MLB Weekend Tips: Rangers to stretch their lead in Sunday night showdown

MLB / Nick Shiambouros / 14 August 2010 / Leave a Comment

CJ Wilson in action

"The Texas Rangers are leading the AL East by 7.5 games and are playing extremely well and I think Wilson will give Boston plenty to think about on Sunday night."

There are some fascinating games taking place this weekend as the road to the playoffs continues. Here Nick Shiambouros previews three games that will be shown live on ESPN America.

Friday August 13
Los Angeles Dodgers v Atlanta Braves

The Dodgers start Hiroki Kuroda who has a record of 8-10 and an ERA of 3.65.Kuroda has been pitching a lot better than his record suggests. On Saturday, Kuroda retired 17 straight batters against Washington and pitched with pinpoint accuracy. He threw just 88 pitches in the game.
　
Tim Hudson is on the hill for the Braves. Hudson is having a superb season and has record of 13-5 and an ERA of just 2.24.Hudson is one of the main reasons the Braves are sitting at the top of the NL East. This veteran right-hander is a delight to watch. He has an excellent hard sinking ball that is almost impossible to hit.

The Dodgers really need to win this game. They are nine games behind San Diego in the NL West.

I think LA can cause the upset. The Braves lost third baseman Chipper Jones for the rest of the year after he sustained a groin injury last week. Jones is averaging .323 for the year and will be sorely missed. I think Los Angeles are fairly priced at [2.52].

Saturday August 14
San Diego Padres v San Francisco Giants

Mark Latos gets the call for San Diego in this divisional affair. He has an outstanding record of 12-5 an ERA of just 2.36. This young man is quickly developing into a quality pitcher. He has good velocity with his fastball and has a great variety of pitches. This is his first full season in the majors and is a star in the making.

Madison Bumgarner has the pitching assignment for San Francisco. This young left-hander has a record of 4-4 and an ERA of 3.36.In the past nine games Bumgarner has only allowed more than three runs once.

This is a very important game for both teams. The Padres hold a slender 2.5 game advantage over the Giants at the top of the NL West.

I just favour San Diego in this divisional contest. Mark Latos is pitching as well as anyone in the NL and will be tough to score against.

This could be a low scoring affair and the under total runs score is well worth an interest.

Sunday August 15
Boston Red Sox v Texas Rangers

The Red Sox start Daisuke Matsuzaka who has a record of 8-3 and an ERA of 4.09. This right-hander from Japan is having a solid year. He has a decent fastball and mixes it up with a changeup to keep the batters thinking.Matsuzaka is one of the more consistent pitchers in the league and makes very few mistakes. He rarely leaves a ball hanging over the plate.
　
CJ Wilson is on the hill for the Rangers. He is having a great year and has ten victories to his name. Wilson is a very good strikeout pitcher and has a great record against Boston. In two starts against the Red Sox this year his ERA is just .68.
　
The Texas Rangers are leading the AL East by 7.5 games and are playing extremely well and I think Wilson will give Boston plenty to think about on Sunday night.

Recommended wagers
Friday back Los Angeles Dodgers at [2.52]
Saturday back San Diego and under total runs scored
Sunday back Texas at [1.6] or better