Bob Harvey & LT Profits Post Free MLB Picks for September 25th 2008

St. Louis Cardinals (-113) - Thu September 25th ‘08 2:15p
It’s an old sports cliché but I’ll use it again. The Arizona Diamondbacks are TOAST. As in “Put a fork in them, they’re done”. After winning Monday’s series opener at Busch Stadium the D-Backs have lost two straight. Coupled with the Dodgers back-to-back wins, Arizona is now one loss away or an LA victory away from being eliminated from playoff contention. The Snakes will look to stay alive when they send Doug Davis to the mound in the series finale against the Cardinals. Davis is 6-8 with a 3.25 ERA but hasn’t factored in the decision in his last four starts. Lifetime vs. the Redbirds, Davis is 4-5 with a 4.79 ERA in 13 starts against St. Louis and allowed three runs in six innings of a 4-3 win over Cardinals on Sept. 3. Davis is a cancer survivor. He pitched only weeks AFTER having surgery earlier this season. I always pull for a guy like that. However his team is running on fumes and facing the reality that they need to win out and have the Dodgers lose all four. Neither one of those things will happen. St. Louis rested three starters last night: Albert Pujols, Ryan Ludwick and Troy Glaus. All three will be back in today’s line-up. Pujols, hitting .350 is batting .323 (10-for-31) with five doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs against Davis. Joel Pinero has lost two straight but has pitched well. The Cardinals are playing for pride and with their rested starters back in the line-up; I say this is where Arizona’s road comes to an end. IF the Cardinals win, as expected, go against the Dodgers tonight. LA will be resting their regulars especially against Jake Peavy. - Free MLB Picks Courtesy of Bob Harvey

Cincinnati Reds (175) - Thu September 25th ‘08 8:05p
Roy Oswalt of the Houston Astros carries a 22-1 career record vs. the Cincinnati Reds into this contest tonight including 3-0 this year, and he is simultaneously trying to keep the slim Astros playoff hopes alive. Well, we feel that Houston supporters may be in line for a huge surprise. First of all, Oswalt has not been as unhittable as usual vs. the Reds this year, as they have actually managed 21 hits plus five walks in 19 innings off of him. They have failed to get many key hits however, managing six runs in those three games with four coming in one game. Still, if they can get just three runs here, it just may be good enough to pull the upset. This is due to a combination of Reds starter Johnny Cueto pitching well lately, Cincinnati having a good bullpen and the Houston offense going in the tank as of late. Cueto has now allowed three earned runs or less in seven of his last eight starts, and he has the support of a Reds pen that ranks third in the National League with a 3.78 ERA. They are facing an Astros lineup that is batting an anorexic .200 over the last 10 games while averaging just 2.60 runs per game. We anticipate a very low scoring game here, and in what should be a tight game late, we see great value in having the better bullpen at this fat price. MLB Free Pick: Reds +175 - Free MLB Picks Courtesy of LT Profits