Picks And Parlays

Texas & Oakland under 9.5 The Texas Rangers host the Oakland Athletics on Monday in game one of a four-game set. Texas dropped their last game to Toronto 7-2, while Oakland beat Seattle on Sunday, 10-2. Oakland’s 10-run outburst on Sunday hides the team’s offensive struggles of late. Over their previous seven games, the Athletics had scored only 2.7 runs per contest. Texas has been enduring an even greater offensive slump. The team scored only four runs in their four-game series with Toronto, and have scored only 2.6 runs per game over their last 15 contests. Nicholas Tepesch takes the mound for the Rangers in this one. He has been an under machine, particularly at home. Tepesch has a 3.66 ERA in six home starts this season, and the under is 6-0 in those games. The under is 23-6-1 in Texas’s last 30 home games. Daniel Straily counters for the Athletics. He’s been rolling in his last five starts, posting a 2.20 ERA with a 0.77 WHIP. In his first start versus the Rangers this season he threw seven innings of shutout ball. The under is 5-1 in Straily’s last six starts. Straily has limited the Rangers to a .172 batting average in three starts against them. The under is 5-1 in Oakland’s last six road games. The under is 13-3 in Texas’s last 16 games. Take the UNDER. Good Luck, Razor Ray 7* Play on Texas & Oakland u9.5 -110

Houston ML The Houston Astros host the Chicago White Sox on Monday in game four of a four-game set. Houston won game three in the series on Sunday, 5-4. The White Sox are the lowest-scoring team in the American League with only 233 runs thus far. Expect their offensive struggles to continue in this one against Bud Norris. Norris is 7-3 with a 1.94 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP at Minute Maid Park over the last two seasons. He has been especially successful in home starts versus teams with a losing record. The Astros have won seven of Norris’s last eight home starts versus teams with a losing record. The Astros are 10-1 in their last 11 games played as part of a four-game series. Jose Quintana counters for the White Sox. The team has dropped each of his last four outings. Quintana allowed four runs in three of those outings, and three runs in the other. His losing ways should continue against an Astros team that is 4-0 in their last four starts versus left-handed starters. The White Sox are 0-7 in their last seven games as a favorite, and 3-12 in their last 15 games versus American League West opponents. Houston is 7-4 in their last 11 home games played outside of their division while Chicago is 1-12 in their last 13 road games. Take Houston. Good Luck, Razor Ray 8* Play on Houston Astros +114

Kansas City ML The Cleveland Indians host the Kansas City Royals on Monday in game one of a three-game set. Cleveland is coming off a 2-0 win over Washington, while Kansas City beat Tampa Bay on Sunday afternoon, 5-3. Carlos Carrasco gets the nod for the Indians in this one. Carrasco missed all of the 2012 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and his return to the show hasn’t been inspiring thus far. Carrasco has allowed 13 runs over 7 2/3 innings of work through his first two starts, good for an ERA of 15.26, with the Indians getting outscored 20-5 in those contests. Don’t expect Carrasco to turn things around against Kansas City as he has a career 6.33 ERA in five starts against them. Dating back to his last go around with the team, the Indians are 0-8 in Carrasco’s last eight starts, and 0-9 in his last nine starts has a home underdog. James Shields counters for the Royals. Shields has a 2.79 ERA on the season and his teammates are finally starting to reward him with some run support. The Royals were 3-8 in Shields’s first 11 starts of the season, largely due to a sluggish offense, but the team has won his last three starts, with the offense finally offering up some support. Opponents have scored only 1.7 runs per game in Shield’s last three starts. The Royals are 5-0 in their last five games as a favorite. Kansas City is 10-2 in their last 12 games while Cleveland is 4-9 in their last 13 and 7-15 in their last 22. Take Kansas City. Good Luck, Razor Ray 8* Play on Kansas City Royals -129

Boston & Chicago under 5 The Boston Bruins host the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday in Game Three of the Stanley Cup Final. Boston won Game Two in the series in overtime on Saturday, 2-1. We’ve been active in selecting the under in road games for the Blackhawks this season, and have been very successful in doing so. The under has been a regular occurrence for Chicago when they’ve taken to the road. The under is 10-1-2 in their last 13 road contests. Goaltending was the story in Game Two of this series, and that should continue in Game Three. Tuukka Rask stole Game Two for the Bruins, continuing a fabulous playoffs run. Rask has posted a 1.73 GAA with a .944 save percentage and two shutouts in the postseason. He has allowed only three goals in his last three home games. Corey Crawford has stepped his game up in a big way in the playoffs. He has posted a 1.72 GAA with a .935 save percentage in the postseason. Scoring chances have been incredibly hard to come by in this series. The team have combined for only four goals in the last seven periods of play. The under is 5-2 in Boston’s last seven games overall, and 3-1-1 in their last five home games. Take the UNDER. Good Luck, Razor Ray 7* Play on Boston & Chicago u5 -140

