Daily tips for May 8

MLB for May 8

Atlanta Braves (19-12) @ Cincinnati Reds (18-15), Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH, Wednesday, May 8, 9.10am

Kris Medlen's 1.63 ERA since the 2012 All-Star break ranks as the best in MLB but the Braves right-hander has lost three straight starts with a 5.40 ERA. He struggled early Thursday, giving up three runs in the first two innings before settling down and tossing five scoreless and leaving a 3-1 loss to Washington.

Cincinnati, 12-5 at home, is slated to give the ball to Homer Bailey (1-3, 3.38), who will try to continue his success against Atlanta in order to win for the first time since a 15-0 victory over the Nationals in his season debut April 5. We have a big lean to the Braves here. It promises to be a warm and sticky evening in Cincinnati, which isn’t great news for the pitchers while Atlanta’s bats are used to playing in these type of conditions.

Suggested bet: Braves WIN (two units @ $2.01) LOSE, game total +7.5 (two units @ $1.87) WIN (4-5)

Other tips

Royals @ Orioles WIN WIN (3-4)

Tigers @ Nationals +7 POSTPONED

Athletics @ Indians -8.5 WIN (0-1)

Blue Jays WIN @ Rays WIN (6-4)

White Sox @ Mets -7.5 WIN (0-1)

Cardinals WIN @ Cubs LOSE (1-2)

Rangers WIN @ Brewers LOSE (3-6)

Yankees @ Rockies WIN WIN (0-2)

Diamondbacks WIN @ Dodgers WIN (5-3)

NHL playoffs for May 8

Eastern Conference quarter-finals, game 4: Pittsburgh Penguins @ New York Islanders, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY, Wednesday, May 8, 9.10am (Penguins lead 2-1)

After an emotional back-and-forth Game 3 in New York, the Islanders welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins back for what should be a fantastic and exciting night of hockey in Game 4 of their best of seven series. The Pens currently lead 2-1, but were only able to take the win in OT of Game 3 on a power play.

The Islanders seem to have made several adjustments after Game 1 of the series where they went down in flames in a 5-0 shutout in Pittsburgh, and have since been able to keep up with the Penguins pace and get into their heads.

With the Penguins’ power play operating at a high level, connecting six times in 13 opportunities in the series, the Islanders must cut down on the penalties they are committing, and figure a way to slow down Pittsburgh when there is an advantage to be killed.

Suggested bet: Game total -6 (three units @ $1.80) LOSE, Islanders WIN (one unit @ $2.28) WIN (4-6)

Other tips

ECQF4: Canadiens @ Senators -5 (1-2) PUSH (2-3)

WCQF4: Blackhawks @ Wild -5 (2-1) WIN (3-0)

WCQF4: Canucks @ Sharks WIN 1.67 (0-3) WIN (3-4)

NBA playoffs for May 8

Eastern Conference semi-finals, game 2: Indiana Pacers @ New York Knicks, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, Wednesday, May 8, 9.05am (Pacers lead 1-0)

We cashed on the Pacers as an underdog in Game 1 but will be siding with the Knicks here. They know the Indiana Pacers have a size advantage and realise that Carmelo Anthony is going to get beat up banging against a bulkier body but ‘Melo has sunk just 35 of his past 110 shots so there’s a stack of room for improvement.

Indiana clearly carried over its momentum of advancing past the Atlanta Hawks in the quarter-finals in six games, as it captured a 102-95 victory over New York as five-point road underdogs in Game 1 Sunday, while going over the total of 181.5. 

The Knicks are 19-9 ATS as home favourites of 3.5 to 6 points the last two-plus seasons while the Pacers are 0-9 ATS in their past nine playoff losses – failing to cover the number by an average of 8.8 points per game.

Suggested bet: Knicks -6 (two units @ $1.91) WIN, game total +183 (two units @ $1.91) WIN (79-105)

Other tips

WCSF2: Grizzlies +2.5 WIN @ Thunder +188 (0-1) WIN (99-93)

* Prices with thanks to Centrebet, correct at time of publication