believe Pittsburgh will bounce back tonight and so, I'll be taking them in here.

Pick: 4 units (Double Dime Play) on 956 Pittsburgh Pirates ML (w/ C. Morton) @ -146 / 1.68 on 5Dimes

MLB Premium Play 08/23: Pittsburgh Pirates @ San Francisco Giants

MLB - 911 Pittsburgh Pirates @ 912 San Francisco Giants

(Starting Pitchers: C. Morton vs M. Bumgarner)

Charlie Morton will start for Pittsburgh tonight and he has been very solid, if we exclude a disastrous start against St Louis. I took him on his last start against Arizona and it wasn't because of him that I lost that play, as he allowed two earned runs in seven innings, with a 6/3 K/BB ratio. He is a groundball pitcher who completely dominates RH batters with .271 wOBA, 3.08 FIP and 2.82 xFIP. The Giants' lineup is mostly composed by righties, so this is a good spot for Morton tonight.

San Francisco will start Madison Bumgarner, who allowed four runs in five innings against the Marlins last Sunday. He has allowed at least one walk in five of his last six starts and with him being left-handed, he will be a good matchup for Pittsburgh, a team that is #4 in the league on hitting against LH pitchers. Their lineup is fully of righties, so Bumgarner won't have a lot of lefties to dominate tonight (.158 BA, 2.83 FIP and 2.34 xFIP). Therefore, I believe Morton is being underrated in here, while Bumgarner is being a bit overrated especially against the Pirates' good offense against LH pitchers. Looking at all of these, I'll be taking the Pirates tonight.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 911 Pittsburgh Pirates RL +1 (w/ C. Morton) @ -127 / 1.78 on 5Dimes

MLB Premium Play 08/14: Pittsburgh Pirates @ St Louis Cardinals

MLB - 959 Pittsburgh Pirates @ 960 St Louis Cardinals

(Starting Pitchers: F. Liriano vs S. Miller)

Francisco Liriano will start for Pittsburgh tonight and he is coming from getting pounded at Colorado. He was giving sings that he was about to regress with five walks on his previous start and that indeed happened against the Rockies. Liriano has walked at least two batters in five of his last seven starts! He dominated the Cardinals early on the season in the only game where he faced St Louis this season, but things will be now different, as he is on much worse form right now.

St Louis will start Shelby Miller, who will play tonight, after an elbow scare on his last outing. He will have two clear edges in tonight's game. Miller is great at home with 2.57 FIP and 2.90 xFIP this season, while he is also great against RH batters with 2.84 FIP and 3.00 xFIP. This is excellent for him, as Pittsburgh's lineup is full of righties. With Miller having a nice matchup and with Liriano struggling right now, I believe the Cardinals will take advantage of this SP edge to pick up a comfortable win tonight.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 960 St Louis Cardinals ML (w/ S. Miller) @ -122 / 1.82 on 5Dimes

MLB Premium Play 08/13: Pittsburgh Pirates @ St Louis Cardinals

MLB - 907 Pittsburgh Pirates @ 908 St Louis Cardinals

(Starting Pitchers: C. Morton vs A. Wainwright)

A couple of weeks ago, St Louis got pounded at Pittsburgh, after having gotten pounded at Atlanta as well. Now, it's Pittsburgh that is coming from getting swept at Colorado and now I believe the Pirates will heavily struggle on this series at St Louis. For tonight's game, the Cardinals will have a clear SP with Adam Wainwright on the mount. His last three starts were all losses for Wainwright, but he pitched very well with 2.47, 3.62 and 3.05 FIP! He was unlucky that he faced some of the hottest teams in the league at the time, as he played at Atlanta, then at Pittsburgh and finally against the red hot Dodgers. He has 7 days of rest for tonight's game and I believe he will dominate, as he has a 1.96 ERA when he has six or more days of rest this season! This is a good spot for him tonight against the Pirates and I expect him to dominate.

