Teddy Davis
Phillies -105
Vincent Velasquez isn't getting the hype he deserves since he is on the Phillies, but his first two starts have nothing short of spectacular. He already has faced the Mets in his debut, pitched 6 innings gave up 0 runs and struck out nine. He second outing vs the Padres he went the full distance striking out 16 and giving up 0 runs again. There is tremendous value here with him on the mound tonight.
Jimmy Boyd
Dodgers -140
Los Angeles comes into this game having won 4 of their last 5 and I look for them to add another win to the resume on Tuesday. The Dodgers will hit the road to take on the Braves, who are coming off a 3-game sweep of the Marlins in Miami to put an end to their 0-9 start. I'm not buying Atlanta being able to carry over that success here.
Today's pitching matchup features the Dodgers Alex Wood against the Braves Julio Teheran. I give a big edge to LA here. Wood was roughed up in his first start against the Giants, who lead the league with 77 runs scored. He bounced back with a dominant performance in his next outing, allowing 1 run on 5 hits in 7 innings against a potent Arizona lineup. Now he faces an Atlanta offense that has scored a whopping 42 runs in 12 games.
Teheran on the other hand comes in with a 6.35 ERA and 1.471 WHIP in 3 starts and it doesn't figure to get any better against the Dodgers. Teheran is 0-5 with a 7.36 ERA and 1.705 WHIP in 5 career starts against Los Angeles. It's also worth noting that Atlanta is a mere 1-15 over the last 3 seasons when they come into a game with their bullpen having thrown 13+ innings in their last 3 games.
Martin Griffiths
Manchester City vs. Newcastle United
Play: Over 3
You never really know what Man City team will turn up, will it be the one that destroyed Chelsea at the weekend or will it be the one that lost at home to Tottenham and Leicester City recently.
The same does not really apply to Newcastle United, you kind of know what to expect from them, apart from the very rare occasion.
Newcastle are facing relegation and will be fighting for their lives, but they are simply not good enough, they are a very average bunch and they will really struggle to get anything from this game this evening.
If the City that we all admire turns up tonight then they will win this convincingly and there is every reason to think that will be the case.
For starters their recent form has been good, they have started to win the important games and they have just as much motivation as Newcastle to win this game, they need to win to keep the gap between themselves and Man Utd in the quest for a top 4 finish.
Champions League football is very important to the top clubs and the idea that they will miss out terrifies them, so I do expect a fully wound up Man City to turn up.
Now, even though I am of the opinion that Newcastle are very average I cannot dismiss them completely, you see, teams fighting relegation sometimes perform well above their talent, it happens every season, when a match looks completely mismatched, as this one does, it is the underdog that occasionally springs the surprise.
I do think that Man City will win, but lack the confidence in them for the reasons stated above, you never really know what City team will turn up, they are away and facing a team fighting for their Premier League survival.
That said, I lack the confidence in Newcastle for obvious reasons, however I am confident that there will be goals in this game.
Both must win, both will go on the attack, they have to, there will be no sitting back and both teams, especially Man City have the capability to score.
All things considered, even though I do see Man City winning, I will go for overs in this match up.
Alex Smith
Anaheim vs. Nashville
Play: Nashville +100
The Western Conference Quarterfinal series between the Anaheim Ducks and the Nashville Predators shifts scenes from Orange County to the Music City starting with tonight's Game 3. The Predators pulled off a pair of stunning 3-2 wins to jump out to a 2-0 series lead. Forward Filip Forsberg and defenseman Roman Josi lead all Preds scorers with 3 points, but the star of this series has been goaltender Pekka Rinne who has made 54 saves on 58 shots over his last 120 minutes. The 33-year-old netminder has won each of his last four starts and now returns home to Bridgestone Arena where he has won five of his last seven starts.
