The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies will wrap up their 4-game set this afternoon at Chase Field. The NL Champion Diamondbacks fell to the Rockies yesterday, 9-4, but they bounce back today. The D-backs won the first two of the series and outscored the Rockies by a combined score of 23-4. Expect more of that today. The expected starters for both teams are not winning a Cy Young any time soon. Colorado is expected to send Ryan Feltner to the hill. In 2023 Feltner was 2-4 with a 5.82 ERA. Arizona is expected to give the nod to Brandon Pfaadt. In 2023 Pfaadt was 3-9 with a 5.27 ERA but the D-backs are 5-1 in his last 6 starts. Arizona should be able to get to Feltner and have won 7 of the last 10 meetings with the Rockies.
TODAY’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Month: March 2024
Saturday NHL Pick
With the regular season winding down, the Tampa Bay Lightning are heating up just at the right time. The 40-25-7 Bolts have won 2 straight, are 8-1-1 over their last 10, and have outscored their opponents 42-26 over that span. Tonight in the Cigar City, Tampa will be hosting the 31-26-15 New York Islanders. New York is still alive in the wild card hunt but barely. The Islanders did win their last outing against a very good Florida Panthers team but they still have just 2 wins in their last 9 tries and are 15-16-5 on the road this season. The Lightning beat the Islanders last month, 4-2, on Long Island. Tampa has won 3 straight at Amalie Arena and is an impressive 22-9-4 on the season at home.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Friday MLB Pick
The San Diego Padres got to the San Francisco Giants bullpen yesterday and went on to beat their NL West rival, 6-4. Tonight the Pads will try to do it again when the two clubs play the second game of their 4-game set at Petco Park. Expected starters are Joe Musgrove for the Friars and lefty Kyle Harrison for the Giants. Harrison started 7 games last year for San Francisco and was 1-1 with an elevated ERA of 4.15. His lone loss was to the San Diego Padres when they torched him for 6 runs on 6 hits over 5-2/3 innings, resulting in a 6-1 Padres win. The Padres ace and San Diego native Musgrove was roughed up in his first outing this year against the LA Dodgers in Korea but was lights out in 2023, with a record of 10-3 and a 3.05 ERA. Musgrove always delivers in front of his home crowd and the Padres have won 3 straight against the Giants and 6 of the last 7.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES
Thursday MLB Pick
The reigning AL East Champion Baltimore Orioles will kick off the 2024 campaign at home today against the Los Angeles Angels. The Orioles were 101-61 overall last year and 49-32 at Camden Yards, and if you think they were a force last year, this year they will be even better. The O’s acquired the 2021 Cy Young winner, Corbin Burns, from Milwaukee to bolster their rotation and he is expected to get the nod today in the opener. Burns was 10-8 last year with a 3.39 ERA and a ridiculous WHIP of only 1.069 which was the best in the majors. The Halos, who were 73-89 last year, are expected to turn to southpaw Patrick Sandoval to throw strikes. He had just 7 wins with 13 losses in 2023 and a 4.11 ERA. The Angels new skipper, Ron Washington, will have his work cut out for him this year. Starting pitching is an issue, Shohei Ohtani jumped ship to the Dodgers, Mike Trout is still Mike Trout but getting older, and Anthony Rendon is always injured. Baltimore swept Los Angeles in a 3-game set in their last meeting in September and was 5-2 overall last year against the Halos. Consider the O’s.
TODAY’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Wednesday NHL Pick
After going 2-3 on their 5-game road trip, the Buffalo Sabres will be glad to return home tonight to KeyBank Center when they take on the Ottawa Senators. The Sabres have been hot at home, winning their last 3, and after tonight it should be 4. The Senators, who are just 11-20-2 on the road, know their season is over so all they have to play for now is to be a spoiler. On the flip side, Buffalo is still alive in the wild card hunt but cannot afford to lose to teams like Ottawa if they want to get in and they are aware of that. The Sabres have won 2 of the 3 meetings with the Sens this year and will have an arena full of Sabres fans behind them.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BUFFALO SABRES
Tuesday Men’s NCAA Basketball Pick
The High Point Panthers and the Arkansas State Red Wolves will meet in the CBI Tournament tonight on a neutral court in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Panthers are a scoring machine and they showed it again last night when they crushed Cleveland State, 93-74. High Point is averaging 84.5 points per game and outscoring their opponents by an average of 10.3 points. I don’t think Arkansas State has a chance in this one. The Panthers score a lot more per game than the Red Wolves, give up less, and also have the edge in free throws and rebounds. Depending on where you do your shopping, the line has been floating around High Point -2.5 with a money line of -140.
TONIGHT’S PICK: HIGH POINT PANTHERS M/L
Monday NHL Pick
The St. Louis Blues will be a home dog when they host the Vegas Golden Knights tonight at Enterprise Center. These two teams match up well. The Blues are 38-30-3 on the season and the Golden Knights come in at 38-25-7. The Blues have been on a roll, winning 2 straight, 6 of their last 7, and have played well at home with a record of 21-12-1. They will also have payback on their minds after losing in their last meeting to Vegas in front of their home crowd back in December, 6-3.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ST. LOUIS BLUES