Monday Trends and Indexes 4/27 (NBA, MLB, NHL, Misc.)

[pm530]

Trends and Indexes

Monday, April 27

Good Luck on day #117 of 2009!

At this time the sports menu in this thread consists of the NBA, MLB, and the NHL until their seasons are played out. Also, general sports news and notes will be posted here.

NOTE:
As information becomes available, we will attempt to post the trends and indexes as soon as possible.
Information is posted from what we believe are reliable sources.
Any opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the posting member or BettorsChat.
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[pm530]

Daily Sports Roundup

Monday, April 27

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Lakers try to eliminate the Jazz, the Red Sox meet up with the Indians, and the Blackhawks have the Flames on the ropes.

Tipping off on the hardwood . . .

The Lakers can put the Jazz out of their misery on Monday night when the two teams play Game 5 of their first-round series in Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant and company came back from a Game 3 loss to top the Jazz 108-94 on the road in Game 4 on Saturday. Bryant was good for 38 points in that win, while Pau Gasol had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Los Angeles is a 12.5-point favorite for Game 5.

The Nuggets and Heat are both up 2-1 in their first-round series heading into matchups on Monday night. Denver was edged 95-93 by New Orleans in Game 3 on Saturday, with Chris Paul pouring in 32 points. The Hornets are favored by 2.5 points at home in Game 4. Miami bounced Atlanta 107-78 at home in their contest on Saturday, and the oddsmakers have them favored by 4.5 for Monday.

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

Tim Wakefield (2-1, 2.45 ERA) will try to pitch the Red Sox past the Indians in Cleveland on Monday night in one of six games on the American League schedule. The righthanded knuckleballer has won each of his past two starts, allowing just three earned runs on nine hits over 16 innings of work. Countering for Cleveland will be lefthander Cliff Lee, who is 1-3 with a 5.25 ERA this season.

Elsewhere on the AL slate for Monday: Texas at Baltimore, Tampa Bay at Minnesota, Toronto at Kansas City, Seattle at the White Sox, and New York at Detroit. The Yankees will send CC Sabathia (1-1, 4.81 ERA) to the mound against the Tigers Monday, and Detroit turns to Justin Verlander (0-2, 9.99 ERA).

There are eight games on the National League schedule for Monday, including Washington at Philadelphia, Florida at the Mets, St. Louis at Atlanta, Pittsburgh at Milwaukee, San Diego at Colorado, the Cubs at Arizona, and Los Angeles at San Francisco. As well, the Astros will be in Cincinnati to take on the Reds, with Houston ace righthander Roy Oswalt (0-2, 4.68 ERA) looking for his first victory.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

The Blackhawks and Ducks can both advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs by picking up victories on Monday night. Chicago took a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven set with the Flames on Saturday night by rolling to a 5-1 home victory. Brent Seabrook had a goal and two assists in that contest, while Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 19 of 20 Calgary shots. Dustin Boyd had the lone Calgary tally, and Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff was yanked after giving up four goals.

San Jose staved off elimination on Saturday night, getting past the Ducks 3-2 in overtime to cut their series deficit to 3-2. Patrick Marleau had the winner in extra time for the Sharks, while Joe Thornton picked up his first goal of the postseason. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 23 Anaheim shots. For the Ducks, Ryan Carter and Corey Perry had the goals, and Jonas Hiller stopped 45 of 48 shots.

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[pm530]

Six-pack for Monday

The first six players taken in the 2004 NFL Draft........

1) Chargers-- Eli Manning-- Traded to Giants for Philip Rivers and draft picks, one of whom became Shawne Merriman.

2) Raiders-- Robert Gallery-- Not the bookend tackle he was touted to be, but has turned into a contributor at guard.

3) Cardinals-- Larry Fitzgerald-- Help lead Arizona to Super Bowl.

4) Giants-- Philip Rivers-- Has been solid QB for the Chargers.

5) Redskins-- Sean Taylor-- Tragically shot and killed last year.

6) Browns-- Kellen Winslow Jr-- Talks better than he plays, now with the Buccaneers.

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Monday's List of 13: Wrapping up a busy sports weekend....

13) Jets may be more about selling PSL's than winning games; they made huge splash last year by wasting 3rd-round pick on Brett Favre, and now made one more big splash by trading up for Sanchez. So far, they haven't sold all their PSL's for their new stadium, but they sure are trying........to create buzz to sell those lucrative PSLs.

