The San Antonio Spurs are in a do-or-die situation here, entering this contest at a 3-2 hole in the series following an 18-point loss in Game 5 of the series on Tuesday.

They're a solid 33-10 SU (25-18) ATS at home on the season while the Denver Nuggets are 21-22 SU (18-25 ATS) on the road and I expect the home team to force an all decisive Game 7.

The Nuggets had lost 14 straight matchups at San Antonio before coming through with a Game 4 triumph at AT&T Center. To repeat that will be incridibly difficult against this well-coached San Antonio, team, and I expect Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to have his team better prepared for this than last time out. "They just outplayed us in every facet," Popovich said. "We missed a lot at the rim early, or it could have been a much more competitive first half. We've got to have more guys playing well for sure."

Spurs will be ready and fired up, and I don't see them getting knocked out in front of the home town crowd.

10* play on San Antonio Spurs.

The under is 18-5 in games involving the Cincinnati Reds here in 2019 following a 3-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. We cashed in BIG with the under as our MLB Total of the Week on that contest, and I expect another low-scoring affair here in the finale of this three-game series.

Cincinnati right-hander Luis Castillo (2-1, 1.47 ERA) has been on fire through the first couple of weeks this season. His 1.27 ERA is best among all starters across the major leagues and he has not given up more than two runs in any of his five starts.

The Braves turn to right-hander Julio Teheran (2-2, 5.61 ERA) who's not been quite as sharp, but he's shown some good stuff and has recorded 29 Ks through 25 2/3 innings of work. Teheran has alternated good and bad starts, and I like him to bounce back with a solid performance after surrendering five runs at Cleveland last time out.

Under is 11-3 in Braves last 14 when their opponent scores two runs or fewer in their previous game and 9-1 in Castillo's last 10 starts overall.

8* play on UNDER.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are playing great baseball at the moment and an 11-2 rout of the Pirates on Wednesday marked their eighth win in 10 games. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, is trending in the opposite direction with four straight defeats, and here it'll face D'Backs righty Zack Greinke (3-1, 4.60 ERA) who owns a 1.03 ERA in 13 career appearances against the Pirates. We can also note that Greinke has posted a 2.81 ERA through four quality starts in a row.

Jameson Taillon (1-2, 3.12 ERA) will toe the slab for the Pirates. He's coming off a solid outing, but I don't see him being able to shut down an Arizona team which has scored 25 runs through the first three games of this series.

Pirates are 1-7 in their last 8 home games vs. a team with a winning record. Diamondbacks are 8-0 in their last 8 road games vs. a team with a winning record.

Diamondbacks are 11-1 in the last 12 meetings and a perfect 9-0 in the last 9 meetings in Pittsburgh.

8* play on Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Houston Rockets own a 3-1 lead in this Western Conference playoffs series and had won and covered the spread in each of the first three games before taking a 107-91 loss at Salt Lake City Monday night.

It's actually not all that the Rockets had a letdown game after three strong performances, and while the Jazz may have been allowed to extend the series for another game, I'm very confident this series ends tonight.

Utah has been completely outmatched in both games at Houston, losing by 32 and 20 points. Rockets are 7-0-1 ATS in their last eight home games and 4-1-1 in the last six meetings with the Jazz.

8* play on Houston Rockets.

The Philadelphia Phillies are 17-6 in their last 23 games after losing the first two games of a series and look primed to bounce back with a big performance here following a pair of losses to the NY Mets.

Tonight right-hander Vince Velasquez (0-0, 2.55 ERA) will toe the slab for Philadelphia. Velasquez owns a poor 1-4 record with a less than spectacular 4.58 ERA in eight career starts against the Mets, but note that the 26-year-old struck out a season-high eight while holding the Rockies to two runs over 5 2/3 innings last time out.

The Mets counter with Jason Vargas (1-0, 9.58 ERA) who had been tagged with eight runs over just 1 1/3 innings in his last two appearances before throwing four frames of one-run ball at St. Louis last time out. The veteran left-hander did, however, give up three free passes and owns a 2.32 WHIP on the season.

Vargas has surrendered three homers over just 10 1/3 innings of work. I expect the Phillies bats to do plenty of damage here as they seek to deny the home team a sweep of the series.

Free pick on Philadelphia Phillies.

