Jesse Schule
White Sox vs. Mariners
Play: White Sox +1½
The Sox crushed Seattle by a score of 16-1 on Saturday, and I like their chances of winning again in a matinee at Safeco on Sunday.
Derek Holland will toe the slab for the Sox, and he's having a strong season so far. Holland (3-3, 2.70 ERA) allowed three runs on seven hits, striking out five in six innings in a no decision versus the Angels his last time out. He's 2-1 with a 2.47 ERA on the road, and 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA in day games in 2017.
The Mariners are expected to recall Chris Heston from Triple-A, where he posted a 2-1 record with a 3.41 ERA in six starts. He was rocked for five runs on seven hits in just two innings in his only appearance in the majors this season.
The Mariners are batting just .214 versus left-handed pitching, ranking dead last in the American League.
Nelly
Celtics at Cavaliers
Play: Celtics +17
As great of a season as Isaiah Thomas had for the Celtics his absence could help the team compete better in this matchup after two lopsided losses at home to start the series. Thomas is pretty worthless defensively and Cleveland’s reliance on 3-point shooting benefitted from Thomas being on the court, leading to the amazing shooting numbers for the Cavaliers in the first two games. The oddsmakers have been burned by the favorites so far in the Conference Finals and they made sure they will ward a lot of serious action off with an outrageous price of -16 and higher for Game 3. The road teams have dominated ATS in the playoffs so far this postseason and this line is six points higher than an early November meeting in Cleveland and an over 12-point adjustment from Game 1 in Boston just four days ago. Boston was down 0-2 vs. Chicago and struggled in the Wizards series for stretches and this isn’t a group ready to hang it up. At this price even a marginally competitive game would lead to an underdog cover and only three of 10 playoff wins for the Cavaliers have come by more than this price. While Cavs/Warriors for the third straight Finals looks inevitable Cleveland is unlikely to outshoot Boston by 19 percent for a second straight game and more time for bigger guards Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier won’t be the worst adjustment for the Celtics, who need to slow the pace down to have a shot at getting back in the series.