Michael Cannon
15 Dime –
SPURS
Take the Spurs as the home chalk tonight in Game 3 over the Lakers.
Trust me, the Spurs are not dead yet.
Yeah, their confidence may have suffered a blow in Game 2, but they are back at home and the defending champs are not going to go down without a fight.
The Spurs are 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven home games and 5-2-1 ATS at home against teams with a winning road record. San Antonio is also on ATS runs of 13-4 in conference finals action, 21-8-1 as a playoff chalk of five to 10 ½ points and 4-1-1 following a non cover.
Like I said before, the Spurs will not go down without a fight in this series, and tonight you’re going to see one of their best efforts yet of the postseason.
San Antonio had Game 1 and wilted down the stretch, so it’s not like the Lakers have owned them in the first two games.
Take the Spurs minus the points as they grab the win and cover.
10 Dime –
CARDINALS (With Wellemeyer as listed pitcher)
Take the Cardinals for the road win today over the Dodgers.
Los Angeles will start rookie Clayton Kershaw, who is making his major league debut.
I’ve always been reluctant to back rookie pitchers in their major league debuts, and today is no exception.
It might be different if Kershaw was going against a team that had a questionable pitcher slated to start, but St. Louis has Todd Wellemeyer scheduled to pitch.
The Cardinals right-hander is 5-1 on the year with a 3.25 ERA in 10 games, including 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA in his last three starts.
If Wellemeyer is able to keep it going like that, Kershaw won’t have much margin for error.
Take the Cardinals as they grab the road win.
Winners Inc. Guaranteed Selections
5000* BASEBALL RUN LINE WINNER
NY YANKEES with WANG -1.5
Nelly
Washington over Milwaukee
Manny Parra is coming off one of his best starts of the season but overall he has been unreliable. Parra has lasted past the sixth inning just once this season and he has more walks than strikeouts on the season. In road starts Parra owns a WHIP of 1.98 and he has a 5.60 ERA. The struggles for the Milwaukee bullpen are well documented as the Brewers have blown nine save opportunities and own one of the worst bullpen ERAs in the National League. Washington is 6-5 in the last eleven games and the Nationals have been a far better team in home games. Milwaukee has lost eleven of the last 14 road games and the Nationals will look to take the third game of the series today. Washington has won the series at home between these teams each of the last three years. Washington starter Tim Redding has been one of the NLs best despite playing for a losing team and he can deliver another nice result in his home ballpark.
Alex Smart
Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics
Prediction: Under
Jon Lester the BoSox starting pitcher , is in top form, and is off a fantastic performance last time throwing a no hit shut out, against the Royals. The southpaw has seen opposing batting orders average just .229 against him this season. I expect more of the same from Lester today against a inconsistent Athletics offense. Joe Blanton his pitching opponent from the Oakland As, continues to be a consistent cog and work horse in his teams pitching rotation, as he starts his 11th game of the season today. The big right hander has garnered a stable 3.87 ERA on his current campaign, and has allowed 2 Ers or less in 6 outings this season. I expect these two top quality hurlers , to help keep this contest on the low side of the number. Final notes & Key Trends: The Athletics are 1-11 OU on the UNDER at home after shutting out their opponent , which happened yesterday in a 3-0 win. Play on the UNDER
Bobby Maxwell
Today we're going with the A's to get the job done at home against the Red Sox.
We're fighting an uphill battle in this one as the Red Sox have Jon Lester (3-2, 3.41 ERA) going tonight on the heels of his no-hitter Monday at home against the Royals. But the Red Sox have lost his last two starts on the road, including in Minnesota and Baltimore.
Lester has faced the A's twice already this season, once in Tokyo when he allowed four runs in just four innings of a 5-1 loss, and then in Oakland when he blanked them for 6.2 innings of a 5-0 win.
But you'll see today that he's going to come nowhere close to following up that no-hitter. Oakland is going to get to him and score a win today.
Joe Blanton (2-6, 3.87 ERA) is on the hill for Oakland. His record is bad but his ERA isn't too shabby so you can tell his offense has let him down a few times. He's allowed two earned runs or less in four of his last five starts but the A's have won just two of those five.
Against the Sox, he's held them to three runs or less in five of his seven career starts, including two runs on seven hits in six innings of a 2-1 loss back on April 1.
The A's are 7-2 in their last eight home games and blanked the Red Sox 3-0 on Saturday. Let's take a shot with the plus-money on Oakland at home today.
3* OAKLAND
Tony Mathews
Matchup: Philadelphia Phillies vs. Houston Astros
Selection: Philadelphia/Houston Over 10.5
Explanation: We expect a high-scoring game as the Philadelphia Phillies face-of against the Houston Astros in Saturday's MLB contest.
The Philadelphia Phillies will use starting pitcher Brett Myers. Brett Myers has struggled this season. In fact, Brett Myers has a 5.76 ERA on the season. In addition, Brett Myers has a 8.80 ERA in his last 3 starts. We see Brett Myers giving up many runs once again today.
The Houston Astros will use starting pitcher Brian Moehler. Brian Moehler has also struggled this season. In fact, Brian Moehler has a 4.76 ERA on the season. We also see Brian Moehler giving up many runs today.
These teams have a history of scoring many runs when they meet. In fact, the Over is 7-3-1 in the last 11 meetings between these teams.
