Jack Brayman
My free winner for Tuesday night is on the Seattle Mariners, at a virtual pick'em against the Miami Marlins, as the two continue their Interleague series at Safeco Field. The M's took Game 1 last night, 6-1.
I won't list either starting pitcher - Wei-Yin Chen or Yovani Gallardo - as they won't matter in this game.
Seattle has won four in a row, and will catch what is an extremely tired Miami team that finished up with a four-game home series against the New York Mets on Sunday, traveled cross country that night and opened this series last night at 10:10 p.m. Miami time.
The Marlins probably got a good night's rest, finally, but they're still going to be out of sorts until they get a day off.
This is the second of a nine-game road trip that will take the Marlins to Seattle, San Diego and Philadelphia. Tonight also marks the Marlins' eighth game in as many nights.
Seattle is in a good position to sweep this series, to be quite honest, so don't be surprised if we're riding the M's this week.
2* MARINERS
Alex Smart
Penguins vs. Blue Jackets
Play: Penguins -118
The defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins have shown their superiority and clutch mind set vs Columbus in this series as is evident by a 3-0 series lead. Some are saying it has been a competitive battle, but the difference maker has been at key junctures of each game, showing us the importance of the Pens play off experience . Meanwhile, the Jackets despite of a great season have lost 9 of their L/10 overall, and are consistently finding new ways to lose. With Sid Crosby and company with a death grip firmly in place , I am betting on them to gear up and tighten the noose mercilessly , and deliver the the final blow tonight for a sweep.
Penguins are 6-0 in their last 6 Conference Quarterfinals games.Blue Jackets are 0-7 in their last 7 vs. Metropolitan.Blue Jackets are 0-7 in their last 7 games playing on 1 days rest.Penguins are 4-0 in the last 4 meetings.PITTSBURGH is 8-1 ATS lL9 versus very good teams - outscoring their opponents by 0.5+ goals/Game .
John Martin
Bulls / Celtics Under 206½
The Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics combined for 208 points in Game 1 to go over the 206.5-point total. But that game should have gone under as they combined to score 17 points in the final 1:30 of regulation with the Celtics fouling trying to get back in it. I think we see a much lower-scoring Game 2 tonight. These teams have combined for 208 or fewer points in each of their last five meetings. Boston is 8-0 UNDER in their last eight home games vs. a team with a winning record.
Mike Menase
Tigers / Rays Under 7½
In Andriese's career thus far, he has been a significantly better pitcher at home. This year, however, he struggled in his first home outing before pitching six innings of one-run ball at Yankee stadium . I look for him to build off his last outing and bounce back at home, where he is more comfortable. He and his teammates will also feel boosted by the home crowd today after having just endured a tough stretch of road games. Regarding home/away, I feel like Detroit's away numbers are thus far inflated because of the quality of pitching which they dealt with. For example, they scored six in Chicago, five of which came in the second against Quintana, who has had consistent trouble in the first few innings. They then only managed one run in the final 7 innings. Last season, Detroit's ops dropped from .787 at home to .752 on the road. I think Detroit regresses towards this latter number today. I also like the way in which Andriese matches up with Detroit's batters. The decisive attribute of Andriese's pitching arsenal is the quality of his fly ball pitches, particularly his heavy-sinking cutter. The Tigers, however, are hitting fly ball pitchers for a mere .201 BA and .682 ops thus far in the season. I think Andriese has upside at home whereas Detroit's batters have downside on the road. I think Andriese pitches well tonight against a lineup which he matches up well with and is in a good spot to continue to pitch well against. Detroit's batters haven't seen much of him, but so far, they are only 7/32 with an ops of .661.
I like Fulmer, Andriese's counterpart, to pitch well today. Fulmer's pitching arsenal makes him very much a power pitcher, with his 95 mph fastball and 95 mph sinker, and a fly ball pitcher. However, against fly ball pitchers, the Rays have mustered a paltry .230 BA and .691 ops thus far. Against power pitchers, the Rays have produced a mere .171 BA and .529 ops. Fulmer's ERA as a rookie was almost identical on the road as at home. I look for him to enjoy the fruits of his match-up with Rays hitters, who struggle most of all against power pitchers and fly ball pitchers, and have therefore managed just four hits in the 29 team at-bats that they have had against him.
The Tigers' bullpen may raise a concern. But they also had a day off yesterday and they do have a few pitchers who have been excellent in relief so far--both Wilsons and Shane Greene come to mind. The Rays' bullpen has been more reliable at home, for instance just giving one run past the six inning in their three-game series at home vs New York, while the bullpen massively struggled against the same time on the road. I think both bullpens pitch well today.
I expect runs to be in a premium at Tampa Bay. Both starting pitchers and both bullpens are in a favorable spot to give a high-quality performance. Take the 'under!'
Dustin Hawkins
Marlins vs. Mariners
Play: Marlins -105
W.Y. CHEN is 50-29 (+18.5 Units) against the money line vs teams who strand 6.9 or less runners on base per game since 1997. Miami is 3-18 against the money line in road games with a team slugging percentage .400 or worse on the season (AL) over the last 3 seasons.
Andre Ramirez
Indians vs. Twins
Play: Twins +110
The Indians will be sending Tomlin to the mound. In six innings he has given up 15 hits 13 earned runs and two home runs. He has been dealing with control issues.
The Twins are tied for the best run differential in the league at plus 3. The Twins also have a 2.66 era for starters, and a 2.11 era for relievers. I like the momentum of the Twins at home.
