Sports Handicapper Dan Kaiser's Picks & Predictions

Toronto and Washington meet in the final game of a three series. They have split the first two games. Toronto has lost three of their last four games while the Nationals have won six of their last nine. Alek Manoah will be making his first appearance of the season for the Blue Jays. The Nationals will go with Mackenzie Gore on the mound. Alek Manoah is looking to bounce back after a terrible 2023 season. He posted a 5.87 ERA and at one point was sent to the minors to work on some issues. The Blue Jays have struggled to score this season and rank fifth in fewest runs scored. Mackenzie Gore is 2-3 this season with a 3.19 ERA. Washington is 2-4 when Gore has started this season. They have scored the 20th most runs. The Nationals have won six of their last nine games. Menorah will be making his first start of the season, you don’t know what you will get or for how long. The Nationals have been playing their best baseball right now and with the uncertainty of Menoah, I will take the nationals.

Play on Washington. This is a FREE  play.

The Los Angeles Angels take on the Cleveland Guardians in the final game of a three-game set. They have split the first two games of the series. The Angels will send Griffin Canning to the mound. He is 1-3, with a 7.45 ERA in six starts. He is 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA and 1.88 WHIP in one career start versus the Guardians. Carlos Carrasco will get the start for Cleveland. He is 1-2, with a 6.59 ERA in six starts. The Angels' offense has excelled this week, scoring five runs or more in five of their previous six games. The Guardians have lost four of their last six games. 

The Angels have won nine of their last 11 games played with the Guardians at Progressive Field. The Guardians are the better team both offensively and defensively, ranking above them in most batting and pitching categories. Carrasco has a 3.42 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP in 55.1 innings pitched against the Angels in his career. I am taking the better team in this one.

 Play on Cleveland.  This is a 3% play

The Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals finish off a three game series. The Rangers will send Jon Gray to the mound while the Royals counter with Daniel Lynch. Texas lost the opener but came back with a 15-4 win yesterday. The Rangers are putting up 4.42 runs per game. Texas has posted a 3.74 team ERA over 33 games, with a 1.19 WHIP. Gray is 1-1, 2.48 ERA. He has allowed just four earned runs and struck out 33 batters over 29 innings. Lynch will be making his first start of the season for the Royals. Last season he was 3.4 with  4.64 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. Gray went eight innings last time out for his first win of the season and in two career starts versus the Royals he is 1-1 with a 1.98 ERA. The rangers put up 15 yesterday and should be able to tee off on Lynch in this one.

Play on texas. This is a 3% play

Orlando had to dig deep and come from behind in Game 6 to stay alive and force game seven back in Cleveland. Cleveland has a lead going into the fourth but once again shot poorly from deep and ended up losing the game. Cleveland has been putting up 112.3 points per game. In the playoffs so far, they have not scored more than a hundred points. On the defensive end, they are giving up 109.7 points per game.They have been playing a lot better on the defensive end during the playoffs. The Magic outscored the Cavs 13-6 over the final four minutes to pull out game six. Orlando put up 110 points a game this season. On the defensive end, they are giving up 107.9 points per game, and have been even better in the playoffs. Home court has ruled the day in these playoffs with the Cavs winning every game at home but they've lost ATS in the last four. The Magic are young, and very talented and have been able to slow down Cleveland on the offensive end. Orlando has had a huge advantage on the boards all series and that should continue in this game. This game has final shot vibes all over it so I will take the points.

Play on Orlando. This is a 3% play.

Game seven in the NHL playoffs are a different beast with neither side wanting to make a mistake that could put them down early. Vegas goalie Adin Hill has a 1.57 goals against average and Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger has a 2.10 goals against average. Vegas has gone under in four of their last five while Dallas has seen the under hit in eight of their last 10 overall and in eight of the last nine played on home ice.  Four goals or less have been scored in four of the first six games in this series. 

Play on the UNDER. This is a 4% play.

 The Vegas Golden Knights meet up with the Dallas Stars in Game seven. Both teams won the first two games on the other's ice and then split the last two games winning at home. In this series, Vegas has put up 2.50 goals per game and have allowed 2.33. Dallas has been putting up  2.33 goals a game and giving up 2.50 goals in the playoffs. With everything being almost even statistically, I think it will come down to Dallas playing at home. The first four games were won by the visitors but when things got serious the last two games the home team came out on top. During the regular season, Dallas won 26 of 41 home games, while Vegas won just 18 or 41 away games. Going back to the regular season, Dallas has won 15 of its last 20 games. Vegas has lost four of its last six played on the road. I will take Dallas st home in this one.

Play on Dallas. This is a 3% play.

Playoff hockey the deeper you go in the playoffs tend to be lower scoring as the defenses and goaltending turn it up a notch.  Both teams have a solid power-play unit which could lead to goals , but both teams possess good penalty killing units that should limit easy goals. Carolina has given up the least number of shots per game this season. These two teams have hit the under in four of their last five meetings.

Play on the UNDER. This is a 3% play.

In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the New York Rangers will play host to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Rangers swept the Washington Capitals while the Hurricanes defeated the Islanders in five games. The Hurricanes rank 8th in goals at 3.38 goal and #3 in shots per contest. Carolina is #1 in shots against, 1st on the penalty kill and 4th in goals against at 2.57. The Rangers finished 7th in goals per game at 3.39 and 12th in shots. On the defensive end, they rank 10th and  #7 with a 2.76 goals against average per contest.  The Rangers have won three of their last four games against the Hurricanes with both teams having played better at home. New York hasn't lost a game since April 11th, and even though they are a slight underdog i can’t trust Carolina on the road. 

Play on New York. This is a 3% play.