The Phillies are a hot road team and they have a hot pitcher going. Both teams were idle on Monday. The Cubs, though, flew in from London where they played the Cardinals during the weekend. So jet lag could work against them.

All of this puts me on the Phillies as an action play since as of early Tuesday morning the Cubs had not formally announced their starting pitcher. Jameson Taillon is the projected starter, which would be another plus for Philadelphia. Taillon has been terrible with a 2-5 record and 6.71 ERA.

The Phillies are 8-1 in their last nine road games, averaging 6.6 runs and posting an .843 OPS during this span. They are looking for their seventh consecutive away victory.

After a slow start recovering from an elbow strain, Philadelphia starter Ranger Suarez has been brilliant in his last five starts with a 1.38 ERA.

I'm looking for the Rangers to bounce back in a big way at home after losing to the Tigers on Monday.

The pitching matchup is right-hander Matt Manning versus southpaw Martin Perez.

Manning will be making his first start since breaking his foot back on April 11. The Rangers rank in the top three against righties in many of the major offensive categories, including batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.

Perez has been brilliant at home with a 3-1 record and 1.71 ERA. The Tigers have a bottom-four offense.

Each of the Rangers' last eight wins have been by more than one run.

Given their talent, the Cardinals could be baseball's biggest underachieving team at 32-45. Along with the Riddle of the Sphinx, Stonehenge and the Bermuda Triangle it is one of the great mysteries of the world why Oliver Marmol remains manager of the Cardinals.

I'm not going to look away from this gift horse. The Astros have Framber Valdez, perhaps the most underrated pitcher in the league, going against the Cardinals. Losers of six of their last seven home games, the Cardinals could be suffering from jet lag having just played the Cubs in London during the weekend.

Valdez has the second-lowest ERA in the majors behind only Shane McClanahan at 2.27. Valdez is in top form, too, with a 4-1 record and 1.50 ERA in his last six starts. Valdez has made 15 starts this season. He has surrendered two or fewer runs in 11 of those games. The Cardinals have never faced him.

Lefty Jordan Montgomery is in line to start for St. Louis. The Cardinals are 2-11 in his last 13 starts. He is 0-1 with a 4.38 ERA in five career starts versus Houston. The Astros are 12-8 versus southpaw starters.

This is an action play for me just in case Montgomery doesn't start.

Don't expect the Angels to score 25 runs on Monday like they did against the Rockies on Saturday. Don't even expect the Angels to score four runs against Dylan Cease and the White Sox.

Cease has been showing signs of regaining his dominance with a 2.60 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in his last three starts spanning 17 1/3 innings.

The Angels go from playing at Coors Field - the premier hitter's park in the majors - to their pitcher-friendly Angels Stadium.

If you toss out that freakish 25-1 Angels victory two days ago at Coors, the Angels have scored only seven runs in their last four games. That's a 1.7 average.

The White Sox have scored four or fewer runs in eight of their last 10 games. I don't expect them to reach four runs either facing a below-the-radar Reid Detmers and a rested Angels bullpen.

Don't look at Detmers' season record of 1-5 and 4.02 ERA. Detmers is pitching the best of his three-year big league career. He just shut out the Dodgers - a top-five offense - on two hits with eight strikeouts and one walk in seven innings this past Tuesday at Angel Stadium. Detmers is 1-0 with a 0.96 ERA and 0.86 WHIP with 24 strikeouts in his past three starts spanning 18 2/3 innings.

The White Sox have never faced Detmers, another plus for Detmers. He might also catch the White Sox missing Tim Anderson and Yasmani Grandal. Anderson has a sore shoulder while Grandal left Sunday's game with a bruised jaw.

I priced this game much higher, so I'm on the Giants. San Francisco is rolling winning 12 of its last 13 games.

I trust Giants starter Anthony DeScalafani more than Arizona's Ryne Nelson, who has a 5.31 ERA.

San Francisco's offense is underrated. The Giants rank in the top 10 in a number of categories including, runs, homers, on base percentage and slugging percentage.

The Diamondbacks have lost 23 of their last 28 road games in San Francisco.

Cleveland should remember Corbin Burnes. The last time Burnes faced the Guardians in Cleveland he combined with Josh Hader to throw a no-hitter. That was two seasons ago.

Burnes faces the Guardians today and the price is right to back him. Burnes hasn't performed at his Cy Young Award level of the past couple of seasons. But he's still darn effective with four straight quality road starts and a 1.15 season WHIP.

The Guardians are last in homers, 27th in runs and have the lowest rate of hard-hit balls. Burnes is backed by elite closer Devin Williams, who is rested.

Cleveland starter Aaron Civale has a 2.67 ERA. However, that hides Civale's current form - which is not good. Civale has given up seven walks and three homers during his past two starts spanning 10 1/3 innings. This was against the A's and Padres. Oakland is last in runs, batting average and OPS. San Diego has a below average offense, too.

The Brewers had outscored the Guardians by 26 runs in winning four straight against them until losing, 4-2, on Saturday.

Just twice since May 28 have the Tigers won consecutive games. They nipped the Twins, 3-2, on Saturday. I don't see Detroit beating Minnesota again today in a pitching matchup of Bailey Ober versus Michael Lorenzen.

The Twins have given up an average of just two runs during their last four games. Ober is an underrated pitcher with a 2.80 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. He faces a weak-hitting Tigers lineup that is 29th in runs and OPS and 28th in homers.

Lorenzen has a 4.00 ERA on the season. During his past three starts, Lorenzen has a 6.27 ERA and 1.50 WHIP.

These are the two worst teams in the WNBA. Phoenix at least has an excuse - injuries. Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi have both been out.

Griner and Taurasi, still effective at 41, are expected to return to the lineup today.

That puts me on the underdog Mercury.

Seattle is 1-7 at home this season. The Mercury have covered four of the past five in the series.

The Mercury have a scheduling advantage, too. They last played this past Wednesday, while the Storm are in action for the third time in five days.

These teams are close to even. But Calgary's home field isn't worth this many points. Saskatchewan has a quarterback edge, too, with Trevor Harris against Jake Maier. The Stampeders also have a pair of key skill position injuries.

So I find good value taking Saskatchewan at more than a field goal.

Calgary showed a good run defense against Ottawa last week. However, the Roughriders can hurt the Stampeders through the air. Harris has four quality receivers. He passed for 413 yards and three TD's in a 45-27 shootout loss to Winnipeg last week. Saskatchewan opened its season with a 17-13 upset road victory against Edmonton.

The Stampeders have just one TD pass in their two games. Maier will be without star running back Ka'Deem Carey again and wide receiver Reggie Begelton is out, too. Begelton is Calgary's leading in receptions and receiving yards.

Calgary has failed to cover during 20 of its past 27 home games.

I see this as a kill spot for the Blue Jays after they lost, 5-4, to the A's on Friday at home. Oakland had lost its past eight games.

The Blue Jays have much better hitters and own a huge pitching edge in a matchup of rookie Hogan Harris versus Jose Berrios.

Harris has been unimpressive with a 4.45 ERA.

Berrios got lit up by the Marlins in Miami during his last start. Prior to that, however, Berrios had permitted only four earned runs in his past five starts spanning 32 1/3 innings.

Berrios has pitched much better in Toronto where he's 3-1 with a 2.37 ERA. His day time ERA is 1.56. The A's have scored three or fewer runs in seven of their last nine games.

The Mets are in stop-the-pain mode having lost 10 of their last 14 games. The buy sign is on here for the Mets because Max Scherzer gets the start.

In Max we trust.

Scherzer got back on track in his last start, holding the Astros to one run on four hits in eight innings while striking out eight and allowing only one walk. The Mets easily won that game, 11-1.

This could be a bullpen game for the Phillies starting Cristopher Sanchez. He's made just two appearances failing to reach five innings either time. Sanchez had a 5.63 ERA in 40 innings with the Phillies last season.

Despite Friday's loss to the Phillies, the Mets still have defeated Philadelphia in 17 of the past 21 meetings.

On the surface, it looks like the Angels-Rockies will combine for at least a dozen runs in a pitching matchup of lefties Patrick Sandoval against Kyle Freeland.

Dig deeper, though, and you find Under to be the right play.

Both teams were idle Thursday so the bullpens are rested. Then there's the weather. The forecast is for wind to be blowing in at 9-to-10 mph.

The Angels have a cluster injury problem in the infield. Out are Anthony Rendon, Gio Urshela and Zach Neto. That puts Luis Rengifo and Andrew Velazquez into the lineup. Rengifo is batting just .209. Velazquez has only 16 at bats this season. He batted .196 last season in 322 at bats.

The Angels enter this game having been shut out in their last two games.

Freeland knows how to pitch at Coors Field. He's fared much better there than on the road. Freeland had a 3.19 home ERA this year. He has a 2.25 ERA against the Angels in two previous starts. The Under is 12-2-2 during the last 16 interleague games the Angels have gone against a southpaw starter.

Sandoval is coming off seven shutout innings of the Royals last Friday. The Rockies have never faced him giving Sandoval the element of surprise.

Colorado is one of the weakest hitting teams against southpaws ranking 29th in OPS, 28th in slugging percentage and 26th in batting average.

The Under has cashed the past six times the Rockies have gone against a lefty starter.

I like Montreal to spring a minor upset here. The Alouettes are off a bye and have the superior QB in Cody Fajardo, who looked good in his Montreal debut in Week 1.

Hamilton is without starting QB Bo Levi Mitchell, who is injured. Montreal has tape on Tiger-Cats' backup QB Matthew Shiltz.

The extra week of preparation should really help the Alouettes and Fajardo as he gets more in sync with his new team and receivers.

Montreal's defense looked good in its 19-12 opening week win against Ottawa. It was the top defensive performance of the week, according to Pro Football Focus.

The Alouettes are a strong road team covering 24 of the past 35 times. Hamilton has covered just once in its last eight Eastern Conference games.

These are the two best teams in the Canadian Football League. I expect offense to dominate.

Winnipeg is averaging 43.5 points and 447 yards, both league-leading marks. BC is second in yards per game at 427.

The Blue Bombers averaged 30 points last season and ranked No. 3 in yards. The Lions led the league in yards per game last year while also averaging 30 points.

