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July, 19 2008 1:05pm EST
TOTAL: Under 8 (-120)
WIN for +2.5 unit(s)

Oakland Athletics at New York Yankees

I'm playing on the Yankees and A's to finish UNDER the total. Yesterday's series opener managed to sneak below the total, finishing with a final score of 7-1. We should see a "pitcher's duel" with even fewer runs this afternoon. For starters, including yesterday's result, the UNDER is now a solid 11-5 the last 16 series meetings. Additionally, the Yankees have been an "under machine" when playing during the afternoon this season. In New York's 31 day games, the UNDER has gone 22-8-1. That's 73%! Overall, the Yankees have seen the UNDER go 50-31-2 when playing on natural grass, while the A's have seen the UNDER go 51-34-7 when they have done so. Even more important than the playing surface or the starting time, both this afternoon's starting pitchers have been excellent.

Chamberlain has a 2.62 ERA on the season, including a 2.81 mark as a starter. Chamberlain, who will have the advantage of starting against Oakland for the first time, has a 2.50 ERA when pitching during the daytime, holding opposing hitters to a .212 batting average in those games. Duchscherer has been even better. In fact, he's 10-5 with an outstanding 1.82 ERA and 0.865 WHIP on the season. He's been at his best recently, too. Indeed, he's gone 2-0 with an exceptional 1.52 ERA and 0.676 WHIP his last three outings, averaging nearly eight innings per outing. Not surprisingly, all three of those games finished below the total, averaging less than five combined runs each. Duchscherer has a .267 ERA in his four daytime starts. Duchscherer has faced the Yankees once and was dominant in that outing, allowing just five hits and one run through seven complete innings. Expect another well-pitched affair with the UNDER improving to 11-4 the last 15 times the A's played a road game with an over/under line of eight or 8.5. *Annihilator

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