Anaheim has won four of its last five games on the road but the Ducks' offense has had trouble converting as of late scoring two goals or fewer in six of their last eight games overall. The stellar goaltender efforts of John Gibson has been wasted in the last two games because of their inefficiency to find the back of the net. The Ducks are 0-6 all-time when trailing 0-2 in a series while Nashville is leading a series 2-0 for the first time in franchise history. With a chance to put a stranglehold on this series at home and potentially clinch with a sweep later in the week, I'll back the Predators to get the win at a pick'em price.
Joseph D'Amico
Nationals vs. Marlins
Play: Nationals -140
Washington started the season at 9-1, but since has lost 2 in a row, which won't sit well with the NL East frontrunners. They have Stephen Strasburg throwing today. The RH is 2-0 with an ERA of 1.98 on the campaign. He faces a Miami team that won the opener yesterday after dropping 4 straight. Adam Conley gets the nod here. The LH is without a decision on the season, with an ERA of 3.86. The nationals lineup will erupt here as the #2 ranked pitching staff in the Major's keeps the Marlins offense in check.
Michael Alexander
Arizona at San Francisco
Play: Arizona +115
Ray turned in his second quality start Thursday but again struggled with his control as the 24-year-old allowed two runs on four hits and five walks over 6 1/3 innings against the Dodgers. The Tennessee native has issued nine walks in 12 1/3 innings covering his first two outings. Ray had better control in his only previous start against San Francisco on July 17, 2015, when he received a no-decision after yielding two runs on eight hits with no walks and eight strikeouts over five frames.
DWAYNE BRYANT
Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles
Play: Toronto Blue Jays -140
The line does not quite reflect the huge edge Toronto has in tonight's starting pitching matchup, as Jays' ace Marcus Stroman takes on the Orioles' #4 man in the rotation, Mike Wright. Stroman rates a HUGE edge over Wright, and that's BEFORE we look at the head-to-head matchups. Active Orioles' hitters have a combined career .143 BA, .458 OPS, and .201 wOBA in 29 plate appearances against Stroman. On the flip side, active Blue Jays' hitters have produced a combined lifetime .385 BA, 1.274 OPS, and .532 wOBA in 35 plate appearances against Wright. I have these bullpens rated pretty closely, and both offenses can score in bunches. It all comes down to the starting pitching in this one.
CARMINE BIANCO
Paris Saint-Germain at Lorient
Play: Over 3
These two should put on a good semi final tilt here as PSG look to get into the final and defend their Cup they've won the last couple of seasons. With the exception of a couple midfielders nursing injuries we'll see the regular side here. Lorient have been on a dream run through the early rounds of this cup and have done it with offence, scoring 13 through the 4 matches.
Wunderdog
Detroit @ Kansas City
Pick: Detroit +135
Shane Greene gave up two runs in six innings in a 7-3 win over Pittsburgh. The right-hander is off to a good start following surgery that cut short his 2015 season. Greene has given up just one earned run in 13 innings against Kansas City the last three years. Royals hitters who have faced him are batting only .163 against Greene. The Royals have lost two straight as they head home following a seven-game trip. Yordano Ventura has allowed three runs in 11 innings while surrendering nine walks. Detroit hitters have had some success against Ventura with five of their players with a .300 or better batting average against him. Detroit is 5-2 on the road this season.
Bryan Leonard
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals
Play: St. Louis Cardinals -117
When healthy Jamie Garcia is one of the best pitchers in baseball. He showed that in his initial start to the season as he pitched an outstanding game. He's also taking on Hammel who has struggled with control for most of his career. Putting extra runners on against this good hitting Cardinals lineup on the road is not a positive for the Cubs starter. St Louis has posted a 142-86 record playing at home against a team with a better record. With the Cubs off to a fast start this is a very important game for the host. With the Cardinals having the pitching edge we will back St Louis at a solid price.
Ray Monohan
Pirates vs. Padres
Play: Pirates -134
The Pirates head into San Diego on Tuesday and send their ace onto the mound, which makes them a nice play here. LH Francisco Liriano hasn't pitched since April 8th as he did get his last turn skipped, but says he is 100% healthy after dealing with some hamstring soreness.
