Tuesday 8/4/20 handicapping service plays and expert predictions for MLB, NBA & NHL
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Hurricanes vs Rangers
TIME: 8:00 PM EST
PICK: Hurricanes -145
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VEGASSI
TUESDAY 8/4/2020
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Wild vs Canucks
TIME: 10:45 PM EST
PICK: OVER 5.5
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Chris Jordan
Tonight I'm delivering them as my free play, as I love the way their resiliency came through for us against the Cleveland Indians last night. Now the Reds have won three in a row, and it makes sense to ride them with this big plus-price.
It's hard to ignore what the Reds are doing offensively, as they've turned back a sluggish start in the win column - they're 5-5 - and are producing about 5.22 runs per game, which is 10th best in the league. That's much better than 2.6 runs per contest the Indians are scoring - which ranks dead last. Add to the Reds' win streak, is the Tribe bringing a four-game losing streak into this game, before the teams head to Cleveland to close the series.
The Reds are poised to produce as a big dog.
And once again the Tribe will play their two games against the Reds without manager Terry Francona in the dugout. Francona is dealing with a non-COVID-19-related medical issue and was at the Cleveland Clinic on Monday for tests. Sandy Alomar will be fine, it's just the distraction of it compounding what has been going on in baseball.
Once again, I won't bother insisting on listing the pitchers in this game - if that's still applicable at your book - but I don't mind seeing Tyler Mahle on the hill. The right-hander will be looking for his first decision, as he's in after giving up two runs on six hits over four innings on Tuesday against the Cubs. He seemed to struggle with his secondary pitches and couldn't put away hitters, so look for him to do better in this one and find his groove with his off-speed junk.
Take the Reds here, as they'll get to Cleveland's Shane Bieber.
3* REDS
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Jack Brayman
My free play for Tuesday night will be the Tampa Bay Rays over the Boston Red Sox. And given the line I'm looking at overnight, and the fact Boston is struggling right now, I'll lay the run line with the Rays.
Don't get me wrong, I know Tampa Bay is battling its own struggles right now, but given this one is at Tropicana Field, I think it will have no trouble snapping a five-game skid. This is the same team that opened the campaign 4-1, so it's fully capable of righting this ship now that it's back home.
The Rays should be able to get their offense going early, as Boston comes into this one with the league's third-highest ERA (5.79) and a league-worst starter ERA of 6.69, more than .30 points higher than the 29th-ranked Chicago White Sox.
That's all good news for Tampa Bay, which has struggled offensively and needs to find a way to snap out of its slump. The Rays are batting a collective .210, but at home that jumps to .236 - tied for 14th in the bigs. It's not that great, but it'll help with confidence.
Since every MLB wager on a run line or total auto-lists pitchers, I want you to be sure the two pitchers on your ticket, when making this play, are Boston's Nathan Eovaldi and Tampa Bay's Charlie Morton. If they are not the pitchers of record when making your play, disregard this play.
Morton is 5-1 with a 4.09 ERA in nine career starts against Boston. On the flipside, Eovaldi is 2-4 record with a 5.45 ERA in eight career appearances (six starts) against Tampa Bay.
Lay the run line with the Rays.
5* RAYS RUN LINE
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Bob Valentino
Rare NHL totals play as my Tuesday freebie is this Minnesota-Vancouver Game Two of the Qualifier to hold Under much the way Game One on Sunday did when the Wild blanked the Canucks, 3-0.
Before things got back underway in the pair of Hub-Cities, there were 12 exhibition games contested and all 12 of them held Under the total.
Saturday saw 5 games played and 4 of the 5 played Under the total.
On Sunday, another 5 games were placed in the record books and 4 of those 5 landed Under the total.
Monday? 6 games skated and 4 of them landed Under the total.
My math shows 28 games now in the Hub-Cities including those exhibition prep games and 24 have landed Under.
To give the Under a little more "juice" when the Wild and Canucks drop the puck against one another the Under is 3-1-1 for the past 5 showdowns.
Another NHL game, and another Under.
Minny-Vancouver Low for Tuesday.
4* MINNESOTA-VANCOUVER UNDER
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