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Big Al's Daily Angle: NBA, NHL, MLB and UCL Previews and Odds - 05/08/2024

The Wednesday sports card features NBA, NHL, MLB, and UCL action.The National Basketball Association continues the playoff season with one game on TNT and truTV. The New York Knicks host the Indiana Pacers at 8:05 p.m. ET in the second game of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Knicks are a 4.5-point favorite, with the total set at 222.5 (all odds from DraftKings unless indicated otherwise).The National Hockey League playoffs continue with two games on ESPN. The Florida Panthers play at home against the Boston Bruins at 7:40 p.m. ET in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series. Florida is a -180 money-line favorite with an over/under of 5.5.The Edmonton Oilers travel to Vancouver to play the Canucks at 10:10 p.m. ET in the opening game of their Western Conference quarterfinals series. The Oilers are a -130 money-line road favorite with a total of 6. The Wednesday card in Major League Baseball has 16 games on its schedule. The Pittsburgh Pirates are at home against the Los Angeles Angels at 12:35 p.m. ET as a -135 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Philadelphia Phillies host the Toronto Blue Jays at 1:05 p.m. ET as a -155 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The Cleveland Guardians play at home against the Detroit Tigers at 1:10 p.m. ET as a -142 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. The St. Louis Cardinals are at home against the New York Mets at 1:15 p.m. ET as a -170 money-line favorite with a total of 7.5. The Kansas City Royals host the Milwaukee Brewers at 2:10 p.m. ET as a -130 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The San Diego Padres play in Chicago against the Cubs at 2:20 p.m. ET as a -122 money-line road favorite. The Los Angeles Dodgers play at home against the Miami Marlins at 3:10 p.m. ET as a -278 money-line favorite with a total of 9. The Texas Rangers are in Oakland to play the A’s at 3:37 p.m. ET, with the Rangers a -125 money-line road favorite at BetMGM with an over/under of 7.5 in the first game of their doubleheader. The second game of their doubleheader starts at 6:37 p.m. ET, with Texas a -125 money-line road favorite at BetMGM with a total of 8. The Arizona Diamondbacks visit Cincinnati to play the Reds on FS1 at 6:40 p.m. ET as a -115 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. The Baltimore Orioles play in Washington against the Nationals at 6:45 p.m. ET as a -175 money-line road favorite with a total of 9. The Tampa Bay Rays are at home against the Chicago White Sox at 6:50 p.m. ET as a -230 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. The New York Yankees host the Houston Astros at 7:05 p.m. ET as a -142 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The Atlanta Braves play at home against the Boston Red Sox at 7:20 p.m. ET as a -190 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. The Seattle Mariners are in Minnesota to play the Twins at 7:40 p.m. ET as a -118 money-line road favorite with a total of 7.5. The San Francisco Giants travel to Colorado to play the Rockies at 8:40 p.m. ET as a -175 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 10.The second leg of the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League concludes on CBS at 3 PM ET. Real Madrid is at home against Bayern Munich as a -0.5 goal-line favorite at BetMGM with a total of 3.

