The defending NBA Champion Denver Nuggets have their collective backs up against the wall here today in game three of their NBA West 2nd Round matchup with Minnesota. The Nuggets lost both home games and are down 0-2 as they return to Minnesota today for game three. The Nuggets can ill afford to go down 0-3 in this series so they better bring their A game today. What they have in their corner is experience against this young Wolves club. Denver lost game one, 99-106 and then were neve in game two as they dropped that one, 80-106. They looks tired in that game two loss as they shot just 34.9% from the field and allowed 50% shooting. No NBA team has come back from a 0-3 deficit so the Nuggets know they are in a must win situation. Nikola Jokic was named MVP and will have to play like it today. Anthony Edwards has become a star in the NBA as he's averaging 32.3 ppg in the playoffs. I believe Denver still has a spark in them. They need Jokic and Murray to step up and lead this team. Denver is the correct play here today plus the points. Play Denver.

The Kansas City Royals and LA Angels play the second game of their four game set here on Friday. The Royals cruised to an easy win in game one last night, 10-4. That increased the Royals win streak to a modest two games. The Royals improved to 23-16 overall and 1.5 games back of the first place Guardians in the AL Central. They also have a division best +52 run differential (3rd in the A.L). Alec Marsh makes his sixth start today and he's been very good this season. Marsh is 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA and 1.012 WHIP. Marsh hasn't allowed a run over his last two starts, going 10 innings with just five hits. The Angels lost their fourth game in the last six last night. They are 14-24 overall and in fourth in the AL West. They also have a division worst -40 run differential. Griffin Canning will start today for the Halos with a 1-4 overall record in his seven starts. He has a 6.69 ERA and 1.429 WHIP. Canning is coming off one of his best starts at Cleveland where he allowed just two runs and four hits over six innings but still took the loss. I like the Royals here today as they have the better team a very good pitcher on the hill. Play Kansas City.

Arizona Diamondbacks and the Baltimore Orioles open a three game set here on Friday. The D'backs coming off a sweep at Cincinnati and have won four straight games. Arizona is in 3rd place in the NL West, 7.5-games back of the Dodgers. They have a +13 run differential. Brandon Pfaadt will start today for the D'backs. Pfaadt is 1-2 in his seven starts with a 4.61 ERA and 1.195 WHIP. He's coming off a loss to the Padres where he allowed five runs and 10 hits over six innings. The Orioles split their two-game set with Washington, losing Wednesday 0-3 and winning yesterday, 7-6. They have won seven of their last nine games. The O's cling to just a half game lead in the AL East over the NY Yankees. They are tied with the Yankees for the best run differential in the A.L with a +53. Cole Irvin will start today for the O's with a 3-1 record in his six starts. Irvin has a 2.86 ERA and 1.067 WHIP. The O's have won five of his six starts. Irvin has been great of late, allowing NO runs over his last three starts (20 innings) with 11 KO's and just two walks. I'm taking Irvin tonight who looks to extend his scoreless inning streak. Play Baltimore.

NBA Western Conference Game three here today as the venue shifts to Dallas for the Mavericks hosting the Thunder. The teams split the first two games at Okc with the Thunder winning the opener, 117-95 and the Mavs coming back in game two, 119-110. The Mavs hit a blistering 48.6% from the 3-point arc, their best since March 31. This number sitting as high as OKC +3.0 but seems to have settled at +2.5. Dallas was a 5.5-point dog in game two, so the line has shifting by 8 points. Oklahoma City was the top-ranked team in the Western Conference, so they know how to win and come back off a loss. You may lack experience, but Coach Mark Daigneault has this young team playing great defense. In the regular season, the Thunder were ranked fourth in defensive efficiency. The Mavericks were 16th in defense, sitting at 112.4 points per 100 possessions. As we have seen all postseason, defense has been ramped-up and the Thunder are the much better defensive team. P.J. Washington scored 29 points in game two, and he definitely won't be doing that again when he averaged just 12.9 points per game this season. I'm taking the Thunder here in game two today.

The Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays play Game two of their three game set here on Saturday. The Twins won game one last night, 3-2. The Win was the third in row for the Twins and pulled them to within a half game of AL Central first play Cleveland. The Twins also have a +25 run differential. Simeon Wood Richardson makes his fifth start here today. Richardson is 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA and 1.064 WHIP. He has not allowed more than two runs in any start and is coming off a game vs the Mariners where he gave up just one hit and not runs over six innings with eight KO's and one walk. The Blue Jays dropped to 17-21 and have lost six of their last 10 games. They also have a division worst -45 run differential. The Jays are in last in the AL East, 8.5 games back of the Orioles. Kevin Gausman will make his eight start of the season today. Gausman is 2-3 with a 3.78 ERA and 1.290 WHIP. The team has won his last two starts after losing four in a row. Gausman has improved but I still like the Twins here today with Richardson on the hill as a nice dog play. Play Minnesota.

 The Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants from game two of their three game set here today from the Bay Area. The Reds took game one on Friday, 4-2. That improved the Reds to 17-21, six games back of the Brewers in the AL Central. They also got back to zero in run differential. Nick Lodolo has been a break out for the Reds this year. Lodolo is 3-1 in his five starts with a nifty 2.79 ERA and 0.931 WHIP. The Reds won his first four starts before losing his last game. He is coming off his first loss to Baltimore where he gave up four runs and four hits over five innings. The Giants lost their second game in a row and seventh in their last 10 games. The Giants are 17-23 and 9-games back of the Dodgers in the NL West. They also have a -44 run differential. Mason Black will start for the Giants today. Black makes just his second start of the season. He lost his first start at Philadelphia where he went 4 1/3 innings and gave up eight hits and five runs. I'm taking the Reds with a proven starter on the hill against the Giants who have one of the worst innings gone by their starters. Don't expect Black to be in this game very long today. Play the Reds.