It is an understatement to say Joe Saunders (3-4, 5.64) loves pitching at Safeco Field. The much traveled port-sider is 9-0 in Seattle lifetime, with a 1.72 ERA in 13 starts. As a Mariner, Saunders is 3-0 with a Sandy Koufax-like 0.94 ERA in four home starts. Saunders will take on first place Texas, who will pitch rookie Jason Grimm (3-3, 4.02), who like his mound counterpart throws much better at home than on the road (5.14 away ERA). This severe situation has caused baseball bettors to reconfigure the Mariners from +125 to +105 dogs and the M's lefty is 16-6 as a home underdog of +100 to +125. (Team's Record) S-W Take – Lean with Seattle

Winning a road series in Milwaukee might have kept skipper Don Mattingly from walking the plank, but returning home to face the scrutiny and the best team in baseball will not take the pressure off Donnie Baseball. With all the great young arms St. Louis has, Lance Lynn (6-1, 3.27 ERA) is not an attention-getter, but he and the Cardinals pound up on teams that have difficulties getting runners on the base paths. Lynn and the Cards are 22-6 vs. a NL team with an on-base percentage of .325 or worse the last two seasons. In spite of this success, the Redbirds have been moved downward from -150 to -120 or less on the money line. Chris Capuano (1-2, 4.84) has posted two solid outings (14 2/3 innings - two runs allowed) which might be influencing the line; however the Dodger left-hander has an ERA of almost six against St. Louis in his career. S-W Take – St. Louis wins

nice