Sports Picks & Predictions

At 6:10 pm, our selection is on the Cleveland Indians over the Kansas City Royals.  The Royals pulled off a big upset on Wednesday, beating the Indians and starter Carlos Carrasco, 3-0.  Of course when you can't score runs, it doesn't matter how good your starting pitching is  -- and Carrasco really couldn't do much more than he did last night.  But KC can't put southpaw Danny Duffy out there again tonight, so instead it will go with rookie RH Brady Singer.  Singer might be a star one day, but that won't be 2020, as the 2018 first-round draft choice has struggled through eight MLB starts so far.  Singer is 1-4 with a 5.58 ERA and 1.44 WHIP, with just a 2.40 K:BB ratio (36:15) in over 40 innings coming into tonight.  Cleveland will go with RHP Aaron Civale who, like his teammate Carrasco, had a bad beat in his last start, with a no-decision in a 4-3 loss to the Brewers, despite a quality effort.  Look for a bounce back tonight.  The Indians are 19-9 in their last 28 home games vs. teams with a RH starter.  Take Cleveland.

At 3:40 pm, our selection is on the Houston Astros over the Oakland Athletics.  Jose Urquidy pretty much came out of nowhere in the latter half of last season to post some pretty eye-popping numbers for the Astros.  In nine appearances, the then-24-year-old RH went 2-1 with a 3.95 ERA and 1.10 WHIP with 40 strikeouts and seven walks in 41 innings (a 5.7 K:BB ratio).  Urquidy's anticipated 2020 debut was delayed by an undisclosed injury and as a result, his first start was -- in a word -- underwhelming (two runs on four hits in 3 2/3 innings).  That first start was against the Angels in Anaheim and now start number two comes this afternoon in Oakland, a much friendlier place for young starting pitchers and it will be Urquidy's first start here.  The A's will go with LH Sean Manaea.  And the 'Stros are 45-15 in their last 60 games vs. southpaw starters and 39-14 in their last 53 road games vs. lefthanders.  Houston is also 79-39 (+11 games on the moneyline) in its last 118 daytime games.  Take the Astros.

At 9:10 pm, our selection is on the Oakland A's over the Houston Astros.  Southpaw rookie Jesus Luzardo will face the team against which he earned his first Major League win, back on August 9.  In that game, Luzardo held the Astros to 2 runs and 5 hits over 5 2-3 innings, en route to a 7-2 victory.  Oakland is a solid 90-39 (+31 games on the moneyline) as a home favorite, including 52-16 (+23 games on the moneyline) at -150 or more.  Meanwhile, Houston is 6-13 on the road, including 2-7 as an underdog.  Take the A's.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 8:10 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the New York Islanders.  If this was supposed to be a close Finals Series with a lot of back-and-forth play then somebody forgot to tell the Lightning before Game 1.  In the biggest rout of the post-season since they did basically the same thing to the Bruins about two weeks ago, the Bolts blitzed the Isles, 8-2 in a game that was basically over almost as soon as it started.  New York tried everything, including replacing its goalie but nothing helped.  The Isles have to regroup now but clearly they need another formula from the one they employed on Monday night.  Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy didn't have his best stuff in Game 1 (two goals allowed on 24 shots) but he didn't have to.  And the scary thing for New York is that Tampa generally doesn't have letdowns after games like that.  In fact the Bolts are 21-9 (+6 games on the moneyline) in their last 30 after a blowout win by four or more goals.  They're also 11-2 in their last 13 after a five-game win streak.  Take the Lightning.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Chicago White Sox over the Pittsburgh Pirates.  It may seem like the White Sox got one very talented pitcher -- Lucas Giolito -- from Washington in exchange for OF Adam Eaton back at the end of 2016.  But now the trade may begin to look even more lopsided as the other pitcher the Nats sent to Chicago -- RH Dane Dunning -- could be a blossoming star, just like Giolito turned out to be.  After all, the 25-year-old Dunning was a first round choice of the Nationals in the 2016 Amateur draft.  And although it's taken him longer to get to the majors than Giolito, Dunning may be ready to break out.  In three starts in his first MLB campaign, Dunning has posted a 3.86 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 14 innings.  He's still looking for this first Major League win, but that could easily come tonight against the 14-26 Pirates.  The Pirates somehow beat this team last night, 5-4, but they are just 2-11 (-9 games on the moneyline) in their last 13 interleague contests.  Take the White Sox.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 6:35 pm, our selection is on the New York Yankees over the Toronto Blue Jays.  The Yankees are in the midst of a 5-15  stretch, but I love them to bounce back this evening.  New York will have a decided advantage on the mound with Deivi Garcia (3.37 ERA) vs. Tanner Roark, given Roark's 5.75 ERA and 1.78 WHIP in his seven starts this season.  And at home, those numbers deteriorate to 7.00 ERA and 2.00 WHIP.  That's pretty ugly.  New York is 76-40 as a favorite of -150 or less (+26 games on the moneyline), and they're 7-1 this season when the Over/Under is 10+ runs.  Take the Yankees.

At 6:30 pm, our selection is on the 'under' in the Toronto Raptors/Boston Celtics Game 6.  The first five games of this series have each gone 'under' the total, which has driven down the number from 217.5 in Game 1 to 210 for this Game 6.  Some may take the 'over' today because of the relative "value,", but consider that each of the five games have also gone 'under' 210, as well.  Indeed, the average score of the five games in this series has been just 201.4 points.  The Celtics have now played seven straight 'unders' and 10 of their past 11, while the Raptors have gone 'under' in seven of eight.  And, dating back to the 2018 post-season, the Celtics have gone 'under' in 21 of 28 Playoff games, including 15-1 'under' when priced from 205 to 219.  This will be another low-scoring game.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 6:30 pm, our selection is on the Toronto Raptors + the points over the Boston Celtics.  The Raptors were blown out by 22 points on Monday night, so they are in a MUST-WIN situation tonight.  I love the Raptors to bounce back, as they've gone 11-1 SU/ATS off a loss by more than 11 points.  Additionally, .600 (or better) teams have cashed 79% in Game 6 of the quarterfinals, if down 3-games-to-2, and off a double-digit loss.  Grab the points with the Raptors.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 6:10 pm, our selection is on the Cleveland Indians over the Kansas City Royals.  Carlos Carrasco's return this season from a bout with cancer is nothing short of miraculous.  If he had come back to get some part-time relief innings that would be considered enough of a success.  But that fact that he's a full-time starter logging quality innings after what he went through is really quite remarkable.  In eight starts covering 42 innings Carrasco has a 3.43 ERA and 52 strikeouts.  The only stat that's been troubling for the 33-year-old righthander is his walk rate as Carrasco has issued a career-high 4.3 free passes on average every nine innings.  Carrasco also only has two victories in his eight starts but perhaps getting the ball against KC tonight will help change that.  In 26 games (21 starts) covering 128 1/3 innings vs. the Royals, Carrasco is 12-7 and those 12 wins represent the most that he's had vs. any team.  The Indians are 55-18 (+11 games on the money line) in their last 73 home games as a favorite of -200 or more.  Take Cleveland.

At 9:40 pm, our selection is on the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Whether it was his nagging finger blister or some other reason, Walker Buehler got off to a very rough start this season.  After four starts, the Dodger RH ace had a 5.21 ERA and was still looking for his first victory and his first quality start.  He got both in his next start at the end of August, and then followed that up with five scoreless innings against these D-Backs in a home outing six days ago.  So, if teams thought the Dodgers and their league-best .714 winning percentage were scary before, just think about how they feel now with Buehler potentially hitting his stride.  He'll get his second start in a row vs. Arizona -- this time at Chase Field -- but that shouldn't matter.  In two previous starts here, Buehler is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA and 16 strikeouts with two walks in 14 innings.  Overall, Buehler is 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA in seven starts vs. Arizona.  The Dodgers are  also 22-7 (+8 games on the moneyline) in Buehler's last 29 starts vs. division opponents.  Take Los Angeles.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 8:10 pm, our selection is on the Vegas Golden Knights over the Dallas Stars.  Whatever we were expecting from Game 1 of this series, what we got was an old-fashioned defensive battle.  When the smoke cleared, it was the Stars' first period goal which made all the difference in an unlikely 1-0 victory over favored Vegas.  A total of only 50 shots on goal were fired in the entire 60 minutes (25 for each side).  It was the exact same strategy that the Stars employed to take down the heavily favored, and offensively superior Avalanche.  But if the you're Vegas, the worst thing you can do now is panic and start changing lines.  When they were shut out by the Canucks in Game 6 as a heavy favorite, the Knights simply re-grouped to turn the tables in a 3-0 Game 7 victory.  The Knights will get a big boost tonight from the return of tough, physical forward Ryan Reeves, who is back after a one-game suspension.  Vegas is 8-3 in its last 11 after being shut out.  Take the Knights.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie

