It was an ugly night for my premium plays  but I managed to salvage some of the night with my top free play on the Orioles winning Game 1 of their ALDS. I just finished watching Baltimore have another great 8th inning in their comeback win today as they now head to Detroit in complete control of that series.  If you follow me on Twitter you’ll know that a few hours before that Game 1 between the Tigers and O’s got going I said I like Baltimore to win that series and I definitely like my position with that play now. The Giants and Nats are playing right now, but it’s the other two MLB playoff today that have made my free card.

All lines taken from Pinnacle Sports with bet amounts ‘to win’ on favorites and flat on underdogs

Play of the Day in Bold

Free Play Records

MLB Pre All Star Break: 101-107-13 (+$691)

MLB post All Star Break: 47-43 (+$2817)

MLB Playoffs : 1-0 (+$321)

CFL YTD: 6-8 (-$266)

NCAAF YTD: 8-10 ATS (-$629) 

NFL YTD: 5-8 ATS (-$798)

MLB Playoffs

St Louis ML (+170) $300 to win $510

Can’t help but take the value with Wainwright in this game tonight as this line is a little out of whack in my opinion. Yes Kershaw is the best pitcher in the majors this year, but Wainwright is no slouch and can match Kershaw out for out if it comes down to that. With a total of 5. 5 you know runs will be at a premium tonight and if the Cardinals can give Wainwright some support rather than force him to get into the 8th in a 0-0 game like they did in his lone start vs. LA this season, I like their chances to win Game 1.

I know I wrote about the Dodgers winning this series and I do believe they will, but a big part of that selection is the fact that their pitching rotation is so deep that they can take control of this series in Games 2-3-4 should Kershaw lose a start. The Cardinals are loaded with playoff experience and although their offense has been dismal at times this season, this is a team that knows how to turn it on when the games count in Aug/Sept/Oct. With the line moving in the Cardinals favor here I can’t help but take a shot with the value at this price.

KC/LAA Under 7 (+104) $200 to win $208

Would have preferred to get the Under 7.5 that was available earlier this morning, but I still have no problem making this a smaller free play at 7 with + money. Shoemaker and Ventura are two young studs on the hill that many aren’t willing to put a lot of faith in (especially after Ventura struggled in relief during the Wildcard game), but I am.

Secondly, we’ve got a strong under umpire in Chris Cuccione behind the dish with his 9-19 O/U record this season. An average of 7 combined runs were scored in those 28 games which refers back to my initial thoughts of wanting to get this at 7.5, but the number could still move up as we get closer to gametime. Playoff atmosphere and some great Royals defense will keep this one tight again as I think we finish with a 3-2 or 4-2 type game.