Cleveland Indians vs. Philadelphia Phillies
MLB Pick: Under 8 -120 odds (May 15th 2013)
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We expect a low-scoring game between the Indians and Phillies on Wednesday afternoon. The Indians play their fourth game in just over 48 hours as they wrap up a brief 2-game set in Philadelphia against the Phillies. Cole Hamels looks for his second win of the season; five of his eight starts have gone Under the total. Hamels has allowed just 5 runs and 12 hits over his last three starts while striking out 17. Jason Giambi (0-4), Mark Reynolds (2-10) and Drew Stubbs (2-11) have had their problems with the Phillies’ pitcher. Cleveland has scored just 7 total runs in their last four games, all of which have gone Under the total. They are hitting right around .236 in their last eight games.

Corey Kluber has pitched well for the Indians excluding his last start at the tough Detroit Tigers. Before giving up 8 runs to them, he gave up 5 runs and 12 hits in two starts against the Royals and Twins. The Phillies broke out of a scoring slump a bit on Tuesday night by scoring 6 runs. Before that they had scored just 13 runs over a 5-game span. This is a Phillies team hitting just .243 against right handed pitching. The Indians’ bullpen still has not lost a game yet this season and they continue to be a strength. We expect a low-scoring game between the Indians and Phillies on Wednesday afternoon.

MLB Picks: April 24th 2013
Cleveland Indians vs. Chicago White Sox
Prediction: White Sox -125 odds
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The White Sox suffered a tough loss in Monday’s series opener and have struggled lately. With a red hot pitcher on the mound, they should have an excellent chance at bouncing back with a much needed victory.

I successfully played against the Sox when Quintana started against the Indians on 4/12. (I won 1-0 with Cleveland) However, that was with Masterson on the mound for the Tribe.
Quintana certaintly deserved a better fate in that game. Indeed, he tossed seven shutout inning and only gave up a single hit. He had seven K’s and didn’t walk a batter.

Including that gem, Quintana is 1-0 with a 0.93 ERA in four games (two starts) against Cleveland. In his two starts in the series, he’s got a 1.38 ERA and 0.615 WHIP.

Quintana followed up his great effort against the Indians with a another stellar performance last time out. He tossed 6 2/3 shutout innings, giving up only five hits and again striking out seven. (That means he’s thrown 13 2/3 innings in his last two starts without allowing a single run.)

McAllister has also pitched well – but not as well as Quintana. Last time out, he permitted three runs in five innings, walking three and giving up six hits.

The Indians have been dismal against southpaws the past couple of years, going 46-66 (-15.3) against left-handed starters. During that time, they’re 14-19 (-6) off three consecutive victories and 21-32 (-8.8) when playing on the road with an line in the +100 to +125 range.

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MLB Picks: April 19th 2013
Cleveland Indians vs. Houston Astros
Pick: Houston +1.5 -145 odds
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This is not a potent Cleveland team at all this season, especially with their injuries so we’ll back Houston plus the runs in this game on Friday night.

Houston returns home after a 3-6 road trip thru the AL West. They return home to host Cleveland who lost their last four games at home to the Red Sox and White Sox. Brett Myers goes for the Tribe and he’s 0-2 with an 8.82 ERA in three games this season. Myers has not faced Houston as a starter since 2008 when he lost on the road 4-3. Rick Ankiel has had good success against the righty picking up three hits in seven tries. Houston is hitting .265 against right-handed pitching putting up almost 5 runs per game in those contests.

Lucas Harrell is making his fourth start for the Astros. He has yet to win although his last start was solid allowing 1 run to the Angels striking out five while walking only one. Harrell gave up 1 run and two hits in seven innings last year against the Tribe striking out nine while walking three. Cleveland hitters are a combined 4-for-27 against the Astros pitcher with three of those hits coming from Drew Stubbs. Cleveland is hitting .217 in six games against right-handed starters and they will not have their leadoff hitter Michael Bourn who is on the DL. This is not a potent Cleveland team at all this season, especially with their injuries so we’ll back Houston plus the runs in this game on Friday night. Want all of Steve Merril’s MLB picks for April 19th 2013? Visit our expert sports picks page at Touthouse.com

Cleveland Indians vs. Toronto Blue Jays
MLB Pick: Toronto -154 odds (April 4th 2013)
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After losing two in a row at home to start the year, the Jays will look to avoid an embarrassing third straight loss to Cleveland here on Thursday. The Jays wasted a fantastic effort from Brandon Morrow yesterday, he went six strong innings allowing just one run on six hits. Many of those hits were broken bat bloopers, or little choppers that the defense failed to make a play on.

Toronto’s offense hasn’t really come alive yet, but after a quiet night in the home opener, the Blue Jays bats showed signs of life on Wednesday. Jose Bautista went deep for his first home run of the season, tying the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth.
Toronto will send veteran Mark Buehrle to the mount tonight, making his first start in a Blue Jays uniform. Buehrle struggled at times in 2012, but he finished strong, going 4-2 in his last eight starts.

The Tribe will hand the ball to Brett Myers, who is making a comeback as a starter, after working out of the bullpen in Houston last year. He didn’t good this spring, as reported by the media in Cleveland: he’s allowed seven runs on 14 hits in just 7.2 innings, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. (Sat Mar 16)

Jose Reyes has seen plenty of Myers, and he’s had success against the right-hander. He’s hit .319 with five extra-base hits and a home run in 47 career at bats versus Myers. Jose Bautista has also had success in limited at bats, going 3-fo-7 with a home run.

I think we will see Toronto come alive with the bats at the Roger’s Center tonight, out-scoring the Indians in a slugfest.