At 6:35 pm, our selection is on the New York Yankees over the Toronto Blue Jays.  J.A. Happ spent the better part of six seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays during two different stints there (2012 - 2014 and 2016-2018).  Arguably, the veteran southpaw had his best years with the Jays (he won 20 games with them in 2016 at the age of 33) so it must be at least a little bitter-sweet when he has to face them now.  After two straight starts against the Mets, Happ will go opposite his old team for the sixth time since coming to New York, and the first time this season.  Happ's numbers this season may not jump off the page at you (1-1 with a 4.68 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in five starts covering 25 innings) but he has a way of being effective even when he doesn't have his best stuff.  Call him the quintessential "crafty lefty."  The Yankees are 20-9 (+10 games on the moneyline) in Happ's last 29 road starts and 27-11 (+11 games on the moneyline) in his last 38 nighttime starts).  Take New York.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 6:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Rays over the Washington Nationals.  Who would have imagined just two years ago that, in September of 2020, the Rays would be prohibitive favorites in DC against the mighty Nationals?  Well, as crazy as this season has been, it's even crazier when you consider who the contenders and pretenders are at this stage.  With Boston never getting out of the box, the Yanks faltering, and Toronto still at least a year away from being a true contender, the Rays are the overwhelming favorites to win the AL East.  Tampa's roster is full of bargain players, and Ryan Yarbrough is a good example.  He's not going to win a Cy Young anytime soon, but the 3rd-year southpaw (on a 1-year contract for about $500K) is a very good pitcher who can fill spots in the rotation and provide valuable innings in relief.  This evening, he'll get start number eight after coming off the DL for a groin injury.  Yarbrough is 16-7 with a 3.44 ERA in 43 night games (17 starts).  And he's also 16-5 with a 3.32 ERA in 37 career road games.  Take Tampa.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 9 pm, our selection is on the Los Angeles Clippers minus the points over the Denver Nuggets.  The Clippers were upset by the #3-seeded Nuggets, 110-101, on Saturday.  But off that upset win, we will fade Denver in this Game 3.  Since 1990, #3-seeded NBA teams have been awful off an upset playoff win, and especially when installed as an underdog of more than 5 points.  In that role, they've gone 2-25 straight-up, and 7-19-1 ATS.  Even better, Kawhi Leonard's teams have gone 24-1 straight-up, and 19-6 ATS their last 25 off a loss by more than eight points, including 7-0 ATS their last seven.  Lay the points with Doc Rivers' men.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 8:10 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the New York Islanders.  There's quite a contrast in the way these two teams got to this point.  The Lightning rolled past the over-matched Bruins in five games, winning four straight after losing the opener and out-scoring Boston 13-4 in the final three.  Meanwhile, the Islanders had a back-and-forth, seven-game nail-biting series with the Flyers, finally putting it all together in Game 7 with a no-doubt victory.  And while Tampa won't get the services of its leader, Steven Stamkos back for this series (so says the team currently), it will have Nikita Kucherov (high stick to the face) ready to go tonight and that's very good news.  But the man of the hour would seem to be Tampa's all-everything goaltender, Andrei Vasilevskiy.  There's little doubt now that the 26-year-old is the best netminder in the game, never mind the best left in the playoffs.  It's hard to imagine the Isles having much of an answer to him.  The Bolts are 10-2 in their last 12 games vs. teams from the Metropolitan division, and Tampa's also 13-2 this season (and 35-14 their last 49) when they've won their four previous games.  Take Tampa Bay.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie

At 2:10 pm, our selection is on the Minnesota Twins over the Detroit Tigers.  When the Twins signed Michael Pineda to a two-year contract at the bargain price of $10 Million back in 2017, they knew they were getting some damaged goods and that Pineda would be a work in progress.  And despite a rocky road in 2018 and 2019 that included just 26 starts, some nagging knee issues, and a drug suspension, the Twins thought enough of the veteran RHP to give him another two-year contract last year.  It seems like Pineda has been around forever so it's hard to believe that he's just 31-years-old.  Pineda is off the restricted list, healthy and ready to contribute.  And his opponent this afternoon is, coincidentally, the team against which Pineda last earned an MLB win.  That was last September, and he gave up just 5 hits and 1 BB over six innings, en route to an 8-3 victory.  Today, Pineda will match up against RHP Michael Fulmer.  Fulmer has gone from being the AL Rookie of the Year in 2016, at age 23, to basically being an afterthought just four years later.  Fulmer has no wins, and a 7.27 ERA in six starts, covering 17 1/3 innings in 2020.  Detroit also is 5-13 (-8 games on the moneyline) in Fulmer's last 18 daytime starts.  Take Minnesota.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 8:30 pm, our selection is on the Los Angeles Lakers minus the points over Houston.  In LeBron James' storied career, his teams (Cleveland, Miami, Los Angeles) have been terrific in the NBA Playoffs when they were favored by at least 2 points, and were not winning the series.  Dating back to his first season in the Playoffs (2006), LeBron's teams have gone 61-14 straight-up, and 48-27 ATS, including 7-0 straight-up and 5-2 ATS when down 1 game to none.  That's one reason I love LeBron & Co. to bounce back off their dismal effort on Friday.  Another is that teams seeded #3 (or worse) and installed as underdogs of more than 5 points away from home, have covered just 71 of 183 games off an upset playoff win. Take the Lakers in Game #2.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 4:10 pm, our selection is on the Houston Astros over the Los Angeles Angels.  Southpaw Framber Valdez will get the start for Houston today, and all he's done this season is compile a 2.77 ERA, including 1.23 on the road.  Over the last three seasons, he's made four starts vs. the Angels.  He's given up just seven runs over 23 innings (2.74 ERA), while striking out 25, and allowing just 12 hits.  Meanwhile, his mound opponent, Jaime Barria, has a career 4.59 ERA vs. Houston.  And Barria's teams have won just two of his seven starts vs. Houston.  Take the Astros.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 4:10 pm, our selection is on the San Diego Padres over the Oakland Athletics.  Few pitchers have benefited more from their offense this season than Oakland's Mike Fiers.  The 35-year-old RH has some pretty scary numbers -- 10.2 hits allowed per nine innings, a 1.91 K:BB ratio, a 1.43 WHIP and an ERA of almost five runs.  Yet somehow Fiers is 4-1 in his seven starts.  And when you look at his run support, you can understand why he's had that much success.  The A's have scored an amazing 7.1 runs on average per 27 outs that Fiers has pitched this season.  Those numbers simply aren't sustainable and at some point the won-lost record is going to reflect Fiers' poor pitching stats.  It could start to unravel this afternoon against one of the best offenses in the Majors.  San Diego's 233 runs scored through their first 41 games is tops in baseball.  The Padres lost last night to the A's and LH Sean Manaea but they are still 17-9 (+7 games on the moneyline) in their last 26 games vs. RH starters.  Take San Diego.

At 3:30 pm, our selection is on the Milwaukee Bucks + the points over Miami.  The Heat will aim to go 8-0 SU/ATS in the playoffs with a win and cover this afternoon.  But their long SU/ATS win streak has led to a big movement in this point spread.  If Miami was an underdog once again (they were a 5-point underdog in the series' first three games), I would consider grabbing the points.  But they're a small favorite now.  Consider that underdogs up 3-games-to-none have gone 14-4-1 ATS.  However, small favorites of less than 3 points (or PK) have only covered 4 of 13 when up 3-games-to-none.  We'll grab the value with Milwaukee, and fade the Heat.  For technical support, also consider that, over the last 29 years, sub-.666 teams off an upset win that had covered their previous seven games have cashed just 47 of 139 games.  Take Milwaukee.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 1:10 pm, our selection is on the Atlanta Braves over the Washington Nationals.  Call it what you want -- World Series Curse, target on their back, etc. -- but it doesn't look like there's any way the Nats are going to repeat as MLB Champs.  In fact the way things are going, they'd be very lucky to finish the season with a .500 record and out of the cellar of the NL East.  Sure, they were way under .500 early on in 2019, but this is different as we're already 2/3 of the way through 2020.  Injuries have played a huge role in the Nats' demise and it seems like almost no player has been spared at this point.  That has to be music to the ears of Braves veteran RHP Josh Tomlin, who won't face Starlin Castro -- out for the season -- and also likely won't see OFs Adam Eaton or Juan Soto who are questionable with minor injuries but who will both likely get the day off.  Atlanta likes these afternoon affairs this season as the Braves are 7-1 (+7 games on the moneyline) in their last eight day games.  They are also 20-4 in their last 24 as a favorite.

At 7:35 pm, our selection is on the New York Islanders over the Philadelphia Flyers.  You can sum up another come-from-behind Flyers victory on Thursday to force this seventh game in two words -- Carter Hart.  The young goaltender was outstanding when he needed to be, amidst an onslaught of pressure from a superior Islanders offense for most of the game's five periods.  When the smoke cleared, and Ivan Provorov had won it for Philly, Hart had made a remarkable 49 saves and was the unquestionable MVP for his team.  On the other end, Semyon Varlamov had his second shaky performance in a row so I wouldn't be surprised if Barry Trotz tabbed Thomas Greiss to be in net for New York tonight.  But we've seen Hart struggle after a huge effort before, so if the Isles keep the pressure up like they did on Thursday, they should find themselves in the East Finals against the Lightning.  Indeed, they've been without a doubt the better team in this series.  One of my favorite stats of this year's Playoffs is that New York is 10-5 in the Playoffs, and has yet to lose by more than 1 goal.  In other words:  they've played well enough to have won every single game.  For the Playoffs, they've outscored their foes 50-31, while the Flyers have actually been outscored 33-27, even though they've won seven of 12 games.   So, New York's outscored its foes by an average of 1.26 gpg, while the Flyers have been outscored by 0.5 gpg.  New York's a super 33-25 off back to back losses (+10 games on the moneyline).  Take the Islanders.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 7:35 pm, our selection is on the New York Yankees over Baltimore.   New York's won 18 of the last 19 meetings with Baltimore here, at Camden Yards.  Tonight, they'll hand the ball to Gerrit Cole, who had won 20 consecutive regular season decisions, dating back to last year, before dropping his last two outings.  Cole's ERA is 2.29 vs. the Orioles, and his teams are 3-0 vs. Baltimore in his three career starts, including a 9-3 victory earlier this season at Camden Yards.  Keegan Akin will make his second career start tonight after joining the rotation following the trade of Tommy Milone to the Braves.  Akin was effective two years ago in AA ball for the Bowie Baysox, but struggled somewhat at AAA Norfolk last year, as he was 6-7, with a 4.73 ERA.  It's true that Cole has "not been himself" over his last two starts (9 runs in 10 innings) -- so much so that he watched videotape to see if he was tipping his pitches (but didn't find anything).  The most important thing is that he's healthy, so his poor outings are not injury-related.  And it also must be noted that his last two outings were against the Rays and Braves, who are both leading their divisions.  Cole's teams are 34-5 when favored by -200+ in his last 39 starts.  Take New York.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 7:30 pm, our selection is on the Toronto Blue Jays over Boston.  The Red Sox are a horrid 2-13 this season (and 9-23 their last 32) as a home underdog, and 7-22, overall, as an underdog this season.  They'll hand the ball to RHP Ryan Weber this evening.  Unfortunately, he's not been effective this year, as he's 0-2 in four starts, with an 8.36 ERA and 2.00 WHIP.  He's given up six home runs, and walked nine batters, in just 14 innings this season.  Even worse, in his career, his teams have won just one of his nine starts, when he's been installed as the underdog.  Chase Anderson will start for Toronto, and he's been extremely consistent.  In his five starts, he gave up exactly 1 earned run in four of them.  And he's had just four walks, and given up just two home runs in his 19 2-3 innings.  Take Toronto.