So this is a heavyweight offensive matchup.

I don't see BC being able to stop Blue Bombers QB Zach Collaros, who has thrown for the most yards and TD's in the league so far this season. Collaros turns 35 this season, but is in top form. He has an elite receiver in Dalton Schoen. Winnipeg also has a dangerous return specialist in Janarion Grant.

BC QB Vernon Adams Jr. is second in passing yardage. The big question is can Adams fill the shoes of departed star QB Nathan Rourke. I believe he can because of his mobility and big arm.

So I'm expecting Adams to trade points with Collaros resulting in a high-scoring game.

Seattle is struggling on the road. Seattle struggles at Yankee Stadium. Seattle is struggling to score runs.

So the price is right to ride the Yankees as they look to sweep this three-game series having beaten George Kirby and Luis Castillo the past two days.

Mariners starter Bryan Woo is a drop down from Kirby and Castillo. Woo is a high strikeout pitcher, but he has a 7.30 ERA in his three starts this season.

Seattle is 3-12 in its last 15 road games. New York has dominated the Mariners at Yankee Stadium, beating them 14 of the past 18 times there.

Yankees starter Domingo German has been pitching better. He's 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA in his last three starts spanning 19 innings. The Yankees have a deep bullpen that has the lowest ERA in the majors.

The Mariners have scored more than three runs only once in their last six games. They are averaging just 2.5 runs during this period.

Remember when the Pirates opened the season going 20-9?

I don't either.

Pittsburgh is back to its usual bottom feeding ways. The Pirates are 14-30 since then. They are the coldest team in baseball with nine straight losses.

Miami is 22-15 at home and starting Braxton Garret, who has given up two or fewer earned runs in six of his last seven starts. The Pirates have scored just 11 runs in their last seven games.

Right-hander Mitch Keller gets the start for Pittsburgh. Keller has cooled off, too, after a promising start. He has a 6.14 ERA during his last five starts. As a staff, the Pirates have a 5.54 ERA this month.

The Marlins are 7-1 the past eight times they've faced a righty at home.

The Giants have won nine in a row, including the first two games of this series. But they are tempting fate. They won the series opener in extra innings and then nipped San Diego, 4-3, last night in the ninth inning when elite closer Josh Hader walked in the winning run.

Now the Giants are going the bullpen route with Ryan Walker serving as the opener of what will be a parade of relievers.

I'll take Yu Darvish and Hader on the backend knowing he won't lack motivation.

The Padres have stranded runners all season. That's continued in this series with San Diego leaving 18 baserunners in 19 innings.

I see that getting turned around here while Darvish provides the Padres a strong starting pitching edge.

I respect the Dodgers' lineup. I don't respect Michael Grove, their starting pitcher today, and their bullpen. LA relievers have the second-highest ERA in the majors at 5.01.

Grove returns from the minors to make his seventh start for the Dodgers. He has yet to produce a quality start. Grove is 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA.

The Dodgers will have to deal with two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who gets the start here. He's 6-2 with a 3.29 ERA.

LA edged the Angels, 2-0, last night behind Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers have lost the past six times following a victory.

The Twins are reeling. Fortunately they have Sonny Gray on the mound.

Gray has a 1.96 ERA in eight home starts this season. He's surrendered just one home run in 76 innings.

Minnesota is the better defensive team and has a lower bullpen ERA than Boston.

Garrett Whitlock draws the start for Boston. He's been pitching better, but he's at his worst when pitching on the road at night. His away ERA is 5.31. His night ERA is 5.24.

So look for the Twins to find their way here thanks in large part to Gray.

George Kirby is a nice young pitcher for Seattle. But he's trumped by Gerrit Cole. The price is right to back Cole and the Yankees at home.

The price on the Yankees is so low because New York just got swept by the Red Sox in Boston. That was the Yankees' fourth straight loss.

But following yesterday's off-day, look for the Yankees to be up for this game with their ace, Cole, on the mound.

Cole has held foes to two runs or less in 12 of his 15 starts. He is 6-3 lifetime against Seattle with a 2.25 ERA in 11 career starts.

The Yankees' bullpen has the lowest ERA in the league at 2.96 and is rested.

The Mariners are playing their first road game in nine days. They have lost 10 of their past 13 away games. The Mariners also have a dismal history at Yankee Stadium losing in 12 of their last 16 games there.

We've seen how this matchup plays out before. Marcus Stroman went against Johan Oviedo last Thursday. The Cubs won, 7-2.

I don't see anything changing.

The Cubs are 8-2 in their last 10 games. The Pirates are on a seven-game losing streak.

Stroman has won his last six starts spanning 41 2/3 innings. His ERA is 1.51 during this stretch.

The Pirates are swinging cold bats. They've scored only eight runs in their last five games.

Oviedo has a 4.40 ERA. Pittsburgh's bullpen has the highest ERA during the last two weeks.

If you discount a 2-0 shutout loss to the Twins three games ago, the Tigers are averaging 6.6 runs in their last eight games. They get to face Daniel Lynch.

Lynch is 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA. He has a 5.22 ERA in six career starts against Detroit. Kansas City has the third-highest bullpen ERA in the majors.

So I see the Tigers doing their share to push this total Over.

As for the Royals, they draw a cold Michael Lorenzen, who is 2-4 with a 4.23 ERA. Lorenzen has given up 12 earned runs in his last two starts spanning 12 2/3 innings.

The Reds are sizzling. They have won eight in a row and 11 of their last 13.

The Reds are getting tremendous production and emotion from younger players, including rookies Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain and Spencer Steer.

Colorado has the second-worst record in the National League. They are 13-26 away from Coors Field.

I don't see Austin Gomber slowing down the Reds. He has a 7.29 ERA and shouldn't even be in a big league rotation.

The Reds are going with rookie Brandon Williamson. He faced the Rockies on May 16 and held them to one run on two hits in 5 2/3 innings during a 3-1 victory.

The Marlins are playing well. They are 16-5 in their last 21 games. That's pushed them up to a season-best 10 games above .500.

Now the Marlins return to Miami where they have won 11 of the last 13 times. They draw the disappointing Blue Jays, who are 3-6 in their last nine games. Toronto is off a demoralizing Sunday loss to the Rangers in which they blew a six-run lead.

This will be Toronto's seventh straight road game. The Blue Jays will be starting righthander Jose Berrios, who is pitching much better lately. Berrios, however, has been more effective when pitching at home where his ERA is 2.37 compared to 3.79 on the road. The Blue Jays also are likely to be minus injured catcher Alejandro Kirk.

The Marlins are 14-3 (82 percent) during their last 17 interleague games when facing a righty starter.

Bryan Hoeing is set to make his third start of the year for Miami. He has a 1.54 home ERA. Hoeing will be backed by setup man Tanner Scott and closer A.J. Puk, both of whom were rested on Sunday.

This total is too high given the starting pitching of aces Logan Webb versus Tony Gonsolin.

Webb has a 3.15 ERA and 1.08 WHIP on the season. His ERA shrinks to 2.75 during day games. Webb also is unbeaten in five career starts at Dodger Stadium where he's 2-0 with a 2.42 ERA. The Dodgers are batting only .224 during day games and could be resting key bats.

The Giants have a rested bullpen, too.

Gonsolin has a 1.93 ERA and 0.94 WHIP on the year. He's been absolutely dominant at Dodger Stadium with a 1.66 ERA and 0.88 WHIP this season.

San Francisco has several key bats out due to injuries - Wilmer Flores and Mitch Haniger.

Note, too, the home plate umpire is slated to be David Rackley. The Under has cashed 59 percent of the time during the 41 times he's been behind the plate the past two seasons.

I want the Dodgers and Tony Gonsolin going for me after they were embarrassed at home, 15-0, by the Giants on Saturday.

The Dodgers are a remarkable 13-0 at home after being shut out the previous game.

Gonsolin is 4-1 with a 1.93 ERA. He's been dominant at Dodger Stadium with a 3-0 mark and 1.66 ERA.

"...he's as good as anyone,'' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said about Gonsolin when Gonsolin is healthy.

The Dodgers are 22-13 at home.

This is more than a fair price to back Jon Gray and the Rangers, who are 23-13 at home. The Rangers have hit the second most home runs at home.

Texas is 6-1 in Gray's past seven starts. During this span, Gray has a 0.84 ERA.

Toronto starter Chris Bassitt has a 14.59 day time ERA. He got shelled in his last start.

Come on down because the price is right to back the Guardians and their ace pitcher, Shane Bieber.

Bieber is back to his elite ways, giving up only one run on eight hits during his last two starts spanning 12 2/3 innings. He shut out the Astros for seven innings during his last start this past Sunday in a 5-0 victory. The Diamondbacks are 0-4 the past four times they've faced a righty starter at home.

The Guardians get to face southpaw Tommy Henry, who has a 4.86 ERA. Unlike Bieber, Henry is not in good form. Henry has surrendered 10 earned runs on 14 hits and four walks during his last two starts spanning nine innings. The Guardians are 7-1 in their last eight games against a lefty starter.

Cleveland also carries a huge bullpen edge ranking No. 2 in relief pitching ERA at 3.04 compared to Arizona, which is 17th at 4.09.

BC is home after posting a 25-15 road win against Calgary opening week on June 8. The Lions led the CFL in points scored at home last season, averaging 32.1 points in nine games.

Look for the Lions to produce a big point total in this matchup based on how good QB Vernon Adams Jr. looked during preseason and in Week 1 throwing for 300 yards. BC rolled up 421 yards of offense. The Lions' found a good running back in Taquan Mizzell, who rushed for 81 yards on 12 carries.

Adams won't have injured Lucky Whitehead, but he has other quality wideouts, including star Dominique Rhymes. I see Edmonton have difficulty trying to cover Rhymes, Alexander Hollins and Jevon Cottoy while also having to pay attention to Mizzell.

The Elks have gone Over in eight of their last 10 road games.

Edmonton opened its season with a 17-13 home loss to Saskatchewan. I'm expecting Elks QB Taylor Cornelius to play better than he did against the Roughriders. He was comfortable throwing to Eugene Lewis, who hauled in five receptions for 148 yards.

Winnipeg and Saskatchewan each opened the season with victories. But that's where the similarities end.

