Ben Burns Available Picks
May, 15 2008 3:45pm EST
MONEYLINE: San Francisco Giants -139
LOSS for -3 unit(s)
Houston Astros at San Francisco Giants
I'm laying the price with San Francisco. With a 6-3 win last night, the Astros have taken two of three in this series thus far. However, the Giants should have a significant advantage on the mound for this afternoon's "Getaway Game" and I look for them to salvage the series split. Sampson comes off a strong outing for the Astros. However, he got rocked in his previous start and he's still 2-3 with a 6.27 ERA and 1.636 WHIP on the season. Note that he has a 6.30 ERA in two daytime starts, averaging five innings per start, and opposing hitters are batting .357 against him in those two games.
Conversely, with a 5-1 record and 1.61 ERA, the Giants Tim Lincecum ranks among the league leaders in all the major pitching categories. He's faced a powerful Philadelphia lineup in each of his last two starts, yet allowed a mere two runs through 14 complete innings. In four daytime starts, Lincecum is 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA, holding opposing hitters to a mere .220 batting average. When he does get into trouble, he's got both the dynamite "stuff" and the composure to work his way through it. As Giants manager Bruce Bochy noted: "When he gets in a crisis-type situation, he keeps his composure and has a knack for turning it up a notch." Note that the Giants are 2-0 in Lincecum's two starts vs. the Astros, winning by scores of 2-1 and 4-2. Lincecum, who is currently second in the NL in strikeouts, had 14 Ks to just two walks in those two outings, allowing a mere two earned runs and seven hits in 15 innings. Lincecum outdueled a better pitcher (Roy Oswalt) in each of those games than the one (Sampson) he'll be matched up against today. Look for him to continue his terrifc start as the Giants bounce back and improve to 15-6 the last 21 times they were a host in this series. *Getaway Day GOW
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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