The Pirates will start Charlie Morton tonight, who is coming from a nice start against Miami. He had a nice matchup against the terrible Marlins' offense that is dead last on hitting versus RH pitchers this season and also in hitting against grounders! He will have a much tougher matchup tonight, as Morton is allowing .275 BA this season and St Louis is a top hitting team in putting players on base. So, no wonder that his last start against the Cardinals ended with five earned runs allowed in six innings. St Louis will have a huge SP edge tonight and with the Pirates lacking confident after watching their aces getting pounded at Colorado, I believe the Cardinals will pick up an easy win tonight.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 908 St Louis Cardinals RL -1 (w/ A. Wainwright) @ -127 / 1.79 on 5Dimes

MLB Premium Play 08/10: Pittsburgh Pirates @ Colorado Rockies

MLB - 959 Pittsburgh Pirates @ 960 Colorado Rockies

(Starting Pitchers: A. Burnett vs J. Nicasio)

Pittsburgh had a no-show yesterday, but things should be different tonight. They'll start A.J. Burnett tonight, who has been amazing lately with 1.38, 1.76, 2.90, 1.81 and 2.34 FIP on his last five outings! He is an extreme ground ball pitcher with 56.1%% GB%, so he should be prone to allow home runs tonight. On the other side, Juan Nicasio will start for the Rockies and he was recently crushed at Pittsburgh with four earned runs allowed in 4.1 innings. He is struggling versus RH batters this season with .277 BA and .332 wOBA, so the Pirates' lineup full of righties should be able to cause him problems. Pittsburgh has also a much better bullpen than Colorado, so I believe the Pirates have a clear pitching edge for tonight, so I'll be taking them in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 959 Pittsburgh Pirates ML (w/ A. Burnett) @ -133 / 1.75 on 5Dimes

MLB Premium Play 08/07: Miami Marlins @ Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB - 905 Miami Marlins @ 906 Pittsburgh Pirates

(Starting Pitchers: T. Koehler vs C. Morton)

Tom Koehler will start for the Marlins tonight and he shut out the Mets for six innings last Thursday, despite walking five batters. He got away with a 5/5 K/BB ratio due to the poor performance of the Mets' lineup, who left 18 players on base during the game! Prior to that game, Koehler had been pounded at home by the Pirates, with five earned runs allowed in five innings. Koehler struggles against RH batters with .262 BA and .320 wOBA allowed and so, I really expect him to struggle once again against Pittsburgh tonight.

The Pirates will start Charlie Morton and he won the duel against Koehler on that start in Miami, where he allowed three earned runs in five innings, while having a great 6/0 K/BB ratio! On his following outing, he got pounded by the fired up Cardinals, with five earned runs allowed in six innings, but he had another nice 5/1 K/BB ratio in that outing! This is why that he had a 2.87 FIP and 3.33 xFIP in that game, even though he had a 7.50 ERA! Morton will come from facing a very good hitting team like St Louis to a much weaker lineup like Miami's, who is dead last in hitting against RH pitchers (.274 wOBA) and also on grounders (.189 wOBA)! 

I believe Pittsburgh will have clear SP & offensive edges for tonight's game and so, I'll be taking in the runline tonight for an easy win.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 906 Pittsburgh Pirates RL -1.5 (w/ C. Morton) @ +105 / 2.05 on Bookmaker

MLB Premium Play 08/03: Colorado Rockies @ Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB - 905 Colorado Rockies @ 906 Pittsburgh Pirates

(Starting Pitchers: J. De La Rosa vs F. Liriano)

Colorado finally won a game yesterday, so this is a bounce back spot for Pittsburgh today. They'll be facing Jorge De La Rosa today, who is a LH pitcher, so he will be a good matchup for the Pirates, who are #5 in the league on hitting against LH pitchers, while they are also hitting .333 BA against them on their last 10 games! De La Rosa generally struggles against RH batters (.315 wOBA, 3.72 FIP and 4.02 xFIP), so this is the perfect storm for us to see Pittsburgh scoring a good number of runs tonight.