The Blue Bombers are much better than the Roughriders. So I have no qualms laying a touchdown with them on the road. The Blue Bombers came within two points of winning the Grey Cup last season going 16-4 on the season, including playoffs.

Winnipeg has most of its core players back, including QB Zach Collaros, RB Brady Oliveria and WR Dalton Schoen. The Blue Bombers have defeated Saskatchewan seven straight times, including going 3-0 last season. They rolled past the Roughriders by a combined 52 points during the past two meetings.

Collaros was in good form in Winnipeg's, 42-31, opening week victory against Hamilton throwing for 354 yards and three TD's. The Blue Bombers compiled 499 yards of offense. Hamilton's 31 points were misleading. Defense and special teams played a big role in accumulating that total. The Blue Bombers held Ticats' QB Bo Levi Mitchell to 200 yards passing, picking him off twice.

Saskatchewan was 6-12 last year, 3-6 at home. The Roughriders nipped Edmonton, 17-13, on the road in Week 1. The Roughriders forced three turnovers, but gave up 202 passing yards. The Roughriders also suffered some key injuries. Wide receiver Derel Walker, who scored their lone TD last week, is out with a knee injury and QB Trevor Harris suffered a bruised hip late in the game.

Harris is likely to play, but he may not be 100 percent. I don't see him and Saskatchewan's offense keeping up with Winning's attack. I expect the Blue Bombers to be sharper in Week 2 after committing four turnovers against Hamilton yet still winning by 11 points.

Since losing Aaron Judge to a toe injury nine games ago, the Yankees are averaging a pedestrian 3.4 runs per game. Boston has scored four runs or fewer in nine of its last 12 games.

I don't see these teams reaching double-digits in a pitching matchup of Domingo German versus Tanner Houck.

German just faced the Red Sox this past Saturday, holding them to one run in six innings. German has allowed two or fewer earned runs in six of his last seven appearances.

Houck has a strong history when going against the Yankees with a 2.41 ERA in 33 2/3 career innings.

The Padres can take their place among the baseball underachievers this season. San Diego is below .500 on the year and below .500 at home. 

San Diego is off a 5-0 Wednesday home victory against Cleveland thanks to seven shutout innings from Michael Wacha, who has been the hottest pitcher since the start of May with a 0.91 ERA.

But now the Padres drop down from Wacha to Ryan Weathers. Cleveland is pitching promising rookie Logan Allen.

The Padres are 2-7 the past nine times at home following a home win. 

Allen is 3-2 with a 3.31 ERA. He has 51 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings. Allen has been at his finest on the road with a 2-1 record and 1.90 ERA. Allen is backed by a Cleveland bullpen that has the second-lowest ERA in the majors behind only the Yankees. 

Weathers, in his third big league season, will be making his 20th career start. His ERA's are 5.32, 9.82 and 4.93 this season. Weathers is 0-2 with a 5.68 ERA when pitching at home this year. 

Scoring runs is the issue with the Guardians. They rank in the bottom-three in runs, OPS and homers. The Padres, however, rate 28th in batting average and 22nd in runs. 

Cleveland was averaging six runs per game during its last seven games before running into a hot Wacha last night.

Practice time means a lot in the WNBA. The Sky have that after returning home to Chicago following West Coast losses to the Sparks on Friday and Aces on Sunday.

The Sky are well-coached under James Wade. They have the best point spread mark in the WNBA at 7-2-1, including 3-0-1 ATS at home.

I see Wade making the necessary tweaks and adjustments to have his rested Sky ready to beat Indiana. The Fever are much improved this season, but they aren't better than Chicago.

The teams met nine days ago in Chicago and the Sky outscored the Fever by 10 points down the stretch to win by five points in overtime.

The Fever will be playing for the fourth time in seven days. That's rough for an WNBA team. The Fever also could enter this matchup a little too fat and happy after upsetting Washington at home two days ago.

I'm not a fan of either of the team's quarterbacks. The teams met once last year and Calgary beat Ottawa, 17-3.

I see another low-scoring game in this matchup.

Ottawa QB Jeremiah Masoli isn't ready to play yet so that means another week of Nick Arbuckle behind center. He's terrible. Arbuckle was 19-of-35 passing for 176 yards with no touchdown throws and three interceptions in a 19-12 loss to Montreal in last week's opener.

The Redblacks scored the second-fewest points in the CFL last season and failed to produce a TD against Montreal. Not a good sign.

Calgary lost, 25-15, to British Columbia as a small home favorite in its opener last week. Stampeders QB Jake Maier was 20-of-36 passing for 166 yards with one TD pass and one interception.

The Stampeders' defense is dropping way down in class going from BC's offense to Ottawa's.

Note that six of the past seven games in this series have gone Under.

Kudos to the Phillies for halting the Diamondbacks' six-game win streak on Tuesday.

But I see Arizona starting a new win streak today pitching Merrill Kelly against Ranger Suarez.

The Diamondbacks are one of the hottest teams in baseball - and they have been all season tied for the third-best record in the league.

Arizona is 7-1 in Kelly's last eight starts. Kelly is 8-3 with a 2.92 ERA and 1.10 WHIP on the season.

Suarez has started to pitch better, but he's a bottom-of-the-rotation type starter not in Kelly's class. Suarez has a 4.70 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. The Diamondbacks faced Suarez last month and got to him for five runs in five innings. Suarez has a 6.35 ERA in 28 1/3 career innings versus Arizona.

The Diamondbacks rank in the top-five in runs, batting average and OPS. They have scored at least five runs in seven of their past eight games.

Even with their Tuesday victory, the Phillies are just 14-23 on the road. They are 4-13 during their last 17 games at Arizona.

Lance Lynn is nothing but an innings-eater at this stage of his career - and a bad one at that. He has a 6.72 ERA and has allowed 13 runs on 16 hits during his last two starts spanning nine innings. The Dodgers have hit the most homers in the majors and are No. 3 in runs. They should feast on Lynn.

Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin has produced good numbers, but based on balls in play and other metrics he's due for a bad outing. The Dodgers' bullpen has been a major disappointment ranking 28th in ERA at 4.76.

The White Sox bullpen hasn't been much better ranking 27th with a 4.75 ERA.

So I'm expecting double-digit runs to be produced in this matchup.

The Golden Knights have mostly dominated this series. So their being up 3-1 is not a surprise.

Las Vegas has outscored Florida, 17-9, made far fewer mistakes, has a decided edge in expected goals, is the much deeper and healthier team with Matthew Tkachuk battling a shoulder injury that has greatly reduced his minutes.

The Panthers haven't been able to penetrate the middle of Las Vegas' tall and physical defense. Adin Hill has stepped up in net outplaying Sergei Bobrovsky throughout much of the series. Florida ranked 10th in power play goal percentage during the regular season. But against Las Vegas, the Panthers have failed to score in 13 power play opportunities.

The Golden Knights held on to nip the Panthers, 3-2, this past Saturday in Florida in Game 4. Now the Panthers have to regroup and do it with a hobbled Tkachuk, who has been their best player.

I don't see it happening, especially not at Las Vegas where the Panthers have lost the past seven times. I don't even see it being a close game. So I'm laying 1 1/2 goals on the puck line turning huge minus juice into huge plus juice.

Idle on Monday, the Brewers have to be anxious to get back to playing after becoming the first team swept by the A's this season.

I like the Brewers' chances here - and the underdog price - with Corbin Burnes on the mound. Burns has started to resemble his previous Cy Young Award form during his past three starts with a 1.71 ERA. The Brewers have an elite closer, too, in Devin Williams. So it's nice to know that the Brewers should be getting at least eight quality pitched innings.

Burnes has a 2.45 ERA in 18 1/3 lifetime innings against the Twins with 29 strikeouts.

Minnesota starter Pablo Lopez has pitched poorly in three of his last five starts. He has a 5.40 ERA during his past three outings.

The Twins have scored three or fewer runs in seven of their last nine games.

It's no fluke the Nuggets are on the verge of clinching the NBA championship with a 3-1 series lead. But the Heat have earned the right to be backed taking this many points.

Miami has pulled off three double-digit fourth-quarter comeback wins in the postseason. They won Game 2 in Denver down by seven points in the final period. They are a well-coached, tough team both physically and mentally.

So I will accept this many points knowing that if key role players Gabe Vincent and Max Strus combine for two points while shooting a combined 1-for-10 from the floor and 0-for-7 from 3-point range, the Heat are likely to lose by double-digits. That was the case in Game 4 with Denver winning, 108-95.

The Nuggets were sharp in their 108-95 road win in Game 4 this past Friday. They shot 49 percent from the floor and hit 14 of 28 3-point shots for 50 percent. That's going to be difficult to repeat. So is Aaron Gordon scoring 27 points while making 11 of 15 shots from the field and hitting three of four 3-pointers after he made just five 3-pointers during his previous eight games.

The Heat, by contrast, made 8-of-25 3-pointers for 32 percent in Game 4. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are playing great. Bam Adebayo, though, is producing strong numbers for Miami and Jimmy Butler is off his best all-around game in this series with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

It boils down to faith. I have it in Butler, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra and Vincent to keep things close with their season on the brink.

Sparked by exciting rookie Elly De La Cruz, the Reds are producing runs. If you discount being shut out by Clayton Kershaw, Cincinnati is averaging 6.6 runs in its last five games. 

De La Cruz is one of the top prospects in baseball. He hasn't disappointed. Since being called up six games ago, De La Cruz is batting .364, has five walks, three stolen bases, a .481 on-base percentage and a 1.117 OPS. He has three extra base hits and four RBI's. 

Only eight teams are averaging more runs per game than the Reds. 

This isn't good news for Zack Grienke, who is 1-6 with a 4.59 ERA. Greinke hasn't been good since 2019. He's merely an innings-eater now collecting a paycheck. Greinke can expect little help from a relief corps that has the second-worst bullpen ERA in back of only the A's at 5.01. 

The Royals have been in a scoring slump. But they should produce their share of runs facing Luke Weaver, who has been plagued by serious arm problems that have rendered him ineffective the past four years. Weaver has a 6.27 ERA and 1.42 WHIP. He's allowed at least four earned runs in six of his nine starts, averaging five innings per outing. 

