The oddsmakers are not giving much respect to arguably one of the best defenses in the league this season. Indiana has not allowed an opponent to shoot 50% or more from the field in over a month coming into this game. Miami did not look good in their opener against Chicago and with the Heat not having played in a week I expect them to come out a little sluggish in this matchup too. The Pacers defense has held opponents to an average of 89.4 points per game in the playoffs on 41.6% shooting from the field. This is a defense that plays just as good on the road as they do at home holding opponents to a mere 91.6 points per game. While the Pacers may not have a high scoring offensive unit, they should certainly not have any problems staying within 8 points against a Miami defense allowing almost 95 points per game at home. Indiana is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games against teams with a winning record. They are also 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games when they are playing on 3 or more days of rest. The extra rest afforded to the Pacers will prove to be very beneficial to an already stout defense. Expect the Pacers to come out strong and the defense to keep this game close until the end.

This line is still very favorable for Detroit when you consider the pitching matchup. Justin Verlander has posted a 3.17 ERA on the season and he has 60 strikeouts in just 54 innings pitched. The Tigers have a .280 team batting average and they are scoring 5.3 runs per game. Cleveland is 20-42 the last two seasons after batting .240 or worse over a 10 game span. Cleveland will have Ubaldo Jimenez on the mound today. Jimenez has posted a 9.72 ERA in his 4 home starts. He has been rocked to the tune of 18 earned runs and 13 walks while averaging a mere 4.2 innings per start. Jimenez has not had much luck against Detroit throughout his career. He has a 5-7 record and a 5.12 ERA and 1.464 WHIP when facing the Tigers.

The Yankees have a huge advantage at the starting pitcher position. Jason Hammel has been rocked in his last three starts. He has a 10.43 ERA and 2.318 WHIP. He has not been much better when pitching at home posting a 7.79 ERA and an 0-2 record. The Yankees will have Hiroki Kuroda leading the way today. Kuroda has been unbelievable this season posting a 6-2 record in 9 starts with a 1.99 ERA and 0.955 WHIP. His last three starts have been even better at 1.59 on the ERA and 0.794 for his WHIP. Baltimore has been a decent hitting team this season but their numbers are at the worst when facing division opponents. The Yankees are averaging 4.8 runs per game on the road. They should have no problem exceeding that average since they are facing Hammel and the Orioles will have a hard time scoring runs against Kuroda. When coming off a game in which the Yankees scored and allowed 3 runs or less they are 9-1 (90%) against the money line.

The Red Sox will have another one of their many ace pitchers on the mound today with Clay Buchholz. His opposition for Chicago will be (1-2) Hector Santiago. Buchholz has posted a 6-0 record this season with a 1.78 ERA. The most impressive thing about this pitcher is his ability to go deep into the game which is a tremendous help to the bullpen when trying to get the save. Buchholz averages 7.3 innings per start. Santiago pitches a lot of relieve too. He has thrown in 11 games and has only 4 starts. His ERA has been solid, but the White Sox do not get much longevity from the pitcher. That makes for a bad combination when they go up against a Boston team that averages 5.2 runs per game on the road while the White Sox are scoring a mere 3.5 runs per game at home. The Red Sox are 10-2 in their last 12 games as a road favorite and 4-0 in Buchholz’s last 4 road starts against a team with a losing record. The White Sox come into this game at 2-5 in Santiago’s last 7 starts. Things are trending heavily in favor of Boston and with Buchholz on the mound the Red Sox should have no problems picking up the win.

