Announcement

**StarDust Bum** · 04-26-2011, 10:11 PM

Phillies, Diamondbacks close MLB betting series

When Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt are the first three starters in a rotation, it’s easy to overlook Cole Hamels. This is especially so considering Hamels went 12-11 last year and 10-11 in 2009.

But Hamels is one of the best left-handers in baseball. His won-lost records the past two seasons with Philadelphia are highly misleading.

Hamels puts his 2-1 record and 2.92 ERA on the line Wednesday afternoon at 12:40 (PT) at Chase Field when Philadelphia meets Arizona in the finale of a three-game series.

The 27-year-old Hamels had 11 starts when he gave up two runs or less last year yet did not get a victory. He has been especially sharp in his last three starts.

During this span, Hamels has allowed only two earned runs in 22 innings on 15 hits with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 23-to-six. That’s more strikeouts than hits and walks combined. Hamels also has an impressive 27-to-three groundball-to-fly ball ratio during his past three starts.

Hamels tossed eight shutout innings giving up four hits and three walks en route to a 2-0 victory against San Diego this past Friday as a 130 road favorite versus Clayton Richard. Hamels threw a season-high 126 pitches with 82 going for strikes. The combined two runs went ‘under’ the 6 ½-run total.

The Diamondbacks defeated lefty Cliff Lee, 4-0, on Monday but are 3-7 the past 10 times they’ve faced a southpaw.

Joe Saunders will oppose Hamels. He was good in his last start, but has not pitched well since joining Arizona from the Los Angeles Angels last season.

Saunders has only three wins in 17 starts with the Diamondbacks. The 29-year-old southpaw is 0-2 with a 4.98 ERA this season and a 1.75 WHIP.

Saunders faced the New York Mets this past Friday and came away with a no-decision after giving up only two hits through six innings before departing following a walk to lead off the seventh inning. He was a 115 road underdog against Mike Pelfrey. The Mets won, 4-1. The combined five runs went ‘under’ the 8 ½-run total.

Before pitching against the Mets, Saunders had a 6.32 ERA that could have been even higher. He had faced San Francisco in his previous outing before taking on the Mets and allowed 14 of the 28 Giants he faced to reach base with 12 coming on hits.

Yet he only was charged with five runs in 6 2/3 innings because of double plays and bad San Francisco base-running. Saunders lost, 5-3, as a ‘pick’ at home against Barry Zito.

Saunders has allowed a combined 38 hits and walks compared to 10 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings. Last year, He was 13-13 with a 4.25 ERA when pitching for the Diamondbacks following his trade from the Angels. So Saunders' career arch is not exactly pointing upward.

He is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in 14 lifetime innings versus the Phillies.

Philadelphia had won five in a row before getting shut out by Ian Kennedy in the series opener. The Phillies, however, haven’t scored more than four runs a game during their past 14 games through this past Monday.

The ‘under’ has cashed in the Phillies’ last six matchups going into Game 2 of the series. The ‘under’ is 15-5 the past 20 times the Diamondbacks have gone against a left-hander.

Victor Carapazza is slated to be the home plate umpire. The ‘under’ is 3-0 in games Carapazza has been behind the plate this season.

The forecast is for temperatures in the high 80s with a seven mph wind blowing in and zero percent chance of rain.

The Phillies are 10-4 against the Diamondbacks through this past Monday, although 3-4 during their last seven in Arizona.

Following this game, the Phillies head to Philadelphia for a nine-game homestand starting Friday against the New York Mets. The Diamondbacks host the Chicago Cubs for four games beginning Thursday

**StarDust Bum** · 04-26-2011, 10:12 PM

NHL Betting: Detroit waiting in the Wings

Detroit scored four or more goals in all four games against Phoenix.
One of the age-old questions for hockey handicappers during the playoffs concerns teams that have made quick work of the opposition in the opening round and must wait more than a week to find out which team they play in the next series.

Will those teams benefit from the rest, or will the extra time off cause the club to get rusty and lose its competitive edge?

The Detroit Red Wings are such a team.

Mike Babcock’s troops registered a four-game sweep of the Phoenix Coyotes in the Western Conference’s opening round seven days ago, with all four outings skipping ‘over’ the closing total.

The Wings will play either the San Jose Sharks or the Nashville Predators in the semifinals, which won’t start until Thursday, April 28 at the earliest.

The Wings would play the Predators if Chicago pulls off a miraculous comeback and defeats Vancouver after dropping the first three games of its quarterfinal series. Detroit would play San Jose if Vancouver eliminates the defending champion Blackhawks.

Of course, one of the positives entering the next round is the chance to get injured players back in the lineup and to rest the older players. The Red Wings qualify on both counts.

Detroit, the oldest team still in the playoffs, played the entire first round without leading scorer Henrik Zetterberg (sprained knee) and the last two games without offensive juggernaut Johan Franzen (ankle).

Zetterberg notched 24 goals and 56 assists during his 80 regular season games for a team-leading 80 points. Franzen, who played in 76 outings during the regular campaign, had a team-high 28 goals.

Both players are listed as “probable” on the Don Best Sports injury report.

Pavel Datsyuk picked up the scoring slack during the Phoenix series by collecting two goals and four assists. The slick forward had 23 goals and 36 assists in just 56 games during the regular season.

The Wings outscored the Coyotes during the four games, 18-10, and scored four goals or more on each occasion. Detroit’s offensive onslaught was not surprising, as the team ranked second during the regular season with a 3.1 goals-per-game average.

Detroit also ranked second by firing an average of 33.6 shots on goal per game, and was fifth on the power play with a 22.2 percent success rate.

Defense continues to be a concern for the Wings, as they ranked 23rd during the regular season by allowing an average of 2.9 GPG. They were a poor 17th on the penalty kill with an 82.3 percent success rate.

Playing at Joe Louis Arena used to be quite an advantage for the Wings, but they actually have a better record on the road (26-11-2-2) than at home (21-14-4-2).

So, which team would the Wings rather meet in the second round? When everything is considered, the answer seems to be Nashville.

Teams that play the least and travel less obviously have an easier path to the Cup because the opposition is exposed to more wear and tear. It's not an iron-clad proposition, of course. But the best-rested, least-injured teams clearly have a better chance to win.

But for the Wings — the only team from the Western Conference that plays in the Eastern Time zone — repeated trips to the West Coast are tiring. Detroit accomplished much by sweeping Phoenix, eliminating one round trip across the country.

But to play San Jose in the next round, for example, and then Vancouver in the conference finals, would require significant travel, anywhere from two to six coast-to-coast, round trips.

Detroit would have home-ice advantage if it played Nashville, but the Wings dropped four of six regular-season meetings against the Predators.

The third-seeded Wings would not have home-ice advantage if they play the second-seeded Sharks. San Jose took two of three regular-season matchups against Detroit, with the ‘over’ cashing twice.

**StarDust Bum** · 04-26-2011, 10:13 PM

NHL Odds: Penguins, Lightning Game 7 showdown

This is what NHL betting fans live for. There's absolutely nothing in the world like playoff hockey, especially when you're talking about a do-or-die Game 7, when one team will survive and one will go home.

After a pair of Game 7's on Tuesday, postseason hockey wagering warriors will get to dive right into another great all-or-nothing showdown between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sun Sports and CBC will be showing this clash of Eastern Conference titans at 5:00 PT from Consol Energy Arena in the Steel City.

The Penguins know that they are on the ropes after allowing 12 goals over the course of the last two games against the Bolts. Tampa Bay's offense, which had really been lackluster, has suddenly come alive and is ready to rock again in Game 7.

The last visit here to Consol Energy Arena was for Game 5, a game in which Tampa Bay put a snowman on the board in a comfortable win.

The question for the Lightning is whether they can survive another ridiculous shot disadvantage. Tampa Bay is allowing over 36 shots per game in this series, and only averaging a shade over 26 itself. It's almost amazing that the team has put up these dozen goals over the course of the last few days knowing that there have only been a total of 46 shots on Pittsburgh's netminders.

