Congratuations to all our members on an incredible 22-6-1 run in Major League Baseball in our last 29 membership plays.  The month of July and so far into the first week of August have proven very profitable indeed.  Today we are hot on the ‘Run Total’  (8.5 runs) in the Red Sox (62-47) – Yankees (67-40) game today at 4:10 pm edt on FOX.

The American League East has been the benchmark for solid play this season as three of the best clubs in baseball are housed in that division. The Red Sox, however, have their backs against the wall sitting six games behind first-place New York.

Boston is on a bit of a run winning seven of its last 10 games, but the the loss of Kevin Youkilis for the remainder of the season with a torn muscle in his right thumb, lost the BoSox’s best bat against the Yankees.  Youkilis was hitting .462 with a pair of homers and nine runs batted in against the Yanks before his injury.

John Lackey (10-6, 4.48) had a lousy outing against the Indians on Aug. 2 (6 ER in 5.1 IP), but Lackey has looked quite sharp in his past two starts away from Fenway, pitching 15.1 innings and giving up two earned runs for wins against the Angels and Mariners. The right-hander also shut down the Yanks’ offense in his last outing against them…of course, that was back on April 7.

New York hit a snag recently while Alex Rodriguez was on his quest for his 600th home run, losing its first three games of the month. Now that A-Rod has put that honor to rest, the Yankees can continue their dogfight with Tampa Bay for the AL East lead.

C.C. Sabathia (13-5, 3.19) will get the nod today for the Yankees. The lefty has lost his last two starts, but he only had five earned runs in 13.2 innings of work. The problem there was that he got one run scored for him by his offense. Luckily for Yankees fans, Sabathia has been automatic at home this season, going 7-0 with a 2.69 ERA in 10 starts.

As you know we are hot on the ‘run total’ this afternoon.  The ‘over’ has cashed in the last 7 outings between these two clubs.  Boston has lost its last four games as a road pup in AL East battles this year with the ‘over’ going 3-1.  New York has won eight of its last 12 games as a home favorite against divisional foes.

So does the total come in over or under 8.5 runs today? The pros at FiveStarPick.com have the winning play.  Stop the guesswork and join forces with the professionals.  It’s not luck, but science.

Rick Riley-

FiveStarPick.com

The Phillies will be statring 24-year old left-hander Cole Hamels against Rays ace Scott Kazmir tonight at Tropicana Field.  Hamels has been dominant throughout the playoffs and the key to the Phillies winning the NCLS, but it was Kazmir who gave Tampa Bay home-field advantage in this matchup.  Kazmir was the winning pitcher in the All-Star game after working a scoreless 15th inning.  Phillies closer Brad Lidge then gave up the winning run giving the American League home field advantage.  Lidge has converted all 46 of his save opportunities – five in the postseason…the All-Star game was his only blown save this year.

Both teams have stacked line-ups and were among the leaders in “Runs Scored” this year.  In addition, both teams are young, have speed and great starting rotations.

There are two Rays players to watch in this Series…Evan Longoria and BJ Upton.  Longoria had 4 homers and 8 RBIs during the ALCS and Upton has hit 7 homers and driven in 15 runs in 11 playoff games.  Only 4 Rays starters have faced Hamels (3-0, 1.23 ERA in postseason) in their carrer and Longoria and Upton aren’t on that list.

Kazmir (1-0, 4.02 in postseason) hasn’t been as dominant as Hamels in the postseason, but a strong Game 5 performance prompted Skipper Maddon to start him in Game 1 of the World Series instead of Shields.  Left-handed batters are 3-for-19 (.158) against Kazmir in the playoffs, but lefty-hitting stars Ryan Howard and Chase Utley plan to change that percentage.

So who wins Game 1 of the 2008 World Series?  Look no further for the answer.  FiveStarPick has been on fire with their American and National League Playoff Picks and the 2008 World Series will be no different.  It is so inexpensive to become a member, what are you waiting for?  Now is the time to join our family of more than 2000 members and start winning for a change.  Join today and start winning tonight?

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

Coming off a ‘run total’ win last night for its members, FiveStarPick.com will be giving out the ‘run total’ winner of tonight’s game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Las Vegas sportsbooks have favored the Phillies at -118 on the money line (risk $118 to win $100) while the Dodgers are listed at +108 (risk $100 to win $108.)  The ‘run total’ is set at 7.5.  Vegas obviously is not sure of the outcome of this game, but FiveStarPick.com is certainly confident about the ‘run total’. 

