Kyle Hunter
Washington Nationals vs. New York Mets
Play: New York Mets
The Mets have started the season 4-0. No one expected much of anything from this team. Dillon Gee is a streaky pitcher, and he was in pretty good form this Spring. Ryan Detwiler has struggled on the road in his career. The Nationals are 3-10 in Detwiler's last 13 road starts. I like the Mets here as a small home favorite.
Carolina Sports
Washington Nationals vs. New York Mets
Pick - New York Mets
Everyone is jumping on the Mets bandwagon. That is fine but everyone overreacts to winning streaks and losing streaks at the beginning of the year. The Mets are still a below avg team but have a pitcher on the mound tonight that is 3-0 lifetime vs Washington with a 3.00 ERA. Take The Mets tonight as they have a lot of positive momentum and are at home where they play much better than on the road.
Charlies Sports
Baltimore Orioles +120
The (1-3) New York Yankees of the MLB American League East division will take on the (3-1) Baltimore Orioles of the same division in 2012 MLB action. The Yankees will send Right handed Freddy Garcia, who is (0-0) with a 0.00 era this season to the pitchers mound vs. Left Handed Wei-Yin Chen , who is (0-0) with a 0.00 era. The Yankees are only 2-8 their last 10 Baseball games on the road. Orioles get the home win+120..
MATT RIVERS
NBA comp play winner tonight is the underdog Knicks to stay close tonight in Chicago.
Not real sure why the Knicks are getting close to double-digits tonight, as they just edged Chicago outright in overtime on Sunday afternoon in New York City to make it three straight covers versus Chicago, and covers in five of the last six series meetings overall.
The Knicks are also a positive 6-2 against the spread the last eight games played at the United Center, and come into the City of the Big Shoulders on a 12-3 spread run their last 15 games overall.
Chicago has been stalled in neutral of late, dropping three of their last four games straight up, and even though they have the services of Derrick Rose back active, the Bulls are just 13-14-1 against the spread in home games this season.
Chicago gets their revenge from Sunday's loss, but they will not extend this margin. Take the Knicks plus the points.
2♦ NEW YORK
SCOTT DELANEY
I'm sure the Chicago Bulls are looking to exact revenge on the New York Knicks, from Sunday's loss in New York, where Carmelo Anthony scored a season-high 43 and dropped the go-ahead three-pointer with 8.2 seconds left in overtime, propelling the Knicks to a 100-99 win over the Bulls.
And though it's easy to assume the Bulls are going to win this game, I'm not sold the Knicks are ready to lose it.
I think Anthony will be looking to build what might have been his proudest moment in New York, tonight when he steps on the floor at the United Center in the back end of a home-and-home set.
Sunday was a strange game loaded with runs, as the Knicks blew a 21-point, first-quarter lead, and then had to rally from a 10-point deficit with under four minutes left in regulation to force the extra period.
Though New York continues to play without injured starters Jeremy Lin (knee) and Amare Stoudemire (back), it has to play to its absolute potential with the season winding down and playoff positions still in question.
The Knicks are 11-3 since interim coach Mike Woodson took over for Mike D'Antoni, and will keep this one close against a seemingly struggling Bulls team that has lost three of their last four games and lead No. 2 Miami by just two games now.
Take the road pup.
3♦ NEW YORK
DEREK MANCINI
For today's Free Play, I'm laying it with the Bulls over the Knicks in a game that many people think Chicago can't win without Rose. Big mistake. How many times have I told you guys about not making a knee-jerk bet based on an injury?! Rose's injury has already been factored into the line, so don't go over-adjusting your line based on this information.
I know what the perception is... The Knicks beat the Bulls with Rose in the lineup on Sunday, so why wouldn't you take the points with the Knicks now that they're playing the Bulls without him, right? WRONG!
I know this is going to be hard to believe and I'm speaking strictly in the short-term, but the Bulls maybe better without Rose - at least the Rose we saw on Sunday. He may have had 29 points, but that came on 8 of 26 shooting and let's not forget the 8 turnovers. He's a liability until he gets back into game shape, and while he remains one of the best players in the NBA, the long lay-off clearly threw off his game.
Lastly, consider the line. Don't you find it a bit fishy that the oddsmakers are willing to give you this many with the Rose-less Bulls? It's almost as if they're begging you to take the Knicks. I'm not buying it, as the defensively superior Bulls will clamp down on an even more short-handed Knicks team tonight. Anthony will get his, but it won't be easy. And where does the rest of the offense come from? All things considered, lay it with Chicago over the NY Knicks Tuesday.
