Michael Alexander

Rating: 2 Units

New York starter Masahiro Tanaka has allowed a single earned run or less in four of his five starts this year and his track record against the Angels is stellar: a 1.59 ERA in six career starts.  Los Angeles starter, Trevor Cahill has a miserable track record against the Yankees, and he’s already allowed as many homers in 2019 (through five starts) as he did in the 20 starts he had last year. 

Rating: 2 Units

The Spurs have been better at home all year than on the road. Denver has exceeded expectations this season, but it definitely struggled with consistency down the stretch. Note that the Nuggets are just 18-25 ATS on the road this year, while the Spurs are 14-5 ATS this season as a home favorite of six points or less.

Rating: 2 Units

There is only one other regular goaltender (the Islanders’ Robin Lehner) that has a higher save percentage in the first round than Bishop’s .945. Bishop stopped 47 of 48 shots in his team’s 2-1 OT win over the favored Predators in his most recent game.  The Blues are riding a hot rookie goaltender (Jordan Binnington), but the Stars have to be feeling pretty confident after taking three of four from the Blues in the regular season.

Rating: 2 Units

The Bruins come in off an exhausting series, but they’ve done well against Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, as he’s just 3-8 with a 3.90 GAA lifetime vs. Boston. The Bruins were 31-14 at home and were led by Tuukka Rask, who is 15-8 with a 2.32 GAA in Boston and who is 9-6 with a 2.67 GAA lifetime vs. Columbus. Columbus is only 18-38 in its last 56 as a road underdog in the +110 to +150 range, while Boston is 29-11 in its last 40 as a favorite in the -150 to -200 range.

Rating: 2 Units

Tigers starter Jordan Zimmerman, who is winless in five starts this year and lost three straight decisions. While Rick Porcello has hardly been any better for Boston, he did toss 5 2/3 solid innings in his last start (vs. a good Tampa Bay team) and the team won. The Tigers are 12-23 the previous three seasons after allowing 10 or more runs the previous game.

Rating: 2 Units

Arizonza starter, Greinke is 9-4 team-starts versus Pittsburgh and 7-1 last eight team-starts during April  while Pirates starter, Taillon is 2-5 last seven team-starts during April.