On the other side, Francisco Liriano keeps dominating the league. He had a bad outing at Cincinnati, but then he bounced back with dominant starts at Washington and then at home against the Cardinals with 8/3 and 8/2 K/BB ratios! Liriano's only problem is on walking batters, but Colorado is #27 in the league over the last 30 days on BB% with 6.8%, so they aren't patient enough to make Liriano struggle. Therefore, I expect an easy win for the Pirates tonight and so, I'll be taking them on the runline in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 906 Pittsburgh Pirates RL -1.5 (w/ F. Liriano) @ +100 / 2.00 on 5 Dimes

MLB Premium Play 07/30: St Louis Cardinals @ Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB - 905 St Louis Cardinals @ 906 Pittsburgh Pirates

(Starting Pitchers: T. Lyons vs B. Cumpton)

Tyler Lyons will start for the Cardinals tonight and his last four starts in the Majors were terrible with 4, 6, 4 and 4 earned runs allowed. However, he has been terrific since his demotion to Triple-A, with a 1.33 ERA in 40.2 innings. Therefore, I believe he will do a good job tonight. On the other hand, Brandon Cumpton was recalled to the Pirates to play tonight's second game of a doubleheader, but he has been poor in Triple-A Indianapolis this season with a 4-7 record with a 3.69 ERA. Therefore, I believe St Louis will have a SP edge in here, while both offenses and bullpens are similar. So, I see good value in taking the Cardinals in tonight's contest.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 905 St Louis Cardinals ML (w/ T. Lyons) @ -116 / 1.86 on 5Dimes

MLB Premium Play 07/29: St Louis Cardinals @ Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB - 951 St Louis Cardinals @ 952 Pittsburgh Pirates

(Starting Pitchers: J. Westbrook vs F. Liriano)

St Louis was swept by Atlanta this weekend and yesterday was the fourth game in a row where St Louis had a subpar offensive game with .172, .129, .069 and .250 BA! This is especially worrying for tonight, as Pittsburgh will have a tremendous SP edge on this contest. Francisco Liriano will start for Pittsburgh tonight and after a poor start at Cincinnati, where he allowed five earned runs, he crushed Washington after that with no runs allowed in 7.2 innings. His strikeout punch will also be a big weapon against the struggling Cardinals' lineup.

Jake Westbrook will start for St Louis in here and he has been very far from convincing me lately. He won a decision against Philadelphia, but his command has been terrible with a combined of 5/7 K/BB over his last three starts. His awful season numbers of 3.32 K/9 and 0.91 K/BB don't convince anyone and so, I don't believe that his 2.88 ERA will resist for a lot more time, especially when he has a 4.15 FIP and 4.65 xFIP! Westbrook is a ground ball guy, but Pittsburgh's offense is #9 in the league on grounders, so I believe they should pound Westbrook tonight. Pittsburgh's SP edge in here should be more than enough for them to pick up a comfortable win tonight and so, I'll be taking them in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 952 Pittsburgh Pirates ML (w/ F. Liriano) @ -145 / 1.69 on 5Dimes

MLB Premium Play 07/26: Pittsburgh Pirates @ Miami Marlins

MLB - 903 Pittsburgh Pirates @ 904 Miami Marlins

(Starting Pitchers: J. Locke vs H. Alvarez)

Miami will start Henderson Alvarez tonight, who is coming from allowing no runs against Milwaukee. He has been a groundball machine and he is yet to allow a homerun in the majors this season. On the other side, Pittsburgh will start Jeff Locke, who keeps showing his wild control on his outings, with 6/4, 4/3, 2/3, 4/2 and 3/3 K/BB on his last five games! However, it's important to note that he has been close to unhittable with a .191 BA! Besides some luck that Locke has been having, the truth is that the Pirates' great defense has been helping a lot as well. But he won't be lucky the whole season and he will eventually regress at one point. I believe Miami with Alvarez tonight should be able to keep things close in here and so, I don't see Pittsburgh getting a SP edge tonight. So, I'll be taking the Marlins tonight on the runline for the first five innings of the game.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 904 Miami Marlins RL +0.5 FIRST FIVE INNINGS @ -105 / 1.95 on 5Dimes

MLB Premium Play 07/14: New York Mets @ Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB - 903 New York Mets @ 904 Pittsburgh Pirates

(Starting Pitchers: D. Gee vs G. Cole)

Pittsburgh just keeps winning with good pitching and some clutch offense on key moments. They will face Dillon Gee today, who has been erratic on his last starts, after a good run of quality outings. Gee's problem is directly related with the fact that he heavily struggles on poor spots. Look at his split stats in terms of rest days this season:

4 days rest: 11 starts - 5.43 ERA

5 days rest: 2 starts - 4.50 ERA

+6 days rest: 5 starts - 2.83 ERA

Gee will come to today's game with just 4 days of rest and he is coming from a start at San Francisco, where he threw 108 pitches. Therefore, he is on a poor spot today and I believe he will eventually get into trouble on this game. Gee had a start against Pittsburgh in May, where he played with 7 days of rest and he dominated at first sight with a 1.80 ERA, but where his advanced numbers tell another story with 4.26 FIP and 5.10 xFIP!

On the other side, Gerrit Cole will start today for the Pirates, replacing the injured Jeff Locke. Cole faced two red hot offenses on his last four outings (Philadelphia and the LA Angels) and he was even able to limit the damage well against the dangerous lineup of the A's with just two earned runs allowed in seven innings. The Mets' lineup shouldn't be too much of a challenge for him and I believe Cole will take this opportunity to impress his coach with another good outing. The Pirates are one victory away of matching the first-half win total of the franchise's celebrated 1971 World Series champion contingent, so this is an important game for them today. They will be fired up and I expect them to pick up a comfortable win in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 904 Pittsburgh Pirates RL -1 (w/ G. Cole) @ -113 / 1.89 on 5Dimes

MLB Premium Play 07/12: New York Mets @ Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB - 903 New York Mets @ 904 Pittsburgh Pirates

(Starting Pitchers: J. Hefner vs C. Morton)

Both teams had a day off yesterday. The Mets have won their last four games, including a road sweep at San Francisco! On the other hand, Pittsburgh has lost four of their last five games and lost a bit of their steam. The Mets will start Jeremy Hefner tonight and he has been phenomenal lately. I took him on his last start at Milwaukee and he was great with just one earned run allowed in seven innings, while having a 8/1 K/BB ratio. According to my numbers, he had three great outings on his last six starts, while the other three outings were also quite decent. This is why he ended June with a great 2.90 FIP and 3.35 xFIP! One of my reasons why I took him at Milwaukee is because the Brewers' lineup is full of RH batters. Hefner has some issues versus LH batters (5.41 FIP and 4.80 xFIP), but he is simply amazing versus RH batters! Now against the Pirates, I expect Hefner to dominate once again tonight, as Pedro Alvarez is the only dangerous LH batters that Pittsburgh has on its lineup. This is exactly what Pittsburgh hits way worse versus RH pitchers than LH pitchers, with just .221 BA versus RH pitchers on their last 10 games.

Pittsburgh is starting Charlie Morton tonight, who has been very erratic and inconsistent since he returned to the league. Morton allowed four runs in six innings against the Cubs last Saturday. He hasn't been horrible in any start, but still his command is average-at-best with a 2.0 K/BB ratio. It's clearly that Morton isn't at the same awesome level that Hefner is right now, while the Mets' offense may be ranked #23 for the season, but they are #12 on their last 14 days. With the Mets having the super in-form Hefner tonight and with their confident offense, I expect them to be super competitive tonight and start the game very well under Hefner. So, I'll be taking the Mets on the first five innings in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 903 New York Mets First 5 Innings ML @ +133 / 2.33 on 5Dimes

MLB Premium Play 07/10: Oakland Athletics @ Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB - 925 Oakland Athletics @ 926 Pittsburgh Pirates

(Starting Pitchers: T. Milone vs F. Liriano)

Oakland is 2-0 on this series with both wins being by 2-1! This will be a matchup between two LH pitchers and even though Oakland is #5 in the league versus LH pitchers, while Pittsburgh is just #19, the truth is that over the last 10 games, Oakland is hitting .219 BA versus LHP, while Pittsburgh is hitting .271 BA! The A's will start Tommy Milone tonight, who is coming from allowing three earned runs in 8.1 innings against the Royals last Friday. Milone was coming from five poor outings in a row until he played at Kansas City on his last start, where he pitched well. However, I don't trust him at all just because of one start, especially with so many poor starts in a row prior to that outing. 

