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BASEBALL — June 30

COLORADO at L.A. DODGERS
(Marquis vs. Billingsley: Dodgers -175, Rockies +155, Total — Jason Marquis did not have a good trip to Orange County last time out, allowing seven earned runs in 3-1/3 innings, and now he moves a little north for this one. Chad Billingsley hasn’t been all that hard to reach lately, with a 4.74 ERA over his last four starts. Because of that, it’s maybe a little stretch to lay this kind of price with the Dodgers, regardless of their home record, against a team that has, despite its loss at Chavez Ravine last night, won 20 of its last 24 games. The biggest concern for us here is that the Dodgers have won nine of the last ten meetings, but you have to admit that it’s something of a new ballgame for the Rockies these days – enough that we have to grab this price.

THE PLAY: COLORADO (+155) **

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BASEBALL — June 30

MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY
(Baker vs. Bannister: Twins -135, Royals +115, Total 9) — The Royals haven’t scored more than four runs in their last seven games, and although they have won four of them, they are still enduring the same offensive difficulties that have plagued them all season. Scott Baker hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his last five starts, so he’s steadied himself after a rough month April that ended with a 9.82 ERA. But we don’t want to ignore the fact that Brian Bannister has logged two consecutive outings of outstanding quality at Kauffman Stadium, going eight innings in both and allowing just two earned runs on ten hits. Don’t discount what he can do here.

THE PLAY: UNDER 9 (-105) **

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BASEBALL — June 30

CHI. WHITE SOX at CLEVELAND
(Richard vs. Lee: Indians -200, White Sox +170, Total 8.5) — The White Sox appear to be warming up, and for them, that means on the offensive end. Chicago, which has had problems hitting the baseball all season, have scored 40 runs over their last six games, and have won five out of six to keep them within four games of the division-leading Tigers. Southpaw Clayton Richard got out of the gate rather quick, with three outstanding starts in his first four, but he has failed to complete five innings in either of his last couple of outings, getting doused by the Dodgers last time out. In his last two starts against the White Sox, Cliff Lee has gone 16 innings without allowing an earned run. He has permitted only 13 hits in his last 23 innings, yet he can’t seem to get enough offense to win many games (the Indians are 5-11 in games he’s started). Because Cleveland just isn’t playing that well (winning two of its last 13), we’re not sure they’re about to give Lee any more support than usual. Maybe the price is the way to go.

THE PLAY: CHI. WHITE SOX (+170) *

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BASEBALL — June 30

N.Y. METS at MILWAUKEE
(Santana vs. Burns: Mets -140, Brewers +120, Total — Johan Santana has won two Cy Young awards and 118 games in his major league career. By contrast, Mike Burns is making his second major league start tonight. In that one start, and 46 career relief appearances, he has allowed opponents to bat .311 against him. Since being blown away by the Yankees on June 14, Santana seems to have regained some of that competitive edge, going seven innings in back-to-back starts and allowing just three earned runs. Let’s look closer, though; in his first ten starts, spanning 66 innings, Santana struck out 86 batters against just 20 walks. In his last five starts, he has fanned only 14 hitters, walking ten. This is not a matter of an aging hurler getting “crafty.” This guy is 30 years old, and in the prime of his career. He’s just losing velocity. And it’s something that will catch up to him. His road ERA is 4.79, and the Mets have scored 12 runs in their last five games. This is an underdog play.

THE PLAY: MILWAUKEE (+120) **

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BASEBALL — June 30

BOSTON at BALTIMORE
(Smoltz vs. Hill: Red Sox -135, Orioles +115, Total 10) — The last four Red Sox games have totaled 13 runs. That’s not their score; that’s everybody’s score. On two different occasions, Rich Hill has given the Orioles six innings or more of good work. Last time he was bombed out by the Marlins. John Smoltz is someone to watch. He had some uneasiness early in his comeback start against Washington, almost failing to get out of the first inning but putting in some solid work after that. Smoltz ended impressively, striking out the side in the fifth, his final inning. We’re expecting improvement the second time around. And remember that Boston has the most reliable bullpen in the majors to back him up if Terry Francona once again limits his innings.