Seven starts into the season, and Indians RH Aaron Civale has matched his record from all of 2019 (3-4).  And despite his ERA being considerably higher so far this season (3.72 vs. 2.34) there are some other positive trends.  Perhaps the most telling improvement for the 25-year-old is his control.  Last season, Civale walked 2.5 hitters per nine innings on average.  So far this season, Civale has cut that number by more than half, averaging just 1.2 free passes per game.  So it's not too surprising that his ERA has gone up since he's putting more pitches over the plate.  But at the same time, Civale has increased his strikeout rate this season almost a K per inning from 7.2 (2019) to 8.4.  These improvements have a lot to do with Civale having tossed his first career complete game three starts ago at Pittsburgh, in a 6-1 victory over the Pirates.  Cleveland lost to this club on Friday but is still 6-2 in its last eight interleague games vs. teams with a losing record.  Take the Tribe.

At 9:40 pm, our selection is on the Oakland Athletics over the San Diego Padres.  Oakland's starter tonight is LH Jesus Luzardo.  There are plenty of young starters on the A's roster, but none is hyped any more than the 22-year-old from Lima, Peru (by way of Florida).  Luzardo burst on the MLB scene last season with a 1.50 ERA in six relief appearances.  And although his numbers aren't as eye-popping in 2020, Luzardo has become a full-time member of the rotation and he's making the most of it so far.  In seven games -- five starts -- Luzardo has a 2-1 record with a 3.74 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings.  The A's are 88-37 (+32 games on the moneyline) as a home favorite.  Take the A's.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 9 pm, our selection is on the Los Angeles Lakers minus the points over the Houston Rockets.  The Rockets needed 7 games to put away a game Oklahoma City squad.  And their reward for that victory is a date against the #1-seeded Lakers.  In contrast to Houston, Los Angeles had a relatively easy time against the #8-seeded Trail Blazers (though the Lakers were aided, somewhat, by key injuries to Portland).  We'll fade Mike D'Antoni's men, as underdogs of +6 to +11.5 points have cashed just 32% in Game 1 of a series, if their previous Playoff series went the distance.  And #1-seeds are an awesome 67% in Game 1 of a quarterfinals series, if priced from -4.5 to -11.5 points.  It's true that the Rockets have won the last two meetings vs. the Lakers.  But L.A. is a staggering 38-3 straight-up when favored, and playing with double-revenge, including 5-0 ATS their last five; 11-2 ATS their last 13; and 70.9% ATS since Feb. 18, 2003.  Take the Lakers minus the points.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 9 pm, our selection is on the Vegas Golden Knights over Vancouver.  The Knights were shutout, 4-0, last night by the upstart Canucks.  And this quarterfinals series is now tied at 3-games apiece.  However, if there is a silver lining for Vegas, it's that they've out-shot the Canucks in each of the six games, including a staggering 91-40 over the past two games!  But hockey can be a cruel sport, so the Knights are no doubt scratching their heads after losing both of the last two games.  Still, if you're going to have the overwhelming number of shots on goal, you'll generally take your chances.  Vegas is a solid 18-7 (+6 games on the moneyline) when playing with revenge this season, and 29-14 (+11 games on the moneyline) after not scoring 2+ goals in its previous game.  Take the Golden Knights.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 8:15 pm, our selection is on the St. Louis Cardinals over the Chicago Cubs.  It will be the battle of two aces tonight in Chicago -- one up-and-coming at just 24 years old -- and the other a wily veteran who is 10 years his senior (but who can still skillfully get batters out).  That latter one would be RHP Yu Darvish who seems to be ageless as he is off to another fantastic start.  RHP Jack Flaherty's numbers, though, would surely look a whole lot better if the Cards hadn't gotten stuck in COVID-19 purgatory for many days this season before finally resuming a normal schedule.  The rust showed early on for Flaherty but now the Cardinals' young fire-baller is looking like an ace again.  Darvish has struggled in his career against the Cards, posting a sub-par 1-2 record with a 3.56 ERA in five starts against them.  The 3.56 ERA -- along with a 1.29 WHIP -- might seem great for most pitchers, but for Darvish, they are not up to his average numbers.  The Cards are 6-1 in the last seven meetings with the Cubs in Chicago.  Take St. Louis.

At 6:40 pm, our selection is on the Miami Marlins over the Tampa Bay Rays.  With a .500 record, the NL East Pennant is actually within reach of the Marlins, which would explain their deadline trade that resulted in a significant outfield upgrade.  The Fish shipped a pair of talented young pitchers to Arizona for 5-tool-OF Starling Marte.  No doubt the main reason Miami felt okay dealing Caleb Smith and Humberto Mejia to the desert was the fact its pitching staff is loaded with young talent.  Case in point is tonight's starter, RH Pablo Lopez.  The 24-year-old Venezuelan is in his third MLB season and he appears to be breaking out in a big way.  In six starts covering 34 1/3 innings, Lopez is 3-2 with a 2.10 ERA and 1.16 WHIP.  This is a revenge situation for the Marlins and Lopez as, in his last start, he threw seven very strong innings against this Rays team, allowing just two runs on six hits with five Ks and no walks.  But his offense came up empty in a 4-0 loss.  The road team is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings of these two.  Take Miami.

At 6:30 pm, our selection is on the Milwaukee Bucks minus the points over the Miami Heat.  The Heat have stormed out to a 2-games-to-none series lead, so this Game 3 becomes a virtual 'must-win' for the Bucks, given that no NBA team has ever come back from a 3-games-to-none deficit.  We'll lay the points with the Bucks, as favorites of more than 4 points have cashed 70.3 since 1990 in the quarterfinals, if they were down 2 games in the series.  And, since Giannis Antetokounmpo entered the league, the Bucks are 39-28 ATS off exactly two losses.  Lay the points with Milwaukee.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Chicago White Sox over Kansas City.  The ChiSox have been playing great baseball, notwithstanding last night's 8-1 loss to the Twins.  Tonight, Chicago will open up a 4-game series vs. the Royals, and RHP Dylan Cease will match-up against southpaw Danny Duffy.  Dating back to last season, Cease has given up 2 earned runs or less in nine of his last 10 starts!  And his ERA is 2.68 over that time.  Duffy's career ERA vs. Chicago is north of 4 runs per game and, earlier this season, he gave up 3 earned runs (and 8 baserunners) in 5 2-3 innings, in a 6-5 loss.  We'll back the White Sox tonight, as they're 11-0 this season vs. left-handed starters, and have scored an average of 6.7 runs in those 11 games, while hitting .342.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie

At 6:30 pm, our selection is on the Toronto Raptors over Boston.  The #2-seeded Raptors are down 2-games-to-none, and are in a "virtual" must-win situation tonight, given that no NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a 7-game series.  We'll take Toronto, as NBA favorites off back-to-back SU/ATS losses, and down 2-games-to-none in a series, have covered 60.8% over the last 30 years.  Even better:  the Raptors are an awesome 44-19 ATS off exactly two SU/ATS losses.  Take the Raptors in Game 3.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 4:10 pm, our selection is on the New York Yankees over the New York Mets.  When JA Happ came to the Yankees from the Blue Jays at the end of the 2018 season, he proceeded to go on a tear, putting up a 7-0 record with a 2.69 ERA in 11 starts in pinstripes.  That performance convinced the Yankees to re-sign the then-36-year-old southpaw to a two year, 34 million contract (albeit after they released him).  But as could be expected, Happ came back to earth quite a bit in 2019, posting a 4.91 ERA in 31 games (30 starts).  He's having a better season so far in 2020 which is good since he'll likely be a free agent again in a few months.  Happ is 1-1 with a 4.05 ERA in four starts covering 20 innings.  Happ has had success against the Mets in his career, going 4-2 with a 3.41 ERA in 12 appearances (10 starts) covering just over 63 innings.  And he's also enjoyed success at CitiField, going 2-1 with a 3.27 ERA in six games here (five starts).  The Mets are 4-10 (-10 games on the moneyline) in their last 14 games vs. LH starters.  Take the Yanks.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 6:40 pm, our selection is on the Toronto Blue Jays over the Miami Marlins.  No MLB Team has reworked its pitching staff from 2019 to 2020 more than the Blue Jays.  Virtually every starter that the Jays used last season is either gone from the team or recovering from a long-term injury.  In the off-season, the Jays brought in three new starters in Chase Anderson, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Tanner Roark.  And now, with their deadline trades, the makeover is complete with the additions of Robbie Ray and Ross Stripling.  And the results are what was hoped as Toronto's team ERA is a full run lower this season than it was last (3.72 vs. 4.79).  Tonight it's LH Ryu's turn.  And the Korean veteran has not disappointed so far, going 2-1 with 2.92 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in seven starts covering 37 innings.  He's familiar with the Marlins from his time in the NL and he's been very effective against them.  In five careers starts covering 32 1/3 innings vs. Miami, Ryu is 3-1 with a sparkling 2.23 ERA.  Finally, the Marlins are hitting a paltry .197 vs. lefty starters this season.  Take Toronto.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 6:30 pm, our selection is on the Milwaukee Bucks minus the points over the Miami Heat.  The Heat have taken three of four vs. Milwaukee this season.  But I love the Bucks to bounce back off their Game 1 upset loss on Monday.  Since Mike Budenholzer assumed the head coaching duties, Milwaukee is 35-9 straight-up, and 30-14 ATS off a loss, including 19-5 ATS off a loss by 7+ points.  Even better:  in the 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs, underdogs of more than 4 points, off back to back wins by more than 10 points, are a horrid 1-19 SU and 3-17 ATS.  Finally, the Heat have covered just 1 of their last 16 when facing a revenge-minded foe off an upset loss.  Take Milwaukee.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie

At 8:30 pm, our selection is on the Utah Jazz + the points over the Denver Nuggets.  The Nuggets pulled even with Utah in this series with a 119-107 win in Game 6.  Now, after being an underdog in Games 3 through 6, Denver's been installed as a small favorite for Game 7 (though not as big as a favorite as it was in Games 1 + 2).  The Nuggets are a horrid 0-17 ATS away from home as a favorite (or PK) off a win by more than eight points, including a blowout, 19-point loss in Game 2 of this series.  Meanwhile, the Jazz are a super 43-25 ATS on a 3-game ATS losing streak, including 18-6 ATS when playing with revenge.  Take the Jazz + the points in this decisive Game 7.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the New York Yankees over the Tampa Bay Rays.  RHP Masahiro Tanaka is in the last season of his seven year, $155 Million contract with the Yankees.  He'd like nothing better than to go into the off-season on a high note as at age 31, Tanaka likely figures he has several more years left to contribute to somebody's staff.  He won't keep his streak of double-digit victories going (six seasons since he came into the league in 2014) as Tanaka is still searching for his first win of 2020.  But his other numbers are solid, as Tanaka has a 3.48 ERA to go with a 1.16 WHIP -- including 17 Ks and 3 BBs -- in five starts covering just under 21 innings. Perhaps that first W will come tonight against a team that he's had plenty of success against.  In 20 career starts vs. the Rays, Tanaka is 10-5 with a 3.33 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in just over 124 innings.  Those 10 wins are the second-most that he has notched vs. any team (Toronto - 13).  The Yankees are also 19-12 in Tanaka's last 31 starts vs. Division opponents.  Take New York.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 5:30 pm, our selection is on the Toronto Raptors minus the points over the Boston Celtics.  The Celtics snapped Toronto's 8-game winning streak on Sunday, when they upset Toronto, 112-94, as a 2-point underdog.  That extended Boston's current win streak to 5 games.  But turnabout is fair play, and we'll look for the Raptors to level this series at 1-game apiece this evening.  Toronto is a super 32-15-1 ATS off an ATS loss, including 12-5 ATS when playing with revenge.  And it's 11-0 SU/ATS off a loss by more than 11 points, and covered those 11 games by an average of 9.36 points.  Number 3 seeds, like Boston, are an awful 32-57 ATS off an upset playoff win vs. their opponent.  Lay the points with the Raptors.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 9:45 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Avalanche over the Dallas Stars.  Like their Denver counterparts in Major League Baseball (the Rockies), the Avalanche are known for scoring.  So it was more than a little disconcerting when they managed just five total goals in Games 1 and 2 of this series and quickly fell behind a very good Stars team, 2-0.  But the Avs didn't panic, and sure enough, the scoring came back in Game 3 this past Wednesday in a virtual "must-win" situation.  They took that one 6-4, netting their six goals on just 31 shots and gave themselves an opportunity for a new series after that effort.  Unfortunately, they fell behind early last night, and lost 5-4, so they're now one game away from elimination.  Thus, tonight's game is a definite "must-win."  Colorado is 16-8 after allowing 4+ goals, and it's also 13-6 when playing with revenge from a loss in which it surrendered 4+ goals.  Meanwhile, the Stars are a poor 16-20 (minus 9 games on the moneyline) after scoring more than 4 goals in their previous game.   Take the Avalanche.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 9:40 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Rockies over the San Diego Padres.  German Marquez has been a workhorse for the Rockies this season, getting a league-leading seven starts already coming into tonight.  Start number eight will be his first this season against the Padres, a team he's had a lot of success against in his career.  In 11 lifetime games -- nine starts -- vs. the Pads, Marquez has gone 5-2 in just over 55 innings.  And those five victories represent the most that Marquez has notched against any Major League Team.  Marquez's 2020 ERA of 4.50 may not seem great but it's better than the number he put up last season and what's most encouraging is that Marquez -- who led the league with 14 wild pitches last season -- has only had one ball get away from him so far in 2020.  This will be the rubber game in this five-game series -- all played here at Coors Field.  San Diego's bullpen is decimated with injuries, as no fewer than six relievers -- including closer Kirby Yates -- are all out with various maladies.  Take the Rox.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 8:10 pm, our selection is on the Minnesota Twins over the Chicago White Sox.  Lucas Giolito is one of the game's best pitchers, and comes into tonight off his career highlight -- a no-hitter last Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  But he'll face a much better hitting team tonight, in Minnesota.  And the Twins have had decent success vs. Giolito in his career, as they're 7-4 vs. him, while his ERA in those 11 starts is 5.34.  One of those came earlier this season when the Twins roughed him up for seven runs on six hits, in just 3 2-3 innings.  Minnesota is 51-28 (+16 games on the moneyline) off a loss; 12-3 this season at home; and 23-21 (+9 games on the moneyline) as a home underdog.  And it's 34-22 (+13 games on the moneyline) in competitively-priced games where the Twins are -125 to +125.  Take the Twins.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 7:00 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Boston Bruins.  After two dominating victories, the Lighting are one game away from a trip to the Eastern Conference finals to take on either the Flyers or the Islanders.  You just have to feel that the air has gone out of the Boston balloon at this point, having been outscored by a combined 10-2 in the last two games.  And a perfect scenario would be for Tampa to wrap up the series tonight and have the Flyers and Islanders duke it out for several more days while the Bolts get a chance to rest and practice.  Tampa is an incredible 15-3 its last 18 immediately following a game where it did not give up 2+ goals, while Boston's an awful 10-16 (minus 14 games on the moneyline) when playing with triple revenge.  Take the Lightning.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 10:30 pm, our selection is on the Vancouver Canucks over the Vegas Golden Knights.  This has been a back-and-forth series so far, with the Knights taking Games 1 and 3, and the Canucks taking Game 2.  Last night, the Golden Knights broke out on top, 2-0, in the first period even though they were outshot in that period, 16-9.  We'll play on Vancouver to bounce back off its shutout loss last night, as it's 5-1 this season off a shutout defeat, and 16-8 (+11 games on the money line) off a shutout loss the last three seasons.  Indeed, its Game 2 victory was immediately off a 5-0 shutout loss in Game 1 of this series.  Take the Canucks in Game 4 tonight.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 8 pm, our selection is on the Philadelphia Flyers over the New York Islanders.  We played on the Islanders yesterday as our NHL Game of the Month for August, and were rewarded with a 3-1 victory.  But we'll switch gears today, and take the #1-seeded Flyers in what is, essentially, a 'must-win' game, given that teams rarely come back from a 3-1 series deficit.  The Flyers are a solid 17-6 (+10 games on the money line) when playing with revenge this season from a loss earlier in the year, and 19-12 (+6 games on the moneyline) off a loss.  Take Philadelphia.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 8:10 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Rockies over the San Diego Padres.  Throughout his brief (three-plus seasons) MLB career, RHP Antonio Senzatela has shown flashes of brilliance, but has never finished a season with an ERA under 4.3 runs or a WHIP under 1.3.  With the Talent the Venezuelan has, you have to wonder how his numbers would look if he pitched for any team other than Colorado.  This season, at the age of 25, Senzatela may have gotten over the "Mile High hump" as he is 3-1 with a 3.96 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in six starts covering 36 1/3 innings so far.  Senzatela has seen his K:BB ratio go from 1.33 (last season) to 4.17 so far in 2020 (25 K's with only six walks).  Perhaps most important, Senzatela has a 1-0 record with a 4.50 ERA in two starts at Coors Field.  That 4.50 ERA may not seem great on the surface, but it sure beats the 6.21 number he had here last season (12 starts).  Senzatela has started 36 night games in his career, and the Rox are 24-12 (+17 games on the moneyline) in those.  Take Colorado.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 7:00 pm, our selection is on the New York Islanders over the Philadelphia Flyers.  After a couple days of postponements, the NHL playoffs re-start today with two games on the ledger that feature the #1 seeds in each conference.  And in both cases, those #1 seeds have to feel at least a little bit nervous at this stage.  For the Flyers, they're one of the only teams left in the post-season that has perhaps some question at the goaltender position.  On the one hand there is young Carter Hart who has gotten them most of the way here, but has shown some cracks and whose inexperience appears to be a vulnerability.  On the other, there is veteran Brian Elliott who has plenty of playoff experience but whose best years are behind him.  Philly has stuck with Hart so far, but he's been very shaky in two of the last four games and a poor showing early on in this Game 3 might get him the hook.  The Flyers are lucky this series is not 0-2 right now, needing OT to win Game 2 after getting trounced in the first one.  The Isles like the position they're in as they're playing great hockey since the re-start.  And their great play has completely erased the memory of their 7-game losing streak heading into this post-season.  Indeed, in New York's three playoff series, they're 8-3, and have yet to lose by more than one goal.  Overall, they've outscored their opponents by 37-19, or 1.63 gpg.  In contrast, the Flyers have gone 5-3 in their two playoff series, but have been outscored 20-15 (-0.62 gpg).  Take New York.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 1:15 pm, our selection is on the Atlanta Braves over the Philadelphia Phillies.  This pitching match-up is a rematch of last Sunday's affair won by the Phillies, 5-4.  Josh Tomlin took the loss in that game, but we'll look for Tomlin and the Braves to avenge that defeat, as Atlanta's 6-0 in daytime games this season, and 62-40 (+21 games on the moneyline) in its last 102 day games.  Even better:  Atlanta's up 43 games on the moneyline the past 3 seasons vs. righties, while Philadelphia's down 19 games on the moneyline vs. righties.  Take Atlanta with Tomlin.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 12:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Boston Bruins.  Including the Round Robin, the Lightning had played a total of 10 post-season games heading into Wednesday night's Game 3 against the Bruins.  In those 10, the Bolts were 7-3 and they had won each of those seven games by one goal.  Apparently, Tampa really wanted to break that streak of one-goal victories in playoff game #11.  Everything came together for the Bolts -- and fell apart for the Bruins -- in Game 3 as Tampa demolished Boston, 7-1.  Perhaps more impressive is the fact that the seven goals were scored on just 31 shots, resulting in the removal of Jaroslav Halak about mid-way through and the insertion of Daniel Vladar -- the first Bruins goalie ever to make his NHL debut in the post-season.  If that sounds like trouble for Boston, it is and no doubt Tampa would like to end this series as soon as possible to get some added rest before the next round.  Surprisingly (for a team as good as the Bruins), Boston has won just 18 of 51 games when playing with revenge from a loss by more than three goals.  The Bolts are 45-15 in their last 60 after allowing one goal or less in their previous game, and 44-12 their last 56 division contests.  Take Tampa.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie

