The San Diego Padres are focused on one thing and that is winning a World Series. They inched closer to that goal when they signed two flamethrowers, Yu Darvish and southpaw Blake Snell. The 2018 Cy Young winner Snell will be tapping the rubber for the Friars tonight and that spells trouble for the Snakes. The Arizona Diamondbacks are 1-7 in their last 8 road games against a left-handed starter and 1-4 in their last 5 trips to Petco Park. Take the Padres.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES
Thursday MLB Pick
The New York Yankees will host the upstart Toronto Blue Jays for their home opener and, even with just 20% capacity, you can bet Yankee Stadium will be electric .The Yanks are coming off a good spring and will have all their heavyweights healthy and ready to go. New York will give the nod to arguably the best pitcher in the majors, Gerrit Cole. Cole was his usual dominant self in 2020, with a record of 7-3, an ERA of 2.84, and was lights out down the stretch, posting a nasty ERA of only 1.00 in his last 4 starts. He has also been a Blue Jays killer. In his career against the Jays, he is 3-0 with a 2.88 ERA. Toronto will counter with southpaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu. Ryu had a great 2020, with a record of 5-2 and a 2.69 ERA, but has struggled against the Yanks. In his career, he is just 1-2 with a bloated ERA of 6.04. The Yankees are lethal, 1 through 9, and in the Bronx they are 5-1 in their last 6 against left-handed starters. New York usually fares well in their home opener and today should be no different. Take the Bombers.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES
Wednesday NHL Pick
There is a must-see game in the NHL tonight when the Winnipeg Jets host the Toronto Maple Leafs. These are two of the best in the business and are so evenly matched it is ridiculous. Both teams have 22 wins on the season and Winnipeg is 10-5-0-1 at home, with Toronto posting a road record of 10-4-1-0. So how do you handicap this game? Flip a coin? No, you consider the home team. Winnipeg will be a dog in this one. They are 5-1 in their last 6 in this situation and have won 4 of their last 5. The last meeting between these two clubs was in Toronto on March 13th, with the Jets cruising to a 5-2 victory.
TONIGHT’S PICK: WINNIPEG JETS
Tuesday NHL Pick
The Columbus Blue Jackets are spiraling out of control. The Jackets have lost 4 straight and 7 of their last 10. They were most recently swept by the lowly Detroit Red Wings and now they have to travel to Amalie Arena to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Good luck. The Lightning are on a rare 2-game skid and fell to the Jackets in their last meeting, 5-2, on January 23rd so they will be extra motivated to put the screws to Columbus tonight. Tampa is, without a doubt, the best team in hockey. They are 24-8-1-1 on the season and have been deadly at home with a record of 13-2-0-0. Consider the Champs.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Monday NHL Pick
The Buffalo Sabres will try to stop the bleeding when they host the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at KeyBank Center. Buffalo has lost a franchise 17 straight games but they will eventually win and tonight could be that night. The Flyers have not been playing well. They did eke out a win on Saturday against the New York Rangers but prior to that they had lost 4 in a row and are just 3-7 in their last 10. Buffalo showed glimmers of hope in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Boston and are expected to have Linus Ullmark between the pipes. Ullmark has a very respectable 2.49 GAA and a 0.918 SV%. The Sabres know they can beat the Bullies. They did so back on Jan 18th, 6-1, and the home team between these two clubs is 13-5 in their last 18 meetings. Buffalo is worth a shot.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BUFFALO SABRES
Sunday NHL Pick
The Washington Capitals will host the New York Rangers today in a matinée at Capital One Arena. New York will be playing back-to-back games after losing a close one to Philadelphia yesterday so fatigue could be an issue. The Rangers have been a thorn in the side of the East leading Capitals, winning 3 of the 4 meetings this year, but they are catching a Washington team that is hot. The Capitals have won two straight, 9 of their last 10, and have been a force at home. They are 12-4-1-1 at Capital One and 7-2 in their last 9 against the Rangers in DC.
TODAY’S PICK: WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Saturday Men’s NCAA Basketball Pick
The NIT semifinal game today in Frisco, Texas will have two Bulldogs teams pitted against each other, Louisiana Tech and Mississippi State. Mississippi State is lucky to be where they are. It took a 3-pointer with seconds left on the clock to defeat a Richmond Spiders team that was without two of their top performers. Louisiana Tech, on the other hand, took command of the game against the Hilltoppers and never looked back, winning 72-65. With their win on Thursday, Louisiana Tech has now won 8 of their last 9 and has been a covering machine. They are 18-5 ATS in their last 23 overall and 11-2 ATS in their last 13 against teams with a straight up winning record. The line has been in flux but wherever it ends up, Louisiana Tech scores more, gives up less, and is worth considering.
TODAY’S PICK: LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS