Chip Chirimbes
Mets vs. Royals
Play: Mets -114
Mets over Royals- Here we go again with the visiting New York Mets favored in Kansas City over the World Champion Royals who they have lost seven of the last eight meetings. The reason is the Mets intimidating starting rotation and starter Noah Syndergaard. Veteran Chris Young (12-6, 3.04 ERA) get the start for Kansas City and he has improved with his maturity and gave the Mets kits in the World Series last fall. It's a tough spot and the price tell me the Mets are the side.
John Ryan
Cardinals vs. Pirates
Play: Pirates +106
SIM algorithm shows a high probability that Pittsburgh will win this game.Technical Discussion Points The following game situations match the SIM projections and my compiled research for the outcome of this game. Pirates skipper Hurdle is 37-18 (+16.9 Units) against the money line in home games when playing with a day off as the manager of the Pirates.
Aaron Toller
Dodgers vs. Padres
Play: Over 7
Dodgers won the opener 15-0 while I don't see another 15 run outing from the Dodgers a 5 spot is more than capable. Padres should be able to generate runs of their own against Scott Kazmir.
Brandon Lee
Royals +100
Kansas City has a chip on their shoulder, as no one wants to give this team any respect for what they have accomplished the last two years. The Royals have made it clear they are out to defend their title and get back to a third straight World Series. While that won't be easy, I like them to secure a win at home this afternoon against the Mets. New York will send out Noah Syndergaard, who really struggled on the road last year, going 2-6 with a 4.48 ERA and 1.355 WHIP in 13 starts. He also allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in 6 innings in his lone start against KC in the World Series, which came at home. Royals are 31-15 in their last 46 when playing with a day off and 12-4 in Young's 16 starts with a money line of +125 to -125.
Will Rogers
Mets vs. Royals
Play: Mets -114
The New York Mets came up just short in a 4-3 loss to defending World Series champions Kansas City on Opening Day, but I like their chances of getting one back here in Game 2. The Mets should have a pitching mismatch in their favor with Noah Syndergaard starting opposite Chris Young. My money is on the Mets.
Here are my keys to the game:
1. Previous History - The veteran Young did not pitch that well in Kansas City last year, posting better numbers on the road. His day/night splits also suggest he's a better pitcher under the lights, and his numbers in Spring Training suggest his age of 36 is starting to catch up with him. Syndergaard cruised through Spring Training, posting a 2.61 ERA and striking out 20 in just over 20 innings.
2. Road Warriors - winning on the road has been no problem for the Mets, who are 23-9 in their last 32 road games. They've also won four of their last five versus a right-handed starter.
3. X-Factor - Chris Young is 0-1 with a 6.05 ERA in four career starts versus his former club (NYM).
Martin Griffiths
Middlesbrough vs. Huddersfield Town
Play: Middlesbrough -159
Middlesbrough are in a tight battle for an automatic promotion from the Championship to the Premier League and will need to get a win at home this evening in order to maintain their push for a top two spot, they simply cannot afford any slip ups.
Huddersfield are not safe from relegation but they do have an eight point cushion and should be ok come the end of the season, but they will be looking to take at least a point from this game, but I do not see that happening and they will have to look elsewhere for the points required to keep them safe.
Middlesbrough at home are formidable, they have lost just twice all season at the Riverside and have 13 home wins to their name, Huddersfield are not so bad away having lost 9 in 19 games, however, the home side should have the ammunition to make it 10 losses from 20 for the away side.
All things considered the safest pick has to be a home win.
Michael Alexander
Thunder vs. Nuggets
Play: Thunder -8½
The Oklahoma City Thunder hit a bump in what's been a torrid stretch and attempt to get back on track when they visit the Denver Nuggets. Oklahoma City dropped a 118-110 decision to the Houston Rockets in the opener of a four-game trip and it marked only the second loss in 11 games for the Thunder. Denver has lost four of its last five games after falling 115-106 to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday to finish 0-3 against the Kings this season. The Thunder are 3-0 against the Nuggets this season and have won the past five meetings.
Dave Price
Charlotte Hornets +4
The Toronto Raptors are essentially locked in to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Don't be surprised if they rest their starters today against the Hornets. The Hornets still have some work to do. They is only 0.5-game separating the 3-6 seeds in the East. They are currently the No. 6 seed, but they could easily move up to the No. 3 seed with a big finish. There's no question that the Hornets want this game more given where they sit in the standings. Charlotte is 10-2 ATS revenging a road loss vs. opponent of 10 points or more this season. The Hornets are 23-9 ATS as a road dog of 3.5 to 6 points over the last 3 years. The Hornets are 20-6 ATS in the last 26 meetings, including 11-3 ATS in the last 14 meetings in Toronto.
