Friday Trends and Indexes 05/04

[Udog]

MLB
Dunkel


Boston at Minnesota
Boston has dropped its last two games with Tim Wakefield on the mound due largely to a lack of run support that has seen the Red Sox score only four runs. That wasn't the problem for Minnesota's Carlos Silva, who picked up 11 runs in his last start to beat Justin Verlander and the Tigers. On the season the Twins are now 3-2 in Silva's starts and 2-1 when coming in a Vegas underdog. Minnesota looks like a good home underdog pick (+125) in this one according to Dunkel, which has the Twins favored straight up by 1. Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (+125). Here are all of today's games.

FRIDAY, MAY 4

Game 951-952: Washington at Chicago Cubs
Dunkel Ratings: Washington (Bergmann) 14.269; Chicago Cubs (Zambrano) 15.489
Dunkel Line: Chicago Cubs by 1; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Chicago Cubs (-215); No Run Line
Dunkel Pick: Chicago Cubs (-215); N/A

Game 953-954: San Diego at Florida
Dunkel Ratings: San Diego (Maddux) 16.347; Florida (Willis) 17.790
Dunkel Line: Florida by 1 1/2; 11 1/2
Vegas Line: Florida (-130); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Florida (-130); Over

Game 955-956: Colorado at Cincinnati
Dunkel Ratings: Colorado (Hirsh) 16.269; Cincinnati (Belisle) 17.708
Dunkel Line: Cincinnati by 1 1/2; 11
Vegas Line: Cincinnati (-130); 9
Dunkel Pick: Cincinnati (-130); Over

Game 957-958: LA Dodgers at Atlanta
Dunkel Ratings: LA Dodgers (Tomko) 16.104; Atlanta (Smoltz) 18.455
Dunkel Line: Atlanta by 2 1/2; 7
Vegas Line: Atlanta (-170); 9
Dunkel Pick: Atlanta (-170); Under

Game 959-960: Pittsburgh at Milwaukee
Dunkel Ratings: Pittsburgh (Maholm) 14.291; Milwaukee (Vargas) 18.548
Dunkel Line: Milwaukee by 4; 8
Vegas Line: Milwaukee (-153); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Milwaukee (-153); Under

Game 961-962: Houston at St. Louis
Dunkel Ratings: Houston (Sampson) 16.898; St. Louis (Wainwright) 14.103
Dunkel Line: Houston by 2 1/2; 9
Vegas Line: St. Louis (-135); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Houston (+135); Over

Game 963-964: NY Mets at Arizona
Dunkel Ratings: NY Mets (Maine) 19.463; Arizona (Johnson) 15.707
Dunkel Line: NY Mets by 3 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: NY Mets (-130); 9
Dunkel Pick: NY Mets (-130); Under

Game 965-966: Philadelphia at San Francisco
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia (Moyer) 18.349; San Francisco (Morris) 17.711
Dunkel Line: Philadelphia by 1/2; 11 1/2
Vegas Line: Philadelphia (-116); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (-116); Over

Game 967-968: Seattle at NY Yankees
Dunkel Ratings: Seattle (Baek) 17.252; NY Yankees (Igawa) 15.936
Dunkel Line: Seattle by 1 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: NY Yankees (-200); 10 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Seattle (+200); Under

Game 969-970: Cleveland at Baltimore
Dunkel Ratings: Cleveland (Byrd) 16.218; Baltimore (Bedard) 17.186
Dunkel Line: Baltimore by 1; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Baltimore (-116); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Baltimore (-116); Under

Game 971-972: Oakland at Tampa Bay
Dunkel Ratings: Oakland (Haren) 17.218; Tampa Bay (Fossum) 15.002
Dunkel Line: Oakland by 2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Oakland (-145); 9
Dunkel Pick: Oakland (-145); Under

Game 973-974: Toronto at Texas
Dunkel Ratings: Toronto (Ohka) 16.908; Texas (McCarthy) 12.873
Dunkel Line: Toronto by 4; 10
Vegas Line: Toronto (-112); 11
Dunkel Pick: Toronto (-112); Under

Game 975-976: Detroit at Kansas City
Dunkel Ratings: Detroit (Verlander) 16.988; Kansas City (Bannister) 14.406
Dunkel Line: Detroit by 2 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Detroit (-167); 9
Dunkel Pick: Detroit (-167); Under