12) If you're Kellen Clemens, hard to think your team has whole lot of confidence in you, bringing in a new quarterback every year.

11) Heard an interview with the Mitchell kid from Ohio U that was drafted in second round by the Raiders; apparently, Mel Kiper just killed the pick on TV, but the kid was OK, saying he would use it as motivation in his NFL career. MAC has produced many solid pros; apparently Mitchell had a terrific workout on his pro day at Ohio, but wow, they drafted a kid 47th who wasn't ranked in the top 47 at his own position. For the kid's sake, hope Al Davis was right, but....

10) .....I'm in a bar Saturday night, and the bartender has Raiders' #20 jersey on, so I ask him how he feels about his team. He smiles, says the draft was OK, "....but not as good as I hoped." It has to be tough rooting for a team run by a guy who has seen much better days, and to make things worse, Al Davis' mother lived to be 100. Maybe they should just let Mel Kiper Jr should make their picks for them.

9) Speaking of which, my friend Charles in Mississippi is telling me there is a guy in New Orleans named Mike DeTillier on WWL radio who is as good, or better at draft analysis than Mel Jr. We'd like to get a chance to hear Mike or at least get a look at his draft book, since Charles' word is good, so this guy Mike could be a hidden gem.

8) Over the last seven years, Rams allowed the most 10+-yard runs in the NFL (414, which is 59.1 a year, 3.7 a game), so it is important that Ohio State's James Lauranitis is the answer at linebacker- they had their choice of him or USC's Rey Maualuga, so their careers will now be linked, to an extent.

7) Lauranitis was a terrific hockey player in high school, might have been drafted by the NHL had he chosen that route; his dad was a pro wrestler-- think he may have been a tagteam champ at one point. In reading stuff in St Louis papers, Rams took character stuff seriously which seemed to decide the selection of Lauranitis over Maualuga.

6) Hedo Turkoglu drilled a trey with 0:01.1 left after dribbling on the wing for at least ten seconds-- what was his defender thinking? There wasn't enough time for Tuekoglu to go around him-- he had to play up on the shooter, but he didn't, and Sixers-Magic series is now 2-2.

5) This is the first time Denver Nuggets had homecourt edge in a first round playoff series in 21 years, so they better win the series. By the way, great performance by the Pistons. Just terrific.

4) Ben Gordon came up big in overtime for the Bulls, who beat the Celtics in double OT, evening that series 2-2. At some point before April ends, we'll get to some dramatic basketball, where a losing team sees their season end-- then it'll be a lot of fun to watch, kind of like the NCAA tournament is every year.

3) There were two Miami players drafted; one from Miami, FL and one from Miami, Ohio. Go figure.

2) If the baseball playoffs started Monday morning, which obviously they do not, these would be the playoff teams............
AL-- Toronto-Detroit-Seattle-Red Sox
NL-- Florida-St Louis-Los Angeles-Pirates (YES, the 11-7 Bucs!!!)

1) I'm not arrogant enough to grade this draft-- I spent most of time since college bowls ended handicapping college basketball, so its not like I'm qualified to criticize professionals (except the Raiders), but in the next week, we'll post some picks from previous drafts, and we'll let the selections speak for themselves.

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[pm530]

NBA
Long Sheet


When additional trends are updated, we will re-post.

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Monday, April 27
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ATLANTA (48 - 37) at MIAMI (45 - 40) - 4/27/2009, 7:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
MIAMI is 10-5 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
MIAMI is 8-7 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
11 of 15 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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DENVER (56 - 29) at NEW ORLEANS (50 - 35) - 4/27/2009, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NEW ORLEANS is 76-55 ATS (+15.5 Units) in home games over the last 3 seasons.
NEW ORLEANS is 24-10 ATS (+13.0 Units) in a home game where where the total is between 190 and 194.5 points over the last 3 seasons.
DENVER is 48-36 ATS (+8.4 Units) in all games this season.
DENVER is 14-6 ATS (+7.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season this season.
NEW ORLEANS is 36-48 ATS (-16.8 Units) in all games this season.
NEW ORLEANS is 16-25 ATS (-11.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
NEW ORLEANS is 6-15 ATS (-10.5 Units) against Northwest division opponents this season.
NEW ORLEANS is 19-30 ATS (-14.0 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game this season.
NEW ORLEANS is 12-27 ATS (-17.7 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game this season.
NEW ORLEANS is 7-17 ATS (-11.7 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
NEW ORLEANS is 7-7 against the spread versus DENVER over the last 3 seasons
NEW ORLEANS is 7-7 straight up against DENVER over the last 3 seasons
7 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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[pm530]

NBA
Write-up


Monday, April 27

First round, NBA playoffs

Miami crushed Hawks in last two games, 108-93/107-78; they were +13 on boards in Game 3, with 12 blocked shots, 15 offensive boards. None of these games have been close-- two of three stayed under total. Hawks won Game 1 by 90-64. Heat is 27-49 from arc in last two games, after being 4-20 in opener. Atlanta is 15-49 from arc in series.