Adam Wainwright has been nothing short of spectacular for the Cardinals this season. In 9 starts he has posted a 2.51 ERA and averages 7.2 innings per start. In his career against San Diego Wainwright has a 0.97 ERA and a 0.946 WHIP. The Cardinals have a .273 batting average against right handed starters and they average 5.1 runs in those games so run support will not be an issue today. San Diego will have Edinson Volquez getting the start today. Volquez has a 5.55 ERA and has allowed 53 hits this season in a total of 48.7 innings pitched. His numbers are below average across the board and St Louis will be one of the best hitting teams he has faced this season. Run support for the Padres should be a major issue as they post a .246 batting average this season. ***Jimmy Boyd is on a 19-9 (68%) all sports run including a 10-2 (83%) run on his L12 NBA playoffs picks. Don't miss Tuesday's 5* No Limit MLB Game of the Month and Jimmy's NBA Main Event!***

The Cincinnati Reds have really struggled on the road this year. They have a .243 batting average and an 11-12 record. They almost lost last night against the Mets and I think their fortunes will change for today’s game. Mike Leake is getting the start for Cincinnati. He has a 1.874 WHIP in his 4 starts on the road and he has given up 34 hits in just 21.3 innings pitched. He does not have a lot of experience against the Mets posting a 1-1 career record against them. The Reds are 0-4 in their last 4 games when facing a left handed starter and 1-4 in Leake’s last 5 starts as a favorite of -110 to -150. Jon Niese will start for New York today and the lefty is 5-2 in his last 7 starts when playing on 4 days of rest. There is simply too much value to pass up on the Mets today.

The White Sox picked up a fluke victory last night but they will not have the same luck today when they face off against 3-1 Felix Doubront. Chicago is batting .253 against left handed starters and they have a 4-7 record in those games. The White Sox are only a .500 team at home and they average a mere 3.6 runs per game. The Red Sox have posted a 14-8 record on the road this season and they are averaging 5.4 runs per game. In the past 7 games their scoring average is up slightly from that number at 5.7 runs per game. Felix Doubront has never lost to Chicago posting a 2-0 record with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.250 WHIP. The White Sox have Jose Quintana on the mound. Quintana has a 5.40 ERA in his 3 starts at home and has made an average of only 5 innings per start. He is 0-1 in his last 3 starts and I expect him to have a very poor performance today against such a prolific hitting team.

There is a lot of value in this line when the Rockies send Jhoulys Chacin to the mound today. Chacin is coming off a poor performance against San Francisco but this is still the same pitcher that has allowed only 1 home run all season. That is an impressive feat, especially when you consider his home ball park is one of the most hitter friendly stadiums in the league. Chacin also has a strong history of success when throwing against Arizona. He has a 2.54 career ERA against the Diamondbacks and a 4-2 record. He has faced them once this season posting a 6.3 inning performance in which he allowed no earned runs and gave up only 3 hits. The Rockies have performed well in the favorite position posting a 17-4 record against the money line. They are 5-1 in Chacin’s last 6 starts as a favorite and 6-1 in their last 7 games after allowing 5 runs or more in the previous game. You should always play against road underdogs like Arizona when they are allowing .35 stolen bases per game or less and coming off 6 straight games allowing 4 runs or less. This system is 51-15 (77%) against the money line.

There is a reason this line is only a point off the line from game 1 of this matchup. The San Antonio Spurs shot 52.6% from the field against the best defense in the post season and that anomaly is not going to take place again. The Grizzlies typically hold opponents to 43.6% shooting and 89.8 points per game. This matchup falls into a system to play against home teams coming off two straight wins by 10 points or more when they are playing against an opponent that scored 85 points or less in the previous game. This system is 40-17 (70%) ATS over the last five seasons. In head to head history between these teams the games have been very close. Back in April the Grizzlies won straight up by two points. Excluding the game 1 matchup between these teams three of the last four games have been decided by 5 points or less and there is no reason tonight’s game will be any different.

We are getting a lot of value on the Nationals tonight when they send Stephen Strasburg to the mound. Strasburg has a 2-5 record this season in 9 starts which is why the Nationals are not coming into this game as a heavy favorite when they face Matt Cain and his 5.43 ERA. The Nationals have had trouble providing run support to Strasburg but a matchup against Cain is just what they need to break out of that funk. Even though Strasburg is 2-5 on the season he still has a 2.83 ERA and 1.116 WHIP. In his last three starts he has thrown even better posting a 2.25 ERA and 0.950 WHIP. Strasburg has never lost to the Giants going 2-0 against them in his career. Last night’s game may have been a blowout for San Francisco but the Giants are still the same team that has lost five of their last seven games. With Strasburg and Cain getting the start we have a very favorable matchup advantage. Washington is 8-0 against the money line in road games when they are revenging a road blowout loss against an opponent of 6 runs or more over the last two seasons.

