It was another 2-1 night last night with my play of the day on the over in Houston/Minnesota hitting after the game was delayed. The Phillies showed up as the Reds struggles against left-handers continued and Cleveland couldn’t manage to come all the way back against the Rangers.

It’s on to tonight’s card though with the Stanley Cup Playoffs getting going again as well as a full MLB card.

All lines taken from Pinnacle Sports with bet amounts “to win” on favorites and flat on underdogs

Play of the Day in Bold

NBA YTD: 12-13-1 (-$187)

NHL YTD: 9-12-3 (-$177)

MLB YTD: 51-56-7 (+$192)

Belmont Stakes Thoughts

I read DRock’s thoughts on the Belmont Stakes and was surprised to see what he said. Quite frankly I couldn’t disagree more with his idea that this is a “Hollywood” storybook finish because history tells me otherwise. No horse has won the Triple Crown since 1978 and it’s not like it’s a small sample size either. 11 horses have had the chance to win the Belmont for the Triple Crown since 1978 and all 11 have failed. That’s not even including “I’ll Have Another” in 2012 after he won the first two legs and pulled out of the Belmont.

The last horse to race with a shot at the Triple Crown was Big Brown in 2008. Brown was absolutely dominant in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and entered the Belmont as a heavy favorite; sound familiar? Well Big Brown pulled up early in that race and didn’t even finish the race as Da’Tara came in to win at nearly 80-1. I’m not saying a longshot will come in today, but there is no chance I’m betting California Chrome to win. The history against it is just too strong.

As for a winner, I really like Tonalist (+700ish) as this horse has had a full month off after winning last time out. Chrome will be in contention no doubt but like many others before him will come up short.

Belmont Plays: Will California Chrome win?: No (-140)

MLB Plays

Tampa Bay ML (-153) $302 to win $200 and Over 7 (-105) $315 to win $300

The Rays halted their double digit losing streak with a 4-0 win over the Mariners last night and manager Joe Maddon is hoping that victory sparks a strong run. But these two plays are all about my strategy I’ve mentioned numerous times here at Drock Sports.

Seattle starter Roenis Elias pitched a complete-game, shutout in his last outing against the high-powered Detroit Tigers. The young Mariners pitcher was on target with everything he threw that day and is in line for some serious regression soon. Tampa has got some of their confidence back after yesterday’s victory and they will parlay that into another win tonight.

Philadelphia ML (+130) $200 to win $260

I was on the Phillies last night and am going back to the well with them again today. The Reds are just trying to stay afloat while Joey Votto is injured and without him in the lineup they just don’t have a dangerous lineup that can extend rallies.

Like the Rays, Philly ended a long losing streak yesterday and are looking to keep the good times rolling. Philly is 13-5 SU when umpire Chris Guccione is calling balls and strikes for their games and while that doesn’t mean a whole lot, having the ump on your side is never a bad thing.

LAA ML (+106) $200 to win $212

L.A is facing the only legitimate pitcher the White Sox have in their starting rotation (Chris Sale) and Sale is one of the better ones in the league. But the Angels aren’t the same frazzled team they were a year ago as they are starting to click on all cylinders and have a much deeper lineup to deal with the strong lefty.

The Angels aren’t going to be home underdogs very often and I have no problem jumping on them at this price tonight.

NHL Plays

NYR/L.A Under 5 (-120) $240 to win $200

Going back with the same play I had in Game 1 of this series as I expect every game in this series to be relatively low-scoring. The nerves of being in the Finals are gone now and the hatred is starting to set in and when that happens you know the physicality will pick up. Both of these teams are built from the net out with defense being their strengths and I doubt we see three goals scored in a period again tonight. We saw just how good Henrik Lundqvist could be for New York in that 20-3 shots ambush he faced in the 3rd period of Game 1 and Quick will match him save for save.