Tuesday’s Betting Tips
By Covers.com
Who’s hot
NBA: Atlanta has covered in 11 of its last 15.
NBA: Chicago has covered in four straight.
NBA: Boston is 7-3-1 against the spread in its last 11 road games.
NHL: Philadelphia has won four of its last five.
MLB: The over is 7-1 in Ubaldo Jimenez’s last eight starts.
Who’s not
NBA: The over is 4-9-1 in Denver’s last 14 overall.
NBA: Philadelphia is 4-10 against the spread in its last 14 as an underdog.
NBA: The Los Angeles Lakers are 5-16 in their last 21 games as a favorite.
NHL: New Jersey is 3-10 in its last 13 games in Philadelphia.
MLB: Pittsburgh has won four of its last 16 games in St. Louis.
Key stat
0.76 – Miami Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco, who is a native of California, is absolutely dynamite at AT&T Park in San Francisco. He climbs the hill in San Francisco Tuesday, working on a 3-0 record with a 0.76 ERA when visiting the Giants.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Nick Swisher, New York Yankees – Swisher left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury and is expected to be out of action for about a week. The team is hoping that he won’t have to go on the disabled list as of now. Swisher is off to a great start for the Yanks, batting .284 with six homers and 23 RBIs.
Game of the day
Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers (-4.5, 200)
Notable quotable
"Can you blame them? I was booing too. Too bad they can't hear me. It's a shame, because we have a better ballclub than we've shown. People who survive in this game and people who have better days and years are the people who can make an adjustment quickly. If you cannot make adjustments, I will make them for you. That's my job. If the players don't start making adjustments, then I have to do it. I'm going to make very drastic changes. I don't know what yet. I have a long way to go, a six-hour flight [to San Francisco] to make that decision.” – Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen after his team lost its eighth game in nine tries Monday. The Marlins are pegged as +140 underdogs Tuesday against the Giants.
Notes and tips
The Cleveland Indians announced on Monday that outfielder Johnny Damon will join the team in Chicago on Tuesday, when the Indians arrive to begin a three-game series with the White Sox. Damon, 38, has been in extended spring training at the team's complex in Arizona since signing a minor-league contract on April 17. Cleveland will need to make a corresponding move to clear space for the two-time All-Star on the active roster. The Indians will be Damon's seventh MLB team, all of them in the American League. He hit .261 with 16 home runs and 73 RBI in 150 games last year for the Rays.
The Philadelphia Flyers’ power play is clicking at a staggering 44.8 percent clip so far in the playoffs, scoring 13 times on 29 opportunities. The Flyers’ power play scored once in Game 1 when Claude Giroux notched his seventh goal of the playoffs in the third period. As of Monday evening, about 61 percent of Covers.com Consensus bettors were backing the Flyers as -150 favorites for Tuesday’s Game 2.
Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton left Sunday's game against Tampa Bay after two innings because of lower-back stiffness. The Rangers listed Hamilton's status as day-to-day. Hamilton had an RBI single in the first inning, and he is hitting .395 with nine home runs and 25 RBIs this season.
Detroit Tigers outfielder Delmon Young has been suspended for seven days by Major League Baseball for his part in an altercation at a New York hotel Friday morning. Young is facing a misdemeanor aggravated harassment charge for allegedly making anti-Semitic comments to a panhandler during an altercation. The league made the announcement Monday, adding that the suspension is retroactive to April 27. Young will be eligible to return Friday night.