Free Sports Picks – Wednesday, August 26
It seems that I’ve lost my touch in the last few days, as I came out on the losing end with my single picks on Sunday and Monday and went 1-3 with Tuesday’s picks.
I’m not hanging my head though, and I’m back today with another quartet of picks, and I’m as confident that I’ve got a crop of winners.
As always, good luck and wager responsibly, and before you place your wagers on today’s sports action, make sure you get the latest lines on the games below and many more in our betting odds section.
MUST SEE MATCHUPS
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS v. Houston Astros
Pitching Matchup: Joel Pinero (12-9, 3.15 ERA) v. Roy Oswalt (7-4, 3.83 ERA)
Though he hasn’t been as knittable as he was in July, Pineiro has kept on winning, and he’s 3-0 in August and 6-0 with a 2.71 ERA in his last nine starts.
After a back injury forced him to leave his last start in July, Oswalt had a couple of bad starts when he returned after a two-week layoff, but he broke out of that mini-slump with seven shutout innings in a 1-0 win over Arizona on Friday. Oswalt is now unbeaten in his last 10 starts, and though he’s picked up the win in only four of those starts, the Astros have posted an 8-2 record in those games.
Oswalt has a winning record overall and on the road against the Cardinals in his career, but he’s 0-2 in his last four starts in St. Louis and was shelled in his lone start in the Gateway City this season (6 IP, 9 hits, 6 runs).
The Astros are just 1-6 in St. Louis this season and haven’t won a regular season series in St. Louis since September 2005 (with a 10-24 mark there in the last five seasons). A Cardinals win tonight will ensure that the Astros have to wait ‘til next year to break that streak, and that’s how I’ve got the script going.
BOSTON RED SOX v. Chicago White Sox
Pitching Matchup: Tim Wakefield (11-3, 4.31 ERA) v. Gavin Floyd (10-8, 3.98 ERA)
Wakefield finally returns to action after being out since early July, and the chances are high that it will be a winning return. Before he was sidelined, he was 7-0 with a 3.92 ERA in nine home starts this season.
Floyd (5-5, 5.38 ERA on the road) has been able to put together back-to-back good road starts only once this season, and that was during his stellar month of June (3-0, 1.28 ERA in six starts). He’s allowed five or more runs in seven of his 13 road starts, and given his inconsistencies on the road, he’s in line for a poor start after a fantastic outing at Oakland in his last road start (7 IP, 8 hits, 1 run, 8 Ks, 2 BB in an 8-1 win on the 15th).
The Red Sox have scored 68 runs in Wakefield’s nine home starts, so that bodes even worse for Floyd and better for Wakefield, who could have some wiggle room if there’s still some rust to shake off. Even better is the fact that Boston has scored 71 runs in their last eight games, including 18 in the first two against the White Sox, so all the signs point towards the Red Sox taking a third straight in this four-game series.
TODAY’S SURE BETS
FLORIDA MARLINS v. New York Mets
Pitching Matchup: Josh Johnson (12-3, 2.99 ERA) v. Mike Pelfrey (9-8, 4.67 ERA)
In Johnson’s last home start, he pitched 6.2 no-hit innings against Colorado before allowing his only hit, a solo homer to Garrett Atkins, and struck out 11 in 7.1 innings. That was just the latest fine home performance for Johnson, who’s 6-1 with a 2.09 ERA in 12 home starts this season and hasn’t lost in his last seven home starts dating back to a 5-3 loss to Arizona on May 19.
On the other hand, Pelfrey is 4-5 with a 5.93 ERA in 10 road starts, and he’s 0-3 with an 8.94 ERA in his last three road starts. The fact that the Mets scored only one run against Sean West last night and have scored three runs or less in seven of their last 10 aren’t in the Mets’ favor either.
My sure bet backfired on me last night thanks to an anemic offensive performance by the Braves, but I’m confident in this NL East pick going my way tonight.
UPSET SPECIALS
PITTSBURGH PIRATES v. Philadelphia Phillies
Pitching Matchup: Paul Maholm (7-7, 4.74 ERA) v. Cole Hamels (7-8, 4.78 ERA)
Last year’s World Series MVP hasn’t pitched like one this season. He’s 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA in August, and he’s just 3-5 with a 5.48 ERA in 12 road starts this season after going 7-3 on the road each of the last two seasons.
After struggling from late July on into August, Maholm pitched a gem in his last start, allowing only one run in 7.2 innings in a 3-1 win over Milwaukee last Wednesday. Maholm is also 3-0 in three career home starts against the Phillies, so he won’t be intimidated in the least.
Picking the Pirates over the Phillies two days in a row? Crazy, yes, but I picked a winner yesterday, and I’m confident about this one being a winner yet again.
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