BetUS $500 Match Bonus
Sign up for a new account with BetUS and deposit $500 or more to get a $500 match bonus!

$20 Free Play at Sportsbook.com
Your first bet is free when you open a new account at sportsbook.com!

MLB Picks & Predictions: White Sox at Mariners

Written August 12, 2009 by Jordan Haimowitz

white-sox-mariners-preview-081209 Alexei Ramirez was the hero last night as his three run home run in the ninth inning off closer David Aardsma sealed the deal on a much needed comeback victory. Until then the White Sox only mustered up 2 hits and not a single run. John Danks pitched a beauty and closer Bobby Jenks saved it. The waiver claim of Alex Rios caught people by surprise, many skeptics criticizing it as a waste of money headed into the future. I think that is nonsense. Rios is a young player with unlimited talent who is having a down year. This acquisition will prove to be fantastic. Jim Thome and Paul Konerko have been solid while Jermaine Dye leads the team with 24 homers and 67 RBIs. Rookie Gordon Beckham is the front runner for rookie of the year and shortstop Alexei Ramirez has started to look like the stud he is. We’ll see if they can carry this momentum they accrued last night into tonight’s rubber match against one of baseball best pitchers in Felix Hernandez. Mark Buehrle takes the mound tonight and is 11-6 with a 3.89 ERA this season. He has been far better at home though this year posting a 3.33 ERA as opposed to his 4.81 ERA on the road. Since the all-star break he is 2-3 with a 4.67 ERA in five starts. People focus on the perfect game, in reality though he has not been very effective. Look for the Chi Sox to put up runs today but will they provide enough for the pitching? It should be close. Wednesday’s baseball odds have been posted and they have the Mariners as -129 favorites over the White Sox, with the total for the game set at 7.5 runs.

Last night was a gut wrenching loss for Seattle. Rookie Doug Fister made his first career start and dazzled until Aardsma blew the save in a big way. Once again the hitting was poor as the Mariners put up one lowly run. A true enigma this team can be, one night they look like gang busters scoring in bunches while pounding hits and the next game they look awful. Ichiro has been the stud we all know he is hitting .362 from the plate with 23 stolen bases. Russell Branyan leads the team with 27 homers and 67 RBIs. Franklin Gutierrez has been a major surprise this season with solid hitting and brilliant play in the field. The ace of staff, King Felix himself takes the mound tonight. Hernandez is 12-4 with a 2.84 ERA this year and is a serious Cy Young candidate. However, he has ironically been much better on the road then at home. He has a 4.05 ERA at home while supporting a great 1.96 ERA on the road. In his only start against Seattle this season he torched them going 8 innings allowing only 4 hits and no runs holding the Chi Sox to a .148 batting average. He also struck out nine batters. He faces a revamped Sox lineup tonight so i don;t see him repeating that amazing performance but he will have a solid outing.

Haimo’s Hot Notes: The White Sox are 25-29 on the road this season and are 10-11 against AL West opponents. Chicago though is 22-8 in Buehrle’s last 30 starts on a grass field. The Mariners are 9-2 in their last 11 Wednesday games. Seattle is also 20-7 in their last 27 games as the favorite. The M’s are 8-3 in their last 11 overall meetings against Chicago. This match up provides one of the MLBs best pitchers in Felix Hernandez and a struggling pitcher in Mark Buehrle. Chicago posts the better overall lineup though. The OVER is a solid play tonight as it is low and the premium price on it makes it very appealing. Seattle should hold strong here and take this rubber game behind their best pitcher.

Jordan’s Picks: Seattle Mariners -129 & Over 7.5 Runs (+105)

Jordan’s Premium Picks — Another winning night as I went 2-1 on the Premium picks as Atlanta was a breeze with rookie Tommy Hanson pitching like a stud. The White Sox staged a ninth inning comeback but it was bitter sweet as the Astros blew a 7-2 lead to fall 9-8 in Florida. Still a nice night of profit not to mention the free picks both hit, Randy Wolf dominated as expected and the lineup went buck wild. 4-1 was the total result. Make sure to check out my handicappers page, last night was great, tonight is looks even better.

If you bet on baseball, be sure to check out the expert MLB picks from our award-winning handicappers. No site in the business provides more winning baseball picks season after season.

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

No comments yet, but your thoughts are welcome!

Comments

Got something to say?