The Sports Predictor

We Provide FREE sports previews and predictions for MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, College Basketball (mostly top 25) and College Football (mostly top 25).

Milwaukee Brewers (Gallardo) @ St. Louis Cardinals (Carpenter) 8:05pm.

The Brewers (4-3, 0-2 road, playoffs) will start Yovani Gallardo (1-0, 1.29 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, playoffs). Gallardo has not pitched on the road in the playoffs.  Gallardo has had mixed results against the Cardinals in the regular season, on 5/7, he threw 8 innings of 1 hit shutout ball in a 4-0 win. On 8/11, he threw 5 innings, allowed 4 earned runs and 2 homers at St. Louis in a 5-2 loss. On 9/1, he was rocked for 8 runs in 4.2 innings and gave up 4 homers in an 8-4 loss to St. Louis.  On 9/6, he pitched 6 innings and allowed 3 runs in a 4-2 loss at St. Louis.  Berkman is 8-27, Freese 0-7, Furcal 5-12, Holliday 4-18, Jay 3-13, Molina 5-21, Pujols 12-27, 4 homers, Schumaker 4-20 and Theriot 5-15 vs. Gallardo.  The Cardinals (4-3, 1-1 home, playoffs) will start Chris Carpenter (1-0, 3.00 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, playoffs). Carpenter has not had a home playoff start yet this postseason.
Carpenter has two wins in as many starts vs. the Brewers in the regular season.  On 8/11, Carpenter threw 8 innings, allowed 10 hits and 2 runs in a 5-2 win.  On 9/7, he pitched a complete game 4 hit shutout in a 2-0 win.  Betancourt is 4-9, Braun 5-22, Fielder 8-26, 2 hr, Hart 5-21, Lucroy 1-10, McGehee 6-24, Morgan 4-23 and Weeks 6-10, 3 hr vs. Carpenter.  

Given the Brewers struggles on the road and Gallardo's struggles with St. Louis in the regular season, St. Louis is the pick here.  Also, Carpenter is coming off of a complete game shutout win at Philadelphia and dominated the Brewers at home in the regular season.  With a run line around 7, the UNDER on runs is the play given how well each starter has been in the postseason thus far, as well as their ability to work deep into games.

Colorado Avalanche @ Columbus Blue Jackets 7:00pm.

The Avalance (1-1, 1-0 road) are coming off a quality road win at defending cup champion Boston, 1-0.  Goalie Semyon Varlamov has been outstanding so far for the Avalanche, posting a 1.00 GAA with a 97.1 save % through 2 starts.  Colorado has had major problems scoring however, only posting 1 goal in two games thus far.  Columbus (0-3, 0-2 home) has been able to score to some degree, scoring 2 each in the first three losses.  They lost 3-2 at home to Nashville and Vancouver, respectively.  Steve Mason has been a below average goalie for the last two plus seasons, posting a GAA over 3.00 and save percentage right around 90%, which is simply not good enough.

With the young Varlamov set to start tonight at Columbus, that should be enough for Colorado to get the win.  Something has to give between the Avalanche's weak offense and Mason's inability to keep the puck out of his own net, bet on the Avalanche getting to Mason a few times in a Colorado win.  This line is especially attractive given that Colorado is the underdog here, around +115.

Vancouver Canucks @ Philadelphia Flyers 7:30pm.

The Canucks (1-0-1, 1-0 road) are coming off of a 3-2 comeback win over the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets.  Such a struggle tonight in Philadelphia will likely land the Canucks an L, as Philadelphia (2-0, 2-0 road) has had back to back impressive road wins to start the season.  They won 2-1 at Boston on 10/6 and followed that up with a 3-0 win at New Jersey on 10/8.  The addition of Ilya Bryzgalov has made a huge difference for the Flyers thus far, as he has only allowed one goal in two games thus far.

With the Flyers able to easily handle their business on the road, a home opener against the Canucks is no easy task, but, they will get the win. Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo is also off to a slow start, posting a 2.77 GAA and 89.3% on saves. 

Boston Bruins @ Carolina Hurricanes 7:30pm.

The Bruins (1-2, 0-0 road) will make their road debut tonight.  The Bruins defense has not been a problem thus far, as they are only allowing  1.33 goals per game so far.  The offense has sputtered to a 1.67 goals per game number.  In Boston's defense, facing off against Ilya Bryzgalov and Semyon Varlamov has alot to do with their early season struggles on offense.  Carolina (0-2-1, 0-1 home) has struggled mightily on defense and in the net, allowing 5, 4 and 4 goals to Tampa Bay, Washington and New Jersey, respectively.  Cam Ward, who is normally solid in net, has struggled to an 0-2 mark with a 4.03 GAA and 86.4% on saves.

With Tim Thomas due to start, Boston should get the win.  Thomas has carried over his outstanding play from last season, posting a 1.51 GAA with a 94.5% on saves.  On paper this looks like a complete mismatch, as it does in reality.