3♦ CHICAGO
DOM CHAMBERS
The Boston Celtics, the veteran team, was supposed to slow down toward the end of the season. The Celtics have gone 7-2 in their last 9 games both straight up and ATS.
In that stretch was a 91-72 thrashing at home against the Heat.
For Miami, their season average if 100.2 points a game, but in the last five games, that has dipped to 89.8 points. The Heat’s shooting percentage has gone down from 47.4 to 40.3 percent.
Boston’s Rajon Rondo will be a problem. He is on top of his game right now. He has had at least 10 assists in 17 straight games, which is the longest streak since John Stockton had a 29-game streak in 1992.
Even if Dwyane Wade returns for Miami, Rondo will be a problem. He sets up the offense for the Celtics and makes everything click.
For a Heat team that is having offensive problems, this is a lot of points to cover. The Heat may get the win, but it will be tough to get the cover.
Take the Celtics and the points.
3♦ CELTICS
JEFF BENTON
Your Tuesday freebie is the New York Yankees to make it two in a row over the Baltimore Orioles.
Nothing like getting healthy after an 0-3 sweep at Tampa Bay, then making a stop in a city where you have dominated for many a moon. It seems the Yankees always win when they visit Camden Yards, and last night was no exception as the Yanks picked up their first win of the 2012 season at the expense of their red-headed step-child Baltimore.
New York is an impressive 47-15 the past 62 meetings with their division-rival, and the Yankees have cashed in with 19 wins in their last 26 games played at Camden Yards.
Freddy Garcia will take the ball for New York, and with Michael Pineda on the shelf to start the season, and Andy Pettitte working his way back into major league form, Garcia is definitely not assured of keeping his spot in the starting rotation, so expect Garcia to pitch as if this was the 7th game of the World Series.
Wei-Yin Chen will make his major league debut for Buck Showalter's club, and while the Orioles have impressed with wins in three of their first four, I still feel this is a very cheap price on the visiting Yankees to make it a 20-7 mark at Camden Yards their last 27 games played in Baltimore.
Back the Yankees here.
4♦ N.Y. YANKEES
SPORTS WAGERS
WASHINGTON +5½/+190 over Orlando
This is exactly the type of game the Magic are vulnerable in. The Dwight Howard-Stan Van Gundy feud has died down a bit after Orlando defeated both Philadelphia and Detroit, the latter by 30 points. Now the Magic will play their third game in four days and the tail end of back-to-backs with two full days of rest on deck. Orlando has won nine straight over the Wizards and that includes all three games this season. The Wizards are playing a little bit better since the trade deadline and catch a break here with Dwight Howard sitting this one out. Kevin Seraphin has made the departure of JaVale McGee tolerable and Nene’s absence due to injury manageable for the Wizards. He’s giving them good minutes and has scored in double figures in 11 of the clubs past 15 games. The Magic are likely to come in here complacent and with no sense of urgency whatsoever. The Wizards may get whacked here, as that is always a possibility but the situation and price make them worthy of a wager. Play: Washington +190 (Risking 1 unit). Play: Washington +5½ (Risking 1.1 units to win 1).
Jeff Scott Sports
3 UNIT PLAY
NY Knicks/ Chicago Under 186.5: Google News Play.The Bulls have not played the greatest of defense of late and they will need to shore that part of their game up as they head to the post season. Chicago has allowed just 88.6 ppg on 42.3% shooting at home on the year and will be taking on a Knick squad that has averaged just 94.7 ppg on the road this year. Defense has been the name of the game for the Knicks since Woodson took over, as they have allowed just 88.6 ppg in the 14 games with him at the helm and they should be able to control this Chicago team that has struggle to shoot the ball well of late. No a high octane game by any stretch and with both teams looking to their defenses I will call for this one to stay in the 170's.
David Banks
Chicago Bulls -9
The New York Knicks (29-27, 29-27 ATS) and the Chicago Bulls (43-14, 32.24-1 ATS) played one of the most exciting games of this NBA season on national television on Sunday. The two teams now get a chance to do it again on ESPN as they play the back end of a home-and-home series at the United Center on Tuesday night at 9:30 ET.
