Bruce Marshall
Cleveland at Detroit
Pick: Cleveland
The Indians usually seem to win games started by Corey Kluber, prevailing in four of his first five outings this season. And Kluer usually wins against the Tigers, against whom he is 4-0 since last season, including an April 15 decision at Progressive Field, one of three straight Kluber wins. In that game, the Tribe buried Detroit starter Justin Verlander., who allowed 9 runs and 11 hits in just 4 IP, dropping Verlander to 1-4 against Cleveland since last season.
Will Rogers
Angels vs. Mariners
Pick: Angels
The set-up: The Angels used a sweep of the Mariners from April 7-9 to open the season 6-2, the team's best eight-game start in 43 years. However, they then lost 10 of 12 to quickly go from division leader to 5 1/2 games behind Houston in the West. The Angels did get back on track last week though, with a 6-1 stretch to end April. The Angels enjoyed their first off-day in three weeks on Monday and now visit their AL West rivals, the Mariners, for the opener of a three-game set in Seattle. The Mariners capped a mostly forgettable first month of the season on Sunday, by wrapping up a 4-6 road trip through Oakland, Detroit and Cleveland with a 12-4 loss to the Indians. The Mariners opened the season 2-8 and begin May at 11-15.
The pitching matchup: Matt Shoemaker (1-1 & 4.73 ERA) gets the ball for Seattle and James Paxton (3-0 & 1.39 ERA) for the Mariners. Shoemaker picked up his first victory of the season Wednesday versus the Athletics (in his fifth start), allowing two runs on seven hits and a pair of walks over five innings. He has struck out 20 in 17 1/3 innings over his last three appearances and permitted two runs or fewer four times but he has managed only one quality start. Shoemaker is 4-4 with a 4.35 ERA in 11 career stats against Seattle (team is 7-4). Paxton did not allow an earned run in his first three starts of 2017 but then allowed five at Oakland on April 20. However, he regained his dominant form Wednesday at Detroit, allowing only four hits while striking out nine in seven scoreless innings to win for the third time in his last four turns. He has posted a 39-6 KW ratio for the season. Paxton is 3-2 with a 2.17 ERA in seven career starts against the Angels (team is 4-3).
The pick: Paxton's been superb so far (just that one hiccup) and some think he's finally about ready to fulfill his potential. I'm not one of them. The Angels come in on a 6-1 run and I expect those LA bats to get to Pxton and make Shoemaker's job a little easier.
John Martin
Golden State -13
The Golden State Warriors have been off since April 24th since sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers and winning three of the four games by double-digits. We saw the Cavaliers roll after all their time off last night, and now I think the Warriors do the same here against the Jazz. The Warriors have owned the Jazz at home, going 6-1 SU & 6-1 ATS in the last seven meetings while winning all six games by at least 13 points. The home team is 7-2 ATS in the last nine meetings.
Steve Janus
Rays vs. Marlins
play: Over 8
Play Over - Road teams (TAMPA BAY) - after 3 straight games where they had 5 or less hits, with a hot bullpen whose ERA is under 3.00 the last 15 games. This system is 33-9 (79%) against the total since 1997.
Carolina Sports
Orioles vs. Red Sox
Play: Red Sox -235
Red Sox are 8-2 in their last 10 games following a loss. Red Sox are 6-2 in their last 8 after scoring 2 runs or less in their previous game. Orioles are 1-5 in their last 6 after scoring 5 runs or more in their previous game.
Jack Jones
Cleveland vs. Detroit
Play: Cleveland -119
The Cleveland Indians will be motivated to bounce back from two straight losses heading into Game 2 of this series with the Detroit Tigers tonight. Now they have their ace on the mound in Corey Kluber to get the job done.
Kluber has gone 3-1 with a 4.19 ERA and 1.253 WHIP in five starts this season, including 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.000 WHIP In three road starts. Kluber is 6-6 with a 4.05 ERA and 1.266 WHIP in 17 career starts against Detroit.
Justin Verlander is off to a 1-2 start with a 4.60 ERA and 1.398 WHIP in five starts this season. Verlander has struggled with the Indians, going 19-22 with a 4.65 ERA in 49 career starts against them. He gave up 9 earned runs and 3 homers in 4 innings of a 6-13 loss to the Indians on April 15th in his latest start against them.
The Indians are 13-3 in their last 16 road games vs. a right-handed starter. Cleveland is 20-6 in Kluber's last 26 starts. The Indians are 8-0 in Kluber's last eight starts vs. AL Central opponents. Cleveland is 5-0 in Kluber's last five starts vs. Detroit. The Indians are 1-8 in Verlander's last nine starts vs. Cleveland.
Pro Computer Gambler
Texas vs. Houston
Play: Texas +131
Fade a plus .640 team off a win *No Road Dogs *Not late in the season *Other team has at least a 3% win record advantage and total is at least 7.5 - This is 685-642 -224.43 units SU (+10.8% roi to fade) since 2004. - Fade the Astros and Nationals today.