Mark Franco
Pirates vs. Cardinals
Play: Cardinals -130
The St. Louis Cardinals hope they have begun to put their early-season troubles behind them as they attempt to knock off the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates for the second straight night on Tuesday. The Cardinals posted a 2-1 triumph in the opener of the three-game set on Monday to improve their National League-worst record to 4-9.
St Louis' chances of beating the Pirates again are bolstered with Mike Leake taking the mound. Leake has started strong, allowing one run and 10 hits over 15 innings while splitting his first two decisions. Pittsburgh managed just five hits in Monday's loss after scoring 18 runs in a three-game weekend road sweep of the Chicago Cubs. The 29-year-old is 9-5 with a 3.36 ERA in 28 career starts against Pittsburgh.
The Pirates hand the ball to Chad Kuhl, and the 24 year old struggled against the Cardinals last year. He faced St. Louis twice, conceding five runs on 12 hits and four walks over seven innings. He really struggled with his control in his season debut, walking six batters in just five innings versus Atlanta.
Pirates are 1-5 in Kuhls last 6 starts following a team loss in their previous game. Cardinals are 5-1 in Leakes last 6 starts when their opponent scores 2 runs or less in their previous game.
Home team is 8-2 in Cederstroms last 10 games behind home plate vs. St. Louis.
Dave Price
Detroit Tigers +107
Michael Fulmer is coming off a tremendous rookie season and continues to be an undervalued commodity in 2017. He has gone 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 2 starts against the Red Sox and Twins. Fulmer is also 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in 2 lifetime starts vs. Tampa Bay, yielding only 1 earned run in 14 innings. Matt Andriese sports a 4.50 ERA in 2 starts this season for the Rays. Andriese gave up 4 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings in his only lifetime start against the Tigers for a 6.75 ERA. Detroit is 8-0 in road games after allowing one run or less in a win over a division rival over the last 3 seasons. Fulmer is 11-2 in the first half of the season over the last 2 seasons. Fumler is 9-1 vs. an AL team with a team batting average of .255 or worse over the last 2 seasons.
Black Widow
Boston Celtics -7
Bets on favorites of 3.5 to 9.5 points after getting beaten by the spread by 48 or more points in their last 10 games against an opponent that's gone under the total by 48 or more points in their last seven games are 74-36 ATS since 1996. The Celtics need a win in Game 2 here tonight to get back in this series and should get it at home.
Tony Stoffo
Penguins vs. Blue Jackets
Play: Penguins -125
Pittsburgh fell behind 3-1 early in first period of Game 3, but they fought back and eventually won the game 5-4 in OT for a 3-0 series lead. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is now 11-6 with a 2.29 GAA in his career against Columbus. The Penguins are 6-0 in their last 6 Conference Quarterfinals games, 4-0 in the last 4 meetings and 20-8 in their last 28 after scoring 5 goals or more in their previous game.
Columbus is now just one loss away from elimination. G Sergei Bobrovsky is 2-9 with a 3.49 GAA. in his postseason career. The Blue Jackets are 1-9 in their last 10 overall, 0-7 in their last 7 games playing on 1 days rest and 0-5 in their last 5 Conference Quarterfinals games.
Frank Jordan
Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Play: Los Angeles Clippers -8.5
Utah won the most exciting game one of the eight as they hit a game winner at the buzzer to steal game one against LA and make the Clippers faithful very worried. LA had 25 from Paul, 26 from Griffin and 10 from Jordan, but no other Clipper scored in double digits. Utah shot better from three at 42% compared to Clippers 33%, but one big positive for the Clippers is they shot well from the foul line at 15 of 17 which was 88%. Look for the Clippers to feed there strength with more drives then settling for jump shots and threes and get to the line or pass off for easy shots off double teams. The way the Clippers are going to beat Utah is out scoring them in triple digits not defensive game which is how Utah plays. Look for Paul and Griffin to score more in the paint as they were outscored there in game one.
Bruce Marshall
Orioles at Reds
Pick: Over
It has been a tough go for vet Bronson Arroyo, looking to make it back after two years sidelined by injuries. But with a 9.90 ERA in his first two starts, Arroyo is quickly running out of rope to stick in the Reds' rotation. Baltimore's heavy hitting lineup is an especially bad matchup, and figures to push this one "over" in the 1970 World Series rematch at Great American Ballpark tonight!
Mario Rojas's (CandelaDeportiva) picks, 4-18-2017 | 3-1, +3000 units yesterday
Best pick
Philadelphia vs NY Mets (#904 over 4-125 1H) (MLB) *2000
Secondaries picks
Texas vs Oakland (#924 over 3½-120 1H) (MLB) *1000
Pittsburgh vs Columbus (#53 Pittsburgh -130) (NHl) *1000
Chicago vs Boston (#577 over 206) (NBA) *500
Bob Balfe
Rangers -125
The A’s couldn’t touch home plate last night and it’s starting to look like this team will be challenged on offense all season. Good luck facing Darvish when nobody on the roster has confidence hitting the baseball. The Rangers are starting battle back from a slow opening week.
Harry Bondi
CHICAGO +7.5 over Boston
Chicago is just a bad match-up for the Celtics. Bulls crushed the C’s on the boards in winning game 1 and will have their way on the glass again tonight. Boston had a great regular season and ended with the best record in the Eastern Conference, but this team is not built for the playoffs where defense and rebounding are the keys to success. Celtic’s are 2-9 in the playoffs under Head Coach Brad Stevens, Boston star Isiah Thomas’s head is not right with his 22 year old sister’s funeral tomorrow and Celtic’s continue to be overrated by the odds maker’s as they are just 1-7 vs spread in last eight home tilts. Meanwhile, Chicago has covered 8 of their last ten games and are the more experienced post-season team. Chicago gets the money again tonight!