Thursday’s Betting Tips
By Covers.com
Weather to watch
Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians – 11 mph winds are expected to blow out to centerfield.
Who’s hot
NBA: The Heat are 14-5 ATS in their last 19 playoff games as a favorite.
MLB: The over is 18-7-1 in the Mets’ last 26 overall.
MLB: The Reds are 19-7 in Homer Bailey's last 26 home starts.
WNBA: Lynx are 21-7 ATS in their last 28 home games.
Who’s not
NBA: The under is 5-11 in the Pacers' last 16 games as an underdog.
MLB: The Angels are 7-15 in their last 22 road games.
MLB: The White Sox are 3-13 in Philip Humber's last 16 home starts.
WNBA: Sparks are 5-21-1 ATS in their last 27 games following a ATS win.
Key stat
2.51 – The Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen is working on a 2.51 ERA this season, ranking first in the National League and tied for third overall in the majors ahead of Wednesday’s action. That bullpen has done more than its share to keep Pirates supporters above water. Pittsburgh has earned 1.74 units for its bettors.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers – Granger left Tuesday’s game early in the second half with a sprained left ankle but said he expects to play Thursday’s Game 4 against the Miami Heat. However, he didn’t practice Wednesday and there are some concerns about his status. Granger had a team-high 10 points before leaving with the injury.
Game of the day
Miami Heat at Indiana Pacers (+3, 182)
Notable quotable
"We like being the underdog, being in the other guy's barn, getting booed. We love that." – Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty after the club eliminated the Phoenix Coyotes to advance to the Stanley Cup final. The Kings are now set as -167 favorites to win the Cup. They will face off against either the New York Rangers (+240) or the New Jersey Devils (+400).
Notes and tips
The NBA has suspended Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem for one game and Heat forward Dexter Pittman for three games for their retaliatory flagrant fouls in Tuesday's Game 5 of their series against the Indiana Pacers. As a result, Haslem, who has been a key component of the Miami team with Chris Bosh out with an abdominal injury, will miss Game 6 against the Pacers on Thursday. Most books moved the Pacers from 3.5-point underdogs to 3-point dogs after the news was released.
The Minnesota Twins send 27-year-old Cole De Vries to the mound Thursday for his first MLB start as he fills Jason Marquis’ roster spot. He has extensive experience in the minors, going 32-42 in Double-A and Triple-A starts with a 4.01 ERA over six seasons. With a mid-80s fastball, some wonder whether he has big-league stuff, although he has walked only seven batters this season. Oddsmakers had the Twins set as +140 underdogs against the White Sox as of Wednesday evening.
Green Bay outside linebacker Clay Matthews collected most of his 29.5 sacks lined up on the left side, but he's on the move to make room for rookie Nick Perry. Matthews and Perry will be interchangeable but the base formation calls for Matthews to move to right outside linebacker. He'll take on more elite pass blockers, but Perry's size and mass make him the ideal fit on the "power" side of the defensive formation.
The Minnesota Lynx have picked up right where they left off last season, winning and covering in their first two games of the year. They are coming off an 80-62 blowout of the New York Liberty and opened as 8-point favorites at home to the Los Angeles Sparks Thursday evening. The Sparks are also 2-0 straight up and against the spread this year.