| Date | W/L |
| 6/24/2022 - NHL | LOSER |
At 8:15 pm,
our selection is on the Colorado Avalanche over the Tampa Bay
Lightning. If the Avalanche players are hoisting the Stanley Cup for
the third time in their franchise's history in a week's time or less,
they will no doubt look back at Wedneday's Game 4 as the game that made it
all possible. Out-shot and out-played through most of the first three periods, the Avs
had to come from behind on two occasions in Tampa's home arena in front
of a deafening roar of 20,000 Lightning crazies. They somehow managed
to get it to the overtime period and then -- for the second time in this
series -- ended it before the 20 minute extra stanza was completed. Now
they come back to Denver with a 3-1 lead and a chance to end it in their
home building in front of their own rabid fans. They don't want to go
back to Tampa because they know what the Bolts can do in a Game 6 and 7
scenario, so look for Colorado to pull out all the stops and leave
nothing on the ice at the end of 60 minutes. The Avs are 59-13 in their
last 72 home games and 36-15 in their last 51 playoff games as a
favorite. Take Colorado. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
| 6/24/2022 - MLB | WINNER |
At 7:05 pm,
our selection is on the Houston Astros over the New York Yankees. At
the age of 39 years, Houston ace RHP Justin Verlander is making a case
for his third Cy Young award. The future Hall-of-Famer who is less than
two years removed from Tommy John Surgery has a league-leading eight
wins with a 2.30 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 7.00 K:BB ratio. And what better
way is there to cement his status as the best starter in the league than
to perform on the biggest stage in the game against the team with the
best record in Baseball. It's Friday night at Yankee Stadium and
Verlander will be front and center as the Astros try to avenge a painful
loss on Thursday here. Not surprisingly, Verlander has plenty of
history against the Yanks, although he hasn't faced them since the 2019
playoffs. But the good news for his team tonight is that the Astros are
6-2 in Verlander's eight starts vs. New York since he joined the team
in 2017. The Yankees will go with RHP Luis Severino and they are 2-4 in
his last six starts vs. Houston going back to July of 2017. Take the
Astros. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
| 6/23/2022 - MLB | WINNER |
At 1:10 pm, our
selection is on the Minnesota Twins over the Cleveland Guardians. For
those thinking the AL Central would be a runaway this season for the
Chicago White Sox, think again. What has developed over the first half
of the season is a three-way battle between the Twins, Guardians, and
ChiSox, with the Twins and Guardians getting the better of their more
talented -- and better funded -- rival. Cleveland has won the first two games of this series, so it's now tied with Minnesota atop the division. RHP Zach
Plesac goes to the mound this afternoon for his 13th start of the season
for Cleveland. Plesac had a solid 2021 and he's following that up with
a similar campaign this year -- albeit a bit more frustrating so far.
Plesac has been a bit snake-bit recently, throwing quality starts in
each of his last four outings but coming away with just one victory to
show for his efforts. Additionally, he's been shelled by the Twins in his last two outings against them (8 1/3 innings; 8 ER, 14 baserunners). Minnesota will counter with lefty Devin Smeltzer, who has faced the Guardians once earlier this season. He was effective, as he gave up just 1 ER over five innings. Minnesota has won all 5 of Smeltzer's daytime starts in his career, and is 19-13 in the daytime this season. Take the Twins. As always, good luck...Al
McMordie. |
| 6/22/2022 - NHL | WINNER |
At 8:15 pm,
our selection is on the Colorado Avalanche over the Tampa Bay
Lightning. For the Lightning to just win Game 3 at home after getting
blown out in Game 2 in Denver would have been okay. But what they really
wanted to do was make a statement. Well, statement made as on Monday
night the Bolts pretty much did to the Avs what the Avs did to them in
Game 2, blasting the visitors 6-2 to get within a win of leveling the
series. But despite their worst loss of the post-season so far, the Avs
needn't panic. Once again they out-shot the Lightning on Monday, 39-33
and they pretty much threw in the towel after the second period,
removing starting goalie Darcy Kuemper from the game and replacing him
with back-up Pavel Francouz. The move saved Kuemper -- who was
obviously not at his best -- from having to play more in a game which was
already decided and should help him recover for tonight's critical Game
4. The Avs are 21-5 in their last 26 games immediately following a loss by three goals or more, and they're 7-1 in their last eight road games.
Take Colorado. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
| 6/22/2022 - MLB | LOSER |
At 7:40 pm,
our selection is on the Minnesota Twins over the Cleveland Guardians.
With more than 1/3 of the season in the books, the team atop the AL
Central isn't the mighty Chicago White Sox but rather the Twins -- and
the White Sox aren't in second place either. One of the reasons that
Minnie has done so well so far is its pitching. The Twins starting
pitching ERA is 3.83 (it was 5.18 in 2021) and one of the reasons they
have improved in that category so much this season is the addition of
veteran RHP Sonny Gray. The Twins acquired the 32-year-old starter from
the Reds via trade in mid-March, and so far Gray has done little wrong
for his new team -- and in his new League. Through his first eight
starts covering just under 39 innings, Gray is 3-1 with a 2.09 ERA and
0.93 WHIP. Gray has missed some time this season due to two different
injuries (hamstring and pectoral muscle) but when he's been out there
facing batters, he's been pretty deadly. Despite their win here last
night the Guardians are just 6-13 in their last 19 meetings in
Minneapolis. Take the Twins. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
| 6/22/2022 - MLB | WINNER |
At 2:10 pm, our selection is on the Toronto Blue Jays over the Chicago White Sox. The Jays lost in extra innings last night to the ChiSox, and that was their fifth loss in six games. We'll take Toronto to bounce back on this Wednesday afternoon, as they'll go up against Chicago's RH Lucas Giolito. Last season, Giolito had his 3rd straight solid campaign, as he was 11-9, with a 3.53 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. But this season, it's been a different story. His ERA has ballooned to 4.78, while his WHIP is a poor 1.49. His last start was his worst yet this season, as he gave up eight runs over five innings, in a 13-3 loss to Houston. Giolito has not fared well in his career vs. Toronto, as his ERA is 4.67. He made one start earlier this season vs. the Blue Jays, and that was his 2nd-worst start of the season. In that game, he surrendered six runs over 4 2/3 innings, in a 6-5 defeat. Giolito's teams have gone 7-17 as a home underdog with him on the mound, and are 27-37 (minus 20.3 net games) at home, overall, behind the big righty. Take Toronto. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
| 6/21/2022 - MLB | LOSER |
At 8:10 pm,
our selection is on the Toronto Blue Jays over the Chicago White Sox.
Two teams that many thought would be at the top of their respective
divisions are meeting this week in a three-game series. Of course, both
the Blue Jays and White Sox are looking up at other teams currently, but
there is still plenty of time for these talented clubs to get back on
track. The Jays basically swapped their Cy Young winner from 2021,
Robbie Ray, for RHP Kevin Gausman in the off-season. And the latter is
having a better season so far than Ray, who is now with Seattle. Gausman
comes into tonight's 14th start for Toronto off of his worst outing of
the season -- against the Orioles no less. In that game, the 31-year-old
lasted just 2 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs (five earned) on seven
hits in a 10-2 shellacking at home. He's favored on the road tonight, and the ChiSox are a horrid 21-41 (minus 15.0 net games) as an underdog. Also, in five career appearances vs. the Sox -- three starts --
Gausman is 1-0 with a 2.33 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in just over 19 innings.
Take the Blue Jays. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
| 6/21/2022 - MLB | LOSER |
At 7:40 pm,
our selection is on the Minnesota Twins over the Cleveland Guardians.
Joe Ryan had just five starts for the Twins in 2021 and did little
wrong. He wasn't on anyone's radar at the end of last season and still
wasn't when the 2022 season kicked off. But with his rookie status
still intact, the 26-year-old RHP is making a case for the upcoming All
Star Game as well as garnering interest as a Rookie of the Year
candidate. Ryan will get his 10th start of the season tonight and it
will come against a team he just beat a little more than a month ago.
On May 15, Ryan threw six quality innings at home against the Guardians,
allowing just one run on four hits with five strikeouts and no walks. The Twins won that game, 3-1, and Ryan picked up his fourth win of the season.
That makes three career starts against the Guardians comprising a total
of 18 innings in which Ryan has allowed just two runs on eight hits for a
2-0 record and 1.00 ERA. The Twins are also 6-2 in Ryan's last eight
starts. Meanwhile, the Guardians are 5-13 in the last 18 meetings with the Twins
here at Target Field. Take Minnesota. As always, good luck...Al
McMordie. |
| 6/20/2022 - MLB | LOSER |
At 7:10 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Rays over the New York Yankees. Tampa's RH Shane McClanahan has faced the Yankees twice this season, and has given up 1 earned run over six innings in each of those two starts (1 win, 1 loss). He'll match up against Gerrit Cole, who has a 3-4 record, and 3.77 ERA in his last 10 starts vs. Tampa (his teams have gone 3-7). The Rays are 95-53 (+34.4 net games) vs. division rivals, and 30-12 (+17.6 net games) when the total is 7 runs or less. Gerrit Cole's teams, meanwhile, have gone 17-16 (but minus 10.6 net games) vs. division foes, and 17-17 (minus 4.6 net games) when the total was 7 runs or less. Tampa is 99-52 (+21.3 net games) at home, including 14-12 (+3.9 net games) as an underdog. Take the Rays on this Monday as a home dog. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
| 6/20/2022 - MLB | LOSER |
At 1:10 pm, our selection is on the New York Mets over the Miami Marlins. A
rare Monday afternoon holiday game features the completion of the series
between the Marlins and Mets in Queens. David Peterson is not a household name like Max
Scherzer or Jacob
deGrom, but the 26-year-old southpaw is putting together a very solid
season for the Mets so far. In nine games -- seven starts -- covering
40 innings, Peterson is 3-1 with a 3.60 ERA and his three wins are
against the Angels, Giants, and Braves. This will be his first start of
the season against the Marlins, however in his only other outing
against them, Peterson threw five innings, giving up two runs on four
hits while picking up the Win in an 8-4 Mets victory on August 8, 2020.
He'll try to at least duplicate that effort today. Perhaps the most
important stat for Peterson is this one -- in his seven starts this
season, New York has a 6-1 record. The home team is 7-2 in the last
nine meetings of the Marlins and Mets, while the Marlins are 56-91 their last 147 road games, overall (including 8-17 behind Trevor Rogers). Take New York. As always, good
luck...Al McMordie. |
