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Big Al's Daily Angle: NBA, NHL and MLB Previews and Odds - 05/22/2025

The Thursday sports card features NBA, NHL, and MLB action.The National Basketball Association continues its playoff season with Game 2 of the Western Conference finals on ESPN/ESPN News. The Oklahoma City Thunder host the Minnesota Timberwolves at 8:40 p.m. ET. The Thunder took the first game of this best-of-seven series with a 114-88 victory against the Timberwolves as a 7-point favorite on Tuesday. Oklahoma City is a 7.5-point favorite with the total set at  214.5 (all odds from DraftKings). The National Hockey League playoffs continue with Game 2 of the Western Conference finals on ESPN on its slate. The Carolina Hurricanes play at home against the Florida Panthers at 8:10 p.m. ET. The Panthers have a 1-0 lead in this best-of-seven series after a 5-2 victory on the road against the Hurricanes on Tuesday. Carolina is a -140 money-line favorite with an over/under of 5.5.Major League Baseball has nine games on its schedule. The New York Yankees are home against the Texas Rangers at 12:35 p.m. ET. The Yankees tap Carlos Rodon to pitch against the Rangers’ Nathan Eovaldi. New York is a -162 money-line favorite with a total of 7.5. The San Diego Padres travel to Toronto to take on the Blue Jays. Stephen Kolek takes the ball for the Padres to face Bowden Francis for the Blue Jays. San Diego is a -115 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9.The Philadelphia Phillies play in Colorado against the Rockies at 3:10 p.m. ET. The Phillies turn to Ranger Suarez to take the hill to challenge the Rockies’ German Marquez. Philadelphia is a -3-5 money-line road favorite with a total of 11. The Athletics host the Los Angeles Angels at 3:35 p.m. ET. Luis Severino takes the mound for the Athletics to battle Tyler Anderson for the Angels. The Athletics are a -155 money-line favorite with an over/under of 10. Two MLB games throw out the first pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. Pittsburgh plays at home against Milwaukee with the Pirates sending out Mike Burrows to go against a Brewers starting pitcher yet to be determined. Detroit is home against Cleveland with Jack Flaherty getting the starting assignment for the Tigers to face Tanner Bibee for the Guardians. The Tigers are a -135 money-line favorite with a total of 8.Two MLB games start at 6:45 p.m. ET. Boston hosts Baltimore with the Red Sox tapping Lucas Giolito to take on the Orioles Cade Povich. The Red Sox are a -125 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. Atlanta is in Washington with A.J. Smith-Shawver getting the ball for the Braves to challenge Trevor Williams for the Nationals. The Braves are a -155 money-line road favorite with a total of 8.The MLB card concludes with the Seattle Mariners visiting Houston to face the Astros at 8:10 p.m. ET. The Mariners turn to George Kirby to take the mound to pitch against Lance McCullers for the Astros. Seattle is a -135 money-line raid favorite with an over/under of 8.5. 