I can't back the Red Sox at this monster of a lay price when they are pitching James Paxton. But I will say Boston might cover the total just by itself.

That's because the Red Sox draw Connor Seabold and a tired Colorado bullpen that lacks a closer. The Rockies rank 23rd in bullpen ERA at 4.53.
Seabold can take his place among the worst starters in baseball. He has a 5.10 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. It's not just pitching at Coors Field either. Seabold's road ERA is 5.40.

The Red Sox know Seabold well. He was with Boston last season where he had an 11.29 ERA in five starts. The Red Sox rank No. 2 in batting average and OPS when playing at home. They are fourth in home slugging percentage, too. 

I do expect Colorado to chip in to get this total Over. The Rockies have been consistent lately scoring at least four runs in eight of their last 10 games. They are going against James Paxton and a tired Boston bullpen. 

Paxton once was a promising pitcher. Serious injuries have derailed his career. He didn't pitch at all last season. Paxton hadn't been good the two previous seasons in very limited action with ERA's well above 6.00. Paxton has a 3.81 ERA this season. 

The Red Sox's offense has cooled. The Yankees aren't nearly as dangerous minus Aaron Judge. The starting pitchers, Brayan Bello and Clarke Schmidt, are in good, below-the-radar form.

So I don't see double-digit runs being produced here.

Boston is averaging only 2.3 runs during its last eight games. The Yankees lost Aaron Judge to a toe injury six games ago. Since then, they are averaging 3.1 runs per game.

Bello has a 3.18 ERA in his last three starts. His night ERA is 2.67.

Schmidt has been even better posting a 2.16 ERA in his last three starts. He's backed by the best bullpen in the majors as Yankees relief pitchers have the lowest ERA at 2.78. Yankees manager Aaron Boone won't hesitate to use his stud relievers as the team is idle on Monday.

Minnesota is the worst team in the WNBA, even worse than the Indiana Fever. 

The Sparks are improved this season with a coaching change to Curt Miller, who led Connecticut into the NBA Finals last season.

The Sparks have a deep roster and they have some of their injured players back in Azura Stevens and Jasmine Thomas.  That strengthens their rotation. 

LA is 4-3 while Minnesota is 1-7. There's already talk the Lynx are tanking so they can get the first draft pick and perhaps then take Caitlin Clark. 

The Lynx lost at home to the Fever this past Friday. The Lynx were outscored 19-0 in fast break points during that game. 

The Diamondbacks have four in a row - all by at least four runs - in going a season-best 14 games above .500. The Tigers have lost eight in a row, averaging a measly 2.1 runs per game during this losing skid.

The pitching matchup is Zac Gallen versus lefty Joey Wentz. Gallen is at least a "B'' tier pitcher. He's 7-2 with a 2.75 ERA. That ERA shrinks to 2.35 during day games. Wentz is one of the worst starters in baseball with a 1-6 record, 7.49 ERA and 1.76 WHIP. What he's still doing in the Tigers' starting rotation remains a mystery to me.

The Diamondbacks rank in the top-10 in batting average and slugging percentage against southpaw pitching.

So I'm going to lower the heavy juice by backing the Diamondbacks on the run line in the belief they win this game by more than one run.

Update: The Tigers are going to open with 28-year-old Will Vest as an opener. He hasn't recorded more than six outs in any of his 20 appearances. Vest is likely to go just one or two innings followed by Wentz. So my handicap and play has not changed. However, you may have to re-bet the game if you listed pitchers.

The Cinderella Panthers raced through the East knocking off the Bruins, Maple Leafs and Hurricanes.

But the Golden Knights are turning the Panthers' carriage into a pumpkin, exposing Florida for the eighth-place team it was in the Eastern Conference during the regular season.

Las Vegas clearly has established itself as the superior team. If it weren't for getting some fortunate breaks in Thursday's Game 3 the Panthers would be down 3-0 in the series.

The Panthers being favored in Saturday's Game 4 puts me on the underdog Golden Knights.

The Golden Knights are the deeper team able to keep the pressure on Florida without a break having four strong lines. Florida can't match that. Las Vegas also has the better defense, special teams and hasn't made nearly as many mistakes as Florida has. Las Vegas has proven itself on the road, too, winning 15 of its last 21 away games.

Las Vegas dominated the first two games, outscoring the Panthers, 12-4. The Panthers needed a late goal after they had pulled their goalie to force overtime in Game 3. The Golden Knights had a 15-8 advantage in scoring chances. Vegas shots hit the crossbar and post. Sergei Bobrovsky had his best game of the series by far for Florida. A metric showed Bobrovsky stopping 1.89 goals above expected. Bobrovsky is better than he showed in the first two games, but it's probably a reach to expect him to produce another ''A'' game.

The Panthers, constantly stymied by the Golden Knights' tall and physical defensemen, managed only four shots on goal during the third period in Game 3. The Panthers continue to take stupid penalties. The Golden Knights have made them pay for this scoring on six of 17 power play chances for 35 percent.

Florida, on the other hand, has yet to produce a goal in 12 power play opportunities against Las Vegas.

After a 10-9 Guardians' win against the Astros Friday night, I expect a more normal scoring game today.

The Astros are going with J.P. France, who has a respectable 3.44 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Cleveland is starting Triston McKenzie in his second appearance of the season. McKenzie struck out 10 in five scoreless innings against the Twins this past Sunday in his season debut.

So the starting pitching should be strong. The bullpen, too. The Guardians rank No. 2 in bullpen ERA, while the Astros are fourth in bullpen ERA.

Despite scoring 10 runs last night, the Guardians are a way below-average offensive team. They rank last in homers, 28th in OPS and 27th in runs.

The Under is 35-15-2 in the Guardians' last 52 games.

The Astros have scored two or fewer runs in four of their last six games. They are minus their best power hitter, Yordan Alvarez, who leads the majors in RBI's. He's on the injured list due to an oblique injury.

The weather forecast is for the wind to be blowing in at 8-to-10 mph.

I once thought Julio Teheran would produce great pitching numbers. I just didn't think it would take 12 years and would happen with the Brewers after he had been out of major league baseball for more than a year.

Teheran signed with Milwaukee on May 25. This will be his fourth start with the Brewers. He has a 1.56 ERA in 17 1/3 innings.

I like the Brewers to beat the A's by multiple runs today after the A's upset them, 5-2, on Friday in the opener of their three-game series. The A's are the worst team in baseball with the worst road record at 8-26.

Milwaukee should be able to put up plenty of runs against Paul Blackburn, a below average righty, with a 6.00 ERA and an A's bullpen that has a 6.01 ERA. The next closest team to the A's with a bullpen that bad is the Nationals with a 4.86 bullpen ERA.

The Brewers have a top-notch closer in Devin Williams.

Let's be realistic about the Heat. They don't have the height, nor the offense, to match up to Nuggets' superstars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

If Miami gets demoralized and its role players aren't hitting their perimeter shots, the Heat are dead in the water. That's what happened in Game 3 this past Wednesday when the Nuggets won, 109-94, on the road. The Nuggets outrebounded the Heat, 58-33, and outscored them by 26 points in the paint.

So it's easy to see why the Heat are a home 'dog for this Game 4.

Discount Miami at your own peril, however. The Heat have been resilient all through the postseason. Just when you want to count them out they re-emerge. I see the Heat doing that again in this spot. I certainly don't expect the Heat to make 49 percent of their 3-point shots like they did in their Game 2 upset. But Bam Adebayo, Gabe Vincent, Kevin Love and Max Strus should all combine to shoot much better than the 12-for-43 (28 percent) they hit from the floor in Wednesday's loss.

Jokic and Murray played their ''A'' games in Game 3. Not so with Miami's stars. Jimmy Butler couldn't even reach five assists. He and Adebayo were a combined 18-for-45 (40 percent) from the field. They are due to shoot better while Jokic and especially Murray can't play much better than they did on Wednesday.

Eric Spoelstra has bolstered his already strong reputation during this postseason. He just could be the best coach in the NBA. So the Heat have that going. I expect they'll have super defensive intensity, which they lacked in Game 3 especially when they started falling way behind.

The Heat have covered seven of the last nine times following a loss. I'm banking on a strong bounce effort from Miami.

Southpaw Jordan Montgomery gets the start for St. Louis. The Cardinals are 0-10 in Montgomery's last 10 starts. The Reds faced Montgomery on May 22. They got to him for four runs on seven hits and three walks in four innings. The Reds have the seventh-highest batting average against left-handed pitching.

Cincinnati starter Ben Lively is below-the-radar. He has a 3.03 ERA. He faced the Cardinals on May 24 and gave up two runs on five hits in six innings while striking out eight and walking two.

The Reds should enter this series with confidence having just taken two of three from the Dodgers.

The Cardinals have yet to get turned around. They are 2-7 in their last nine games. St. Louis is averaging 2.5 runs in its last five games.

I never mind playing an Over at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia when the occasion calls for it.

This is one of those occasions.

The Dodgers have scored six or more runs in nine of their last 11 games. They rank No. 2 in the majors in homers and No. 3 in runs.

Philadelphia is starting southpaw Ranger Suarez, who has a 5.47 ERA. The Dodgers have the third-highest slugging percentage versus southpaws and are fourth in OPS against them. The Phillies' bullpen is mediocre at best.

The Phillies should do plenty of damage, too. They get to face rookie Michael Grove, who has an 8.14 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. The Dodgers' bullpen is on fumes and has the fourth-highest ERA in the majors.

Is there a zig/zag in this Stanley Cup Finals with Las Vegas traveling to Florida up 2-0 in the series? 

Yes. Key signs point to a Panthers' victory. 

The home team has won 11 of the last 12 in this series. Florida has beaten Las Vegas four of the past five times it has hosted them. The Panthers have won 69 percent of their past 109 home games. 

Those are strong trends, but it takes more than trends to fully get behind the Panthers, who were dominated in a 7-2 Game 2 loss this past Monday. 

The Panthers have proven their resilience overcoming a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate the Bruins, the record-setting regular season points leader. 
Florida could have won Game 1 in Las Vegas. Here's an interesting quote from Florida coach Paul Maurice, ''We feel that our best hockey is still ahead of us. We certainly haven't controlled the game at times, but in the first game we didn't feel it was controlled against us either.'' 