Pittsburgh will start Francisco Liriano, who allowed just two runs on a complete game against the Cubs last Friday. Liriano has now a 2.20 ERA with a 1.23 WHIP and a 8-3 record. His strikeout numbers have also been excellent with a great 9.56 K/9. He is several levels above Milone and with both offenses struggling a bit, this will be the key in here. Therefore, I'll be taking the Pirates tonight on a nice double revenge spot for them.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 926 Pittsburgh Pirates ML (w/ F. Liriano) @ -131 / 1.76 on 5Dimes

MLB Premium Play 07/08: Oakland Athletics @ Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB - 923 Oakland Athletics @ 924 Pittsburgh Pirates

(Starting Pitchers: B. Colon vs J. Locke)

Pittsburgh is starting Jeff Locke tonight, who wasn't at his best on his last outing where he allowed three runs in 5.2 innings against Philadelphia. Even though Locke looks to have some great numbers, the truth is that he has failed to finish six innings in four of his last seven starts. The main reason for that is his poor command, with 2/3, 4/2 and 3/3 K/BB ratios on his last three starts. Oakland is a great team in hitting versus LH pitchers (#4 in my rankings) and they are also one of the most patient teams in the league, so they will take advantage of Locke's lack of strikeout punch to test him and eventually pound him. 

Bartolo Colon will start for the A's and he is coming from allowing two earned runs on seven innings in a loss to the Cubs. Colon has been great this season, but he has been dealing with some problems versus LH batters (4.41 FIP and 4.77 xFIP), while he has been good versus RH batters (2.33 FIP and 3.42 xFIP). Looking at Pittsburgh's lineup for tonight, with just three batters hitting from the left side and with just Pedro Alvarez being dangerous, I expect Colon to dominate tonight, leading his team to another nice win tonight.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 923 Oakland Athletics ML (w/ B. Colon) @ -109 / 1.92 on Betonline

MLB Premium Play 07/05: Pittsburgh Pirates @ Chicago Cubs

MLB - 951 Pittsburgh Pirates @ 952 Chicago Cubs

(Starting Pitchers: F. Liriano vs J. Samardzija)

The Pirates finally lost a series against Philadelphia, including a loss yesterday where they were dominated by Cole Hamels! On the other side, the Cubs had to make a big trip from Oakland to Chicago overnight, even though they barely played yesterday, as they were simply terrible on offense.

Today's game should be great, as we have two excellent pitchers on the mount! Pittsburgh will start Francisco Liriano and he is coming from one run allowed over six innings against Milwaukee last Saturday. Liriano struggled against San Francisco, but then bounced back with three quality outings in a row, including two legit great starts on his last two outings. Liriano faced just one top ranked offense on his last six games (LA Angels), but he dominated them. The Cubs' lineup has been above average over the last two weeks, but they were a disaster yesterday and they won't have David DeJesus, Luis Valbuena and Nate Schierholtz in the lineup today. Liriano has already faced the Cubs twice this season and he was incredible in both outings with no earned runs allowed in seven innings on each start. I expect the same to happen today.

On the other side, the Cubs will start Jeff Samardzija today, who is coming from a win at Seattle, on his third quality outing in a row as well. Just like Liriano, Samardzija has been in great form lately, even though he hasn't been facing a lot of tough opposition lately. This will be Samardzija's fourth game against the Pirates this season and he dominated in the first two games played at Pittsburgh, but then struggled on a third game at home with four earned runs allowed in six innings. However, Pittsburgh's offense struggled against the Phillies and if Samardzija keeps playing at the level he has been showing as of late, he should be able to have a good outing today. I believe this game will be a pure pitchers-duel with both Liriano and Samardzija dominating and therefore, I'll be taking the Under in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 951/952 Under 7.5 (w/ F. Liriano & J. Samardzija) @ -120 / 1.83 on Bookmaker

MLB Premium Play 07/04: Philadelphia Phillies @ Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB - 907 Philadelphia Phillies @ 908 Pittsburgh Pirates