Game 977-978: Boston at Minnesota
Dunkel Ratings: Boston (Wakefield) 16.341; Minnesota (Silva0 17.105
Dunkel Line: Minnesota by 1; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: Boston (-125); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (+125); Under

Game 979-980: Chicago White Sox at LA Angels
Dunkel Ratings: White Sox (Contreras) 15.810; LA Angels (Escobar) 18.070
Dunkel Line: LA Angels by 2; 11 1/2
Vegas Line: LA Angels (-145); 8
Dunkel Pick: LA Angels (-145); Over

[Udog]

NBA
Dunkel


Toronto at New Jersey
The Raptors avoided elimination with a Game Five win at home, but have not had much luck on the road in this series as they dropped the two games in New Jersey by an average margin of 17 points. The Nets have just carried over the momentum from the end of the regular season and are now 8-1-1 in their last 10 games against the spread, compared to Toronto's 2-7-1 ATS record. New Jersey looks like a good pick to close this one out and cover the Vegas line (-7) according to Dunkel, which has the Nets favored by 10. Dunkel Pick: New Jersey (-7). Here are all of today's games.

FRIDAY, MAY 4

Game 515-516: Toronto at New Jersey
Dunkel Ratings: Toronto 117.136; New Jersey 127.205
Dunkel Line & Total: New Jersey by 10; 187
Vegas Line & Total: New Jersey by 7; 188
Dunkel Pick: New Jersey (-7); Under

[Udog]

NHL
Dunkel


NY Rangers at Buffalo
With the exception of the Game One win by Buffalo (5-2), the rest of the games in the series have been decided by just a goal. This isn't surprising given that the last three contests between these teams in the regular season went into overtime. Tonight looks to be no different according to Dunkel, which has the Sabres favored straight up by just 1/2 a goal. Dunkel Pick: NY Rangers (+1 1/2). Here are all of today's games.

FRIDAY, MAY 4

Game 3-4: NY Rangers at Buffalo
Dunkel Ratings: NY Rangers 13.479; Buffalo 13.860
Dunkel Line & Total: Buffalo by 1/2; 6
Vegas Line & Total: Buffalo by 1 1/2; 5
Dunkel Pick: NY Rangers (+1 1/2); Over

[Udog]

MLB
Hot Lines


Friday, May 4


San Diego Padres at Florida Marlins (-121, 8 ½)

Greg Maddux has to be licking his chops with a youthful Florida team on deck tonight.

More than any other pitcher, maybe in the history of baseball, Maddux has the ability to control at bats and make hitters put balls where he wants them. Savvy, veteran batters will have at least some success against the 41-year-old simply because he doesn’t throw quite as hard or quite as well as he used to. But Maddux is still masterful, and can confound the right type of hitter by using different speeds and uncanny location.

The young Marlins are the perfect team to fall for his tricks. Expect Maddux to keep them guessing all night.

Dontrelle Willis pitches for Florida, but no fear – the Padres are hitting .264 on the road this year, 10th best in the majors.

Pick: Padres +113



Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals (+150, 9)

Don’t look now, but the Royals are raking. Kansas City batters hit .288 over the last week and the Royals won their last two games as an underdog.

Kansas City appears to be hitting its stride as it hits the middle of its 10-game homestand, the Royals’ longest of the season. Their pitching staff is also beginning to show signs of a turnaround with a 3.39 ERA over the last week, seventh best in the majors.

Expect the hitting and pitching to come together once again tonight against Detroit and a struggling Justin Verlander. The 24-year-old right-hander struggled in his last start, allowing five runs on eight hits and lasting only three innings against the Minnesota Twins. Brian Bannister will start for the Royals.

Pick: Royals +150



Boston Red Sox at Minnesota Twins (+108, 9 ½)

A team as good as Minnesota has no business being an underdog in this spot, especially considering how inefficient Boston starter Tim Wakefield has been recently.

The knuckleballer is struggling to pitch deep into games against stronger hitting teams this season. He combined for just 11 1/3 innings, and 218 pitches, in his last two starts against the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees.

A poor performance from Daisuke Matsuzaka forced Boston’s bullpen to go four innings yesterday, and Wakefield’s recent numbers indicate they will be in for another long session tonight. He won’t get any help from the Twins – they are hitting .281, the second-best batting average in baseball.

