Jeff Alexander Sports
1 Unit on Pittsburgh Pirates -105
After being dominated by the Cubs, I like the Pirates to bounce back at home tonight. The Marlins usually don't show up in series openers, especially at the beginning of the week. They are just 1-10 in their last 11 Monday games. The Marlins are also just 5-12 in the last 17 meetings in Pittsburgh. The Pirates are 5-1 in their last 6 home games following a road trip of 7 or more days, 8-2 in their last 10 games as a home favorite, and 10-3 in their last 13 games as a favorite period.Take the Bucs.
LEE KOSTROSKI
Detroit Tigers @ Toronto Blue Jays
PICK: Under
Although both teams appear to have great offenses on paper, the early season production from the lineups has been limited. This finale of a big four games series between American League squads with high expectations should play out much like the past two games with a low scoring, tight contest. Dating back to last season only one of the past seven meetings has played "over" and two pitchers with great early season resumes are on the mound tonight.
Armando Galarraga made a brilliant Tigers debut with a just one hit allowed in over six innings. Galarraga had six strikeouts but more importantly did not walk a single batter and most of the Jays will be unfamiliar with him. Galarraga has been a bright spot in a tough April for Detroit starters but offense has also been a big problem for the 6-13 Tigers. Detroit is hitting just .258 as a team and in eleven of 19 games this season Detroit has failed to produce more than four runs. Detroit has actually been shutout in four games this season and if not for a 3-game 30 run explosion early last week Detroit would have the worst offensive numbers in baseball.
Toronto has failed top five runs in a game on the current home stand and the Jays own a .247 team average at home in 2008. Shaun Marcum has made three quality starts for Toronto with just six earned runs allowed in nearly 21 innings. Marcum has 16 strikeouts in two starts at home this season and after solid results since moving into the rotation last season Marcum appears ready to enjoy a breakout season. Toronto's bullpen is also among the best in the American League with a 3.39 ERA and opponents hitting just .233 against Jays relievers.
Insider Sports Report
FLA -105
David Page
Colorado Rockies -115
Vegas Insider Capping
Atlanta Braves -1.5
The Fall Miracle
Houston Rockets -1
Platinum Sports Investing Club
Texas Rangers +158
Mighty Quinn
Wizards
lasvegassportsadvisors
BlueJays
Templer's Sports Picks
Arizona
Jack Clayton
Phillies
MadduxSports
Cleveland -1.5
PRIORITY SPORTS INFO
ARIZONA
ARTHUR RALPH
Fla Marlins
Scott Spreitzer
Dodgers
Totals4u
Cards/ Brewers Over
Glen Mcgrew
Wizards/ Cavs Under
Tv Hotline
DBacks
Cappers Access
Wizards
Cubs
Joe Wiz
Rockies
Astros
Bob Donahue
Giants
Frank Patron
Pittsburgh Pirates -105
ARMVIN SPORTS
WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Sharp Sports Advisors
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
The Fall Miracle
Houston Rockets -1
David Page
Colorado Rockies -115
SCOUT
St. Louis +105
Paul Leiner
Bos/Tex Over 10
Anthony Russo
Jazz-Rockets UNDER 183.5
2-Minute Warning
Houston Rockets
HotLocksports
Astro's
Lance's Lock
Wizards +2
Michael Cannon
20 Dime –
CAVALIERS
Take the Cavs minus the small number for the win over the Wizards in Game Two.
Cleveland did what it had to do to get the win and cover in Game One, and if it comes down to the wire tonight I have the utmost confidence that LeBron James will get it done.
It’s getting to the point where the Wizards have to be thinking they just can’t knock this team out of the playoffs. Washington carried a four-point lead into the fourth quarter, and then proceeded to shoot 4-of-20 from the field down the stretch, including 10 straight misses in the final 4:38.
Those kinds of things start to erode a team’s confidence and when the opponent has a player the caliber of James, bad things seem to happen to them at the most inopportune times.
The Cavaliers are 6-2 ATS in their last eight as a playoff favorite, while the Wizards are 1-5 ATS in their last six conference quarterfinal games (all against Cleveland) and 1-5 ATS in their last six after a SU loss.
