7월18일 best MLB bets

Philadelphia Phillies at Chicago Cubs (+145)

Philadelphia has struggled to find consistency in the offense recently but getting Placido Polanco back from the disabled list should jumpstart the lineup.

"It's going to help a whole lot," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "It's going to give us a .300 hitter in the top of the order. That's what it's going to do for us."

The Phillies have scored three or fewer runs in six of their last 10 games. Last season, the team plated fewer than two runs only 39 times but this year the Phils have already failed to score three runs 29 times.

"We haven't hit for a long time," said Manuel. "We hit spurts where we come out of it. On a given night, we might score some runs, but it seems like we fall right back into it. Inconsistent play."

Polanco was back in action for the first time Saturday and made an immediate impact. With two outs in the top of the ninth, the pesky third baseman drove in the game-tying single off Cubs closer Carlos Marmol. Philly ended up tacking on three more in the inning to earn a 4-1 victory.

With Polanco back and Chase Utley’s return imminent, the Phillies are going to get back to their run-producing ways. Look for the offense to carry the momentum from Saturday over into Sunday and did we mention some guy named Roy Halladay is on the bump for Philly.

Pick: Phillies

New York Mets at San Francisco Giants (+110, 7)

The Mets aren’t going to be in contention in the NL East for much longer if they don’t start scoring some runs. Going into Saturday, New York had been shutout in three of its last four games and had plated an average of 2.1 runs per over its last seven contests.

"I still believe at some point that we have to unlock this offense a little bit," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said after Friday’s 1-0 loss to the Giants. "I didn't see us have very many opportunities or very many good swings at [Zito]. We've got to do a better job."

The Jints aren’t classified as an offensive juggernaut either. They started producing some runs during a nice, 6-1 stretch going into the All-Star break but have been fortunate to come away with wins in the first two games of this series after only plating three runners.

The under has cashed in seven straight for New York and the last three starts for Johan Santana have also gone under. Runs should come at a premium at the pitcher-friendly AT&T Park Sunday afternoon.

Pick: Under

Streaking

Freddy Garcia (9-3, 4.36 ERA), Chicago White Sox

He may not possess front of the rotation stuff anymore, but Freddy Garcia is carving out a nice niche for himself as a reliable starter. The White Sox have taken the cash in eight straight Garcia starts and 11 of his last 12 outings.

"He's been pitching so good for us I can't even say anything more about Freddy," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told the Associated Press after Garcia didn’t allow an earned run in his last start.

Vicente Padilla (4-2, 4.04 ERA), Los Angeles Dodgers

Padilla is another veteran who’s found a second wind to his major league career. Once considered one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball, Padilla has been a perfect fit in Dodger blue.

The hard-throwing righty is 3-0 in his last three starts with a 1.25 ERA and a ridiculous 0.60 WHIP (walks + hits per inning).

Slumping

Jeff Suppan (0-5, 6.55 ERA), St. Louis Cardinals

Things haven’t gotten any better for Suppan since he rejoined the St. Louis Cardinals. Many thought pitching guru Dave Duncan would be able to work his magic like he’s do so many times before and fix Suppan’s problems.

But that’s not the way things have played out. The Cards are 1-4 in Suppan’s five starts and the hurler hasn’t pitched a full six innings in any of those outings.

Returning

Shawn Marcum (7-4, 3.44 ERA), Toronto Blue Jays

The Jays ace makes his return to the mound after a short stint on the disabled list due to a sore right elbow. He declared himself ready after throwing a bullpen session last weekend.

“My command was a little off but I wasn’t really worried about that. It was just getting out there and getting a feel for the ball again,” Marcum told the Toronto Sun after testing the elbow. “Other than that the arm felt great, it felt back to normal. It was a step in the right direction.”