Line off the board
White Sox at Cubs – The uncertainty of wind speed and direction at Wrigley Field has kept this game’s total from being posted.
Lines to keep an eye on
Lakers at Celtics – The total for this game has plummeted from an opener of 189 down to 187. Each of the last two games in the Finals went UNDER the total.
San Antonio Silver Stars at Atlanta Dream – This game’s total has dropped to 161.5 after opening two points higher. These teams have each played to the OVER in their last two games.
Astros at Yankees – With phenom Phil Hughes on the bump New York opened as -325 favorites but that moneyline is available as low as -300 in some markets.
Pirates at Tigers – Most sportsbooks have moved the total in this game to 9 after opening at 8.5.
Nationals at Indians – The Tribe opened as +175 underdogs but a few shops have them listed as high as +197.
Weather report
(Forecasts are extracted from Weather.com the night before the game.)
Nationals at Indians – The forecast calls for a 30 percent chance of precipitation.
Braves at Twins – A 30-50 percent chance of rain is expected throughout the game.
Royals at Reds – The forecast calls for a 40-50 percent chance of rain.
Blue Jays at Rockies – The National Weather Service forecast calls for a 40-50 percent chance of precipitation.
Mets at Orioles – A 30 percent chance of rain is called for throughout the game.
Who’s hot
The Indians had won three games in a row going into Saturday.
Los Angeles (WNBA) is 3-0 SU and ATS in its last three versus Minnesota.
The Giants are 10-3 in their last 13 home games.
Who’s not
Pittsburgh had lost six straight games going into Saturday.
The Diamondbacks have lost 15 of their last 18 games.
Minnesota (WNBA) is 0-3 SU and ATS in its last three games.
Key stat
115-67 – Record of MLB favorites since May 30. The 63.2 winning percentage is a great mark but could be skewed due to high-priced favorites.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Lakers center Andrew Bynum declared himself ready to play in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Bynum had his injured knee drained early Friday. The big man sat out all but two minutes of the second half of Game 4 on Thursday night with pain in his injured knee. He underwent an MRI exam on his knee Friday that showed no new damage. Analysts have speculated that Phil Jackson limited Bynum in Game 4 so he could be more rested for Sunday’s matchup.
Game of the day
Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics (-3, 187)
Notable quotable
"I was thinking of an electrode, something that would really be a stimulus. He looked uncomfortable [Thursday] night and he got a couple double whammies to go against him, Garnett out there for a while and then he had Davis coming at him and things kind of snowballed on him. Lamar struggled two years ago in this series in this matchup, and he has to break through kind of that mental gap."
-- Lakers coach Phil Jackson said on how he needs Lamar Odom to get going in the NBA Finals.
Tips and notes
- Bettors know about Seattle’s struggles scoring runs, but now they should be concerned about players exerting maximum effort. A recent report said that manager Don Wakamatsu was losing control of the clubhouse in light of the Ken Griffey Jr. retirement, the Chone Figgins batting order demotion and how the team has underachieved as a whole this season. Apparently some veteran teammates of Griffey’s were not happy about the way his career ended – being gently shoved out the door. As of Saturday, the Mariners had lost four straight and seven of their last eight games.
- After Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Doc Rivers said that his bench was cheering the loudest it had all playoffs – and the starters were sitting on it. Bench play from Nate Robinson and Glen Davis won that game for the Celtics and Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett said they didn’t want to go back in at the end of the game. Unselfish play is how Rivers characterized the effort and those are key words for bettors. Whichever team has won the rebound battle in the Finals has won the game. Phil Jackson is trying to reinvigorate Lamar Odom for Game 5 in hopes of slowing down Garnett and Davis because when Odom is on the Lakers are almost impossible to beat.
- It’s almost as if the White Sox perform better with their backs against the wall. Myriad souring events have transpired this week such as the GM and manager almost coming to blows during an argument and nearly every player on the team being put on the trading block. But Ozzie Guillen says chemistry is all good in his clubhouse and now Chicago has won four straight games (+4.41 units). It will likely take a lengthy winning streak for management to not still be looking to deal, or fire Guillen, but sometimes a tense week such as this can turn a team’s season around.
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