Nice weekend. Hope your all hittin this week. Two plays tonight:
MLB:
Houston Astros +140ML
As I've said since late Sept..the best hitting team in baseball the 2'nd half wasn't the Cardinals, it was the Astros. And one major reason for the playoff re-surgence pf Houston is the addition of Backe to the rotation on Aug. 10'th. In 2 starts against the Cards, Backe beat them in Minute Maid 2-1 and came away with a no decision. His ERA for those 2 starts was 2.77. Yes, he got drilled in game 1 at St. Louis. At home he is a much better pitcher as evidenced by these numbers. Look at Woody's road record as well this year:
Backe at Home:
Strts W L Inn ERA
5 4 0 30.0 24 6 6 11 26 1.80
Woody on the road:
Strts W L Inn ERA
16 6 5 93.1 107 54 52 30 5.01
Houston will go all out tonight backing an undefeated home starter Brandon Backe. He is a better pitcher than the line indicates. It has gone down, but play it if you like, throw it away if you don't.
PLAY ON HOUSTON ML +140 as of 3:00 CST.
NFL:
I have a 3 unit play on the under. Tampa historically does well in this dome and their team speed is actually better on D with Lynch and Sapp gone. Did you know that Tampa Bay has won 3 straight in this series? I equate that into coaching and using the Defense to slow the game down. I like the under for another reason. As evidenced in fantasy, I believe that Faulk has lost a step and is still a talented player. The Buccaneers pass defense is 3'rd in the NFL while the run defense is 24'th their total defense rank is a solid 4'th. Look for St. Louis to run tonight and eat clock as Martz goes a little more conservative. He's such an arrogantt SOB though which leads to my X Factor: Martz. He's lost 3 in a row to these boys, he just might try to lay it on. And if it doesn't work, the Bucs could pull a major upset. Brad Johnson hopefully produces and the running game gets a boost with the return of Pittman and a healthy 100% Alstott. I like the Rams to win, don't know about the cover, but playing the under.
Good luck whatever your on.