What's going on, everybody? We've got the dual pack of baseball and basketball back together after an off-day.
Tonight, out in the East, the Celtics and Pacers begin their quest to represent their conference in the finals. Then tomorrow in Minnesota, it's a showdown between Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards.
I shared my handicap on each respective series in my latest article for "The Sporting Tribune."
Check it out here:
As for the diamond, well, we're coming off a pretty brutal loss. Yesterday I dished out the Astros runline (-1.5, +106), and they were able to gain a 6-1 lead. That was until Framber Valdez imploded during the 5th inning, giving up 8 runs. The Angels went on to win 9-7.
Tough one to swallow, but sometimes that's the nature of the beast.
Let's see if we can bounce back with one play this evening...
Mets @ Guardians
Last night the Guardians secured the win (3-1) in the opening game of this three-game set against the Mets.
Cleveland’s win streak now resides at four games.
Naturally, the motivation to keep that going will be present among the roster, however the larger incentive may be witnessed elsewhere.
The veteran right-hander Carlos Carrasco is set to make his first start against his former ball club.
He was traded to New York, along with Francisco Lindor, back in 2021. Carrasco spent 3 seasons with the Mets before returning to his original organization.
The 37-year-old certainly isn’t what he once was. This year he’s got an ERA of 5.16 and an xFIP of 4.59. Though, his ground ball rate is over 47% and his line drive rate is sub-18%.
Also, throughout his last three starts he’s surrendered just 6 ER and has managed an ERA of 2.99.
That’s a positive sign when you’re heading into a outing against your former employer.
Speaking of that former employer - they will be starting RHP Adrian Houser this evening.
Houser’s year has been even worse than Carrasco’s.
His ERA is 7.44 and his xFIP is 6.04. He’s walking more batters per 9 innings (6.34) than he is striking them out (4.68).
Somehow he managed to allow just 1 ER in his last two starts that featured the likes of the Braves and Phillies. His average xFIP in those two spots was 6.30, though - so regression should be expected.
Offensively speaking the Mets have been a bit better against RHP than the Guardians. But with a slight advantage in the starter pitcher position, and also a bullpen that represents the league’s best ERA, I believe this is a spot we can trust them.
The market appears to share the same sentiment as Cleveland opened as low as -109 and can now be viewed as high as -130. FanDuel has the cheapest price listed in the state of Illinois at -124.
Play: Guardians ML (-124); Risk 1.24 units to win 1.00
MLB: 34-30-1 (+0.16)
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