Denver won 16 of last 19 games; seven of its last nine went over total. New Orleans lost eight of last 11 games- they pulled out a win in Game 3 in foulfest where both sides took 35 foul shots. Two of three in series went over total, with home team winning all three games, and Nuggets covering all three. Denver shot 40.5% in Game 3 (50.7/50.0 first two).

Utah lost ten of last thirteen games, covered four of last 16 (3-9 in last 12 as underdog). LA is 10-2 in last 12 games, with six of last nine going over the total- they're 7-3 against spread in its last nine games as a fave, have series wins here by 13-10-14 points. Lakers shot 56-60% in first two games, 36.8% in Game 3, then 51.9% in Saturday's Game 4.

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[pm530]

NBA


Monday, April 27

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Trend Sheet
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8:00 PM
ATLANTA vs. MIAMI
Atlanta is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games
Miami is 12-3-1 ATS in its last 16 games when playing at home against Atlanta
Miami is 22-3 SU in its last 25 games when playing at home against Atlanta

8:00 PM
DENVER vs. NEW ORLEANS
Denver is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games when playing on the road against New Orleans
Denver is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against New Orleans
New Orleans is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
New Orleans is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games

10:30 PM
UTAH vs. LA LAKERS
Utah is 6-12-1 ATS in their last 19 games when playing LA Lakers
Utah is 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing LA Lakers
LA Lakers are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games when playing at home against Utah
LA Lakers are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against Utah

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[pm530]

NBA


Monday, April 27

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Pick ‘n’ Roll: NBA best bets
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Atlanta Hawks at Miami Heat (-4.5, 186)

Maybe Dwyane Wade’s supporting cast isn’t that bad after all.

All five Miami starters scored double figures in the Game 3, 107-78 home win. Afterwards the talk was all about the wide-spread contributions.

“It’s not so much Wade, but that supporting cast that is making such a difference,” Hawks forward Josh Smith said. “If we can’t stop them, it’s going to make them a very tough team to beat.”

The Heat have outscored the Hawks 215-171 over the past two games and it’s no surprise that Jermaine O’Neal’s rejuvenated play has come in the last two Miami wins.

The center has recorded 41 points and 16 rebounds over the last two games. Atlanta needs to win the battle of the bigs between O’Neal and Al Horford if it intends on playing Cleveland in the next round.

Horford hasn’t scored more than 14 in any of the series’ first three contests, which is a bad sign for Atlanta backers. The club’s offense is too perimeter oriented without Horford collecting buckets in the paint.

“Our backs are against the wall,” Horford said after the Game 3 blowout loss. “Really against the wall.”

Pick: Heat



Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers (-12.5, 211)

Kobe Bryant knows a thing or two about redemption. Two days after his worst playoff performance in a long, long time, the Black Mamba disassembled the Jazz in front of their home fans.

Bryant made 16 of his 24 shots in Game 4 and finished the contest with 38 points.

“It was important for me to come out and be a little more assertive. I’ve been sitting back maybe a little bit too much. As a result, we’ve been losing probably our deadliest feature in our offense, which is my scoring,” the defending league MVP said following his Game 4 shooting clinic.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson tinkered with his starting lineup bringing Lamar Odom back in and sitting Andrew Bynum. Odom responded with 15 rebounds and six assists to go along with his 10 points.

If the Jazz were going to make a series out of this matchup, they would have won Game 4 at home. They’re too bad of a road team to expect any type of comeback. Remember that only eight NBA clubs have come back from 3-1 deficit to win a playoff series.