Take the Cavs minus the small number as they grab the win and cover again.
5 Dime –
CUBS (With Zambrano as listed pitcher)
Take the Cubs as the home chalk tonight over the Mets.
The Cubs just got done sweeping the lowly Pirates, and the way they are swinging the bats right now means ace Carlos Zambrano probably won’t have to be at his best tonight to grab the win.
As it is, Zambrano has looked pretty good through his first four starts, going 2-1 with a 3.04 ERA while striking out 23 batters and walking only three in 26 2-3 innings.
The control aspect is the most impressive thing Zambrano has shown me so far, because if he’s able to keep from issuing the free passes he becomes a dominating pitcher who can work deep into the game.
The Mets will counter with John Maine, who is 0-2 with a 5.17 ERA in three career games against the Cubs. The right-hander has battled control issues so far this year, walking 12 batters in just 16 2-3 innings.
Zambrano is 3-1 with a 3.30 ERA in five career games against the Mets.
Take the Cubs for the home win over the Mets.
DODGERS (With Penny as listed pitcher)
Take the Dodgers as the road chalk tonight over the Reds.
Brad Penny gets the start for LA and he’s 6-0 with a 2.44 ERA in his last seven starts against the Reds, including four straight victories in Cincinnati.
The Reds will counter with Matt Belisle, who is scheduled to come off the DL Monday to make his first start of the year after being sidelined since March with a left forearm injury.
The right-hander was 8-9 with a 5.32 ERA in 30 starts last year and is 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA in five relief appearances against the Dodgers.
Take the Dodgers for the road win.
Insider Sports Report
4* St. Louis (Wainwright) +105 over Milwaukee
(Villanueva) Range +120 to -115
3* Houston -1 over Utah (NBA)
Range +1 to -3
3* Washington/Cleveland (NBA) OVER 186.5
Range 184.5 to 188.5
Mti Sports
4.5* Cavs
EZWINNERS NBA
3 STAR: (501) WASHINGTON (+2) over Cleveland
(Risking $330 to win $300)
Nick Parsons Monday NHL Pick
Play ON the Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (-) vs Washington
As weve written previously about this series, it would be surprising to see the Flyers come up short as they simply were undervalued coming into this match-up and they appear to be the much more complete team. They are more well rounded than the Capitals. Washington came from a Southeast Division where they were the only team to make the playoffs while the Flyers came from an Atlantic Division where they were one of FOUR teams to make the postseason. The difference in level of competition is huge and should not be overlooked here. Philly has dominated for much of this series. After the Capitals came back from a 4-2 third period deficit in Game 1, the Flyers proceeded to win three straight games. So, what happened in Game 5 at Washington on Saturday? The Flyers simply went into it overconfident and it cost them the game. There will be no such feelings tonight as the Flyers are basically treating this as their elimination game too. They do not want to have to go back to Washington for Game 7. The Flyers feel that they must close the series out tonight. With their continued stifling defense against the Capitals Alexander Ovechkin, look for them to get another big home win tonight. They have the better defense and they will go back to the hard work that has seen them winning most of the little battles on the ice throughout this series. The only exceptions were the third period of Game 1 and then Game 5. Look for Game 6 to once again belong to the Flyers as they bounce right back and close this series out at home!
Ferringo
2.5-Unit Play. Take #955 Los Angeles Dodgers (-135) over Cincinnati
Both of these teams have sucked recently, especially the Dodgers. But the pitching matchup isn’t close in this one. Penny is 6-2 in his career against the Reds and 4-0 with a 2.00 ERA in four starts at the Great American Ballpark. Penny has been money in April throughout his career and his counterpart, Matt Belisle, is a stopgap. And he is 2-12 in his last 14 home starts. The Dodgers have won four straight Penny starts against the Reds, are 10-2 in the last 12 meetings overall, and are 5-2 in their last seven at Cincy. The N.L. West has been tooling on the N.L. Central in this early season. And even though the Dodgers suck, they get the nod in this one. L.A. is 43-21 in Penny’s last 64 starts (67.1 percent), 21-5 in his starts against a team with a losing record, and 13-3 in his starts against the N.L. Central. They need an effort out of him, and they will get it. The Dodgers will scratch out a few early runs and sweat this one out.
