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Sports Interaction betting analyst Frank Doyle makes his picks for Friday night's baseball action.
It's been a streaky start to summer at the corner of Addison and Clark on the northside of Chicago. The Cubs dropped eight straight in the past two weeks but when Derrek Lee is sick and Ryan Theriot and Alfonso Soriano are in personal slumps, that's going to happen.
Things are unlikely to get better this Friday night when Sweet Lou Pinella sends veteran Ted Lilly to the hill against the Dodgers' Chad Billingsley. Lilly is 5-4 with an ERA of 3.77 but the runs aren't there to back him up. Billingsley is an impressive 6-2, 2.82 ERA, for the year so far and the Dodgers lead the National League in runs scored. Not bad for a team with Manny Ramirez still serving his ‘roid ban. Sports Interaction may have the Cubs slight favorites for home advantage but the Dodgers and Billingsley are the sensible bet here.
Over in the Free State of Maryland, Tigers' manager Jim Leyland is handing the ball to Dontrelle Willis, 1-1, 3.57 ERA, against the Orioles' Brad Bergesen, 1-2, 5.49 ERA.
It's very early days for thinking that Willis could be returning to his form of 2007 when he was a Marlin but Bergesen was playing AAA baseball six weeks ago and it can take him a few innings to settle. By which time, of course, the damage may already be done. Another road win is the recommendation.
One home win that's becoming more and more likely as the season rolls out is at Kansas City. Zack Greinke more than made up for his loss against the Indians last week, pitching a complete game for his eighth win this year on Tuesday night, and Brian Bannister, 4-1, 2.79 ERA, the Royals' starter on Friday night, is second only to Greinke in excellence among the Royals' rotation.
The Chicago White Sox are the visitors to Kauffman Park this weekend, with Clayton Richard, 1-0, 3.55 ERA, a reliever called to the front lines, on the hill for the increasingly desperate Sox. The Sox are struggling to score currently, and they'll struggle some more in Kansas City, MO. Sports Interaction will have them a short price, but Kansas City remains the recommendation.
Frank Doyle, Gambling911.com
