Scott Spreitzer
MLB AFTERNOON KNOCKOUT
I'm laying the price with the Cubs on Thursday afternoon. Arizona clobbered southpaw Greg Smith yesterday. But beating up on lefties is not the norm for the "Snakes," and I expect a return to normal at Wrigley. Arizona went into yesterday's contest 0-2 in road day games against lefthanders, and 1-3 overall this season. They were 17-30 against southpaws a season ago, averaging just 4 rpg. Ted Lilly was fantastic in his first start of the season last time out. He was on a pitch count of 80, yet needed only 78 tosses to get through six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and two walks, with four punchouts. Lilly has been a strong starter for the Cubs at Wrigley, especially in afternoon starts. Not only do I expect another strong effort from the southpaw, but I believe he'll get decent run support. The Cubs are scoring an average of 5.8 rpg in four daytime home outings against righthanders this season. Former Yankee Ian Kennedy has not looked too hot on the road and in day action in April. His career numbers are not good in just about every key category that I use. And this will be his first start at Wrigley, never an easy task for a mediocre pitcher. Arizona has a history of losing in today's situation. They're 11-27 in their last 38 road games, including 8-19 in their last 27 when the "host" sends a lefty to the bump. Meanwhile, the Cubs are on a 21-5 run in home starts with Lilly on the bump. While the line opened roughly -1.55, I believe it's at least 30-cents too short for the reasons noted above. I'm laying the price with Chicago on Thursday.
25* NBA KNOCKOUT WINNER
I'm laying the points with the Spurs on Thursday night. I wasn't at all surprised with the game-five results. After all, it was desperation time for a pretty good team on their home floor. But now the Mavericks travel to one of the best playoff home sites over the last decade-plus, and you can bet San Antone will feel the urgency this time. The Spurs are 20-6-3 ATS the last 29 times as a playoff favorite...they take care of business, no doubt. A big part of their success is predicated by outstanding defensive play. That's the way it's been in the Spurs' three wins in this series. They held Dallas to 89, 90, and 88 points in the wins. And while the Spurs have several ways of slowing down Nowitzki, they found out in game-three, that Dirk can "get his," as long as they don't let the rest of the team beat them. In game-three, Nowitzki scored 35 points on 13 of 23 shooting. The rest of the team was limited to 21 field goals on 53 attempts (39.6%). Besides the red-hot ATS run mentioned above, the Spurs are also on an 8-2-1 ATS run in their last 11 as a home favorite. This is also a strong league-wide spot for the Spurs. You are 39-16 ATS when playing on a fave of more than 3 but less than 10 points, when they're in same season revenge and off a blowout loss of 20 or more points. And the Spurs themselves, are on a 31-11 ATS run at home off a loss of at least 15 points. The average final score: 98-89. Yet another example of how well they play on the defensive end, especially off an ugly loss. The series ends here as far as I'm concerned. I'm laying the points with the Spurs on Thursday.
Craig Davis
40 Dime Twins
20 Dime Dallas
Sportsbetsnow
1 Unit Reds +155
JAMES PATRICK SPORTS
5* Dallas
3* Portland Under
FRANK PATRON
20K Maverick's +3.5
Billy Coleman Early Game
3* Texas Rangers -130
Joseph D'Amico
New York Yankees -164
New York is sitting in 2nd place in the A.L. East at 2½ games behind Tampa Bay. Most teams would be happy about that record at this stage in the season. But for New York, it is 1st place or nothing at all. After dropping Tuesday’s game to the Oriole’s 5-4, the Yankee’s came back yesterday and spanked the O’s 8-3. Today NY has AJ Burnett throwing. Burnett is 2-0 on the season, with an ERA of 3.20. In his career, the RH is 9-2 when starting against Baltimore. The Bronx Bomber’s have posted an average of 5.1 RPG in their L10 games. Their lineup has 5 slugger’s flirting with or hitting over .300 and 5 batter’s with between 13-15 RBI’s. They are absolutely crushing the ball. Their worst run output all season was 2 runs. Please take note that on-the-field leader and catcher Jorge Posada is most likely sitting with a contusion in his right knee form being struck at the plate the other day. New York faces a Baltimore squad with the worst record in baseball at 4-17 including a dismal 1-7 home record. The Oriole’s can’t hit and their pitching is certainly less than stellar. They have Brian Matusz on the mound. The left-hander is 0-0 with an ERA of 4.91 at home this season. Matusz is going to get shelled today. The Yankee’s are 21-6 their L27 over the Oriole’s, 5-1 their L6 in Baltimore, 41-13 their L54 games as a favorite, and 9-3 in Burnett’s L12 starts. The Oriole’s are 17-35 their L52 vs. teams with a winning percentage over .600, 14-38 their L52 overall, 14-40 their L54 vs. the A.L. East, and 1-4 their L5 at home vs. RH starters. Take New York.
Baseball Whisper
Milwaukee/ SD over 7.5 POD
Bob Balfe
New York Yankees -1.5
The Orioles got back to back wins the other night but enough is enough for the worst team in baseball. The Yankees got a big win last night and clearly have the better pitcher in Burnett. The Yankees should blow them away tonight. Take New York.
Steve Budin
25 Dime San Antonio
KIKI SPORTS
2 Units Milwaukee +130
1 Unit White Sox +120
1 Unit San Antonio -3.5
Teddy Covers
Rangers
A's/Jay's Under
Larry Ness
10* Cubs
10* Mavs Over
Ben Burns
10* Astros
9* BJays
8* Rangers Under
10* Portland
7* SJ Sharks 7*
8* Sharks Under
ATS Lock Club
3 Units Phoenix +1