May 21st Recap
May 21st Record: 1-2, -1.67u
May Overall Record: 25-21-1, +3.42u
*MLB Best Bet Loser(-1.72u): White Sox/Yankees OVER 8(-115)
--I totally misread this game; hand up. I was expecting Carlos Rodon to crack tonight in his toughest matchup of the season, and instead he tossed 6 shutout innings while striking out 13 Yankees. I’m even more surprised that the White Sox, who are well-known for mashing lefties, plated just 1 run tonight. Being the status of these two teams, this game had a playoff feel to it and the pitching really stepped to the forefront. What’s even worse about this loss is we NEVER had a chance. It was pretty evident early on that these pitchers had their A-stuff tonight. Frustrating, but I’ll learn from it.
*MLB Winner(+1.05u): Braves -1.5(+105) vs Pirates(+105)
--While I whiffed on my best bet tonight, it did feel good to be spot on with this play. The Atlanta Braves had this one in the bag early and eventually would win 20-1. Whenever Ronald Acuna hit a grand slam to make this 5-0 in the 2nd, I pretty much chalked this one up as a W and moved my focus to the other games. Tyler Anderson was bound to crack at some point, and boy did he tonight. On the other side, Ian Anderson threw another gem(6 IP, 0 R) and is quietly becoming a top-of-the-end starter for Atlanta. The Braves are much better than their record indicates, and I would expect they use tonight’s game as a starting point for a solid run of wins. Without Colin Moran manning the middle of the order, Pittsburgh is going to really struggle against good pitching. Felt good to get an easy winner tonight.
*ML Parlay Loser(-1u): Warriors/Dodgers ML(+178)
--The Dodgers are up 2-1 in the top of the 8th as I’m writing this, but the result of that game won’t end up mattering for me. Shockingly, the Warriors lost at home tonight to Memphis and will not make the NBA playoffs. I was not comfortable laying the 4.5/5 points with them, but I did feel comfortable they would find a way to win. A slow start and poor shooting had them down by 10 with 3.5 minutes left before Curry and co. led a miraculous comeback to force OT. Unfortunately, poor shot selection and stupid turnovers in the extra period proved costly for Golden State and allowed Memphis to win the game. Steph Curry was getting double-teamed all night and especially down the stretch, forcing Andrew Wiggins/Draymond Green/etc. to have to win the game for the Warriors at the end. That played right into Memphis’s hands and eventually proved to be the difference. While the big-game inexperience almost proved costly for Memphis, this win shows a lot about where this organization is headed. Ja Morant played well all night after having a rough game in these teams’ last matchup, and unlikely heroes in Grayson Allen and Kyle Anderson scored key points in OT to ice this game. Now, the Grizz will face the tall task of knocking out 1 seed Utah. Still, I’ll tip my cap to Memphis for getting a gutsy road win tonight. Looking forward to the playoffs starting for real tomorrow!