(Starting Pitchers: C. Hamels vs G. Cole)

As I expected, Philadelphia is being very competitive on this series. Pittsburgh is being overrated, something that made them completely overrated on the first two games of this series. Pittsburgh's bullpen has been brilliant, but even in that Philadelphia was able to counter that yesterday when Domonic Brown had a homerun against Jason Grilli in the 9th inning yesterday. For today's game, Philadelphia will start Cole Hamels who is on an extra rest spot. Hamels had currently a terrible 2-11 season record, but the advanced numbers say that he has been very unlucky. His 8.41 K/9 and 2.80 BB/9 are right on par with his career averages, but his .303 BABIP and 68.9% strand rate are both career worsts. This shows that Hamels has been unlucky this season. In fact, Hamels ended June with a 3.94 ERA, but with a 3.06 FIP and 3.29 xFIP! Now with extra rest, I expect Hamels to have a nice start today. 

Pittsburgh will start rookie Gerrit Cole today. This will be his fifth start and he allowed 3, 2, 3 and 2 earned runs on his first four outings. His lack of strikeouts is alarming, as he faced just one good offenses in those four games: the Angels on the road, where he had a nice game. However, Cole seems to have a problem. His numbers versus LH batters aren't great at all. Even though we are talking about a small sample, .296 BA and .312 wOBA allowed, with a 5.12 xFIP are worrying numbers. The first four teams that he faced (Milwaukee, LA Angels, LA Dodgers and San Francisco) all have rightly lineups, while Philadelphia's best hitters are left-handed: Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Domonic Brown, Ryan Howard and Ben Revere. Therefore, Cole may struggle a lot today.

Looking at the SP edge that I believe Philadelphia will have today, I expect this game to be a 50/50 contest, something that gives great value to the Phillies today. Therefore, I'll be taking Philadelphia in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 907 Philadelphia Phillies ML (w/ C. Hamels) @ +123 / 2.23 on 5Dimes

MLB Premium Play 07/03: Philadelphia Phillies @ Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB - 953 Philadelphia Phillies @ 954 Pittsburgh Pirates

(Starting Pitchers: J. Lannan vs J. Locke)

Philadelphia upset the Pirates yesterday and the truth is that Pittsburgh had their third game in a row with subpar offensive numbers: .207, .174 and .194 BA, with 2, 1 and 1 runs scored. The Phillies will start John Lannan tonight, who has already made three starts since coming from the DL. Lannan struggled a bit on his first two starts against poor offensive teams versus LH pitchers like Washington and the NY Mets, something that made me fade him on his last outing in LA against the Dodgers. However, Lannan looked good against the Dodgers with one earned run allowed on seven innings. The truth is that Lannan's advanced numbers were very good on his last three outings: 2.66, 3.66 and 2.92 FIP! Considering Pittsburgh's offensive struggles, Lannan has a good spot tonight to be dominant. 

On the other hand, John Locke will start for the Pirates tonight and I have him on fade alert. He had three subpar performances on his last four outings, even though he got away with them by allowing just 2, 0, 0 and 1 earned runs allowed. But his only quality start during this span was against the Dodgers, as he struggled with his command on the remaining outings and he only got away with those struggles because he was facing weak offenses such as Seattle, Cincinnati and the Cubs. Now against the in-form Phillies, I expect Locke to finally struggle tonight. As I expect Lannan to have a good outing and Locke to struggle, I see Philadelphia being very competitive once again tonight and so, I'll take them in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 953 Philadelphia Phillies RL +1 (w/ J. Lannan) @ +113 / 2.13 on 5Dimes

MLB Premium Play 07/02: Philadelphia Phillies @ Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB - 901 Philadelphia Phillies @ 902 Pittsburgh Pirates

(Starting Pitchers: J. Pettibone vs B. Cumpton)

Both teams are currently hitting the ball well right now, with Pittsburgh having a 114 wRC+ and Philadelphia an 107 wRC+. Jonathan Pettibone will start for Philadelphia tonight and he has some problems versus LH batters with .371 wOBA allowed, 4.99 FIP and 5.16 xFIP. However, Pittsburgh has a lineup with more RH batters than left-handed and only Pedro Alvarez has been red hot from the LH batters, therefore I expect Pettibone to have a decent outing in here. 

