MLB Free Pick - CWS at Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay Rays might not wear their white uniforms at home anytime soon in St. Petersburg, Fla. After winning for the fifth straight time in their dark blue City Connect outfits, all on their nine-game homestand, the Rays likely will wear them again on Wednesday evening when they look to sweep the Chicago White Sox. The Rays have outscored the White Sox 13-3 and out-hit them 21-10 en route to winning the first two contests of the series. The lopsided losses extended Chicago's run differential to a majors-worst minus-92, easily the worst mark among the 30 teams.

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Rating: 2 Units

Arizona's pitching is 22nd in team ERA and is allowing opposing hitters to average .255, which is 24th in the majors. Arizona starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery has struggled in three starts, allowing 10 earned runs in 16 innings, including six runs in three innings last Wednesday when losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-0. Montgomery has a 1.31 WHIP and a -0.2 WAR. Cincinnati starter Graham Ashcraft has a 3.63 ERA and the right-hander has had two consecutive strong outings, giving up just 12 hits and three runs in 12.1 innings. Ashcraft’s WHIP is 1.27 and his WAR is 0.2.

Rating: 2 Units

NY Starter, Quintana has struggled on the mound for the Mets, especially on the road where he gave up 16 runs in his last three starts. He gave up 13 runs in his last four starts against the Cardinals and will have a hard time slowing them down in this game.  The Mets have struggled offensively, scoring 11 runs in their last three road games. Their offensive struggles will continue in this game because Gray has been dominant on the mound for the Cardinals, giving up three earned runs in five starts. He is 4-0 against the Mets and gave up six earned runs in those starts, so expect him to keep New York’s offense in check. Go with St. Louis to cover the money line.

Rating: 2 Units

Milwaukee has sputtered a bit of late with three straight losses before last nights late inning heroics. The Brewers are trying to figure out their rotation as they have issues with Brandon Woodruff not pitching at all this year, Corbin Burnes gone, Freddy Peralta facing a suspension and the back of the rotation guys struggling. Kansas City has a solid lineup and they have gotten stellar work from Singer this season. The Royals have put up a solid 14-8 mark at home on the year. With the advantage on the mound and a better lineup right now, you have to give the edge to the Royals in this contest.

Rating: 2 Units

A lot of the ref's calls at the end of game one seemed to favor the Knicks. Regardless, now is not the time for the Pacers to rely on excuses. Rather, they need to keep scoring as they did during the regular season. Game one's 117 was encouraging, as this club is now up to 113.6 points per contest in the postseason. With all of the offense in the world, Indiana still has clear issues defensively. They gave up the fourth-most points per game this season and have followed it up by surrendering 111.7 in the playoffs, more than any other team still alive. In game one, a team that was 26th in defensive rebounding percentage and facing the NBA's best offensive rebounding unit held up nicely. New York only grabbed eight. It didn't matter, as the Knicks hit 53.7% of their field goals, 47.8% of their threes, and attempted 26 free throws. Indiana also forced 14 turnovers to no avail.

Rating: 2 Units

The Boston Bruins will look to maintain the upper hand against the Florida Panthers today when they play Game 2 of their Eastern Conference second-round series in Sunrise, Fla.  The Bruins won all four meetings against the Panthers in the regular season and recorded a 5-1 victory in the opener of the best-of-seven series on Monday. Jeremy Swayman has been in a great place throughout the playoffs. Swayman, who made 38 saves in the series opener, has yielded two goals or fewer in each of his first seven starts this postseason while posting a 5-2-0 record with a 1.42 goals-against average and .955 save percentage.