Art Aronson Handicapper at AAA Sports

This is a 10* on VANCOUVER

Must-win here for the Canucks, who are down 0-1 in the series. They were shut out in Game 1, 3-0, and saw little in the way of scoring chances against the Wild. However, we like their chances of bouncing back and taking Game 2. If you look at these other “qualification series,” the team that lost Game 1 has come back to go 3-1 SU in Game 2. Vancouver is the higher seed here, yet not really priced accordingly. Yes it’s a 7-10 matchup. However, the Canucks not only had more regular season points than the Wild, but also a better goal differential. The prospect of falling down 0-2 in a best of five series should have them plenty motivated tonight and it’s definitely worth noting that Minnesota is just 1-5 this season when coming off a shutout victory. Play on VANCOUVER

AAA

This is an 8* on OAKLAND

Oakland had one big inning last night in Seattle and that proved to be more than enough as they crushed the Mariners 11-1. The A’s scored eight times in the fifth, all of those runs coming with two outs. They ended up sending 14 men to the plate in the one inning (most since a game in Sept ‘18) and could have scored even more as they ended up leaving the bases loaded. It was a welcome sight for A’s fans as the team hadn’t been hitting all that well so far in 2020. But the team has still managed to win three in a row and we expect the offensive resurgence to continue tonight against Lance Lynn and Texas. While Lynn has pitched well in his two 2020 starts, both were at home. He had a 2-1 record vs. Oakland last season, but his ERA in those starts was 5.56. Also, the Rangers have not yet been able to string together consecutive victories. They won Sunday, 9-5 against the Giants, but that was their only win of that series. Oakland was 13-6 vs. Texas in 2019. Tonight is also the starting debut for the much hyped Jesus Luzardo, who is the top pitching prospect in the A’s organization. Look for him to live up to the hype. Play on OAKLAND

AAA

This is a 10* on PORTLAND

Houston is 2-0 since the restart with wins over Dallas and Milwaukee. Impressive as that sounds, the Rockets trailed by double digits in both games. They were down 11 entering the 4th quarter vs. the Mavericks and needed all of James Harden’s 49 points to pull out a 152-149 overtime victory. Against the Bucks, the much maligned defense once again stepped up late. It is impressive that the Rockets could beat the Bucks despite shooting below 40% but we also don’t think they can keep winning in the manner we’ve seen the first two games. Portland has also played two close games, but split the pair. They were down big to Boston on Sunday, but fought back to make it only a 4-point loss. That was after they beat Memphis in overtime in the first game. Currently in ninth place in the Western Conference, the Blazers are well within the four-games of 8th place Memphis to force a play-in series. Still they really could use the win here as they neck and neck with San Antonio for ninth place. Portland beat Houston twice in the regular season so they’re capable of winning outright again.They are healthier now than they were back then. The Rockets are 2-5 ATS this year coming off an upset win.  Play on PORTLAND

AAA