The Knicks raced out to an early 27-6 lead on Sunday, only to see the Bulls slowly but surely work their way back in the game. The Knicks fell behind for the first time in the game in the fourth quarter and eventually got down by 10 points. New York then came back mainly due to Carmelo Anthony scoring his most points ever in a Knicks' uniform. Anthony finished with 43 points, and more importantly, he hit the game-tying three-pointer at the end of regulation and the game-winning three-pointer with eight seconds left in overtime for the 100-99 victory. Yes, the Knicks were fortunate that the game even went into overtime considering that the Bulls missed four straight free throws in the final 34 seconds of regulation. Still, the fact that New York did not back down vs. the team with the best record in the NBA is encouraging. The Knicks are now 11-3 both straight up and against the spread under new head coach Mike Woodson, as unlike his predecessor Mike D'Antoni, Woodson has stressed defense. In fact, the Knicks have allowed the fewest points in the NBA since he took over as coach, at only 88.6 per game under his brief tenure.
Now the Bulls still have the best record in the NBA and they know they practically gave Sunday's game away with poor free throw shooting. That game also marked Derrick Rose's return after a 12-game absence with a groin injury, and he was noticeably rusty in the first half before coming on strong in the second half. Rose did finish with 29 points, but he did so while shooting 8-for-26 from the field. Believe it or not, those can all be seen as positives from the Bulls' point of view, as Rose won't struggle with his shooting much longer and Chicago won't give away many games at the foul line. The Bulls are still the best rebounding team in the NBA and they did out-rebound the Knicks 59-47 in the one-point loss. Also, while the Knicks have had the hot defense since Woodson took over, it is still the Bulls that rank second in the NBA in scoring defense over the whole season allowing 88.9 points per game, second only to the backsliding Philadelphia 76ers, and Chicago is ranked fourth in filed goal percentage against at 42.7 percent. The Bulls held the Knicks to 38.2 percent shooting Sunday, but they simply could not contain Carmelo.
The Knicks have held their own with the Bulls this season as they are now 3-0 ATS despite losing the first two meetings outright. Chicago won the first meeting this season at Madison Square Garden 105-102 while failing to cover the 3-point spread and they the Bulls then won only 104-99 as 8-point favorites here in Chicago in the second meeting before the Knicks broke through in the straight up column as 3-point underdogs Sunday. Taking it back further, the Knicks are 6-2 ATS in their last eight trips to The Windy City
MLB Predictions
New York Mets -109
These two teams will meet again tonight after the Mets won in walkoff fashion last night. The Mets were down 3-0 at one point before coming back to win 4-3. The Mets are now 4-0 on the season as they've enjoyed playing at home for their opening series'. Washington took their first two games of the season in Chicago against the Cubs before dropping the series finale and the opener against the Mets. Tonight's starter for the Nationals is Ross Detwiler. Detwiler started 10 games and appeared in 15 for the Nationals last season going 4-5 with a 3.00 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and .258 opponents batting average. On the road he was 1-3 with a 3.21 ERA. Dillon Gee will be on the mound for the Mets as they look to start the season 5-0. Gee had a good spring pitching 25.2 innings and posting a 3.16 ERA with 20 strikeouts and just 4 walks. Gee went 13-6 last season despite a 4.43 ERA. He also posted a 1.38 WHIP and .248 opponents batting average in his 30 appearances (27 starts). Gee was much better at home going 7-3 with a 3.17 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and .227 opponents batting average. He has faced the Nationals in 5 career starts posting a solid 3-0 record and 3.09 ERA. Take note that the Nationals are just 3-10 in Detwiler's last 13 road starts, and 7-15 in his last 22 starts as an underdog. Look for the Mets to continue to roll tonight behind Gee who pitches well at home. Take the METS to win with a generous price tonight.
Dave Price
Milwaukee Brewers -108
The Brewers have the edge on the hill with Narveson, who is 5-1 with a 2.76 ERA in six career starts against the Cubs. Maholm is just 1-8 with a 4.89 ERA in his last 16 starts against the Brewers. The Brew Crew has won 8 of its last 10 versus Chicago.
Jeff Alexander
Arizona Diamondbacks -113
With a 3-0 start, the D-backs are now 37-18 in their last 55 overall. They are an impressive 11-4 in their last 15 games as a road favorite, 7-1 in their last 8 games as a road favorite of -110 to -150 and 11-1 in their last 12 games vs. a team with a winning percentage below .400. The Snakes are also 10-4 in their last 14 meetings with San Diego. The Padres are 16-35 in their last 51 series openers, 4-10 in their last 14 games vs. a team with a winning percentage above .600, 3-8 in their last 11 games following a win and 8-24 in their last 32 games as a home underdog. We'll take Arizona.
