CHRIS JORDAN
For my freebie out of the NBA for Saturday, I'm playing the New Jersey Nets plus the points at home against the surging Boston Celtics, who are playing lights out basketball and clearly making a case for their coach, Doc Rivers, as a leading candidate for Coach of the Year.
The Celtics shockingly lost to the Toronto Raptors last night in the Air Canada Centre. And if they were coming home to play the Nets, I might think this is a good spot to play them, knowing they'd be out to avenge last night's shitty performance. But an unexpected loss, and now having to face Atlantic Division rival New Jersey at the the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey... something tells me the C's are in for a workout.
The Celtics had won four straight and 11 of their last 15 games, before being defeated by the Raptors, 84-79. Boston fell behind by 15 points in the second half before cutting the lead to one point in the final minutes, and that's a sign of complacency, when you're playing a lesser team like that.
Now you stay on the road, and you see the Nets have been playing solid basketball in their previous four games, losing just once, even by bringing 100 percent focus into this one - it's still on New Jersey's court. And after beating the Wizards and Cavaliers, and then losing to the 76ers, I like the resiliency in the Nets, who responded with a 95-89 win over Philly last night.
The biggest storyline for Boston is probably the fact it is in the midst of its final road stretch of the season, sitting in the middle of its only back-to-back-to-back of the season. Every team has had to do it, and the Celtics are the latest of the NBA's 30. The Celtics head south to face the Charlotte Bobcats tomorrow, before returning to the Big Apple to face the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
Tonight, though, it's all about the home underdog and taking the points with the future Brooklyn boys. Take the Nets.
2♦ CLEVELAND
My free MLB winner tonight is out of the National League West, as I take the San Diego Padres over the Los Angeles Dodgers, and I'm listing the Friars' Joe Wieland only.
Wieland, who has a 33-19 minor league record with a 3.29 ERA, makes his Major League debut today, as the Padres use a fifth starter for the first time. He was recalled from Triple-A Tucson after two starts, and comes in considered as one of the Padres' top prospects after impressing the staff in Spring Training.
He has 408 strikeouts against only 80 walks in 438 innings.
This kid is fired up for tonight - he tweeted "Greatest day of my life! My dream has finally come true!!! God is great!!!!" The book on this 22-year-old is he is very athletic and mature beyond his years.
The right-hander uses a two-seam and four-seam fastball, both of which have very good movement with solid sink in the lower half of the zone. And from what I know, when this kid is on, hitters cannot make hard, consistent contact. He throws his two-seam fastball between 88-90 miles per hour, while his four-seamer progresses to 94 mph.
The key today will be when he expands his arsenal, as his secondary pitches have been showing capability. His curveball has a hard, late break, while his change-up - a work in progress - has shown signs of improvement and is reportedly ready to unleash.
And without a scouting report, the Dodgers will struggle against this guy.
2♦ SAN DIEGO
MATT RIVERS
Saturday's NBA comp play is the Nets plus the points at home against the Celtics.
Not sure how Boston spit the bit last night against the lowly Raptors, but they sure as heck did, and now I have no confidence in laying a big number on the road with a Celtics team that is just 6-11-1 against the spread when playing on back-to-back nights this season.
The Celtics do have a game tomorrow night in Charlotte as well, so I can see them doing just enough to win tonight's game, but not cover it.
Believe it or not, the Nets have been playing some competitive hoops down the stretch, as New Jersey was a winner over Philadelphia last night, and they have won outright in three of their last four games, and six of their last nine overall straight up!
The home team has won and covered the past four meetings, and while I suspect Boston will have enough to break that streak, I don't think they will have enough to distance themselves from the scrappy Nets.
Take the points.
3♦ NEW JERSEY
Saturday's comp play in baseball comes on the Atlanta Braves who came back to win a wild one last night in their home opener versus Milwaukee.
That win was the third in a row for the surging Braves who are looking to pull even for the young season after starting the year with four straight setbacks.
Atlanta has had Milwaukee's number, as last night's win made it five straight series wins for the Braves over the Brewers, and it also improved the host in the series to a perfect 8-0 the last eight times these clubs have met.
Overall, the home team is 9-1 the last ten times the teams have tussled!
Milwaukee goes with Shaun Marcum, while Mike Minor will counter for Atlanta.
Marcum won his first start, while Minor did not fare as well, getting roughed up in Houston.
Minor is a better pitcher than he showed in Houston, and today at home where he has won his last three decisions he gets on track with a quality start for his team.
