MLB MIDWEEK MAJORS

The card tonight is a very appealing one on the whole as there are plenty of different opportunities available in some varied markets. The matches that I would like to focus on are Baltimore Orioles @ Boston Red Sox, New York Mets @ Milwaukee Brewers, St Louis Cardinals @ Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES (Cormier 2-3, 4.61) @ BOSTON RED SOX (Matsuzaka 16-2, 2.82)
18:35 PM UK Time

This matchup should really be know contest in any department. 'Dice K', the Red Sox starter, is one of the very best pitchers in the majors right now and is at the very pinnacle of his game and he is up against a man that has spent the entire 2008 season in the Orioles bullpen.
This lack of recent starting experience should certainly hamper Lance Cormier and it really isn't a good time to make your first start of the season. This Red Sox unit is right at the very top of its game, primed and ready to take the top spot in AL East should the Rays fall off of their perch.
Having some big fly merchants like Ortiz, Bay and Youkillis in your team alongside a prolific base hitter like Dustin Pedroia and excellent base runners like Coco Crisp and Jacoby Ellsbury, this team still looks extremely strong despite having no Mike Lowell or JD Drew and lamenting the loss of Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers.
The Orioles do have some top hitters in their ranks but they do not compete with the Red Sox in terms of offense or pitching, and therefore appear to have only a very slim chance of winning tonight..
The low prices available on the outright win market are far too skinny so look to the -1.5 market to find yourself a bigger price which is far more backable.

MEN TO WATCH
Nick Markakis (.308, 18 HR, 80 RBI, 10 SB) Baltimore Orioles
Jason Bay (.289, 26 HR, 93 RBI, 10 SB) Boston Red Sox

RECOMMENDATION - 4 Points Stake on Boston Red Sox -1.5 @ 1.89 (Coral)


NEW YORK METS (Perez 9-7, 3.90) @ MILWAUKEE BREWERS (Bush 9-9, 4.12)
19:05 PM UK Time

What we have here is a contest where the two teams involved have extremely comparable statistics on all fronts. The pitchers have a record close to an even win-loss split, the earned run averages are very similar, the teams have similar offensive statistics and the teams overall win-loss record is very close.
Contests like these sound like the sort of ones that expert fence sitters would tell you not to have a punt on, don't have any of that! Sometimes these contests are the most backable because of the value that you can get in them.
So where shall we find our winner from? Well we need to look at a few things; In terms of very recent form, the Mets are going into this game on the back of three straight victories, whereas the Brewers are two straight defeats coming in and a sweep of the series is looming.
How big is the home advantage? Well not that great actually because the Mets actually have a winning road record. Admittedly the Brewers do have a very good (41-26) home record but as the 2-0 series lead for the Mets dictates, this hasn't come to fruition.
What is the motivation of either team to win? Well this one is a bit of a dead heat really. The Brewers are desperately trying to hold onto their lead in the Wildcard ladder, or even go on a run to dethrone the excellent Cubs unit in NL Central, whereas the Mets are almost solely focussed on winning NL East by beating off their bitter rivals, The Philadelphia Phillies. Both teams will be desperate to win.
You have to go with the value here and back the Mets, plain and simple.

MEN TO WATCH
David Wright (.291, 27 HR, 103, 14 SB) New York Mets
Corey Hart (.287, 20 HR, 82 RBI, 22 SB) Milwaukee Brewers

RECOMMENDATION - 3 Points Stake on New York Mets @ 2.05 (Bet365)
2 Points Stake on New York Mets team with Highest scoring innings @ 2.4 (Bet365)


ST LOUIS CARDINALS (Lohse 13-6, 3.89) @ ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (Davis 6-8, 4.59)
20:40 PM UK Time

We have two pitchers with contrasting fortunes hitting the mound tonight. On one hand Kyle Lohse is pitching very well on the whole and is getting good support from the offensive side of things and we have his opponent for the D-Backs, Doug Davis, who is having a bad year coupled with being backed up by a too often blunt offense.
Last night proved just how much better offensively the Cardinals are opposed to their National League rivals here. Desperate to win and close the gap on the Brewers in the wildcard standings, the motivation is high within the ranks. The D-Backs have been gifted their NL West lead to date by an inconsistent Dodgers team, but with the Dodgers and Rockies now firmly breathing down the D-Backs neck the pressure is well and truly on.
Albert Pujols, Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick are all big home run merchants and will look to continue this tonight for the Cards.
I don't see the D-Backs competing unless Davis can roll back the years and find a renaissance of sorts and I can see their being plenty of runs because although the D-Backs have been indifferent offensively, Adam Dunn and Mark Reynolds are capable of hitting out of any ball park.

MEN TO WATCH
Albert Pujols (361, 30 HR, 91 RBI, 6 SB) St Louis Cardinals
Mark Reynolds (.242, 27 HR, 92 RBI, 9 SB) Arizona Diamondbacks
 

RECOMMENDATION - 3 Points Stake on St Louis Cardinals @ 2 (Paddy Power)
1.5 Points Stake on Over 9 Total runs (tie no bet) @ 1.87 (Canbet)


NEW YORK YANKEES (Pavano 2-0, 3.27) @ TAMPA BAY RAYS (Jackson 11-8, 3.81)
00:10am PM UK Time

Despite the fact that it is pretty unlikely that the Yankees can hit post-season now, the team has found enough form to have beaten this Rays team last night, and I think that they could well follow up here. Beware the choke!
Carl Pavano has been brought back into Major League Baseball after quite some time away, and he looks right at home having gained two wins from his two starts. He goes up against a pitcher that is improving all of the time in Edwin Jackson, who has improved his consistency greatly for the Rays.
For me, this game is a lot to do with how the Rays are able to handle pressure. The Red Sox are hitting red form and lie four games back on them, we know the Yankees will look to put big numbers on them today and have done so in the past.
This Rays team is so used to being at the bottom of the pile and branded a loser so when it really comes to the big moments in a season, those tags are hard to shake off. I will be calling their bluff.
If the Yankees hitters get off to a flier, Jackson could disappear early.

MEN TO WATCH
Johnny Damon (.317, 12 HR, 59 RBI, 25 SB) New York Yankees
BJ Upton (.270, 8 HR, 63 RBI, 40 SB) Tampa Bay Rays

RECOMMENDATION - 2.5 Points stake on New York Yankees @ 2.05 (Stan James)

It is a cracking night in prospect so good luck to all.