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Stephen Nover |
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I have had only two losing season in pro football in my handicapping career. I have the best sources in the business thanks to more than 25 years as a sportswriter, handicapper and analyst. |
| FREE PICKS | ||
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
| MLB | Jun 27, 2022 Dodgers vs. Rockies |
Rockies +1½ +121 at LINEPROS |
in 9h |
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Great come-from-behind road victory by the Dodgers against the Braves Sunday night. But that 11-inning victory could leave LA vulnerable for this matchup against the Rockies in Colorado. The Rockies are far more competitive at home where they are .500 compared to a 12-23 road record. Colorado swept three games from the Padres during its previous home series. Dodgers starter Tyler Anderson has been highly impressive this season, but he has shown signs of cooling off. His ERA is 4.41 during his past three starts. That holds true, too, for Rockies starter Chad Kuhl. He's 4-5 with a 3.95 ERA. However, Kuhl has pitched better at Coors Field with a 2-2 record and 3.29 ERA there this season. |
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| YESTERDAY'S PLAYS | ||
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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MLB | Jun 26, 2022 Phillies vs Padres |
Padres -141 at William Hill |
Lost $141.0 |
| Play Type: Premium | ||
| In Yu we trust. Yu Darvish can run hot and cold. Right now he's great at home with a 4-1 record and 1.34 ERA at Petco Park. He's in tremendous form, too, going 3-0 with a 0.82 ERA during his last three starts. Darvish should continue to dominate facing a strikeout-prone Phillies lineup that is now without superstar Bryce Harper, who suffered a broken thumb after being hit with a pitch last night. Harper was batting .318 with 15 homers and 48 RBI's in 64 games. The Padres get to tee off on righty Kyle Gibson, who is 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA on the road. Gibson has yielded four homers during his last three starts. San Diego is 7-2 in its last nine home games when going against a righty starter. | ||
| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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MLB | Jun 26, 2022 Blue Jays vs Brewers |
Blue Jays -140 at Mirage |
Lost $140.0 |
| Play Type: Premium | ||
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Injuries to stud pitchers Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta and more recently Aaron Ashby have taken a toll on the Brewers' starting rotation not to mention a hit on their won/lost record. Milwaukee is 9-15 in its last 24 games. The Brewers are forced to turn to Chi Chi Gonzalez. How desperate is that? Here are Gonzalez's ERA figures during his past five seasons in the big leagues - 7.36 this season, 6.46 last year, 6.86 in 2020, 5.29 in 2019 and 8.71 in 2016. I don't see Gonzalez keeping the Brewers in this game against an elite Toronto offense that ranks fourth in batting average and fifth in homers. The Blue Jays are averaging 7.5 runs in their last six games. Jose Berrios has largely disappointed this season. But he's a huge upgrade on Gonzalez. He can hold down a tepid Brewers attack that ranks 25th in batting average. |
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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MLB | Jun 26, 2022 Dodgers vs Braves |
Dodgers -113 at William Hill |
Won $100 |
| Play Type: Top Premium | ||
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This series has taken on added significance with Freddie Freeman returning to Atlanta. The Braves got past the Dodgers, 5-3, on Saturday. Prior to that, though, the Dodgers had won five of six, winning those games by an average of 4.8 runs. LA has a huge edge in this matchup, not reflective of this short line with a pitching matchup of Tony Gonsolin versus rookie Spencer Strider. Gonsolin has been the Dodgers' best pitcher with a 9-0 record, 1.58 ERA and 0.82 WHIP. The Dodgers are giving up the fewest runs per game, while scoring the most runs per game. The league is starting to figure out Strider, who was clobbered for six earned runs in just 3 2/3 innings against the Giants during his last start this past Tuesday. |
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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MLB | Jun 26, 2022 Pirates vs Rays |
Rays -1½ +110 at circa |
Won $110 |
| Play Type: Free | ||
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Shane McClanahan for American League Cy Young Award winner? Why not? It's easy to make a case for him. The lefty leads the league with a 1.81 ERA and also has the lowest WHIP at 0.85. He was No. 1 in strikeouts, too, until getting passed by Corbin Burnes, who pitched yesterday. How are the Pirates going to touch McClanahan? They're not. Pittsburgh has the third-lowest batting average and ranks 28th in runs. One of the Pirates' few respectable run producers, Ke'Bryan Hayes, has missed the last two games due to a shoulder injury. Pittsburgh has hung in against the Rays losing by only one run during the first two games of this series. I don't see the Pirates keeping this one close, though, with Roansy Contreras going against the dominant McClanahan. Contreras has a 5.30 road ERA. He's surrendered a home run in each of his last three starts. The Pirates have only one dependable relief pitcher, closer David Bednar. And he failed the Pirates in Saturday's loss. That has to hurt the Pirates' fragile psyche. Oh, yes, the Pirates are 13-41 the past 54 times they've faced a lefty starter on the road. There's a chance the Rays get Wander Franco back today, too, from a quad injury that has caused him to miss 23 games. |
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SERVICE BIO |
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Sports gaming writer for Las Vegas Review-Journal 1984-1997. Professional handicapper since 1999. Author of three books - Las Vegas Sportsbeat, Sportsgaming Beat, Winning Fantasy Football. Taught sports betting at UNLV. Former co-host of the Sunday Night Stardust Line sports gaming radio show. Was part-time oddsmaker and analyst for Roxy Roxborough. Recognized NFL expert with 21 of 23 winning seasons. |
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