At 6:35 pm, our selection is on the Portland Trail Blazers minus the points over Dallas.  If the Blazers can win their final two games, they will make the Playoffs "play-in" series, so there's great incentive tonight -- much more so than the Mavericks possess, since Dallas is guaranteed to be either the #6 or #7 seed.  Portland plays with revenge from a 133-125 defeat in January, but McCollum and Nurkic were out for that game.  Both will be on the floor tonight.  We'll lay the points with the Trail Blazers, as they fall into a 128-63 ATS revenge system of mine, as well as a "late season" system which is 79-36 ATS.  Take Portland.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 3:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Columbus Blue Jackets.  The Jackets played the only five-game series in the play-in round, outlasting Toronto with a 3-0 win on Sunday.  Meanwhile, the Bolts (who were our preseason pick at 7-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup) lost their final match in the qualifying round to the Flyers (who were also 2-0 coming in) on Saturday 4-1.  However you could argue that the loss puts Tampa in a much better position now, having to meet Columbus -- the only team coming in with only one day of rest -- compared to the red-hot Canadiens who ran through top-seeded Pittsburgh in four games (Philly gets Montreal now).  There is also a nice revenge factor at work for the Bolts as they have a chance to get back at the team that eliminated them in the first round of the 2019 playoffs in a four-game sweep.  Not including that dreadful playoff series, Tampa has dominated its meetings with Columbus recently, winning each of the last seven going back to October 2017.  The Bolts are also 24-7 (+14 games on the money line) in the last 31 after a blowout loss by three or more goals.  Take Tampa.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 6:35 pm, our selection is on the Miami Marlins over Toronto.  The Blue Jays will start Hyun Jin Ryu today, and his ERA is north of 5 runs per game.  Even worse, the Jays are batting .218 as a team, and has a league-low 39 runs scored.  Tonight, the Blue Jays will take on the surprising Marlins and pitcher Elieser Hernandez, who has an ERA of 0.00, and a WHIP of 0.69.   Take Miami.

At 7:10 pm, our selection is on the Chicago Cubs over the Cleveland Indians.  When talking about the 2020 version of the Cubs, one can't help but think of that famous Mark Twain quote "rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated".  Many thought that the Cubs would be an afterthought in this shortened season as they re-grouped and prepared for a run in 2021 but so far at least that has not been the case.  Chicago is 10-3 and already several 4.5 ahead in the NL Central as Milwaukee and St. Louis have struggled with injuries and sub-par pitching.  Speaking of afterthoughts, many believed that Cubs' LH Jon Lester would be just that this season but instead the veteran has been lights out so far.  Through two starts, Lester has allowed one run on four hits in 11 innings -- numbers that would rival the best in his prime.  Lester is an awesome 43-23 his last 66 games, while Cleveland is 14-20 (minus 17 games on the moneyline) off a win.

At 8:40 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Rockies over the Arizona Diamondbacks.  One year after having a season to remember, Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland had one to forget.  Freeland's Sophomore effort in 2018 yielded a 17-7 record in 33 starts with a 2.85 ERA and a top-10 finish in the Cy Young balloting.  2019 however would look totally different.  Last season the 26-year-old posted a 3-11 record with a 6.73 ERA.  Injuries played a big role as Freeland only went to the mound 22 times last season.  Healthy now, Freeland appears to be back to his Sophomore form.  Through three starts, he is 2-0 with a 2.41 ERA, 1.07 WHIP in just under 19 innings.  Start number four will come tonight at home (literally as Freeland is from Denver) and Freeland has had more success here than he has elsewhere.  In 46 games (43 starts) at Coors, Freeland is 19-14 with a 4.22 ERA vs. 14-15 and 3.93 in 45 appearances (43 starts) on the road.  The Rockies are 20-7 (+12 games on the money line) in Freeland's last 27 home starts.  Take the Rockies.