Wednesday’s Betting Tips
By Covers.com
Weather to watch
The temperature at Mentalist Stadium in the Ukraine will reach the mid 90s (33 degrees Celsius) for Wednesday’s match between the Netherlands (+200) and Germany (+140) – two Western European nations not used to that heat.
Who’s hot
MLB: Arizona Diamdonbacks – Arizona has won five in a row heading into Tuesday’s interleague matchup with the Texas Rangers. The D-backs are 7-2 to start the month of June.
WNBA: Minnesota Lynx – The Lynx are off to a 9-0 start to the season, going 6-3 against the spread in that span.
Who’s not
MLB: Colorado Rockies – The Rockies have hit a rocky patch, losing five in a row heading into Tuesday’s game against the Oakland A’s. Colorado is 3-6 to start June.
WNBA: Tulsa Shock – The Shock are once again scrapping the bottom of the WNBA barrel, opening the schedule with eight straight losses. Tulsa has managed to cover in half those contests.
Euro: Netherlands – The Dutch are coming off an upset loss to Denmark in their Group B opener. Now, the Netherlands takes on Germany, which edged Portugal 1-0 in its opening game.
Key stat
70 percent – Road favorites are quickly becoming the best value bet in the WNBA. Road teams giving the points have gone 7-3 heading into Tuesday. Away teams overall are 25-19 ATS – covering at almost 57 percent.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers –Cruz is nursing an Achilles injury and was limited over the weekend, but was expected to play against Arizona Tuesday. The outfielder has eight home runs and 36 RBIs this season and apparently blames the injury on a new pair of spikes. He has since switched to his old cleats but is still have discomfort.
Game of the Day
Euro 2012: Netherlands (+200) vs. Germany (+140) Draw +240
Notable quotable
"I think it’s almost impossible to do what they do. So why do we ask them to do the impossible? If in fact you can’t see the ball the last five feet and now pitchers are throwing pitches that are moving in that zone . . . if you can’t see it, why are we asking them to call it? They can’t see it. They’re humans. We’re asking humans to do a feat that a human can’t do.”-- Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine talking about the possibility of automated umpires.
Notes and tips
Suspended Sprint Cup driver Kurt Busch will be back on the track at Michigan after serving a one-race ban for threatening comments made towards a reporter at Dover on June 2. Busch is set at +800 to win the Quicken Loans 400 this Sunday.
The Chicago Cubs have fired hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo Tuesday. The Cubs are just 20-40 and rank 27th in the majors in the major in offense, hitting .247 and averaging only 3.7 runs a game.