Jim Feist Handicapper Review & Free Sports Picks

The New York Yankees can take care of business against Boston in game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series on Wednesday. After winning game 1 by 9 runs, the Yankees will have plenty of momentum going into Wednesday. Not only did they get a great offensive game from Ben Rice, they also had Cam Schlittler throw 6 1/3 scoreless innings. Which gave them a chance to not use many of their high leverage relievers. This leaves them with plenty of bullpen available for game 2.

The Yankees will have Max Fried take the ball in game 2. Fried finished the regular season with a 2.80 ERA and 0.99 WHIP over 20 starts. Giving the Yankees another good starter to go against a Boston team that was struck out cold in game 1 and have had trouble producing offense over the last stretch of the season.

The Red Sox will have Sonny Gray start for them in game 2. He had a very good season going 18-5 with a 2.72 ERA. So expect this game to be much more competitive then the box score from game 1. However, the Yankees had more home runs over the course of the season. They hit 223 home runs, Boston only had 163. And also had the better team ERA. Although the Yankees will be missing Aaron Judge for this wild card series with a calf injury, they proved in game 1 that they can hit without him. Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, George Lombard Jr. and others can produce.

If they can keep Max Fried on the mound, they have plenty of bullpen, and play at home they should be able to take care of business in game 2 on Wednesday.

Jim’s Play: 906. Yankees

Atlanta has a very good chance to end this series on Wednesday against Washington. After winning game 1 by a score of 92-77. Game 1 saw the dream down as high as 11 but when they started to press on defense it took a turn. With 22 turnovers from Washington and 16 steals, a playoff record for the franchise, Atlanta was able to pull away.

With Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray on the perimeter Atlanta has a lot of weapons. Howard had 26 points and 5 steals in game 1 and Gray finished with 22 points. Angel Reese also chipped in with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Jordin Canada led the team with 11 assists along with 10 points. Another player to mention is DeWanna Bonner she came off the bench and scored 13 points. Which helped the dream take off in the third quarter.

Rebounding is going to be Atlanta's biggest issue. Washington was able to out rebound the dream 50-31 in game 1. The dream will not be able to out play that every game. Even though they were out rebounded that bad they were still able to win by 15. They got a lot of stops from their guards which lead to more clean shots for Atlanta. So they have a good chance going into game 2.

Atlanta is also coming into this with one of the highest scoring teams in the league. They averaged 91.3 points per game during the regular season. And went on a 5 game win streak to end the regular season. Washington beat them in 2 of the 3 meetings they played in the regular season. So traveling will not be easy but as stated above they have a lot of weapons on the perimeter with Howard and Gray. And Angel Reese on the interior along with Jordin Canada and DeWanna Bonner.

If they can continue to press on Washington's younger guards and improve on the defensive glass they should be able to get enough points in transition and from the perimeter to win game 2. Atlanta's veterans and ability to press will be the key to winning game 2 on Wednesday.

Jim’s Play :613. Atlanta Dream

With both teams being able to score at a rapid pace and neither team being solid at defense I believe we will see an over in this game on Wednesday. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia always play each other with intensity. But that can lead to more odd man rushes, turn overs and time in the offensive zone. All of these things can help you get over a number.

Pittsburgh is going to have to do most of the scoring in this game. Crosby, Malkin and Erik Karlsson will all be able to score goals on the power play or even strength. Although Pittsburgh has been playing some bad hockey their star players are still going to be able to produce goals. Crosby can score at any point of the game, Malkin can win puck battles and Karlsson will be able to feed pucks down the ice.

Philadelphia can also help get this game over. They play fast and have the ability to score on the rush. With Konecny and Tippett they can score on the rush or shoot from the point. If the Flyers can force the Penguins to make quick decisions they will be able to get more chances on the rush.

Another thing that could get this game to go over is the lack of defense on both teams. Pittsburgh has been giving up a lot of chances and so has Philadelphia. If the goalies play badly we will see more goals in this game.

Power plays will play a big role as well. Pittsburgh can score on the power play and Philadelphia will be able to get goals with their pressure. If one team gets a power play goal early it will force the other team to open up.

I think this game will go over if both teams continue to play the way they have been playing. With the speed that Pittsburgh can score and Philadelphia can score on the rush this game will most likely go over.

Jim’s Play: 11. Penguins / Flyers OVER