Handicapper Big Al McMordie Free Sports Picks

At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Montreal Canadiens.  Another season...another chance for the Lightning to show that they can win games after the month of April.  Over the past decade or so, Tampa has become the poster child for under-achievement in the post-season in just about any professional sport.  Last season however, they set the bar even higher than normal, posting one of the strongest regular seasons in NHL history before flaming out in the first round against the Blue Jackets in four straight games no less.  I'm actually quite optimistic about Tampa Bay this season, and released them at 7-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup this season.  Anyway, in an effort to bring in someone who knows what it's like to win a Cup (because he just won one), the Bolts signed Blues forward Patrick Maroon to a one-year contract.  They also shored up their defense by signing Kevin Shattenkirk to a one-year deal.  Clearly, a team that finished 2018-19 with a record 128 points in the regular season shouldn't have to do more than just "tweak" the roster, but keep its powerful core of players intact, which is exactly what the Lightning have done.  The Lightning are 23-6 after allowing more than three goals in their previous game.  And they're 5-1 in the last six meetings with the Canadiens coming into tonight.  Take Tampa Bay.  NHL High Roller Winner.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the St. Louis Cardinals over the Washington Nationals.  With the Nats holding a commanding a 3-0 NLCS lead and the Cards completely unable to solve their opponents' pitching (only two runs scored in three games), you would think a series sweep would be a done deal.  And, certainly, the historical stats bear that out.  In Baseball history, Best-of-Seven series have been sweeps in 29 of 36 series where one team held a 3-games-to-none lead.  This, by the way, is the primary reason for the inflation of the Nationals' odds for this game.  Of course, the last two times this has happened (2016 Indians/Blue Jays; 2017 Dodgers/Cubs), the team down 3-0 actually won Game 4.  Of course, the Nationals are now overwhelming favorites to advance to the World Series (and I hope they do, as I released them at 18-1 odds to win the World Series), but I don't think they'll win tonight.  For one thing, Washington will start a left-hander (Patrick Corbin) for the first time in this series.  And the Cards have done pretty well with an .810 OPS in eight games vs. southpaws this post-season (that's the second-best number of any club).  Second is the fact that the visitors will start RHP Daniel Hudson.  Although not garnering the notoriety of Flaherty, Wainwright, or Mikolas, the 24-year-old won 16 games in the regular season with a 3.35 ERA.  And his only post-season start was a good one (NLDS Game 3 vs. the Braves).  More importantly, during the regular season, Hudson was 1-1 vs. the Nats with a 2.08 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in two starts covering 13 innings.  Finally, the Cards are 6-0 in their last six road games vs. left-handed starters.  Take St. Louis.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie