What to bet on Monday: August Madness heats up
Bettors missed out on March Madness because of the coronavirus pandemic, but August Madness is providing a similar experience with daytime NBA and NHL playoff games.
Here’s the betting menu for Monday (with overnight odds at the Westgate):
NBA
(All games at Lake Buena Vista, Florida)
Denver Nuggets (-4½, total 215½, -200 ML) vs. Utah Jazz (+175 ML), Game 1, 10:30 a.m.
The Nuggets are -310 to win the first-round Western Conference series over the Jazz (+260). The likeliest series result is the Nuggets winning in five games (+325). Denver got a boost when Utah point guard Mike Conley left the NBA bubble for the birth of his son. It is unknown how many games he will miss.
Toronto Raptors (-10, 222, -550) vs. Brooklyn Nets (+425), Game 1, 1 p.m.
The defending champion Raptors are -5,000 to win the first-round Eastern Conference series over the Nets (+1,500). The likeliest series result is the Raptors winning in a four-game sweep (-110).
Boston Celtics (-6, 218, -275) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (+235), Game 1, 3:30 p.m.
The Celtics are -400 to win the first-round Eastern Conference series over the 76ers (+330). The likeliest series result is the Celtics winning in five games (+275). The 76ers have been badly weakened during the restart with the loss of star Ben Simmons to a knee injury.
Los Angeles Clippers (-6½, 230½, -280) vs. Dallas Mavericks (+240), Game 1, 6 p.m.
The Clippers are -650 to win the first-round Western Conference series over the Mavericks (+475). The likeliest series result is the Clippers winning in five games (+250). The Clippers have recently been installed as the +275 overall favorites to win the title.
NHL
Tampa Bay Lightning (-155, total 5 over -115) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (+140), Game 4, noon at Toronto
The Lightning hold a 2-1 lead in the first-round Eastern Conference series and are -700 to advance. Tampa Bay won Game 3 on Saturday 3-2 in what has been a tightly played series.
Colorado Avalanche (-170, 5½ under -140) vs. Arizona Coyotes (+155), Game 4, 2:30 p.m. at Edmonton, Alberta
The Avalanche hold a 2-1 lead in the first-round Western Conference series and are -900 to advance. The Coyotes gained a foothold in the series with a 4-2 victory Saturday in Game 3.
Boston Bruins (-115, 5 over -135) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (+105), Game 4, 5 p.m. at Toronto
The Bruins hold a 2-1 lead in the first-round Eastern Conference series and are -280 to advance. Boston is coming off a 3-1 victory Saturday in Game 3, its first with Jaroslav Halak in goal after Tuuka Rask opted out of the rest of the season.
St. Louis Blues (-125, 5½ under -125) vs. Vancouver Canucks (+115), Game 4, 7:30 p.m. at Edmonton, Alberta
There were no overnight odds available for this Game 4 after the Blues won 3-2 in overtime late Sunday to cut the Canucks’ lead to 2-1 in the first-round Western Conference series.
MLB
(Pitchers subject to change)
(Note: xFIP is an advanced stat that is a more accurate measure of a pitcher’s performance than ERA.)
St. Louis Cardinals (+161) at Chicago Cubs (-172, 6½ over -115), 2:15 p.m. (first game of seven-inning doubleheader)
Probable pitchers: St. Louis’ Kwang-Hyun Kim (LHP, 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 3.14 xFIP) vs. Chicago’s Kyle Hendricks (RHP, 3-1, 3.08 ERA, 3.47 xFIP)
St. Louis Cardinals (no line) at Chicago Cubs, 5:15 p.m. (second game of seven-inning doubleheader)
Probable pitchers: TBA
Note: St. Louis will serve as home team and bat second.
Toronto Blue Jays (-130, 8½ over -130) at Baltimore Orioles (+120), 4:05 p.m.
Probable pitchers: Toronto’s Hyun-Jin Ryu (LHP, 1-1, 4.05 ERA, 3.60 xFIP) vs. Baltimore’s Alex Cobb (RHP, 1-1, 2.75 ERA, 3.77 xFIP)
Boston Red Sox (+145) at New York Yankees (-155, 10 under -120), 4:05 p.m.
Probable pitchers: Boston’s Martin Perez (LHP, 2-2, 3.38 ERA, 5.33 xFIP) vs. New York’s Jordan Montgomery (LHP, 2-1, 5.17 ERA, 4.74 xFIP)
Washington Nationals (+145) at Atlanta Braves (-155, 10 over -115), 4:10 p.m.
