Jacob deGrom is 3-0 in the playoffs, with all of those victories coming on the road. (Photo credit: apardavila / Foter / CC BY)
Mets at Royals, 8 p.m. eastern, SportsNet/FOX
The Mets look to bounce back from Tuesday’s tough loss in Game 1 of the World Series, when they held a 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the ninth but eventually lost 5-4 in extra innings. They have the right guy on the mound to do it in Jacob deGrom, who has won all three of his post-season outings with a 1.80 ERA. All of those appearances came on the road as well, so we don’t see him being intimidated by pitching in Kaufman Stadium.
Kansas City counters with Johnny Cueto, who the Jays knocked around for 8 runs in 2 innings during the ALCS. Cueto hasn’t looked like himself since he was acquired from the Reds, and his lifetime numbers against the Mets (3-4, 4.02 ERA in 11 starts) aren’t great either.
We like the Mets to even the World Series tonight at +104 odds at Pinnacle Sports.
Pacers at Raptors, 7:30 p.m. eastern, TSN
The Raptors open the 2015-16 season looking to erase the memories of last spring’s disappointing Round 1 sweep at the hands of the Wizards. They’ve made a few changes since then, improving their defence with DeMarre Carroll, Luis Scola and shot-blocker Bismack Biyombo. Hopefully that can complement an offence that ranked fourth in the NBA in scoring last year, led by the tandem of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry.
While Toronto focused on defence during the offseason, the Pacers upgraded their offence. Indiana benefits from the return of Paul George, who broke his leg last year, and also brought in Monta Ellis. Gone are the plodding David West and Roy Hibbert.
With the roster turnover by both teams in the off-season, it could take some time for each squad to mesh. That usually affects offence more than defence, so we expect a low-scoring battle tonight between these rivals. Take the Under 198 -110.
Flames at Senators, 7:30 p.m. eastern, SportsNet 1
Neither team comes into this game with a lot of momentum. Ottawa has lost each of its first four home games, including a 4-1 loss to Arizona Saturday, and is 1 for 14 on the power-play at Canadian Tire Centre. The Flames are off to a disappointing 2-7 start to the year and there’s already talk about some roster moves in Calgary.
Two desperate teams lacking confidence suggests we’ll see a tightly-played contest tonight, with neither team willing to take many chances in fear of making mistakes. The under 5.5 makes sense to us, but we’ll take a shot on betting the game goes to overtime, which pays +285 at Sports Interaction.
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