Lucky Leprauchaun
Baltimore/ OAKLAND Under 8.5
The Under is 12-4 in the Orioles last 16 road games and 16-6 in their last 22 games as an underdog, while the Under is 35-16-5 in Athletics last 56 home games with the total set at 7.0-8.5. Garret Olsen has pitched one game for the 's and he did a fine job allowing just 2 ER in 6.2 innings of work. Dana Eveland has also done a fine job for his team, posting a solid 1.42 ERA at home this year and a 3.67 ERA overall. In his 6 starts this year (all Unders) there has been a total of 6.5 rpg scored. The Orioles are scoring just 3.7 rpg on the road this year, while Oakland is hitting just .240 and scoring 3.5 rpg vs lefties this year. 5 of the last 7 in the series has gone Under and behind a couple of solid pitching performances, I see the 6th Under in the last 8 between these 2 teams.
NORM HITZGES
TIGERS-105
TOR/W SOX Under 8
LAA/KC Under 9.5
BALT+120
ARIZ -140
TIGERS Under 9
Brandon Lang
30 Dime - Hornets
10 Dime - Red Sox
Free - PISTONS and CARDINALS
Michael Cannon
20 Dime –
PISTONS
Take the Pistons for the win and cover tonight in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Magic.
Nothing has changed my mind after watching the Pistons dismantle the Magic in Game 1. I believed then and I believe now that Detroit is in too good of a groove to be knocked off on its home court.
The Pistons, as usual, had five players score in double figures and they outrebounded the Magic 47-40. Their offense ran smooth and they only committed six turnovers.
This is just a team that is flat out in a groove right now. They know what it takes to win and they will get there by any means necessary.
Detroit has won five straight playoff games against the Magic after sweeping them out of the first round last year. The Pistons are on a 4-0 SUATS run and going back to the regular season are on a 9-2 ATS run.
The straight-up winner is now 18-1-1 ATS in Orlando’s last 19 games and 15-0 ATS in Detroit’s last 15.
I don’t see Orlando winning this game.
Lay the points with the Pistons as they cruise again and take a 2-0 series lead.
10 Dime –
CUBS (With Dempster as listed pitcher)
Take the Cubs for the road win tonight over the Reds.
The oddsmaker is crazy for listing the Cubs at this price.
First of all, they’re the much better team and they have the better pitching matchup tonight.
Ryan Dempster is enjoying his rebirth as a starter this year with a 4-0 record and a 3.16 ERA in six starts. He’s struggled a bit with his control, but that shouldn’t matter tonight against a Cincinnati team that is just plain awful right now.
The Reds will start Johnny Cueto and he may turn out to be a very good pitcher in the near future, but for now he’s having some growing pains.
The right-hander is 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA in six starts this year, including 0-2 with a 7.47 ERA over his last three. He’s surrendered six homeruns in only 35 innings.
Take the Cubs as they grab the road win.
5 Dime –
TIGERS (With Bonderman as listed pitcher)
Let’s make the motor city faithful a happy bunch tonight and back the Tigers over the Red Sox.
Jim Leyland has said he plans to shake up the lineup for tonight’s game, and although I’m not sure what he has in mind I’ll trust his experience that it will be the right move.
The Tigers have been too inconsistent this year, but I like them to put it all together tonight against the Red Sox.
Jeremy Bonderman will get the start for Detroit and has already beaten the BoSox once this year. The right-hander is coming off a road win over the Yankees and as long as he pounds the strike zone he should be fine.
David Ortiz may not be in the lineup tonight after being scratched from yesterday’s game due to sore knees. Now I know it’s tough picking your rear end up off the bench four times a game to swing a bat, but if it’s still bothering you take the night off again Papi.
Daisuke Matsuzaka will start for Boston and the Sox are 6-0 when he pitches this year, but I feel like tonight is the night the Tigers break through and get to him, especially with the shakeup Leyland is promising.
Take the Tigers as they grab the home win.
Chip Chirimbes
OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Like Oakland, Baltimore (16-15) has cooled off after a hot start. The Orioles lost two of three to the Angels over the weekend and have lost four of their last five overall. Nick Markakis and Melvin Mora each homered for the Orioles on Sunday, but Steve Trachsel allowed six runs and seven hits in just three innings of a 6-5 loss. Baltimore looks to avoid its third straight loss Monday when it sends Garrett Olson (1-0, 2.70 ERA) to the mound. Olson, who joined the rotation in place of injured starter Adam Loewen, took a shutout into the seventh inning against Tampa Bay on Tuesday, and finished having allowed two runs and four hits in 6 2-3 innings. He walked five, but struck out six in the 7-4 win. The left-hander made seven starts last year and went 1-3.
