Saturday, June 12

7 Free Picks, all backed by In-Depth Analysis, plus more Rated Selections from the nation’s premier sports analysts, are available daily at PickNation.com

LA ANGELS at LA DODGERS

Scott Delaney, Featured Handicapper

The Dodgers continued their struggles against their neighbors from the North – out of Anaheim – as the Halos blistered the men in blue last night, 10-1, in the series-opener.

You can go ahead and list both hurlers for tonight’s contest, as I do believe Scott Kazmir will outshine young John Ely.

Kazmir is 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA in his last three roadies, while he comes in having won two straight starts, topping the Athletics and Royals by lasting a collective 12 innings and giving up just two runs.

Ely, meanwhile, comes in after getting tagged a bit by the Braves, who managed to touch him up for four runs and nine hits – the most he’s allowed in his young career.

The Dodgers are a disappointing 12-16 at home during Interleague play since the start of 2007, including a dismal 2-6 when hosting the Halos.

I know Los Angeles has been playing well, and is 23-11 at home, but the Angels have been the Dodgers’ kryptonite. And since the boys out of Anaheim are now 9-3 during this season-high 14-game road trip – and have outscored their hosts by a combined 72-40 final – I like the momentum and value with the road team in this Southern Cal rivalry.

5* LA ANGELS (on a 1* to 5* Scale)

WASHINGTON at CLEVELAND

By Stephen Nover, Featured Handicapper

I’m 24-8-1 with my last 33 complementary selections.

I’m also 3-0 the past two days with my premium plays, including cashing on the White Sox yesterday against the Cubs. Today I have my strongest over/under release of the week going. But for my free offering, I’m going to lay the chalk with the Cleveland Indians against the Washington Nationals.

The Nationals are starting to tumble having lost eight of their past 13. The team has shown some promise, but is still a couple of years away from being considered a good team. Stephen Strasburg sure looks like a top of the line starter, but Washington’s defense is terrible, its relief pitching remains untrustworthy, there’s a gaping hole still in right field and the bottom of the rotation is leaky.

This matchup gives us one of Washington’s back-end starters in second-year pitcher J.D. Martin. He’s making just his fourth start of the year and is off a season-high 103 pitch count in his last start, a 6-4 loss to the light-hitting Astros.

I like Cleveland’s starter, Fausto Carmona, much better. Except for a bad start in April against Minnesota, Carmona has pitched well this season. He was wild in his last start against Boston, but previous to that he walked only 17 during his last 57 1/3 innings.

Carmona has been keeping the ball in the park, too, giving up three homers in his last seven games. He has faced six power-hitting opponents during this span having gone against the Red Sox, Tigers, Yankees, Reds, Rays and Blue Jays. His ground ball-to-fly ball rate during his last five games is 49-22.

The Nationals do have power, but they are a huge step down from the dominant AL East teams Carmona has pitched against recently.

3* CLEVELAND (Listing both pitchers (on a 1* to 5* Scale)

TEXAS at MILWAUKEE

By Bobby Maxwell, Featured Handicapper

My complimentary play run stands at 108-90-3 following Friday’s winner on the Red Sox in a rout of the Phillies. For Saturday’s freebie, let’s look at the Texas-Milwaukee contest.

The Brewers will make it two in a row over the Rangers tonight when they send lefty Manny Parra to the hill at home against Scott Feldman.

Milwaukee has won four of its last five games and snapped the Rangers’ three-game winning streak on Friday night with a 6-2 victory. Parra looked good in St. Louis on Sunday, giving up two runs on four hits in 5.1 innings, striking out 10 in a 4-3 victory over the Cardinals.

Feldman has a 5.31 ERA in his last three starts and he’s just 1-4 with a 7.18 ERA on the road. The Rangers are just 3-7 in his last 10 starts and he’s allowed four runs or more in nine of his last 10 and seven straight starts. They are on slides of 1-7 when he starts on the road, 1-6 when he’s an underdog and 2-5 when he starts on Saturday.

As a team, the Rangers are just 3-11 on the road, 8-19 on Saturdays and 20-47 on the road against southpaws.

The Brewers are 5-1 in Parra’s last six home starts and 5-1 when they are a home favorite. I’m loving Parra in this situation as the Rangers struggle against lefties, struggle on the road and struggle behind Feldman. I’ll play Milwaukee tonight!

3* MILWAUKEE (on a 1* to 5* Scale)

Al DeMarco, General Manager of PickNation.com, is a 25-year veteran of the handicapping industry who is also the featured handicapping analyst on Comcast Sports TV in Chicago and a regular contributor on Fox Sports and MSNBC. Watch his Free Pick Daily Video report – available weekdays by 2:00 P.M. Eastern and weekends by 10 A.M. Eastern – at PickNation.com