Baseball Picks: Houston Astros at Florida Marlins

Written August 10, 2009 by Jordan Haimowitz

astros-marlins-free-mlb-picks-081009 The Astros are 55-56 on the season and currently six games the Cardinals in the NL Central race. They come off a series win against the Brewers taking two of three games. Houston was a team who had high expectations coming into the second half of this season due to the fact they have the reputation of a great second half team. Carlos Lee has been swinging a very hot bat while Kaz Matsui and Hunter Pence have played solid baseball. On the mound tonight is veteran Brian Moehler, he is 7-7 with a 5.23 ERA this season. His numbers home/away are strikingly different. At home this year he is 2-6 with a 6.28 ERA as opposed to his impressive 5-1 road record and 3.91 ERA. The Astros are 6-6 against the NL East this season and will need to improve on that record this series if they plan on getting back into the playoff race. Their bullpen must improve and it is essential they get more consistent hitting. Carlos Lee is great, but he can not carry a whole team. Look for Brian Moehler to have a very solid performance tonight and for the x-factor to be Kazuo Matsui. The second baseman provides speed that will rattle the young pitcher for Florida. Today’s MLB lines have the Marlins slated as -152 money line favorites against the Astros, with the over/under set for 9.5 runs.

Now this is an impressive team. The Florida Marlins have a payroll that is barely comparable to a third of the top teams, they have one player that makes money in Hanley Ramirez and still is under-paid. The second best player in baseball (behind Pujols) lead his team to a series sweep over the Phillies this past weekend. The Marlins are now only 4 games behind Philadelphia is the NL East race. However, this upcoming series is the prime example of a let down in the making. After a grueling series sweep against one of baseballs best teams, they come home to greet an average team coming off a series win themselves. We’ll see how they perform. Rick VandenHurk takes the mound for the fish tonight and is 1-1 with a 4.29 ERA. The young pitcher does not have enough starts nor experience to give out situational stats. He is however facing a team who has a better overall lineup and much more speed. I see him struggling a bit for roughly 5 runs over 5 innings of work. Florida will score, that is for sure, but tonight they might just fall a bit short.

Haimo’s Hot Notes: The Astros are 4-6 in their last 10 games while the Florida Marlins are 5-5 in their last 10 games. The Marlins are 14-6 in their last 20 home games. The Astros are 2-6 vs Florida in the last eight meetings. These are all trap trends. The Astros have the better lineup, more speed and defend their position very well.. The value here is great, jump on it along with the Over. Make sure to check out my handicappers page as I have a sheet of three games going tonight and all are GUARANTEED.

Jordan’s Picks: Houston Astros +152 & OVER 9.5 (-105)

Jordan’s Premium Picks – After passing on Sundays games, we look to start a new streak starting Monday. A nice sheet of games going with not one, but TWO 4 STAR PLAYS. Make sure to jump aboard now as this is set up to be a huge night. ALL PICKS GUARENTEED!

Get winning baseball picks all season long from our team of top-rated handicappers! If you bet on baseball, now is the time to boost your bankroll with MLB picks from experts that know how to win.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

1 Comment

Comments

One Response to “Baseball Picks: Houston Astros at Florida Marlins”

alfred kelley on August 10th, 2009 10:14 am

Not a good pick. Florida marlins will win. Florida dominates astros in florida.

Reply

Got something to say?