Saturday’s Betting Notes
By Covers.com
Weather to watch
Chicago Cubs at San Francisco Giants – 12 mph winds are expected to blow out to centerfield.
Who’s hot
NBA: Spurs are 18-8-3 ATS in their last 29 road games.
MLB: Cardinals are 9-2 in Lance Lynn’s last 11 starts.
NHL: Kings are 13-3 in their last 16 road games.
WNBA: Indiana Fever are 14-5 ATS in their last 19 home games.
Who’s not
NBA: The under is 2-8 in the Thunder's last 10 games as a favorite.
MLB: Brewers are 3-11 in Shaun Marcum’s last 14 starts.
NHL: The over is 0-5-1 in the last six meetings between the Devils and Kings.
WNBA: Atlanta Dream are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall.
Key stat
21 – The San Antonio Spurs’ 20-game winning streak came crashing down in Game 3’s blowout loss at Oklahoma City. A big part of the Spurs’ loss was the fact that they turned the ball over 21 times, while the Thunder have just 30 turnovers through three games in this series.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers - Braun has been playing since the early days of the season with a tight right Achilles tendon, which flares up on occasion. One of those occasions was Thursday night, when Braun was withheld from the lineup for the series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers, a game Milwaukee won 6-2. Keep an eye on his status for this weekend’s series with Pittsburgh. Braun is hitting .309 with 14 homers, 36 RBI, and 10 stolen bases.
Game of the day
San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder (-3.5, 202.5)
Notable quotable
"It's a little bit harder to play in this type of climate, but both teams are doing it, so it's a little bit of an even playing field out there. You look at some of the plays tonight, with pucks bouncing, not a lot of good opportunities." – Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown on the poor ice conditions at the New Jersey Devils’ Prudential Center, which was also an issue in the Eastern Conference finals. The Devils are set around -110 for the second game of the Stanley Cup finals on Saturday evening.
Notes and tips
A two-hour rain delay didn’t bother Tiger Woods during his second round at The Memorial Friday. He played bogey-free on the front nine and finished 5-under par to sit tied for second place heading into Saturday’s action. Rory Sabbatini is at the top of the leaderboard at 6-under, one stroke better than a three-player pack tied for second. Woods went into the tournament priced at 15-1 to win.
The New York Liberty are back on the court Saturday following a full week off. Before that, they played four games in a span of seven days, failing to win or cover in any of those contests. Liberty coach John Whisenant used the week as a sort of training camp, since the club didn’t have much time to prepare for the season with many of its players still fulfilling commitments overseas. The Liberty visit the Indiana Fever as 11-point underdogs Saturday.
The Oakland A's have activated center fielder Yoenis Cespedes from the disabled list, the team announced Friday. Cespedes will take the roster spot left open when pitcher Tyson Ross was optioned to Class AAA Sacramento on Thursday. The Cuban slugger, who signed a four-year, $36 million free-agent contract with the A's during the offseason, suffered a strained muscle on the back of his left hand last month. He was placed on the disabled list May 12. Cespedes was hitting .245 with five home runs and 21 RBI before the injury. He has not played in the majors since May 6.