Michael Cannon -
Basketball record: NCAA mostly and a couple small NBA plays included
11-3 last 6 days
Since 3/20/08: 17-9 overall (+100 dimes, 9-5 top plays)
Wednesday's Plays...
10 Dime ?
PIRATES (With Gorzelanny and Jurrjens as listed pitchers)
Take the Pirates for the win over the Braves tonight.
The Bucs will send one of their better pitchers to the hill tonight in Tom Gorzelanny.
The left-hander was 14-10 with a 3.88 ERA in his first full season as a starter last year. The fact he was able to record 14 wins with a woeful Pirates team is a good indication of how talented he is.
With the way the Pirates swung the bats on Monday, Gorzo figures to get a lot of run support tonight.
The Braves will counter with rookie Jair Jurrjens and I?m not convinced he will shut the Pirates down tonight. Jurrjens pitches to contact which will give the Bucs a chance to pick up where they left off Monday night, when they scored 12 runs on 17 hits.
This is a good price for the Pirates who have the advantage in the pitching matchup, even on the road.
Take the Bucs for the win.
5 Dime ?
DIAMONDBACKS
Take the Diamondbacks for the road win over the Reds.
Arizona will start newly acquired Dan Haren and he should be a great addition to the Diamondbacks staff.
The right-hander went 15-9 with a 3.07 ERA in 34 starts for the A?s last year and he could improve on those numbers playing in the National League this year.
Cincinnati will counter with Bronson Arroyo and he stumbled to a 9-15 record last year after a successful first season with the Reds in 2006.
A lot of people are picking the Reds to contend in the NL Central this year, but Arizona is the better team and has the better pitcher going tonight.
Take the Diamondbacks as the small favorite as they grab the road win.
JAZZ
Take the Jazz as the home chalk tonight over the Timberwolves.
Utah is in payback mode for Minnesota?s 110-103 home win over the Jazz on Sunday.
Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan was not pleased with his team?s sloppy performance, which included 18 turnovers and numerous defensive breakdowns that allowed the Timberwolves to shoot 53 percent from the floor.
The revenge angle worked between these two earlier in the season, when Utah avenged a road loss to Minnesota with a 105-76 blowout at Salt Lake City on March 5.
The Jazz are 24-11 ATS in their last 35 games as a home chalk, while Minnesota is just 4-9 ATS in its last 13 against the NBA Northwest.
Lay the points with the Jazz as they grab the home win and cover.