Chad Billingsley 1-1, 8.00 Postseason ERA) will get the start tonight for the Dodgers on 4 days rest.  Billingsly was pulled after 2 1/2 innings when he gave up 8 hits and 8 runs on just 59 pitches.  In tonight’s game he will definately need to watch out for Philly’s left-handed hitters, Howard, Utley and Rollins.

Cole Hamels (2-0, 1.20 Postseason ERA) will get the start tonight for the Phillies.  Hamels has recorded 17 strikeouts and only 3 walks.  He beat the Dodgers in Game 1 after only giving up 6 hits and 2 runs on 105 pitches.

Now let’s look at some trends.  L.A. has gone 9-2 in its last 11 games following a defeat.  Philadelphia is 7-1 in their last 8 head-to-head meetings with L.A.. The Phillies are 12-3 in their last 15 games following a day of rest. The Dodgers are 1-10 in their last 11 versus National League East opponents.

So do you want the ‘Totals’ winner in tonight’s game?  It’s real easy to get it.  At www.fivestarpick.com you can monitor our daily plays from our homepage and see for yourself if our talent for picking MLB winners exceeds your expectations.  NLCS playoff picks are not easy, but FiveStarPick.com’s proprietary sports handicapping software program coupled with two of the top sports handicappers in the business have proven a winning combination at nearly 65% against the spread.  You owe it to yourself to become a member of our family.  Join today and start winning tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

Tim Wakefield (10-11, 4.13 ERA) will get the start tonight against some very hot bats.  Wakefield has made 16 playoff appearances and most of them haven’t gone well. He earned 2 complete game victories in the NLCS when he was with the Pirates, but has gone 3-6 with a 7.54 ERA in the postseason with Boston.  Wakefield is 0-2 with a 9.22 ERA in three playoff starts since the 2004 World Series.  In 2008 he got the start against the Rays 3 times and went 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA.  In addition, he gave up 3 home runs in his last start against Tampa Bay in a 10-3 loss.

Andy Sonnanstine (1-0, 3.18 ERA) will get the start in Game 4 for the Rays.  Sonnanstine allowed 2 runs and 3 hits in 5 2/3 innings to clinch the series over the White Sox and seems to be beaming with confidence.  In the 13 innings he pitched against the Red Sox this year he limited their staff to only 2 unearned runs.  

He had two starts against Boston, both of which were no-decisions, but he limited the Red Sox to only two unearned runs in 13 innings.  And now Sonnenstine won’t have to face Mike Lowell or Jason Varitek tonight because of injury.  If Boston is to pull out a win they will definately need a team effort.

So do you want the ‘Totals’ winner in tonight’s game?  It’s real easy to get it.  At www.fivestarpick.com you can monitor our daily plays from our homepage and see for yourself if our talent for picking MLB winners exceeds your expectations.  NLCS playoff picks are not easy, but FiveStarPick.com’s proprietary sports handicapping software program coupled with two of the top sports handicappers in the business have proven a winning combination at nearly 65% against the spread.  You owe it to yourself to become a member of our family.  Join today and start winning tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

It’s October and baseball is finally worth watching.  It’s not that we don’t love the game, but the season seems 2 years long.  The stage is set in both leagues, but tonight the betting public will have all eyes on the NLCS.  The Phillies will be hosting Manny, Joe Torre and the streaking Los Angeles Dodgers.  There are a lot of distractions when the Dodgers come to town and couple that with Philadelphia’s classic ability to tank in the postseason and you got yourself a series. 

The Dodgers aren’t scoring a lot of runs, but there’s no question that Manny Ramirez makes the entire lineup beyond good. Philly has the pitching to keep these games to low scoring duels, but it’s the Dodgers that will probably squeeze out a Game 7 win. The Phillies are hoping that Utley, Howard and Burrell will finally find a groove that lasts more then one or two games. If not, we won’t see the Phillies again until March.

So do you want the Money Line Winner in tonight’s game?  It’s real easy to get it.  At www.fivestarpick.com you can monitor our daily plays from our homepage and see for yourself if our talent for picking MLB winners exceeds your expectations.  NLCS playoff picks are not easy, but FiveStarPick.com’s proprietary sports handicapping software program coupled with two of the top sports handicappers in the business have proven a winning combination at nearly 65% against the spread.  You owe it to yourself to become a member of our family.  Join today and start winning tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com