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Somewhat vindicated this afternoon after the terrible idea that was taking the Braves over, as the Mariner's do what we thought they would and get us our marble back. That RL win puts our season at 15-6 (76%) on runline plays, which doesn't suck. And we're on a nice little run of 23-8 (74%) of all premiums and about 60% of the last 100, give or take. Onward.

Dodgers at Cubs: Billingsley (and the Dodgers in general) have been beasts this season, and it's more than Kemp. I'm not sure they're ready to be -150 road favorites, however, as they're only 7-6 (as compared to 10-2 at home). The downside to taking the Cubs would be that they're in a first game back situation, and yes I am pissed I didn't take them against the Reds like I leaned in yesterday's thread. Chad was lit up by Houston and then came back to throw a ton of pitches. None of the Cubs have either seen him enough or done enough for me to totally jump on the home dog here, but with the recent failures of the LAD pen I wouldn't rule it out. Maholm is one of those pitchers like Blanton who always seem to do me wrong. He's had two good outings after two terrible ones but his pitch count is up as well. Temperature right around 70 and wind blowing in slightly, and I think the total may be a bit high when it does come out just because it's the Dodgers. We'll see what happens. Lean under and perhaps Cubs RL here.

Philadelphia at Washington: Well, the Phillies played early in Atlanta while the Nats were at home to the D-backs. Philadelphia is playing much better of late and Blanton was able to keep the bullpen out of the equation after the Wednesday debacle. Not the the Phillies pen is all that intimidating, but rested is better than not. And they may well need some innings since Kendrick is coming from the pen (again) and may not be able to go deep. I surely want to lean to the Phillies at that price even against Strasburg. Perhaps the Phillies RL as well, as the only real threat on the Nats (that's had success) is Ryan Zimmerman who is on the DL. There's zero chance of laying -200 on Washington even with Strasburg, and quite frankly I do not see them getting to seven runs. Much of any play on this game will be dependent on how well Washington fares against Arizona on Thursday.

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh: Ouch, yet another home underdog with a potential RL play. First game back for Pittsburgh who have been in St. Louis while first road game for the Reds in some time. Reds came back late and used bullpen against the Cubs, so I have to have an immediate lean to the home team here. Pirates have only played nine home games this season and have won five of them, while the Reds are under .500 on the road this season. They're (the Reds) also 2-8 in night games for those of you that put a lot of stock in trends. I simply cannot back Cueto in this situation as he's thrown over 111 pitches in three straight games. And although Corriea hasn't been able to pitch deep, he is, when he's on, a ground ball pitcher which is exactly the type the Reds might struggle against. I had been liking the Pirates pen early in the year, but if it's about "lately" we only need to look at Thursday and they are having issues. I am not sure this game gets to seven, either, and clearly see this as a one run game either way.

Arizona at NY Mets: I almost always look to play on Dillon Gee, and with the Mets having a day off that's clearly, without even looking, the only side I could take. But, sadly enough, Gee has been torched, especially at home. And it's been a rule of mine to fade the Mets against LHS. Both bullpens have been awful lately, and that total sitting at 7.5 (I hate that number in the NL because seemingly every time there's a potential crooked inning the pitcher is due up) looks awful tempting to take the over, if we think the Mets can hit Miley. Nobody else has, and they haven't seen a pitch from him yet, either, so usually the edge goes to Miley. Pretty much a pick 'em game that "they" don't know what to do with either. This one will require more work if I'm going to pick a side. Shit, maybe I'll shotgun the board with a side and a total in every game. I've threatened to for some time, and Lord knows there's enough effort put into these games that I would have an opinion on all of them. We'll see what happens.

St. Louis at Houston: The first thing I look at in Houston home games is the total, because that's just a small park. But, before i do that I also say to myself "self, Kyle Lohse is almost un-hittable this year. Or at least he had been until last week when the Brewers got to him. The Cardinals did play on Thursday but by the same token they rested Molina and Beltran, I believe, which may negate some of the rest the Astros may have gained by not playing. One big thing I need to know is if Jordan Schaeffer is going to play. There is no chance of me laying -170 on a road team, ever, and this is yet another game I'll have to consider the Astros runline, especially given the successes we've had with RL plays this year. Both pens have been decent, so even in Houston I can make a case for another lower scoring game because Harrell is not as bad as he's been nor as good as he was earlier in the season, and of course the Cardinals haven't seen him. However, I can't quite get there yet with Molina and Beltran resting. We'll see what happens.

More to follow. Seattle just took the last of the energy for a few minutes.