Dave Price
1 Unit on NY Mets +1.5 -125
The Phillies are being overvalued with Hamels on the bump when you consider he is just 2-8 all-time against the Mets. Hamels lost all 4 of his starts against the Mets last season. Also, the Phillies haven't seen Young since 2009 and haven't had much success against him, going just 1-3 on the money line the last 4 times he's started against them. With this in mind, the Mets are showing solid value catching 1.5 runs at this price. Bet the Mets on the run line.
Jeff Alexander
1 Unit on San Francisco Giants -125
The Giants are 8-1 in their last 9 games following a day off, 9-1 in their last 10 games as a road favorite and 4-1 in their last 5 games at San Diego. They are also 5-0 in Bumgarner's last 5 starts. The Padres are just 2-6 in their last 8 games as a home underdog. Bumgarner has been terrific in 3 career starts against the Padres, posting an ERA of 2.33 and a WHIP of 0.983. I expect him to silence a San Diego lineup tonight that will really be missing Adrian Gonzalez in pitcher-friendly Petco.
Rocketman
Washington Nationals vs. Florida Marlins
Play: Florida Marlins
Washington is 8-30 last 3 years when playing with a day off. Florida is 25-11 overall vs Washington the past 3 years. Sanchez is 5-0 with a 2.28 ERA overall vs Washington since 1997. Nationals are 14-43 in their last 57 games as a road underdog. Nationals are 1-7 in their last 8 during game 1 of a series. Nationals are 0-4 in their last 4 when their opponent allows 5 runs or more in their previous game. Marlins are 20-7 in Sanchez's last 27 starts as a home favorite. Nationals are 14-41 in the last 55 meetings. We'll recommend a small play on Florida tonight!
Craig Trapp
Phoenix Suns vs. Chicago Bulls
Play: Phoenix Suns +10.5
Nash is back tonight for the Suns and they bounce back against the Bulls. CHI has been winning but has only covered in one of last four games. Noah and Boozer are not 100% which will be a problem against great shooting bigs for the Suns. Easy cover here.
Tom Freese
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Play: Memphis Grizzlies -9
The Clippers are 30-47 straight up this year. Los Angeles is 2-8 ATS their last 10 games overall. The Clippers are 13-41 ATS vs. NBA Southwest teams. The Clippers are 3-14 ATS on Tuesday. Los Angeles is 19-44 ATS their last 63 road games vs. a team with a winning record. Memphis is 44-33 straight up this year. The Grizzlies are 20-7 ATS their last 27 home games and they are 41-16 ATS their last 57 games overall. Memphis is 7-0 ATS their last 7 home games vs. a with win percentage vs. a team with win percentage of less than 40%. The Grizzlies are 36-14-1 ATS vs. Western Conference teams.
Jimmy Boyd
1 Unit on Denver Nuggets -4.5
Denver needs to win both of its games against Oklahoma City this week in order to have a shot at the Northwest Division title. These two teams will likely meet in the first round of the NBA playoffs with the division winner holding the home court advantage. The Nuggets will likely come up just short in the division race, but they won't squander this opportunity to send a major message. "You hear Lakers, you hear Dallas, certain teams. But you have to talk about the Nuggets, too," point guard Raymond Felton said. It's hard to argue that. After all, the Nuggets are on a monster 16-4 SU and 18-2 ATS tear. Denver has done a lot of damage this season on its home floor, where it is 31-7 with an average winning margin of 10.4 points. Since the All-Star break, the Nugs are on a 9-0 SU and 8-1 ATS run at home, winning these contests by a ridiculous 19.7 points on average. In addition, the Thunder haven't had any luck at the Pepsi Center, losing their last 7 visits by an average of 19.1 points. We'll lay the points with Denver tonight.
Freddy Wills
Oakland A's vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Play: Toronto Blue Jays
Jays at home at this price against an A's team that are not considered sluggers or much of a team on the road. This team was among the worst with their bats on the road last year just 3.81 runs per game on the road last year and they contend with a hot hitting Jays club that can hit homeruns. McCarthy goes for the A's and he's had some success for the Jays, but the Jays have seen him a bunch and he's not even close to being the same pitcher away as he is as at home. Last year he had an ERA approaching 6.0 on the road last year.
