Andrew Wilsher

The San Diego Padres will look to keep things rolling as they get ready to take on Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Padres took care of business in the series opener, shutting out Pittsburgh 5-0, but today presents a much tougher challenge as they’re set to go up against one of the most talented arms in baseball. Skenes enters this matchup 1-1 with a 9.53 ERA, but don’t let that number fool you. Skenes struck out five and allowed one run in five innings pitched against the Reds, and his inflated ERA is largely due to defensive misplays by Oneil Cruz in the season opener. Taking the mound for the Padres will be Nick Pivetta who enters with a 1-1 record and a 6.75 ERA. Pivetta struggled in his season opener, but was terrific against the Giants in his last start, pitching five scoreless innings and striking out eight. 

Offensively, the Pirates rank 11th in batting average (.239) averaging 4.5 runs per game. San Diego ranks 21st batting .218 averaging 3.7 runs per game. In tonight’s matchup, I trust the Pirates more with Paul Skenes on the mound than I do the Padres With Pivetta. Sure, Pivetta had a strong outing in his last start, but that was against a San Francisco Giants team that’s struggled to put runs up on the board and get on base. Even though the Padres are the more talented team, the Pirates have been the more reliable offensive team to start the season – and they have the better arm on the mound.  Look for the Pirates to bounce back in this matchup and pick up a win on their home field, making Pittsburgh my best pick of the day. 

Padres vs Pirates prediction: Pirates ML (-150) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The Dodgers offense continues to stay red-hot as Los Angeles put up 14 runs on 17 hits last night. Over their last four games, they’re averaging 11.3 runs per game while hitting .370 as a team. On the other side, Toronto’s offensive struggles continue. The Blue Jays managed just two runs on five hits and have now dropped five straight games. During that stretch, they’re averaging only two runs per game and batting .183 as a team. 

Taking the mound for the Dodgers will be Yoshinobu Yamamoto who enters at 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA. For the Blue Jays, Kevin Gausman will get the nod who enters at 0-0 with a 0.75 ERA. Gausman has been terrific to start the season, striking out 21 and allowing just three hits in 12 innings pitched. While both starters are capable of delivering strong outings, the biggest concern for Toronto remains its bullpen. The Blue Jays hold a 6.14 bullpen ERA compared to the Dodgers 2.92. While I expect Yamamoto to provide a strong outing for the Dodgers against this struggling Jays offense, Gausman should be able to limit the damage done by this Dodgers lineup early on. However, late in the game is where the Dodgers have the advantage and I think that’s where Los Angeles pulls away and steals a win on the road. 

Dodgers vs Blue Jays prediction: Dodgers ML (-160) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

With Monday’s loss to the Rangers, the Seattle Mariners have now lost 3 straight in the division and 5 of the last 6 overall. The M’s managed just 1 run and 2 hits in the loss, with Jacob deGrom taking care of business by striking out 6 and allowing just 2 base runners in 5 innings. Seattle’s Logan Gilbert threw 6 innings and struck out 5 while allowing 6 baserunners. It was a solid outing in that he held the Rangers to just 2 runs, but it wasn’t enough due to Seattle’s lack of run support. 

Game 2 of this divisional series pits George Kirby against Nathan Eovaldi. Kirby struggled in his last start, yielding 4 earned runs, 5 hits and 3 walks to the Yankees last week. That came on the heels of a sterling 6-inning performance against the Guardians in which he allowed just 1 run, struck out 6, walked 2 and gave up 2 hits. Meanwhile, Eovaldi has been really bad, giving up 11 combined earned runs in his 2 starts, as well as 16 hits. He failed to last 5 full innings in either start, while his barrel rate and hard-hit rate are through the roof right now. 

In his career, the current Seattle lineup is only hitting .195 against Eovaldi, but his current form is too difficult for me to trust despite the solid matchup splits. Kirby has been much better at inducing ground balls and weak contact so far this season, so let’s ride with the Mariners to snap the losing streak in this one.

Mariners vs Rangers prediction: Seattle Mariners ML (-116) at the time of publishing. Playable to -125.

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For the second time in three days, the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues hit the ice in the NHL. These Central Division opponents played on Sunday in a 3-2 Blues win, which went a long way for their slim but alive playoff hopes. How will this one shake out? Here is our Avalanche vs. Blues prediction to help find out.

It is well-known that Colorado is a front runner for this year’s Stanley Cup, but they need to regain some momentum as the season closes. They are now 2-3-0 in their last five games, which includes three regulation losses on home ice to teams not currently clinched in the playoffs. I expect a better effort from this team who can typically score 3+ goals, and return the favour of a loss as a road team. They have also been elite on the road at 26-7-5. St. Louis is now 6-1-2 in their last nine games, but not many teams could beat Colorado in two-straight games. We are siding with Colorado for our Avalanche vs. Blues prediction.

Avalanche vs Blues prediction: Avalanche ML (-155) available at time of publishing. Playable to -170.

The Edmonton Oilers and Utah Mammoth are set to meet for the 3rd and final time this season on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City. Edmonton has won the first 2 meetings by scores of 6-3 and 5-2, but this matchup could produce a different results. The Oilers reeled off 5 straight wins last week, but enter this contest coming off a 5-1 loss to the Golden Knights on Saturday. The Oilers have made a habit of being a bit boom-or-bust this season, and this road matchup presents a tough challenge for Connor McDavid and company to get back on track.

The Mammoth have been great on home ice all season long, but they have lost their last 2 games at Delta Center. The good news is that they are coming off a 3-game road trip that resulted in 3 straight wins. The Utah offense is firing on all cylinders, having scored 19 total goals over those 3 games. Goaltending continues to be an issue for Edmonton, so the Utah offense appears to have a solid advantage in this one. This will also be Edmonton’s first road game since March 26, so they could be a bit out of sorts early on. Playing on home ice, look for the Mammoth to find the win column.

Oilers vs Mammoth prediction: Mammoth ML (-130) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The Vegas Golden Knights find themselves in a very tight playoff race in the Pacific Division. Along with the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers, they have five games remaining and the teams are all separated by one point, with the Oilers currently holding the top spot in the division. Winning the Pacific Division would mean avoiding a potential first round playoff matchup with either the Ducks or the Oilers, which would be preferred. The Golden Knights have a must-win game against the worst team in the NHL on Tuesday night. They will be on the road facing the Vancouver Canucks who surprisingly find themselves on a three-game winning streak, but I expect that to end on Tuesday. The Canucks are easily the worst defensive team in the league, averaging 3.86 goals against per game.

Look for the Golden Knights to take advantage of this weak defensive team and fill the net. I am not going to overthink this one, the Golden Knights need these two points. Give me the Golden Knights on the puck line.

Golden Knights vs Canucks prediction: Golden Knights -1.5 (+115) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.