Maddux Sports
Baseball
2 units on San Francisco -112
2 units on Milwaukee +124
2 units on LA Angels +147
Bob Balfe
Giants -120 over Padres
Lincecum/Young
Karl Garrett
20 DIMER - SF GIANTS (Lincecum over Young),
20 DIMER - LA ANGELS (Mosely over Beckett)
10 DIMER - BOSTON
20 DIMER - SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (Lincecum over Young)
Small price to pay for the reining Nl Cy Young Award winner, as Tim Lincecum goes against Chris Young.
Lincecum was roughed up on opening day, but his number against the Padres are rock-solid, going 3-0 in 5 starts against them last year, alllowing only 2 earned runs in 37 innings of work!
I don't think it is likely San Diego is going to sweep a San Francisco team that went 13-5 against them last season.
The Giants have been able to hang the loss on Chris Young the last 3 times he has faced them, and I like them to avoid the sweep today.
20 DIMER - LOS ANGELES ANGELS ((Mosely over Beckett))
Have to give the Angels a play at this price, as Boston "ace" Josh Beckett did not fool the Halos at all last year, going 0-2 in his 2 starts against LA, while allowing 11 earned runs to score in just 13 innings of work.
These teams have split the first 2 meetings this weekend, as LA is now 6-2 at home since 2007 versus Boston, and 9-2 overall during the regular season against the Red Sox since last year.
At this price, you owe it to yourself to grab the plus-money on the Angels today.
10 DIMER - BOSTON CELTICS
Even though this is a meaningless game as far as the playoff standings are concerned, I have to think that since Boston was bombed by double-digits in their first stop at Quicken Loans in January, they will want to show Cleveland that their 38-1 straight up record is not as invincible as they think it is come the postseason.
Let's face it, these teams are quite likely to be the last 2 standing come the Eastern Conference Finals, and Boston will need to establish the fact they can win at Cleveland if they are to advance.
I like Boston to hang tough at Cleveland in this one, as this game means way more to Boston than it does to Cleveland.
Take the points.
Trace Adams
PAY-AFTER-YOU-WIN - 500* - San Antonio Spurs
I know this line a tad inflated, but it is quite important that the Spurs end up with the home court advantage in the first round, and that means they MUST win this road game tonight.
Sacramento is 2-14 straight up their last 16 games, and they are mired in a 7 game slide, failing their last 5 against the spread.
Could they find the back-door tonight?
In the NBA, of course they could, but I think the Spurs need to flex their muscles just a little, and since they have covered 3 of their last 4 when laying points, I will take my chances with the team "needing" to win as opposed to the team just closing out the year.
San Antonio has won the last 4 series meetings, and 9 of the last 10 overall. Against the spread, the Spurs have covered the last pair of meetings, and are 4-2 against the spread the last 6 showdowns.
I say lay the double-digits, as the Spurs notch the BLOWOUT win.
PAY-AFTER-YOU-WIN
500♦ - San Antonio Spurs
Dr. Canada
Blackhawks -140
Raging Bull
Soccer:
PSG/Lille over 2 (France Ligue 1)
Werder Bremen/Bayer Leverkusen Over 3 (German Bundesliga)
NBA:
76ers/Raptors Over 205
MLB:
Royals +125
Rays/O's Over 9 -115
Las Vegas Sport Picks
2* Hornets -3
Eddie Mush
5* Griz +12
5* Hornets -3
8* Celts +6.5
Insider Sports Report
4* Houston (Rodriguez)/St. Louis (Lohse) UNDER 8.5
Range: 9 to 8
4* Chicago Cubs (Dempster) -140 over Milwaukee (Suppan)
Range: -125 to -160
3* N.Y. Mets (Santana)/Florida (Johnson) UNDER 7.5
Range: 8 to 7
Brandon Lang
10 Dime Mavericks
10 Dime Sixers
10 Dime Cavaliers
FREE - Grizzlies
Elite Sports Picks
Boston/Cleveland OVER 186
Discount Sports Picks
10* Chicago White Sox (Buehrle) -140 over Minnesota (Blackburn)
5* Texas (Millwood)/Detroit (Jackson) UNDER 10
ATS Lock Club
3 Units Hornets
ATS Financial
3 Units Celtics
Larry Ness
PERFECT STORM -MLB(72.8% situation)
My 20* PERFECT STORM is on the Chi White Sox at 2:05 ET. The White Sox snapped a three-game losing streak with an 8-0 win over Minnesota on Saturday. Bartolo Colon pitched seven strong innings, as Chicago bounced back from a 12-5 loss in Friday's series opener. The White Sox posted their most runs of the season, even though regulars like Thome, Pierzynski and Getz were given the day off. Chicago, which led the majors in HRs last year (235), had scored only 10 runs in their first four contests combined, opening 1-3. Chicago had been hitting just .154 with RISP through the first four games but went 5-for-12 in those situations Saturday. The team's only other win this season came on Tuesday, in its weather-delayed opener. Mark Buehrle started that game, allowing two runs and six hits while walking three and hitting two batters in five innings. Buehrle was "bailed out" of that mediocre first effort, when Thome hit a three-run HR in the eighth. However, Buehrle typically doesn't need to be 'bailed out" too often. He joined the team in 2000, making 28 