The Arizona Diamondbacks host the Philadelphia Phillies tonight in Game 1 of a 3 game series tonight at Chase Field. Cory Lidle is the starter for Philadelphia, while undefeated Brandon Webb goes for Arizona. My pick is for the Arizona Diamondbacks on the Run Line (-1.5).

Brandon Webb currently is riding a 25-inning scoreless streak. He is 2 1/3 innings from breaking the Arizona franchise mark for scoreless innings pitched. Webb is also sitting on an 8-0 record, the best in the majors. Arizona is returning from a 10 game road trip, and a 4 game road sweep of the Atlanta Braves. I don't think the Diamondbacks will suffer from the 1st game back from a road trip malaise with their ace on the mound. Arizona has the LA Dodgers hot on their trail for the division lead, so wins are needed for the D-Backs. Cory Lidle is tonight's pitcher for the Philadelphia, and he is a below average starter. He's not really much of a match for Brandon Webb. I look for Arizona to get to Lidle for at least 4 or 5 runs in support of Webb and his 9th victory of the season.

The struggling Milwaukee Brewers welcome the San Diego Padres to Miller Park for the 1st game of a 4 game series. Clay Hensley is the starter for San Diego, while Chris Capuano goes for Milwaukee. My pick is for the San Diego Padres.

The Brew Crew is on a cold streak. They have lost their last 8 games. They have recently been swept by such powerhouses (not) as the Pittsburgh Pirates (4 games) and the Washington Nationals (3 games). Clay Hensley is pitching well for San Diego. His last 2 starts have been wins. On May 26th he pitched 8 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals, giving up only 1 run and 5 hits. Then on May 31st he pitched 6 innings against Colorado and gave up 2 runs and 8 hits. I like Hensley's recent form in factoring in my decision for tonight's game. That, and the Brewers losing streak equals my lean towards the Padres as an underdog in tonight's game.

Bitter rivals the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees meet in New York tonight in Game 1 of a 4 game series. Josh Beckett is tonight's starter for Boston, while Mike Mussina starts for New York. My pick is for the Boston Red Sox.

Josh Beckett has had success at Yankee Stadium in his still young career. Some people excel in the bright lights of New York and some people flounder. Beckett appears to like pitching in New York. He pitched the World Series clincher when he was with Florida in 2003. In that game he pitched a 5 hit shutout against the mighty Bronx Bombers. He had another start at Yankee Stadium this year and won that game as well. He pitched 7 innings and gave up 3 Runs and 6 hits in a 14-3 drubbing of the Yanks. I like his track record at Yankee Stadium. New York is really ailing right now to boot. Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield will not play tonight due to injuries. As well, Jason Giambi is questionable with a stomach flu and Derek Jeter & Alex Rodriguez will likely play with minor injuries. This is not a full strength Yankees squad.

The Seattle Storm host the San Antonio Silver Stars tonight in WNBA action. My pick is for San Antonio +7 points.

The San Antonio Silver Stars are an improved bunch compared to last year's team. Last year they finished 7-27, so far this year they are a surprising 3-2. They've already topped their total for road wins from last season with 3. They are actually 3-0 on the road. Last year they went 2-15 on the road. The Silver Stars are a different team now, with different players. In their last game they defeated the defending champion Sacramento Monarchs on the road. Seattle has also played the Monarchs on the road this year, but their result was a 21 point thrashing at the hands of the Monarchs. Seattle has posted 90+ points in their 3 wins so far this season, but in the previous 2 follow up games, this game being the 3rd time, the points drop-off has been substantial. Seattle has lost both of these follow up games, posting a meager 62.5 points average in these 2 games. This trend tonight would point to a low scoring total once again tonight.

I'll go with the San Antonio Silver Stars and the comfortable 7 point cushion they are getting tonight.

The Dallas Mavericks host the Phoenix Suns in Game 5 of their best-of-7 Western Conference Final series tonight at American Airlines Arena in Dallas. My pick is the Phoenix Suns on the Moneyline.

Phoenix is coming off of a 106-86 dismantling of Dallas in Game 4. The Suns got Raja Bell back in the lineup, and they are now 2-0 in the series when he has played. He will be in the lineup again tonight. Dirk Nowitzki was highly ineffective in Game 4, netting only 11 points, which is his season low. Nowitzki appeared to have trouble with the double teams Phoenix was sending his way. I think with Dirk Nowitzki again being held in check for Game 5, the Mavericks have little hope of winning this game, and they are 6.5 point favorites to boot. For Phoenix to hold Dallas to 86 points in a game is very impressive - while I don't think this game will be as low scoring, I think Phoenix gets the edge due to their comfortable Game 4 victory. Also of note, Dallas' Josh Howard has a shin injury, which isn't expected to keep him out of Game 5, but could be a factor in his overall game. If Nowitzki again faces double teams, Howard will be leaned upon to provide offense for Dallas. If he's not feeling up to par then it may cause difficulties for Dallas offensive game.

