With Arizona having won the first two games of this series, winners of 7 of 10 and San Diego losers of four in a row, the D-Backs should be favored right? Nope, and that is why I'm backing the oddsmaker who has the Padres as the favorite. The biggest reason why the Snakes are underdogs, starter Robbie Ray (1-2, 10.59 ERA). Ray has battled control and location problems en route to 14 walks in 17 innings of work. Besides a horrendous start, Ray and the D-Backs are 4-14 in day games and 2-9 on Sunday's the last few years.

Best of luck and Grind On everyone.

Monday Basketball Bonanza 
*The leans below will not count to my stats here in this thread. Follow or fade, it's up to you!

NBA
WIN - Take DENVER NUGGETS -4 Points over Utah Jazz (1:30 p.m., Monday, Aug. 17th)

I think the Jazz have been one of the worst teams that I've seen since the restart. And to make matters worse they'll be playing without Mike Conley for most of this series since he left the bubble to be there for the birth of his child. Utah's offense is kind of a mess and I think they will struggle against a strong Denver defense. The Nuggets are just 1-3 in their last four games. But they are getting healthier and they have discovered a gem now that they are FINALLY using Michael Porter Jr. I like Denver's starting five a lot more than Utah's here.

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WIN - Take BOSTON CELTICS -6 Points over Philadelphia 76ers (6:30 p.m., Monday, August 17th)

The Celtics have one of the most exciting rosters in the NBA and have shown a comraderie during this bubble, unlike some of the teams. They play with a joy and passion for each other and that will show tonight after a handful of meaningless games to end the seeding portion of the bubble. The Sixers are without Ben Simmons. And while they have shown some signs of getting out of their funk a 4-4 finish to the restart is not what they were looking for. This should be a hard-fought game to start but Kemba, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will be too much for Philly so take the C's.

Last night was Game #3 in this series and the defending champs finally won a bubble game but needed overtime. The Canucks have won 5 out 6 in the bubble and lead this series 2-1 and I'm biting on the plus money with Vancouver. Yes the Blues played like champions last night but the troubles the Blues have had in the net I see the Canucks scoring first and holding on to a commanding 3-1 series lead. Vancouver has won 4 out against the Blues and the Canucks are 5-1 as an underdog.

Best of luck and Grind On everyone.

I know that there is no Russell Westbrook in this game. And I know that Houston has been a dead 'under' team in the bubble, going 'under' in six of their last seven games. But this is by far the lowest total they have faced and I think they are going to be fine. They can still score and no Westbrook just means more shots and opportunities for James Harden. Oklahoma City has been all kinds of erratic on both sides of the court. They have allowed 128 and 121 points. They have scored 116 and 121. But they've also had some duds. Regardless, I know what this team is capable of offensively and I don't think they are going to have any trouble getting to 110 on their own. Oklahoma City has been streaky. I also think that they've played abobe themselves for most of this year. But I think that Houston is really confident in who they are and how they play. I see both teams topping 110 points and I think that the winner of this one is going to have to get to 120. I'll roll with the Rockets taking us 'over'.

Best of luck and Grind On everyone.

Minnesota has the best home record in baseball and I think they will add to that with a win tonight. Rich Hill will be returning from the injured list to make his second start of the season and he has had success against the Brewers in the past. Hill will most likely be on a pitch count, but the Twins bullpen will be better equipped than the Brewers bullpen.These teams played 12 innings last night and the Twins used 3 relievers as compared to the 7 the Brewers needed to finish the game. Brett Anderson will be on the mound for Milwaukee and he has failed to make it through 5 innings in any of his three previous starts, all losses for the Brewers. The Twins didn't hit a home run in last nights contest and I think they will take a couple deep in this one. I like Minnesota here.

Best of luck and Grind On everyone.

I think this line looks pretty fishy, like the bookies are begging for Rockets money here. The Thunder got thrashed in Game 1, and yet the odds stayed the same for Game 2 when you would normally expect an adjustment. We like to be on the side of the bookies, and we think the Thunder are the clear play here today. They are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 after a beatdown of double-digits, and we think they will bounce back well once again here and even this series up today. Houston is shorthanded without Westbrook and the Thunder have been a great bet all season as one of the best ATS teams in the NBA. Houston has been erratic this season; they can look great one game and lousy the next. They rely too much on certain players, and with Westbrook out, that hurts if a couple other guys go cold. The Thunder just seem like a steady team that plays strong team basketball and we think they will bounce back well once again today.

Best of luck and Grind On everyone.