Vegas Butcher
Toronto Blue Jays -104
Two key factors here. Odorizzi has issued 10 BB's in only 13 innings in Spring Training, while allowing 5 HR's. Clearly, his control and command seem to be off right now. Second key factor is that while he is a right-hander, he was absolutely awful against righties last year. Check out his lefty/righty splits:
Vs lefties: 9.2 K/9; 5.4 K/BB; 5% BB-rate; 2.3 FIP
Vs righties: 6.4 K/9; 1.9 K/BB; 9% BB-rate; 5.3 FIP
This discrepancy is huge. And this is not just last year, as for his career he has a 3.0 FIP against lefties and 4.7 FIP against righties. The Blue Jays are a righty-heavy lineup with a ton of power. This is as bad of a matchup as it gets for Odorizzi. Last year he has a 5.7 ERA against Toronto, allowing 4 HR"s and issuing 11 BB's in only 17.1 innings. He only struck out 8 during that time. I expect him to struggle tonight as well.
Bruce Marshall
Rockies at D'backs
Play: Rockies
Maybe the Rocks like this idea of beginning the season on the road; last year, Colorado swept three at Milwaukee to open the campaign before eventually faltering (as usual) away from Coors Field. Last night's 10-5 rout of Zack Greinke got 2016 off of a similar good foot, and ex-Texas Tech man Chad Bettis enjoyed a good spring at Talking Stick. Last season, Bettis allowed only a .227 OBA on the road. D-backs starter Shelby Miller had trouble with Colorado last season, going 0-2 with a 6.94 ERA vs. the Rocks.
Bob Balfe
Padres +105
San Diego did not envision the kind of start to the season like the 15-0 blowout handed to them yesterday, but let’s be honest. 1 run or 15 runs was more than enough for Kershaw who continues to amaze each start. The Dodgers do have a lot of big name talent on the DL to start this season. Look for San Diego to bounce back tonight with a big win of their own.
Dwayne Bryant
Minnesota at Golden State
Play: Minnesota +15.5
Golden State is coming off a huge revenge win against Portland, and they have an even bigger revenge game on deck against San Antonio. So what is the Warriors' motivation to hammer a subpar team whom they've already beaten twice this season? Looks like a good spot to grab the boatload of points with the 'Wolves.
Alex Smith
Colorado at Nashville
Play: Nashville -1.5
Two Central Division foes will clash for the last time tonight as the Nashville Predators host the Colorado Avalanche. Nashville has already punched its ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs despite their current four-game losing streak, which continued over the weekend when the Preds blew a 2-0 lead and lost in a 3-2 shootout to San Jose on Saturday night. Colorado is fighting to stay alive to grab the last Wild Card spot in the Western Conference as they trail Minnesota by five points with only three contests remaining. They have lost five of their last six games and head coach Patrick Roy lit into his club after their 5-1 loss to St. Louis on Sunday. He called out forward Matt Duchene for celebrating his 30th goal of the season when they were down 4-0. The celebration wasn't anything over the top but for Roy to make that a focal point shows that this team is clearly frustrated. As for the Preds, they need to build some positive momentum heading into what will be a tough postseason as they will be in the Pacific Division quadrant for at least the first two rounds. The Preds are 5-4 this season against the trio of California teams that they will be paired with in the Pacific. Nashville has done well at home as of late, picking up points in five of its last six games and have won nine of the last 13 meetings versus the Avs at home. I'll avoid the high money-line price and lay the -1.5 on the puck-line as they look to dash Colorado's playoff dreams.
Bruce Marshall
Chicago -2.5
Injury problems persist for Chicago, as PG Derrick Rose will likely miss his 3rd straight game with an elbow injury on his non-shooting arm, while PF Taj Gibson's rib injury makes him very questionable as well. Still, prefer motivated Bull side against sagging Memphis crew that's lost 6 straight and 10 of its last 12 SU. Bull G Jimmy Butler has scored 25 ppg in his last 3, shooting 57%, and Chicago "bigs" Pau Gasol (15 ppg, 11 rpg, 5.2 apg L5 gms.) and Nikola Mirotic (20 ppg off the bench in L4) are all rounding into playoff form. The Bulls won the first meeting against the Grizzlies this season 98-85 in Chicago on Dec. 16, with Butler scoring 24 and Gasol taking 14 boards.
ASA
Wolves vs. Warriors
Play: Under 224½
This is a monster total and is warranted as the Warriors are involved but the play here is UNDER for several reasons. We all know how the Warriors can put up points but will they be motivated to here against an awful Wolves team they know they can beat AND they have a revenge game against the Spurs up next so why not keep starters fresh. These same two teams just met in late March and that game ended with 213 total points which would put it well below tonight's number set by Vegas. On the season the Wolves have been one of the worst defensive teams in the league but in their last five games their defensive efficiency numbers are drastically better along with points allowed per game. Offensively their numbers are down too as they've scored 85 or less points in 4 of their last five games and now they'll face a Warriors team that is one of the best in the league defensively (5th in DEFF). Golden State is off a 136 point offensive showing against Portland their last game out so expect a return to the 'norm' tonight, especially with the Spurs on deck. The UNDER has cashed here 7 of the last nine meetings between these two team.