Tuesday's Underdog Card

This weekend my laptop went in for repairs, so Hambone had the controls for three straight days. Now that I'm back, look for that big green number next to the MLB tally to start dropping.

Here's today's plays, all getting underdog money, all from Matchbook:

Los Angeles Dodgers +105, 1 unit to win 1.05.

Cubs have been tough at Wrigley. However, Gallagher has not been tough anywhere, any time. Kuroda is putting together a solid but not spectacular campaign, and he has shown an ability to keep the ball in the park, which should serve him well today.

San Francisco Giants +151, 1 unit to win 1.51.

Our love for the Giants starting pitching, in particular Cain and Lincecum, is well-documented. Sometimes we get burned by their less-than-stellar bullpen, sometimes we get burned by their less-than-competent hitting, but Cain and Lincecum come through often enough to create value on a regular basis. This is one such occasion. Both the D-backs and Haren have cooled off from their blistering starts, and although both team and pitcher are still strong, the reputation they created for themselves in April leads to a value fade in late May.

Washington Nationals +135, 1 unit to win 1.35.

Because playing underrated underdogs/pitchers is a central tenet of our "system" here at Against All Odds, we would be severely restricting ourselves if we avoided the Nats as we promised in preseason. Instead, we'll just add these picks, and you can feel free to disregard them if you think I'm viewing the Nats through rose-colored glasses. A cross-country trip after an extra-innings loss is a tough turnaround, but we think the fact that the Nats are the better team in 2008 and have the better starter tonight, along with the +135 line, make this play worthwhile.

Texas Rangers +132, 1 unit to win 1.32.

I hate to fade the Rays almost as much as I hate to bet the Mariners. But I think it's time we all realized that the rest of the world is catching on to what PECOTA and the blogosphere knew back in March: the Rays are good, and the Mariners are not. So we'll all just have to pocket our vast winnings from preseason over/under win total bets and look elsewhere for value. Tragic, I know. Anyway, the Rangers are a decent team still flying under the radar, and while everyone waits for Padilla to blow up, we'll take him at +132 for now.