San Antonio & Miami over 187.5 The San Antonio Spurs host the Miami Heat in Game Five of the NBA Finals on Sunday. Miami won Game Four in the series on Thursday, 109-93. Thursday’s top-rated play on Miami cashed in, moving our incredible run on the hard court to a perfect 12-0. We are now a perfect 4-0 in the NBA Finals this season, and look to extend that streak on the over in Sunday night’s tilt. Each of the first two games in this series to be played in San Antonio has played over the total, yet we’ve seen very little variance in the total. We cashed a ticket on the over in Game Three of this season, and the venue remains the same for this contest. San Antonio has played at a faster pace at home this season, averaging 104.6 points per home game during the regular season. That number has held true in this series with the team averaging 103.0 points in their own barn. The over is 9-2 in San Antonio’s last 11 home playoff games, and 5-0 in their last five home playoff games. The over is 10-3-2 in Miami’s last 15 road playoff games, including 4-1 in their last five road games. The over is 10-2 in San Antonio’s last 12 games following a double-digit home loss. Take the OVER. Good Luck, Razor Ray 8* play on San Antonio & Miami over 187.5

New York & Chicago over 7.5 The New York Mets host the Chicago Cubs on Sunday afternoon in game three of a three-game set. Chicago won game two in the series on Saturday, 5-2. Jeremy Hefner gets the nod for the Mets in this one. There have been some smoke and mirrors involved in Hefner’s last three starts to keep his ERA looking respectable at 2.37. He allowed five unearned runs in his last start alone. In reality, opponents have scored 5.8 runs per game when Hefner has taken the hill this season. On the year, Hefner has a 4.11 ERA, and the over is 9-3 in his 12 starts. Hefner’s first career start against the Cubs came earlier this season. In that outing he allowed four runs over four innings of work in an 8-2 loss. The over is 5-1 in Hefner’s last six home starts, and 6-1 in his last seven starts overall. Matt Garza counters for the Cubs. His season has come off the rails since a scoreless debut. Over his last three starts, Garza has posted a 7.36 ERA, with opponents compiling 6.7 runs per game in those starts. The over is 19-7 in Garza’s last 26 road starts. Take the OVER. Good Luck, Razor Ray 7* play on New York and Chicago over 7.5

San Diego & Arizona over 8 The San Diego Padres host the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday in game two of a three-game set. San Diego won game two in the series on Friday, 2-1. Both teams have gone on strong over runs of late, so there are a slew of trends that support this play. The over is 10-3 in Arizona’s last 13 games, and it is 7-3 in San Diego’s last 10 games. The pitching matchup also sets up nicely for the over. The over is 5-2 in Wade Miley’s last seven starts, and it is 8-3 in Jason Marquis’s last 11 starts. Additionally, the over is 11-3 in Arizona’s last 14 games versus a right-handed starter, and 4-1 in San Diego’s last five games versus a left-handed starter. Miley gets the ball for Arizona in this one. A strong start to the season has given way to a rough stretch for Miley. He has a 7.34 ERA over his last six starts. Miley has also struggled versus the Padres in his career, posting a 7.52 ERA in six starts against them. Things have only gotten worse this season, as he has an 11.42 ERA and a 2.31 WHIP in two starts versus San Diego, allowing opposing batters to hit .400 against him. Marquis counters for the Padres. He’s had a strong season in San Diego, but the Diamondbacks have been a thorn in his side. Marquis has a 6.75 ERA versus Arizona this season, and a 3.16 ERA versus all other teams. The over is 5-0 in his last five starts versus National League West opponents. Since the start of the 2008 season Marquis has faced Arizona eight times. In those games he has a 6.21 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. The over is 7-1 in those games. The over is 5-2 in the last seven meetings between these teams in San Diego. With this play presenting too many edges to overlook, we’ll bump it up to our top-rating. Take the OVER. Good Luck, Razor Ray 10* Play on San Diego & Arizona o8 +111

Toronto ML The Texas Rangers host the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday in game two of a four-game set. Toronto won game one in the series on Thursday, 3-1. With their win in game one of this series on Thursday, Toronto has now won three of four games versus Texas this season. The Blue Jays send out Mark Buehrle in this contest. Buehrle has already faced the Rangers once this season. He allowed only one run on four hits over seven innings of work in a Blue Jay win. Buehrle offers value as his base numbers do not indicate his solid performance of late. Buehrle has a 5.06 ERA on the season, but a 2.42 ERA over his last four starts. The Jays are 5-2 in Buehrle’s last seven starts. Buehrle’s success should continue as the Rangers have struggled swinging the bats. Texas has scored only 3.0 runs per game over their last 12 games. Justin Grimm counters for the Rangers. He has a 9.45 ERA and a 1.95 WHIP over his last three starts. Grimm allowed four runs over 5 2/3 innings of work in his last start against the Blue Jays. The Rangers are 2-6 in their last eight games overall. Buehrle’s team is 13-5 in his 18 career starts versus the Rangers. Take Toronto. Good Luck, Razor Ray 8* Play on Toronto Blue Jays +125

