Sports Handicapper William Burns's Picks & Predictions

(#77) Minnesota Wild @ (#78) Colorado Avalanche | OVER | . 

Many of the games in these playoffs have been going "under" and although I'm all for great defensive battles, it's also nice to see a high scoring affair once in a while too. Colorado's offense got stifled a bit against LAK, despite winning in four games. The Avalanche should have a bit of an easier time finding the back of the net in this series, with so much talent on display. 

Minnesota had the much harder opening series, beating Dallas in six games. But, the Stars could hardly score in 5v5. I expect both offenses to get going early and often in this one. Both teams started to wake up offensively over the past two as well, scoring nine goals each in those contests. Give me the "over." 

Burns' Prediction: 5-3 Avalanche.

(#911) Atlanta Braves (ATS) . 

Spencer Strider (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Kyle Freeland (1-2, 3.48 ERA) . 

Making his season debut on Sunday, Spencer Strider is expected to be a key piece to the Braves rotation once again this season. Don't get me wrong, last year wasn't his best by any means. But, he's more than capable of dominating at this level and he should be a fantastic one-two punch with Chris Sale throughout the campaign. 

Kyle Freeland, like Chase Dollander, has had a pretty strong start to the season. However, I still don't believe that his numbers are going to keep up. I've won w/ the Braves -1.5 in consecutive days and I'm going to continue to ride it here on Sunday as they are simply the much stronger team. Give me ATL. 

Burns' Prediction: 7-3 Braves.

(#907) Los Angeles Dodgers | ML | . 

Justin Wrobleski (4-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. Dustin May (3-2, 5.28 ERA) . 

Los Angeles is struggling and has been over the past couple of weeks. That being said, it's not stopping me from hammering the Dodgers here on Sunday against the Cardinals. Justin Wrobleski has been the Dodgers best pitcher outside of Ohtani so far. He's dominated opponents and has a 4-0 record as a result. 

Dustin May gets the nod for the Cardinals. He's been very poor despite his winning record. I don't see the Cards putting up many runs in this game & I expect the Dodgers to get to May. Give me LAD in a blowout here on Sunday afternoon. 

Burns' Prediction: 8-2 Dodgers.

(#201880) Real Betis Balompié | 3-way ML | . 

Real Oviedo has tried its best to claw out of the "dead last" position in the La Liga. However, the reality is simple. It's going to get sent down at the end of the season & there's not much that it can do about it anymore. It's won just six games this season (33 total) and has just two wins on the road. Not very impressive at all. 

I know that Real Betis isn't exactly the best team in Spain. That being said, it's still very much playing for a lot more than today's opponent. Currently in 5th, Betis must continue to win to avoid dropping in the standings. It's going to be very difficult to catch Atletico, being 10 points behind. But, with three points here, it can increase its odds even more of claiming that Europa League group stage position for next season & a top five league finish. Give me Betis at home. 

Burns' Prediction: 3-0 Betis.