Fans look forward to the Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers series every summer but if you asked Don Mattingly, he would have preferred this series to take place in April
Today’s sports betting feature looks at baseball betting, Game 6 of the NHL Finals and our early prediction for the Miami Heat vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
After being held hitless Friday in the series opener at Seattle, the Los Angeles Dodgers unleashed the hounds on an unsuspecting Mariner pitching staff for 16 runs on 25 hits. It was the exclamation point on a 7-3 road trip and sports betting sites are listing the Dodgers (-107) as a small home favorite vs. the Angels.
The cobwebs have officially been cleared on a slow start to the Angels’ season and with the help of the Mile High air, the club scored 28 points over the weekend to extend its road winning streak to nine-straight.
Mike Trout, Torri Hunter and Albert Pujols hit .548 against Colorado with 16 RBI and they’ll face left-hander Chris Capuano (8-2, 2.82 ERA) tonight who should be able to slow the train, if not derail it completely. Garrett Richards (1-0, 1.13 ERA) is coming off his first career win and this is his first time facing the Dodgers.
AROUND THE HORN
The Blue Jays salvaged a split in their six-game road trip with yesterday’s 12-4 win over the Braves and they have Brandon Morrow (7-3, 2.90 ERA) on the hill today against the surging Nationals but the question is whether Toronto’s offense can carry some of that swagger into Rogers Centre.
Toronto is 1-3 this season in their first game back from a road trip and the only win was May 28 vs. Baltimore following a terrible 1-5 road trip (they won game 1, lost the next five in a row). The Blue Jays have been outscored 22-14 in their first game back from a road trip.
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ICE TIME
The Los Angeles Kings’ perfect playoff road record was spoiled Saturday when the Devils backed up their strong Game 4 effort with a 2-1 win to claw within one game in the Cup Final. Sports betting odds for Game 6 heavily favor the Kings (-154) but we cashed our latest ticket on the under and will stick with that approach for Game 6.
– The Kings have a recent record of 3 overs and 17 unders against non-conference opponents.
– New Jersey’s recent inter-conference mark is 6 overs and 14 unders
– All five games in this series have stayed under the total and the Kings vs. Devils have played under the total nine of ten times since February, 2009.
– In Stanley Cup Finals since 1996, the Devils have a record of 5 overs and 18 unders with a combined 4.1 total goals scored per game
New Jersey has played under the total 7-straight times after holding opponents to one goal or less in back-to-back games and the goaltending at both ends continues to exceed industry standards. The total at 5 Dimes is 4.5 Under -115 and that’s where the EveryEdge money is going tonight.
Pick: Take the Under
LOOK INTO THE FUTURES – HEAT vs. THUNDER
It seemed like every NBA betting debate during the past month included a tongue in cheek reference to what “David Stern wanted” and you know what they say, “Whatever Davey wants, he’s gonna get it!”
The Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder NBA odds for Game 1 list the home town Thunder as a 5-point favorite with a total of 195. For the series, Oklahoma City is -175 and the Heat is paying back at a tempting price of +155.
Early info from sports handicapping sites showed 65-percent action on the Thunder at -4.5 and they are 2-1 SU/ATS in Game 1 through the first three rounds but the pointspread was a key factor against Dallas and San Antonio.
When considering your bets, think back to Game 1 of the 2011 NBA Finals when the Heat hosted the Mavericks. The game stayed well under the posted total of 188.5 and there were only 33 first quarter points and 87 first-half points. 5 Dimes offers the first-half odds at Thunder -3 and 98 and that’s our first play of the Finals.
Pick: Take the Heat vs. Thunder Under 98 in the first-half
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