Back the Braves to make it a four game winning streak.
2♦ ATLANTA
DOM CHAMBERS
For my free selection, let’s look at the Memphis Grizzlies to cover against the Utah Jazz.
In the two previous meeting this season, the Utah Jazz have beaten this Memphis Grizzlies.
There is one big difference this time around. Zach Randolph is back and contributing for the Grizzlies.
Prior to losing to San Antonio on Thursday, Memphis has won four straight and seven out of eight games.
Randolph is a big reason for that. He missed 37 games with a torn ACL. He has come off the bench the last 13 games. In four of the last five games, the has posted a double-double.
The Grizzlies are going for their seventh straight home victory.
The Jazz lost to the New Orleans Hornets on Friday, 96-85. The Jazz are on a second-day of a back-to-back. That will not be in their favor.
The Grizzlies are playing better, have their pieces back on the court and have the edge on the Jazz this time around.
Take Memphis
2♦ GRIZZLIES
For my free selection, let’s take a look at the Los Angeles Angels to beat the New York Yankees.
The Angels lost the opener of the series with the Yankees, 5-0, as Alex Rodriguez broke out of his slump.
The Angels are throwing C.J. Wilson today. He was one of the big-name acquisitions the Angels had over the offseason. This will be Wilson’s second start. He posted a 5-1 win over Minnesota in his debut. Yankee Stadium is a home run park, but if Wilson is on, he does not give up many fly balls. He is a sinker ball pitcher and should keep the ball in the park.
The Yankees are pitching Phil Hughes, who only went 4 2/3 inning in his debut against the Tampa Bay Rays. Last season at Yankee Stadium, Hughes had his problems. He went 1-2 with a 7.83 in seven starts.
The Angels should bounce back today.
2♦ ANGELS
SCOTT DELANEY
Scored a free pick winner for you last night on the Pacers, and you know what, I'm coming right back with them tonight.
Listen, as I said, don't go engraving Boston's Doc Rivers' name on the Coach of the Year plaque just yet. Anyone else notice who is in third place with a clinched playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, holding off the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics, while chasing the Miami Heat?
I am am telling you right now, Indiana coach Frank Vogel should get serious consideration for NBA Coach of the Year. Rivers has done an impressive job, as has Chicago's Tom Thibodeau, San Antonio's Gregg Popovich and Philadelphia's Doug Collins. But come on guys, the Bulls and the Spurs were the No. 1 seeds in last year's postseason, and Philly is fading fast. The Pacers, however, have emerged, and come into this one having won three straight and eight of 11.
Tonight the Pacers, winners of seven of eight, continue this three-game spree against sub-.500 teams. Last night the Pacers rolled Cleveland, 102-83. The Pacers missed 25 of their first 31 shots in falling behind 32-18 early in the second quarter. George Hill, in the lineup for now took over by scoring 10, as the Pacers trimmed the deficit to 43-41 at the half. The Pacers outscored the Cavs 34-13 in the third period as Cleveland shot 3-of-18 with five turnovers.
Tonight we're going to see the Pacers continue to show the improvement they've made under the watchful eye of Vogel, and just how good they've become.
Take the road pup in this one, as the Pacers roll.
3♦ INDIANA
JEFF BENTON
Your Saturday freebie is to once again go with the Los Angeles Dodgers over the San Diego Padres,
I told you yesterday right here that the Dodgers feel like a huge burden has been lifted from their shoulders with the purchase of the team by Magic Johnson and his partners, and the Dodgers have gone out this April and won seven of their first eight games played. Included is four wins in five tries against division door-mat San Diego.
The Padres just aren't very good, and I don't think fortunes will change tonight to the Good Fathers who have now lost 14 of their last 18 games on the road dating back to last season.
Los Angeles is on a an 18-5 run their last 23 home games, and they have also won 18 of the last 24 series games played against the Padres.
Joe Wieland will make his major league debut for Diego, while it is Ted Lilly's turn to continue tossing solid starting baseball for manager Don Mattingly's team.
Things are going too well in the City of Angels right now, stick with the red-hot Dodgers to make it an 8-1 start to the new season.
3♦ L.A. DODGERS
CHUCK O'BRIEN
Well, the losing streak is over. The Chicago White Sox ended their skid against the Detroit Tigers yesterday by winning their third straight overall. The Pale Hose had dropped 13 of 18 to the Tigers last season, including the last six meetings, but I was impressed with yesterday's 5-2 victory in their home opener. I'll side with the South Siders as my free winner for Saturday.
