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Streak for the Cash Picks, May 22 Analysis and Previews

Zachary Thompson — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:04:06 +0000

Three of today’s Streak for the Cash picks highlight the Eastern Conference Finals where the Indiana Pacers and point guard George Hill take on the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Wednesday’s Streak for the Cash board is full of baseball with another college game getting us started this morning and a full day of afternoon and evening MLB options. If hardball isn’t your preference, there are options from the NHL and NBA Playoffs as well as some early soccer picks from Romania, Turkey, and Switzerland. Here’s the picks I’ll be watching:

5/22 Streak Picks

10:30- Arkansas: The Razorbacks face the Rebels after Ole Miss won a play-in game yesterday. This is a double-elimination tournament, but the Rebs had to play with it all on the line yesterday. They can take comfort in the fact that they took two of three from the Hogs during the season, but I’ll still take Arkansas since their pitchers will be more rested and they are ranked a bit higher coming out of the stacked SEC. Confidence Meter: 4 (out of 10)

May 12, 2013; Queens, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey (33) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/The Star-Ledger via USA TODAY Sports Images

1:10- New York Mets: The only time I’ll take the Mets is if Matt Harvey gets the start. He does this afternoon, but he’s opposed by Mat Latos who has also been dealing early in the season. I’ll take the Mets to avoid the sweep at Citi Field behind their ace, but its not with much confidence since Latos has been good for the Reds and the Mets offense is struggling. There is also a chance that weather could factor in to this outcome as well. I’d stay away if possible. Confidence Meter: 3

1:10- Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers are the better pick of the 1:10 starts in my opinion as they face the Brewers in the rubber game of their three-game set. The Brewers beat former-teammate Zack Grienke in game two last night after losing to Clayton Kershaw in the first game. Today its Hyun-Jin Ryu who has been pitching well (4-2, 3.42 ERA) against Wily Peralta (3-4, 5.94 ERA). Both teams are a mess, but the Dodgers have the better starting pitcher so I’ll take them to get the green. Confidence Meter: 5

1:45- Fenerbahce: In the Turkish Cup Finals, Trabzonspor takes on Fenerbahce. Fenerbahce has some key suspensions including their starting keeper, but they’ve been the better team throughout the season and look to be headed to the Champions League with a second-place finish. They also won the most recent head-to-head meeting 3-0 at Trabzonspor, so I’ll take them cautiously for the win. Confidence Meter: 4

3:10- Colorado Rockies: The Rockes send Jorge De La Rosa to the mound as they look to take the rubber game of their three game set against he visiting D-Backs. Arizona counters with Trevor Cahill who is 3-4 on the season but has an exceptional 2.48 ERA. Cahill has started twice already this season against the Rockies going 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA against them. The Rockies are very good at home (15-9) and will look to build on their walkoff win from last night. I think they’ll figure out a way to get to Cahill and get the green in this one. Confidence Meter: 5

May 21, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval (48) is mobbed by his team mates after hitting a walk off home run against the Washington Nationals during the tenth inning at AT

3:45- San Francisco Giants: The Giants and Nats played late into the night last night, and come right back at 12:45 local time for the finale of their three-game set. The Giants came back and won 4-2 in 10 innings on a walkoff by the Panda after the Nats bullpen wasted a solid outing form Stephen Strasburg. Today they’ll need a good outing from Gio Gonzalez who has been inconsistent so far this season going 3-2 with an ERA just over four. The Giants counter with Madison Bumgarner who was shelled his last time out in Coors Field but is typically lights out at home. The Giants aren’t a lock since Washington is a good team, but the Nats have had a lackluster trip west and the Giants are great at home. I think they’ll be able to close out the sweep this afternoon at AT&T Park behind another solid effort from Bumgarner. Confidence Meter: 6

7:06- No no runs scored in 1st inning: Both starters have been pitching well as Hiroki Kuroda takes the mound for the Yankees against Jason Hammel for the Orioles. It’s most likely that no run will score, but it’s a quick hit prop which gives you a chance to jump-start your streak but also can prove disastrous if something flukey happens and someone plates a run. Confidence Meter: 4

May 19, 2013; Ottawa, ON, CAN; Pittsburgh Penguins centre Evgeni Malkin (71) is knocked into the Ottawa Senators goal by defenseman Marc Methot (3) in the first period in game three of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at Scotiabank Place. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

7:40- Pittsburgh Penguins: The Penguins look to take control of the series back after the Senators took game three in Ottawa. It took them double-overtime to get the win, and everything seemed to go their way. I don’t think that will happen twice in a row and the Penguins best is good enough to get the win here and seize back control of the series. Confidence Meter: 5

8:40- Pacers win or single-digit Loss: The Pacers head to Miami as the Eastern Conference Finals finally get underway. Miami is favored by eight but lost Game One in their last series to the Bulls.They also lost two of three to Indiana during the regular season. I think this one will be close and that the Pacers will give Miami a series. FT at the end could push a win to double-digits, but I think the Pacers keep this one tight all the way to the buzzer. Confidence Meter: 4

10:10- St. Louis Cardinals: The Cards crushed San Diego yesterday 10-2 to earn a split of the first two games in this three-game series. Today it will be a pair of rookies facing off as Tyler Lyons makes his MLB debut against Burch Smith who has been clobbered in his first two starts. Smith comes in with a 15.63 ERA after allowing 11 runs in just 6 1/3 innings in his first two starts against the Rays and Nats. The Cardinals offense should have another outburst and get Lyons the run support he needs to get the win as St. Louis picks up the series win at Petco. Confidence Meter: 6

Streak Scoreboard-May

Yesterday’s Results: 9-2

Overall Record for the month: 156-107

Record in confident picks (confidence 6+): 42-21 (2-1 yesterday)

