Our 2* STRONG Yankees selection was an easy Winner as they clobbered the Orioles 15-3 behind a solid effort by Carlos Rodon (6 innings, 2 runs). But our NBA plays did not go as well with the Pacers and Clippers coming up short. Our 2* STRONG Indiana -7.5 release was over quickly when the Pacers apparently forgot what time the game started, as they scored all of 13 points in the 1st quarter, which led to a 17 point deficit. Unfortunately they ended up winning 119-118 in OT but that did not do us any good. Indiana wins the series 4-1. In the late game our 2* STRONG Clippers apparently forgot how to play defense as they allowed the Nuggets to shoot 17-33 from deep in a 115-131 defeat. LA had no answer for Jamal Murray who dropped 43 on them. Denver now leads the series 3-2 as the teams head back to LA for Game 6. Dropping 2 Units brings our rolling 64 day record to 101-71 for PLUS 95.77 UNITS.
2* STRONG – (MLB) Yankees -165 (15-3) WIN
2* STRONG – (NBA) Indiana -7.5 (119-118) LOSS
2* STRONG- Clippers ML -115 (115-131) LOSS
2* STRONG – (MLB) Yankees -165: The Yanks lost a tough one last night 4-3 to these Orioles leaving 9 runners on base and striking out 15 times. Look for the tables to turn tonight as New York has a serious starting pitching advantage. Rodon started the year rough but has come on of late allowing ZERO earned runs in his last 13 innings versus Tampa Bay and Cleveland. And tonight he has the good fortune of facing an Oriole squad that ranks as MLB’s WORST lineup with RISP and against left-handers. On the other side we have Kyle Gibson making his season debut after missing all of spring training and struggling in his minor league starts. He should have a hard time with this powerful Yankee lineup this evening. The Orioles are just 2-6 in their last eight games and we believe it will be 2-7 after tonight.
2* STRONG – (NBA) Clippers ML -120: Here we go again with the Clippers as we have had HIGH STAR plays on them in 3 games this series and are 3-0. Saturday the Clippers fell behind by as many as 22 early in the 4th Quarter before a huge rally got them the lead in the last minute, only to fall just short. Once again this comes down to the Clips being deep and balanced versus Denver essentially playing with no bench (scored 10 points in the last 2 games). The Nuggets were very tired in the 4th Quarter on Saturday when LA rallied and we look for tired legs again in the 2nd half tonight. In addition, Denver has had serious issues at HOME in the last two months going 2-14 ATS in its last 16 home games. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” as the Clips win again in Denver and take command of the series.
2* STRONG – (NBA) Pacers -7.5: The Bucks are up against it here being down 3-1 in the series and having to go on the road to face a tough Indiana squad. With Lillard now done for good we are not sure how much fight the Bucks have left in them. The fact is this Indiana team is young, deep, balanced and hungry and just plain better than Milwaukee. The Bucks and Giannis simply do have the depth they have had in the past few seasons with veterans like Middleton and Beasley and others having been replaced by cheaper, less quality players. The deck was stacked against Milwaukee in this series from the start and they have looked a step slow and outclassed. This matchup is eerily similar to last season when Indiana buried Milwaukee 120-95 in Game 6 to win the series. We look for the Pacers to move on by double digits.