Florida at Tampa Bay (June 25,26,27)- The Devil Rays put together their best winning streak in franchise history going 12-0 over the last two weeks. Despite the streak they are still below .500 for the season and rank near the bottom of the league in batting average (.257) and E.R.A. (4.82). These trends are bound to catch-up with them as the 2004 campaign drags on. Any team can get hot at some point in the season but the squads that are going to be there at the end are the ones who stay consistent from April through October.
The Marlins are still one of the best teams in baseball. Their starting pitching is getting healthy and it shows as they have a team E.R.A. that is under 3. The Marlins also have the quintessential offense with speed at the top, power in the middle, and contact guys at the end. Pierre and Castillo rarely strikeout and anything they hit on the ground produces tough outs or cheap base hits. That sets the table for Lowell and Cabrera who are both hitting around .300. We will take the Marlins all the way in this series. The oddsmakers started to adjust the lines during the Devils Rays streak. Florida is the better team and we fell confident that they will be able to take advantage of some short road prices due to the Devil Rays' recent hot streak. Play Florida in every game and watch your wallet get fatter.
San Francisco at Los Angeles (June 29-July 1)- The Dodgers played the Giants tough early in the year by taking five of the first six against them. San Francisco returned the favor last week by sweeping the Dodgers in the bay. The Giants are clearly the better team and they seem well on their way to another division crown.
As of this writing the Giants are on a 6-0 streak and they have won 9 of 10. The reason for this is the protection around Bonds is finally showing up. Pedro Feliz and Alfonzo have been punishing pitchers lately and making them pay for walking Bonds. Counter that with Jason Schmidt - who is scheduled to pitch in the series - and that will make the Giants a very tough out.
Los Angeles has lost four in a row and it appears they are one bat short again this year. The pitching has faltered compared to last year and we expect them to once again fade out as the season drags on. They do, however, have Eric Gagne who is as strong as anyone once he gets into the game. Therefore it is imperative for the Giants to have the lead going into the ninth.
We suspect they will and believe San Francisco is the play here in every game. With the Dodgers being at home we suspect some favorable prices and believe that the Dodgers will be favored in two of the three games. Play the Giants in all!!
Best of Luck with your weekend's wagers - Doc's Sports
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