Carlos Silva will pitch for Minnesota.

Pick: Twins +108

[Udog]

MLB
Short Sheet


Friday, May 4th

National League

Washington at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 EST WGN
Jason Bergmann (R) vs. Carlos Zambrano (R)
Bergmann: Wash 9-3 vs. Cubs
Zambrano: ChC 0-5 as a home favorite of -150 or more

San Diego at Florida, 7:05 EST
Greg Maddux (R) vs. Dontrelle Willis (L)
Maddux: SD 23-15 as a road underdog of +100 to +125
Willis: 6-0 Over this season

Colorado at Cincinnati, 7:10 EST
Jason Hirsh (R) vs. Matt Belisle (R)
Hirsh: Col 0-7 at Cincinnati
Belisle: 18-6 Over off BB Away division losses

LA Dodgers at Atlanta, 7:35 EST TBS
Brett Tomko (R) vs. John Smoltz (R)
Tomko: LAD 10-0 off an Under
Smoltz: Atl 6-0 Over at home vs. LAD

Pittsburgh at Milwaukee, 8:05 EST
Paul Maholm (L) vs. Claudio Vargas (R)
Maholm: Pit 9-28 Away off 3+ division games
Vargas: 2-13 TSR at home when the total is 7 to 8.5

Houston at St. Louis, 8:10 EST
Chris Sampson (R) vs. Adam Wainwright (R)
Sampson: Hou 14-30 as a road underdog of +100 to +125
Wainwright: StL 3-11 in night games

NY Mets at Arizona, 9:40 EST
John Maine (R) vs. Randy Johnson (L)
Maine: 8-1 TSR Away in night games
Johnson: Ari 4-13 at home vs. NL East

Philadelphia at San Francisco, 10:15 EST
Jamie Moyer (L) vs. Matt Morris (R)
Moyer: 26-7 TSR as a favorite of -110 or higher
Morris: SF 2-11 vs. Philadelphia


American League

Seattle at NY Yankees, 7:05 EST
Cha Seung Baek (R) vs. Kei Igawa (L)
Baek: Sea 1-5 at Yankees
Igawa: NYY 24-8 Under as a home favorite of -150 to -200

Cleveland at Baltimore, 7:05 EST
Paul Byrd (R) vs. Erik Bedard (L)
Byrd: 2-11 TSR Away in night games
Bedard: 15-7 TSR off a Baltimore loss

Oakland at Tampa Bay, 7:10 EST
Dan Haren (R) vs. Casey Fossum (L)
Haren: 11-2 TSR vs. AL East
Fossum: 8-0 Over when the money line is +125 to -125

Toronto at Texas, 8:05 EST
Tomo Ohka (R) vs. Brandon McCarthy (R)
Ohka: Tor 22-6 off BB one run losses
McCarthy: Tex 16-5 Under off 3+ losses

Detroit at Kansas City, 8:10 EST
Justin Verlander (R) vs. Brian Bannister (R)
Verlander: Det 26-7 as a road favorite of -125 or more
Bannister: KC 6-15 at home vs. Detroit

Boston at Minnesota, 8:10 EST
Tim Wakefield (R) vs. Carlos Silva (R)
Wakefield: Bos 8-0 Under as a road favorite of -110 or higher
Silva: Min 5-1 at home vs. Boston

Chicago White Sox at LA Angels, 10:05 EST WGN
Jose Contreras (R) vs. Kelvim Escobar (R)
Contreras: ChW 23-8 as a road underdog of +100 to +125
Escobar: 4-10 TSR as a home favorite of -110 or higher

** (TC) Denotes Time Change

[pm530]

Hockey – Tips & Trends

NHL
Tips and trends


Friday, May 4

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New York Rangers at Buffalo Sabres (7 PM ET)
The top-seeded Sabres need a boost after two straight losses at New York in which they combined for two goals in more than 156 minutes. EDGE: RANGERS & UNDER
New York hasn't won in four trips to Buffalo, including two regular-season losses. The Sabres are 4-1 at home this postseason, losing three straight games only three times during the regular season. EDGE: SABRES
The Rangers are 5-1 in their last six games playing on two days rest.
The Sabres are 29-6 in their last 35 games playing on two days rest.
The favorite is 8-0 in the last eight meetings.

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[Dennis14072]

Thanks Guys!!
Good Luck tonight!