The Sharp Report – June 29, 2014
Masahiro Tanaka took the mound for the Yankees on Saturday evening trying to seal a series win against the Boston Red Sox and possibly lock down the American League starting pitcher sport in the upcoming All Star Game.
Saturday usually offers up the best wagering card of the week, not so much the case this Saturday. There were some games that offered value early, and very few late if you really stretched it. What Saturday did have was a great pitching match-up between Masahiro Tanaka of the New York Yankees going up against Jon Lester of the Red Sox. Tanaka took the mound with the opportunity to seal a series win for the Yankees, after they beat the Red Sox 6-0 on Friday night. A twelfth win for Tanaka could secure the starting pitcher role on the American League team in the All Star Game.
Please refer to my first post in this series for a list of recommended sites to aid you in your handicapping.
6/29 Early Moves:
Here are some lines that were hit by sharp groups early enough this morning to make this report. I have not had time to research games myself, so I am not recommending that you try to find these numbers and tail the plays at this time. These are listed to show you what has happened so far this morning, always do your own research on these before following along.
Chicago White Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays (Under 9)
Key Line Move @ 8:05 am EST
Cleveland Indians vs Seattle Mariners (CLE ML)
Key Line Move @ 8:38 am EST
6/28 Recap:
Early Moves:
Colorado Rockies vs Milwaukee Brewers (Under 9) – Loss
Key Line Move @ 9:00 am EST
This line moved once as a few groups loved the under 9, the rest of the day the public hammered the over 8.5 at a 67% clip. The Rockies’ starter Jhoulys Chacin comes into this game after suffering his second straight loss while allowing five runs in six innings against St. Louis on Monday. The Brewers’ starter Garza registered his only career victory against Colorado in his last meeting after allowing three runs in 7 1/3 strong innings. Both pitchers have been great of late, but only the Brewers’ offense has showed up to support theirs. I stayed away from this move but would favor the Brewers no matter what the total ends up being.
Washington Nationals vs Chicago Cubs / Game 1 (Under 9.5) – Win
Key Line Move @ 10:00 am EST
One sided play here as sharps and the public were in sync, 73% of the public was on this along with multiple sharp groups. The Nationals’ call up Blake Treinen for a spot start. He has a 2.49 ERA in four starts for the Nationals, but has never faced the Cubs. The Cubs’ starter Samardzija’s days with the Cubs might be numbered, but it is not his fault, as the team simply does not provide him any run support when he is on the mound. Samardzija is 2-2 with a 2.35 ERA in 11 games (four starts) versus the Nationals. It’s not hard to see the sharp under angle here, with the Nationals not scoring well, and the incredible ability of Treinen to be able to step up to the majors on spot starts and shut teams down.
Detroit Tigers vs Houston Astros (Under 8) – Win
Key Line Move @ 10:15 am EST
This was a case of sharps on one side of the line and the public on another. The line opened at 8, sharps hit it down to 7.5 and then the public bet it back to 8, this process continued throughout most of the day. The line ultimately ended up closing at 8 with so much over money on it from the public at 76%. The Tigers’ starter, Max Scherzer, bounced back from an awful outing vs Kansas City, when he was tagged for 10 runs in four-plus innings, with six solid frames of one-run ball to beat Cleveland last Sunday. Scherzer has doe well against the Astros this year, striking out nine and giving up three hits over eight scoreless innings. The Astros’ starter, Dallas Keuchel, hit a recent bump as he has dropped his last two starts, permitting four runs and walking four batters in each one. He had gone 6-1 over his previous seven turns, tossing a pair of complete games and yielding a total of seven runs. One of the victories in that stretch came in Detroit, when Keuchel limited the Tigers to two runs in 6 2/3 innings. The sharp groups, including mine, are expecting a great pitching performance from these starters and not much offense from either side.
Chris Sharp is a professional sports handicapper and daily contributor to BettingSports.com. He can be found on Twitter @CSharp_Picks and on his web site IvyLeaguePicks.com.
