Phoenix at Portland

The Suns look to take a commanding 3-1 advantage in this best-of-7 Western Conference first-round series when they meet the Trail Blazers for Game 4 inside the Rose Garden. After a stunning defeat in Game 1 in Phoenix, the Suns have throttled the Blazers in the last two contests, winning 119-90 on Tuesday as an 8½-point home favorite and then rolling to a 108-89 road win in Game 3 on Thursday, cashing as a 1½-point underdog. Phoenix shot 52.9 percent from the floor Thursday and got 42 points from Jason Richardson on 13-for 19 shooting. Amare Stoudemire chipped in 20 points and Steve Nash added 13 points and 10 assists, as the Suns opened with a 34-16 first quarter and never looked back. Phoenix is 23-19 (24-18 ATS) away from home this season and has won eight of its last 10 on the road (6-4 ATS). The Blazers are 26-16 in the Pacific Northwest (19-22-1 ATS) and they’ve still won seven of their last 10 at home (5-5 ATS). Phoenix is back in the postseason after missing out last year, and this is the Suns’ 19th postseason appearances in the last 22 years. Portland ended a six-year playoff drought last year, but went one-and-done, falling 4-2 to the Rockets (3-3 ATS) in the opening round. 
The season series is now tied 3-3 (3-2-1 ATS for Portland), but the road team has won three of the last five meetings, including two of three (SU and ATS) in this series. The chalk has cashed in 19 of the last 29 battles between these two, and the home team is riding a 6-3-1 ATS streak in the last 10. Phoenix is just 2-7 ATS in its last nine as a playoff favorite of up less than five points and 0-6 ATS in its last six on Saturday, but it is on ATS surges of 27-10-1 overall, 13-5 on the road, 36-17-1 after a day off, 14-5-1 after a spread-cover and 11-3 on the road against teams with a winning home record. Portland is just 2-6 ATS in its last eight at home against teams with winning road records, but it is on positive pointspread streaks of 4-1 after a straight-up loss, 31-4 as a home underdog and 22-10 as a home pup of less than five points. The Suns have topped the total in four of five as a chalk and 7-3 in playoff first-round games, but they are on “under” runs of 7-2-1 as a road underdog, 4-0-1 on the road and 9-3-1 on Saturday. The Blazers have gone over the total in four of five overall and four of five against the Western Conference, but they are on “under” streaks of 12-5 at home, 5-1 after a straight-up loss and 8-1 at home against teams with a winning road record. In this rivalry, the over is 10-4 in the last 14 meetings in Portland, 5-3 in the last eight overall and 2-1 in this playoff series, with Game 3 coming up just short of the 204-point total.

The play is: PHOENIX -1


NATIONAL LEAGUE 

St. Louis (10-6) at San Francisco (9-7) 

Adam Wainwright (3-0, 1.50 ERA) goes after his fourth victory on the young season when he leads the Cardinals against Barry Zito (2-0, 1.86) and the Giants in the middle game of a weekend series at AT&T Park. Behind yet another dominating pitching effort from ace Tim Lincecum, San Francisco rolled to a 4-1 victory Friday, snapping a four-game losing skid. The Giants offense, which was averaging 6.2 runs through the first 11 games of 2010, has generated a combined nine runs during their 1-4 slump. Bruce Bochy’s squad has also dropped five of six on Saturday, but it is on positive streaks of 9-2 at home, 7-1 against the N.L. Central and 10-4 versus right-handed starters 
The Cardinals had arrived in the Bay Area on a 3-1 roll, tallying 25 runs in the process. However, St. Louis has now lost six of eight to N.L. West foes, five of seven against left-handed starters and four straight on the road versus southpaws. The Giants barely won the season series from St. Louis last year, taking four of seven meetings, and San Francisco is 7-3 in the last 10 clashes (3-1 in the last four at AT&T Park). Wainwright is coming off his first complete game of the season, knocking off the Mets 5-3 at home on Sunday. The veteran right-hander allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out nine. Going back to early September, Wainwright has delivered nine straight quality starts – at least six innings pitched and three earned runs or fewer allowed – and he’s surrendered two earned runs or less in eight of those nine contests. During this stretch, Wainwright has amassed 72 strikeouts against just 13 walks in 67 innings. With Wainwright on the mound, the hill, the Cardinals are on incredible runs of 40-16 overall, 21-6 on the road, 25-5 against winning teams and 9-3 on Saturday. In his only road outing this season, he pitched St. Louis to a 6-3 win at Cincinnati, allowing two runs on three hits in seven innings, and he’s now allowed five earned runs in his last four road starts covering 30 innings (1.50 ERA). Also, Wainwright is 1-2 with a 3.71 ERA in five lifetime appearances (three starts) against the Giants, but the one victory came at home last July when he scattered six hits and three walks while striking out 12 in a 2-1 triumph. Zito pitched a gem on Sunday in Los Angeles, holding the Dodgers to a run on four hits in 7 1/3 innings, and though he departed with a 1-0 lead, the bullpen immediately squandered it, surrendering a two-run homer to pinch-hitter Manny Ramirez, and the Giants fell, 2-1. All three of Zito’s starts have been quality efforts this season, including a 9-3 win over the Pirates in his only home outing (three runs allowed in six innings). San Francisco has won five of Zito’s last seven starts overall, six of his last eight at home and 14 of 17 when he pitches in the second game of a series, but the Giants are 7-19 in Zito’s last 26 against the N.L. Central. That includes four losses to the Cardinals, against whom Zito is 0-4 with a 5.56 ERA in five starts (four with San Francisco, one with Oakland). The Cardinals are batting a robust .339 all-time against the Las Vegas native. The Cardinals remain on “under” runs of 10-4 overall, 4-1 against left-handed starters and 3-0-1 on Saturday. However, with Wainwright pitching, the over is on surges of 5-2 overall, 13-6-2 on the road and 8-3-1 on Saturday. The Giants also carry “under” trends of 5-0 overall, 19-7-3 versus the N.L. Central, 6-1-1 when Zito faces N.L. Central opponents and 3-0-1 when Zito works on Saturday. However, San Francisco is also on “over” runs of 5-2-1 at home and 7-3-2 against right-handed starters.
Finally, nine of the last 14 battles between these teams, including five of the last seven in San Francisco, have jumped over the posted total. 

The Plays: SAN FRANCISCO +145 and OVER 7