Picks And Parlays

New York ML The Baltimore Orioles host the New York Yankees on Wednesday in game three of a three-game set. The Yankees send out Hiroki Kuroda in this one. Yankees manager Joe Girardi must love sending Kuroda out to the mound. On the season he is 6-2 with a 1.99 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. The Yankees are 7-1 in his last eight starts. Kuroda has had little trouble with the Orioles in his career. In four starts against them, Kuroda has posted a 1.93 ERA with a 0.74 WHIP, averaging better than eight innings of work per outing. Kuroda has already faced the Orioles this season, going the distance in a five-hit shutout. Jason Hammel counters for the Orioles. We get some tremendous value in this game thanks to Hammel’s base record, which doesn’t factor in his struggles of late, as the Oriole offense has bailed him out on more than one occasion this season. Over his last three outings, Hammel has a 10.43 ERA with a 2.32 WHIP, but he’s also compiled a 2-1 record in those games, thanks to his buddies bailing him out. Don’t expect them to be able to bail him out in this one against a stud in Kuroda. The Yankees are 4-1 in Kuroda’s last five road starts. Take New York. Good Luck, Razor Ray 8* Play on New York Yankees -115

Cincinnati +108 The New York Mets Matt Harvey has been a delight to watch this season with a perfect 5-0 record and several dominant performances and odds are he is going to have a brilliant year if they let him keep pitching instead of capping his innings. Despite his record though the Mets have lost two of his starts and I like this spot against a very good hitting Cincinnati lineup. The Reds have a Mat of their own and he also has a perfect record at 4-0. This Mat, Latos, has a much longer track record of success including a 2.70 ERA against the Mets for his career. I think Latos can outduel Harvey and the talent surrounding each is clearly better for Cincinnati. Take advantage of the Reds as a slight dog. 5* Play

Boston Red Sox ML The Boston Red Sox have cooled off quite a bit after a red hot start, but this team is still in a good position in the AL East. Clay Buchholz’s amazing comeback season has really been the key to Boston’s huge success so far this year. It isn’t like Buchholz’s great 2013 should completely stun anyone. After all, he has done this before. In 2010, Buchholz went 17-7 and finished with a 2.33 ERA. He nearly won the Cy Young award that year. He is 6-0 with a 1.78 ERA so far this season. The Chicago White Sox have been near the bottom of baseball in all major offensive categories this year. Chicago has been hitting the ball a little bit better of late, but that hasn’t been against pitchers with the kind of stuff that Buchholz has. Hector Santiago will start on 4 days rest in this one for the White Sox. Santiago hasn’t been all that good even on normal rest, and pushing him up here doesn’t make much sense to me. Santiago struggles with his command and was unable to hold a 4-0 lead last Saturday against the Angels. Boston is 31-14 in Buchholz’s last 45 road starts. Boston should be a bigger favorite here. Take the Red Sox. Good Luck, Razor Ray. 7* Play on Boston Red Sox ML