1.5-Unit Play. Take #952 Chicago Cubs (-130) over New York Mets
The Mets can be excused if they have somewhat of a letdown after their big series with the Phillies over the weekend. The Mets have won five of six, all divisional games, but now have to head to Wrigley to face the red-hot Cubbies. Carlos Zambrano is 3-1 with a 3.30 ERA against the Mets in his career, while John Maine was roughed up by the Cubs in 2007 (0-2, nine ER in 7.2 IP). The Mets are just 3-13 against right-handed starters and I think that Big Z keeps the momentum rolling for the Cubs.
1.5-Unit Play. Take #960 Houston (-135) over San Diego
The Astros are 43-15 in Roy Oswalt’s last 58 home games. That’s a 74-percent rate and that’s an automatic play at under -150. The Padres worked over the Astros in San Diego to open the season, but Houston has the edge on the hill in this one and that’s something they didn’t get in Petco. Justin Germano is a promising arm, but he is just 8-14 in his brief career and the Padres have lost nine straight games that he’s thrown in. San Diego is just 5-16 in his last 21 starts. Roy Oswalt is 7-2 in his career against San Diego with a 2.49 ERA. The Astros are 8-2 in his last 10 starts against the Dads and 4-1 in his last five home starts against them.
1-Unit Play. Take #966 Arizona (-1.5, +115) over San Francisco
Rocketman Sports
LA Dodgers @ Cincinnati
Play On: 3* LA Dodgers -130
Cincinnati is scoring only 4.1 runs per game overall this year and 3.9 runs per game at home this season. Penny has a 2.96 ERA in all starts this year. LA Dodgers are 10-2 overall vs Cincinnati last 3 years. Penny is 6-2 with a 3.14 ERA overall vs Cincinnati since 1997. We'll play LA Dodgers for 3 units tonight
Brandon Lang
20 Dime - Cubs
10 Dime - Jazz
Free Pick - D'Backs Run Line
LT Profits
Utah Jazz +1.0
The Utah Jazz showed their superiority over the Yao-less Houston Rockets by winning here in Houston in Game 1, and even with the Rockets in desperation mode, we look for Utah to take a stranglehold of this series tonight.
The major knock against the Jazz coming into this series was that they were 17-24 straight up on the road during the regular season. However, they did close out the season well, going 7-1 against the spread in the last eight regular season games with the only loss coming in the season finale, in a game where a ?tank? may have been in order to avoid the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.
This streak included an outright road win at New Orleans and a road cover at Dallas, so they were certainly playing much better away from home prior to winning Game 1 here. Perhaps most importantly, the Jazz are now 8-1 ATS in the last nine head-to-head meetings with the Rockets, including a perfect 4-0 ATS in Houston!
Now the Rockets have underperformed greatly in the playoffs in recent years, and it is commonly known that their current best player with Yao Ming out, Tracy McGrady, has never advanced past the first round of the playoffs. Also, Yao is not the only starter out for the Rockets now, as Rafer Alston will sit out again in Game 2 with a strained hamstring.
The absences of both Alston and Ming were felt in Game 1, as Alston?s replacement Bobby Jackson hit on just three field goals in 15 attempts, and the Jazz scored 50 points in the paint that Yao normally occupies. Don?t expect too much to change in Game 2 as the Jazz build a 2-0 series lead.
Jazz +1
Tim Trushel NBA GOY
Houston
Savannah Sports
2 Units CHC -125
1 Units San Diego +130
1 Units St Louis +100
Info Plays
3* on Braves -1.5 +121
(listing Hudson)
Washington is a pathetic 3-9 on the road this season while the Braves are a strong 6-2 at home this year and have their ace going tonight. The Braves have won 4 straight games and are 16-5 in their last 21 home games. The Braves are a ridiculous 114-54 in their last 168 games as a home favorite of -151 to -200 also. The Nationals are 2-14 in their last 16 overall and 6-18 in their last 24 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600. They can't win a game to save their life, especially on the road. We'll take the Braves on the run line here to get some nice bang for our buck as we like them to win by more than 2 runs.