appearances but just three starts. He became a regular part of the rotation in 2001 and over these last eight seasons is 118-86 with a 3.78 ERA . That's an average of just under 15 wins each year. He's always been a much better home pitcher than road pitcher, as from 2001-08, the White Sox are 95-47 (.669) in his home starts and 60-67 (.472) in his road starts. That home/away dichotomy was much greater last year, as Chicago was 14-3 (2.65 ERA) in his home starts but just 4-14 (5.14 ERA) in his road starts. Nick Blackburn (11-11 with a 4.05 ERA in 33 starts LY) will get the start for Minnesota. The last time Nick Blackburn faced the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, he came very close to pitching the Twins into the postseason. Jim Thome's solo homer was all the White Sox got off Blackburn (just four hits in 6.1 innings) but it was enough, as the 1-0 win in last season's one-game tiebreaker for the AL Central Division title sent Chicago to the postseason for the first time since the club won the 2005 World Series. Blackburn would like to replicate that late-season effort here, after allowing four runs and eight hits while walking three in five innings last Tuesday at home vs the Mariners. The Twins won that game 6-5, scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth, after the first two batters of that inning had been retired. While Buehrle has proven to be a dominant home pitcher this entire decade, Blackburn (in his first year as a starter in 2008) posted a 2.95 home ERA in 14 starts (team was 10-4), while fashioning a rather unspectacular 4.97 ERA in 19 road starts (team was 5-14). Those numbers hardly bode well for the Twins here, nor do these situational stats. The Twins will be facing a lefty on the road for the first time this year, after going 11-21 in that role last year (minus-$1,180). Meanwhile, the White Sox are at home, facing a right-hander in a day game, where they went 16-5 in that role last season, averaging 6.4 RPG (Sox are 1-1 vs righties in home day games this year). Doing the math, the White Sox are 15-3 at home in Buehrle's starts since the beginning of 2008 and 17-6 in home day games vs right-handers, while going against Blackburn in his road starts LY left opponents 14-5 (it's his first roadie TY) and going against the Twins when they have faced a lefty on the road (since the start of last year) made their opponents 21-11. Adding it up (15-3 + 17-6 + 14-5 + 21-11) equals 67-25 or 72.8 percent. That's a pretty solid edge. PERFECT STORM 20* Chi White Sox.
15* Daytime Dominator-MLB (13-6 start in '09)
My 15* Daytime Dominator is on the Ari D'backs at 4:10 ET. Arizona's bats went 'cold' in an 11-2 loss last night to the Dodgers. Friday night, the D'backs had 10 hits against LA, in a 9-4 win. Inconsistent offensive production has been an early-season problem for the 2-3 D'backs, who have scored nine runs in each win but a total of just four runs in their three losses. Dan Haren has "felt that pain." Arizona lost 3-0 to the Rockies on Tuesday with Haren on the mound. He allowed one run and three hits with nine strikeouts over seven innings, as a Troy Tulowitzki fifth-inning HR was his only mistake (D'backs managed just five hits in that game). The Dodgers pounded out 11 hits and 11 runs in Saturday's win, as 'emergency starter' Eric Stults gave up one run in 5.1 innings. He was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday, to replace Hiroki Kuroda, who was placed on the DL after straining his left oblique muscle during a bullpen session Wednesday. LA's pitching staff is a HUGE question mark this year and Sunday's starter (Randy Wolf) is part of that mix. He's in his second stint with the Dodgers and didn't show much on Tuesday, allowing four runs and six hits with three strikeouts and three walks in 5.1 innings of a 4-2 loss at San Diego. Wolf's last "good year" came back in 2003 with Philadelphia, when he went 16-10. He began last year with the Padres and then moved on to Houston, finishing a combined 12-12 with a 4.30 ERA. Those teams combined to go 18-15 in his 33 starts and while his home efforts were pretty good (team was 12-5 as he posted a 2.98 ERA), he was ineffective on the road. Wolf's road ERA was 5.76, as the Padres and Asros went 6-10. He couldn't get out of the sixth-inning on Tuesday vs the weak-hitting Padres and I see little reason for him to much better here. Haren was 16-8 with a 3.33 ERA a year ago, as he improved his win total for a third straight season. He went 43-34 from 2005-07 with the A's (team was 59-45 in his starts) and then the D'backs were 20-13 in his starts last year, including 12-5 at home. The Dodgers were just 22-33 on the road vs righties (3.7 RPG) and just 11-16 in all road day games (3.5 RPG) in 2008. Haren was sharp in his first outing of '09 but got no help. Expect him to hold the Dodgers down this afternoon plus "help is on the way," as Arizona bats should have little trouble 'solving' Randy Wolf. Daytime Dominator 15* Ari D'backs.
BEN BURNS
Main Event - Raptors
MLB Div GOM - Reds