He'll go up against a Padres team that has been horrible at home. They have started off 1-5 SU and have averaged just 1.67 runs for compared to the 6.33 runs against. They just haven't played with any confidence yes this season as a whole.
Some trends to consider. Pittsburgh went 27-6 against NL West clubs last season,. Pittsburgh went 14-3 against NL West clubs on the road.
With how good Pittsburgh is against the NL West, combined with how bad the Padres have been this season, the Pirates have solid value here on Tuesday.
Jack Jones
Rays vs. Red Sox
Play: Rays -105
Due to the massive advantage the Rays have on the mound tonight, I'll gladly take them at nearly even money against the Red Sox. Plus, the Red Sox played yesterday, while the Rays had the day off. That's a nice little advantage in rest as well.
Drew Smyly is 0-2 with a 4.61 ERA this season, but he has posted just a 0.805 WHIP while allowing only 11 base runners in 13 2/3 innings and striking out 16. But what really stands out is that Smyly has owned the Red Sox, going 2-1 with a 2.00 ERA and 1.028 WHIP in six career starts against them.
Joe Kelly wouldn't start for most teams in the big leagues. Kelly is 1-0 in spite of a 10.12 ERA and 2.750 WHIP in two starts this season, allowing 9 earned runs and 22 base runners in 8 innings. Kelly is also 1-0 in spite of a 9.00 ERA and 1.900 WHIP in two career starts against Tampa Bay.
Boston is 18-37 (-24.9 Units) against the money line at home with a money line of -100 to -125 over the last three seasons. The Red Sox are 37-54 (-23.2 Units) against the money line after two or more consecutive losses over the last three seasons.
Brandon Lee
Rays vs. Red Sox
Play: Rays -105
Tampa Bay is worth a look here on the road in Tuesday's series opener at Boston. The Rays will send out Drew Smyly, who is coming off a dominant outing against the Indians, where he allowed just 2 earned runs on 3 hits with 11 strikeouts in 7 innings. Smyly faced the Red Sox 3 times last year and allowed just 1 run on 11 hits in 18 1/3 innings of work. Boston counters with Joe Kelly, who has a awful 10.12 ERA and 2.750 WHIP in his first 2 starts. Kelly faced the Rays twice last season and each start allowed 5 runs, giving up 17 hits in just 10 innings of work.
Dave Price
Washington Nationals -140
Stephen Strasburg is looking as dominant as even to open the 2016 season. He's 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA and 1.097 WHIP in two starts this year. Now he gets the Marlins, who he is 10-7 with a 3.69 ERA and 1.172 WHIP in 23 lifetime starts against. He'll be opposed by Adam Conley, who is 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA and 1.286 WHIP in 2 starts this season. Conley is 1-0 with a 9.00 ERA and 1.833 WHIP in 2 lifetime starts versus Washington. Miami is 8-24 (-18.2 Units) against the money line in home games after having lost 3 of their last 4 games over the last 2 seasons. Bets against home underdogs with a money line of +125 or more after having lost 4 of their last 5 games, a terrible team winning 38% or less playing a team with a winning record are 54-10 for +38.8 units over the last 5 years.
Greg Shaker
St Louis -120
There is nothing quite like a Cubs/Cardinals game at Busch and there will be even more Cubs fans than usual in this series. We did consider an UNDER in this contest but Hammel remains a question mark despite 2 terrific outings. His 7 BB's in these games are concerning and facing the best offensive team in the Majors. (Runs Per Game) The fact is that along with Hammel's poor outings at this Park (5 Starts--ERA right at 7) in his career contribute greatly to our reasons to play the Cards. Garcia on the other hand has had the Cubs number. Of course this is the very best Cubs team possible ever! Being a Cardinals fan that was hard to say I might add. Value on STL tonight according to our numbers. I would not surprise me to see this number go lower so shoppers and watchers might can find a better jump-in..