Washington Nationals ML The Washington Nationals are back above .500. Maybe this team isn’t as good as many had them pegged before the season, but they are still a pretty good team. Remember, this is the team that finished with the best record in baseball last year. Gio Gonzalez had an ERA of 2.82 last season. He started the year a little bit slowly this year, but Gonzalez is absolutely still one of the best left-handed starters in baseball. Gonzalez has been excellent at Progressive Field. In 26 innings of work he has an ERA of less than 1. Justin Masterson is a much more inconsistent pitcher than Gonzalez. Masterson pitches quite a few shutouts, but he also gives up 6 or 7 runs in a game quite often as well. I don’t believe he should be this kind of a favorite against a quality team and a top-notch pitcher. Cleveland started the year very hot, but the Indians have come back down to earth a lot over the last few weeks. The Indians have been exposed as a mediocre team. This is an opportunity to take the more consistent pitcher at a price that won’t come around very often. Take Washington. Good Luck, Razor Ray. 7* Play on Washington Nationals ML

Miami +1.5 The San Antonio Spurs host the Miami Heat on Thursday in Game Four of the NBA Finals. San Antonio won Game Three in the series on Tuesday, 113-77. We are riding a red hot 11-0 run in the NBA playoffs, including correct picks in each of the first three games of this series. The Heat haven’t taken kindly to losses in the Big Three era, and certainly not recently. The Heat are 11-0 in their last 11 games which followed a loss, and haven’t dropped consecutive games since January 8th-10th. The Heat have not only won 11 consecutive games following a loss, but they’ve covered the spread in each of those games, winning by an average margin of 19.8 points. That includes a 19-point win in Game Two of this series. San Antonio can’t reasonably expect a repeat performance from what they did in Game Three. The team broke the NBA record for most three-pointers in an NBA Finals game. The Heat will be extra-motivated to bounce back, as the 36-point loss in Game Three was the largest postseason loss in Heat franchise history. The team allowed 100 or more points for only the second time in their last 19 postseason games. Expect a better effort from the best player in the game. The Heat were minus-32 with LeBron James on the court, the worst rating of his career in an NBA game. Additionally, Tony Parker was cited as the key to San Antonio’s success entering this series. He was limited to just six points in Game Three, and his status is uncertain entering Game Four as he deals with a hamstring injury. The Heat are 20-7 ATS in their last 27 road games. With this play presenting unique edges we’ll bump it up to our top-rating. Take Miami. Good Luck, Razor Ray 10* Play on Miami Heat +1.5

Kansas City ML The Tampa Bay Rays host the Kansas City Royals on Thursday in game one of a four-game set. Tampa Bay is coming off a 2-1 loss to Boston, while Kansas City beat Detroit in extra innings on Wednesday, 3-2. The Rays are coming off a series with the Red Sox in which they lost two of three games. The team is 6-10 the last two seasons in game one of the series that follows a series with the Red Sox or Yankees. That doesn’t look too bad, until you multiply thus numbers out over an entire season and realize that a .375 win percentage correlates with a 100-plus loss season. Jeremy Hellickson gets the nod for Tampa in this one as he continues a disappointing season. Hellickson has a 5.18 ERA on the season. Ervin Santana counters for the Royals. Santana has been solid on the year, posting a 2.99 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP. Over his last three starts he has a 2.53 ERA with a 0.89 WHIP. The Royals are 7-1 in their last eight games overall. One other note of interest – Kansas City is 5-1 on Thursdays while Tampa Bay is 2-5. The Royals are 6-2 in the last eight meetings between these teams, including wins in both meetings this season. Take Kansas City. Good Luck, Razor Ray 7* Play on Kansas City Royals +120

San Francisco Giants ML Charlie Morton hasn’t pitched in more than a year. Morton was never a particularly good starter even before Tommy John surgery, and most pitchers take a while to get back into form when they first come back. Matt Cain hasn’t been good this year overall, but he is showing signs of rounding into form. Cain is a real work horse who has been one of baseball’s best pitchers for the past 4 or 5 years. It’s hard to imagine him struggling all year long. The Pirates have been good so far this year, but they don’t have a terrific offense. Andrew McCutchen isn’t hitting it the way he did last year, and his supporting cast is questionable. San Francisco is much better offensively than they were last year. Angel Pagan is 9 for 12 in his career against Charlie Morton, and he’ll likely be in the leadoff spot for this game. Look for San Francisco to get a lot of runners on base in this one. Matt Cain has been good against the Pirates and at PNC Park in the past, and he is clearly the better starting pitcher here. Both teams have a great bullpen. I like the value on the defending champs. Take San Francisco. Good Luck, Razor Ray. 8* Play San Francisco Giants ML