At 7:10 pm, our selection is on the Chicago Cubs over the Cincinnati Reds.  Kyle Hendricks has always been a bit of an on-again, off-again starter, and this season is certainly no exception.  He started out 2020 with one of the best outings of his career, throwing a complete-game shutout (three-hitter) over the Brewers on opening day.  He then followed that up with a real clunker (6 ER on 7 H in 4 1/3 IP) here in Cincinnati five days later.  Then, after getting August off on a strong note with two very nice starts, Hendricks has now looked very average in his last two (both Cubs' losses).  Perhaps a second start against the sub-par and re-building Reds will get the veteran RH's season back on track.  Despite his ups and downs, Hendricks' season is still pretty darn good with a 3.55 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in his six starts covering 38 innings.  Veteran LH Wade Miley was originally supposed to go for the Reds in this one, but he ended up starting the second game of last night's DH, so Tyler Mahle will get the call.  Mahle has yet to win this season (the Reds are 0-3 in his starts), and has a 4.41 ERA.  Even worse, the Reds are 63-88 (minus 26 games on the moneyline) off a win.  Take the Cubs.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 4:05 pm, our selection is on the New York Yankees over the New York Mets.  With a slew of postponements, get ready to see more double-headers than usual in the coming days.  The Yankees and Mets play a twin-bill starting with this late-afternoon match-up.  Once again, injuries are hitting the Yanks and, after a red-hot start, they've cooled off quite a bit.  But the Pinstripes are still five games over .500 after losing a DH on Wednesday to the Braves.  Now the Mets and Yanks will cram five games into three days to make this weekend series even stranger than it would have been.  The injury to LHP James Paxson will keep LHP Jordan Montgomery in the rotation for now.  And Montgomery goes in this first game for the Yanks.  Despite an elevated ERA of 4.66, Montgomery has a very nice 1.09 WHIP and has won two of his four starts.  He'll match up against Michael Wacha, who has an ERA of 6.43 with the Mets this season. The Mets are a dreadful 0-9 this season when priced as an underdog of +150 or less, and 11-29 (minus 16 games on the moneyline) over the last two seasons.  Meanwhile, the Yankees are 45-22 (+18 games on the moneyline) as a favorite of -150 or less.  Take the Yankees.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 6:10 pm, in Game 2 of the Doubleheader, our selection is on the San Diego Padres.  The listed pitchers for Game 2 are going to be Garrett Richards vs. Yusei Kikuchi.  In Kikuchi's four starts this season, he's allowed 14 runs and 28 baserunners in just 20 innings (6.30 ERA; 1.39 WHIP).  And, on the road, those numbers balloon to 12.26 ERA; 2.45 WHIP.  Kikuchi will face San Diego's Richards, who has a 2.40 ERA over his last three starts, which were against the Astros, Diamondbacks and Dodgers.  Richards' teams have gone 36-23 (+6 games on the moneyline) in his career at home; 11-2 in his career in interleague games; and 24-8 (+9 games on the moneyline) as a favorite of -150 or more.  Take San Diego.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 3:10 pm, in Game 1 of its doubleheader, our selection is on the San Diego Padres over the Seattle Mariners.  At the time of this writing, the pitching match-up for this first game is unclear, as the Padres have their choice between Garrett Richards and Dinelson Lamet, while Seattle will hand the ball to either Taijuan Walker or Yusei Kikuchi.  The Padres are 7-1 in their last eight interleague match-ups.  And we will be on the Padres in this first game of the doubleheader, regardless of which of the four possible pitching match-ups takes plays.  Let's look at the possible San Diego starters.  RH Garrett Richards will be toeing the rubber for the seventh time this season.  Admittedly, the wins have been tough to come by for the 32-year-old, but otherwise Richards has been solid in 2020, with a 3.52 ERA through 30 2/3 innings.  Richards has had plenty of experience against the Mariners from his time with the Angels in the AL West.  And he's also had plenty of success.  In 22 games vs. Seattle (14 starts) Richards is 7-4 with a 3.26 ERA and 1.20 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 96 2/3 innings.  With respect to Lamet, the sky appears to be the limit for the Dominican ace, who is blossoming now with 1.89 ERA and 0.84 WHIP in six starts covering 33 1/3 innings.  Either of these two Padres will have a decided advantage vs. either Kikuchi (6.30 ERA; 12.26 Road ERA) or Walker (4.82 Road ERA; 1.60 WHIP).  Take the Padres.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 8:15 pm, our selection is on the St. Louis Cardinals over the Kansas City Royals.  Dakota Hudson will get the start tonight vs. the Royals.  And he dominated Kansas City in his lone start vs. it last season, when he threw six scoreless innings, en route to a 6-0 win.  KC is a poor 46-112 as an underdog of +150 or more (minus 22 games on the moneyline), while the Cards are a solid 14-6 behind Hudson at home, and 4-1 his last five after he gave up 0 earned runs in his last outing.  Take St. Louis.

At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Boston Bruins.  After being upset in Game 1, the Lightning bounced back nicely last night to take Game 2 in OT over a very determined Bruins team.  Now, with no off-day, the Bolts have to avoid another letdown.  They know now that the Bruins are not going to go away without a fight and there's plenty of size on that Boston roster to go toe-to-toe with the talented and speedy Bolts.  The key to this series will almost certainly be between the pipes.  While the Bruins feature a goalie who was part of a Jennings Trophy-winning tandem in Jaroslav Halak, Tampa has on its side the best young net-minder in the game (and the defending Vezina Trophy winner), Andrei Vasilevskiy.  Ironically by the numbers, Vasileveskiy was actually slightly worse in Game 2 than Game 1, but he was huge for his team when it needed him most.  With its Game 2 victory, Tampa is now 20-7 in its last 27 vs. division opponents.  Take the Lightning.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 4:10 pm, in Game 1 of the double header, our selection is on the New York Yankees over the Atlanta Braves.  The Yankees will hand the ball to the most dependable pitcher in baseball this aftenroon, Gerrit Cole.  All Cole has done is win his last 20 regular season decisions, with eight no-decisions!  And his teams are 25-3 in those 28 regular season games (and 29-4 if you toss in five post-season starts).  In his last start, the Yankees actually lost, but through no fault of Cole's, as he struck out 10, and allowed just 2 runs over 6 2-3 innings.  He's faced the Braves six times in his career, and his teams have won five of those games.  The Yankees are a solid 32-14 (+14 games on the moneyline off a loss by more than three runs).  Take New York.

At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Boston Bruins.  When a team goes from playing a huge revenge match-up in the first round to a very good team in the second round, they often find themselves flat.  Such was the case for the Lightning in Game 1 of this series having come off of a big payback series with the Blue Jackets.  By the time Tampa figured out it was playing the Bruins this time around, it had fallen behind 3-0.  The Bolts were out-shot 15-10 in the first period.  But after they woke up in the second period, the Lightning dominated the rest of the way, out-shooting the Bruins 27-16 in the final 40 minutes (but only managing to get two of the goals back).  The 3-2 defeat was stinging for sure, but it should've taught Tampa Bay a lesson in the process.  Expect 60 minutes of Lightning hockey tonight as the Bolts try to even this series.  Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy had a rare off-night in goal but I  expect him to bounce back big in Game 2.  Tampa is 15-7 in its last 22 immediately following a loss to a Division rival.  Take the Lightning.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie

At 6:40 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Rays over the Baltimore Orioles.  If someone had told you a month ago that the Baltimore Orioles would be a .500 team almost halfway through the season you would have thought they needed to have their head examined. But here we are almost at the halfway point and the O's are 14-14.  Tonight, they take on another surprise AL East club in the Rays, although it's much less shocking what Tampa is doing given its plethora of young talent.  Imagine how good the Rays would be if veteran starters Charlie Morton and Tyler Glasnow could turn things around?  Both have been major disappointments so far (Morton is dinged up) and yet the Rays are still 19-11.  Glasnow gets a great chance to start a rebound tonight against an O's team that he's dominated.  In four career starts vs. Baltimore, the 27-year-old RH is 2-0 with a 1.99 ERA and 0.79 WHIP including 25 strikeouts and only three walks in 22 2/3 innings.  It's true that Baltimore swept Tampa in a 3-game series earlier this season.  But those three games were at Camden Yards; this evening's game is in central Florida.  The Rays are 111-67 (+25 games on the moneyline) at home, while the Orioles are a dreadful 56-117 (minus 20 games on the moneyline) on the road.  Take Tampa.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie

At 9:45 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Avalanche over the Dallas Stars.  It's no small feat what the Stars pulled off in Game 1 of this series.  The high-octane Avs finished off the Coyotes in the first round by scoring seven goals in back to back contests in Games 4 and 5 and out-scored them by a total of 22-8 in the series.  Yet somehow the Stars managed to hold Colorado to just three goals in Game 1 and come away with a 5-3 victory.  But don't think the offensive juggernaut of the Avs is done.  They were the highest scoring offense in the regular season and they rarely throw back-to-back duds.  The biggest problem for Colorado in Game 1 may have been that goalie Philipp Grubauer was playing hurt in the first period when the Stars netted three of their goals and he eventually came out of the game and was replaced by Pavel Francouz.  Francouz is a solid back-up and will be ready for 60 minutes tonight.  The Avs are 5-1 (+5 games on the money line) in their last six coming off a loss by at least two goals to a division rival.  Take Colorado.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 6:05 pm, our selection is on the Miami Marlins over the Washington Nationals.  Things just keep getting worse for the defending World Series Champs.  The Nats just found out that ace Stephen Strasburg will need season-ending surgery on his wrist and they've already lost 2B Starlin Castro (wrist) and closer Sean Doolitle (knee) prior to Strasburg having gone down.  Losing a home series to the Marlins would have been almost unthinkable the last few seasons, but that's what will happen if Miami takes game five tonight in DC.  And you have to give the Fish the decided edge in the pitching match-up with 24-year-old phenom RH Pablo Lopez taking the mound for his fifth start of the season tonight.  Lopez is 2-1 with a very nice 2.42 ERA and 1.16 WHIP including 24 strikeouts and only five walks in 22 1/3 innings so far.  With Strasburg out, RHP Austin Voth will get an extra long look in the rotation the rest of the season, but the 28-year-old RH has struggled to an 0-2 record with a 5.00 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in four starts covering 18 innings.  Take Miami.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 9 pm, our selection is on the Denver Nuggets + the points over the Utah Jazz.  The Nuggets have been demolished over the last two ball games, as they've given up 124 points in back-to-back games to the Jazz.  On the other hand, they also gave up more than 124 points in Game 1, but they won that game (135-125) in overtime.  Down 2-games-to-1, we'll grab the points with the underdog Nuggets, as teams down 2-1 in a series have cashed 80.9% of the time off a loss by more than 22 points.  Even better:  Denver's an awesome 30-16 ATS when playing with double-revenge, including a perfect 5-0 ATS off a loss by 15 points or more.  Take the Nuggets to level this series at 2 games apiece.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. 

