Brad Wilton
Tuesday comp play is the Nats on the Run Line against the Braves.
Always a good rule of thumb to ride a streak until it ends, and right now the Atlanta Braves are the lone winless team in the National League. The Braves were beaten in the series opener last night in D.C. by a pair of runs, as they have now lost ALL 3 meetings versus Washington this year, and they have dropped 11 in a row on the Nationals home field.
The Nationals are now 17-4 their last 21 meetings against the Braves, and are averaging close to 7 runs in their 11 straight home wins over Atlanta.
With a season ERA of 6.67 by Atlanta pitchers, cannot see Jhoulys Chacin being able to limit the damage tonight, can you?
Gio Gonzalez makes his season debut, and he did go 2-0 with an under 2 ERA in his pair of starts against the Braves (both in D.C.) last season.
Not much more to say....play Washington on the Run Line.
3* WASHINGTON -1.5
Gabriel DuPont
Free play for tonight, as I look to improve on my 43-26 run with complimentary plays: Miami at N.Y. METS (-140)
The STORYLINE in this game today - The Miami Marlins are up in Queens today, to take on the New York Mets, as the N.L. East rivals continue their series. And in this one, I want to focus in on the pitching matchup, as I like Mets righty Noah Syndergaard to get it done over Miami's Jose Fernandez.
The X-FACTOR in making this choice on this game - It has to be Syndergaard, as he looks to duplicate his six-inning, nine-strikeout performance last week in Kansas City, against the defending champion Royals. In that game, Syndergaard leaned heavily on the newest weapon in his arsenal, a wicked slider he throws around 93 miles per hour.
BOTTOM LINE is - The Marlins have never impressed me at the plate, on the road. And after seeing Fernandez's MLB-record home win streak of 17 get snapped, I wonder if he can recover in this first game since. Away from Miami, he is 5-9 (3.78). I'll take the home team here.
2* METS
Scott Delaney
My free play for Tuesday night is on the Toronto Blue Jays over the New York Yankees, as I think the pitching matchup favors the home team, and the hitting certainly is on the home team's side.
Let's start with Toronto's Aaron Sanchez, who is in after striking out a career-high eight batters during his first start, against the Tampa Bay Rays. I was certainly impressed with his ability to mix in an extremely effective curveball with his upper-90s sinker. Offspeed pitches were a main point of emphasis this spring, and it appears to have helped, as he's complimenting his fastball nicely.
With the Yankees, they hand the ball to Masahiro Tanaka, and I don't know if I trust him on the road against this lineup. We haven't seen it just yet, but the Blue Jays have long been a dangerous lineup at home, and I can see them having a breakout game today.
My freebie is on Toronto and I'm listing pitchers.
4* BLUE JAYS
Jeff Benton
Your Tuesday freebie is the Baltimore Orioles in the big dog role at Fenway Park against division-rival Boston.
Is Baltimore going to go 162-0 this season? Of course not, but every season there is always one team that breaks from the gate in strong fashion, and this season Buck Showalter's O's are that club.
After beating Boston on opening day at Fenway, the Orioles are now 6-0 on the year.
It will be Mike Wright's turn to take the bump, and this will be his season debut since his slated start this past Saturday against Tampa Bay was washed away.
Clay Buchholz counters, and he didn't look all that impressive in his first turn for the 2016 season, allowing 4 runs in the first and then exiting in the 4th at Cleveland after allowing 5 runs total.
The bottom line is, the price is right on Baltimore, and it has been my experience that you ride the hot hand, especially at this price!
O's add one more win to their early season total.
2* BALTIMORE
Chris Jordan
I'm heading to Beantown for the matinee clash with the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles.
And the Crimson Hose are going to win big today, which is why I have no problem laying the run line.
Now, I'm rolling with the Sox against the O's mainly because Baltimore has won six straight games. See, in the first half of the season you don't see that many teams riding win streaks past five games. I've always been of the belief that any team on the road, and on a five-, six- or seven-game win streak is a go-against.
And if you lose the first day on that wager, double-up and go against the team through the seven-game streak. Remember, only on the road.
The Red Sox turn to Clay Buchholz, who had a shaky first start, when he gave up six hits and five runs over four-plus innings. This will be Buchholz’s 83rd career start at Fenway, where he is 33-26 with a 3.93 ERA. I like him more than Baltimore right-hander Mike Wright, who appeared in 12 games for the Orioles last season, nine of which were starts, accumulating a 6.04 ERA.
I like Boston in this one, to win big over the Orioles.
5* RED SOX -1.5
Bruce Marshall
Knicks / Pacers Under 198.5
This is the last game of the season for New York, which will be without at least rookie PF Kristaps Porzingis and vet PG Jose Calderon. One might wonder why star F Carmelo Anthony would take the floor either, with the Knicks looking at vacations while Indiana is headed for a first-round series with either Cleveland or Toronto. The Pacers have won 6 straight and 11 of the last 13 against New York, covering 7 of the last 8 against the Knicks played in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indy plays again tomorrow in Milwaukee, and the Pacers have won and covered 4 of the last 5 in the first night of back-to-back games at home. Looking ahead, Indiana has been a bit more competitive against Cleveland than Toronto, although the Pacers are 1-3 SU this season against both potential foes. Knicks also "under" 18-4 last 22, so would look that way first tonight.