I'm not going to list pitchers in this one, but I'd be remiss if I ignored Detroit's Adam Wilk, who is making his first major-league start today, after spending time in the minors. I'm usually all in for siding with a newbie on the hill, after all, it's hard for the opposition to come up with a scouting report, but I'm not reading anything impressive on this kid.
And he could be in a lot of trouble in facing the likes of Chicago's Paul Konerko and catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who has two home runs and seven RBI during this three-game win streak.
Admittedly, Chicago starter Gavin Floyd will have his hands full with the healthy lineup Detroit brings to the plate, but after the right-hander was forced to take on Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre and David Murphy - they all stroked home runs in his season debut - I think Floyd will come in prepared for this one.
Perhaps the over is a better play, you can never tell with pitching matchups like this. But this early in the season, momentum is always key. My money is the South Siders continuing to streak. Take Chicago here.
2♦ CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Dave Price
San Francisco Giants -150
Zito was awesome against Colorado in his first start, giving up no runs, scattering just 4 hits and going the distance. I expect him to remain on top of his game here. The Giants have won his last 2 starts versus Pittsburgh, during which he has allowed just 4 runs in 11 2-3 innings. Also, Zito is an amazing 41-10 in his career when priced as a favorite of -150 to -200 at home. We'll take San Francisco.
Jack Jones
Cleveland Cavaliers +4
The Washington Wizards shouldn't be favored against any team in this league other than the Charlotte Bobcats. Cleveland is showing excellent value as a 4-point underdog tonight against the lowly Wizards.
Unlike Washington, the Cavaliers are finishing out their season. Cleveland has gone a very profitable 5-1 ATS in their last six games overall. This is a team filled with players that are fighting to prove they belong in this league, and fighting for spots on the roster for next year.
Cleveland is 9-1 ATS in road games versus poor teams - outscored by their opponents by 3+ points/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons. Washington is 1-8 ATS in home games when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 25% to 40%) this season. The Cavaliers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a losing home record. The Wizards are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of less than .400. Bet the Cavaliers Saturday.
Jeff Alexander
Miami Marlins -162
Zambrano has had plenty of success against the Astros. He's 15-8 with a 2.74 ERA in 32 career starts against them. He'll have an excellent opportunity to build on that success as Miami looks to win a 6th straight over Houston. The Astros are just 6-20 in their last 26 meetings in Miami, 13-40 in their last 53 road games and 36-76 in their last 112 overall. We'll take the Marlins.
Tony Karpinski
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
Play: Oklahoma City Thunder -11½
Oklahoma City still fighting for that #1 seed and home court in the playoffs. Minnesota has a much improved defensive game now, keeping opponents from opening it up from deep, waiting to see if Kevin Love can recuperate from his recent injury but the TWolves are hurting. Oklahoma City wins behind the heart of the team, Kevin Durant, and Westbrook who scores at will here in a blowout.
Freddy Wills
Tampa Bay Rays +127
It looked like Boston's offense woke up yesterday but they'll have their hands full on Saturday going up against Jeremy Hellickson today's hot starter. He faces off against another young gun in Clay Bucholz, a guy that is coming off a major injury. I'm still unsure if Bucholz will ever return to what he was in 2010. So who is the better young starter?
In my opinion right now it has to be Jeremy Hellickson and that's why I'm going with him in today's early game with great value. Hellickson last year had a 2.71 ERA during day starts and a 3.41 ERA away where the Rays were one of the best teams. He had a 2.45 ERA in 2 starts at Fenway so it's not his first time heading up to Boston. We may have to be worried down the line with Hellickson as he posted a 4.72 xFIP with just 5.57 K/9 and 3.43 BB/9 while posting a 2.95 ERA. He's out performing and that should catch up with him but for today I'm rolling with him and the Rays as Bucholz just is not the same quite yet. Bucholz also out performed in 2010 as he posted a 2.33 ERA with a 4.07 xFIP with 6.53 K/9 and 3.38 BB/9.
The Rays are 53-24 in their last 77 Saturday games and the Red Sox are now 4-17 in their last 21 following a win dating back to last season and 0-4 in their last 4 home vs. RH starter, 9-23 in their last 32 vs. AL East as well as 7-19 in their last 26 vs. RH starter. Rays have to make a statement with a win that says they are the Yankees main competition.
Larry Ness
Washington Nationals -110
Break up the Nats! The Nationals seek their best start in 31 years Saturday when they play the third of four home games against Cincinnati. Washington is 6-2 for the first time since 2001, when the franchise was still the Montreal Expos. The Nationals have won four straight (the last two coming over the Reds) and a win this afternoon would give the Washington franchise its first 7-2 start since 1981, when the Expos went on to make the only postseason appearance in the team's 43-year history. Washington's pitching staff has been the 'key' to its current four-game winning streak, during which the Nationals pitchers have allowed five total runs in 41 innings. The starting rotation has been near-perfect, posting an 0.36 ERA in that stretch by limiting the opposition to one ER over 25 innings. Detwiler, Strasburg, Gonzalez and Zimmermann have combined to strike out 25 in that span, allowing only nine hits for a .106 opponent batting average! Edwin Jackson, who signed an $11 million, one-year contract after he was part of a St Louis pitching staff which helped the Cards win the World Series last fall, gets the start. He squandered an early three-run lead in his Washington debut, allowing three runs over five innings and did not factor in the decision of Monday's 4-3 road loss to the Mets (this marks only his 2nd career appearance vs Cincy). The Reds will give the ball to Homer Bailey. Bailey was the SEVENTH overall pick in the 2004 draft but hasn't come anywhere near validating that rating with a 25-24 career record and 4.91 ERA. In his 2012 debut he allowed four runs on three HRs after getting the first two batters out in the first inning of Monday's game with St Louis. He settled down after that, yielding no more runs and staying in the game for 5.1 innings but did get the loss in a 7-1 game. I'm not ready to believe the Nationals can keep this up but I won't test them here, especially with them going against Bailey. Take the Nats.
MLB Predictions
Rays / Red Sox Under 9
Boston took game one of this series, their home opener, by a score of 12-2. The Red Sox are now 2-5, while the Rays are 4-3 on the season (1-3 on the road). Tonight’s starter for Tampa Bay is Jeremy Hellickson who went 8.2 innings against the Yankees at home in his first start of the season. Hellickson allowed just 3 hits and 0 earned runs in the win. Last season Hellickson was 13-10 with a 2.95 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and .210 opponents batting average, which earned him the AL rookie of the year award. He is 2-0 with a 4.26 ERA in his three career starts at Fenway. The Red Sox have Clay Buchholz on the mound who looks to rebound from a very rough first start of the season. Buchholz went just 4 innings giving up 8 hits and 7 earned runs against the Tigers. Clay missed a good part of last season and finished 6-3 with a 3.48 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and .241 opponents batting average. In 2010 he went 17-7 with a 2.33 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and .226 opponents batting average. Buchholz has a lifetime 4-2 record vs the Rays with a 1.81 ERA over eight starts. Take note that the UNDER is 4-0 in Hellickson’s last 4 starts, and 6-2 in his last 8 as an underdog. The UNDER is 16-5-1 in the Rays last 22 games following a loss, and 14-6-1 in their last 21 when their opponents scores 5+ in their previous game. The UNDER is 4-0 in Buchholz last 4 vs divisional opponents, 7-2 in his last 9 starts overall, and 16-5-1 in his last 22 starts as a favorite of -110 to -150. In these two teams 9 meetings in Boston last year we saw less than 9 runs in 6 of those games. With two solid pitchers on the mound I think we are getting a generous price with a total set at 9 – take the UNDER.
NHL Predictions
San Jose Sharks +145
The Sharks were outshot 42-34 but took Game 1 in the second overtime. The Sharks have now won 5 straight going back to the regular season – scoring 3+ runs in each of those games. This team picking up some confidence scares me somewhat as they have the talent and experience to pull off an upset. A less experienced St Louis Blues team finds themselves in a tough spot losing game 1 in overtime and needing a win tonight to avoid heading to San Jose down 2-0. Jaroslav Halak will start again tonight for the Blues. I’m not sure if Elliot is still dealing with his upper body injury, but if he were in net tonight I would likely stay away from taking San Jose. Elliot had a 1.56 GAA and .940 SV% on the season compared to Halak with a 1.97 GAA and .926 SV%. Niemi looked solid in net for San Jose stopping 40 of 42 shots thrown at him. This game should be closer to a pick’em price despite the Blues desperately needing a win. Take the Sharks.
