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Big Al's Daily Angle: NBA, NHL, MLB and EPL Previews and Odds - 04/24/2024

The Wednesday sports card features NBA, NHL, MLB, and EPL action.The National Basketball Association continues the playoff season with two games. The Boston Celtics host the Miami Heat on TNT and truTV at 7:10 p.m. ET as a 14.5-point favorite, with the total set at 202.5 (all odds from DraftKings unless indicated otherwise). The Oklahoma City Thunder play at home against the New Orleans Pelicans on TNT and truTV at 9:40 p.m. ET as a 7.5-point favorite with an over/under of 210.5. The National Hockey League playoffs continue with three games. The Toronto Maple Leafs are at home against the Boston Bruins on ESPN at 7:10 p.m. ET as a -112 money-line favorite with a total of 5.5. The Dallas Stars host the Vegas Golden Knights on ESPN as a -170 money-line favorite with an over/under of 5.5. The Edmonton Oilers play at home against the Los Angeles Kings on TBS at 10:10 p.m. ET as a -192 money-line favorite with a total of 6. The Wednesday card in Major League Baseball has 15 games on its schedule. The Arizona Diamondbacks travel to St. Louis to play the Cardinals at 1:15 p.m. ET as a -125 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8. The San Francisco Giants are at home against the New York Mets at 3:45 p.m. ET as a -135 money-line favorite with a total of 8. The Baltimore Orioles play in Los Angeles against the Angels at 4:07 p.m. ET as a -130 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9. The Cleveland Guardians host the Boston Red Sox at 6:10 p.m. ET as a -135 money-line favorite. Two more MLB games throw out the first pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. The Cincinnati Reds play at home against the Philadelphia Phillies as a -115 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The Milwaukee Brewers are in Pittsburgh to play the Pirates. The Los Angeles Dodgers visit Washington to play the Nationals at 6:45 p.m. ET as a -185 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9.5. The Tampa Bay Rays are at home against the Detroit Tigers at 6:50 p.m. ET as a -115 money-line favorite with a total of 8. The New York Yankees host the Oakland A’s at 7:05 p.m. ET as a -218 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Atlanta Braves play at home against the Miami Marlins at 7:20 p.m. ET as a -230 money-line favorite with a total of 9. Three more MLB games throw out the first pitch at 7:40 p.m. ET. The Chicago Cubs are at home against the Houston Astros as a -115 money-line favorite. The Toronto Blue Jays play in Kansas City against the Royals as a -122 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9. The Minnesota Twins host the Chicago White Sox as a -192 money-line favorite with a total of 6.5. The Texas Rangers play at home against the Seattle Mariners at 8:05 p.m. ET as a -120 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. The San Diego Padres are in Colorado to play the Rockies at 8:40 p.m. ET. Matchweek 34 in the English Premier League continues with four matches. Bournemouth is at Wolverhampton at 2:45 p.m. ET in a pick ‘em match with a total of 3. Three more EPL matches begin at 3:00 p.m. ET. Crystal Palace are at home against Newcastle United on the USA Network in a pick ‘em match with an over/under of 3. Liverpool visits Everton as a -1.5 goal-line road favorite with a total of 3. Manchester United hosts Sheffield United as a -1.5 goal-line favorite with an over/under 3.5. 

MLB Around the Horn: April 23rd

We're almost a month into the MLB season so it's a good time to take stock of what we've seen so far and what to expect moving forward. Here's a look at some news and notes from around the diamond entering the final week of April.Snake-bittenThe Diamondbacks have gotten off to a slow start following their improbable run to the World Series last October. Arizona checks in 11-13 through 24 games with their longest winning streak lasting only two games (they've accomplished that on three occasions). It's hard to pin the Snakes struggles on their offense as they've averaged 5.6 runs per game while recording a respectable .730 OPS. It's been another story for Arizona's pitching staff and the bullpen in particular. Note that Arizona relievers have combined to record a 4.18 ERA and 1.37 WHIP with only four saves converted and six blown. The D'Backs have five games remaining on their current 10-game road trip, following their current stop in St. Louis with a three-game Interleague series in Seattle. Rocky startIt's setting up as another long season in Denver as the Rockies are off to a miserable 5-18 start. Things have gone from bad to worse over the last week as Colorado has dropped six of its last seven games, averaging a putrid 1.7 runs per contest over that stretch. That's just the tip of the iceberg as the Rockies pitching staff has been as bad as advertised, allowing opposing hitters to record a .368 OBP and an .813 OPS. Through 23 games, the Rockies bullpen has converted just one save. They've only blown a pair of save opportunities but that's only because the majority of their games haven't been close. If it weren't for the fact that they play in one of the nicer ballparks in baseball you have to wonder whether fans would still be willing to pay to watch this long-term losing franchise.Boston StrongNot much was expected from the Red Sox this season but so far, so good as they're off to a 13-10 start including six wins in their last nine games. A bullpen that was thought to be one of the weakest in baseball has been a strong point with Boston relievers combining to post a 3.76 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. In fact, the pitching staff as a whole has limited opposing hitters to a .222 batting average and .610 OPS. A three-game series in Cleveland is up next before a six-game Interleague homestand against the Cubs and Giants. Philly fanaticsWe've seen this story play out before with the Phillies proving to be regular season warriors, checking in 15-8 through their first 23 games. The question will always be whether they can thrive in the postseason but that's a story for another day. For now, Philadelphia is red hot, riding a seven-game winning streak into the second game of a four-game set in Cincinnati (it won the opener 7-0). Of note, the Phillies are now 138-107 (+11.4 net games) in their last 245 night games and 67-48 (+12.3 net games) in their last 115 contests against left-handed starting pitchers. They'll face a southpaw in Reds starter Andrew Abbott on Tuesday. 