Pittsburgh has outshot the Lightning in all of the meetings this season.

The difference is that Pittsburgh has been in this spot before. This definitely isn't its first rodeo in a Game 7 in recent seasons. Last year, Marc-Andre Fleury was beaten 5-2 in a Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens at home, something that definitely won't want to be repeated again.

Instead, the hope is that the next most recent Game 7's, wins over the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals and the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference semifinals will prove to be the end result on Wednesday.

For Tampa Bay, the last time that it played a Game 7 was in the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals. In fact, that win against the Calgary Flames was just one of two Game 7's that the Bolts have played in team history. The other came the series before against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Both games resulted in 2-1 Tampa Bay wins, and both came at the St. Pete Times Forum.

If you're betting on the Lightning, you're definitely hoping that the great series for Martin St. Louis and Simon Gagne continue. St. Louis has four goals and four assists in the six games in this series, while Gagne has two goals and is tied for the team lead in assists with Steve Downie with five.

The Penguins don't have a man on their team that has more than three goals or four points in this series. Arron Asham hasn't done much since Game 3, and he leads the team with three goals and four points. Kris Letang and Maxime Talbot also have four points. Tyler Kennedy is the only other man who has more than just one goal in this series.

The winner of this series will either take on the Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins or Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the playoffs starting most likely on Friday.

**StarDust Bum** · 04-26-2011, 11:45 PM

Wednesday, April 27

Game Score Status Pick Amount

LA Dodgers - 12:10 PM ET Florida -120 500
Florida - Under 7.5 500

Cincinnati - 1:10 PM ET Milwaukee -151 500
Milwaukee - Under 8 500

Colorado - 2:20 PM ET Colorado -136 500
Chi. Cubs -

Atlanta - 3:35 PM ET Atlanta -105 500
San Diego - Over 6.5 500

Philadelphia - 3:40 PM ET Philadelphia -147 500
Arizona - Over 8.5 500

**StarDust Bum** · 04-26-2011, 11:46 PM

Wednesday Tips

April 26, 2011

The Wednesday baseball card is separated with six afternoon games and nine night contests for bettors to wager on. The Rays and Twins play the first game of their three-game set following Tuesday's rainout at Target Field, while the Cardinals hook up with the Astros in Houston. We'll start with the streaking Red Sox continuing their series in Baltimore against the slumping O's.

Red Sox at Orioles - 7:05 PM EST

Boston began the season at 0-6 with a struggling offense and spotty pitching. Things have turned around considerably for the Sox as Terry Francona's team has won eight of nine games to sneak back towards the .500 mark. The pitching staff is lifting Boston by allowing two runs or less in six of the last nine games, as the Sox send out a former World Series MVP to keep their winning ways going.

Josh Beckett (2-1, 1.93 ERA) rebounded from a shaky start in his season debut at Cleveland to string together three straight quality outings. Beckett is reverting back to elite status after allowing three earned runs combined in his last three trips to the hill, including a three-hit effort in eight innings of a 4-2 road victory over the Angels. The right-hander was tripped up in two away starts against the Orioles last season, losing as significant road 'chalk' in spite of two quality outings.

The Orioles send out Jeremy Guthrie (1-3, 3.12 ERA), who cannot catch against a break against the Red Sox. Boston has beaten Baltimore in each of Guthrie's nine starts since 2008, including four home defeats. Only two of those losses have been decided by one run meaning that a play on the Red Sox run-line isn't a bad idea, especially with Boston guaranteed nine at-bats. Guthrie is winless in two home starts this season despite tossing quality outings in losses to the Rangers and Twins.

Baltimore is 5-4 the last nine home meetings with Boston, even though the Sox have claimed four of the last six matchups. The Orioles have allowed four runs or more in nine of the previous 11 games, a stark contrast to the four combined runs given up in the first four games of the season.

Cardinals at Astros - 8:05 PM EST

St. Louis and Houston play the second game of a three-game set at Minute Maid Park as Cardinals' first baseman Albert Pujols is still nursing a hamstring injury that kept him out of Tuesday's contest. The NL Central race is tight with four teams within two games of first-place St. Louis, while the Astros are trying to dig themselves out of the division cellar.

One of the more pleasant pitching surprises this season has been the emergence of Kyle Lohse (3-1, 2.01 ERA) in the Cardinals' rotation. With Adam Wainwright out the entire season, Lohse has stepped into the role as the second starter behind Chris Carpenter thanks to three straight quality starts. Lohse is fresh off a complete game shutout of the Nationals, scattering two hits for his first complete game since 2009 against the Astros. The veteran was winless in two starts against Houston last season, while St. Louis is 2-2 in his last four outings at Minute Maid Park.

J.A. Happ (1-3, 6.94 ERA) takes the hill for the Astros, as Houston has lost eight of his last nine starts since last September. The lone victory came against Florida on April 10 as the Astros avoided a sweep with a 7-1 rout, while the southpaw turned in a strong effort by tossing 7.2 innings and allowing four hits. Happ had two starts with completely different results last season against the Cardinals as he gave up seven earned runs in one inning of work as the Astros lost at Busch Stadium, 8-4 last August. However, Happ rebounded less than a month later with a complete game shutout of the Redbirds at home, allowing two hits and cashing as short underdogs.

Rays at Twins - 8:10 PM EST

Tampa Bay and Minnesota start their series after getting postponed on Tuesday night due to rain. The Twins will be playing with revenge as Ron Gardenhire's club dropped three of four games at Tropicana Field in mid-April. Both teams are playing better of late after slow starts as the each squad has won five of their last seven games.

Francisco Liriano (1-3, 7.40 ERA) finally got in the win column after three losses by scattering five hits and two earned runs in 6.1 innings of a 5-3 victory at Baltimore. The southpaw also was able to pitch past the fifth inning and deliver a quality start for the first time in four trips to the mound, ending a seven-start winless streak since last season. Liriano allowed four hits and one earned run in seven innings of an 8-6 home defeat to the Rays last July as the Minnesota bullpen gave up seven runs in the eighth inning.

The Rays counter with Wade Davis (2-2, 2.73 ERA), who beat the Twins earlier this month, 5-2 as $1.30 home favorites. Davis continues to be an 'under' machine by cashing in all four starts this season and nine straight since last September. Tampa Bay owns an 8-2 record in Davis' last 10 outings on the road, including a 4-0 mark as an underdog.

All four meetings at Tropicana Field finished 'under' the total, while Tampa Bay has compiled an 8-4 record in the series since last season. The Rays have taken care of business at Target Field with a 3-1 mark, while Tampa Bay hit the 'over' in all three victories.

**StarDust Bum** · 04-27-2011, 05:47 PM

Braves look for 7th straight series win in San Diego

ATLANTA BRAVES (12-13)

at SAN DIEGO PADRES (9-15)

First pitch: Wednesday, 3:35 p.m. EDT
Line: Atlanta -110, San Diego +100, Total: 6.5

Atlanta looks for its fourth win in five contests as it takes on San Diego in Wednesday’s rubber match in the three-game series. After the Padres won 5-3 in 13 innings on Monday, Jair Jurrjens threw his first career complete game and backup catcher David Ross homered twice to give the Braves an 8-2 victory on Tuesday. Atlanta will be trying for its seventh straight series win at Petco Park.

The Braves will send Tommy Hanson to the mound against the Padres. The right-hander is 2-3 on the season with a 3.21 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 28 innings. In his last outing at San Francisco on Friday, Hanson allowed just one run on three hits in seven innings as the Braves beat the Giants 4-1. He also tallied seven strikeouts and just one walk at San Francisco. Hanson owns a 2-0 mark and 2.45 ERA in three career starts against San Diego. In 18.1 innings versus the Padres, he's struck out 17 batters and surrendered 15 hits and nine walks. The only knock against Hanson is his 0-3 mark in day games this season, carrying a 5.79 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in these outings.

Mat Latos will look to win his first game of the season on Wednesday. He is 0-3 with a 5.94 ERA, but does have 20 strikeouts in 16.2 innings. Latos had his shortest outing of the young season his last time out Thursday versus Philadelphia. The right-hander lasted just 4.1 innings, allowing three runs on four hits with five walks. He also matched his season high with seven strikeouts against the Phillies. Latos has pitched well versus the Braves in three career starts, owning a 1-1 record with a 2.41 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. In these 18.2 innings against Atlanta, he's allowed 14 hits and four walks with 10 strikeouts. He's held Chipper Jones to just one hit in nine career at-bats, but Jones homered on Tuesday and is a career .341 hitter in San Diego. Latos has also limited Brian McCann to a 1-for-7 clip, but McCann has batted .368 with 20 RBI in 17 career games in San Diego. He has also been incredibly clutch this season, going 10-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

The Padres are a majors-worst 4-10 at home this year, with league-low marks in BA (.200) and runs (2.4 per game) at Petco Park. The Braves are now 14-6 in their past 20 visits to San Diego and haven’t lost a series there since 2005. Expect the series win streak to continue Wednesday with Hanson leading Atlanta to the victory. This anti-Padres FoxSheets trend also supports picking the Braves:

SAN DIEGO is 13-27 (32.5%, -17.9 Units) against the money line in home games vs. poor fielding teams - (turning 0.8 or less DP's/game) over the last 3 seasons. The average score was SAN DIEGO 3.2, OPPONENT 4.5 - (Rating = 1*).

**StarDust Bum** · 04-27-2011, 05:48 PM

Phillies try to avoid getting swept in Arizona

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (15-8)

at ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (10-12)

First pitch: Wednesday, 3:40 p.m. EDT
Line: Philadelphia -145, Arizona +135, Total: 8.5

Big four. Big deal. The Arizona Diamondbacks have shown the rest of baseball that at least two of the Phillies four big-time aces are indeed human, hittable and beatable, as the D’backs have taken the first two games of a three-game series against the defending NL East champs.

Philadelphia entered Phoenix winners of five straight, and was coming off a four-game sweep of the Padres. Arizona came back home after getting pasted three straight by the Mets in Flushing. Now the Diamondbacks are one game away from doing what many thought would be impossible to do this season, sweep the Phils when three of the big four were on the hill. To complete the climb up the mountain, the Diamondbacks will have to find a way to rough up left-hander Cole Hamels.

Hamels allowed a combined nine runs in 11 innings to Arizona in two starts last year, but Philadelphia is 4-1 in Hamels’ five career starts versus the Diamondbacks. Hamels has a 3.69 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in these lifetime outings against Arizona.His last start against ‘Zona was last July, when he went five innings, allowing three runs on six hits, striking out eight and walking four as he earned a no-decision. His most recent start last Friday versus the Padres was a gem, as he tossed eight shutout innings, while allowing four hits and striking out eight. Over his past three starts, he is 2-0, allowing just two earned runs in 22 IP, with a K/BB ratio of nearly 4-to-1 (23 strikeouts, 6 walks). For the year, Hamels is 2-1 with a 2.92 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.

Given the state of the Phillies bats lately, Hamels may need to be unhittable on Wednesday afternoon to halt the surging Diamondbacks. Tuesday’s five runs (albeit coming in a 7-5 defeat) marked the first time the Phillies had scored more than four runs since a 10-2 victory over Atlanta on April 9. Leadoff hitter Shane Victorino has only four hits in his past 24 at-bats, as his average has dipped to .283. Number three hitter Jimmy Rollins has zero home runs and just two RBI in 23 games. Left fielder Raul Ibanez batting .171 and mired in an 0-for-25 slump, with more strikeouts (23) than hits (14) in 2011. The bright spots: Ryan Howard is among the NL leaders in RBI (20), and Placido Polanco leads the team in hits (33) and batting average (.367).

Given the Phils offensive woes, it’s probably less of a mystery as to how Ian Kennedy (three-hit shutout on Monday) and Daniel Hudson (three runs on 10 hits over six innings Tuesday) slowed down Philly, and more of a mystery as to how the D’backs got to Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt with relative ease. While striking out 12, Lee gave up four runs, two of which came via the long ball. On Tuesday, Arizona had its way with Oswalt (3-1), who allowed five runs on six hits with no strikeouts and one walk. Oswalt only lasted three innings. The Diamondbacks are going for their first sweep of the season Wednesday. Their manager believes they are due. "We need to go on a run," Arizona skipper Kirk Gibson said. "That's what good teams do."

The team will counter Hamels with a lefty of its own, Joe Saunders. Saunders is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in two career starts against the Phils. Saunders pitched in a tight 3-2 loss versus Philly last July when he allowed two runs on nine hits over seven innings, striking out four and walking none. Saunders is winless this year (0-2, 4.98 ERA), but pitched well his last time out against the Mets Friday, allowing just one run on two hits over six innings. If he can put together another effort like that against the Phils, the D’backs could break out the brooms for the first time this season.

Look for Hamels to put a stop to the mini-losing streak, and get Philadelphia back in the win column. These two FoxSheets trends also back the Phillies:

PHILADELPHIA is 82-37 (68.9%, +32.8 Units) against the money line vs. teams whose hitters strike out 7 or more times/game over the last 2 seasons. The average score was PHILADELPHIA 5.2, OPPONENT 3.6 - (Rating = 2*).

ARIZONA is 14-41 (25.5%, -23.2 Units) against the money line vs. an NL starting pitcher whose ERA is 3.50 or better over the last 2 seasons. The average score was ARIZONA 3.6, OPPONENT 5.8 - (Rating = 2*).

**StarDust Bum** · 04-27-2011, 05:48 PM

Haren looks to lead Angels to sweep of Oakland

OAKLAND ATHLETICS (11-13)

at LOS ANGELES ANGELS (14-10)

First pitch: Wednesday, 7:05 p.m. EDT
Line: Los Angeles -165, Oakland +155, Total: 7.5

Los Angeles looks for its ninth straight home win over Oakland when the two teams meet at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on Wednesday night.

The Angels are aiming for the three-game sweep after beating the Athletics 5-0 on Monday and 8-3 on Tuesday. They should feel good about their chances with former Oakland pitcher Dan Haren on the mound. Haren is off to a stellar start, bringing a 4-1 record and 1.46 ERA into Wednesday's game. In 37 innings, he's allowed only 23 hits and five walks (0.76 WHIP), while striking out 33 batters. The right-hander suffered his first loss of the season on Friday against Boston when he allowed four runs (two earned) and five hits in six innings with three walks and six strikeouts. Haren has made three career starts against Oakland, going 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. In these 20 innings, he's given up 19 hits and five home runs with 20 strikeouts and two walks. Kevin Kouzmanoff (.221 BA, 2 HR, 9 RBI this year), in particular, has given Haren fits. Kouzmanoff is 8-for-25 with three home runs in his career against the right-hander. In his most recent start versus the Athletics, Haren allowed two runs in six innings of a 4-2 win last Sept. 28.

Tyson Ross (1-2, 4.82 ERA) will make another spot start for the injured Dallas Braden (shoulder) on Wednesday. Against Seattle on Friday, Ross gave up three runs on four hits in 4.1 innings, while walking four and striking out zero, in a 4-0 loss at Seattle. In three career starts, he's pitched 12 innings and is 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA. The right-hander has faced the Angels three times in his career, which includes one start. He's 0-1 with a 4.70 ERA and one save. In 7.2 innings against L.A., he's allowed five hits (two home runs) with six strikeouts and one walk. In injury news, Coco Crisp (.286 BA, 1 HR, 8 RBI), who left Tuesday's loss in the third inning with tightness in his quad, is questionable for Wednesday.

Oakland has been outscored 45-14 during its losing streak to to the Angels. The Athletics have lost five of their past seven contests overall -- which includes three games where they were shut out -- and have totaled six runs in those five defeats. The FoxSheets give another highly-rated reason to pick Haren and the favored L.A. Angels to win on Wednesday.

