Priceless Picks
1 Unit on San Diego Padres +113 (list Wolf and Lincecum)
We'll take 5-3 San Diego showing good value as a dog over 1-6 San Francisco here. The Padres are 16-5 in the last 21 meetings and 5-1 in the last 6 meetings in San Francisco. The Giants are 1-8 in their last 9 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600, 2-8 in their last 10 games vs. a left-handed starter, 3-9 in their last 12 games as a favorite, and just 5-17 in their last 22 during game 2 of a series. The Giants are also 0-4 in Lincecum's last 4 starts vs. National League West. Take the Pads.
National Sports Advisors
Seattle -120
Fast Eddie Sports
Boston -6
Mike Neri Sports
Lakers Over 202
SportsAction 365
Toronto Over 8.5
Ross Benjamin
Kansas City +125
Frank Patron
LA Dodgers -115
Bobby Bo
1* Toronto -145
Doug Bartlett
NY Yankees/KC Royals UNDER 9 10*
Donald Tran
Colorado Rockies -120
Chad Jordan
Phoenix Suns -11.5
Sharp Sports Advisors
PORTLAND + 9
USA Sports Consulting
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS 104
LT Profits
Indiana Pacers -2.5
This is a huge game for the Indiana Pacers if they want to have any hope of making the playoffs, as they trail these Atlanta Hawks by three games with five games remaining.
Yes it will be an uphill battle regardless, but at least a deficit of two games with four remaining seems more attainable, especially since a Pacers win here would give them a 2-1 head-to-head series win and thus give them the tiebreaker. After a slow start this season, Indiana is now 7-1 straight up in their last eight home games with the only loss coming vs. a New Orleans Hornets team that has the best record in the Western Conference. We look for them to come up big at home again in this virtual playoff game for them.
Atlanta would love to put the Pacers away here, but this game does not mean quite as much to the Hawks, since while this is basically the season for Indiana, Atlanta would still have a fairly comfortable working margin even with a loss. Also, the Hawks have been blown out in each of their last three trips to Indiana, losing those contests by 22, 23 and 19 points respectively.
We look for the more inspired Pacers to keep their slim playoff hopes alive here.
Pacers -2.5
Arizona Diamondbacks (105)
It is hard not to root for Doug Davis these days, and we look for a motivated Arizona Diamondbacks team to get him a win tonight vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first home start since it was disclosed that he had thyroid cancer.
This is the home opener for the Diamondbacks, who did well here last season and finished by winning 11 of their last 13 regular season home games. They are also on a bit of a roll right now, having swept three games from the Colorado Rockies in the Mile High City this past weekend. Davis was wild in his seasonal debut at Cincinnati, issuing six walks in just 3.2 innings of a 3-2 Arizona loss, but he has had uncanny success vs. the Dodgers in his career. He has made five starts against Los Angeles, and in four of them, he did not allow an earned run!
Now Chad Billingsley of the Dodgers remains highly touted, but he has been prone to bouts of wildness himself in his brief career, and we feel he is somewhat overrated. Sure he has had several dominating performances, but the bottom line is that he had a very mediocre 1.46 WHIP so far in a touch over two seasons.
If you combine the emotions of Davis?s first home start and this being Arizona?s home opener overall, it may be too much for Billingsley and the Dodgers to overcome.
Diamondbacks +105
John Ryan
Game: Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox
Prediction: Detroit Tigers
Reason: Ai Simulator 3* graded play on the Detroit Tigers. With all of the pressure from the home town fans and especially the media there is no better place for this team to recover than on the road. Truly, MLB team cannot play any worse than they did on Sunday night. Supporting this graded play is a system that has produced a record of Play against all favorites with a money line of -110 or higher with an American League team with a good starting pitcher whose ERA was 4.20 to 4.70 last season. Take the Tigers.