The Panthers have gotten quality looks and shots on goal. They've been hurt by lack of discipline on the defensive end and Sergei Bobrovsky's mediocre play in net. Bobrovsky was pulled after 27 minutes in Game 2. 

I expect a strong performance from the prideful Bobrovsky in this Game 3 along with a much cleaner defensive effort from the Panthers, who will get back defenseman Radko Gudas, who missed much of Game 2. 

Bobrovsky went into this championship series with a collective 18.95 saved goals above expectations. That was the best playoff mark since 2008. 
Las Vegas has scored four power play goals in 11 chances for a 36.3 percentage. The Golden Knights were below average on power play percentage during the regular season at 20.3 percent. So I'm expecting a reduction there. 

I'm also expecting the Panthers to produce their ''A'' game. 

There were 219 points scored in Miami's 111-108 Game 2 win against the Nuggets this past Sunday. 

This is what it took to reach that number: The Nuggets shot 52 percent from the floor. The Heat hit 49 percent from the floor and sank 17 of 35 shots from 3-point range for 49 percent. The teams combined to make 37 of 42 free throws for 88 percent. 

Yet because the pace was slow, it was a major sweat for that total to go Over 216. 

The tempo is going to be slow and deliberate again in this Game 3 except I don't see either team shooting nearly that well - especially the Heat from 3-point range. I also don't see 42 free throws. There were 22 free throws in Game 1 with the Heat getting to the line only twice. 

Miami was 27th in 3-point field goal percentage during the season at 34.4 percent. The Heat have shot much better from beyond the arc during the playoffs at 39.2 percent. But they are not a 49 percent 3-point shooting team. No team is. That Game 2 3-point shooting was an outlier. 

Erik Spoelstra did make adjustments following Miami's Game 1 loss, pressing more and using a 2-3 zone more. He also resurrected veteran Kevin Love, whose height and rebounding bothered Jamal Murray. 

Murray also was burdened defensively as the Heat seemed to key on him. That might have affected his offensive game. Michael Porter Jr. has been nearly invisible for Denver. He's missed 14 of 17 3-pointers while averaging just 9.5 points. This is putting a lot of pressure on Nikola Jokic to do everything and on Aaron Gordon to produce points and Gordon isn't a big scorer being more of a rebounder, shot-blocker and defender. 

Jimmy Butler isn't playing well for the Heat. Perhaps still bothered by a sore ankle and the fatigue of carrying the Heat to this late point of the season, he's averaging 17 points in this championship series while shooting 13-of-33 (39.3 percent) from the field. The Nuggets have also been keying on Butler. It's a lot to ask of unsung Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Caleb Martin, who has been under the weather, to produce big scoring games in lieu of Butler's disappointing offense. 

The Nuggets are better than the Heat. But the Nuggets learned a big lesson in their Game 2 Sunday home loss to Miami. They can't mail anything in. No overconfidence. Winning seven consecutive playoff games and being unbeaten at home during the postseason doesn't mean anything.

It's going to take maximum energy and better play from every Denver starter not named Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets have had three days to pick up on that. I believe they've learned their lesson. I see the Nuggets producing their most intense game of the series.

I also don't believe the Heat can make an astonishing 17 of 35 (49 percent) 3-pointers like they did in Game 2.

Miami has lost its last two home playoff games falling to the Celtics by one and 17 points. The Nuggets have won their last three road games beating the Lakers by two and 11 points and the Suns by 25. So don't think Denver can't win away from home.

Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope did not play up to their capabilities in Game 2. Yet Denver still only lost by three points. All three should play much better along with the Nuggets playing with far more intensity and having the best player on the planet in Jokic. Given that, it's not asking too much for the Nuggets to win this Game 3.

The Dodgers have lost three in a row and are starting Noah Syndergaard. So I don't believe they should be favored in this price range.

Injuries, including Tommy John surgery, have robbed Syndergaard of his once feared fastball and effectiveness. He has a 6.54 ERA. He's made 11 starts and won only once. Syndergaard has allowed multiple runs in nine consecutive starts when pitching more than one inning.

"I would give away my hypothetical first-born to be the old me again,'' Syndergaard has lamented.

The Reds are going with rookie Brandon Williamson, who will be making his fourth big league start. He held the Brewers to three runs - two of which were earned - on five hits in 6 2/3 innings during his last start five days ago.

This is an exciting time for the Reds with the call-up of infielder Elly De La Cruz, their No. 1 prospect and one of the best in baseball.

The Sparks are much improved this season with the coaching change to Curt Miller, who led Connecticut to the WNBA Finals last year. Los Angeles is 3-2. The only team to defeat the Sparks is the unbeaten Aces, who are the best team in the WNBA.

Seattle is in rebuild mode. The Storm are 0-4. They are practically a one-woman team with Jewell Loyd. She is averaging 28 points. No other Seattle player is averaging more than 12 points.

The Storm rank 11th in field goal percentage and are the worst defensive team in the league. They rank last in scoring defense, defensive field goal percentage and 3-point defense.

This is an action play for me based on the Cubs' cold bats and poor road record.

If you discount a 7-1 win against the Padres two games ago, the Cubs have scored eight runs in their last six games.

Chicago has lost 15 of its last 20 road games.

The Angels own a winning home mark. They are facing righthander Hayden Wesneski, who has a 4.81 ERA. The Angels are 16-7 the last 23 times at home when going against a righty starter.

I don't like Angels starter Tyler Anderson. But he should be able to hold his own at home against a cold Cubs lineup.

Bad starting pitchers, bad bullpens. Throw in the wind blowing out to right at 8-to-10 mph and you have the winning formula for an Over in this Diamondbacks-Nationals matchup.

Arizona's Tommy Henry faces Nationals righthander Jake Irvin.

Henry has a 5.74 road ERA. Irvin has a 7.47 home ERA. The Diamondbacks are in the top-eight against righty pitchers. They've scored at least five runs in five of their last seven games.

Washington has a bottom-five bullpen with a 4.73 ERA. The Diamondbacks rank in the bottom 10 in relief pitching ERA.

The total for Saturday's Game 1 of this Stanley Cup Finals also was 5 1/2. There were seven goals scored in Las Vegas' 5-2 victory.

I expect at least six goals to be produced in this Game 2. Here's why:

The Golden Knights have outscored their playoff opposition by 29 goals during the postseason. That's the highest amount in 12 years. There's never a letup when facing Las Vegas because the Golden Knights have four strong lines. The Golden Knights punctured some of Sergei Bobrovsky's mystique. The Florida goalie had been hot, not giving up more than three goals a game in his last 10 games.

Las Vegas fired 34 shots on goal of which 21 were high danger shots. The Panthers had 35 shots on net. The Panthers were denied more goals by goalie Adin Hill, who might have played the best game of his career. His stick save on Nick Cousins' chip shot may have been the stop of the year. Still, the Golden Knights had some luck. The Panthers hit the post three times.

Note, too, that five of the last six times the Golden Knights have hosted the Panthers the total has gone Over.

How good have the surprising Texas Rangers been this season? Try 38-20 with an MLB-best plus 152 run differential.

The Rangers have won 12 of their last 15 games. They have Martin Perez starting for them against Adam Wainwright and a slumping, underachieving Cardinals team that is 10 games below .500 and has dropped five of their last six games.

Perez has been brilliant at home with a 3-0 record and 1.93 ERA. He's also been great during interleague competition with a lifetime 1.59 ERA in nine starts. St. Louis is averaging 2.4 runs in its last 10 games.

Wainwright is showing his 41 years. He has a 6.15 ERA, which balloons up to 7.59 when pitching on the road. He faces a Texas lineup that leads the majors in runs and batting average while ranking No. 2 in OPS.

This is a huge mismatch not fully reflected in this low lay price.

The A's rank last in runs, batting average and OPS. They have scored two or fewer runs in 13 of their last 16 games. So my first look to the A's always is to the Under. An Under should work here.

The Pirates have a below average offense. They have scored four or fewer runs in 10 of their last 14 games.

The pitching matchup is JP Sears versus Johan Oviedo. Both of these starters are below-the-radar with their current form.

Sears has given up two or fewer runs in each of his last four starts. Oviedo has allowed one run during three of his past four starts.

This is Denver's lowest total of the season and an overreaction to the Nuggets' 104-93 Game 1 home win this past Thursday.

That was a feel-out game. The Heat were still on fumes following their Game 7 upset win against the Celtics and were not used to the high mountain altitude in Denver. The Nuggets were rusty having not played in 10 days.

All of this showed in Thursday's opener. The teams combined to shoot just 31.8 percent from 3-point range making 21-of-66 shots from beyond the arc. The Heat were only 13-of-39 from 3-point range with six of those 3-pointers coming when the game already was out of reach. This despite getting good looks throughout the game.

This was Miami's worst shooting 3-point game of the playoffs. They were shooting 39 percent from 3-point range during the postseason entering this championship matchup. The Nuggets shot 37.9 percent from beyond the arc going into the playoffs. They made only eight of their 27 3-point shots for 29.6 percent.

The Heat also only got to shoot two free throws! It was the first time Jimmy Butler didn't have a free throw attempt during the postseason. The Nuggets are not some dominant defensive team either. They ranked 20th in defensive field goal percentage. I see Butler coming out extra aggressive for this Game 2.

It was obvious in Game 1 that the Nuggets' frontcourt size was too much for the Heat. Nikola Jokic isn't just a great triple-threat talent. He's also extremely intelligent. He can find Miami's weakness and exploit it either by scoring, or passing off. Michael Porter Jr. isn't likely to miss nine of 11 3-point shots. He finished in the top 20 in 3-point shooting accuracy during the regular season at 41.4 percent.

There's not much Miami coach Erik Spoelstra can do. One option would be for him to go with his best offensive weapons playing them as much as possible. That would be the dream scenario for this Over and could happen as the Nuggets are easily capable of reaching their season average of 115.8 points. They were the No. 1 shooting team in the NBA during the regular season making 50.4 percent of their field goals.

The Giants are playing well winning 12 of their last 18 games. The price is right to back them at home against Baltimore.