Jon Lester continues to be a stud for Boston posting a 6-0 record in 9 starts. Lester has a 2.71 ERA and a 1.006 WHIP. In his last three starts Lester has been even more impressive going 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA and averaging 7.3 innings per start. The Red Sox are 5-0 in their last 5 road games and 4-0 in their last 4 games against a starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.30 or higher. The White Sox send a struggling Dylan Axelrod to the mound today. Axelrod has a 1-3 record in 8 starts and he is trending in the wrong direction. In his last 3 starts he has allowed 24 hits and 10 earned runs in 19 innings pitched. It could be a very short night for Axelrod when he faced this Red Sox team batting .265 and averaging 5.5 runs per game on the road. One of the biggest struggles Chicago has had this season is their inability to provide run support. They have a .219 batting average at home and are scoring a mere 3.4 runs per game. Those numbers are simply nowhere near good enough to contend each night. With Lester on the mound and Chicago’s inability to score runs the Red Sox are the play in this matchup.

There is a lot of value on Houston today with Dallas Keuchel on the mound. Keuchel has performed well this season and in his last home start he gave up a mere 2 earned runs and 5 hits in 6 innings pitched. The Astros are averaging 4.7 runs per game over their last 7 games so they should have no problems providing him the run support needed to pick up his first win of the season. The Royals are really having trouble right now. They have lost 10 of their last 13 games quickly slipping to a .500 record. They have a lot of trouble against left handed starters posting a .224 batting average and scoring 2.9 runs per game. Jeremy Guthrie is coming off a confidence shattering performance against the Angels. Guthrie went 7 innings and gave up 5 earned runs and did not have a single strikeout. He has a serious problem with giving up the long ball allowing 11 home runs in just 8 starts.

In his 8 starts this season Pat Corbin is 6-0 with a 1.52 ERA and 1.069 WHIP. His team’s record is a perfect 8-0 in those games. Corbin has been throwing his best stuff over his last three starts posting a 0.89 ERA. Corbin’s opponent will be Colorado’s Jon Garland. Garland has a 1-2 record in his last three starts posting a 1.733 WHIP with a 5.40 ERA. His last outing was a loss against the Chicago Cubs, a game in which he made it just 5 innings and gave up two home runs. Arizona is 5-1 in their last 6 road games and they are 4-1 in their last 5 games against National League West teams. The Rockies are 2-9 following a win and they have a bad habit of dropping a series opener going 1-4 in their last 5. With Corbin on the mound this game should be an easy win for the Diamondbacks.

The Reds are coming off a series in which they dropped two out of three games against Philadelphia. They are now playing their 7th consecutive game on the road when they face the Mets today. New York just won two out of three against the Cubs and they had the benefit of sleeping in their own beds tonight as they return home to face Cincinnati. The Mets have done a great job of opening up a series with a win. They are 4-1 in their last 5 game 1 matchups. The Reds are at their worst on the road batting .243 and posting a 10-11 record. The Mets may never be confused with a team that can light up a scoreboard, but they are certainly at their best when playing against a right handed starter and playing at night as they average 4.5 runs per game. You should always play against a road favorite like Cincinnati when they have a starting pitcher that has allowed 5.5 or less hits per start and they are a below average hitting team batting .255 or less and playing against a team whose starting pitcher has a 5.70 ERA or higher. This system is 45-27 (63%) against the money line.

