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Big Al's Daily Angle: NBA, MLB and CFL Previews and Odds - 06/05/2025

The Thursday sports card features NBA, MLB, and CFL action.The National Basketball Association continues its playoff season with Game 1 of the NBA finals on ABC. The Oklahoma City Thunder host the Indiana Pacers at 8:40 p.m. ET. The Thunder won for the fifth time in their last six games with a 124-94 victory at home against Minnesota as an 8.5-point favorite to win the Western Conference finals in five games last Wednesday. The Pacers won for the sixth time in their last eight games with a 125-108 victory at home against New York as a 4-point favorite to close out the Eastern Conference finals in six games on Saturday. Oklahoma City is a 9.5-point favorite with the total set at 231 (all odds from DraftKings).Major League Baseball has 13 games scheduled. The Atlanta Braves are home against the Arizona Diamondbacks at 12:15 p.m. ET as a -142 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. The St. Louis Cardinals host the Kansas City Royals at 1:45 p.m. ET as a -130 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The Detroit Tigers travel to Chicago to play the White Sox at 2:10 p.m. ET as a -225 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Philadelphia Phillies play in Toronto against the Blue Jays at 3:07 p.m. ET as a -118 money-line road favorite with a total of 8.5. The Minnesota Twins are on the road against the Athletics at 3:35 p.m. ET. The Seattle Mariners play at home against the Baltimore Orioles at 3:40 p.m. ET as a -170 money-line favorite with an over/under of 7.5. The San Francisco Giants are home against the San Diego Padres at 3:45 p.m. ET as a -122 money-line favorite with a total of 7.5. The Los Angeles Dodgers host the New York Mets at 4:10 p.m. ET as a -142 money-line favorite with an over/under of 10.The Houston Astros are in Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates at 6:40 p.m. ET as a -162 money-line road favorite with a total of 7.5. The Chicago Cubs visit Washington to play the Nationals at 6:45 p.m. ET. The New York Yankees play at home against the Cleveland Guardians at 7:05 p.m. ET as a -265 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. The Tampa Bay Rays are home against the Texas Rangers at 7:35 p.m. ET as a -155 money-line favorite with a total of 9. The St. Louis Cardinals host the Kansas City Royals at 7:45 p.m. ET as a -118 money-line favorite with an over/under of 7.5.Week 1 in the Canadian Football League kicks off with one game on the CBS Sports Network. The Saskatchewan Roughriders play at home against the Ottawa Redblacks at 9:00 p.m. ET. The Roughriders reached the West Division finals where they lost on the road at Winnipeg as a 3-point underdog on November 9th. They finished the season with a 10-9 record. The Redblacks lost in the East Division semifinals in a 58-38 loss at Toronto as a 6.5-point underdog on November 2nd. Saskatchewan is a 3.5-point favorite with a total of 48.5.

2025 Belmont Stakes Preview

This year marks the first time that separate Kentucky Derby and Preakness winners meet in the third jewel of the Triple Crown since 2013.  That year, Derby winner Orb and Preakness winner Oxbow squared off at Belmont Park but interestingly neither of them were victorious as Oxbow finished second and Orb was third behind the winner, Palace Malice.  Will Sovereignty (Derby) and Journalism (Preakness) suffer the same fate?  There are some interesting challengers (six others in total) this year and below we preview the main contenders in this year's Belmont Stakes.    #6 Baeza: The most successful path to Belmont Stakes victory has been skipping the Preakness and going directly from the Kentucky Derby to Belmont (or in this case, Saratoga).  This strategy has produced 11 winners since 2001, including recent champions Dornoch, Mo Donegal and Essential Quality.  Baeza and (Derby winner) Sovereignty are the only horses in the field that meet this condition.  The deepest closer in the race, Baeza, rallied from 15th at Churchill Downs to finish a hard-charging third.  One thing that's not in Baeza's favor is that this race will be run at 1 1/4 miles, rather than the normal Belmont distance of 1 1/2 miles. #3 Rodriguez:  Bob Baffert's speedy 3YO won his Derby tune-up here in New York at Aqueduct race track (the Wood Memorial) in gate-to-wire fashion.  It will be shocking if Rodriguez is not on the lead today from the moment the gate opens and Baffert has never been shy about trying to steal these big races by going to the front and playing "catch me if you can".  But Rodriguez scratched the week of the Derby due to a foot injury and then did the same thing leading up to the Preakness, so question marks surround him.  And that Wood Memorial victory -- impressive as it was -- was over two months ago.   #7 Journalism:  Any doubts people had about this California invader after the Derby were laid to rest after his incredible Preakness Stakes run at Pimlico three weeks ago (which we cashed).  There is little to knock about Mike McCarthy's colt at this point but you have to wonder if the three races in a five week span, together with the cross-country travel could take something out of him.  Will these factors result in Journalism not being at his best today?  Maybe.  But maybe not.  And, like the Preakness, where he went off at even money, his odds here are relatively short, at 8-5 on the morning line.   #5 Crudo:  If Rodriguez doesn't fire because of his time off, lingering foot issue, or some other reason, this talented Todd Pletcher-trainee could have things all his own way.  If you watch his performance in the Sir Barton on the Preakness undercard, you can't help but be impressed.  He not only beat a pretty good group of 3YOs by daylight, but he galloped out after the race was over looking like he could go around the track again at the same pace.  And clearly Pletcher and co-owner (and Celebrity Chef) Bobby Flay think Crudo has the goods or they would have picked a different spot for him.  Pletcher knows something about winning this race, as he's done it four times and most recently three years ago with Mo Donegal.  If there's a knock against him, it's that Crudo has been beating horses at the equivalent of the AAA Minor League level and he's now stepping up to face Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan.    #2 Sovereignty:  His talent is obvious and his skipping of the Preakness was the plan all along by his connections.  You can't deny his incredible performance in the Derby (which we cashed), where he faced almost three times the number of rivals he will this Saturday.  But like Baeza and Journalism, he doesn't possess any early speed so it's hard to say what kind of trip he will get and whether he will be able to make the same type of charge he did on that first Saturday in May.  Closers have had an incredibly hard time winning on the Saratoga dirt track.  And although the extra 1/8 of a mile may help (most dirt route races here are 1 1/8 miles), it might not be enough unless Sovereignty can be much closer to the pack early than he usually is (which he may be).We cashed the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and go for the 3-0 SWEEP again this year in the Triple Crown races (we've won 15 of the last 31 Triple Crown races, including a 3-0 SWEEP in 2022).  Don't miss our 2025 Belmont Stakes winner.Good luck, as always...Al McMordie

Big Al's Daily Angle: NHL and MLB Previews and Odds - 06/04/2025

The Wednesday sports card features NHL and MLB action.The National Hockey League playoffs continue with Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals. The Edmonton Oilers host the Florida Panthers on TNT/truTV/Max at 8:10 p.m. ET. The Oilers have six of their last seven games after a 6-3 win at Dallas against the Stars last Thursday that ended the Western Conference finals in five games. The Panthers have won five of six games with their 5-3 victory at home against the Carolina Hurricanes last Wednesday to conclude the Eastern Conference finals in five games. Edmonton is a -130 money-line favorite with the total set at 6.5 (all odds from DraftKings).Major League Baseball has 15 games scheduled. The Miami Marlins play at home against the Colorado Rockies at 12:10 p.m. ET. The Marlins send out Cal Quantrill to take the mound to pitch against the Rockies’ Kyle Freeland. Colorado is a -142 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. The Milwaukee Brewers travel to Cincinnati to take on the Reds at 12:40 p.m. ET. A starting pitcher yet to be named for the Brewers goes against Andrew Abbott for the Reds. The Boston Red Sox are home against the Los Angeles Angels at 1:35 p.m. ET. The Red Sox tap Lucas Giolito to face the Angels’ Jose Soriano. Boston is a -130 money-line favorite with a total of 10. The Houston Astros play in Pittsburgh against the Pirates at 6:40 p.m. ET. Ryan Gusto takes the ball for the Astros to take on Mike Burrows for the Pirates. Houston is a -142 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9. The Chicago Cubs are in Washington to battle the Nationals at 6:45 p.m. ET. The Cubs turn to Matthew Boyd to pitch against the Nationals’ MacKenzie Gore. Chicago is a -135 money-line road favorite with a total of 8.5. The New York Yankees host the Cleveland Guardians at 7:05 p.m. ET. Clarke Schmidt gets the ball for the Yankees to challenge Luis L. Ortiz for the Guardians. New York is a -185 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. The Toronto Blue Jays play at home against the Philadelphia Phillies at 7:07 p.m. ET. The Blue Jays tap Jose Berrios to take on the Phillies’ Mike Abel. Toronto is a -112 money-line favorite with a total of 9. The Atlanta Braves are home against the Arizona Diamondbacks at 7:15 p.m. ET. Chris Sales gets the starting assignment for the Braves to face Merrill Kelly for the Diamondbacks. Atlanta is a -175 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. The Tampa Bay Rays host the Texas Rangers at 7:35 p.m. ET. The Rays send out Shane Baz to go against a Rangers’ starting pitcher yet to be determined. Tampa Bay is a -125 money-line favorite with a total of 9. The Detroit Tigers visit Chicago to challenge the White Sox at 7:40 p.m. ET. Sawyer Gipson-Long gets the ball for the Tigers to pitch against a starting pitcher yet to be named for the White Sox. The St. Louis Cardinals play at home against the Kansas City Royals at 7:45 p.m. ET. The Cardinals tap Miles Mikolas to take the hill to take on the Royals’ Noah Cameron. St. Louis is a -130 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.The Seattle Mariners are home against the Baltimore Orioles at 9:40 p.m. ET. Emerson Hancock gets the start for the Mariners to battle Cade Povich for the Orioles. Seattle is a -130 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The San Diego Padres play at home against the San Francisco Giants at 9:45 p.m. ET. The Padres send out Nick Pivetta to face the Giants’ Kyle Harrison. San Diego is a -115 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 7.The Minnesota Twins are on the road against the Athletics at 10:05 p.m. ET. Zebby Matthews takes the mound for the Twins to challenge a starting pitcher yet to be named for the Athletics. The Los Angeles Dodgers are home against the New York Mets at 10:10 p.m. ET. The Dodgers turn to Tony Gonsolin to pitch against the Mets’ Griffin Canning. Los Angeles is a -148 money-line favorite with a total of 9.5.

San Diego Padres vs San Francisco Giants Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/05/2025

Philadelphia Phillies vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/05/2025

Cleveland Guardians vs New York Yankees Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/05/2025

Kansas City Royals vs St Louis Cardinals Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/05/2025

Chicago Cubs vs Washington Nationals Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/04/2025

New York Mets vs Los Angeles Dodgers Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/04/2025