Tyler Wells gets the start for the Orioles. He hasn't been in good form with a 5.06 ERA in his last three starts.

The Giants are starting Anthony DeSclafani, who has a 2.90 day time ERA. The Giants' bullpen has the second-best ERA in baseball during the last 30 days.

The Orioles have scored three or fewer runs in seven of their last nine games. They aren't likely to have good-looking rookie third baseman Gunnar Henderson. He has a back injury.

Seattle is in rebuild mode. However, the Storm have covered two of their three games. They are well-coached and retained two good players, Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor.

The spot sets up well for Seattle here. The Storm have been idle since Tuesday. They have been in Los Angeles before the Sparks.

That's because the Sparks were in Phoenix last night where they upset the Mercury in overtime. That game took a huge effort from the Sparks, who are dealing with multiple injuries and in transition themselves with a new coach.

There are many reasons why the A's are a laughing stock this season. Lack of offense certainly is one factor. Oakland ranks last in runs, batting average and OPS.

The A's were blanked, 4-0, by Miami's Edward Cabrera on Friday. Now Oakland draws another excellent Marlins pitching prospect in 6-foot-8 righthander Eury Perez, who has a 2.84 ERA in four starts while averaging a strikeout per inning. He faces an Oakland lineup that is averaging a puny two runs in its last 15 games.

The A's have terrible pitching, but Luis Medina has been semi-respectable giving up three earned runs in three of his last four starts while averaging nearly six innings during this span. Those starts have come against better offensive teams than the Marlins in the Astros, Mariners, Diamondbacks and Rangers. The Marlins have scored the third-fewest runs in the majors.

The kicker is Doug Eddings is the home plate umpire. He's a top Under ump. The Under is 47-34 (58 percent) the past four years Eddings has been behind the plate.

Early revenge spot here for Phoenix. The Mercury were buried by the Sparks, 94-71, on the road in their opening game on May 19. It was Brittney Griner's first game back after being detained in Russia.

Griner has played in three games now and is regaining her considerable skills as one of the league's elite players. Diana Taurasi still is good, too. She scored 23 points helping the Mercury go 1-2 on the season with a 90-81 win against Minnesota in Phoenix's last game. That was on May 25 so the Mercury should be well rested and prepared having had ample practice time.

The Sparks may have received some home cooking in their win against the Mercury in Los Angeles. The Sparks made an astounding 27 of 29 free throws in that game for 93 percent. Phoenix, despite having Griner in the middle, shot nine fewer free throws.

The Sparks are dealing with multiple injuries and are in transition under new coach Curt Miller.

I don't like to go against the Astros. But I'll do it when I can get a plus price on Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani is having another MVP-caliber season. He's 5-1 with a 2.91 ERA. He leads the majors in opponent batting average at .155, ranks No. 2 in WHIP at 0.95 and has the fourth-most strikeouts.

The Angels are in a frustrating, mad mood after losing to the Astros, 5-2, yesterday. They stranded 13 runners and got hosed by the umpires on certain calls.

Lefty Framber Valdez will be on the hill for Houston. He's good, but his statistics are padded because of his last three starts. Those starts came against the A's twice and Cubs. The Angels rank in the top-seven against southpaws in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.

The Heat are the first play-in team to ever make the NBA Championship Series. But they need more time to rest and recuperate after upsetting the Celtics on the road this past Monday in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Even if they had ample time to prepare, though, I don't see the Heat staying within double-digits of the home Nuggets in Thursday's Game 1.

The Nuggets have been idle since May 22. They've won six in a row and are 42-7 at home this season, including 8-0 in the playoffs.

If the Heat thought Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were a load, wait until they encounter Nikola Jokic and James Murray. Jokic is the best player in the NBA and Murray had a series for the ages in Denver's four-game sweep of the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Murray led all scorers in that series averaging 32.5 points while shooting 52.7 percent from the floor, hitting 40.5 percent of his 37 3-point attempts and sinking 19-of-20 free throws.

The Nuggets outrebounded the Lakers and they surely will out-rebound the undersized Heat.

Minnesota has the worst record in the WNBA at 0-5. The Lynx are desperate for a victory. But to achieve that, they'll have to play much better defense than they have during their last three games when they surrendered 90 or more points.

I can see the Lynx doing that against the revamped Sun, who are second-from-the-bottom in both field goal percentage and free throw percentage. Minnesota has played Las Vegas and Dallas, the two top scoring teams, during two of its last three games. Now the Lynx are stepping down in offensive class.

Minnesota is not a fast tempo team. The Lynx's Cheryl Reeve is one of the better coaches in the league and she is stressing defense in this game.

The Suns might be the third-best team in the WNBA behind Las Vegas and New York because of their defense. Connecticut ranks third in fewest points allowed per game and is No. 1 in 3-point defense. The Sun have gone Under in eight of their last nine (89 percent) road games.

Don't look at the season ERA's of these two starting pitchers. Just know that Hunter Greene and Chris Sale are in excellent current form.

Greene didn't allow a hit in six innings against the Cubs during his last start this past Friday. Greene is one of the top strikeout pitchers in baseball with 80 K's in 56 innings. Greene will have closer Alexis Diaz available after Diaz was held out of Wednesday night's game.

Sale has given up just eight earned runs in his last five starts spanning 32 1/3 innings. He's allowed only three runs during his last three home starts spanning 20 1/3 innings.

Discount a one-run game against St. Louis and the Reds are averaging 7.8 runs in their last seven games.

I'm expecting another strong offensive performance from Cincinnati facing lefty James Paxton at hitter-friendly Fenway Park with the wind blowing out to left at 8-to-10 mph.

Paxton entered this season having pitched only once in two years. He's on the comeback trail and struggling with a 5.14 ERA. The Reds have the sixth-highest batting average against lefties.

The Red Sox should feast on Luke Weaver, who has yet to regain his earlier promise due to arm injuries. Weaver has a 5.45 ERA. The Red Sox rank in the top-five in runs, batting average and OPS. They got their bats going last night scoring eight runs during the final three innings.

Can the Cubs actually sweep the Rays? Nope. Tampa Bay hasn't been swept in a series all season and I don't see it happening here in a pitching matchup of Zack Eflin versus lefty Justin Steele.

Tampa Bay is 8-1 in games started by Eflin, who is pitching his best ball. Steele started well, but is 0-2 with a 5.74 ERA in his last three starts. The Rays have won eight of 11 games versus lefties this season.

The Rays are the best offensive team in baseball. The Cubs are averaging 2.1 runs during their last six games.

The A's were 0-21 this season as an underdog plus $1.95 or higher - until Monday. The A's ended that streak and halted their 11-game losing skid with a 7-2 home victory against the Braves.

Can the A's now defeat the Braves for a second straight day? Heck no.

The Braves are going with Bryce Elder, who has become their ace with a 3-0 record and 2.01 ERA, third-best in baseball. The A's rank second-from-the-bottom in runs, batting average and OPS. 

The A's are starting JP Sears. He has a 4.70 ERA, but has been pitching better recently. However, Sears is a lefty. 

Atlanta is 10-4 versus lefty starters. They lead the league in batting average against southpaws at .312 and also rank first in on-base percentage and second in slugging percentage against lefties. Ronald Acuna, Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies and Sean Murphy each have an OPS above 1.000 against lefthanders. 

Given the starting pitching matchup and both teams having below average bullpens, I can see the Phillies and Mets each producing at least four runs apiece.

The Phillies have reached at least four runs in four of their last five games. The Mets are averaging eight runs in their last four games. 

Both starters, lefty Ranger Suarez and Kodai Senga, put up a lot of baserunners. Suarez not only has a 9.82 ERA, but a 2.00 WHIP. The wind is blowing out to left field  at 7-8 mph, which isn't going to aid Suarez. 

Senga has a 3.94 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. The Phillies are above average in batting average and OPS. 

Chicago has proven to be underrated this season. The Sky are the only unbeaten spread team left in the WNBA at 4-0 ATS. They are road 'dogs to Atlanta. I don't believe the Dream should be favored.

The Dream just lost at home straight-up to Indiana, the worst team in the WNBA, as a seven-point favorite. The Fever had lost 20 straight games dating back to last season.

Chicago is the No. 3 defensive team in the league giving up 73.5 points. Atlanta ranks eighth defensively surrendering 84 points.

Chicago has injuries to rotation players Morgan Bertsch and Rebekah Gardner. However, the Sky have a deep roster and are well coached by James Wade.

The Heat and Celtics meet in Game 7 for the Eastern Conference championship. The talk is all about how the Celtics have a great chance to be the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 playoff deficit.

That's fine and dandy. But when it comes to betting, I find a different angle - the total. It is the lowest of the series by far. The totals have ranged from 209-to-216 in the first six games.

This one is much lower because of the perception there will be tremendous defensive intensity.

Sure neither team will be holding back. But there is way too much good 3-point shooting in today's NBA. That offsets any extra defensive effort.

The Celtics are averaging 108.8 points in the series. Miami is averaging 110.1 points. The Celtics were the fourth-highest scoring team during the regular season at 118 points per game.

There have been at least 207 combined points scored in each of the six games.

Even if the referees let the teams play super physical, there still are going to be fouls called. If the game is called tight, there will be lots of fouls called. The Heat were the second-best foul shooting team in the league. Boston ranked sixth in free throw percentage.

Jimmy Butler shot 5-for-21 from the field in Game 6. Miami still scored 104 points. It's worth noting that Gabe Vincent, who is averaging 20.3 points during his last three games, played 41 minutes this past Saturday in Game 6. So it appears he's past his ankle injury.

The Heat are a strong defensive team. But they are dealing with a stacked deck on the road going against Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who is shooting much better going 18-for-34 from the floor the past two games. It's an added bonus if Malcolm Brogdon can play for Boston after missing Game 6 with an arm injury.

Bottom line is the oddsmaker has overcompensated on the total because it's Game 7 giving value to the Over.

The Braves rank fourth in runs and third in homers. They should tee off a historically-bad A's pitching staff. The Braves are 24-9-1 to the Over in their last 34 interleague games.

The A's have the worst bullpen by far with a 6.50 ERA. Not good news for Paul Blackburn, who will be making his first start since last August.