Pick: Lakers

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[pm530]

MLB
Write-up


Monday, April 27

Hot Pitchers
-- Martis is 2-0, 3.65 in his last two starts.
-- Jurrjens is 3-1, 1.78 so far this season. Pineiro is 3-0, 4.26 this year.
-- Cueto is 1-0, 0.77 in his last two starts.
-- Sanchez is 1-1, 2.50 in three starts this season.
-- Looper is 2-0, 2.12 in three starts this season. Karstens is 1-0, 3.60 in his two starts this season.
-- Young is 2-0, 3.80 in four starts this season.
-- Haren is 1-3, 1.38; Arizona scored four runs in the four games. Lilly is 2-1, 2.89 so far this season.
-- Wolf is 1-0, 3.60 in his last three starts.

-- Sabathia is 1-1, 3.43 in his last three starts.
-- Wakefield is 2-0, 1.69 in his last two starts. Lee has 1.93 RA in his last couple of starts.
-- Bannister tossed six shutout innings in his first '09 start.

Cold Pitchers
-- Blanton is 0-2, 7.11 in three starts this season.
-- Maine is 0-2, 6.17 in three starts this season.
-- Oswalt is 0-2, 4.68 in four starts this season.
-- Hammel is 7-15, 5.90 in major leagues; he's made 28 career starts.
-- Zito is 0-2, 5.63 in three starts this season.

-- Guthrie is 0-1, 10.97 in his last two starts. Harrison is 0-2, 9.24 in his three starts this year.
-- Verlander is 1-2, 10.29 in his four starts this season.
-- Purcey is 0-1, 6.97 in four starts this season.
-- Baker is 0-2, 12.46 in two starts this season. Niemann is 1-2, 5.94 in his three starts this season.
-- Jakubauskus is 0-2, 8.31 in two starts this season.

Hot Teams
-- Phillies won last three games, scoring 26 runs.
-- Braves won three of their last four games.
-- Cardinals won seven of their last ten games. .
-- Pirates won seven of their last nine games. Brewers won five of their last seven games.
-- Dodgers won eleven of their last fourteen games. Giants won six of last eight games, with three shutouts.

-- Tigers won four of their first five home games.
-- Blue Jays are 7-3 on the road this season.
-- Red Sox won their last ten games, scoring 81 runs.
-- Twins won their last three home games, scoring 23 runs.
-- Mariners are 11-5 in last sixteen games.

Cold Teams
-- Nationals are 1-8 on the road, outscored 59-39.
-- Marlins lost their last six games, outscored 44-15. Mets lost five of their last seven games, but are 5-1 in series openers.
-- Reds are 3-5 in their eight home games this season. Astros lost three of their last four games.
-- Padres lost five of their last six games. Rockies lost ten of their last thirteen games.
-- Cubs lost four of their last five games. Arizona lost nine of its last fourteen games.

-- Orioles lost eight of their last eleven games. Rangers are 3-6 on road.
-- Bronx Bombers lost last three games, allowing 25 runs.
-- Indians are 4-5 at home so far this season.
-- Royals lost five of their last seven games.
-- Rays lost nine of their last twelve games.
-- White Sox lost three of their last four games.

Totals
-- Six of last nine Washington road games went over the total.
-- Last five St Louis road games went over the total.
-- Five of last seven Cincinnati home games went over the total.
-- Last four Florida games went over the total.
-- Nine of last thirteen Pittsburgh games stayed under the total.
-- All six Colorado home games went over the total.
-- Under is 7-1-1 in last nine Arizona games; five of last seven Chicago games went over.
-- Ten of last twelve Dodger games went over the total.

-- Ten of last fourteen Baltimore games went over the total.
-- Three of last four Bronx road games stayed under the total.
-- Last five Cleveland games stayed under the total. Ten of last twelve Boston games went over the total.
-- Over is 11-5 in last sixteen Toronto games.
-- Under is 6-3 in Kansas City home games.
-- Seven of last nine White Sox games went over the total.

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[pm530]

MLB


Monday, April 27

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Trend Sheet
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7:05 PM
NY YANKEES vs. DETROIT
NY Yankees are 2-6 SU in their last 8 games when playing Detroit
NY Yankees are 2-5 SU in their last 7 games on the road
Detroit is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Detroit's last 10 games at home

7:05 PM
TEXAS vs. BALTIMORE
Texas is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Texas's last 7 games when playing Baltimore
Baltimore is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Baltimore's last 14 games

7:05 PM
WASHINGTON vs. PHILADELPHIA
Washington is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Washington is 4-17 SU in its last 21 games
Philadelphia is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 6 games when playing Washington

7:10 PM
FLORIDA vs. NY METS
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Florida's last 6 games when playing on the road against NY Mets
Florida is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
NY Mets are 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Florida
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of NY Mets's last 8 games when playing Florida