At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Boston Bruins.  We're down to four teams in each Conference and perhaps no series is as compelling as this one.  These two are everyone's favorite playoff underachievers (now that the Caps have won it all) since 2011, the last time one of them took home the Stanley Cup (Boston).  Between them, the Bruins and Bolts have lost three Stanley Cup Finals in the last seven years and of course only one of these teams can get there this year.  It's the Lightning who come into this quarterfinal series off of a major high, having beaten the team that knocked them out in four straight in the first round in 2019 (Columbus).  Their mantra in this playoff run should be "No Stamkos, No problem" as the Bolts have been playing some of their best hockey of the season despite the continued loss of their Captain.  This could be the best match-up for them right now as the Bolts are 19-6 (+9 games on the moneyline) in their last 25 games vs. Division foes.  Take Tampa.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 4:10 pm, our selection is on the Oakland A's over the L.A. Angels.  Frankie Montas will look to bounce back from his last effort, which was about as bad as a start could go.  Montas gave up 9 earned runs in just 1 2-3 innings, and the A's lost 10-1 at Arizona.  But Montas has been spectacular at home this season, with a 1.69 ERA in three starts.  And he's 2-0 in five career starts vs. the Angels with a 3.12 ERA, including a 7-3 victory less than a month ago.  The Angels are a horrible 4-15 vs. righties this season, while Oakland is 87-37 its last 124 as a home favorite.  Take the A's.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. 

At 4:10 pm, our selection is on the Houston Astros over the San Diego Padres.  Houston has a starter with a 1.84 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 6.25 K:BB ratio through five starts and it's not Justin Verlander, Lance McCullers, or some hot-shot youngster brought up from the minor league system.  It's old reliable RH Zack Greinke.  No ace starter flies under the radar more than the 36-year-old Greinke and it's probably because we've seen him put up 15-20 wins and an ERA under three runs for so many seasons now that we've just come to expect it from him.  He won't win 15 games in this shortened season, but the rest of the numbers appear to be on track as Greinke seems to be as hard to hit as ever.  This afternoon will be a good test as it seems this young upstart Padres lineup can hit just about anything lately.  But Greinke has been dominant in his career vs. the Padres (he faced them a lot when he was in the NL West), posting a 13-3 record, 2.37 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in 25 starts covering just over 163 innings against San Diego.  Take Houston.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 9:15 pm, our selection is on the Arizona Diamondbacks over San Francisco.  We played (and lost) on the Diamondbacks last night, but will come back with them this evening.  The Giants' Tyler Anderson has been largely ineffective this year.  In four starts, his ERA is just south of six runs per game, while his WHIP is north of 1.60.  Not surprisingly, the Giants have lost three of his four starts this season (and his teams have lost 18 of his last 22 starts over the past 2+ years).  Indeed, since July 24, 2018, the only four times he has started in a game his team eventually won, it was when his team scored 7, 7, 12 and 9 runs!  Now, of course, eventually, he'll win a low-scoring game, but I don't think it will be tonight.  Arizona's Zac Gallen has a 2.40 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in his five starts this season.  And against some great competition (A's, Rockies, Astros, Dodgers, Padres).  It doesn't get more impressive than that.  Take Arizona.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie

At 9:10 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Rockies over the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Kyle Freeland is Mr. Reliable so far this season.  Certainly not the sexiest pitcher going with just 18 strikeouts to go along with seven walks in 31 2/3 innings, Freeland has a pretty amazing streak of solid outings.  The Colorado LH has thrown quality starts in each of his five trips to the hill in 2020, allowing three runs on just one occasion.  And three of those five starts were at the hitters playground known as Coors Field which makes his accomplishments all that more impressive.  So no doubt the 27 year-old must be looking forward to his first start this season in Dodger Stadium -- one of the most pitcher-friendly venues in the Majors.  There's no question the Dodgers have excelled this season on both sides of the ball, but one thing they haven't done very well is hit lefties.  In 258 ABs vs. southpaws, L.A. is hitting a paltry .213.  The Rox are 12-3 (+11 games on the money line) in Freeland's last 15 starts after he allowed two runs or less in his last.  Take Colorado.

At 8:15 pm, our selection is on the Chicago Cubs over the Chicago White Sox.  The ChiSox have won six in a row.  But four of those games were against the Detroit Tigers (who have lost nine of their last 10 games).  Today, the Cubs will have the decided advantage on the mound, with Kyle Hendricks squaring off against Reynaldo Lopez.  Lopez started just once this year, and it wasn't pretty.  He didn't make it out of the first inning, as the Twins pounded him for four runs in 2/3 of an inning (in a game which wound up as a 14-2 score).  Meanwhile, Hendricks has been exceptional, with a 3.31 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP (2.02; 0.62 at home).  The Cubs are 31-9 at home (+18 games on the moneyline) when the over/under is 10+ runs, while the White Sox are 6-26 on the road (minus 16 games on the moneyline) when the total was 10+ runs.  Take the Cubbies.

At 6 pm, our selection is on the Oklahoma City Thunder + the points over Houston.  The Thunder were actually favored by a point in Game 1.  But after falling behind 2-games-to-none to James Harden & Co., the Thunder now find themselves installed as a small underdog in Game 3.  I believe it's an overreaction, so we'll step in and take the points with OKC.  Admittedly, the Thunder have lost their last three games SU/ATS.  But Oklahoma City is a tremendous 29-9 ATS away from home when they were on a 3-game SU/ATS losing streak.  And prior to dropping these two Playoff games to Houston, Oklahoma City had covered the last five meetings (and nine of the last 11).  Since 1990, NBA teams off back to back Playoff losses by 13+ points have covered 59%, so we'll grab the points with the Thunder on Saturday.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 9:40 pm, our selection is on the Arizona Diamondbacks over San Francisco.  We played (and lost) on the D-backs last night at Oakland.  But we'll come right back with Arizona tonight, as they'll move across the bay to take on San Francisco.  The pitching matchup will be the Giants' Logan Webb vs. Arizona's Robbie Ray.  In Ray's last start, he gave up just one earned run in five innings, which was his best start yet of the 2020 campaign.  He also has had success vs. San Francisco, as he's 5-2 in his 14 career starts, with a 3.33 ERA.  The D-Backs are 18-11 as a road favorite with Ray on the mound, while the Giants are a poor 33-51 (minus 11 games on the moneyline) as a home underdog.  Take Arizona to bounce back this evening.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 9 pm, our selection is on the Los Angeles Clippers minus the points over Dallas.  The Clippers lost Game 2, 127-114, as a 5-point favorite.  But they had won (and covered) the previous five games in this series.  I love Los Angeles to bounce back tonight in Game 3, as NBA teams that failed to cover Game 2 by 18+ points, have rebounded to cover Game 3 58% of the time since 1990.  Doc Rivers' men are 27-13 their last 40 when playing with revenge from a defeat earlier in the season.  And they're an awesome 30-10 ATS their last 40 off a straight-up loss, including a perfect 8-0 ATS when priced from -4 to -7 points.  Take the Clippers.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 4 pm, our selection is on the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets 'under' the total.  The first two games of this series were extremely high scoring.  Game 1 saw the Nuggets win, in overtime, 135-125, while Game 2 went to the Jazz, 124-105.  I actually look for a much lower-scoring game this afternoon, as NBA playoff games have sailed 'under' the total 60% of the time  since 1992 following two games in the series that each produced 225+ points.  Even better:  this series has gone 'under' the total in 21 of the last 29 meetings. Take the Under.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 9:40 pm, our selection is on the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Oakland A's.  We played on Oakland last night, and got the $$$ with Jesus Luzardo, who shut out Arizona for 6 1/3 innings en route to a 4-1 run.  But we'll switch gears tonight, and take the underdog D-Backs behind Alex Young.  Young replaced the injured Madison Bumgarner in the rotation, and he comes into this game off a solid effort vs. San Diego (4 1/3 innings; 1 run).  Young's ERA is 3.86 on the season, which compares favorably to that of his mound opponent tonight.  Oakland will hand the ball to southpaw Sean Manaea, who is 0-2 with a 7.65 ERA.  And, prior to last night's game, the A's pitching staff had allowed 49 earned runs over the previous eight games (6.36 ERA).  Meanwhile, Arizona had won six straight games before last night's clunker.  The D-Backs are 19-9 (+12 games on the moneyline) vs. American League foes.  Take the Diamondbacks.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 9 pm, our selection is on the Los Angeles Lakers minus the points over the Portland Trail Blazers.  Damian Lillard & Co. upset the Lakers in Game 1, 100-93.  But Portland's never performed well off a Playoff victory, as it's 25-45-3 ATS, including 5-17 ATS when getting more than four points.  Meanwhile, LeBron James' teams have gone 47-26 ATS in the Playoffs if they weren't winning the series, and were favored by two or more points.  And his teams have also gone 97-66 ATS in his career when favored, and playing with revenge vs. an opponent off a straight-up win.  It's true that the Lakers have dropped their last six to the spread.  But NBA teams have gone 13-2 ATS in the Playoffs when priced from -4 to -9.5 points, if they were on a 6-game (or worse) ATS losing streak.  Take the L.A. Lakers.  Good luck, always....Al McMordie.