The Detroit Shock welcome the New York Liberty to Detroit tonight. My pick is for the New York Liberty +14.5 points.

This is a game where I'm simply looking at the 14.5 point cushion that New York is getting and taking it. If you take a look at the series history between New York and Detroit, in the past 10 games, New York is 4-6 and has not lost by more than 10 points. New York has so far been blown out in all 3 of it's games, but I think tonight they face a team that is more of a defensive club, and would therefore have a harder time blowing teams away. In their 2 victories, Detroit has won 1 game in OT and beaten the other team by 9 points. I think New York can keep this game close enough to cover.

The Atlanta Braves welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks for the 1st game of a 4 game series tonight in Atlanta. Juan Cruz is the starter for Arizona, while lefty Horacio Ramirez goes for Atlanta. My pick is for the Under 9.5 Runs.

This looks like it will be a competitive series, runs should be at a premium. Arizona is in 1st in their division, Atlanta is in 2nd in their division. Let's take a look at the starters in depth. Atlanta's Horacio Ramirez is 13-3 with a 3.46 ERA in his career at Atlanta's Turner Field. In his last start he went 7 innings and gave up only a single run and 7 hits at Wrigley Field in Chicago, so his form is good for the Under. Juan Cruz pitched against the Braves on May 21st and gave up a mere 2 Runs and 2 hits in a home loss. In Cruz's last start, he gave up no runs and only 4 hits in 6 innings against a good hitting Cincinnati Reds team. So his form his good as well.

I'll go with the Under 9.5 in this National League showdown between 2 good teams with good starters on the hill.

The Oakland Athletics host the Kansas City Royals in Game 2 of their 3 game series tonight at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland.
Denny Bautista is the starter for Kansas City and Brad Halsey pitches for Oakland. My pick is for the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals took game 1 of this series last night by a score of 6-4. The Royals are only 4-22 on the road, but will be motivated by the fact they are going for their 1st road series victory so far this season.

I think Kansas City can take tonight's matchup as the pitcher's are a toss-up and Kansas City is offered at a much more attractive price.

The LA Angels host the Minnesota Twins tonight in Game 2 of a 3 game series. The Angels starter tonight is Jeff Weaver, while the Twins go with Scott Baker. My pick is on the Over 9.5 Runs.

Both of these starts are very hittable. The Angels starter, Jeff Weaver, is 2-7 with a 6.99 ERA thus far this season. He is not living up to his potential so far this year. Scott Baker is only 2-4 with a below average 5.48 ERA. I think Los Angeles' and Minnesota's bats can get to these pitchers tonight and push this game over the total.

The San Diego Padres welcome the Colorado Rockies for Game 2 of their 3 game series tonight in San Diego. Aaron Cook is tonight's starter for Colorado, while Chris Young starts for San Diego. My pick is for the Colorado Rockies.

Colorado took Game 1 of this series on Monday, winning by a score of 5-0. The Rockies hit 3 Home Runs in the game. The Rockies have had plenty of success at San Diego's Petco Park so far this year, as they are 4-0 there this season. They scored 32 Runs in 3 games in sweeping the Padres in April. Colorado's Aaron Cook has won his last 4 starts against San Diego, and has only given up 6 Runs in in his last 5 games against them. So to say he has been dominant against them would be an understatement. Cook has given up no more than 4 Runs in his 10 starts so far this season. Chris Young, on the other hand, comes into this game in sub-par form. In his last start against the Dodgers, he gave up 6 Runs & 8 hits in 3 innings.

I think Aaron Cook will extend his streak of giving up less than 5 Runs per game tonight and lead Colorado to victory.

The San Diego Padres and the Colorado Rockies get it on in San Diego on Monday night. My pick is for the over 8 Runs.

I'm betting that the San Diego Padres will be able to get to the very hittable Jason Jennings for 5 or 6 Runs, as well as hitting the bullpen for a couple more. The Padres bats are hot right now, as they put up 10 Runs in their last game. Colorado should contribute a few runs to the Over 8 as well. Colorado is not scoring alot of runs as of late, but they did score 32 Runs in a 3 game series at Petco Park in April. So I think Petco will put an end to the Rockies run scoring woes.