The Los Angeles Dodgers will be the road favorite tonight when they try to even the score at one game apiece in the ALCS before heading home to Chavez Ravine for Game 3. The Dodgers came up short last night in a 3-2 loss to the Braves, but when you strand as many base runners as they did that is what happens. Max Scherzer is expected to get the start for LA. Scherzer is no stranger to postseason play and will be well rested. That is never good for the opposition. LA won Scherzer’s last outing against Atlanta on September 1st and are 6-0 in his last 6 road starts. The Braves are expected to counter with Ian Anderson. Anderson last faced the Dodgers back on June 4th at Truist Park and the outcome was not good. The Dodgers cruised to a 9-5 victory and Atlanta is just 1-5 in his last 6 starts as the underdog.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Month: October 2021
Saturday NHL Pick
The Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, 3-2, in Ottawa but will get another crack at them tonight when the two teams turn around and clash again. This time it will be on Toronto’s home turf, Scotiabank Arena. The Senators were a pathetic 9-18-1 on the road last year and are just 1-6 in their last 7 trips to Toronto. The Leafs are expected to be without superstar Auston Matthews for one more game while he recovers from wrist surgery but it shouldn’t matter. Toronto is loaded with talent, were 18-7-3 at home last year, and once again a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
Friday MLB Pick
The Houston Astros will be hosting the Boston Red Sox tonight in Game 1 of the ALCS. Two southpaws are expected to get the nod, Boston’s Chris Sale and Houston’s Framber Valdez. Both pitchers were not at their best in their last outings, with Valdez lasting 4-1/3 innings allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and Sale lasting just 1 inning allowing 5 runs on 4 hits, but everybody has a bad day. In his career, Sale is 5-3 against the Astros with a 2.20 ERA and the Red Sox are 10-2 in their last 12 playoff games as a dog.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX
Thursday MLB Pick
The San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers have traded punches all year and the postseason has been no different. All is on the line tonight at Oracle Park to see who advances to the NLCS to face the Atlanta Braves. Tonight’s game will come down to pitching and two of the best flamethrowers in the Majors will oppose each other with Logan Webb getting the nod for the Giants and Julio Urías for the Dodgers. Both of these guys have been almost unbeatable, with Urías winning 12 straight and Webb 11, so where does the edge lie? With San Francisco. The Giants will have 40,000 plus fans behind them for support, Webb was lights out in Game 1 of the NLDS shutting out the Dodgers, 4-0, and LA is 2-4 in their last 6 in San Francisco.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Wednesday NHL Pick
The Winnipeg Jets will open the season on the road tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. Winnipeg was 30-23-3 last year overall and an impressive 17-10-1 on the road. Anaheim on the other hand was a dismal 17-30-9 overall and just 6-18-4 at Honda Center. The Jets advanced to the second round of the playoffs last year but were stymied by the Montréal Canadiens due to poor defensive play but that has been addressed with the acquisition of Vancouver’s Nate Schmidt and Washington’s Brenden Dillon. The Ducks did make some moves toward youth in the offseason but still have some of the old guard hanging around like Getzlaf, Silfverberg, and Fowler, and once again should be bottom-dwellers in the Pacific division. The Jets are 6-1 in their last 7 meetings with the Ducks and get their quest for the Cup off on the right foot.
TONIGHT’S PICK: WINNIPEG JETS
Tuesday NHL Pick
Amalie Arena will be electric tonight when the Tampa Bay Lightning raise their Stanley Cup banner and open the season against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh will be without two of their key weapons, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who are both sidelined with injuries and that is not good for a Penguins team that is 0-5 in their last 5 trips to Tampa. Tampa finished the regular season with a 21-7 record at home and are expected to have Andrei Vasilevskiy between the pipes, who was outstanding as usual last season. Can the Tampa Bay Lightning capture their third straight Stanley Cup victory? Absolutely and the quest starts tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Monday MLB Pick
The Los Angeles Dodgers will have momentum on their side when they head home for Game 3 of the NLDS. Los Angeles evened the series at one game apiece on Saturday with a decisive 9-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants and will turn to Max Scherzer tonight to keep it rolling. Since making the move to LA from Washington, the Dodgers are 12-0 in Scherzer’s 12 starts but he has been a little shaky over his last 3 turns. Scherzer said he was having some slight issues with his mechanics but they have since been ironed out. The Giants will counter with ex-Dodger Alex Wood. Wood was lights out in the regular season, going 10-4 with a 3.83 ERA, but was 0-2 against his former team with a 4.76 ERA. LA knows Wood well so there will be no surprises there and will have a well-rested Scherzer on the hill who is due for a dominant performance.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS