Ben Burns Available Picks
May, 14 2008 8:10pm EST
MONEYLINE: Detroit Tigers -137
LOSS for -3 unit(s)
Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals
I'm laying the price with DETROIT. Enough is enough. Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers have gotten off to extremely disappointing starts this season. The Tigers are a much better team than their record indicates though and the same goes for Verlander being a much better pitcher than his stats show. This evening, Verlander will take on a team which he has dominated and I expect him to turn things around by delivering a huge effort. In nine career starts against Kansas City, Verlander is 6-0 (Tigers were 7-2) with a stellar 2.65 ERA and 1.023 WHIP. In four starts at Kansas City, Verlander has allowed a mere four runs in 27 innings, a 1.33 ERA.
The Royals have had some great pitching performances early on this season and Greinke came up big again yesterday, although his ERA actually climbed to 1.93. Hochevar's numbers are nowhere close to that good though. He lost vs. Baltimore last time out and has a 4.94 ERA in four starts on the season. That's not going to amount to many wins by the end of the year, especially when considering that the Royals only manage about 3.2 runs per game at home.
The Royals have been a much better team than the Tigers during the afternoon. That hasn't been the case at night though. Even after yesterday's win, the Royals are still a money-burning 9-15 (-5.5) in games played underneath the lights. On the other hand, despite their poor overall record, the Tigers have managed to remain a modestly profitable 13-11 (+1.2) at night, going 142-103 (+21.5) under the lights the past three seasons. Look for them to improve on those stats here, as Verlander outpitches Hochevar en route to a much-needed victory for the visitors. *AL Central GOM
Ben Burns Past Picks
MLB Baseball
Milwaukee Brewers @ Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday July 2, 2008 9:40 pm
I'm laying the price with ARIZONA. Enough is enough! The Diamondbacks started off the season by going 1-2 and they haven't fallen below 500 since. They have been right at the 500 mark a couple of times ... read more
Ben Burns Bio and Picks | Articles By Ben Burns
MLB Baseball
San Diego Padres @ Colorado Rockies Wednesday July 2, 2008 9:05 pm
I'm playing on the Padres and Rockies to finish OVER the total. After the Padres and Rockies combined for 23 runs in their opener, the offenses cooled down significantly last night. That was with Cook ... read more
Ben Burns Bio and Picks | Articles By Ben Burns
MLB Baseball
Philadelphia Phillies @ Atlanta Braves Wednesday July 2, 2008 7:10 pm
I'm laying the price with ATLANTA. The Braves are finally getting healthy and they're at home for this huge game. Its "huge" because they're already 1-6 against the Phillies on the season and ... read more
Ben Burns Bio and Picks | Articles By Ben Burns
MLB Baseball
Chicago Cubs @ San Francisco Giants Tuesday July 1, 2008 10:15 pm
I'm playing on SAN FRANCISCO. After getting swept by the rival White Sox, the Cubs bounced back with a convincing 9-2 victory over the Giants in the opening game of this series. Despite that result, they're ... read more
Ben Burns Bio and Picks | Articles By Ben Burns
MLB Baseball
Pittsburgh Pirates @ Cincinnati Reds Tuesday July 1, 2008 7:10 pm
I'm laying the price with CINCINNATI. Momentum is an important ingredient in baseball and the Reds have "Big Mo" sitting in their corner. After closing out Interleague play with a pair of wins ... read more
Ben Burns Bio and Picks | Articles By Ben Burns
MLB Baseball
Boston Red Sox @ Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday July 1, 2008 7:10 pm
I'm playing on the Red Sox and Rays to finish OVER the number. In order to succeed in real estate or the stock market, one must seek out "value" with all purchases, finding stocks or properties ... read more
Ben Burns Bio and Picks | Articles By Ben Burns
MLB Baseball
Toronto Blue Jays @ Seattle Mariners Monday June 30, 2008 10:10 pm
I'm laying the price with TORONTO. Both teams are playing much better than when they faced each other at Toronto a few weeks ago. Of course, that's likely due in part to the fact that both clubs have ... read more
Ben Burns Bio and Picks | Articles By Ben Burns
MLB Baseball
San Diego Padres @ Colorado Rockies Monday June 30, 2008 9:05 pm
I'm playing on Colorado and San Diego to finish OVER the total. These teams played a trio of low-scoring games when they faced each other back near the beginning of May. Those games occurred at pitcher-friendly ... read more
Ben Burns Bio and Picks | Articles By Ben Burns
MLB Baseball
Boston Red Sox @ Tampa Bay Rays Monday June 30, 2008 7:10 pm
I'm laying the price with TAMPA BAY. This is a huge game and series for both teams, as they're currently neck and neck for first place in the AL East. It's arguably more important for the Rays though, ... read more
Ben Burns Bio and Picks | Articles By Ben Burns
MLB Baseball
Chicago Cubs @ Chicago White Sox Sunday June 29, 2008 8:05 pm
I'm playing on the White Sox and Cubs to finish UNDER the total. The first two games of this series have both finished above the total and most are expecting another high-scoring affair this evening. ... read more
Ben Burns Bio and Picks | Articles By Ben Burns