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With the Fourth of July just a couple of days away, plenty of fireworks are on tap today involving teams going head-to-head in important contests. Though the second half of the baseball campaign has barely gotten underway, games like these will have important meanings down the road. Here is a betting look at Wednesday’s key contests. Take a gander at today's FREE FoxSheet on one of today's top matchups. For Oakland and Los Angeles, they will continue battle for first place in the AL West, with the Angels holding the upper edge by 4.5-games with 5-3 come from behind win last night. For both these clubs, they must be conserving energy to help America, since neither is changing numbers on the scoreboard to frequently lately. The A’s have scored just 2.7 runs per game in last seven contests being shutout twice and the Angels went berserk last night and have touched home played 11 whole times in last six outings. Both squads are clearly not nocturnal, with Oakland 17-10 in day games and the Halos 14-6. The Athletics perform well in bounce back situations with 20-10 record against the money line in road games after a loss by two runs or less over the last two seasons. In spite of hitting woes, Los Angeles is 17-5 after batting .240 or worse over a 10-game span this season. For political pundits, this is strictly from a left point of view, with lefty’s Joe Saunders (11-4, 3.06, 1.15 WHIP) and Dana Eveland (6-5, 3.34, 1.351 WHIP). Saunders can become the first AL pitcher to reach a dozen wins and is 33-14 over the last three seasons. (Angels Record) Eveland has been brilliant in last three starts with 1.77 ERA and will face a Los Angeles line-up that is 15-5 vs. lefties.
Sportsbook.com has the Angels as -132 money line home favorites with total Un8. Eveland and Oakland are 8-0 UNDER as underdogs of +100 or higher over the last three seasons. It should be noted these West rivals have played 60 of 94 games UNDER the oddsmakers number, yet are 22-21 OVER is day games.
Later in the day, Philadelphia will try to continue to put more distance between themselves and Atlanta with another road win. The Phillies had lost nine of last 11, largely due to ineffective offense. Something about Turner Field revs up Philadelphia and they scored eight runs last night in victory and have taken 15 of last 22 there. Philly will face Jorge Campillo (3-2, 2.54, 1.025 WHIP) and his array of off-speed pitches. They are 21-9 in road games vs. a starting pitcher with good control (less than 1.75 BB's a start) over the last two years. The Braves have lost seven of last 10 home games after brilliant start and will take swings at Adam Eaton (2-6, 4.86, 1.467 WHIP). Atlanta is 4-14 at home vs. an NL starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.450 to 1.550. The Braves are -128 favorite with Total Un9.5. Keep an eye on the Total with Eaton and Phillies 14-1 UNDER in his starts in 2008 and the Braves 18-3 UNDER with double revenge against opponent this season. Its official, the world has gone mad, with Tampa Bay not only in first place in the AL East; they also have the best record in baseball. Off two impressive pitching performances against Boston at “the Trop”, the Rays go for another sweep of the Red Sox at home this season with ace Scott Kazmir (7-3, 2.28, 1.045 WHIP) on the mound. It’s too early to tell if Tampa Bay has what it takes to win the division ultimately, but make no mistake, this is not the Colorado Rockies; this is a team on the rise who is truly formidable. A strong indication of how good this club is after years of being underdogs, the Rays are 37-18 as favorites in 2008, including 20-5 as a home favorite of -125 to -175 this season. Boston is finding out, as their road woes continue with uncharacteristic 19-26 record. Maybe it’s no David Ortiz in the lineup, but the Red Sox score only 4.4 RPG on the road and are 2-9 road games after two or more consecutive losses this season. Boston sends Daisuke Matsuzaka (9-1, 3.21, 1.386 WHIP), who is 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA in his last four starts against the Rays. Manager Terry Francona will hope to lean on the fact his BoSox are 13-3 against lefties and are +128 underdogs. The home team has won all 11 prior meetings in this bourgeoning divisional rivalry this season.
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