Dave Price
Angels vs. Mariners
Play: Mariners -143
James Paxton has been unhittable this season for the Mariners. He is 3-0 with a 1.39 ERA in 5 starts with 39 K's in 32 1/3 innings. He is also 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 2 home starts, pitching 15 scoreless innings. Paxton also has the Angels' number, going 3-2 with a 2.17 ERA in 7 lifetime starts against them. Matt Shoemaker is 1-1 with a 4.73 ERA in 5 starts this year. One of those came against the Mariners in which he allowed 7 runs in 4 1/3 innings. Seattle is 12-2 after a loss by 8 runs or more over the last 3 seasons.
Black Widow
Phillies vs. Cubs
Play: Cubs -211
Bets against road underdogs with a money line of +175 to +250 (Philadelphia) with a starting pitcher whose ERA is 3.00 or better on the season (NL) against an opponent with a starting pitcher whose ERA is 3.70 or better on the season (NL) are 83-11 (88.3%, +58.8 units) since 1997. Expect the Cubs to bounce back behind Jon Lester following two consecutive losses coming in.
Jack Brayman
My free play for tonight is on the Under in Game 2, between the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics, as these two have gotten familiar with one another once again, and now can make the necessary adjustments on defense.
Generally, in the NBA Playoffs, you'll see Game 1s get a little out of control, and can be high-scoring, and Game 2s stay low, as teams make their adjustments.
Tonight the Wizards play a little tougher defense, and the Celtics respond by rattling Washington's backcourt.
This total is a little too high, play it low.
5* Wizards/Celtics Under
Jeff Benton
Tuesday comp play on the Jazz to cover in Game One of their semifinals series at Golden State.
Warriors are the # 1 seed, and they are also well-rested, as they last played over a week ago, but the Jazz are in a groove right now, and fresh off their Game Seven outright win in Los Angeles over the Clippers.
I give Utah a puncher's chance to at least stay inside of this big impost, as the Jazz recorded 3 of their 4 wins in that opening round on the road, and are now 25-20 straight up on the road this season.
That mark includes an outright win at Golden State on April 10 to snap a 7-game series losing streak to the Warriors.
Jazz has now covered in 2 of the last 3 series meetings with the Warriors, and I will look for the extra time off to have the Dubs a little "rusty" as they hit the court on Tuesday.
Don't get me wrong, I don't see Utah winning outright, but this looks like too many points to lay this early in the series.
2* UTAH
Brad Wilton
Kudos to Utah for going on the road Sunday and winning a 7th game against the L.A. Clippers. The reward? Quin Snyder's team now gets to face a well-rested # 1 seeded Golden State Warriors team that will be ready to light things up after not having played in over a week.
The Jazz will need to try and do something different offensively, as they were held to 99, 74, 99 and 96 points in the 4 regular season series meetings, as all 4 of those games held Under the total.
Have to expect the Jazz will be able to get to that elusive century mark this time around, as Utah did get to triple figures 3 times in the final 5 games of their opening round series against the Clippers.
Golden State netted 110 points or better in each of their 4 wins in the opening round against Portland, as 3 of those 4 games did go Over the total. The Warriors have played Over the total in 8 of their last 12 games dating back to the regular season, which leads me to believe the move tonight is to play against the 4 regular season Unders, and look for this first contest to land Over the total.
Jazz-Warriors Over in Game One.
2* UTAH-GOLDEN STATE OVER
Eric Schroeder
My free winner is on the Detroit Tigers, over the Cleveland Indians, and in this one I want you to list Justin Verlander over Corey Kluber. It is a pitching rematch from mid-April, when Verlander lost to the Tribe and Kluber,
That was on April 15, when the Indians throttled Verlander for nine runs on 11 hits in 13-6 decision.
Now the veteran will be out for revenge, looking to better himself from that particular start, against the defending American League champs.
5* TIGERS
Chris Jordan
Tonight I'm playing the Under in the Ottawa Senators-New York Rangers contest, as I see a tight, physical game between these Eastern Conference rivals.
With Ottawa up 2-0, I wouldn't be surprised to see Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist step up here and aim for the shutout. I read a story in a New York media source that was very critical of Lundqvist, and he'll take it personal. He will do everything tonight to take this game over.
That said, I'm not laying the big price, nor would I dare the puck line with either of these teams.
The Senators' physical nature will slow the Rangers, and that will help us keep this one low.
Let's look for a 2-0, 2-1 type of hockey game here.
3* Senators/Rangers Under
Buster Sports
Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers
Play: Cleveland Indians -119
The Cleveland Indians are playing their second game of a 4 game series against their division rivals the Detroit Tigers tonight at beautiful Comerica Park. The Tigers beat up the Indians last night 7-1 but we believe that the Indians will even up the series tonight. The starting pitchers are for the Indians RH Corey Kluber (3-1, 4.19 ERA) and he faces the Tigers RH Justin Verlander (1-2, 4.60 ERA) These two faced each other on April 15th with the Indians coming out on top 13-6. Verlander has had trouble with Cleveland his whole career as he has a losing record at 19-22. He also has a 4.65 ERA and with a WHIP of 1.290 during his starts against the Indians. Kluber has also been hot and cold against the Tigers but he has been very good on the road this year sporting a 3.00 ERA. Backing our selection is the fact that the Indians are 5-0 in Kluber's last 5 starts vs. the Tigers, the Tigers are 1-8 in Verlander's last 9 starts vs. the Indians and the Indians are 8-0 in Kluber's last 8 starts vs. the American League Central.