Sports Handicapper Sean Murphy's Picks & Predictions

My selection is on Colorado +1.5 runs over Los Angeles at 10:10 pm et on Tuesday.

We'll take a flyer on the Rockies with an insurance run on Tuesday as they look to get back at the Dodgers after dropping the opener of this series 5-3 last night. This game will feature a battle of left-handed starting pitchers with Kyle Freeland going for Colorado and Eric Lauer making his first start for the Dodgers since joining them by way of the Blue Jays. Freeland has not gotten off to a positive start this season but it's not really anything out of the ordinary. We know what we're going to get from Freeland at this stage of his career. While he does get hit hard often, he's also capable of rising the occasion when you least expect it. On a positive note this year, his strikeout numbers are up considerably - the highest of his career to date at 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings. While Colorado is just 2-7 in his nine starts overall, it has gone 4-5 when factoring in the +1.5 run-line. Lauer wasn't happy with his role on the Blue Jays in the early going this season and as a result they cut ties with the veteran left-hander. After enjoying a renaissance season a year ago, he has settled back in as a very hittable southpaw, logging a 6.90 FIP and 1.49 WHIP through eight appearances this season. Note that current Rockies hitters have had some success against him, going a collective 8-for-24 (.333) with a .777 OPS. The bullpen matchup may not be quite as decisive in Los Angeles' favor as you might think. The Dodgers have four different relievers that have made multiple appearances and thrown at least 27 pitches over the last three days. Colorado's 'pen has been better than expected this year, even if that's not saying much, logging a 4.35 ERA and 1.36 WHIP with 13 saves converted and seven blown. The Rockies certainly won't attract much attention from bettors in this spot, but that's just fine with us as we're being offered a generous price to back them with an insurance run. Take Colorado +1.5 runs (8*).

Game of the Week. My selection is on San Antonio plus the points over Oklahoma City at 8:35 pm et on Tuesday.

The knee-jerk reaction is understandably to lay the points with the Thunder as they return home for Game 5 of this series following a blowout loss in San Antonio on Sunday. I'm going to go the other way, however, and grab all the points I can get with the Spurs. Incredibly, the straight-up winner has now covered the spread in 21 straight games involving San Antonio. That's its longest such streak of the season by far (its previous longest lasted only 12 games). While I do think the Spurs have a shot at winning this game outright, at the very least I'm confident they can take it down to the wire. The fact that the Spurs won and covered on Sunday is notable as ATS wins have had a tendency to come in bunches for them. They've put together five different ATS winning streaks dating back to March 23rd including three in these playoffs. Meanwhile, the Thunder have endured four different ATS losing streaks dating back to February 27th, going 15-19 ATS in their last 34 contests. While the Thunder are undoubtedly an elite team and 'should' bounce back here, I simply feel they're laying too many points. Take San Antonio (10*).

Playoff Total of the Year. My selection is on the 'under' between Colorado and Vegas at 9 pm et on Tuesday.

We saw a high-scoring affair between these two teams in Game 3 on Sunday as Vegas rallied for a wild 5-3 victory to push the Avalanche to the brink of elimination. The fact that Colorado was unable to find the back of the net over the game's final two-plus periods was telling. Cale Makar returned to the lineup but looked anything but healthy. The jury is still out as to whether he can even shoot the puck effectively and based on the number of turnovers he committed it was clear that he's not close to full strength. Meanwhile, Nathan MacKinnon was used only sparingly in the third period after he blocked a shot near the end of the second. To put it bluntly, the Avs are up against it at this point and I'm not sure they'll have an answer offensively on Tuesday. Note that Colorado has put together just three different 'over' streaks going back to February 28th. It's a similar story for Vegas as it has posted only three 'over' streaks dating back to February 5th. Take the under (10*).