We went 2-1 on Saturday as our 3* VERY STRONG Atlanta Braves selection eked out a 3-2 win over the Pirates in 11 innings despite an off night at the plate. AJ Smith-Shawver continued his breakout campaign (2.76 ERA) going 5.2 innings and allowing just 1 run, but the real story was the 5 relievers who followed not allowing a single run through the rest of the game. In a season where awful relief staffs spit up leads on a nightly basis, this performance was rather extraordinary. Our 2* STRONG play on San Diego -1.5 was over early as the Padres PUMMELED the pitiful Rockies once again by an embarrassing 21-0 final. Fading this team every day has almost become an auto-play. Shame on us for not making this a 4* ELITE release. It is sad to watch how far the once proud Rockies franchise has fallen. Colorado actually went to the World series in 2007 (lost to Boston) behind Matt Holiday and Troy Tulowitzki but most better remember the powerhouse offenses from the mid to late 90’s featuring Dante Bichetter, Vinny Castillo, Andres Gallaraga and newcomer Larry Walker. These feared mashers were a sight to see, particularly at home in the thin air. Our 1* SOLID release on the Yankees/A’s UNDER was a loser (11-7) as the relievers gave up an astounding 13 RUNS in the last 4 innings. As mentioned above, the relief pitching on most teams is just atrocious and MUST be factored into daily MLB handicaps. Adding 4 Units brings our rolling 75 day record to 119-87 for PLUS 98.11 Units.
3* VERY STRONG – (MLB) Atlanta -150 (3-2, 11 innings) WIN
2* STRONG – (MLB) San Diego (-1.5 Runs) -160 (21-0) WIN
1* SOLID – (MLB) Yankees/Athletics (UNDER 10) -110 (11-7) LOSS