Big Al's Daily Angle: NBA, NHL, MLB and EPL Previews and Odds - 04/23/2024

The Tuesday sports card features NBA, NHL, MLB, and EPL action.The National Basketball Association continues the playoff season with three games. The Minnesota Timberwolves host the Phoenix Suns on TNT and truTV at 7:40 p.m. ET as a 3-point favorite, with the total set at 211.5 (all odds from DraftKings unless indicated otherwise). The Milwaukee Bucks play at home against the Indiana Pacers on NBA TV at 8:40 p.m. ET as a 1-point favorite with an over/under of 220.5. The Dallas Mavericks travel to Los Angeles to play the Clippers on TNT and truTV at 10:10 p.m. ET as a 2.5-point road favorite with a total of 215.5. The National Hockey League playoffs continue with four games. The New York Rangers are at home against the Washington Capitals on ESPN at 7:10 p.m. ET as a -278 money-line favorite with an over/under of 5.5. The Florida Panthers host the Tampa Bay Lightning on ESPN2 as a -185 money-line favorite with a total of 5.5. The Colorado Avalanche play in Winnipeg against the Jets on ESPN at 9:40 p.m. ET as a -112 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 6. The Vancouver Canucks play at home against the Nashville Predators on ESPN2 at 10:00 p.m. ET as a -162 money-line favorite with a total of 5.5. The Tuesday card in Major League Baseball has 15 games on its schedule. The Boston Red Sox are in Cleveland against the Guardians at 6:10 p.m. ET as a -115 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8.5. Two more MLB games throw out the first pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. The Philadelphia Phillies visit Cincinnati to play the Reds as a -130 money-line road favorite with a total of 8.5. The Pittsburgh Pirates are at home against the Milwaukee Brewers as a -112 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. The Los Angeles Dodgers play in Washington against the Nationals at 6:45 p.m. ET as a -205 money-line road favorite with a total of 10. The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Detroit Tigers at 6:50 p.m. ET as a -166 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. The New York Yankees play at home against the Oakland A’s at 7:05 p.m. ET as a -218 money-line favorite with a total of 8. The Atlanta Braves are at home against the Miami Marlins at 7:20 p.m. ET as a -250 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. Three more MLB games start at 7:40 p.m. ET. The Houston Astros are in Chicago to play the Cubs on TBS at 7:40 p.m. ET as a -115 money-line road favorite with a total of 10 (at BetMGM). The Toronto Blue Jays travel to Kansas City to play the Royals as a -125 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8. The Minnesota Twins host the Chicago White Sox as a -258 money-line favorite with a total of 7.5. The St. Louis Cardinals play at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks at 7:45 p.m. ET. The Seattle Mariners play in Texas against the Rangers at 8:05 p.m. ET as a -115 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9. The San Diego Padres are in Colorado to play the Rockies at 8:40 p.m. ET as a -166 money-line road favorite with a total of 10.5. The Baltimore Orioles visit Los Angeles to play the Angels at 9:38 p.m. ET as a -148 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The San Francisco Giants play at home against the New York Mets at 9:45 p.m. ET as a -155 money-line favorite with a total of 7.5.Matchweek 34 in the English Premier League continues with one match. Arsenal is at home against Chelsea on the USA Network at 3:00 p.m. ET as a -1 goal-line favorite at BetMGM with an over/under of 3.

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