Larry Ness
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
The Phillies visit Arizona for a four-game series beginning tonight. The Phils are 18-14, having won three consecutive series but will face the team with MLB's best record (21-10). The D'backs have done it with a nice combo of pitching (third-best ERA in MLB at 3.38) and hitting (second-most runs scored with 179). The Phillies lost five of six games last year to the D'backs so this is no easy assignment taking on this year's seemingly "new and improved" model. Jamie Moyer is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in six starts this year (team is 3-3) but is he finally "showing his age?" He has yet to make it past the six inning in any start this season. It doesn't bode well for the lefty that the D'backs may not have gotten to Johan Santana yesterday but are 8-3 vs left-handers in '08. Starting for Arizona is 23-year-old Max Scherzer. He made his ML debut last Tuesday, entering a game with the Astros last Tuesday after Edgar Gonzalez allowed six runs in 2.2 innings. All Scherzer did was retire all 13 batters he faced, seven on strikeouts! It's not hard to see why manger Bob Melvin decided to let Scherzer start here, in place of Gonzalez, who had a 6.55 ERA in five starts in '08 (30 hits allowed in 22 innings with an 11-10 K/W ratio). In case you were wondering, Scherzer began the year in Triple-A, posting a 1.17 ERA with 38 strikeouts and three walks in 23 innings over four starts. I'm taking the D'backs
JUST WONDERING IF ANYONE HAS SEEN CALIFORNIA SPORTS OR ACCUPICKS 4 MON TWO 4* THANK YOU HAVE A WINNING DAY!!!!!!!!!!!! RAZORAZE P.S CAL SPORTS & ACCUPICKS R JUST KILLING THE NBA THIS YEAR CHECK IT OUT........
Rocketman Sports
Boston @ Detroit
Play On: 4* Boston +105
Boston is 19-7 in games played on grass this year. Boston is 11-3 this year when playing against a team with a losing record. Detroit is 4-12 this year when the total is 9 to 9 1/2. Matsuzaka is 4-0 with a 2.52 ERA overall this year, 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA on the road and 2-0 with a 3.64 ERA his last 3 starts. Bonderman is 0-1 with a 5.19 ERA at home this year. Matsuzaka is 2-1 with a 3.05 ERA overall vs Detroit since 1997. We'll play Boston for 4 units tonight!
Nick Parsons
OVER the total in Colorado vs St Louis
There was an interesting line move on this total this morning as a 10u quickly moved to a 10o. Were a part of this move. The fact is that it will be a very mild Monday in Denver (by early May standards) and with this game starting at 6:35 PM local time it will offer the opportunity for some warm weather hitting. Were well aware of the fact Joel Pineiro is coming off of some solid outings for the Cardinals but pitching at Coors Field is like dealing with a whole different animal altogether. This looks like the perfect opportunity for the Rockies bats to continue their hot run as they have now scored twenty runs in their last three games! As for the Cardinals, they have been a pleasant surprise this season and they have averaged five runs per game in going a solid 4-1 in their last five games. Keep in mind that if each team gets to just five runs scored in this game than it guarantees a win because a 5-5 becomes a 6-5 at some point and were seeing this total at a solid 10 right now. Ubaldo Jimenez gets the start for the Rockies and the Colorado southpaw has been wildly inconsistent this season. Facing a surging Cardinals team is not likely to help matters for the Rockies lefty. In terms of bullpens, the Rockies do rank in the lower half of the league and the Cardinals fall near the middle of the back. After last nights game stayed under for the Cardinals and yesterday afternoons game just missed going over for the Rockies, look for a big night of offense from each club on a pleasant night in Denver. Go O-V-E-R in Colorado
Teddy June
New Orleans Hornets
Billy Coleman
4* S Ant
4* Over S Ant
3* Detroit
4* Mets
3* Detroit
Wayne Root
Chairman - Orlando
Millionaires - Cubs
Insiders Circle - San Antonio
Sebastian
NBA
20* Detroit
MLB
20* Colorado
20* La Angels
10* Arizona
10* La Dodgers
10* Texas
Sports Lock
Philadelphia Phillies (+125) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (-145)
The 17-14 Phillies will send left hander Jamie Moyer to the mound this evening. Moyer is just 1-2 for the season with a 4.50 ERA. In his last outing against San Diego he pitched 5.1 innings and gave up 4 runs in the loss. The 21-9 Arizona Diamondbacks will have Max Scherzer pitch this evening. Scherzer has pitched one game this season where he went 4.1 innings and allowed 0 runs against Houston at home. Arizona has been hitting Leftys very well this season winning 8 out of their last 11 games against southpaws. Look for Jamie Moyer to have problems early with the Diamondbacks offense that has hit leftys well all season. Arizona should have an easy time with the Phillies tonight.
LOCK = Arizona Diamondbacks -145
Bob Balfe
NBA Basketball
Orlando/Detroit Over 184.5
The Magic shot horrible from the foul and three point line in Game one. I doubt very much a good shooting team like this will be held down again. The Pistons have the experience and should put up a ton of points against this defense. If you look at all their past matchups this year you will see they did score a lot of points when playing each other. Take the Over.
San Antonio +3 over New Orleans
I do not know what happen to the Spurs in the second half of game one, but this team is too good to get into a huge whole going back home. New Orleans is a great team, but I just do not see them beating the Spurs in this series. Look for San Antonio to be alert and ready to play after the self destructive 2nd half the other night. Take the Spurs.
Major League Baseball
Blue Jays -115 over Whitesox