Big Al's Daily Angle: NBA, NHL, MLB and UCL Previews and Odds - 05/07/2024

The Tuesday sports card features NBA, NHL, MLB, and UCL action.The National Basketball Association continues the playoff season with two games on TNT and truTV. The Boston Celtics host the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7:10 p.m. ET in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Celtics are an 11.5-point favorite, with the total set at 208.5 (all odds from DraftKings unless indicated otherwise).The Oklahoma City Thunder play at home against the Dallas Mavericks at 9:40 p.m. ET in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series. The Thunder are a 3.5-point favorite with an over/under of 218.The National Hockey League playoffs continue with two games on ESPN. The Carolina Hurricanes travel to New York to play the Rangers at 7:10 p.m. ET in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Hurricanes are a -125 money-line road favorite with a total of 5.5. The Dallas Stars are at home against the Colorado Avalanche at 9:40 p.m. ET in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series. Dallas is a -125 money-line favorite with an over/under of 6.The Tuesday card in Major League Baseball has 15 games on its schedule. The Texas Rangers play in Oakland against the A’s at 3:37 p.m. ET. The Cleveland Guardians host the Detroit Tigers at 6:10 p.m. ET as a -130 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. Three more MLB games throw out the first pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. The Pittsburgh Pirates play at home against the Los Angeles Angels as a -135 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Philadelphia Phillies are at home against the Toronto Blue Jays as a -135 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The Arizona Diamondbacks are in Cincinnati against the Reds as a -130 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9. The Baltimore Orioles visit the Washington Nationals at 6:45 p.m. ET as a -205 money-line road favorite with a total of 8.5. The Tampa Bay Rays host the Chicago White Sox at 6:50 p.m. ET as a -245 money-line favorite with a total of 8. The New York Yankees play at home against the Houston Astros on TBS at 7:05 p.m. ET as a -115 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. The Atlanta Braves are at home against the Boston Red Sox at 7:20 p.m. ET as a -175 money-line favorite with a total of 9. Three more MLB games start at 7:40 p.m. ET. The Chicago Cubs host the San Diego Padres as a -148 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Minnesota Twins play at home against the Seattle Mariners as a -148 money-line favorite with a total of 8. The Kansas City Royals are at home against the Milwaukee Brewers as a -135 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. The St. Louis Cardinals host the New York Mets at 7:45 p.m. ET as a -120 money-line favorite with a total of 8.The San Francisco Giants play in Colorado against the Rockies at 8:40 p.m. ET as a -155 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 10.5. The Los Angeles Dodgers play at home against the Miami Marlins at 10:10 p.m. ET as a -325 money-line favorite with a total of 8.The second leg of the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League begins on Paramount+ at 3 PM ET. Paris Saint-Germain is at home against Borussia Dortmund as a -1 goal-line favorite at BetMGM with an over/under of 3. 

American League Report

Earlier, I took a look at how things were shaping up in the National League. Now, I'll do the same for the American League. I've paid some extra attention to Seattle and Baltimore, a pair of teams which I discussed before the season. I've also included a long-shot Cy Young Award pick you might want to take a look at.  Orioles FlyingPrior to the start of the season, I stated that I was high on the Baltimore Orioles. At the time, they were 12-1 to win the World Series. (They're down to 9-1 now.) The Orioles have a 23-11 record and are currently battling the Yankees for the top spot in the American League East. There's a whole lot of baseball still to be played but they're currently looking in pretty good shape to make the playoffs. The offseason pickup of Corbin Burnes (see Cy Young odds below) has paid early dividends.  Mariner ReportSeattle was another team which I was big on prior to the season. I said that I thought that the Mariners would finish with more than their projected total of 86 wins. I also said that that I thought they had a solid shot at winning the division. At the time, the line was +300 for them to do so. So far, so good. The Mariners 19-15 record is fairy underwhelming. The best news, however, is that Houston is just 12-22. It's too early to count out the Astros but it sure is nice to have an early 7-game lead on them. The Seattle pitching remains excellent. Check out the Cy Young odds below and you'll find three of the Mariner starters currently in the running for the best pitcher in the American League.  Playoff PictureThings are less clear in the American League than they are in the National League. At least, that's the way that I see it. Either the Yankees or the Orioles should win the East. The one which doesn't will likely earn a Wildcard spot. Loaded as always, the other three teams in the division, Toronto, Boston and Tampa all also remain hopeful for a Wildcard spot. The Central and the West are up for grabs. The Guardians and Twins are the front-runners in the Central but the Royals and Tigers aren't far behind. The only thing for certain is that the White Sox are out of the running. They're terrible. The Mariners and Rangers are fighting for first in the West. The Astros got off to a terrible start but they've still got the talent to turn things around. The A's have been surprisingly competitive but won't be able to keep it up. The Angels are lousy. So, we've got the Yankees and Orioles likely to make it and 10 other teams who will be fighting it out for the other four playoff spots. That should make for an exciting summer! Cy Young OddsThe American League Cy Young field is wide open. Burnes and Skubal are the front-runners for a reason. But if looking for a long-shot, at +2200, Berrios looks pretty good. He's 4-2 with a 1.44 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. That's the best ERA in baseball, entering his start on Tuesday May 7th. The Jays haven't really played up to their potential yet either. If they start swinging the bats better, Berrios may benefit. Here are the current top 10 candidates, the odds courtesy of Draft Kings. Skubal +250 Burnes +400Ragans +900Lopez +1500Gilbert +1500Kirby +1600Castillo +1800Ryan +2000Berrios +2200Gausman +2500

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