At 6 pm, our selection is on the Milwaukee Bucks minus the points over Orlando.  The Magic stunned Milwaukee, 122-110, as a 13.5-point underdog on Tuesday.  But off that defeat, we'll lay the points with the Bucks in Game 2.  Since Mike Budenholzer took over as head coach, the Bucks are an awesome 34-9 SU and 29-14 ATS off a straight-up loss, including 18-5 ATS when priced from -7 to -13 points!  Moreover, teams that owned a win percentage at least .05 better than their opponent, have cashed over 69% since 1990 off a loss to start the opening round of the Playoffs.  Meanwhile, the Magic are a dreadful 3-12 ATS away from home as an underdog of 3+ points following a Playoff win vs. their opponent.  Take the Bucks to blow out Orlando.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 3:10 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Rockies over the Houston Astros.  German Marquez has had solid seasons in each of his first three full-time MLB campaigns.  And in 2020 he's doing it again and he's only just now entering his prime at age 25.  The Wins have been a little tough to come by, but in a league-leading five starts and 128 batters faced, Marquez has a fantastic 2.25 ERA.  After logging quality starts in each of his first five outings, Marquez was on the verge of making it six-for-six when he was pulled from his last start with 5 2/3 IP (one out short of that QS).  The key for Marquez continues to be that he doesn't seem to mind pitching at home in the toughest park in the league.  Sure, his numbers are better on the road, but they're not bad at Coors.  2020 is a perfect example as Marquez has an outstanding 1.93 ERA in three road starts but his home number is a very respectable 2.70 (two starts).  The Stros were favored last night (as they usually are) but not today and they are 0-6 in their last six, and 2-13 their last 15 games as an underdog.  Take Colorado.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 9:40 pm, our selection is on the Oakland Athletics over the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Even though he hadn't started a game yet in the Majors (just six relief appearances in 2019), Jesus Luzardo's reputation preceded him into this shortened 2020 campaign.  The early returns on the young Oakland LH didn't disappoint as Luzardo posted a 2.60 ERA and 1.15 WHIP through his first four games of 2020 (two relief appearances in July and two starts in August).  But the wheels fell off in start number three (oddly enough at Oracle Park vs. the Giants) and so we've hit the pause button on handing him the Rookie of Year trophy.  Look for a bounce back tonight as there's no doubt Luzardo has special skills which he's already put on display several times.  And he has one of the best offenses in the league backing him up when he pitches.  Although Luzardo got hammered in that last start, the A's still won and are 3-0 in his lifetime starts.  The A's are 50-16 (+21 games on the moneyline) in their last 66 as a home favorite of at least -150.  Take Oakland.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 8:40 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Rockies over Houston.  The Astros are on a 6-game win streak, including 2 wins at home, in Houston, vs. these Rockies, on Monday and Tuesday.  But the scene switches to Colorado for Games 3+ 4.  Yesterday, Houston won in extra innings, but didn't score its first run until the 10th inning.  Today, the Astros will face Ryan Castellani, a rookie right-hander, who brings a 1.04 ERA (in two starts) into this match-up.  Colorado's 39-29 (+10 games on the moneyline) at home in games with high totals (over 12 runs), while Houston's Framber Valdez has lost each of his last four road starts (8.64 ERA).  Take the home underdog Rockies.

At 4 pm, our selection is on the Utah Jazz + the points over Denver.  The Jazz handed their backers a really bad beat on Monday, as they fell in overtime by 10 points, as a 4.5-point underdog.  Still, Donovan Mitchell was brilliant in defeat, as he led the way with 57 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.  Remarkably, the Nuggets, who have won greater than 65% of their games the past two seasons, are a jaw-dropping 0-16 ATS their last 16 away from home as a favorite off a win by more than eight points!  Take Utah.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 1:30 pm, our selection is on the Brooklyn Nets + the points over Toronto.  In Game 1, the Raptors smacked the Nets, 134-110.  But I love taking double-digit underdogs off a SU/ATS double-digit loss vs. foes off a SU/ATS double-digit win, as they're 474-374 ATS.  Even better:  The Nets are a solid 42-25 ATS as an underdog when playing with revenge from a loss earlier in the season, including a perfect 12-0 ATS when getting more than 9 points.  Take Brooklyn + the points.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 1:05 pm, our selection is on the Baltimore Orioles over the Toronto Blue Jays.  Although Tanner Roark has generally pitched for good teams, he hasn't fared well, of late, as a favorite, as his teams are a poor 10-20 (minus 20 games on the moneyline) as a favorite!  Throw in the fact that the Jays are dreadful vs. lefty starters (40-72, minus 20 games on the moneyline), and 1-5 in day games this season, while Baltimore is 5-1 in the daytime.  Let's pull the trigger on Baltimore.

At 12 noon, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Columbus Blue Jackets.  There are two takeaways from this -- so far -- lopsided playoff series that could be wrapped up by Tampa this afternoon.  The first is that revenge can be sweet as it was the Jackets who eliminated the heavily favored Bolts with a first round playoff sweep in 2019.  The second is that a team with depth, a strong defense, and a Vezina-caliber goalie can overcome the loss of its best player as Tampa has done in the post-season so far without C Steven Stamkos.  Since that first round shellacking, the Bolts have taken four of five meetings with the Jackets and look to make it five of six today while moving on to the next round.  It's not like the Jackets have been a push-over as these battles are close, but it seems that the more tight, low-scoring games the Bolts play, the more they benefit.  They are an super 44-15 in their last 59 after allowing one goal or less, while the Jackets are a horrid 24-35 (minus 13 games on the moneyline) when playing with double-revenge.  Take Tampa.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 4 pm, our selection is on the Miami Heat minus the points over Indiana.  These two teams met at the conclusion of the regular season, and we played on the Pacers in their blowout victory.  That was also Indiana's second straight upset win heading into these playoffs.  Unfortunately, over the last 30 seasons, NBA teams off back to back upset wins to end the regular season generally do poorly in Game 1 of the Playoffs, as they've covered just 33% of the time.  Also, Erik Spoelstra's teams are 11-3 SU and 9-5 ATS when favored in Game 1 of a Playoff series, including a perfect 5-0 ATS when playing with revenge.  Lay the points with Miami.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 7:35 pm, our selection is on the Baltimore Orioles over the Toronto Blue Jays.  No team's start to the season has been more surprising than that of the Orioles.  Most people probably would have bet that by the time they played their first 20 games, the O's would be close to -- if not at least -- 10 games under .500.  But after losing game #21 to the Nats on Sunday, Baltimore finds itself at 12-9.  Or course with the Yankees and Rays in their division, the O's likely won't be able to do any better than third place by season's end, even if they are able to maintain a .500 record.  They begin a three-game series with Division rival Toronto tonight and although it's probably the Jays lineup that we'll be talking about next year and beyond, right now you have to give the edge to the no-names in Orange and Black.  And the O's have managed to do what they've done so far without arguably their best hitter as OF Trey Mancini has been out since a cancer diagnosis in the off-season.  The O's are 8-2 in their last 10 vs. losing teams.  Take Baltimore.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 3:00 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Columbus Jackets.  After a somewhat surprising comeback by the Blue Jackets in Game 2 of this series, the Lightning's stifling defense took over in Game 3.  Tampa smothered Columbus pretty much the entire game on Saturday, allowing just 17 shots to get through to their outstanding net-minder (only seven in the last 45 minutes) and the Bolts won the game 3-2 to take a 2-1 series lead.  Tampa has now out-shot Columbus by a whopping 159-102 over the course of the three games and if this continues then it will likely be lights out for the Jackets.  In addition to the suffocating defense of their opponent, the Jackets are continuing to be hampered by the loss of several key offensive players.  On the other side, with the depth the Lightning have, they haven't seemed to have missed star Steven Stamkos who has been out with a lower body injury.  A lot of teams will suffer letdowns off wins, or bounce back after losses, but not these two teams.  Tampa is 112-62 (+9 games on the moneyline) off a win, while the Jackets are a poor 18-23 this season off a loss, and just just 14-21 (-5 games on the money line) in its last 35 revenging a loss against an opponent.  Take Tampa.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 8:00 pm, our selection is on the Philadelphia Flyers over the Montreal Canadiens.  Those who thought that the Canadiens' improbable run would end quickly in round one against the talented, top-seeded Flyers were in a for a bit of a shock on Friday.  The lowest seeded team, who beat the mighty Penguins in four games in the play-in round, shocked Philly with a 5-0 rout two nights ago.  Veteran goalie Carey Price was magnificent, stopping all 30 shots he faced while the Flyers pulled their #1, Carter Hart, after he allowed four goals and replaced him with veteran Brian Elliott.  If you're a Flyers fan there's no need to panic just yet.  Philly was simply flat on Friday and the Flyers have done a really good job recently at bouncing back after games like that.  Philly is 7-2 (+6 games on the moneyline) in its last nine after a blowout loss of at least five goals in the previous contest.  The Flyers are also 14-5 (+10 games on the moneyline) in their last 19 revenging a loss to an opponent.  Meanwhile, the Canadiens are a poor 6-11 this season (and 16-32 the past 3 seasons (-15 games on the moneyline)) when matched up against the league's best teams (which outscore their foes by 0.5 goals per game).  Take Philadelphia.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 1:10 pm, our selection is on the Miami Marlins over the Atlanta Braves.  You've probably heard of Latin American Players who were discovered as teenagers in their native countries and given contracts at age 16 by MLB teams because of their potential.  Marlins' RHP Elieser Hernandez is one such player.  The Astros gave Hernandez a contract back in 2011 but didn't keep him around and the Marlins took him in the 2017 rule 5 draft and two seasons ago he made his MLB debut at the age of 23.  Now 25, Hernandez seems ready to fulfill that potential that Houston saw in him almost a decade ago and he will take the mound tonight for Miami looking for his first win of 2020.  Hernandez has been stellar, posting a 2.79 ERA and 0.83 WHIP with 10 strikeouts and two walks in two starts covering 9 2/3 innings.  Having run through their regular rotation the Braves will go with LHP Robbie Erlin today.  Erlin has a career 13-20 record with a 4.66 ERA and has a 9.00 ERA in relief appearances with Pittsburgh and Atlanta this season.  Meanwhile, the Marlins have yet to lose a competitively-priced game (between +125 and -125) this season, as they're 5-0.  Take Miami.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie

At 8:15 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Rockies over the Texas Rangers.  Last season, the Rockies' German Marquez was a glass half-full/glass half-empty type of pitcher.  On the half full side was Marquez' 12-5 record and 175 strikeouts vs. 35 walks in 174 innings (a 5:1 K:BB ratio).  But on the other side was his 4.76 ERA and his league-leading 14 hit batsmen.  So far in 2020, the glass has been more full than empty as the 25-year-old RH has a 2.08 ERA and 0.92 WHIP over his first four starts covering 26 innings.  Even though his ERA is high at Coors Field (as is most starters'), Marquez wins here more often than not with a career 19-11 record in 46 games (45 starts) in Denver.  He gets a chance to get win 20 tonight in his second career start vs. the Rangers.  But Marquez's strongest angle by far is when he's a heavy favorite.  Indeed, in his last 18 starts as a home favorite of at least -150, the Rockies are 18-2 (+14 games on the moneyline).  This will be veteran RHP Kyle Gibson's first start in Coors Field and first vs. Colorado, and I expect the Rockies to give him a rude awakening.  Take the Rockies.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 7:35 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Columbus Blue Jackets.  You have to hand it to the Blue Jackets.  After a devastating 5 OT loss in Game one on Tuesday, you wouldn't blame them if they packed it in.  But Columbus sucked it up and came back in Game 2 on Thursday and beat the favored Bolts, 3-1.  Now it's up to Tampa to show that it can rebound in the same manner.  The Lightning once again had a huge shot advantage in game two, 37-22, but following his NHL record 85-save performance in Game 1, Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo was stellar once again.  Look for the Bolts to shake up their front lines in an effort to get back to the type of scoring they had during most of the regular season (first in the NHL at 3.47 GPG).  The banged-up Jackets will once again be without several key offensive players, including Brandon Dubinsky, Josh Anderson, and Cam Atkinson.  Tampa is 19-3 (+14 games on the moneyline) in its last 22 after scoring 1 goal or less in its previous game, and 59-25 (+20 games on the moneyline) off a loss.  Take the Lightning.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 7:10 pm, our selection is on the Cleveland Indians over the Detroit Tigers.  After winning his first start of 2020, Indians' RHP Aaron Civale proceeded to lose his next two outings.  But it wasn't the 25-year-old's fault.  Civale -- who Cleveland selected in the 2016 Amateur draft out of Northeastern University -- has allowed just four runs on 10 hits in 13 innings in his two August starts.  The problem is that the Indians offense decided to take a couple of days off when he pitched, losing 3-1 and 2-0 respectively in those last two efforts.  He will try for win number two again tonight in Detroit against a Tigers team that seems to be doing it with smoke and mirrors so far.  The Tigers are a surprising 9-7 in a season when most people wondered if they would even win a single game in their first three weeks of play.  There's little to suggest that Detroit will be able to keep winning at this rate and the Tigers have certainly had their problems with Cleveland recently.  The Indians are an incredible 43-9 in the last 52 meetings with the Tigers.  Take the Tribe.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 4:05 pm, our selection is on the Indiana Pacers over the Miami Heat.  These two teams met four days ago, and Miami got the better of Indy, 114-92, as a 4-point favorite.  These two teams will also play each other in the first round of the Playoffs, so this is a "tune-up" for both squads.  I expect Indiana will want to gain a measure of confidence, and play better this afternoon than it did on Monday.  Indiana also falls into a 228-148 ATS revenge system of mine, based on the fact it has lost all three meetings to the Heat this season.  Take the Pacers.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 9:40 pm, our selection is on the San Diego Padres over Los Angeles.  We played on Tony Gonsolin and the Dodgers last night, but will switch gears and take the Padres tonight.  Chris Paddack will get the ball for the Padres, and he's been terrific this season, with a 3.18 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 21 strikeouts in just 22 2-3 innings (and just three walks).  One of Paddack's victories was against this Dodgers team (and Walker Buehler) 10 days ago.  Tonight, Paddack will face a very good southpaw in Julio Urias, who has also pitched well this season (2.40 ERA; 1.26 WHIP).  But the biggest difference between these two pitchers is how deep they go into games.  Whereas Paddack will generally pitch either 5 or 6 innings each game, Urias has averaged less than 4 1-3 innings over the last two years.  We'll take the underdog Padres tonight.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. 

At 6:30 pm, our selection is on the San Antonio Spurs minus the points over Utah.  Although the Spurs can still reach the playoffs for the 23rd consecutive season, their chances to do so are small, as they need at least two of three other teams (Memphis, Phoenix, Portland) to lose today, while they win their own game vs. the Jazz.  By the time this game tips off, the Spurs will know whether they've been knocked out, or if they're still alive.  But even if they're knocked out, I still expect them to put forth a solid effort to end the season on a high note, because that's what a Gregg Popovich team would do.  The Spurs fall into 115-55 and 98-45 ATS 'momentum' systems of mine.  Lay the points.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 3:00 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Columbus Blue Jackets.  In an historic Game 1 on Tuesday, the Lightning out-lasted the Blue Jackets when Brayden Point scored at 10:27 of the fifth OT period.  That Game 1 result certainly satisfied us, as we had a big play on Tampa in Game 1 (and also have it as our Preseason Futures wager this season at 7-1 odds).   Several NHL records were set in that one, including most shots on goal (151) and most saves by a goalie in a game (85 by the Jackets' Korpisalo).  And although the fourth-longest game in NHL history doesn't necessarily spell doom for the Jackets, it certainly lets some air out of their balloon heading into this afternoon's Game 1.  It's a great boost for Tampa today knowing that the only thing that kept Columbus in the game that long was the play of its goalie as the Bolts out-shot the Jackets by a whopping 25 when all was said and done.  While Korpisalo's superhuman efforts will be remembered, it's also important to point out that Tampa's Vezina Trophy finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy bought time for Point and Co. with 61 saves of his own.  Tampa is 23-12 in its last 35 after winning its previous game in overtime.  Take the Lightning.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 9:40 pm, our selection is on the Los Angeles Dodgers over the San Diego Padres.  Dave Roberts will hand the ball to his young southpaw tonight, and that bodes well for the Dodgers, as the Padres are a horrid 36-60 their last 96 vs. lefties, including 3-15 on the road.  Urias's ERA this season is 2.40, and he's given up 2 earned runs or less in each of his last eight starts (dating back to last season).   Take Los Angeles.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Miami Heat minus the points over the Oklahoma City Thunder.  The Heat come into this game off a 114-92 win over Indiana, while the Thunder were blown out, 128-101 by the Phoenix Suns.  We played on Phoenix in that game, as the Suns have been "playing to win."  And the fact that OKC was annihilated gives an indication as to what its mindset is at this late stage of the NBA season.  I expect a similar result tonight.  We'll lay the points with the much more interested club (Miami), which also falls into 81-37 and 115-54 ATS 'momentum' systems of mine.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. 

At 7:10 pm, our selection is on the Minnesota Twins over Milwaukee.  The Twins have dropped five of their last six games, but will hand the ball to Kenta Maeda on this Wednesday.  His ERA is a solid 2.65, and he has a career 3.00 ERA in his five starts vs. Milwaukee.  Meanwhile, Eric Lauer (who goes for the Brewers) has a nasty 18.00 ERA on this young season.  Finally, the Twins are an awesome 59-34 (+22 games on the moneyline) on the road.  Take Minnesota.

At 4:10 pm, our selection is on the Oakland Athletics over the Los Angeles Angels.  There have been so many breakout pitching performances already in 2020 but none any more surprising than that of A's RH Chris Bassitt. The former 16th round draft pick by the White Sox in 2011, Bassitt has been in the league since 2014 and is already 31 years old.  Although he's shown some flashes of brilliance in the past. Bassitt has never put it all together for an entire season.  It's still early in the 2020 schedule, but Bassitt is off to a torrid start going 1-0 with a 1.08 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 15 strikeouts vs. just four walks in just under 17 innings.  Oakland's offense has been firing so far as well, with 80 runs in the first 17 games -- fourth best in the AL (three teams are tied with 82).  Even when Bassitt doesn't get the W, his team almost always does as the A's are 6-0 in Bassitt's last six starts going back to last season.  Oakland is also 11-5 (+5 games on the money line) in Bassitt's last 16 daytime starts.  Take the A's.

At 8:40 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Rockies over the Arizona Diamondbacks.  One year after having a season to remember, Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland had one to forget.  Freeland's Sophomore effort in 2018 yielded a 17-7 record in 33 starts with a 2.85 ERA and a top-10 finish in the Cy Young balloting.  2019 however would look totally different.  Last season the 26-year-old posted a 3-11 record with a 6.73 ERA.  Injuries played a big role as Freeland only went to the mound 22 times last season.  Healthy now, Freeland appears to be back to his Sophomore form.  Through three starts, he is 2-0 with a 2.41 ERA, 1.07 WHIP in just under 19 innings.  Start number four will come tonight at home (literally as Freeland is from Denver) and Freeland has had more success here than he has elsewhere.  In 46 games (43 starts) at Coors, Freeland is 19-14 with a 4.22 ERA vs. 14-15 and 3.93 in 45 appearances (43 starts) on the road.  The Rockies are 20-7 (+12 games on the money line) in Freeland's last 27 home starts.  Take the Rockies.