As per our selection on Sevilla to win this game, this is a team that's been doubted all season long despite great success both domestically and across Europe. Sevilla are on an insane run of being unbeaten over their last 20 matches, posting 11 wins during that span including winning their last four games, and eight of their last 9. They play such a high-tempo game that we believe they'll be able to dictate the play to Inter and essentially run them off the pitch. Remember, Inter have played a ton of games over the last month while Sevilla is the fresher of the two teams. Inter Milan has had a solid season themselves, but they are going to be outclassed in this one and Sevilla will do what it does best - pressure the ball, cause turnovers, and score goals. Sevilla wins this game

Best of luck and Grind On everyone.

Arizona's Robbie Ray takes to the hill for the Diamondbacks in this one. Ray is an extremely talented left-handed starter who's carved out solid career thus far. He has struggled early on this season and because of that we are getting extreme value with him at this price in this particular matchup. No starting pitcher has probably been a worse fit overall for his home ball park than Ray being a fly ball pitcher having to pitch about half his games at Chase Field and that's been clearly evident by his career home ERA being more than 1 full run higher at home than it's been on the road. He's had to deal with the same type of bad matchups early on this year as well with 3 of his first 5 starts coming at home in Arizona and a fourth at the most hitter friendly stadium in MLB in Coors Field. The exact opposite will be the case here in this one though with this game tonight being played in San Francisco's Oracle Park which is considered to easily be the best park in MLB for a fly ball pitcher like Ray. In fact Oracle Park has seen the fewest home runs in a season of any park in 5 of the last 6 years and in the other season it was the 2nd most difficult place in the league.

Best of luck and Grind On everyone.

Saturday Baseball and MMA Bonanza 
*The leans below will not count to my stats here in this thread. Follow or fade, it's up to you!

MLB
PUSH - Take WASHINGTON NATIONALS -1.0 RUN over Miami Marlins (4 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 22nd)

This game is going to be a bloodbath. Miami has come back to earth. Hard. They finally remembered that they suck and I think they are going to get hammered here. Miami won the first game of this series. But I don't see the Nationals giving away the weekend so easily. Not behind their ace. Washington has alternated wins and losses in each of their last seven games. I'm not following that weak trend; that just speaks to how inconsistent they have been. When they are good - like a 15-3 win over the Orioles or a 16-4 win over the Mets - they are really good. When they are not, they, well, aren't. But this is a veteran team and they have to be feeling the pinch a little bit after their slow start. The Nationals are also the No. 1 team in the Majors against left-handed pitching, hitting a whopping .312 against southpaws. The Marlins are trotting out Dan Castano, a rookie lefty that shouldn't be at this level. He had an ERA of nearly 4.00 last year in A+ ball. He's never pitched higher than Triple-A prior to this year. He had his MLB debut and got rocked. And then had the predictable bounce back. Good for him. But now this 19th round pick is - like his team - going to come back to reality. Washington absolutely has to have this game. They have their best pitcher on the mound - who, by the way, is in a bounce back spot after allowing five runs and three homers against Baltimore in his last start - and they are facing a Double-A caliber left-handed arm. This is set up for a blowout. I'll call it 7-2 for the good guys.

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WIN - Take SEATTLE MARINERS ML over Texas Rangers (9 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 22nd)

Jordan Lyles is pitching. That's the only reason you need.

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UFC Fight Night: Munhoz vs Edgar
CANCELLED - Take UNDER 1.5 ROUNDS between Alonzo Menifield and Ovince Saint Preux (9:55p.m., Saturday, August 22nd)

For the co-main event of the evening we have a light-heavyweight matchup between Ovince Saint Preux (24-14) and Alonzo Menifield (9-1). This is a great fight which should be very entertaining. Alonzo Menifield has absolute game-changing power. He throws extremely hard and heavy and comes out guns blazing looking for the knockout. However, in his last fight against Devin Clark he showed clear holes in his cardio, grappling and overall cage IQ. He is coming off his first loss as a pro, and he will want to get back some of the hype he had previously - he will have that chance when he faces UFC veteran, OSP. Ovince is an odd fighter, as you really cannot rely on the effort or performance you expect to see. He fights long, has dangerous power (when he lets his hands go) and has the ability to wrestle and finish you with his crafty submissions, especially the 'Von Flue' which has been recreational renamed to the 'Von Preux' - and rightfully so considering he has 4 of the 6 Von Flue finished ever recorded in the UFC. The issue with Saint Preux is in his moments where he stops moving and stands flat footed straight in front of his opponent. His conditioning and chin seem to be tailing off and this is a total set up fight for Menifield to look impressive. We believe Menifield will land a big shot on OSP early, unload and put him away - however, if he is unable to, then as we saw in his last fight he can fall off a cliff, at which point we would expect to see him on his back, scrambling for lazy exits where OSP will be waiting for a submission finish. This could be a dumpster fire that lasts all 3 rounds as both men tire, and it could end early in devastating fashion. We believe the latter is a far more likely option and at plus money, we must take a stab.