7:10 PM
HOUSTON vs. CINCINNATI
Houston is 17-6 SU in its last 23 games when playing Cincinnati
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Houston's last 10 games when playing Cincinnati
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Cincinnati's last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cincinnati's last 7 games at home

7:10 PM
ST. LOUIS vs. ATLANTA
St. Louis is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 6 of St. Louis's last 7 games when playing Atlanta
Atlanta is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta's last 6 games

8:05 PM
BOSTON vs. CLEVELAND
Boston is 12-5 SU in its last 17 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
Boston is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Cleveland is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland's last 5 games when playing Boston

8:05 PM
PITTSBURGH vs. MILWAUKEE
Pittsburgh is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Milwaukee
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games when playing Milwaukee
Milwaukee is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
Milwaukee is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games

8:10 PM
TAMPA BAY vs. MINNESOTA
Tampa Bay is 8-17 SU in its last 25 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 7 games when playing Minnesota
Minnesota is 12-3 SU in its last 15 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 6 games

8:10 PM
TORONTO vs. KANSAS CITY
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Kansas City
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Toronto's last 11 games when playing Kansas City
Kansas City is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Kansas City's last 7 games when playing at home against Toronto

8:11 PM
SEATTLE vs. CHI WHITE SOX
Seattle is 1-5 SU in their last 6 games when playing Chi White Sox
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing Chi White Sox
Chi White Sox are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Chi White Sox's last 9 games

8:40 PM
SAN DIEGO vs. COLORADO
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Diego's last 8 games when playing Colorado
The total has gone OVER in 8 of San Diego's last 11 games on the road
Colorado is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games
Colorado is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home

9:40 PM
CHI CUBS vs. ARIZONA
Chi Cubs are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games when playing Arizona
Chi Cubs are 8-15 SU in their last 23 games when playing Arizona
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Arizona's last 9 games
Arizona is 15-8 SU in their last 23 games when playing Chi Cubs

10:15 PM
LA DODGERS vs. SAN FRANCISCO
LA Dodgers are 16-7 SU in their last 23 games when playing on the road against San Francisco
LA Dodgers are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against San Francisco
San Francisco is 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing LA Dodgers
San Francisco is 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against LA Dodgers

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[pm530]

MLB


Monday, April 27

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Hot lines: Today’s best MLB bets
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St. Louis Cardinals at Atlanta Braves (-140, 9)

After having their nine-game home winning streak halted, the St. Louis Cardinals look for some improved play on the road.

The NL Central leaders open a seven-game trip Monday night when they face the Atlanta Braves in the opener of a three-game series.

The Cardinals (13-6) had their run at home end with a 10-3 loss to Chicago in Sunday's finale of a three-game set.

"We got really good results," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said of his club's 5-1 homestand. "The way we look at it is what we put into it. Now we've got Atlanta and Washington and just keep doing what we're doing as far as the effort and keep getting better."

St. Louis will now attempt to rebound on the road, where it's 3-3 with a 5.20 ERA. The team didn't fare well away from Busch Stadium last season, winning only three of its last 16 to finish 40-41. Those struggles also contributed to the Cards missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year after winning their 10th World Series title in 2006.

They'll turn to Joel Pineiro (3-0, 4.12 ERA), who is looking to improve to 4-0 to start a season for the first time since 2002 with Seattle. That season, however, the right-hander won his first four decisions with a 1.85 ERA over 13 appearances - four starts.

Pineiro's early success in 2009 has come with the development of a new pitch, the sinker. He used it effectively Wednesday, yielding two runs and six hits in eight innings of a 5-2 win over the New York Mets. At one point during the victory, Pineiro retired 13 consecutive hitters, with 10 outs coming on ground balls.

The Braves, who are coming off Sunday's 8-2 loss at Cincinnati, return home for a six-game homestand seeking an end to a three-game slide there. They opened their home schedule with a three-game sweep of Washington from April 10-12, but followed that up by being swept by Florida from April 14-16.

Atlanta will give the ball to Jair Jurrjens (2-1, 1.42), who hopes for any sort of offensive help after not getting a win in his last two outings despite impressive performances.

Pick: Cardinals



Texas Rangers at Baltimore Orioles (-145, 11)

The Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles pitching staffs are probably relieved that after Monday they won't have to face one another again until September.

The teams close another high-scoring series Monday night in the finale of a four-game set at Camden Yards.

The Orioles (9-10) are looking to earn a split of this series after rallying for an 8-5 win over the Rangers (8-10) on Sunday. Brian Robers had four hits, including a fifth-inning home run, and Adam Jones added a three-run shot in the sixth to give Baltimore the lead. Chris Davis, David Murphy and Hank Blalock homered to give Texas a 5-1 lead in the fifth.

The Rangers lead the majors with 38 home runs, including 17 in six games against Baltimore. The Orioles, meanwhile, have hit 18 homers all season - 10 against Texas.

Texas and Baltimore have combined for 33 runs in the first three games of this series after scoring 56 total runs in their three-game series at Arlington April 13-15. The season series, which resumes in Baltimore in early September, is tied at three wins apiece entering Monday.

While each team has had little trouble offensively, neither pitching staff has been too impressive. Orioles starters have an 8.64 ERA against Texas and have pitched beyond the fifth inning only once in the season series. The Rangers' bullpen, meanwhile, hasn't been much better. They are 1-2 with a 6.55 ERA versus Baltimore this season after Jason Jennings was charged with a blown save and the loss Sunday.

The Rangers hope to have Josh Hamilton back in the lineup Monday after he entered as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning Sunday. Hamilton, who hit .304 with 32 homers and 130 RBIs last season, bruised his ribs while sliding into third base on a double steal Saturday night.

Pick: Over

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[pm530]

MLB
Baseball Today


SCOREBOARD

Monday, April 27

Florida at New York Mets (7:10 p.m. EDT). Anibal Sanchez gets the ball for Florida in its first game at Citi Field, the Mets’ new $800 million ballpark. John Maine is scheduled to start for New York in the opener of the three-game set between the NL East rivals.

STARS

Sunday

— Shane Victorino, Phillies, drove in four runs to lead Philadelphia to a 13-2 victory over Florida.

— Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs, hit a three-run homer and drove in five on his 32nd birthday, helping Chicago beat St. Louis 10-3.

— Justin Upton, Diamondbacks, hit a tying two-run homer in the ninth and Arizona went on to a 5-4 victory over San Francisco in 12 innings.

— Jay Bruce, Reds, homered twice and drove in four runs in Cincinnati’s 8-2 win over Atlanta.

— Ivan Rodriguez, Astros, hit a tiebreaking homer in the fourth inning to help Houston beat Milwaukee 3-2.

— Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals, allowed one run and six hits over 5 1-3 innings in Washington’s 8-1 victory at the New York Mets.

— Ryan Spilborghs and Clint Barmes, Rockies, each hit a two-run homer to lead Colorado to a 10-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

— Adam LaRoche, Pirates, hit a three-run homer and a solo shot in Pittsburgh’s 8-3 win at San Diego.

— Howie Kendrick, Angels, homered and had a career-high four RBIs in Los Angeles’ 8-0 win over Seattle.

— Adam Jones, Orioles, hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning and Baltimore rallied for an 8-5 victory over Texas.

STEALING A SWEEP

Boston’s Jacoby Ellsbury slid safely under Jorge Posada’s swipe during a three-run fifth inning that gave the Red Sox a 4-1 win over the New York Yankees on Sunday night, a sweep of the three-game series and a 10-game winning streak.

SIDELINED

Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton was out of the starting lineup Sunday with bruised ribs, which he hurt sliding into third base on a double steal Saturday night. A team spokesman said X-rays were negative. Hamilton struck out looking as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning of the 8-5 loss to Baltimore.

SHORTSTOP FOR THE AGED

Texas’ Omar Vizquel, who turned 42 on Friday, became the third 42-year-old in major league history to play shortstop when he entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning of the Rangers’ 8-5 loss to Baltimore. He joins Luke Appling (1949) and Hall of Famer Honus Wagner (1916).

TOUCH ‘EM ALL

Chris Davis, David Murphy and Hank Blalock connected for the Rangers in an 8-5 loss to the Orioles. The Rangers lead the major leagues with 38 home runs and have hit two or more in a game 14 times this season, also most in the majors.

STATS

Cleveland shortstop Jhonny Peralta’s eighth-inning single in a 4-2 win over Minnesota snapped an 0-for-22 slump. … Kansas City is 2-for-17 with the bases loaded this season. … Orlando Cabrera added two hits and an RBI for Oakland in a 7-1 win over Tampa Bay, breaking out of a 3-for-37 slump.

ROCKY ROAD

It has been one wild ride for the Florida Marlins—and it’s only April. Jamie Moyer pitched six solid innings and the Philadelphia Phillies extended the Marlins’ skid to six with a 13-2 victory on Sunday. Florida, which began the season 11-1, is mired in its longest losing streak since an eight-game slide from Aug. 15-22, 2007.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Kosuke Fukudome hit a three-run homer and drove in five on his 32nd birthday, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 10-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Fukudome went 3-for-4 to hike his average to .371. He hit his fourth homer in the eighth to finish the scoring.

SPEAKING

“I wish I could have gone even deeper in the game, but I don’t want to get greedy. I am going to enjoy this one.”—Micah Owings after working seven solid innings in Cincinnati’s 8-2 win over the Braves, his first victory since May 25.

SEASONS

April 27

1909—The Chicago White Sox win their third straight 1-0 game over St. Louis in three days.

1918—The Brooklyn Dodgers got into the win column after a major league record 0-9 start, with a 5-3 victory over the New York Giants in the opening game of a doubleheader.

1929—Brooklyn relief pitcher Clise Dudley homered on the first major league pitch he saw at Philadelphia’s Baker Bowl.

1930—Chicago White Sox first baseman Bud Clancy had no chances in a nine-inning game against St. Louis.

1944—Jim Tobin of the Braves pitched a no-hitter against the Dodgers in Boston, winning 2-0. He also hit a homer.

1947—Babe Ruth Day at Yankee Stadium drew a crowd of more than 58,000 to honor the ailing star. In the game, Sid Hudson of the Washington Senators beat Spud Chandler 1-0.

1968—Tom Phoebus of the Orioles no-hit the Boston Red Sox 6-0 at Baltimore.

1973—Kansas City’s Steve Busby pitched his first of two career no-hitters with a 3-0 victory over the Tigers at Detroit.

1983—Walter Johnson’s 56-year-old record of 3,508 career strikeouts was eclipsed by Houston’s Nolan Ryan. He fanned Montreal pinch-hitter Brad Mills in the eighth inning as the Astros beat the Expos 4-2.

1994—Scott Erickson, who allowed the most hits in the majors the previous season, pitched Minnesota’s first no-hitter in 27 years as the Twins beat Milwaukee 6-0.

1996—Barry Bonds became the fourth major leaguer to amass 300 homers and 300 steals when he homered in the third inning of the San Francisco Giants’ 6-3 victory over the Florida Marlins. His father, Bobby Bonds, godfather Willie Mays and Andre Dawson are the only other players to reach 300-300.

2000—Chicago White Sox shortstop Jose Valentin hit for the cycle and drove in five runs in a 13-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Valentin hit for the cycle in ascending order.

2002—Derek Lowe, who struggled to keep his job as Red Sox closer last season, pitched a no-hitter against Tampa Bay. Brent Abernathy was the only baserunner Lowe allowed in Boston’s 10-0 victory.

2003—Kevin Millwood pitched a no-hitter to lead the Philadelphia Phillies over the San Francisco Giants 1-0. Millwood struck out 10 and walked three.

2005—Mark Grudzielanek hit for the cycle in his first four at-bats in St. Louis’ 6-3 victory over Milwaukee.

2005—Jose Mesa earned his 300th career save in Pittsburgh’s 2-0 victory over Houston. Mesa became the 19th pitcher in major league history with 300.

2007—Kirk Radomski, a former New York Mets clubhouse employee, pleaded guilty to distributing steroids to major league players for a decade and agreed to help baseball’s steroids investigators.

Today’s birthdays: Joey Gathright 28; Pedro Feliz 34; Chris Carpenter 34.

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NHL
Long Sheet


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Monday, April 27
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CHICAGO (49-27-0-11, 109 pts.) at CALGARY (48-32-0-7, 103 pts.) - 4/27/2009, 9:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CALGARY is 26-19 ATS (+45.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 104-108 ATS (+246.0 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 since 1996.
CHICAGO is 14-6 ATS (+21.0 Units) in April games over the last 3 seasons.
CHICAGO is 23-11 ATS (+7.8 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more this season.
CHICAGO is 24-10 ATS (+9.9 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
CHICAGO is 44-39 ATS (+97.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 11-6 (+7.7 Units) against the spread versus CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 11-6-0 straight up against CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
8 of 15 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.2 Units)