Take the Philadelphia Phillies/Houston Astros Over 10.5
Tom Freese
La Angels at Chicago
The Angels are 18-5 with John Lackey on the mound if they allowed 2 or less runs in their last game and they are 13-4 in the last 17 road starts made by Lackey. Los Angeles is 14-6 their last 20 games vs. AL Central teams. Chicago is 7-18 vs. AL West teams and thy are 3-8 off a loss in their last game. The White Sox are 2-7 when Jose Contreras pitches on Sunday. PLAY ON LA ANGELS (Lackey vs. Contreras)
Gary G Sports
NBA Game # 3 Conference Finals Consensus Best Bet for Sun 5/25
Play On: the entire country is on the San Antonio Spurs.... with their backs to the wall and down 2&0 everybody thinks the three time championswill rise from the dead.. it seems like it shouldn't be a problem but there's two things in their way. First off Phil Jackson, and then you have a deep talented team led by KOBE. Do the Spurs have one left in them? Maybe, but with all the weight of the world on the SPURS.... I'll give them one more chance.
Take the Spurs to at least give us a game 5.
DCI
NBA
SAN ANTONIO 100, L.A. Lakers 99
THE POWER INDEX
NBA
San Antonio* 1.5 over L.A. Lakers
Sports Gambling Hotline
It is hard for us to imagine tonight's third game between the Lakers and Spurs going OVER the posted total.
The first two games played in Los Angeles in this series stayed way LOW, putting the UNDER run in this series at 4 of the last 5, and 7 of the last 10 overall UNDER the posted price.
In games played in San Antonio, these teams have stayed UNDER the total 7 of the last 8 meetings!
We have no doubt about the Lakers potential to crack the century mark, but the Spurs are looking like a tired, old team, and we can't see Coach Pop's team getting 100-points in this game at all.
San Antonio's last 7 games in the playoffs have ALL landed below the posted price, and we see this one landing LOW as well.
Play on the UNDER in Game Three of this series.
5* UNDER
Drew Gordon
With the Bucs finally getting a win over the Cubbies yesterday, you might be tempted to chase the plus money once again today, but that would be a mistake and here's why:
First off, the pitching match up isn't nearly as even as it was yesterday, as Tedd Lilly squares off against the struggling Paul Maholm. Lilly has been on point over his last 4 starts, going 4-0 with 3.55 ERA including 31 Ks to just 6 walks over that stretch! Not only that, but after struggling in his only start against the Pirates this season (April 7th), I fully expect him to come out fired up for this one.
Second, despite the fact Paul Maholm clearly prefers pitching at PNC Park, going 2-1 with a 2.76 ERA there, his last 4 starts have been garbage, and a match up against one of the better hitting teams in the Majors isn't a good thing for the Bucs lefty. His numbers at home look good, but lately he's been anything but that, allowing 8 runs on 15 hits over his last 12 1/3 innings in Pittsburgh. Note, he's also 1-1 with a lofty 5.40 ERA in day games this season.
Finally, consider the Cubs offense, which has been crushing lefties, averaging 6.7 runs against southpaws, while batting .305 against them on the season! Pittsburgh also does well against left-handed pitching, but they're nowhere near the Cubs proficiency. Also, its hard to ignore the fact the Cubs are 13-3 over their last 16 meetings with Pittsburgh, including 9-2 this season! In the end, things get back to normal in this series, as the Cubbies reassert their dominance behind Lilly Sunday afternoon.
Take the Chicago Cubs behind Lilly over Pittsburgh and Maholm in afternoon MLB action.
2* CHI. CUBS
Michael Cannon
Take the Nationals for the home win over the Brewers today
Milwaukee comes in as a team that just flat out struggles on the road.
The Brewers are just 12-17 away from Miller Park this year, including 3-11 since May 2. They are just 3-7 in their last 10 overall.
Washington will start Tim Redding, who is a solid 6-3 with a 3.16 ERA this season. The right-hander will be trying to win his third straight start.
Redding is also 3-1 with a 2.63 ERA in four games this month and has allowed just one run in his last 12 1-3 innings.
Take the Nationals as they grab the home win over the Brewers.
3* WASHINGTON
Karl Garrett
Going to stick with the Braves at home this Sunday, as Atlanta won Saturday's game in dramatic fashion to make it a 6-1 run their last 7 games, and up their home mark for the season to 21-6!
Arizona is struggling on this current road swing, as they have lost 4 of their last 5, and while Micah Owings is 5-2 this season, he is coming off a road loss at Florida.
Tom Glavine is strictly a 6-inning or so pitcher these days, but the southdaw has won back-to-back starts, and threw 7 innings of 2 run ball in a no-decision the start prior.
The Bravos are getting timely hitting, and solid bullpen help during this homestand, so there is no reason to go against them at this small of a price.
Braves cop another.
2* ATLANTA
Chris Jordan
There are plenty of secrets to betting baseball, plenty of intangibles to look for and plenty of old-school systems to follow. One thing along the way, over the years, Ive learned is that you ALWAYS bet the team Maddux is pitching for when it is taking on the Cincinnati Reds.
This will be Maddux's 54th career start against the Reds, and while he?s 24-16 with a 3.46 ERA in those starts, hes impressively won five straight starts against Cincinnati, limiting the Reds to eight earned runs over 33 innings of work. And with Maddux sporting a 1-0 mark at home in four starts, with a stingy 1.88 ERA, this looks like a bargain-basement price.
The veteran right-hander will get plenty of run support against Cincinnatis Matt Belisle, who has lost three straight starts this month, all three of them road. In those starts, he has given up 10 earned runs over 16 innings of work. And in his last two starts against the Friars, the right-hander is 0-1 after 10 innings of work, giving up 12 earned runs.
2* PADRES