The Indians have a .241 batting average over their past 7 games. They will face Seattle’s ace in today’s game as Hisashi Iwakuma takes the mound. Iwakuma has a 5-1 record this season with a 1.84 ERA. He faced the Indians once last season taking a no decision and posting a 1.59 ERA in a game won by Seattle. Scott Kazmir is not having the season many Cleveland fans expected. He has posted a 5.33 ERA and a 2-2 record in 5 starts. With Kazmir struggling the Indians will be in big trouble considering Seattle is batting .271 as a team over their past 7 games. In that same span they have averaged 4.9 runs per game and have a .345 on base percentage. The Mariners should have no problem building and holding onto the lead against the Indians today.

San Antonio has been dangerously good at home this season. The Spurs posted a 39-7 straight up record. The offense has averaged 104.6 points per game at home while allowing only 94.7 points. They are an extremely well rounded team and when playing at home they should have no problems pulling away from the Grizzlies. Memphis comes into this game barely scoring more than what they allow when playing on the road. The Grizzlies averaged 93.6 points per game while holding opponents to 92 points per game. While the Grizzlies defense has been great, the Spurs present a matchup nightmare. San Antonio is 14-4 ATS when playing on 2 days of rest. When coming off a straight up win by 10 points or more they are 4-1 ATS in the following game. In head to head matchups the Spurs have a history of dominating the Grizzlies. Memphis is 1-4 ATS in the last 5 games played at San Antonio and 2-6 ATS in the last 8 overall.

The Rangers are arguably the best team in baseball and they will have their ace, Derek Holland, on the mound today. You won’t find a favorable line like this very often when Holland is getting the start. He has posted a 2.93 ERA this season and he has been lethal in his last three starts going 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA. Detroit will send a struggling Doug Fister to the mound. Fister may have a 5-1 overall record this season but he has been pitching himself into a lot of jams in recent games. In his last three starts he has posted a 4.50 ERA and his only win in those three starts came against a horrible Houston Astros team. The Rangers bats have been hot as they are batting .290 in the past 7 games and averaging 6.1 runs per game. For Detroit things have been much slower posting a .243 batting average. The Tigers are 3-5 against left handed starters this season and Holland will be one of the best they have faced. The Rangers are the smart play in this game.

R.A. Dickey has been one of the biggest flops of the season and the Yankees should be able to take batting practice against him today. Dickey got off to a slow start this season and things have not been getting better. In his last three starts he has posted a 5.50 ERA and has 9 walks and 4 home runs in just 18 innings pitched. The Yankees will have C.C. Sabathia on the mound today. Sabathia has been solid all season but throwing even better in recent games. He has a 3.19 ERA overall but in his last three starts he has posted a 2.76 ERA. In that same span he has 19 strikeouts in 16 innings pitched. Toronto is 0-4 in Dickey’s last 4 starts against AL East teams. They are also 0-4 in their last 4 road games against a left handed pitcher. The Yankees are 5-0 in their last 5 games when their opponent scored 2 runs or less in their previous game. They are also 4-0 in Sabathia’s last 4 starts after allowing 2 runs or less in the previous game.

Kyle Lohse has struggled for Milwaukee this season. In 8 starts he has posted a 1-4 record. In his last three starts he has a 5.29 ERA and 1.941 WHIP. Those numbers are not good considering he is up against a St. Louis team that is batting .274 over the past 7 games and the Cardinals have a .346 on base percentage in that same span. Milwaukee has had a hard time scoring runs which is why they are sitting on a 17-24 overall record. They are batting a mere .238 on the road and average 3.6 runs per game. For every win on the road they are losing two games and they have posted a 7-13 record. Kyle Lohse’s career has not seen much success against St Louis. His team is 2-5 in his 7 career starts against the Cardinals.

While last night’s game may have been a pitcher’s duel, there should be no shortage of offense today. Tom Milone will get the start for Oakland today and while his overall numbers on the season have been solid he is certainly trending in the wrong direction. Milone is 0-3 in his last three starts with a 4.26 ERA. He has given up 4 home runs in those last three games. Milone is facing a Royals team that is batting .267 in their past 7 games and scoring an average of 5.4 runs per game. Oakland picked up a 2-1 victory last night and they were facing one of the best pitchers on Kansas City’s rotation in James Shields. They should be able to get back to their normal 4.7 runs per game scoring average today. They are facing Ervin Santana who is coming off a confidence crushing performance against New York just under a week ago. Santana gave up 2 home runs and 4 earned runs. Santana has struggled on the road posting a 4.26 ERA and a 1-1 record.