Jeff Scott Sports
4 UNIT PLAY
Milwaukee -103 over ATLANTA: (Added) Last night I had the Braves and as I was watching the game I said to my self, where in the hell is this good bullpen the Braves were supposed to have. Atlanta was ahead 8-3 when Jair lefter the game and then their pen went on to allow 5 runs in the next 2 innings. Atlanta did win the game but their pen is horrible right now, as they have a 4.38 ERA overall and a 5.23 ERA in their last 3 games. Mike Minor gets the ball for the Braves today and he has 25 starts in his career and has averaged just 5.08 innings of work in those starts, so you can expect to see this bad pen out there today and that means the brewers will be in the game till the end. Mike has 1 start this year and he allowed 6 ER in just 5 innings in that start. He also has 1 start in his career vs the Brewers and he allowed 5 ER on 7 hits and 4 walks in just 4.1 innings of work in that game. I don't expect those numbers to get much better vs a Brewers squad that has some pop and has averaged 4.75 rpg so far on the year. Shaun Marcum did allow 3 ER in 6 innings of work in his opener vs the Cubs, but he also posted an 0.93 WHIP in that game, meaning he will not put a lot of runners on base. Shawn is also 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in 2 career starts vs the Braves. The Brewers have the edge on offense, the edge on the starer and a bullpen edge and that all adds up to them bouncing back from last night's tough loss.
3 UNIT PLAYS
ST LOUIS -1.5 (+110) over Chicago: Last night the Cubs Rocked the Cards to the tune of 9-5 as Adam Wainright really struggled. Looking back In hindsight It was a bad play for me as the Cards were playing their first home game after a 7 game road trip and teams don't do well in that spot. Now they have had a game under their belt at home and should be ready for a solid outing. Lance Lynn has never faced the Cubs and teams don't do that well in that situation. Lance had a solid outing vs a good Brewers team in his 1 start as he allowed just 1 ER on 2 hits in 6.2 innings of work and he should be able to slow down this Cubs team that has put up 17 runs in their last 2 games. The Cards last night did score 5 runs and they have hit .298 and have put up 5.3 rpg on the year, but after getting beat pretty bad in their home you can expect this very good offense to come out and put up a big number on the Cubs. They will be taking on Chris Volstad, who does have a 2-1 mark vs them but with a high 5.11 ERA. Chris has 1 starts here and he allowed 5 ER in just 5 innings of work. The Cards may put up more than that on him here and when they knock him out the Cubs will turn the ball over to a pen that has a 4.87 ERA in the early going. A 7-3 Cards win sounds about right.
Cincinnati/ Washington Over 7.5: (Added) The First 2 in this series both went to OT and still just 8 total runs were scored in the two games. I expect today to be different. The Over is 14-3 the last 2 seasons when Home is on the mound with an OU line of 7 to 8.5. Neither team is hitting all that much right now, but they both should break out vs today's starters. Homer Bailey comes in with a career 4.91 ERA and this year started out the same for him as he allowed 4 ER in just 5.2 innings of work in his opener and that now gives him an ERA of 6.91 in 5 career starts in March/ April. Homer has faced the Nats just once and that was back in 2008. He allowed 5 ER on 7 hits in just 2 innings in that game. Edwin Jackson had a rough go in his first start in a Nats uniform as he allowed 3 ER in just 5 innings vs the Mets and he has a 2.57 ERA in 1 career start vs the Reds, but this Cinciy offense is well overdue to break out and they should have a good showing in this one. One other thing to look at here is that these teams have some tired bullpens after BB extra inning games, so we should get some late runs in this one. I look for the Offenses to hve a solid showing as this one eclipses 10 runs.
Pittsburgh +139 over SAN FRANCISCO: Barry Zito had a fine opener as he pitched a complete game shutout vs the Colorado Rockies, so the question here is, is Barry ready to dominate again? I don't think so. It is very rare for a pitcher to have a better career in the AL than the NL, but that is what Barry has done, as he went 102-63 with a 3.55 ERA in the AL, but he has gone just 44-61 with a 4.50 ERA as a member of the Giants. In five starts vs the Pirates he is just 1-3 with a 3.41 ERA. In that opening shutout Barry threw 114 pitches and that's a lot for this early in the year, so at some point we should see a bad San Fran bullpen that has a 5.62 ERA in the early going so far. Pittsbugh will send Charlie Morton out there today and this will be his first start of the year. Morton struggled at the end of last year, but he was 10-10 with a 3.83 ERA overall, including going 1-0 with an 0.64 ERA in 2 starts vs the Giants last year. Oh and in that 1 win last year it was right here as he tossed 8 shutout innings. The Giants do rate bthe edge on offense, but how long will the Pirates continue to hit .176. They are due and what better way to breakl out than vs a pitcher that hasn't strung many solid BB performances together as a member of the Giants. Look for the upset here.
