Free MLB Baseball Betting Picks: June 29th 2009: ATS Consultants

Below are Free MLB Picks for June 29th from ATS Consultants. Do you want to receive more free expert MLB predictions on a daily basis, be sure to sign-up for the ATS Consultants Newsletter.

OVER 10 Boston/Baltimore:
Oriole Park at Camden Yards is usually a hitters dream this time of year as the balls flies out of that place when it’s humid. Well it’s a hot one here in Baltimore today, and we expect to see a high scoring game tonight.

Lefty Jon Lester (6-6, 4.68) goes to the mound for the BoSox, and he’s been up and down so far in 2009. He started off poorly, truned it around in the middle, and now seems to have slipped back a little. He’s allowed 5 runs on 14 hits in his last 11 innings pitched, and is 1-1 in those games. He does own a 7-0 lifetime mark against the Orioles.

Baltimore counters with rookie righty Jason Berken (1-4, 6.32). Berken’s numbers basically tell his story. He’s probably more suited to a long relief role, but for now the O’s will stick with him until their powerful crop of minor league starters are ready. He’s allowed 19 runs in his last 19 innings of work, but was better in his last start, only allowing 2 earned runs in 5 innings during a loss in Florida.

Minnesota -135 over Kansas City:
Nick Blackburn (6-3, 3.11) has been one of the best pitchers in the American League this year, and most people have never even heard of him. He’s not a big strikeout pitcher (only 41 in 101 innings), but he induces ground balls and pitches to contact. He’s one of the main reasons Minnesota finds itself in contention in the AL Central.

Former #1 overall pick Luke Hochevar (2-3, 5.87) has had an up and down season for the Royals but is starting to find some consistency after years of taking the Minors/Majors elevator. In three of his last 5 starts he’s pitched into the seventh inning, and is 2-0 in those outings. The other two in that time frame have been poor, but like I said, he’s working on finding some consistency. It’ll come, he’s too talented for it not to, but in 2009 we expect more of the same problems that have plagued him early in his career to continue.

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