Last night both the NBA and NHL Conference Finals wrapped up in an entirely unanticipated and uninspired fashion. The types of performances that you don’t really account for and can’t account for when analyzing stats and trends as significant factors in your betting picks.
Needless to say, while we’re excited for the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals to get underway, we are very disappointed in the Boston Celtics, but more so in the Dallas Stars, for being out-classed in one-sided beatdowns in the biggest game of their season.
At least the Celtics can point to Jayson Tatum’s injury as a reason for their loss.
Last night, we selected the Dallas Stars to continue with their momentum and force a game seven against the Vegas Golden Knights. We think the 6-0 final score for VGK does all the talking here.
We committed two legs of our parlay to game seven of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, staying a thousand miles away from the moneyline. We expected the Heat to be competitive and cover the spread, which they did with a 104 – 83 win.
However, we didn’t expect Jayson Tatum’s injury on the first play of the game and expected game seven to clear the low total points line of 203.5, with Tatum leading the way for Boston and following the head-to-head season trends.
If Tatum was healthy, we have no doubt that game seven would have hit the over. However, with yesterday’s loss, our parlay record drops to 0-2 for the week, while we are now 2-4 on individual picks.
We turn our focus to MLB today and our first same-game parlay of the MLB season. Let’s spin the wheel, make a deal, and find a winning same-game parlay to regain our Parlay Blog Championship.
Tampa Bay Rays over Chicago Cubs (-200)
The Tampa Bay Rays have a 13-11 road record, while the Chicago Cubs have a 14-15 home record this season.
The Rays are 6-4 in the last ten games and 9-4 in the previous 13 meetings historically.
The Rays dropped the first game to the Cubs at Wrigley last night 1-0. However, we’re not expecting another masterful pitching performance from Chicago tonight, who is starting Kyle Hendricks, who has a 0-1 record, a 6.23 ERA, and a 1.85 WHIP.
We’re taking the Tampa Bay Rays – the better baseball team with the better-starting pitcher – to win on the moneyline.
Tampa Bay Rays -1.5 over Chicago Cubs (-120)
The Rays are 32-24 ATS, while Chicago is 28-25 ats this season.
Five of the Rays’ last six wins have ended with at least a 1.5-run spread.
We’re riding with the Tampa Bay Rays to win and cover the spread.
Tampa Bay Rays versus Chicago Cubs Over 8 (-110)
The Rays have a 34-19-3 over/under record, while the Cubs have a 23-24-1 over/under record.
Tampa Bay has a 9-1 over/under record in the last ten games, while Chicago has a 6-3-1 over/under record.
The over is 5-2 in the last seven head-to-head matchups.
We’re taking the over.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
* All odds provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.
Last updated:May 30, 2023 Action 247, Cubs, Rays