Saturday, July 19

6 Free Picks, all backed by In-Depth Analysis, plus more Rated Selections from the nation's premier sports analysts, are available daily at ATSedge.com

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Philadelphia (53-44) at Florida (50-46)

The Marlins continue their three-game series against N.L. East rival Philadelphia when they send southpaw Scott Olsen (5-4, 3.77 ERA) to the mound at Dolphin Stadium. Florida is 6-3 in its last nine overall and 5-1 in its last six versus right-handed starters, but only 3-7 in Olsen's last 10 trips to the hill.

Kyle Kendrick (8-3, 4.47) gets the start today for the Phillies, who are on a 5-1 run overall and have won four straight on the road. Also, Philadelphia has won 11 of Kendrick's last 12 road starts and is 11-5 in its last 16 on the highway versus lefty starters, but the team is just 2-9 in its last 11 on Saturdays.

The Phillies took Friday's series-opener 4-2 behind the pitching of veteran Jamie Moyer. They lead the season-series 4-3, and have won the last two matchups in South Beach.

Olsen closed the first half of his season with one of his best efforts to date, holding the Padres to a run on four hits in eight innings en route to a 5-2 victory, marking his sixth quality start in his last eight trips to the mound. Olsen is 3-3 with a solid 2.96 ERA in 11 starts at home.

Kendrick gave up four runs on nine hits in 6 1/3 innings in his most recent start July 11 at home against Arizona, but the Phillies bats bailed him out in a 6-5 victory. The Phillies are 20-8 in Kendrick's last 28 starts (14-5 this year), and the right-hander is 4-1 with a 4.29 ERA on the road, where Philadelphia has averaged 7.7 per game for him in 10 starts (nine wins) this year.

Kendrick faced the Marlins twice last year, posting identical lines of seven innings pitched with six hits and two runs allowed, as Philadelphia lost 4-2 on the road and won 9-2 in South Beach. Meanwhile, Olsen is 3-5 with a 5.33 ERA in 10 lifetime starts against the Phillies, including tough 3-0 home setback on June 12 when the lefty allowed just two runs (one earned) in seven innings.

The over is 36-18-1 in the last 55 meetings between these clubs and 48-20-3 in the last 71 clashes at Dolphin Stadium. In addition, for the Marlins, the over is on streaks of 39-17-6 overall, 66-31-9 against the N.L. East, 37-16-2 on Saturdays and 8-3 when Olsen toes the rubber. Finally, the over is 19-9 in Kendrick's last 27 starts overall and 10-4 in his last 14 on the road.

ATS ADVANTAGE: PHILADELPHIA

L.A. Dodgers (47-49) at Arizona (47-49)

The top two teams in the N.L. West continue their three-game series at Chase Field, where the Diamondbacks All-Star right-hander Dan Haren (8-5, 2.72) will oppose Chad Billingsley (9-8, 3.25).

Arizona alternated wins and losses on a six-game road trip to Washington and Philadelphia prior to the All-Star break, and the DBacks are just 19-33 going back to May 20. Two positives for the DBacks: They're on runs of 19-9 on Saturday and 37-19 at home against losing teams.

Los Angeles is just 2-4 in its last six games, but 9-2 in its last 11 on the highway. Also, the Dodgers have won five of Billingsley's last six starts overall, but they're 0-4 in his last four against the N.L. West.

The Dodgers scored an 8-7, 11-inning victory Friday, but the D'Backs lead the season series 4-2, including a three-game sweep at Chase Field from April 7-9. The Diamondbacks have averaged 6.5 runs per game in the six contests against Los Angeles.

Haren has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six straight starts and seven of his last eight, with all eight being quality outings. The DBacks are 6-2 during this eight-game run. At home this year, Haren is 7-2 with a 2.43 ERA in 10 starts.

Billingsley was masterful his last time out against the Marlins on Sunday, allowing just one run on five hits over seven innings in a 9-1 home victory. He walked none and struck out a season-high 13, and he's allowed one or no earned runs in four of his last six outings. However, the right-hander is just 4-4 in nine road starts despite a 2.65 ERA.

Billingsley is 4-3 with a 3.80 ERA in nine career appearances (seven starts) against Arizona, but he's 0-2 with a 9.72 ERA in two starts against the DBacks this year. Meanwhile, Haren is 2-1 with a 4.15 ERA in four career games (three starts) against the Dodgers, including a 9-3 home win and an 8-3 road loss this season.

The over is 5-1 in the six series meetings between these teams this season and 5-0 in Arizona's last five overall. However, the under is 10-4 in Haren's last 14 starts overall, 5-2 in his last seven at home, 8-3 in Billingsley's last 11 overall and 5-0 in his last five on the road.

ATS ADVANTAGE: ARIZONA

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Boston (57-41) at L.A. Angels (58-38)

Joe Saunders (12-5, 3.07) looks to pick up his league-leading 13th victory of the season when he leads the Angels against Josh Beckett (9-5, 3.94) and the Red Sox as the top two teams in the American League continue a three-game series against at Angel Stadium.

Los Angeles has won three in a row, including Friday's 11-3 win over the Red Sox. The Angels are just 10-8 in their last 18 games overall and 7-6 in its last 13 at home. Meanwhile, Boston, which closed the first half of the season on a 5-1 run, is on slides of 3-9 versus the A.L. West and 2-8 on the road.

The Angels have won three straight over the Red Sox and lead the season series 3-1 after Boston won nine of 13 against Los Angeles last season, including sweeping a divisional playoff series in October.

Saunders hasn't pitched since July 8 when he went eight innings at Texas, giving up three runs in eight innings but getting little support in the 3-2 loss to the Rangers. He is 6-2 at home with a 3.92 ERA and the Angels are 7-2 in his nine outings in Anaheim. Saunders is 3-0 in four career outings against Boston with a 2.92 ERA.

Beckett has been mediocre on the road, going 4-4 with a 3.31 ERA. He got drilled by the Twins on July 9, giving up five runs on eight hits in five innings but his offense dominated, scoring an 18-5 win. He dominated the Angels in the playoffs last season, throwing a complete-game shutout, allowing just four hits in the 4-0 victory. For his career, Beckett is 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA in four regular season starts against Los Angeles and the Red Sox have won four of his five outings against the Angels.

Boston is 33-13 in Beckett's last 46 as a favorite, 18-7 with him on the road and 7-1 when he pitches the second game of a series. The under is 11-6-1 the last 18 road starts for the Red Sox with Beckett facing a team with a winning record and 5-2-1 when Beckett starts on the road.

The under is 35-18-3 in the Angels' last 56 games overall and 14-3-2 when they play on Saturday, but the over is 9-3-1 in the last 12 meetings in this rivalry.

ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER

Hollywood made a movie about Brandon Lang's life as a professional sports handicapper, Two for the Money that starred Matthew McConaughey and Al Pacino. Now you can watch Brandon's Daily Video each and every day at ATSedge.com