Jeff Scott Sports
4 UNIT PLAY
Atlanta/ Houston Over 7.5: 3 things will not continue to happen. The Braves will not lose 162 games this year, their offense will not hit .164 for the year and the Houston Pitching staff will not keep up their ERA of 2.25 for much longer. Houston has been good out the gate with solid pitching and hitting, but it is also time for the Atlanta bats to wake up and they should have a good chance tonight as they face Kyle Weiland, who will make his debut for Houston, which acquired him from Boston. Weiland went 0-3 with a 7.66 ERA in seven games - five starts - in his first major league action with the Red Sox last season. Tommy Hanson has owned the astros as he has an 0.97 ERA in his last 5 starts vs them, but this Houston team is hitting very well right now, as they have hit .256 and have scored 5.2 rpg in the early going. Let's also note that a strong Atlanta pen has a 4.26 ERA in the early going as well, so unless Hanson goes all the way we should get some late runs by Houston here. Believe it or not, Minute Maid Park is a very good hitting park, but you wouldn't know it cause the Houston offense has been so bad in recent years. This year is different so far and they will find a way to scratch a few runs over the plate vs Hanson, while the Atlanta bats finally waken up and grab the rest to put this one over the total. KEY TRENDS--- HOUSTON is 25-13 OVER in home games vs. NL teams scoring 4.3 or less runs/game on the season over the last 2 seasons and 23-9 OVER in home games after a game where the bullpen gave up no runs over the last 2 seasons.
3 UNIT PLAYS
CINCINNATI -102 over St Louis: (Google News Play). I really like the Reds in this one. Leake might seem like a sketchy play because he has a 6.97 ERA in three career starts against the Cardinals, but take him because he starts seasons extraordinarily well. In his career, he is 5-0 in nine April starts, limiting batters to just a .242 BA and .681 OPS. while posting a 3.86 ERA. The Reds have been picked ny many to with the Central Division, but so far it has been the Cards show. Cincinnati is a much better team than they have showed thus far and their strong offense is due to wake up. They should be able to do that today vs Kyle Loshe, who is just 1-2 with a 5.10 ERA in 4 career starts vs the Reds at GAB. The St louis bats have been on fire, but they can't keep that torrid pace up and that should open the door for the eds to get some revenge for Monday night.
Boston/ Toronto Over 9.5: (Added) Last year Daniel Bard was a reliever and he was 2-9 with a 3.33 ERA for the year. Now being a reliever for his career i do not expect him to go long into this one and that will then turn the ball over to the Boston pen that has a 5.87 ERA in the early going. Tonight Boston pitchers will face a Toronto team that is hitting just .188, but that number may be a bit deceiving as they have played a couple of extra inning games. This offense is still a strong bunch and should get rolling tonight vs a weak Boston staff that has an ERA of 6.75 in the early going. The Boston offense is their strength and they have scored 16 runs in their last 2 games and that should continue tonight vs Kyle Drabek. Kyle has just 2 years of major league experience and he has really struggled in his time in the majors, posting a 5.83 ERA in his starts, and in 2 meetings vs the BoSox he has allowed 12 ER in just 9 innings. The Over is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings here between these teams, while the last 10 games here have averaged 11.9 rpg.
Chicago/ Cleveland Under 7.5: (Added) Neither team is hitting much in the early going as Cleveland has .152 BA, while the Sox come in hitting just .221 so far. Philip Humber has struggled vs Cleveland with a 6.08 ERA in 3 starts vs them, but he shouldn't have a problem holding down this pop gun attack of Cleveland's. Should Humber get in trouble then he will turn the ball over to a pen that has just an 0.93 ERA in the early going so far. Chicago's offense has also struggled this year and it may not get much better vs Jeenmar Gomez, who has a nice 2.25 ERA in 2 career starts vs the Sox. Neither offense has really looked good this year so far and I don't expect the bats to wake up tonight as this will the 5th game in a row in which the Sox have had an Under. KEY TRENDS--- CHICAGO WHITE SOX are 23-9 UNDER in road games after 2 or more consecutive unders over the last 2 seasons and 15-4 UNDER in road games vs. AL teams scoring 3.7 or less runs/game on the season over the last 3 seasons.