Probable pitchers: Washington’s Anibal Sanchez (RHP, 0-3, 9.69 ERA, 6.20 xFIP) vs. Atlanta’s Touki Toussaint (RHP, 0-1, 7.27 ERA, 3.22 xFIP)
New York Mets (-155, 9 over -115) at Miami Marlins (+145), 4:10 p.m.
Probable pitchers: New York’s Robert Gsellman (RHP, 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 4.38 xFIP) vs. Miami’s Jordan Yamamoto (RHP, 0-0, 9.82 ERA, 5.48 xFIP)
Detroit Tigers (+148) at Chicago White Sox (-158, 9½), 5:10 p.m.
Probable pitchers: Detroit’s Matthew Boyd (LHP, 0-2, 10.24 ERA, 5.44 xFIP) vs. Chicago’s Gio Gonzalez (LHP, 0-1, 6.61 ERA, 5.40 xFIP)
Kansas City Royals (+152) at Minnesota Twins (-162, 9½ under -120), 5:10 p.m.
Probable pitchers: Kansas City’s Kris Bubic (LHP, 0-2, 5.40 ERA, 3.89 xFIP) vs. Minnesota’s Matt Wisler (RHP, 0-1, 1.80 ERA, 5.16 xFIP)
San Diego Padres (-138, 9) at Texas Rangers (+128), 6:05 p.m.
Probable pitchers: San Diego’s Zach Davies (RHP, 2-2, 2.78 ERA, 4.26 xFIP) vs. Texas’ Jordan Lyles (RHP, 1-1, 6.06 ERA, 7.15 xFIP)
Colorado Rockies (+150) at Houston Astros (-160, 9½), 6:10 p.m.
Probable pitchers: Colorado’s Kyle Freeland (LHP, 2-0, 2.45 ERA, 4.46 xFIP) vs. Houston’s Brandon Bielak (RHP, 2-0, 1.76 ERA, 4.60 xFIP)
Oakland Athletics (-101) at Arizona Diamondbacks (-109, 9 under -115), 6:40 p.m.
Probable pitchers: Oakland’s Chris Bassitt (RHP, 2-0, 2.42 ERA, 4.64 xFIP) vs. Arizona’s Zac Gallen (RHP, 0-0, 2.74 ERA, 3.44 xFIP)
San Francisco Giants (+155) at Los Angeles Angels (-165, 10), 6:40 p.m.
Probable pitchers: San Francisco’s Tyler Anderson (LHP, 0-1, 3.63 ERA, 6.36 xFIP) vs. Los Angeles’ Griffin Canning (RHP, 0-3, 4.42 ERA, 5.15 xFIP)
Seattle Mariners (+280) at Los Angeles Dodgers (-320, 10), 6:40 p.m.
Probable pitchers: Seattle’s Justin Dunn (RHP, 1-1, 4.85 ERA, 7.06 xFIP) vs. Los Angeles’ Ross Stripling (RHP, 3-1, 3.97 ERA, 4.79 xFIP)
What happened Sunday
NHL
The Golden Knights suffered their first loss inside the NHL bubble, falling to the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 in Game 4 of their Western Conference playoff series. The Blackhawks cashed as +170 underdogs, and the game stayed well under 6.
Vegas still leads the series 3-1 and has a chance to advance Tuesday.
Favorites went 3-2 overall Sunday, and unders went 4-1. In the other games:
— The New York Islanders (underdogs at -105) beat Washington 2-1 in overtime to take a 3-0 series lead. The total stayed under 5.
— Dallas (-120) outlasted Calgary 5-4 in overtime to even their series at 2. The total sailed over 5.
— Philadelphia (-135) edged Montreal 1-0 to take a 2-1 lead in their series. Under 5 was an easy winner.
— St. Louis (-140) avoided falling into a huge series deficit by defeating Vancouver 3-2 in overtime. The Canucks still lead the series 2-1. The total stayed under 5½.
MLB
Favorites went 12-2 in games that started Sunday. (Tampa Bay also finished off a 3-2 victory over Toronto in a game that was suspended from Saturday.) The only upsets were Milwaukee (+110) beating the Cubs 6-5 in Chicago, and Arizona (+105) rallying for a 5-4 home victory over San Diego.
Totals split 7-7 between the over and under.
PGA
Jim Herman shot 7-under 63 in the final round to win the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, by one stroke (21-under 259) over Billy Horschel.
Herman was listed as high as 1,027-1 at Circa Sports. The Westgate reported taking one $2 bet on Herman at 600-1 before the tournament.
Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.
