British Open betting is great but, for the Western Hemisphere at least, the action ends in the early afternoon. After that, we may as well bet on some baseball to keep ourselves busy. Let’s look at the Brewers/Reds series for Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, July 18, 7:10 p.m. ET
Manny Parra (3-8, 6.78) vs Aaron Harang (5-9, 4.18)
If you like your underdog baseball odds, keep reading. Manny Parra’s stat line is undoubtedly ugly, and it’s a product of his horrendous first half. He walked batters left and right and was simply very hittable. However, as we see with pitchers every year, he may be a new man after spending a month in the minors to work on his mechanics. He returned from his Class-AAA banishment last week and shut out the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals for seven innings, striking out seven and walking one. Since his numbers still look gross, the Brewers will be underdogs on the road, but they could surprise.
Aaron Harang pitches well at home but several of the key Brewer hitters have his number; Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, J.J. Hardy and Bill Hall all have a career OPS over 1.000 against Harang, so they could take him deep one or more times.
Baseball pick: Brewers
Sunday, July 19, 1:10 p.m. ET
Yovani Gallardo (8-7, 3.22) vs Johnny Cueto (8-6, 3.62)
Flamethrowers Yovani Gallardo and Johnny Cueto have followed strikingly similar paths this season. Both have dominate for the better part of 2009 thus far with their electric stuff, but both stumbled badly entering the All-Star break – especially Cueto, who has a 10.03 ERA this month. In each pitcher’s case, the slump is likely a product of increased workload. Gallardo missed most of last season after tearing his ACL, while Cueto is a sophomore in the bigs.
Sportsbook software projects a rebound for both pitchers since they’ve had about a week to rest, but Gallardo is a stronger bet on Sunday. He has the superior offense backing him, so it’s best to bet on the guy getting better run support when the pitchers are so evenly matched.
Baseball pick: Brewers