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SAN JOSE (55-21-0-11, 121 pts.) at ANAHEIM (45-34-0-8, 98 pts.) - 4/27/2009, 10:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 2-7 ATS (-8.5 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
SAN JOSE is 11-14 ATS (-11.5 Units) in April games over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 27-23 ATS (-21.7 Units) second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 33-32 ATS (-26.0 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 7-12 ATS (-12.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
ANAHEIM is 22-9 ATS (+33.2 Units) when leading in a playoff series since 1996.
ANAHEIM is 154-145 ATS (+340.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
ANAHEIM is 15-12 (+4.8 Units) against the spread versus SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
ANAHEIM is 15-12-0 straight up against SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
16 of 23 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+7.6 Units)

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[pm530]

NHL
Write-up


Monday, April 27

NHL Playoffs

Home side won all five Chicago-Calgary games, with the last three games going over total. Blackhawks are 5-19 on power play in series, but gave up ten goals in 4-2/6-4 losses here (Hawks outshot Calgary 53-34 in the last two periods of games in Calgary). Flames are 2-15 on power play in series (22:13)-- they got outshot 15-3 in first period of Game 1, need a full 60-minute effort here to force series back to United Center.

Top-seeded San Jose is 3-20 on power play in series; they need win to stay alive here, vs Anaheim team that is now 13-5 in its last 18 games. Ducks forced OT Saturday with two third period goals, but lost on goal scored in scramble in front of net. Sharks outshot Anaheim in all five games-- they had 47-25 edge in Game 5, still needed overtime to win.

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Monday, April 27

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Trend Sheet
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9:30 PM
CHICAGO vs. CALGARY
Chicago is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Calgary
Chicago is 8-11-5 SU in its last 24 games when playing on the road against Calgary
Calgary is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Calgary's last 12 games

10:30 PM
SAN JOSE vs. ANAHEIM
San Jose is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
San Jose is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Anaheim is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Anaheim's last 23 games when playing San Jose

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NHL


Monday, April 27

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Ice Picks: NHL best bets
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San Jose Sharks at Anaheim Ducks (+110, 5)

The Ducks missed their first opportunity to complete a remarkable playoff upset in Game 5, losing 3-2 in overtime to the top-seeded San Jose Sharks. Anaheim now has its best chance in Game 6 Monday night in front of a supportive home crowd eager to witness the Ducks becoming the eighth No. 8 seed to win a playoff series since 1994.

Although coach Randy Carlyle might disagree, Anaheim hasn't faced much external pressure in the all-California series up to this point. Although the Ducks had more talent and a better playoff pedigree than several teams above them in the Western Conference standings, they were heavy underdogs to the Presidents' Trophy-winning Sharks before winning three of the first four.

With the spotlight trained squarely on the home bench in Game 6, it's tough to predict how the Ducks will respond. They haven't been consistent winners all season long, leading to their low seeding, but the veteran core led by defensemen Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger has been in tougher situations.

"I think everybody in this room realizes that this is part of the process,'' said Ducks rookie forward Bobby Ryan, who missed about 10 minutes of the third period of Game 5 while getting his skate fixed - not because of an injury. "You dwell on (Game 5) for two hours, but then you put it behind you. That's the beauty of the playoffs. When you're in the lead, you're going to get another shot to end it two days later.''

But the Sharks also have a shot to force Game 7 on Wednesday back in San Jose - and after four mostly tepid outings, the regular-season NHL leaders finally seem to be heating up a bit.

They gave their most comprehensive effort of the series in their first elimination game, getting goals from all three forwards on their top line: Patrick Marleau, Devin Setoguchi and Joe Thornton, who had a goal and two assists while playing with a noticeable bad temper for the first time in the series.

"Their backs are against the wall,'' Pronger said. "They have to win, or they are done. That's a dangerous position to be in, and we understand that. You saw the way they came out. How we played in the third period (of Game 5), that's how we have to play from the start. You know (Marleau and Thornton) will get their points eventually. It's up to us to shut them down. Hopefully we can do a better job of it Monday.''

San Jose also got a boost from a new line of Jeremy Roenick, Jonathan Cheechoo and Torrey Mitchell, who skipped Sunday's practice to rest up for Game 6.

Even goalie Evgeni Nabokov looked solid for the Sharks after a less-than-impressive series, although both goals he surrendered appeared stoppable. Nabokov hasn't been nearly as impressive as Jonas Hiller, the Swiss goalie who stopped 45 shots in Game 5 for his latest gaudy stat line.

Pick: San Jose

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