Yesterday: MLB: 2 - 8.6

MLB (56.4 - 45.4)

Red Sox (Tavarez) +170 at Blue Jays (Halladay): Roy Halladay is one of the best power pitchers in baseball, and he's off to a great start this year. But the Red Sox boast a formidable lineup, and their top two hitters have had success against Halladay. David Ortiz is 20-for-67 (.299 BA) against him, with seven homers and four doubles. Manny Ramirez is 19-for-68 (.279 BA), with four homers and two doubles. Six other hitters on the Red Sox roster also have homers against Halladay: Jason Varitek, Julio Lugo, Coco Crisp, Alex Cora, Doug Mirabelli, and Mike Lowell. Although Julian Tavarez is not a good starting pitcher, he's had success at Toronto's Rogers Centre. In the last three years, he's posted the following numbers there: 11.1 IP, 9 H, 1 ER.

Diamondbacks (Hernandez) at Padres (Peavy) -1.5 runs (+125): Peavy is off to a monster start this year: 20 IP, 11 H, 2 ER, 6 BB, 12 K. The only player in the D-backs' lineup with a history of success against Peavy is Conor Jackson, who is 5-for-13 with a double. Chad Tracy has faced him more than any other D-back, and he's just 8-for-43 (.186 BA). Meanwhile, several Padres have had success against Livan Hernandez: Mike Cameron (9-for-32, 5 HR), Brian Giles (9-for-32 with four extra-base hits), Jose Cruz, Jr. (8-for-17, 1 HR), and Adrian Gonzalez (2-for-6, 1 HR). Although Hernandez has only given up four earned runs and 14 hits in 20 innings this season, he's walked 11 batters while striking out only nine. Those walks are going to catch up to him, especially against a Padres' lineup that features patient hitters at the top of the order.

Cubs (Hill) -120 at Braves (Redman): Rich Hill is quickly developing into one of the best pitchers in baseball, and the fact that he's flown under the radar results in nice value with this line. In 14 innings this season, Hill's only given up one run on four hits and four walks, while striking out 11 batters. Meanwhile, Mark Redman has been awful this season: 8.1 IP, 15 H, 12 ER. That's actually worse than his numbers from last year (5.71 ERA, 1.59 WHIP), which was his worst season in the majors.

Rangers (Padilla) +130 at White Sox (Vazquez): Vicente Padilla has been very good against the White Sox' hitters in their 130 plate appearances against him: .198 BA, .301 OBP, .293 SLG. Of the regulars in the lineup, only Tadahito Iguchi has had success against him: 3-for-8 with a double and a homer. Although Paul Konerko is 4-for-11 against Padilla, he has no extra-base hits. On the other hand, Javier Vazquez has had trouble against four of the Rangers' regulars: Sammy Sosa (9-for-27, 3 HR, 2 double), Frank Catalanotto (9-for-20, 1 HR, 1 double), Kenny Lofton (7-for-10, 3 triples), and Hank Blalock (4-for-10, 1 HR, 1 double). And even though Vazquez has only given up nine hits and two runs in 12 innings this year, his seven walks are a bit worrisome, especially against an increasingly patient Rangers' lineup. Also, the Rangers will be focussed today after getting no-hit by Mark Buehrle in yesterday's contest. And there seems to be a letdown effect for the team that got the no-hitter. Perhaps, last night's post-game celebrations in Chicago might also cause a literal hangover effect.

Twins (Santana) -1.5 runs (-105) at Mariners (Washburn): Today is a somber day in Seattle as the Mariners (5-5) await news regarding the extent of fire-baller Felix Hernandez's elbow injury. This afternoon, the Twins (9-5) will look to capitalize on the climate of uncertainty as they aim for a sweep against the tough-luck Mariners. You could almost consider it poetic that the Twins will be sending their ace, Johan Santana (2-1, 3.60) to the hill the very day after Hernandez went out. Santana and Hernandez missed facing off against each other by exactly one day in what would have been a match up for the ages. The Mariners will counter with southpaw Jarrod Washburn (0-1, 3.75). Santana, arguably the most dominant pitcher in baseball, absolutely owns the Mariners. In 14 starts against the M's, Santana has complied a 6-1 record.