The A's, though, should be able to contribute to this Over going against Mike Soroka, who hasn't pitched in three years after tearing his Achilles tendon.

There's a lot of randomness here in a pitching matchup of Karl Kauffman against Arizona's Ryne Nelson. Neither of these starters is very good. Yet the Diamondbacks are nearly a 2-to-1 favorite. So I'll take a shot on the Rockies, who are 5-2 in their last seven games, and cushion it by taking 1 1/2 runs on the run line.

Kauffman is 0-2 with a 9.35 ERA. He does have the element of surprise as the Diamondbacks have never faced him. The righthanded Nelson is 1-2 with a 5.02 ERA. The Rockies faced him on April 30 and got to him for six runs on nine hits in four innings. Colorado won that contest, 12-4.

The Rockies are 7-3 in their last 10 games versus a righty starter. They are averaging six runs during their past seven games.

The Aces are the highest scoring team in the WNBA averaging 97.3 points. They are shooting 51 percent from the floor and have an offensive rating of 113.6 through three games.

The Lynx lack the defense to slow the Aces down. Their defense is hurt by their sloppy ball handling. Minneota is averaging 16 turnovers a game.

Las Vegas played last night at home. The Aces rolled past the Sparks dominating them early. This allowed Vegas coach Becky Hammon to rest her starters. None of the Aces' starters logged more than 26 minutes. So I'm expecting a fresh Aces team, especially this early in the season.

The Lynx play faster on the road. They are coming off a 90-81 road loss to Phoenix this past Thursday. The Over is 39-18 in Minnesota's last 57 away contests.

The Over has cashed four of the past five times Las Vegas has hosted Minnesota.

Spencer Strider ws outstanding as a rookie last season and he's tough again this season with a 4-2 record and 2.97 ERA. Oh, yes, Strider also leads the majors in strikeouts with 97.

Strider has dominated the Phillies with a 4-0 lifetime mark with a 1.27 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings.

The Phillies have dropped 13 of their last 19 games to the Braves in Atlanta.

Philadelphia has been held to three runs or fewer in eight of their last 13 games.

I don't see Dylan Covey, making his first start with the Phillies, and a below average Phillies bullpen being able to keep this game close.

There have been at least nine runs scored in each of the first three games of this series with all three games going Over. I see that streak snapping here in a pitching matchup of Dylan Cease against Eduardo Rodriguez.

Cease is back on track after a slow start. He's 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in his last three starts. Cease was 2-1 versus Detroit last year with a 0.82 ERA. Lifetime against the Tigers, Cease has been dominant with a 10-1 record and 1.72 ERA in 13 starts.

The lefthanded Rodriguez is 4-4 with a 2.19 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. He's 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA at home. Unlike the previous two seasons, the White Sox have just been average hitting against lefties.

A couple of other factors that help the Under cause is the wind blowing in at 6-to-7 mph and that managers often use Sunday to rest some of their regular hitters.

A combination of Boston's improved defense and injuries are taking a huge toll on Miami. The Celtics have held the Heat to 97 and 99 points, respectively, during the past two games to cut Miami's once insurmountable 3-0 series lead to 3-2.

Boston has forced 32 turnovers during these past two games, 10 by Bam Adebayo. The Celtics have double-teamed Jimmy Butler much more than they did during the first two games of the series. A 53.9 percent shooter from the floor during the regular season, Butler is just 19-for-44 (43 percent) from the field during the last three games.

Losing underrated Gabe Vincent to an ankle injury has hurt the Heat more than perceived. Already without scoring wings/guards Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo, the Heat desperately need Vincent's outside scoring. Vincent averaged a combined 23 points in Games 3 and 4 hitting 16-of-24 shots from the floor. However, he missed Game 5. He's questionable for tonight's game. Even if he plays, his shooting may be off because of his ankle injury.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra doesn't have many viable options with veterans Kyle Lowery and Kevin Love each well past their primes and looking very old. The Heat's best option is to completely sell out on defense since the Celtics have stymied their offense.

Miami certainly can win relying heavily on defense. They gave up the second-fewest points in the league during the regular season. It's defense, not offense, after all that is Miami's calling card.

The Celtics are not unscathed in the health department. Guard Malcolm Brogdon has been dealing with an elbow injury. It caused him to leave Game 5. Brogdon was Boston's third-leading scorer during the regular season at 14.9 points a game. He also was fourth on the team in assists.

Both teams made 51 percent of their field goals in Game 5. Yet there were just 207 points scored. That's because it was the slowest paced game of the series.

I'm expecting another slow tempo game only this time without such outstanding shooting. That should ensure a third straight Under in the series.

Down 3-0 against the Golden Knights in their Western Conference Finals series, the Stars went all out at home this past Thursday to stay alive. They fired 42 shots on goal, received an outstanding goalie performance from overdue Jake Oettinger and out-hit the Golden Knights, 46-23.

The Stars won - barely. They prevailed in overtime, 3-2.

Now the scene shifts back to Las Vegas where I see the Golden Knights ending the series. Teams that have taken a 3-0 lead in the playoffs before the Stanley Cup final round are 47-0.

The Golden Knights are 11-1 after scoring two goals or less during their previous game. Dallas is 1-4 in its last five road games and also 1-4 following a victory.

The Golden Knights outplayed the Stars in the third period in Game 4. They outshot the Stars, 14-8, in the third period and looked like they were going to win in regulation. So even taking the Stars' best shot, the Golden Knights nearly clinched the series on the road.

The Stars can't match the Golden Knights' four-line depth - especially missing suspended team captain Jamie Benn and injured right winger Evgenii Dadonov - nor can they match Las Vegas' solid core of six reliable defensemen. Adin Hill has also outplayed Oettinger in net.

Las Vegas is an NHL-leading 6-2 at home during the postseason. Unlike Game 4, the Golden Knights will be in control of the matchups having the final line say being the home team.

These many edges are too much for the Stars to overcome.

I'm surprised the Giants aren't laying a price. They should be given how these teams have been playing.

San Francisco is playing its best ball, winners of nine of its last 11 games. Milwaukee is 3-6 in its last nine games.

The Giants have dominated the first two games of this series, outscoring the Brewers, 20-1.

The Brewers are without their catalyst now as shortstop Willy Adames will go on the injured list after being struck on the side of the head by a foul ball while inside the dugout during the Giants' 15-1 Friday victory. It was extremely unnerving for the Brewers to see that injury.

I give the Giants the pitching edge, too, in this matchup of Logan Webb versus Corbin Burnes. Webb has a 2.91 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Burnes is enduring a down season so far by his lofty status with a 3.97 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. Milwaukee has a losing record in Burnes' starts this season.

Patrick Corbin may have been the worst starting pitcher in the majors last season. This season that dishonor can be bestowed on Jordan Lyles.

The two are scheduled to tangle on Friday. Lyles is favored for the first time this season in 11 starts.

Mark me down for Corbin and the underdog Nationals.

Not only are the Royals 0-10 in Lyles' 10 starts, but all but one of those defeats have come by more than one run. Lyles has permitted four or more runs in nine consecutive games. He has a 7.15 ERA. He's surrendered 14 homers, most in the league. Lyles can't expect to be bailed out by a Kansas City bullpen that has the fourth-highest ERA.

The Nationals are going to put the ball in play. They have the lowest strikeout rate in the league and the fourth-highest batting average. Washington is averaging 5.2 runs during its past 10 games.

Corbin has bounced back from being a laughingstock to gaining some of the respectability he had five years ago. Corbin has a 2.88 ERA in four starts this month going at least six innings in each outing with a 13-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Corbin encounters a Royals team averaging just 2.7 runs in their last nine games. Kansas City ranks in the bottom-five in runs batting average and OPS.

I see these two powerful offenses producing double-digit runs in this matchup given the pitching matchup.

The Dodgers rank third in runs and homers. The Rays are going with Jalen Beeks as their opener. Cooper Criswell is likely to pitch a few innings, too, for Tampa Bay. Neither is very good. Beeks has a 4.68 ERA. Criswell's ERA is 7.94.

The Rays are either first or second in all the major offensive categories. They draw Noah Syndergaard. Injuries have robbed Syndergaard of his fastball. He just tries to get by on guile now and can only be regarded as a lower-tier starter.

Syndergaard has a 5.88 ERA and the Rays should be able to steal multiple bases on him because of his slow windup. Tampa Bay leads the majors in steals.

The White Sox have won their last three series. I expect them to even this series up at 1-1. 

Lance Lynn goes for Chicago. Lynn struggled out of the gate, but he's gotten things turned around. Lynn has allowed three earned runs in his last two starts spanning 13 innings. He is 7-3 career-wise versus Detroit with a 3.39 ERA in 11 starts. 

The White Sox should score often against overmatched Joey Wentz, who is 1-4 with a 7.45 ERA. Wentz probably shouldn't even be in a big league rotation. However, the Tigers are forced to keep using him being down injured starters Matt Manning, Tarik Skubal, Spencer Turnbull and Beau Brieske. 

Kudos to the Celtics for staying alive with their 116-99 road win against the Heat in Tuesday's Game 4.

But it's not a fluke the Heat lead this Eastern Conference Finals series, 3-1. They are the superior team.

Forget the regular season. It doesn't matter. What does matter is the Heat peaking having eliminated the Bucks - who were perhaps the top team in the NBA - Knicks and winning the first three games against the Celtics before stumbling on Tuesday by playing a poor second half.

I like Miami because it has a monster edge in coaching, the best all-around player on the court in Jimmy Butler, the best low-post player in Bam Adebayo and is the stronger defensive team.

The Celtics are perceived to have the more talented roster. I don't buy into that. At worst, Butler and Adebayo give Miami the second and third-best players on the court if Jayson Tatum is the No. 1 player. Jaylen Brown is having a bad series. His head doesn't seem right. Al Horford is showing his age as the long season winds down for Boston, while the Heat are getting major contributions from below-the-radar rotation players Caleb Martin, Gabe Vincent and Duncan Robinson.

Coaching is crucial in the playoffs. Erik Spoelstra is coaching rings around inexperienced rookie Boston coach Joe Mazzulla.

The Heat have covered in 10 of their last 13 games.