1. Starling Marte (R) LF

2. Russell Martin (R) C

3. Andrew McCutchen (R) CF

4. Garrett Jones (L) 1B

5. Pedro Alvarez (L) 3B

6. Neil Walker (S) 2B

7. Jordy Mercer (R) SS

8. Travis Snider (L) RF

9. Brandon Cumpton (R) P

On the other side, Pittsburgh will start Brandon Cumpton and he had two decent starts. He allowed three earned runs in five innings against the Dodgers, while he controlled the damage against the Reds, as he had a 1.80 ERA in that outing, but a 5.05 FIP! On 21 AB's versus LH batters on these two starts, Cumpton allowed a .350 BA and .422 wOBA against them, while also having a 4.90 FIP. Philadelphia will have five players hitting from the left side tonight, so they should be able to put Cumpton in some trouble tonight.

1. Michael Young (R) 3B

2. Chase Utley (L) 2B

3. Jimmy Rollins (S) SS

4. Ryan Howard (L) 1B

5. Domonic Brown (L) LF

6. Delmon Young (R) RF

7. Ben Revere (L) CF

8. Carlos Ruiz (R) C

9. Jonathan Pettibone (L) P

I don't see Pittsburgh being such a big favorite in tonight's game as the oddmakers are saying and therefore, I'll be taking the Phillies tonight.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 901 Philadelphia Phillies RL +1 (w/ J. Pettibone) @ -101 / 1.99 on 5Dimes

MLB Premium Play 06/23: Pittsburgh Pirates @ Los Angeles Angels

MLB - 979 Pittsburgh Pirates @ 980 Los Angeles Angels

(Starting Pitchers: C. Morton vs J. Blanton)

The Angels will start Joe Blanton today, who may have a 1-10 record this season, but he is pitching much better than that record shows. He had a 11/2 K/BB ratio on his last start and previous to that, he had 6/1 K/BB at Boston, 11/0 vs Houston and 5/0 at LA against the Dodgers. That's a 33/3 K/BB ratio on his last four starts! The Pirates are one of the teams that struggles the most with strikeouts and they are indeed #30 in the league on K% with 25.7% over the past 30 days! Therefore, I expect Blanton to use his great command to dominate the Pirates.

On the other hand, Charlie Morton will start for Pittsburgh today. He pitched well at Cincinnati, but prior to that he got pounded by the Giants. I believe that the fact that the slumping Josh Hamilton not playing today will only help the Angels, whose potent lineup should be too much for Morton. Therefore, I expect a comfortable win for the LA team in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 980 Los Angeles Angels RL -1 (w/ J. Blanton) @ -114 / 1.88 on 5Dimes

MLB Premium Play 06/14: Los Angeles Dodgers @ Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB - 901 Los Angeles Dodgers @ 902 Pittsburgh Pirates

(Starting Pitchers: S. Fife vs J. Locke)

The Dodgers will start a road trip tonight, after going 1-4 on their last five games at home. Stephen Fife will start for them tonight and he is coming from back to back good starts against San Diego and Atlanta, after a stint on the DL. He had good K/BB ratios with 5/2 and 7/1, but the problem is that he has been allowing too many hits with a .323 BA rating! This isn't good, but the Pirates isn't the right opponent to take advantage of it with just .238 BA (#26) this season and .229 BA over the last 30 days (#28).

On the other hand, the Pirates will start Jeff Locke tonight, who is coming from an outing in Chicago against the Cubs, where he allowed seven batters! He was coming from an outing where he had thrown 103 pitches and with just 4 days of rest, he struggled. He had now five days of rest for this game, but he has curiously struggled against the Dodgers at LA earlier on this season with four runs allowed in six innings, on his first start of the season. In fact, the Dodgers' roster is currently hitting .394 BA and .887 OPS in 33 AB's! I believe the Dodgers at these odds have great value and so, I'll be taking them in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 901 Los Angeles Dodgers ML (w/ S. Fife) @ +151 / 2.51 on 5Dimes