Phil Agius
Show Bio
Good morning, Pickswise Nation. Congratulations to new NBA champion Golden State Warriors! The pro basketball season is over now, but we have another fantastic Friday of sports ahead — with a big day of baseball, day 2 at the U.S. Open golf, Royal Ascot horse racing and Premier Lacrosse League action. Let’s get straight to making your next bet better!
About Last Night
Road Warriors claim the crown
Golden State was clearly not in the mood to mess around waiting to win a Game 7 on its home court, instead clinching the NBA Finals 4-2 with a 103-90 win in Boston last night. The Celtics had been 4-point favorites at home and did jump into a 14-2 lead, but it was all downhill from there as they found themselves 15 points behind by halftime. The Warriors are +600 odds to win again next season with DraftKings Sportsbook, which has the Clippers, Celtics and Nets at the same price.
Great day of MLB picks
The Pickswise team remained in fine form on the baseball diamond, going 5-4 on ML/RL picks and a tremendous 7-1-1 on totals on Thursday, with our 3-star play of over 9 in Phillies vs Nationals cashing as the Phillies won 10-1. The A’s upset the Red Sox for a rare win, the Orioles blasted the Blue Jays 10-2 and the Yankees won their 14th straight home game, beating the Rays 2-1.
Today’s Slate
Big day of baseball
We have a big slate of 16 MLB games today, with the Phillies and Nationals playing a doubleheader, with the first game at 1:05 pm ET. ESPN+ is showing Rays vs Orioles at 6:05 pm ET, while Apple TV+ has White Sox vs Astros at 8:10 pm ET and Guardians vs Dodgers at 10:10 pm ET. Read today’s MLB game previews.
Friday night lacrosse
We have a battle of unbeaten teams in the Premier Lacrosse League tonight as the Whipsnakes take on the Atlas (8:45 pm ET, ESPN+) while another 2-0 team, the Chrome, meet the Waterdogs in the first game of Week 3 at 6:00 pm ET on ESPN+. Read today’s lacrosse predictions.
Best Bet of the Day
Over 8 runs in Atlanta Braves vs Chicago Cubs
2:20 pm ET
The Braves have been scoring a lot of runs and the Cubs have been giving up a lot of runs. That combination makes it surprising that the number is set at just 8 for this afternoon game. The weather can be a factor in Chicago, but the over still looks good. Atlanta went over in all 3 games of their sweep at Washington to start the week, while they are 11-1 O/U this season in games started by Charlie Morton. Read our full game preview for Braves vs Cubs.
Must-watch
Don’t forget to check out our daily show Let’s Bet It! on our YouTube channel atyoutube.com/c/Pickswise at 10:00 am ET.
Mark Zinno and Jared Smith are your hosts today, and they will be joined by former NBA champion Brian Scalabrine to round off the NBA season and look ahead to the draft. Pickswise lacrosse handicapper Dan Arestia will also be joining the team to preview Week 3 of the Premier Lacrosse League. They will also be looking ahead to today’s MLB games and revealing their Plays of the Day.
You can also access the show at any time through Spotify and Apple Podcasts (search for Let’s Bet It Presented By Pickswise).
Must-read
Adam Hadwin leads the U.S. Open after day 1 at Brookline and we have the best 3-ball bets and a parlay for round 2, and don’t forget you can still check out our awesome player guide, with notes on every player in the field.
Our player prop pick for tomorrow’s Stanley Cup game is already available, and for today’s baseball we have a mega parlay (+867 odds) and same game parlays for White Sox vs Astros and Guardians vs Dodgers.
We’re also set for Week 3 of the Premier Lacrosse League season, and you can read our Week 3 picks and this week’s best prop bets for the games, which are being shown on ESPN+ and ABC this week, as well as our look at the latest PLL futures odds.
It’s the final week of the USFL regular season and our best bets for Week 10 are available now, and you can also read our horse racing picks for today’s Royal Ascot meeting, including several American contenders.
Read all of our great sports analysis as it arrives throughout the day on the Analysis tab.
Stat of the Day
The total has gone over in the Blue Jays’ last 10 home games.
Pickswise is the home of free sports picks, news, and best bets. Check out our expert NBA picks, NHL picks, MLB picks and Soccer picks for the latest game picks.