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The Atlanta Braves picked up a 7-6 triumph here at Great American Ball Park in the opener of a three-game set Tuesday night. It was a rare slugfest involving the Cincinnati Reds who are 17-5 to the under on the season, and I think runs will come at a premium here in Game 2 of the series.

Reds' right-hander Tanner Roark (1-0, 3.60 ERA) has allowed just two runs with 10 Ks over 10 2/3 innings over his last two starts. He owns a respectable 3.09 ERA in 23 career matchups with the Braves who counter with Mike Soroka (0-1, 1.80 ERA). The 6-foot-4 Canadian has made just one start this season, but it was a solid one when he held the D'Backs to one run in five innings of a 4-1 loss on Thursday. Soroka started the season with Triple-A Gwinnett and will be eager for another solid outing in order to earn a spot in the rotation.

Under is 8-3 in Reds last 11 home games. Under is 16-5 in Braves last 21 road games vs. a team with a losing record.

10* play on UNDER.

The Colorado Rockies took a 6-3 loss to the Washington Nationals on Tuesday. They have been hot lately though winning seven of their last nine, and I like the price we get on the home team to bounce back with a big win here at Coors Field Wednesday night.

The Rockies hand the ball to German Marquez (2-1, 2.25 ERA). The 24-year old right-hander allowed 10 hits and a pair of walks against the Phillies last time out but managed to limit the damage to two runs over five innings. He had been much sharper in previous turns here in 2019 with just 13 hits and six walks allowed over 27 frames and owns a 0.97 WHIP. Marquez has a total of 30 Ks over 32 innings on the season and I expect him to have a solid outing here.

The Nats turn to Anibal Sanchez (0-2, 4.91 ERA) who has yet to earn a victory this season. Sanchez gave up four walks in five frames last time out and has struggled with his command all season. The 24-year old right-hander has a bloated 1.55 WHIP which could spell big trouble at a hitters park like Coors Field.

8* play on Colorado Rockies.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the brink of elimination here with Portland Trail Blazers heading into Tuesday night's matchup with a 3-1 lead in the series. The Blazers picked up a 111-98 triumph at Oklahoma City last time out and I don't see them losing here in front of the home town crowd.

OKC's Russell Westbrook shot a weak 5-of-21 from the floor in the last game while the Thunder simply have no answer to Portland's dominant backcourt duo of CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard who combined for 51 points and 11 assists last time out.

Blazers are 34-9 SU (26-16-1 ATS) home at Moda Center on the season and 34-15-3 ATS in their last 52 games following a straight up win of more than 10 points. Thunder are 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a double-digit loss at home and 1-4 ATS in their last five road games.

10* play on Portland Trail Blazers.

The San Diego Padres snapped a six-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over Cincinnati on Sunday. They got Monday off, but I think they'll keep the momentum going with a win here against the Seattle Mariners Tuesday night.

The Mariners had won three on the bounce before taking an 8-6 loss to the Halos at LA on Sunday. Tonight they'll hand the ball to rookie right-hander Erik Swanson (0-1, 3.38 ERA) for his third major league appearance and second major league start. Swanson was solid last time out when he held Cleveland to one run two hits through six innings, but Seattle still lost 1-0. Let down game for the 25-year-old tonight?

Swanson will be opposed by Padres left-hander Nick Margevicius (1-2, 3.60 ERA) who was roughed up by Colorado in his last start, but he had been excellent through his first three outings posting a 1.69 ERA through 16 innings of work. Margevicius owns a 19-2 K/BB ratio through 20 frames in the big leagues. "When he's hitting his spots, Nick is difficult to square up," Padres manager Andy Green said recently of Margevicius. "And he's pretty good at hitting his spots."

Padres are 10-2 in their last 12 games following an off day. Mariners are 1-5 in their last 6 games following an off day.

8* play on San Diego Padres.

The Texas Rangers and the Oakland Athletics combined for seven runs with the total closing at 8.5 runs on Monday. I think this will be another relatively low-scoring affair.

Rangers' right-hander Lance Lynn (2-1, 4.44 ERA) have conceded just five runs through his last three starts, covering a total of 18 2/3 innings. This will be his first career meeting with the A's who counter with right-hander Frankie Montas (3-1, 2.70 ERA) who held Houston to one run over 6 1/3 frames last time out. Under is 5-1 in Montas' last six starts overall.

Under is 7-2-1 in Athletics last 10 after allowing 2 runs or less in their previous game. Under is 5-1 in Rangers last 6 road games.

8* play on UNDER.