The Knicks have not responded well to a win and their inability to gain any momentum will haunt them today against the Pacers. New York is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win and they are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following an ATS win. They are facing a Pacers team that is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games played at home and against a Pacers defense that has shut them down for most of this series. The Pacers own a 35-11 record at home because their defense plays so well. Their defense ranks 1st in the league in shooting percentage allowed from the field as well as from beyond the three point line. They are 2nd in points allowed per game and 1st in rebounds per game on offense. Throughout the playoffs Indiana has run their defense seamlessly and all those bodies in the paint makes rebounding an easy task. While the Knick’s defense is not horrible, they are certainly nowhere near the caliber of Indiana. New York is also 26th in rebounding and 18th in shooting percentage. When you are a bad rebounding team and a mediocre shooting team going up against arguably the best defense in the league it is a recipe for disaster. The Pacers should have no problems winning big at home.

Houston managed to blow another game in late innings last night against Pittsburgh. That seems to be the story for the Astros this season as they sit on an 11-31 record. Houston is 21-74 against the money line over the last 3 seasons when playing against a good team that has a win percentage of 54% to 62% on the season. The starting pitcher matchup will heavily favor the Pirates today. Erik Bedard brings an 11.92 ERA and 2.383 WHIP when playing on the road for Houston. He is averaging a mere 2.8 innings per start. He is facing a Pirates team that has averaged 5.1 runs per game over the past 7 games and has a .272 batting average in that same span of games. For Pittsburgh AJ Burnett will take the mound. Burnett has a 2.73 ERA on the season and he has 72 strikeouts in 56 innings pitched. He should have no problems picking up a win today against this Houston team that has a .234 batting average against right handed starters.

The oddsmakers are not giving these teams enough credit in regards to the total. The Dodgers are hitting .289 in their past 7 games and they have a .353 on base percentage when playing on the road. If last night’s game is any indication it seems obvious that both of these teams will have no problem scoring runs. Chris Capuana will get the start for the Dodgers and he brings with him an 8.03 ERA with a 1.865 WHIP. Those numbers have come against Miami, Arizona and San Diego, three teams that have not done much to impress offensively this season. With Capuana facing a stacked Braves team today things could get ugly quickly for this left hander. Atlanta is at their best when facing a left handed starting pitcher. Their batting average is .254 and they have a .337 on base percentage. They are scoring 4.6 runs per game against lefties and they have the luxury of facing a very soft pitcher in Chris Capuana. With the Dodgers numbers from the batter’s box improving dramatically over their past 7 games and the Braves facing a weak pitching rotation I expect this to be another high scoring game. The over is 7-1 in Atlanta’s last 8 when their opponent scores 5 runs or more in their previous game and it is 4-0 in the Dodgers last 4 games as a road underdog.

Don’t let Scott Feldman’s ERA fool you into thinking this game is going to be a pitcher’s duel. Feldman has a 10.80 career ERA against the Mets with a 2.00 WHIP. Jeremy Hefner has not done much this season to inspire any confidence in favor of the under. Hefner is 5-2 to the over this season and he has a 0-4 record in 8 games pitched. Hefner’s ERA is 5.29 when pitching on the road. The Cubs bats have really turned on recently. They have a .292 batting average over their past 7 games and have scored an average of 5.1 runs per game in that same span. The Mets have also done a good job of putting runs on the board as they average 4.9 per game on the road this season. This matchup has some interesting trends in our favor. The over is 5-0 in Heffner’s last 5 starts when their opponent scores 2 runs or less in their previous game. The over is also 4-0 in the Cubs last 4 games as a home favorite and 7-0 in the Cubs last 7 games following a loss. Chicago is 5-0 to the over in the last 5 games during game 2 of a series. These trends combine for a perfect 21-0 (100%) angle in favor of the over.