LARRY NESS
San Francisco Giants @ Arizona Diamondbacks
PICK: Arizona Diamondbacks
The D'backs and Giants played three 2-0 games last weekend up in San Francisco, with the Giants winning two of the three. Tim Lincecum, last year's Cy Young winner, was on the losing end of the Giants' loss last weekend but avenged that loss to the D'backs and Doug Davis with a 5-1 win last night (Lincecum struck out 12 in eight innings). Tonight's game features another pitching re-match from one of last weekend's 2-0 games, as Randy Johnson squares off against Max Scherzer. Johnson was superb last Sunday, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning and finishing with seven strikeouts, as he bounced back from two lousy efforts to begin the 2009 season (0-2 with an 11.42 ERA). Scherzer allowed just one run and three hits over five innings last Sunday to take the loss. The young right-hander fell to 0-5 in nine career starts (team is 1-8) but it shouldn't go un-noticed that his ERA is 3.45. This series features two of the worst offenses in baseball. San Francisco is last in the majors with 51 runs while Arizona is tied with Houston for second-to-last with 55. This figures to be a low-scoring game again and like I did yesterday (free pick winner on Lincecum and the Giants), I'm looking for last Sunday's losers (Scherzer and the D'backs), to be tonight's winners.
Jimmy The Moose
Calgary Flames at Chicago Blackhawks
Prediction: Calgary Flames
The Flames evened the series at 2-2 with their two home wins and will carry the momemntum into Chicago. The Flames outscored Chicago 10-6 in Calgary. Chicago won the first two games of the series at home but both were 3-2 finals, one in OT. The Blackhawks cound be considered luck to have taken both games at howe. Calgary is a veteran team and they have hit their groove in this series after the two big win. Looks for the veterans to be the better team tonight. Play on the Calgary Flames +.
LT Profits
Cincinnati Reds +115
Derek Lowe is having another good year for the Atlanta Braves, but Bronson Arroyo is off to a 3-0 start for the Cincinnati Reds, and we feel he offers value as a home dog today.
Arroyo was lucky to win his first start despite not pitching well, but he has since rebounded nicely with back-to-back Quality Starts. He allowed a total of four runs in 13.1 innings in those last two starts, and since he only needed 81 pitches to negotiate seven innings in his last outing, he should be very fresh here.
Remember that Arroyo had back-to-back very good seasons in 2006 and 2007, so perhaps his start this year is indicative of the fact that his off year last season was just a blip, and that he is in line for another fine season in 2009.
Now Lowe is 1-1 with a nice 3.27 ERA, but since looking simply dominant in eight shutout innings at Philadelphia on Opening Night, his last three starts have been much more ordinary. Also, Lowe is not typically a fast starter, as his sinker actually gains more sink as the season goes on and his arm gets a little more tired.
Besides, the groundball/flyball ratio for these pitchers is pretty similar right now, with Lowe at 1.72 and Arroyo at 1.65, so look for the underdog Reds to prevail in a groundball-fest.
Pick: Reds +115
Dave Price
1 Unit on Florida Marlins -133
Off 4 straight losses, you can count on the Marlins bouncing back tonight as Volstad gives them the big edge on the hill against Park who comes in with an ERA of 9.72 in his starts. Compare that to Volstad who has been brilliant with a 2-0 record and an ERA of 2.76. Florida is 11-1 against the money line against division opponents this season and 7-0 against the money line vs. an overused bullpen that pitches more than 3.2 innings per game this season. Lastly, plays on all favorites with a money line of -110 or higher (FLORIDA) - good NL offensive team (>=5.0 runs/game) against a team with a below average bullpen (ERA>=4.50), starting a pitcher who walked 5 or more hitters last outing are 89-31 since 1997. Bet the Fish.
Jeff Scott Sports
2 UNIT PLAY
NY Mets/ Washington Over 9.5
The Over is 8-1 in Nationals last 9 road games vs. a right-handed starter, while the Over is 9-4-1 in Pelfreys last 14 starts with the total set at 9.0-10.5. Daniel Cabrera has 3 starts on the and has a 4.50 ERA in those starts. His starts have averaged 12.67 rpg on the year. Michael Pelfrey has not had a grat start to the year, with an 8,10 ERA in his 2 starts, with those 2 games putting up 13.5 rpg. The last 9 in the series has put up 11.9 rpg, while the last 7 Met wins in this series has averaged 13.9 rpg. I see at least 11 in this game.
NBA Playoff Research
By Indiancowboy
San Antonio vs. Dallas
I cannot imagine SA playing any worse. Coach Pop pretty much sat Duncan and Parker for the entire second half in their game 3 loss as he believed their effort was lacking. I would expect the Spurs to be an active dog today and possibly push this game over as this was the case last time when SA won in Dallas back in December of last year. A small lean on the Spurs and the Over in this contest.
Atlanta vs. Miami
I love my Hawks as they look to bounce-back here on the road in Miami. I do think the Hawks do better today as they simply have more offensive weapons than the Heat, remember, the goal of the Hawks is to take the next 1 of 2 in Miami and they once again have home court again. To Miami's credit they have covered 7 of their last 10 while the Hawks aer 3-7ATS in their last 10.
Lakers vs. Utah
I just cannot imagine the Lakers playing as bad as they did in Game 3. This team looked terrible in Game 3, Kobe was a nonfactor, Bynum was in foul trouble early and yet this team still had a chance to win it with a shot at the end. The Jazz are simply not the same without Okur but if Okur plays, watch out, the Jazz have a chance to shock. Remember, having Okur allows the Jazz top lay Bynum and Gasol straight up a bit more and then they don't have to run around like a chicken with their head cutoff when trying to defend. Brewer is doing a decent job defending Kobe and if anything another lean on the Under here as the Jazz will have a bit more scoring with Okur, but he is just coming back so I expect him to take some time before getting the swing of things, but his effect will be seen on the defensive end imo.