KANSAS CITY -134 over Cleveland: Cleveland did win in easy fashion last night as they jumped all over Hochevar early, on their way to an 8-3 win, but that may have take advantage of a team that was over pumped for their home opener and that was playing their first home game off a road trip. The Tribe is not a very good team as they are hitting just .194 and have an ERA of 4.22, including a pen ERA of 6.06. Jeanmar Gomez will be making his first start of the year, after his spot was skipped due to a rainout. Gomez has faced the Royals 5 times and is 2-2 with a 3.76 ERA in those starts, while he went 1-1 with 5.79 ERA in 2 starts vs them last year and in 3 starts here he is 1-2 with a 4.60 ERA. onathan Sanchez will make his first career start at Kauffman Stadium. Acquired from San Francisco in the offseason in the Melky Cabrera deal, Sanchez gave up two runs over five innings in his Royals debut Sunday, a 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Jonathan has just 2 starts vs the Tribe and he is 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA in those starts. The Royals still rate the better offense and have the much better pen, plus i give the edge to Sanchez over Gomez. Now that all the hype from their home opener is gone the Royals can get back to winning and that's just what I expect them to do here.
2 UNIT PLAYS
Texas -1.5 (-105) over MINNESOTA: Yu Darvish had a rough go of it in his first outing vs the Mariners, but after allowing 5 runs in the first 2 innings he settled down and didn't allow another run in his final 3+ innings he pitched. Now that all the hype surrounding his first start and the fact that he was at home for that start he can start doing what he was paid to do and that's pitch well. Last night the Rangers held the Twins to just 1 run after they had a good series vs the Halos and overall the Twins are hitting just .248 on the year and I expect Yu to keep this offense down here. The Rangers offense has not really waken up yet, but they are a powerful group and have had success vs today's starter, Nick Blackburn. Nick is 1-3 with a 4.75 ERA in 6 career starts vs the Rangers and he is a slow starter as well, as he has a 6-8 mark with a 4.81 ERA in March/ April. Texas is cleary the better team here and Yu will be out to prove that he is worth the money they paid him. The Texas bats will awaken for him again and give him another easy win here.
PHILADELPHIA -152 over NY Mets: I wouldn't make a game with this high a line a top play, so I will have it here as a lesser play. The Phils need this one in the worst way. Last night their offense was stymied by knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, but they should get back to hitting today as they face Johnathon Niese. Johnathon is 3-4 with a 4.08 ERA vs the Phils, but in his last 5 starts vs them he is 2-3 with a 5.53 ERA, plus in 5 starts at the Bank he is 1-3 with a 5.72 ERA. Oh yeah the Phils bats should wake back up today. Vance Worley had a good year last year and he started out well this year as he allowed just 1 ER in 6 innings vs the Pirates. Vance has had good success vs the Mets with a 3-1 mark and a 2.95 ERA in 4 starts vs them, while in 2 starts here he is 2-0 with an 0.69 ERA. Phils should bounce back strong today.
Arizona/ Colorado Over 9.5: Both pitchers have had some success vs their opponents today, but neither pitcher pitched well in their openers and that should have both offenses putting up some runs in this one. COLORADO is 23-9 OVER in home games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons, while ARIZONA is 32-17 OVER in road games after having won 4 or 5 of their last 6 games over the last 3 seasons. 10+ runs with ease here.
1 UNIT PLAY
Chicago/ St Louis Over 8: Chris Volstad has 1 start in this park in his career and he allowed 5 ER in 5 innings in that start, while he has a 5.11 ERA in 4 career starts vs them overall. This year he has a 5.40 ERA after 1 starts and will have a hard time improving that as he faces a St Louis team that is showing no ill effects of the loss of Pujols, as they are hitting .298 and have scored 5.3 rpg in the early going. St Louis also has to be a bit angray after getting bombed by the Cubs last night, so you can expect their offense to go a little crazy. The Cubs offense has been on fire as they have scored 17 runs in their last 2 games and even though they haven't seen Lance Lynn before, they should still be able to plate a few runs off of him. I expect around 10 runs in this one.