Tom Freese
La Lakers at Portland
Los Angeles is 23-11 ATS vs. losing teams this year and they are 23-8 ATS away when the Total is 200 or higher. The Lakers are 12-1 ATS off a road win in their division and they are 19-8 ATS off a road win where they scored 110 or more points. Portland is 4-14 ATS at home off one or more losses and they are 4-13 ATS off an ATS win where they lost straight up as an underdog. The Blazers are 4-12 ATS after losing 4 or 5 of their last 6 games and they are 0-7 ATS after allowing less than 75 points in their last game. PLAY ON LA LAKERS -
FRANK ROSENTHAL
NBA HOOPS
BULLS-9 SB
OVER 184 SB+
SUNS-11 SB
OVER 224 SB
BLAZERS+9 SB
OVER 201 SB+
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
NYM-150 SB
DODGERS-120 SB
GIANTS-120 SB
ROYALS+125 SB
TRIBE+1210 SB
Mr A's
Oakland Athletics (3-4) at Toronto Blue Jays (4-2)
(R) Chad Gaudin (0-0) vs. (R) AJ Burnett (1-0)
Home Record: Oakland 3-4; -Toronto 3-0
Road Record: Oakland 0-0 - Toronto 1-2
Current Streak: Oakland (L1) - Toronto (W3)
Oakland's Chad Gaudin went 11-13 with a 4.42 ERA last season. The right-hander is 0-0 with a 2.30 ERA in nine career games, including three starts against the Blue Jays.
Toronto's A.J. Burnett went 6-2 with a 3.01 ERA in his last 11 starts last season after coming off the disabled list. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 2.18 ERA in three career starts against Oakland
Oakland has won the last four games in Toronto, but the Raptors are on a roll. Toronto has won three straight and eight of its last nine games at home. Go with Toronto on their turf. A.J. Burnett pitched outstanding in his season debut against the NY Yankees on Wednesday and is 12-5 with a 3.26 ERA in 22 career outings at Rogers Centre.
Toronto Blue Jays - 170
Wolkosky Milan
10* INDIANA -2.5
10* MIN/CHA OVER 198.5
10* UTA/NOH UNDER 211
Chip Chirimbes
NEW YORK KNICKS
If recent history is any indication, the Pistons might be able to get a little more rest against New York (21-56). The Knicks have not won in Detroit since an 89-82 victory on March 27, 2002. The Pistons won 98-86 in the only meeting this season at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Nov. 21. The Knicks ended a five-game losing streak on Sunday, beating the Magic 100-90. Rookie Wilson Chandler scored a season-high 23 points, nearly four times his season average entering the game (5.9).
Info Plays
3* on New York Mets -148
(Listing Perez and Moyer)
This series marks the first time the Mets get their shot at revenge against the Phillies in 2008. The Mets’ late-season collapse last year allowed Philly to win the NL East just as Jimmy Rollins promised. New York is clearly the hungrier team in payback mode tonight. They also have a big edge in the starting rotation and bullpen in Game 1. Oliver Perez pitched a gem in his first start of the season, allowing no runs on 5 hits in 6 innings of work in a 13-0 spanking of the Marlins. Not the same can be said for Jamie Moyer, who got torched for 6 runs on 9 hits in 3.7 innings against the lowly Nationals. Mets’ hitters will feast on Moyer Tuesday. The Mets are scoring 10 runs per game against lefty starters this season. The Phillies’ nemesis, their bullpen, is already off to a terrible start with a 6.16 ERA in 19 innings. After the Mets take Moyer out early, the onslaught will continue against this awful ‘pen. Cash in with New York as the favorite.
Wunderdog
Chicago at Miami
Pick: Chicago -9.5
The Miami roster has been reduced to what amounts to a pick-up team.Their last 11 games have not been pretty. They have shot just 37.4% and the offense for the most part is running the shot clock, and hoisting 3's. They have launched 245 long-rangers over the last 11 games. The problem is, even when they are hot, and successful, the results have been poor. On Friday they hit 19-32 from beyond the arc, which would usually mean an automatic win, but it resulted in a 14 point loss! That just shows how much is wrong with this team right now. They also recently hit 11-27 good for over 40%, and still lost by 28! They hit 9-17, over 50%, and lost by 20. The problem is when they don't hit them, they lose by even larger amounts. This team has averaged just 78.1 ppg in the last 11 games. Chicago has not had a good season, but they are 9-5 ATS on the road vs teams that will not be in the playoffs, and that includes a 30 point win here in Miami. We expect more of the same tonight, and a double-digit Bulls win is in order.
Black Widow Sports
1* on Braves/Rockies OVER 10
(List Jurrjens and Jimenez)
After a pitcher’s duel last night between the Rockies and Braves, look for tonight’s game to get broke wide open with a each team’s best hitting displays of the season. Ubaldo Jimenez has a lifetime 11.56 ERA against the Braves. Jurrjens has never faced the Rockies, but his first start against them will be one he’d like to forget tonight. Atlanta is scoring 6.7 runs per game to start the year and 11 runs per game against righty starters. They could easily surpass this 10-run total themselves when it’s all said and done. Atlanta is 30-18 OVER (+11.7 Units) in road games against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons. Atlanta is 34-19 OVER (+13.9 Units) vs. teams whose hitters strike out 7 or more times/game over the last 2 seasons. The back end of these starting rotations get the starts tonight for their respective teams. This usually favors the OVER and that’s the case with this match-up between Jurrjens and Jimenez. Take the OVER 10 runs.
JB's Computer plays
1:10 p.m. Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets
(L) Jamie Moyer (0-0) vs. (L) Oliver Perez (1-0) Philadelphia Phillies + 135
2:05 p.m. Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox
(L) Kenny Rogers (0-1) vs. (R) Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-0) Boston Red Sox - 170
7:05 p.m. Oakland Athletics at Toronto Blue Jays
(R) Chad Gaudin (0-0) vs. (R) AJ Burnett (1-0) Toronto Blue Jays - 160
9:40 p.m. Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks
(R) Chad Billingsley (0-0) vs. (L) Doug Davis (0-1) Los Angeles Dodgers - 115
Maddux Sports
3* Philly +145
3* Balt +145
3* Det +150
Michael Cannon
15 Dime
MARINERS (With Bedard as listed pitcher)
Take the Mariners as the road chalk for the win over the Devil Rays.
Huge pitching advantage for Seattle tonight and that’s why I’m willing to lay the wood with the M’s on the road.
Newly acquired Erik Bedard will get the start for Seattle and he’s grown into one of the better left-handers in the game. He had a successful first start; allowing one earned run on three hits in five innings and striking out five in the Mariners 5-2 win over the Rangers. He did not get the decision in the game.
There are reports that Bedard suffered a hip injury that forced him to miss a scheduled start on Sunday against the Orioles. All indications are he is fine now, so no worries there.
Bedard is 10-3 with a 2.94 ERA in 18 career games against Tampa Bay.
The Devil Rays will counter with Matt Garza and the right-hander will have little margin for error pitching against Bedard. The right-hander has only pitched two games against Seattle, but he’s been lit up for 10 earned runs and 18 hits in just 9 1-3 innings.
Take Seattle as they grab the road win.
5 Dime
REDS (With Cueto as listed pitcher)
Take the Reds for the road win tonight over the Brewers.
This pick is all about Johnny Cueto for the Reds. This kid is absolutely filthy. I’m talking about 98-mph heat combined with a devastating change up. Scouts have compared him to a young Pedro Martinez, and if they are even close on their analysis, this kid could help to put the Reds over the top this year in the NL Central.
Jeff Suppan will start for the Brew Crew, and while he’s a solid, middle-of-the-rotation guy, he has a tendency to give up a lot of hits, something the Reds lineup is capable of doing here tonight.
Suppan has a 6.05 ERA in 11 career games against Cincinnati.
Take the Reds as they grab the road win.
HORNETS
Take the Hornets minus the points tonight at home over the Jazz.
Both teams are looking to grab home-court advantage in the playoffs, but I like New Orleans in this spot much more than Utah.
First off, Utah hasn’t been all that on the road this year. This is a team jockeying for playoff position and they not only failed to cover their last two on the road, they were beaten outright by Minnesota and New Jersey.
The Hornets are a solid 21-7 in their last 28 home games.
New Orleans gets ready to hit the road for four of the last five games, so don’t look for them to let up here.
Take the Hornets as they grab the win and cover.