Frank Jordan
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox
Play: Tampa Bay Rays
This is a great match up of hard throwing pitchers with Price and Jackson matching up. Price will have to be on the money as the Tampa Bay offense was weak and with Longoria down things are looking bad. Tampa Bay is 0-5 and scored just seven total runs in those five games. Chicago is 3-2 and scored 40 runs in those five games. Look for Price to neutralize the Sox as the Rays offense finally gets going and smacks around a wild Jackson. Play Tampa Bay
Tony Stoffo
Mets vs. Phillies
Play: Under 7.5
Last night a total of 17 runs were scored in a wild game between the Mets and Phillies. Well this afternoon I look for a totally different game with Jon Niese matching up with Roy Halladay. First off Niese has faired very well against the Phillies with a 2.14 ERA and 1.143 WHIP. While Halladay is just as good against the Mets with a 6-2 record and 3.86 ERA - 1.196 WHIP. Plus with the wind blowing in from right field will only add to a low scoring game here and a strong recommendation on the Under in this spot.
Tom Freese
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Utah Jazz
Play: Portland Trail Blazers -4½
Utah is 5-20-1 ATS their last 26 games vs. a team with winning record. The Jazz are 8-20 ATS their 28 home games. Utah is 4-18 ATS off a straight up win. The Jazz are 4-9 ATS their last 13 Conference games. Portland is 7-3-1 ATS their last 11 games vs. a team with a losing record. Portland is 4-0 ATS their last 4 games off a straight up loss. The Blazers are 4-0 ATS after allowing 100 or more points in their last game. The favorite in this series is 10-3 ATS.
Jack Jones
Chicago White Sox -131
I'll continue fading the Tampa Bay Rays tonight while backing the Chicago White Sox in their home opener. I predicted a down year for the Rays this season when doing my preseason predictions for a number of reasons. The biggest being the losses of several key players, including Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Jason Bartlett, Rafael Soriano and Matt Garza. This line-up and pitching staff took a huge hit in the offseason to say the least.
It has certainly showed to this point as the Rays are 0-5, scoring 1.4 RPG while hitting .136. To pour more salt into their wound, their best hitter in Evan Longoria has been placed on the 15-day DL. David Price is a solid starter, but he simply isn't going to get enough run support tonight. The White Sox are scoring a whopping 8.0 RPG through five games this year. Edwin Jackson pitched a no-hitter the last time he faced the Rays, and Jackson is now 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in two career starts against Tampa. Take the White Sox Thursday.
Jeff Alexander
1 Unit on Nationals/Marlins UNDER 7.5
Neither of these teams are hitting the ball well in the early going and I expect their struggles at the plate to continue with Lannan and Johnson taking the hill this evening. The Under is 11-4 in Lannan's last 15 road starts vs. a team with a winning record and 8-3 in his last 11 road starts with the total set at 7.0-8.5. The Under is 8-1-1 in Johnson's last 10 home starts with the total set at 7.0-8.5 and 9-2-1 in his last 12 home starts. We'll take the Under.
Nick Parsons
Atlanta Thrashers @ New York Rangers
PICK: New York Rangers
Off a free play winner yesterday (Devils 4-2 over Leafs), we'll go for two in a row here; for a number of different reasons I believe the value in this particular contest is on the home side:
This is a huge game for the Rangers; not only do they play with "revenge" after a 3-2 loss on February 11th to the Thrashers, but they also look to continue to control their playoff fate.
After losing Ryan Callahan indefinitely (broke his leg blocking a shot from Zdeno Chara in a 5-3 win over Boston on Monday), New York has its work cut out for it.
It still holds a two-point lead over Carolina for the eighth and final playoff spot; however a loss in regulation in tonight's game would mean that New York would then need some help to qualify for the post-season.
“We have to refocus and come back down to an even keel to prepare ourselves for a good Atlanta team,” Brandon Dubinsky said. “We have to make sure that we’re prepared and ready to go.”
Atlanta would love nothing more than to play spoiler in its final game of a five game road trip, but so far its done a brutal job in that department over the last couple of games.
The Thrashers fell 3-2 to the Bruins on Saturday, which allowed them to clinch the Northeast; they then fell 6-3 to the Predators on Tuesday, which kept that teams' playoff hopes alive.
Atlanta must also deal with the "back to back" scenario, as it returns home for a game vs. the Hurricanes tomorrow night.
Not only are the Rangers 5-0-1 in their last six in front of the home town crowd, but they're also 25-18 (+8.3 units) when "revenging" a loss vs. an opponent this season.
Overwhelming factors working in favor of the home side make the Rangers worth the price tonight; consider a second look at New York in this contest.
Black Widow
1* on Utah Jazz +5
We'll side with the Utah Jazz Thursday showing excellent value at home against the Portland Trail Blazers. This is a Jazz team that just beat the Lakers at home last time out, and they'll continue playing out their season. Portland is basically guaranteed to be the 6, 7 or 8 seed in the Western Conference so there's really not much for them to play for there. The Blazers are more concerned with getting healthy, which was evident in their 87-108 loss to the Golden State Warriors last time out. The Jazz are 15-5 ATS (+9.5 Units) off an upset win as an underdog over the last 2 seasons. Utah has won 5 of their last 7 meetings with Portland overall, but will be looking to revenge back-to-back losses to the Blazers. The home team is 13-5 ATS in the last 18 meetings, and the Jazz are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home meetings with Portland. Take Utah and the points.
DAVID CHAN
Minnesota @ Vancouver
PICK: Minnesota
I bet value where I see it, and after back-to-back "puck line" winners, I expect the Minnesota Wild to give the complacent Vancouver Canucks everything they can handle tonight.
The Canucks wrapped up their very first President's Trophy, and then promptly lost a home-and-home set vs. the Oilers, getting outscored 6-1 in the losses.
The Wild are simply trying to end the season strong after a disappointing 2-9-1 stretch; Minnesota will look to take advantage of this situation though as they'll play against Cory Schneider instead of starter Roberto Luongo (and note that Minnesota is 21-20 [+6.2 units] when revenging a loss vs. an opponent this year).
Consider a play on the Minnesota Wild on the "puck line" tonight!