Jack Jones
Houston Rockets -8.5
The Houston Rockets are in a must-win situation tonight. They actually have been playing in this must-win mode for about a month, and these players are handling it very well. Houston trails both Memphis and New Orleans by 3 games for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Rockets are 15-5 SU & 13-7 ATS in their last 20 games overall. Houston has won its three meetings with Sacramento (22-54) this season by an average of 14.6 points, the most recent a 123-101 road rout March 7.
The Rockets have now won eight of their last nine home games against teams below .500. The Kings are 11-26 on the road this year, allowing 107.4 PPG and 48.4% shooting. Houston is 27-13 ATS versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game this season. The Rockets are 12-3 ATS versus up-tempo teams averaging 83 or more shots/game this season. The Rockets are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games following a ATS loss. Houston is 4-0 ATS in their last four meetings with Sacramento. Bet the Rockets Tuesday.
Ray Monohan
Clippers vs. Grizzlies
Play: Over 199
I don't expect a lot of 'D' to be played in this one tonight. The Grizzlies defeated the league’s 2nd-worst team in their last outing and will try to match a season high with their 5th straight victory when they host the Clippers tonight. Memphis enters Tuesday’s showdown in a tie with New Orleans for the final 2 spots in the West. LA is headed for the lottery again, only they already traded that high pick in deal to dump Baron Davis at the deadline, this team is done folks, plain and simple. They will, however, carry some positive momentum into Tuesday’s tilt, having defeated OKC 98-92 on Saturday. Memphis has won four of five in the series, and are shooting 49.4% from the field since the All-Star break (#2 in the NBA). Trends I like for this one include, Over is 13-5 in Clippers last 18 games following a S.U. win, Over is 4-1 in Grizzlies last 5 games playing on 2 days rest. Over is 6-0 in Grizzlies last 6 Tuesday games.
Info Plays
3* Angels -107
Reasons why Angels will cover:
1) The Angels send ace Jered Weaver to the mound against a Tampa Bay offense that hasn't been good to start the season and remains without their best hitter Evan Longoria. Weaver allowed just two hits in his last start against the Royals, and didn't allow a run. Weaver is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 5 starts against the Rays, while Tampa Bay starter Jeff Niemann is 1-2 with a 9.38 ERA in 5 starts against the Angels.
2) The Angels are 43-21 against the money line after scoring 8 runs or more over the last 3 seasons, and 14-2 against the money line after a game where they had 6 or more extra base hits over the last 3 seasons.
3) The Rays are just 4-10 against the money line in home games after scoring 1 run or less over the last 2 seasons.
Sean Murphy
Los Angeles Angels @ Tampa Bay Rays
PICK: Los Angeles Angels
I had the Rays pegged as one of the worst teams in baseball heading into the new season, and an opening weekend sweep suffered at the hands of the Orioles only strengthened my opinion.
The oddsmakers are having a bit of a tough time handling the Rays in the early going - they were favored in all three games against the Orioles over the weekend, and here we find them in a pk'em price range against one of the best pitchers in baseball in Jered Weaver.
That's not all that surprising, as it usually takes the betting marketplace a couple of weeks to catch up to teams that have fallen off after years of contending.
The Angels didn't exactly enjoy a banner opening weekend either. They dropped three of four games in Kansas City, including a discouraging 12-9 13-inning defeat on Sunday.
Los Angeles biggest issue so far has been its bullpen. That 'pen had a tough time containing the Royals, posting a 5.06 ERA and 2.00 WHIP in 16 innings of work. However, they do draw a favorable matchup here, as the Rays simply aren't hitting right now. Tampa Bay is batting a collective .132 through three games.
The Rays bats have been quiet, and that's not a shocker when you consider they lost Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena in the offseason, and are now dealing with the absence of Evan Longoria due to injury. Their two big offseason acquisitions, Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez are a combined 1-for-20 at the plate so far.
As I mentioned, Jered Weaver will get the call for the Halos on Tuesday. He was outstanding in his season debut, allowing just two hits and two walks over 6 1/3 shutout innings against the Royals. The current Rays roster is hitting just .188 and slugging .235 against him, while Weaver has recorded a 31:7 strikeout to walk ratio.
Jeff Niemann gets the nod for the Rays. He was inconsistent at best last season, and went winless in two starts against the Angels. Torii Hunter and Howie Kendrick are a combined 9-for-15 (.600) against the big right-hander.
The Angels took two of three here at Tropicana Field last season, and remember, that was against a much stronger Rays squad than the one they'll face on Tuesday. Look for them to pull out a win behind another strong effort from their ace. Take Los Angeles.