Kuzul

Two American League teams that sit atop the wild-card standings will battle for playoff positioning when the Toronto Blue Jays start a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday in Anaheim.

The Blue Jays continue an eight-game road trip against the Angels as small betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark after splitting a pair with the Philadelphia Phillies. Meanwhile, Los Angeles just wrapped up a four-game set at home versus the Chicago White Sox.

Toronto is just 2-3 in its past five games following an 11-game winning streak after falling to the Phillies 7-4 on Wednesday. Fortunately for the Blue Jays, they will send new ace David Price (11-4, 2.41 ERA) to the mound; he hopes to win his second straight road start for them.

In his first road start since coming over in a trade from the Detroit Tigers, Price blanked the New York Yankees for seven innings in a 7-0 victory back on August 8. However, he walked away with a no-decision against the Yankees a week ago, giving up three runs and 11 hits in 7.1 innings of an eventual 4-3 loss at home.

Los Angeles split four games at Toronto from May 18-21 and trails the Blue Jays for the league’s top wild-card spot while the team also continues to chase the Houston Astros for the AL West lead. The Angels will look to lefty Hector Santiago (7-6, 2.86 ERA) to get back on track Friday after they have lost in four of his past five outings, according to the Odds Shark MLB Database.

Santiago has allowed three runs or less in each of his past three starts but does not have a victory to show for it, with Los Angeles getting outscored 10-7 in those games.

Like Price, he also had a no-decision in his last start against the Kansas City Royals on Sunday night, giving up two runs and three hits in seven innings with three walks and five strikeouts in a 4-3 loss.

The second and third games of the Blue Jays vs. Angels betting matchup on Saturday and Sunday look to be more even matchups from a starting pitching perspective and may favor the home team.

On Saturday, Toronto will give the ball to Marco Estrada (10-7, 3.20 ERA) against Andrew Heaney (5-1, 2.43 ERA) of the Angels. Los Angeles’ Garrett Richards (12-9, 3.50 ERA) will then close out the series on Sunday versus knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (7-10, 4.14 ERA) of the Blue Jays.

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We were on the right side of FanDuel’s 50/50 leagues yesterday.  On a high-scoring day, we were in the 60th percentile or better (in most June 5 daily leagues) with 37.5 points.  Carlos Martinez’s gem at Dodger Stadium was the difference.

As always, confirm that your chosen players are in their respective lineups, and stay away from games that may be rained out.  An excellent website for lineups and weather is Rotowire.com.  

The following ideal lineup is for June 6 and will be for FanDuel leagues starting at 12:05 p.m. EDT.

P Clayton Kershaw, $11,700

We’re paying a premium for one of MLB‘s best pitchers in Dodger Stadium.  Kershaw has averaged 13.5 FanDuel points per game in 11 starts.  In his last four, the Dodgers’ ace is averaging 16.25.  The power lefty has 90 strikeouts in just 72 innings pitched.

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If you jumped on our FanDuel train yesterday, you were in the 80th percentile or better (in most June 4 daily leagues) with 36.75 points.  Our best offensive performers were Dustin Pedroia and Joey Butler, who combined for 15.25 FanDuel points.  It is only fitting that we keep them in the lineup.

As always, confirm that your chosen players are in their respective lineups, and stay away from games that may be rained out. An excellent website for lineups and weather is Rotowire.com.  

The following ideal lineup is for June 5 and will be for FanDuel leagues starting at 7:05 p.m. EDT.

P Carlos Martinez, $9100

With no real studs on the mound today, Martinez is our best bet.  The 23-year-old has averaged 16.44 FanDuel points in his last three starts.  The better news is that in his last start, he scored 19 points against the Dodgers, the same team he will face tonight.

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UPDATE: Yasmani Grandal and Andre Ethier will not be playing in the early LA vs COL game.  I will replace them in my lineup with Mike McKenry ($2800) and Alex Guerrero ($3300).  We can’t let the thin air go to waste!

After our 51.75-point explosion on June 1, we will continue to ride the Mets’ pitching and the Dodgers’ hitting.  Keep in mind that we will be relying heavily on the game at Coors Field (LA vs COL), which is slated for 3:10 p.m. EDT.  The second game between these two teams (8:40 p.m. EDT) will not count for FanDuel points.

As always, confirm that your chosen players are in their respective team’s lineup, and stay away from games that may be rained out. An excellent website for lineups and weather is Rotowire.com.

P Noah Syndergaard, $8300

Thor has averaged 13.77 FanDuel points in his last three starts.  Syndergaard will also be pitching to the Padres, who are now second in the majors with 433 strikeouts.  Petco Park also helps.

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The sport of Major League Baseball has seen its share of gambling controversies, most notably, the scandal surrounding the 1919 World Series and the Chicago White Sox, famously known as the Black Sox Scandal.

However, not one scandal gained more notoriety than the allegations levied against Major League Baseball’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose.

On August 23, 1989, through an agreement reached with then baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti, Pete Rose voluntarily accepted a lifetime suspension from the game of baseball.

Rose, at the time the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, had been reported to have been betting on baseball, and more specifically games in which the Reds were involved.

Rose was questioned in early 1989 by Giamatti, who was president of the National League at the time, and by current commissioner Peter Euberroth.

Later in the year, Euberroth stepped down as commissioner, and Giamatti was unanimously selected by MLB owners to replace him. During this time, lawyer John M. Dowd was retained to investigate the allegations against Rose.

In mid-August, the investigation was completed, and its findings submitted to commissioner Giamatti. In his report, Dowd concluded that Rose indeed had bet on baseball games, and had specifically on at least 50 Reds games in 1987, at a minimum of $10,000 per day.

On August 23rd, after several days of negotiations with commissioner Giamatti, Rose agreed to the lifetime ban. Ironically, eight days after the announcement, Giamatti suddenly died of a heart attack at his summer home in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. He was just 51 years old.

At the time, Rose had vehemently denied that he bet on baseball games. In 2004, fifteen years later, he finally revealed in his book, “My Prison Without Bars”, that he did bet on baseball.

Rose has applied for reinstatement several times, but the ban is still in place today. He has only been allowed back on the baseball field once, in 1999, when he was elected to the All-Century team, and he appeared with the team on the field at the All-Star game at Fenway Park.

Rose has arrogantly displayed his disdain for the decision on several occasions, setting up shop outside the confines of the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York during induction ceremonies, and at autograph signing sessions throughout the country.

Rose had his own radio talk show for years during the 1990’s, and his lifetime suspension was frequent fodder for Rose and his guests.

If Rose could have simply accepted the ban, worked to ingratiate himself positively with baseball owners and executives, and publicly admit his wrongdoings, his suspension likely would have been lifted.

Instead, Rose chose the tact of displaying complete arrogance and constant denials until fifteen years after the fact, and those acts alone have not only kept him out of baseball, but also kept him out of the place where he truly feels he belongs—the Hall of Fame.

Arrogance has never been a successful act of defense. Rose should have chosen the path of humility.

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