Big Al's Daily Angle: NBA, NHL, and MLB Previews and Odds - 05/21/2025

The Wednesday sports card features NBA, NHL, and MLB action.The National Basketball Association continues its playoff season with Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on TNT/truTV/Max. The New York Knicks host the Indiana Pacers at 8:05 p.m. ET as a 4.5-point favorite with the total set at 224 (all odds from DraftKings unless indicated otherwise).The National Hockey League playoffs continue with Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on ESPN on its slate. The Dallas Stars play at home against the Edmonton Oilers at 8:10 p.m. ET as a -130 money-line favorite with an over/under of 6.5.Major League Baseball has 16 games on its schedule. The Cincinnati Reds travel to Pittsburgh to play the Pirates at 12:35 p.m. ET. The Reds send out Brady Singer to pitch against the Pirates’ Andrew Heaney. Cincinnati is a -125 money-line road favorite with a total of 8. Four more MLB games throw out the first pitch at 1:10 p.m. ET. Minnesota is home against Cleveland with Chris Paddack taking the ball for the Twins to take Gavin Williams for the Guardians in the opening game of their doubleheader. The Twins are a -115 money-line favorite with an over/under of 7.5. Houston plays in Tampa Bay with the Astros tapping Hunter Brown to face the Rays’ Taj Bradley. The Astros are a -135 money-line road favorite with a total of 8.5. Milwaukee hosts Baltimore with Chad Patrick taking the hill for the Brewers to challenge Tomoyuki Sugano for the Orioles. The Brewers are a -125 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. Chicago is in Miami with the Cubs turning to Cade Horton to battle the Marlins’ Max  Meyer. The  Cubs are a -130 money-line road favorite with a total of 9. The St. Louis Cardinals play at home against the Detroit Tigers at 1:15 p.m. ET. Andrew Pallante gets the nod for the Cardinals to go against Brant Hurter for the Tigers. St. Louis is a -118 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Seattle Mariners visit Chicago to face the White Sox at 2:10 p.m. ET. The Mariners send out Logan Evans to pitch against the White Sox’s Shane Smith. Seattle is a -155 money-line road favorite with a total of 8. The Guardians battle the Twins on the road in the second game of their doubleheader at 3:40 p.m. ET. The San Francisco Giants are home against the Kansas City Royals at 3:45 p.m. ET.  Logan Webb gets the ball for the Giants to take on a starting pitcher yet to be named for the Royals. Two MLB games start at 6:45 p.m. ET. Boston hosts New York with the Red Sox turning to Garrett Crochet to face the Mets’ Tylor Megill. The Red Sox are a -148 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. Atlanta plays in Washington with A.J. Smith-Shawver getting the assignment for the Braves to pitch against Trevor Williams for the Nationals. The Braves are a -162 money-line road favorite with a total of 8.5. The New York Yankees play at home against the Texas Rangers at 7:05 p.m. ET. The Yankees tapping Ryan Yarbrough to take on the Rangers’ Jacob deGrom. New York is a -115 money-line favorite with an over/under of 7.5. The Toronto Blue Jays are home against the San Diego Padres at 7:07 p.m. ET. Kevin Gausman takes the mound for the Blue Jays to battle Randy Vasquez for the Padres. Toronto is a -155 money-line favorite at BetOnline with a total of 8.5. The Philadelphia Phillies are in Colorado to play the Rockies at 8:40 p.m. ET. The Phillies send out Taijuan Walker to face the Rockies’ Carson Palmquist. Philadelphia is a -238 money-line favorite with an over/under of 11.5. The Athletics host the Los Angeles Angels at 10:05 p.m. ET. J.P. Sears gets the ball for the Athletics to take on Jack Kochanowicz for the Angels. The Athletics are a -155 money-line favorite with a total of 10.5. The Los Angeles Dodgers play at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks at 10:10  p.m. ET. The Dodgers turn to Dustin May to pitch against the Diamondbacks’ Corbin Burnes. Los Angeles is a -135 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9.

Early Season MLB MVP Race

Pete Alonso (10-1) National League MVPOvershadowed by his rival NY slugger, Alonso has had arguably the second hottest start to the 2025 season. Tied for fourth in the NL with 37 RBIs, 9 HRs, and a top ten batting average of .301, Alonso is fourth in the NL MVP odds so far. At the current pace, he would finish with roughly 123 RBIs and 30 HRs. Those gaudy slugging numbers mixed with a stellar average would keep Alonso in the MVP mix all year, assuming Shohei Ohtani doesnt hit 54 homers again like he did last year. Shohei is well behind his 2024 pace, specifically in RBIs. He only has 30 at the current moment, and his lack of dual threat ability hurts his MVP candidacy. The Mets have the second most wins in baseball, which certainly plays a role in voting as well. When looking for NL players who could dethrone the three time MVP winner, Alonso checks all the boxes. Freddie Freeman (18-1) National League MVPWith Shohei Ohtani playing a DH role right for Los Angeles, it leaves the door open for teammate Freddie Freeman. Freeman missed some time this year due to injury, but has lit it up in the games he has played. He is leading the NL in average by a wide margin at .371 while having 9 HRs and 34 RBIs. On top of that, Freeman has the second best NL OBP with a staggering .430. In fact, the Dodges have 3 of the top 4 OBP leaders in the NL. Will Smith, Freeman, and Ohtani all get on base over 40% of the time. Based on that, it's shocking LA doesn't have a larger lead in the NL West. Regardless, Freddie has some of the best individual hitting stats in all of baseball, and combined with his stellar glove at the one bag, he is an MVP candidate. If Ohtani remains on a modest pace while only playing as a DH, we will have a new NL MVP in 2025. Alex Bregman (60-1) American League MVPCurrently Aaron Judge is -1500 to win the AL MVP, which is insane considering we are barely a quarter of the way through the season. Yet, with so much of the season remaining, there has to be value elsewhere in the AL, even if it is completely contingent on Judge getting injured. Breman is hitting .303 with 11 HRs and 35 RBIs while handling third base duties for the Red Sox. He ranks top six in all three major categories in the AL and is a huge reason Boston is in 2nd in the AL East. Bregman is on pace for 37 HRs and 118 RBIs. Should Judge miss significant time this season, there will be a mad scramble for the next best AL hitter. Bregman has as good a case as any, and only a sprinkle on him will pay dividends on his long odds. He has the third highest odds currently, but anyone not named Judge is considered a longshot at this point.   

Minnesota Timberwolves vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/22/2025

Florida Panthers vs Carolina Hurricanes Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/22/2025

New York Mets vs Boston Red Sox Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/21/2025

Cleveland Guardians vs Minnesota Twins Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/21/2025

Texas Rangers vs New York Yankees Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/21/2025

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Los Angeles Dodgers Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/21/2025