THE PLAY: BOSTON (-135) **

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BASEBALL — June 30

TAMPA BAY at TORONTO
(Garza vs. Richmond: Rays -135, Blue Jays +115, Total 8.5) — The Rays are now making a move. They have overtaken Toronto in the AL East and have drawn to within five games of Boston, not to mention a game and a half out of the wild card lead (Yankees). We don’t know if Toronto is going to fade into the sunset, but the Blue Jays are going to have a difficult time continuing with its young pitchers, many of whom are third-tier. Scott Richmond has not looked third-tier in recent starts; his eight innings of five-hit ball with 11 K’s against Philadelphia two weeks ago was particularly strong. Matt Garza, however, has dominated Toronto like few pitchers have. Since last season, he has allowed just one earned run and 19 hits in 30-1/3 innings, good for a 0.30 ERA and 0.79 WHIP ratio. I’m not sure we want to buck him, or the Rays, the top scoring team in the league, with a team that has lost four of its last five games.

THE PLAY: TAMPA BAY (-135) ***

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BASEBALL — June 29

L.A. ANGELS at TEXAS
(O’Sullivan vs. Padilla: Rangers -125, Angels +105, Total 10.5) — Nice outings for Vicente Padilla lately, allowing six earned runs in his last five starts, with six of his last seven going under the total. The Rangers are still exhibiting some inconsistency on offense; they scored 21 runs over two games against the D-Backs and Padres but in the other eight games in the last ten-game stretch they’ve averaged just over two runs a game. These Angels have put their nose in front of the American League West, winning five in a row and 12 of their last 15. They’ve turned on the offense, tallying double digits in three of their last four games. With the kind of hitting they’ve been putting together, having Sean O’Sullivan (3.00 ERA taking Ervin Santana’s place in the rotation) on the mound is adequate.

THE PLAY: L.A. ANGELS (+105) *

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BASEBALL — June 29

COLORADO at L.A. DODGERS
(Jiminez vs. Wolf: Dodgers -115, Rockies -105, Total 8.5) — There’s really no panic button to push in L.A., as the Dodgers are up by seven games in the National League West race. However, there is little comfort to be found in the fact that they’ve lost three of their last five at home. Joe Torre’s team has been dominant in the series this year, winning eight of nine meetings, but all of that was before the Rockies got hot. Ultra-hot, that is, winning 20 of their last 23 games. Ubaldo Jiminez has been hit hard by the Dodgers this year, though, with a 10.20 ERA in three starts (he has a 2.66 ERA against everyone else). Let’s side with a little history here.

THE PLAY: L.A. DODGERS (-115) **

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All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars
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BASEBALL — June 29

DETROIT at OAKLAND
(Porcello vs. Anderson: Tigers -115, Athletics -105, Total 9) — This is not the best of times for the Oakland Athletics, who have lost five games in a row, scoring three runs or less in four of those games. Being swept by Colorado at home was not a good sign, obviously, and at this point it’s apparent that they have played themselves out of the division and wild card races. There are two teams in the American League who are more than one games under .500 at home, and Oakland is one of those clubs. Brett Anderson is the rookie starter who has probably been the least impressive for Oakland (one of the others, Josh Outman, just went on the DL). He was lit up by the Tigers last time out (nine runs in 3-1/3 innings). It’s hard to tell how effective Rick Porcello has really been lately. The rookie right-hander has allowed just three runs in his last two starts, but he’s been allowing a lot of base runners, posting a 1.97 WHIP in those starts, and he’s probably luckier he hasn’t surrendered more. The fact of the matter is that Detroit has had enough offense to win nine of his last ten starts.

THE PLAY: DETROIT (-115) ***