Longest Personal Streak: W5 (twice)

Current Personal Streak: W4 (Reds and Cards)

Streak For The Cash Picks, May 21 Analysis And Previews

Zachary Thompson — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:00:37 +0000

In tonight’s Streak for the Cash options, the San Antonio Spurs and Tony Parker take on the Memphis Grizzlies in game two of the Western Conference finals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday is another light day on ESPN’s Streak for the Cash, but there are some good chances from the MLB, NBA, and NHL. Things get started this morning before those picks with options from Czech and Irish soccer and the SEC tournament in college baseball. Here’s my quick picks for this Tuesday:

5/21 Streak Picks

10:30- Ole Miss wins by 2+: Ole Miss take on Kentucky in their first SEC Tournament game. Kentucky actually took two of three from the Rebs earlier this season winning 5-4 and 3-2 while Ole Miss blew them out 11-5 in the one game they won. It’s a one-game play-in format to advance to the double-elimination. The SEC is a great baseball conference and Ole Miss came through 15-15 while UK was 11-19. College baseball is extremely unpredictable, but the Rebs are more likely to win this game by 2+, in my opinion, than to lose or win by just one. Confidence Meter: 3 (out of 10)

2:15- Liberec win: Liberec has won four of their last five matches overall and sit third in the Czech table at 14-5-8. Today they host FK Teplice who have also won their last two but are 11th in the table at 7-8-12. The reason Liberec is the pick is because of their home record with is 9-3-1 while Teplice is just 1-3-9 on the road. Confidence Meter: 4

Apr 24, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Alex Cobb (53) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

7:07- Tampa Bay Rays: Tampa lost yesterday in their first game in Toronto as they lost to R.A. Dickey and the Jays 7-5. Tonight they’ll face journeyman Ramon Ortiz while they counter with Alex Cobb. The Rays offense has been performing well, and if they get a solid start from Cobb I think they’ll get the win and even the series. Confidence Meter: 5

7:10- Cincinnati Reds: The Reds took the first game of their three-tame set against the Met at Citi Field and can move back to .500 on the road with a win tonight. They’ll turn to Mike Leake on the mound who pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings in Miami in his last start and comes in 3-2 with a 3.72 ERA on the season. The Reds Jay Bruce has been carrying the Cincinnati offense who will face Jonathon Niese who comes in with a 5.40 ERA and a 3-4 record. He’s also struggled against the Reds in the past going 1-2 with a 5.61 ERA in four starts. New York has dropped four in a row after last night’s loss and has just two wins in their last 11 home games. Niese has been shaky this year, and I think Leake and the Reds lineup both give them the advantage Confidence Meter: 7

May 15, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke (21) talks with catcher A.J. Ellis (17) during the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers defeated the Nationals 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

8:10- Los Angeles Dodgers: Behind Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers took game one in Milwaukee last night. Tonight they’ll hope for another solid outing as they give the ball to Zack Greinke. Greinke was pitching well before his broken collarbone sidelined him and looked solid in his first start back last week. He gets to go back to the stadium he called home for a year and a half and take on his former teammates. He’ll be opposed by Hiram Burgos who has struggled after a solid start to his rookie campaign and comes into this one 1-2 with a 6.58 ERA. The Brewers have all been struggling lately losing seven of eight at home and are just 2-9 in their last 11 games overall. Confidence Meter: 6

8:10- Houston Astros: The Astros host the Kansas City Royals tonight after getting a win in the series-opener 6-5 yesterday. Streakers are flocking to the Royals but they’ve lost their last four in a row and are 3-11 in their last 14 games. Not that Houston has played much better, but they do have their ace Bud Norris on the mound as they face Wade Davis who has given up 11 runs in his last two starts and four or more in four of his last five. Norris on the other hand will look to bounce back after a rough start his last time out, but he had been pitching well in his previous three allowing three earned runs or less in each and getting deep into ballgames. I actually think the Astros are the pick here even though they’re getting picked by less than 2% of entries at the time of this post. Confidence Meter: 4

8:35- Any Other Team: Orlando and Charlotte have a 45% chance of winning meaning AOT has a 55% chance of winning. This is one of the few props where the odds aren’t really arguable although some may say the whole thing’s rigged. Confidence Meter: 3 1/2

9:05- San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs dominated in game one as they took on the Grizz. This series is one that I think home teams will dominate and the Spurs are 5 1/2 point favorites to win game two. Confidence Meter: 5

May 18, 2013; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton (19) and center Logan Couture (39) and defenseman Brent Burns (88) celebrate after Couture scored the game-winning goal against the Los Angeles Kings during overtime in game three of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at HP Pavilion. The San Jose Sharks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

10:10- San Jose Sharks: Speaking of home teams, the home team is 3-0 in the Sharks-Kings series as LA has a 2-1 advantage. The Sharks host game four at the HP Pavilion after an OT win in game three. San Jose has been great all year at home with a 17-2-5 record in this year’s shortened season. Confidence Meter: 4

10:15- San Francisco Giants: After the Zach Duke-Ryan Vogelsong matchup in game one of the series, two pitchers from the opposite end of the spectrum face off as aces Matt Cain and Sephen Strasburg meet in game two. Strasburg and Cain have both gotten little run support lately and have had up-and-down years. At home though, the Giants are 16-7 while the Nats have lost three in a row and five of eight on their West Coast swing. Confidence Meter: 5

Streak Scoreboard-May

Yesterday’s Results: 6-3

Overall Record for the month: 147-105

Record in confident picks (confidence 6+): 40-24 (2-1 yesterday)

Longest Personal Streak: W5 (twice)

Current Personal Streak: W2 (Dodgers)