Kansas City -101 over OAKLAND: (Added) Coming off a huge series vs the Halos, in which they pull a couple of big upsets, the Royals were just not ready to take on the A's last night as they lost 1-0. This is an offense that is much better than that and they will wake back up tonight. Tonight they will face Graham Godfrey, who has just 4 career starts and is 1-2 with a 4.71 ERA in those starts. Opposing him will be Danny Duffy, who had a rough year, going 4-8 with a 5.64 ERA, but he did face the A's twice last year and he was 2-0 with a 3.65 ERA in the two starts. The A's offense is not that strong as they have hit .224 overall and .222 vs left-handed pitching and I just don't seem them getting on track tonight vs a pitcher who had good success vs them last year. The Royals have the better offense and better starter on the mound and will get back to winning with a solid win here.
2 UNIT PLAYS
Detroit/ Tampa Bay Over 8.5: Matt Moore was brought up late last year and looked like a solid pitcher. Moore went 1-0 last year with a 2.89 ERA allowing nine hits and three earned runs while striking out 15 in 9.1 innings of work. He will not have an easy time in his first start of the 2012 season as he takes on a Detroit Tigers team that is just Killing the ball right now as they hit .336 and scored 26 runs in their opening series vs Boston. Tampa Bay wasn't a slouch on offense as they scored 18 runs on .296 hitting vs the Yanks over the weekend. Rick Porcello hasn't faced the Rays since 2010 and he has a 3.46 ERA vs them in 2 starts, but Comerica Park is not a place that he has pitched well in as he has a 4.59 ERA in 44 career starts here, including a 5.75 ERA in this park last year. Rick is also a slow starter with a 6.04 ERA in 14 career starts in March/ April. This game has too much offense and not enough pitching to think that these teams can't hit at least 9 runs.
LA DODGERS -1.5 (+100) Over Pittsburgh: The Dodgers have been impressive in their last 4 home openers as they have outscored their opposition by a 27-7 count in those games. The Dodgers have also had great success vs the Pirates at home the last 2 years as they are 6-1 in their last 7 home games vs them and have outscored the Buccos by 34 runs in the process, while all six wins have come by at least 4 runs. The Buccos come in hitting just .192 in the early going and it won't get much better vs Clayton Kershaw, who has gone 5-0 with a 1.16 ERA in his last 7 starts dating back to last year. He is 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA in his career vs Pittsburgh, but with the way the Pirates are hitting I just don't seem them doing much damage vs him today. Kevin Correia did have a winning year last year (12-11), but with a high 4.79 ERA. He did finish the year with a 1-4 mark and a 7.23 ERA in his last 7 starts and is just 2-3 with a 3.99 ERA in his last 5 starts vs the Dodgers. The Dodgres offense hasn't been that strong either, but they still have more offense than Pittsburgh and the much better starter on the mound and they should win this one easily.
Arizona/ San Diego Over 6.5: (Added) What pitchers park? All of the sudden Petco park is seeing some runs and they will continue to see them tonight. Arizona comes in hitting just .253, but they did score 17 runs in the 3 game set vs a tough San Fran pitching staff. Arizona will be facing Edinson Volquez, who has now posted a 5.36 ERA in his last 7 starts, dating back to last year, after he allowed 3 ER in just 5 innings to the Dodgers in his first start this year. Edinson has also struggled with the D-Back, posting a 5.19 ERA in 3 career starts vs them. Trevor Cahil has never faced San Diego, but he does have a 4.71 ERA in his career on the raod and in 11 March/ April starts he has an ERA of 3.69, so this weak San Diego offense should get going a bit with a few runs here. Both team ERA's are over 4.00 in the early going and in a park that is now allowing runs i can easily see at least 7 runs scored in this one.
1 UNIT PLAY
Chicago/ Cleveland Under 7.5: (Added) Neither team is hitting much in the early going as Cleveland has .152 BA, while the Sox come in hitting just .221 so far. Philip Humber has struggled vs Cleveland with a 6.08 ERA in 3 starts vs them, but he shouldn't have a problem holding down this pop gun attack of Cleveland's. Should Humber get in trouble then he will turn the ball over to a pen that has just an 0.93 ERA in the early going so far. Chicago's offense has also struggled this year and it may not get much better vs Jeenmar Gomez, who has a nice 2.25 ERA in 2 career starts vs the Sox. Neither offense has really looked good this year so far and I don't expect the bats to wake up tonight as this will the 5th game in a row in which the Sox have had an Under. KEY TRENDS--- CHICAGO WHITE SOX are 23-9 UNDER in road games after 2 or more consecutive unders over the last 2 seasons and 15-4 UNDER in road games vs. AL teams scoring 3.7 or less runs/game on the season over the last 3 seasons.