Baseball Betting – Rays Need Outstanding Effort from Shields
Thursday, October 07, 2010
by BetUS.com
Since the Texas Rangers didn’t waste any time in jumping all over the Tampa Bay Rays in their dominant 5-1 Game 1 victory on Wednesday, I won’t waste any time in making this baseball betting declaration.
If the Tampa Bay Rays get anything short of an outstanding effort from right-hander James Shields tonight, they are going to be in big trouble against a Texas Rangers team that apparently has plans on reaching the ALCS, if not more, this postseason.
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The two AL rivals will battle it out on the diamond inn Game 2 at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay today at 2:35 PM ET.
Thursday, October 7, 2:35 PM ET
MLB Baseball Odds:
Texas Rangers +1½ -200
- C.J. Wilson -L
Tampa Bay Rays -1½ +170
- James Shields -R
Over 8 -125
Under 8 +105
Moneyline
Rangers +105
Rays -125
TV: TBS
Radio: Sirius 177 XM
Tampa Bay (96-67 SU, 73-83-7 O/U, 78-85 RL)
Texas (91-72 SU, 74-81-8 O/U, 73-90 RL)
Here is a look at tonight’s key head-to-head baseball trends, followed by my in-depth analysis and BetUS Sportsbook expert MLB Picks.
- Over is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.
- Rangers are 3-10 in the last 13 meetings in Tampa Bay.
- Rangers are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings.
DYK Alert!
Did You Know the Tampa Bay Rays have gone just 3-8 in James Shields' last 11 starts when the right-hander gets five days of rest?
Tampa Bay 411
- The Rays are 1-4 in their last five games against a left-handed starter
- The Rays are 1-4 in their last five home games.
- Rays are 4-1 in Shields' last 5 starts vs. a team with a winning record.
- Rays are 5-2 in Shields' last 7 home starts.
- Rays are 0-4 in Shields' last 4 starts during game 2 of a series.
Tampa Bay left-hander David Price may be the odds-on-favorite to win this year’s Cy Young award, but the southpaw starter didn’t help his ballclub come close to cashing in against the baseball playoff betting odds in Game 1 as he gave up five runs on a whopping nine hits in just 6.2 innings to take the loss.
Ben Zobrist drove in Tampa Bay’s only run with a solo home run.
Did You Know Alert 2!
Did You Know the Texas Rangers have compiled a scorching 7-1 record in C.J. Wilson’s last eight starts against a team with a winning record?
Texas 411
- Rangers are 4-0 in their last 4 road games and 5-0 in their last 5 as a road underdog.
- Rangers are 1-4 in their last 5 games vs. a right-handed starter.
- Rangers are 5-0 in Wilson’s last 5 starts vs. American League East.
- Rangers are 5-2 in Wilson’s last 7 road starts.
- Rangers are 1-6 in Wilson’s last 7 road starts vs. a team with a winning record.
Former AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee was absolutely commanding in limiting the Rays to just five hits and one earned run in seven strong innings while striking out 10 batters in the efficient outing.
Veteran catcher Bengie Molina and hard-hitting outfielder Nelson Cruz each smacked solo home runs while former AL MVP Vladimir Guerrero went 2-for-4 with a run-scoring double to help the Rangers cash in against the baseball playoff betting odds.
The Starters: James Shields has gone 0-3 with an enormous 8.82 ERA during the span while allowing at least five earned runs in each start. The right-hander (13-15, 5.18 ERA) has the highest ERA of any Tampa Bay starter, but has been a bit better at home (4.53 ERA) than when he takes the hill on the road (5.82) Shields has compiled a 31-21 record with a 3.60 ERA at Tropicana Field over the course of his career.
Wilson has gone 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA over his last three starts but limited the Angels to just two earned runs on four hits in five innings the last time out. Wilson did post an uninspiring 4-5 with a 2.91 ERA in 14 road starts.
Analysis: I’m going to get right to the point with this baseball playoff betting pick by saying that I like the Texas Rangers to win their second straight game on the road, in large part because of the struggles of Tampa Bay right-hander James Shields.
As a matter of fact, I think Rays’ manager Joe Maddon may be going with the wrong starter in this must-win contest, despite the fact that Shields has pitched better at home than on the road this season.
Shields has been awful in each of his last three starts, allowing 16 runs on a whopping 27 hits, (including two home runs) in just 16.1 combined innings for a run-per-inning average.
I am going to advise the BetUS Sportsbook MLB betting brethren to play the Texas Rangers to pull off the ‘upset’ road win and cover the baseball playoff betting Moneyline and Run Line with the outright road win.
Texas has gone 4-0 in their last four road games and an even more impressive 5-0 in their last five games as a road underdog.
Yes, I know the Rangers have gone just 1-4 in their last five games against a right-handed starter and just 1-6 in C.J. Wilson’s last seven road starts against a team with a winning record, but the hard-hitting ballclub has also compiled a stellar 5-0 mark in Wilson’s last five starts against AL East opponents while also going 5-2 in Wilson’s last seven road starts.
The Rays may have won the AL East this season and are undoubtedly one of the scrappiest teams in all of baseball, but the Rangers are the pick to cash in against the baseball playoff betting odds in this one.
BetUS Sportsbook MLB Expert Picks: Texas Rangers SU and RL Road Win/Over 8 Total Runs
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baseball betting - ben zobrist - bengie molina - c.j. wilson - cliff lee - cy young - david price - james shields - mlb betting - nelson cruz
