Daily Sports Roundup April 18
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Sprint Cup Series races in Texas, the Flyers take on the Devils, and the Lakers look to open the playoffs with a victory.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
Four more first-round playoff series get underway in the NBA playoffs on Sunday, with Charlotte at Orlando, San Antonio at Dallas, Portland at Phoenix, and Oklahoma City at the Lakers. Los Angeles, the top seed in the Western Conference, is a bit banged up heading into their set with the Thunder, as Kobe Bryant has a bad finger, Andrew Bynum has a strained achilles, and Jordan Farmar has a sore hamstring. Still, the Lakers are pegged as the 7.5-point home favorites for Sunday afternoon's game, with the total at 197 points. Oklahoma City faded down the stretch to end up in the eighth spot in the Western standings.
Meeting up on the diamond . . .
American League action on Sunday has the White Sox at Cleveland, the Angels at Toronto, Tampa Bay at Boston, Kansas City at Minnesota, Baltimore at Oakland, Detroit at Seattle, and Texas at the Yankees. It'll be Rich Harden (0-0, 2.79 ERA) vs. Andy Pettitte (1-0, 0.75 ERA) in that Rangers/New York matchup. Righthander Harden has picked up a pair of no-decisions so far this season, holding the Indians and Blue Jays to a combined three earned runs on six hits over 9 2-3 innings of work. Lefthander Pettitte has a microscopic ERA on the season after holding the Angels and BoSox to just a single run over 12 innings.
Over in the National League on Sunday it'll be Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, Milwaukee at Washington, Colorado at Atlanta, Houston at the Cubs, Arizona at San Diego, San Francisco at the Dodgers, the Mets at St. Louis, and Florida at Philadelphia. The Marlins will send Nate Robertson (1-0, 3.60 ERA) to the mound on Sunday; lefthander Robertson picked up a no-decision against the Reds last time out, surrendering six runs (three earned) on five hits over five innings. Cole Hamels (2-0, 5.06 ERA) will get the ball for the Phillies; lefthander Hamels has won both his starts this season, allowing six earned runs over his 10 2-3 innings.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
The NHL offers up five more playoff games on Sunday, with Phoenix at Detroit, Pittsburgh at Ottawa, Nashville at Chicago, San Jose at Colorado, and New Jersey at Philadelphia. The Devils managed to tie up their first-round series with the Flyers at one game apiece on Friday night with a 5-3 home victory. Zach Parise, Colin White, Andy Greene, Dainius Zubrus, and Ilya Kovalchuk (into an empty net) scored for the Devils in the win, while Martin Brodeur made 26 saves. Arron Asham, Claude Giroux, and Chris Pronger replied for the Flyers in Friday night's losing cause, while Brian Boucher stopped 28 of the 32 New Jersey shots.
Roaring around the track . . .
The Sprint Cup Series takes the track at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon for the Samsung Mobile 500. Jimmie Johnson is pegged as the 9/5 Vegas favorite to take the checkered flag in Texas on Sunday, although Johnson has just one career Cup win on the track (the 2007 Dickies 500). Defending race champion Jeff Gordon is next at 6/1 odds on the list, with Mark Martin at 8/1, Tony Stewart at 17/2, and Denny Hamlin at 11/1. Kurt Busch, who won the Dickies 500 at Texas last season, is listed at 13/1 odds to get the victory, while Carl Edwards, who won twice at Texas in 2008, is listed at 12/1 odds for the race.
Finally, the drivers of Formula 1 return to action on Sunday in the Chinese Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso (Bahrain), Jenson Button (Australia), and Sebastian Vettel (Malaysia) have divvied up the race victories so far during the 2010 season, with Vettel also winning the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix. Mark Webber finished second in that race, followed by Button, Rubens Barrichello, and Heikki Kovalainen. Lewis Hamilton was sixth in China in 2009, and Alonso ended up in ninth place.
Sunday's Wagering ips
Line off the board
The total in the Cubs game hasn’t been posted because of the wind direction being unknown.
Lines to keep an eye on
The total in the Rangers-Yankees game has dropped a half run from its opener and now stands at 9. The first game of this series was shortened because of weather and it could be a factor for the Sunday matinee as well.
Most markets are working with a total of 7 in the Orioles-A’s matchup after opening the number at 7.5. The last four in this series have gone under.
The Rockies-Braves total has elevated from an opener of 8.5 up to 9 at most shops. Nine of the last 10 games in this series have gone over. Atlanta has played to the over in five straight no including pushes.
The NL West is currently a hitting division and bettors are taking notice. The total for the Giants-Dodgers affair on Sunday has been bet up to 8.5. The last eight games between these two rivals have gone over the posted total.
Seattle hasn’t been producing runs this season which has equated to a 4-6-1 over/under record. The total for the team’s game against Detroit on Sunday has dropped from 8.5 to 8.
St. Louis opened as -265 favorites over New York but that number can now be found as low as -241 in the offshore market.
Orlando has moved to 10-point home favorites over the Bobcats after opening as 9-point chalk. The Magic took three of four in the series this season but went 2-2 ATS.
Most sportsbooks are offering the Suns as 8-point favorites over Portland after opening at 7. The Blazers have covered in four straight in this series and won 4-of-5.
Weather report
There is a 30 percent chance of rain in the Reds-Pirates game on Sunday. Wind is expected to blow straight out to center field at 11 mph.
The Rays-Red Sox game on Friday was suspended due to weather and a 40 percent chance of showers is forecasted for Sunday.
Who’s hot
The Phillies have played to four straight overs and averaged 8.5 runs in that span.
Minnesota has defeated the Royals in 9-of-10 going back to last season.
The Magic have covered the spread in six straight.
Who’s not
Oakland is on an under tear, going 6-0 in its last six games.
The Bobcats are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games.
Key stat
0-21 – Hits to at-bats ratio for left-hander hitters versus Fausto Carmona after two starts this season.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez experienced tightness in his right calf that forced him to leave Friday's game against San Francisco. He did not play on Saturday and L.A.’s offense struggled mightily without him, failing to score a run against Tim Lincecum and the bullpen. Garrett Anderson replaced Ramirez in left field and went 0-3 with a strikeout. Man-Ram is batting .355 this season.
Games of the Day
Portland Trail Blazers at Phoenix Suns (-8, 204.5)
New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals (-265, 8)
Notable quotable
"St. Louis is always tough. If we can win two out of three, that will be outstanding. If we win one, I'll take it."
Mets coach Jerry Manuel said on Friday before the series started. New York lost the first game and was taken to extra innings in the second.
Tips and notes
When Robin Lopez went down, the Suns started employing a zone defense against poorer shooting teams. Portland ranked 15th in the league this season in team field goal percentage at .461. You won’t see Phoenix in the zone set the entire game but on made buckets the team could utilize this strategy. Zone defenses can often create unders for bettors with the opponent waiting for an optimal shot.
There is a good chance the Mets-Cardinals game will go over the posted total of 8 on Sunday. The two teams essentially played more than two games on Saturday (20 innnings) and a total of 15 relief pitchers were used in the game. The starters for Sunday's matchup, Adam Wainwright (1.20 ERA) and John Maine (13.50 ERA), will be asked to go deep in the game and the bullpens will undoubtedly be expensed from Saturday's marathon.
When the Thunder last played Los Angeles, Thabo Sefolosha blanketed Kobe Bryant for 22 minutes and the Black Mamba made one field goal. Oklahoma City won the game and Bryant went 4-of-11 from the floor with 11 points and committed a career-high nine turnovers. Bryant even admitted after the game that Sefolosha bothered him. Bettors might want to look for an under in a Kobe Bryant total points prop.