Play On - Home teams (L.A. ANGELS) - AL team with a low on-base percentage (<=.320) against a team with a good bullpen (WHIP <=1.350), with a starting pitcher whose strikes out 5 or more batters per start. (83-35 over the last 5 seasons.) (70.3%, +44.5 units. Rating = 3*).

**StarDust Bum** · 04-27-2011, 05:49 PM

Lightning try to complete 3-1 series comeback vs. Penguins

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

at PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Eastern Conference Playoffs – First Round
Game 7 – Series tied 3-3
Puck drops: Wednesday, 8:05 p.m. EDT
Line: Pittsburgh -135, Tampa Bay +115, Total: 5

Tampa Bay travels to Pittsburgh for Game 7 after winning both Games 5 and 6 rallying from down three games to one.

After losing a pair of one-goal games at home, the Lightning have outscored the Penguins 12-4 in the past two games. Martin St. Louis has been spectacular for Tampa, registering four goals and four assists in the first six games of the series, leading all players on both teams. Tampa has also gotten a great series from Simon Gagne, who has recorded seven total points this series, including scoring two goals in Game 5, and registering a key assist in Game 6. Vincent Lecavalier has picked up the slack from Steven Stamkos (2 G, 2 A), by registering a point in five consecutive games and netting six points total in the series.

After frustrating Tampa through the first four games by allowing just eight goals, including posting a shutout in Game 1, Marc-Andre Fleury has been victimized by the Lightning in the past two games, allowing eight total goals and being lifted in Game 5. The Penguins lack of star power seems to have finally caught up to them, as no one has really stepped up to make a difference in this series. Arron Asham leads the Penguins with three goals in the series, but has not recorded a point in the past two games.

I usually go with the better goaltender in Game 7, but Pittsburgh just lacks the scoring power to stay with Tampa, which they have shown as this series has moved on. Saying that, Dwayne Roloson is no slouch, registering a 2.05 GAA and .941 save percentage in this series, and he has made a difference in Tampa since the team acquired him in January. Roloson is 5-0 in his playoff career when facing elimination, so this is the type of game they got him for. I like Tampa Bay to complete the series comeback and win Game 7 on the road. The FoxSheets show another reason for riding the Lightning.

PITTSBURGH is 6-13 ATS (31.6%, -14.2 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons. The average score was PITTSBURGH 2.4, OPPONENT 3.6 - (Rating = 2*).

**StarDust Bum** · 04-27-2011, 07:08 PM

MLB

Wednesday, April 27

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Boston 0 Bot 0 Boston -150 500
Baltimore 0 Under 8 500

Chi. White Sox 0 Bot 0 Chi. White Sox +140 500
NY Yankees 0 Under 9.5 500

Kansas City 0 Top 1 Cleveland -135 500
Cleveland 0 Under 8.5 500

Seattle 0 Bot 0 Seattle +183 500
Detroit 0 Over 7.5 500

NY Mets 0 Bot 0 Washington +105 500
Washington 0 Over 8 500

San Francisco 0 Bot 0 San Francisco -126 500
Pittsburgh 0 Under 8.5 500

Oakland 0 Top 1 LA Angels -165 500
LA Angels 0 Under 7.5 500

Toronto - 8:05 PM ET Toronto +166 500
Texas - Over 9.5 500

St. Louis - 8:05 PM ET Houston +119 500
Houston - Over 8 500

Tampa Bay - 8:10 PM ET Tampa Bay +125 500
Minnesota - Over 7.5 500

-----------------------------------------------------------

NHL

Wednesday, April 27

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Montreal - 7:00 PM ET Boston -176 500
Boston - Over 5 500

Tampa Bay - 8:00 PM ET Tampa Bay +115 500
Pittsburgh - Over 5 500

Announcement

The Bum's Wednesday's Best Bets MLB-NHL !

The Bum's Wednesday's Best Bets MLB-NHL !

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment