Jim Feist Handicapper Review & Free Sports Picks

Tonight the St. Louis Cardinals begin a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park with the first pitch planned for 6:45 PM ET. Both teams are riding high. St. Louis is on an eight-game winning streak and Philadelphia has won five of their last six games.

The pitching matchup features two left-handers: The Cardinals' left-hander Matthew Liberatore will face off against Phillies' Cristopher Sánchez. In his most recent five starts, Liberatore has maintained excellent form by allowing no more than two runs in each appearance. Throughout the season he posted a 3.07 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP during his 41 innings of work. Sánchez delivered impressive performance with a 2.89 ERA and a 4-1 win-loss record. During his most recent game he pitched six scoreless innings against Tampa Bay. The matchup becomes more interesting because both pitchers have previously shown success against tonight's opponent.

Kyle Schwarber leads the Phillies offensively with 14 home runs and 32 RBIs while Trea Turner maintains a .310 batting average. Brendan Donovan leads the Cardinals' offense with a .318 batting average while catcher Willson Contreras contributes with 23 RBIs. The Phillies and Cardinals have shown strong offensive performances as the Phillies average 4.82 runs per game while the Cardinals trail just behind at 4.70.

This matchup will feature two teams that are currently performing at their peak level. The Cardinals are also a nice dog here on Monday. With their recent win streak and a decent pitcher on the hill, that makes the Cards a nice live dog play.

Jim’s Play: St Louis Cardinals.

The Boston Red Sox face the Detroit Tigers tonight at Comerica Park to begin a three-game series with the first pitch at 6:40 PM ET. The Tigers currently lead the AL Central with a record of 26-15 while the Red Sox stand second in the AL East with a 22-20 record as both teams aim to establish dominance in the American League.

Boston approaches this series with momentum from winning four out of their last five games due to effective pitching performances. The Red Sox pitching staff has shown impressive form during their past five games by conceding only eight runs. Despite strong pitching the team faces offensive inconsistency while waiting to confirm whether Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman can participate since they play essential roles in the lineup's productivity.

Right-handed pitcher Tanner Houck takes the mound for Boston and looks to secure his season's first victory. Houck's overall record stands at 0-2 and 6.10 ERA but he has performed well against Detroit with a 2-0 record and 1.42 ERA in four games against the Tigers.

Detroit sends rookie right-hander Jackson Jobe to the mound who has begun his major league career with two wins and a 4.88 earned run average. Jackson Jobe demonstrated exceptional performance at Comerica Park with a 2.70 ERA across two starts at home. The Tigers aim to recover from their defeat against the Texas Rangers by depending on their offensive strength and Spencer Torkelson who has achieved 10 home runs and 33 RBIs this season.

Still not sure if Jobe is the real deal or not. He should be tested by this Red Sox offense today. Plus Boston has been riding high on their pitcher.  This could be a low scoring game with the pitching matchup.  I’ll take the visitors here today.

Jim’s Play: Boston Red Sox.

Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors is set for Monday, May 12, 2025 at 7:00 PM PDT at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

The Minnesota Timberwolves hold a 2-1 series advantage following their 102-97 Game 3 win. Anthony Edwards dominated with 36 points including a 13-point fourth quarter performance as Julius Randle recorded a triple-double by contributing 24 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. The Warriors endured difficulties as Stephen Curry stayed out with a hamstring injury despite Jimmy Butler's 33 points and Jonathan Kuminga's 30 bench points.

The Warriors' offensive system operates without its normal flow in Curry's absence while Butler shows signs of fatigue after his 43-minute performance in Game 3. The Warriors' performance suffered additional setbacks when Draymond Green fouled out during the game's closing moments.

Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels serve as the foundation of Minnesota's defense which has successfully restricted the Warriors' scoring chances. Minnesota took advantage of second-chance scoring opportunities while surpassing Golden State in rebounds with a 44-36 advantage during Game 3.

The Warriors' path to evening out the series remains challenging without clear information on Curry's potential return.  However, I expect an all out performance from the Warriors as they can ill afford to go back to Minnesota down 1-3 in the series.

Take: 578. Warriors

Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks is set for Monday, May 12, 2025, at 4:30 PM PDT at Madison Square Garden. The New York Knicks hold a 2-1 series advantage following the Boston Celtics' 115-93 Game 3 win. A remarkable shooting performance propelled Boston to a resurgence when they hit 20 of their 40 three-point attempts as Payton Pritchard achieved a playoff career-high 23 points while playing off the bench. Jayson Tatum produced 22 points while also delivering nine rebounds and seven assists for a well-rounded offensive performance.

The Knicks who took an unexpected 2-0 series lead with victories in Boston experienced difficulties in Game 3 where they made just 5 of their 25 attempted three-pointers. Jalen Brunson scored 27 points to lead New York while Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 21 points and 15 rebounds. Coach Tom Thibodeau identified team slow starts as a persistent problem and called for more defensive intensity and urgency from the beginning of games.

The Celtics gained control through their Game 3 triumph and now seeks to tie the series before returning to their home court for Game 5. The Celtics must succeed in taking advantage of open shots while keeping defensive pressure to achieve victory. The Knicks must reassert their defensive identity while improving offensive execution to take back control of the series. The result of Game 4 will play a decisive role in determining how this evenly matched series will progress.

I don’t expect the same effort from the Knicks here in game four. The Knicks will come out strong and fast in this game.  They don’t want to give back home court to the Celtics and that means a win here in game four.

Take: 576. Knicks