Yes, the Celtics are back home. But they are 2-5 SU and ATS in their last seven home games.

Dallas is down 3-0 to Las Vegas in these Western Conference Finals and totally frustrated. The Stars are averaging two goals during their last five games and now will be without their captain and second-leading points producer suspended Jamie Benn. Dallas also likely will be missing injured forward Evgenii Dadonov, who has accounted for 10 points during the Stars' 16 playoff game hurting the team's scoring depth.

The Golden Knights have stymied the Stars with their defensive depth - six solid blue-liners - and with backup goalie Adin Hill stepping up. Hill made 34 saves in Las Vegas' 4-0 Game 3 road win this past Tuesday. The Golden Knights have held their opponents to 1.7 goals during their last four games.

Clogging up the middle of the ice, leading the NHL in blocked shots and averaging 10.3 takeaways - best of the remaining playoff teams - have been keys for the Golden Knights in holding the Stars to two goals during the last seven periods.

How does Dallas respond?

Obviously the Stars are in a desperate position on the verge of elimination. I don't see them opening up their attack. It's not realistically possible minus Benn, who has been such an important figure in their offense. Instead, I see the Stars trying to be more careful with the puck and helping out their goalie either backup Scott Wedgewood, or a shaky Jake Oettinger. That means a conservative game plan trying to get that much-needed elusive first win to keep the series alive.

It's worth noting, too, that the past seven games in Dallas between these two teams have all gone Under.

There have been 26 runs scored in the first two games of this Orioles-Yankees series with both games easily sailing Over the total. I don't see anything changing in today's finale of the series. Not with the way these teams are swinging the bats and given the pitching matchup.

Edwin Moscoso being the home plate umpire is another huge plus for the Over.

Baltimore is averaging six runs per game during its last nine games. The Orioles rank fifth in runs scored. They draw Clarke Schmidt, who has made just 15 big league starts and has a 6.00 ERA and 1.62 WHIP this season.

The Yankees have hit the fourth most homers in the league. If you discount a 3-0 loss to the Blue Jays, the Yankees have averaged 6.5 runs in their last 16 games. New York ranks in the top-five during the last two weeks in runs, RBI's and slugging percentage along with smacking the most homers during this span.

Kyle Gibson, the definition of mediocre, gets the start for Baltimore. He has a 4.27 ERA and 1.36 WHIP.

Both bullpens are elite, but carry a high fatigue rating.

Home plate umpire Moscoso has been in the league four years. He's an established Over umpire with a 57-35 (62 percent) mark to the high side, including 7-2 to the Over this season.

I find this total to be too high in a pitching matchup of Tony Gonsolin versus Bryce Elder.

Gonsolin is 2-1 with a 1.13 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. Gonsolin hasn't been scored on during his last 17 innings. The Braves have scored 3 or fewer runs in three of their last four games. Gonsolin has held the Braves to two runs in 15 career innings.

Elder is 3-0 with a 2.06 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. The Dodgers have never faced him giving Elder an edge in surprise.

Mike Budenholzer, Monty Williams, Doc Rivers and Nick Nurse are about to have company in the fired coaches department.

Sometime Tuesday night after the Celtics get swept by the Heat, a team they were 13 games better than during the regular season, Boston management needs to pull the plug on Joe Mazzulla.

The Celtics have shown no leadership, coaching ability and guts in losing the first three games of this Eastern Conference Finals. Boston was outscored by an average of 6.5 points in its two home games in the series and then was blown out by 26 points in Miami during Sunday's Game 3. The Celtics have surrendered an average of 120.6 points to the Heat, who were the lowest-scoring team in the NBA.

Somewhere Red Auerbach is turning over in his grave. I've closely watched the NBA for 60 years and have never seen a worse coaching job in a playoff series than what the overmatched Mazzulla has done. Every button he touches is the wrong one. Boston's confidence and morale is shattered.

So why should things be any different in Game 4? Answer: They won't be.

The Heat are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games. They are 6-0 in their six home playoff games. Mazzulla isn't suddenly going to outcoach Erik Spoelstra. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are still going to give Miami the best all-around player on the court and best big man even if Mazzulla decides he might want to finally double-team Butler a little more.

The Celtics are 31-for-106 (29.2 percent) from 3-point range. Jaylen Brown, showing he's not ready for prime time, has missed 18 of 20 3-pointers. The Celtics are due to make a higher percentage of their 3-point shots. But I have no confidence in them to do that - and sadly neither do they.

Both of these teams are better defensively than on offense. 

Minnesota struggled against Chicago in its opener, losing 77-66. The Lynx committed 20 turnovers and scored only three points in the second quarter.

Atlanta could be a better defensive team than Chicago. 

The Lynx will want to slow things down against the Dream.

This is an easy handicap. The Blue Jays are 1-7 in their last eight games and have lost five in a row. Tampa Bay is the best team in baseball. 

The Rays are throwing their top pitching prospect, Taj Bradley. He's looked good in his four big league starts this season with a 3.54 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. Bradley has 27 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings.

The Blue Jays are pitching Jose Berrios, who is a fade on the road where he's 1-3 with a 6.67 ERA. Berrios is 2-4 career-wise versus the Rays with a 5.44 ERA. 

Judging by the first three games of this series, Denver clearly is the superior team. The Nuggets have a huge height advantage, they are the more physically imposing team, are getting better play from their bench than LA is and have the look of a champion while the Lakers are worn down - physically and mentally.

The Nuggets proved they could win on the road, beating the Lakers, 119-108, in LA. this past Saturday night. Denver was in control all the way. So I see the wrong team being favored.

The Lakers did a remarkable job to even reach this point. There were 12 teams ahead of them in late February. LA became the first team to advance to the conference finals after being eight games under .500.

But 13 playoff games against the Grizzlies and Warriors and now three games against the Nuggets with just one day spaced out have taken a huge toll. It's caught up to 38-year-old LeBron James, fragile Anthony Davis and the rest of the Lakers.

The Lakers don't have the height to contest the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic is averaging 27 points, 14.7 rebounds and 11.3 assists in the series. LA can't stop him. Jamal Murray is averaging 35 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists. They have been the two best players in the series. The Lakers have no answers for either one.

Denver's support cast has outplayed the Lakers, too. Michael Porter Jr., Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown have hurt the Lakers not just with their scoring, but with their defense.

The Lakers are averaging 105.5 points in the last two games. That's 12 points down from their season average.

Getting points with Denver is just an added bonus.

Down 0-2 to the Panthers - with both losses occurring at home and in overtime - it's maybe best for the Hurricanes they go on the road now. Carolina has to be totally focused and unfazed.

The Hurricanes have outshot the Panthers, 103-86, and had good scoring looks. But bad luck and unexpected strong goaltending from 34-year-old Sergei Bobrovsky, who hasn't been nearly that good up to this point of the season, has stymied the Hurricanes.

I see that changing in this Game 3, however.

Florida is on a tremendous roll winning nine of its last 10. But the Panthers haven't been dominant. They are 6-0 in overtime games during this time frame.

Despite the two losses in a row, the Hurricanes are 50-24 in their last 74 games. They also are 7-3 during their past 10 visits to the Panthers.

I'm not convinced that the Panthers are the superior team. I certainly don't see Florida sweeping. This is Carolina's game to win.

Remember that 20-9 start by the Pirates? Yeah, I don't either anymore. Pittsburgh has reverted back to its losing ways going 4-13 in its last 17 games.

I don't see the Pirates getting back to winning either taking on the much improved Rangers.

Texas is 29-17. That's tied for the third-best winning percentage in baseball. The Rangers have a plus 108 run difference, which is the second-best mark. They rank No. 1 in runs and batting average and are second in OPS. They also have a hot Corey Seager back after he missed 31 games with a strained hamstring.

This isn't pleasant news for Luis Oritz, who gets the start for Pittsburgh. He's 0-2 with a 5.63 ERA and a hideous 2.38 WHIP.

The Rangers are going with Dane Dunning, who is 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA and 0.88 WHIP. The Pirates have scored three or fewer runs in 15 of their last 18 games.

Maybe if Brad Stevens would immediately fire Joe Mazzulla and install himself as coach again the Celtics might have a chance to beat the Heat. But since that isn't going to happen, the Heat are likely to keep winning especially now that they are the home team.

There are five things we've learned from the first two games of this Eastern Conference Finals, which the Heat lead, 2-0:

Jimmy Butler is the best all-around player on the court. Grant Williams is an idiot. Jaylen Brown is not a star. Bam Adebayo is the best big man on the court. Mazzulla is hugely overmatched by Erik Spoelstra on the sidelines.

The Heat won the first two games of this series on the road by an average of 6 1/2 points. The Celtics aren't playing championship caliber defense giving up an average of 117 points to Miami.

Maybe the Celtics turn on their defensive switch. I don't see it. I have absolutely zero faith in rookie coach Mazzulla. Miami has the momentum and is the more confident team. The Heat are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games. They have won all five of their playoff home games.

Getting points with the Heat is just a bonus.

The first two games of this Eastern Conference Finals series went Over. Now it's time for an Under with the teams playing in Miami.

The Heat were the No. 2 defensive team in the league. They've been tough defensively at home giving up an average of 97.1 points in their last six postseason games, which consisted of three games against the Knicks, two versus the Bucks and one against the Bulls.

The Celtics need to find their defense. I expect Boston to play with desperate intensity on defense down 2-0 in the series. The Celtics ranked in the top-five in scoring defense, defensive field goal percentage and 3-point defense.

Happy Corey Kluber day. Kluber is replacing Patrick Corbin, who actually has been pitching decently, as a former ace who has become terrible.

The 37-year-old Kluber has a 6.41 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. I'm not going to fade the Red Sox against the disappointing Padres, but Over is a way to get involved in going against Kluber. 

The Padres are way overdue to get clutch hits to bring in base runners. They are batting below .200 with men in scoring position. 

The Red Sox are familiar with San Diego starter Michael Wacha, who pitched for Boston last season. The Red Sox rank in the top three in runs, batting average and OPS. Wacha has a 4.06 ERA.

Another plus to the Over is home plate umpire Mark Wegner. He's a hitter's umpire. The Over is 36-24 (60 percent) in games he' been behind the plate during the last four years.