Jim Feist

The Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves are set to clash in Game 2 of their Western Conference Semifinals tonight 5:30 PM PDT at Minneapolis' Target Center. The Warriors earned the 1-0 series lead after defeating the Timberwolves 99-88 in Game 1 despite losing Stephen Curry to a Grade 1 hamstring strain early in the match. Golden State will need to depend on their other key players since Curry will miss three upcoming games.

With Curry out the Warriors plan to depend on Jimmy Butler, Buddy Hield, and Draymond Green for offense. Hield scored 24 points during Game 1 while Butler added 20 points with 11 rebounds and 8 assists and Green contributed 18 points together with 8 rebounds and 6 assists. The Warriors secured their victory by limiting the Timberwolves to a shooting percentage of 39.5% overall and 17.2% from beyond the arc.

Game 1 exposed the Timberwolves' offensive difficulties. Anthony Edwards recorded a single point during the first half before accumulating a total of 23 points through an impressive performance in the second half. Naz Reid delivered strong bench performance with 19 points which displayed his capability to stretch the floor. Minnesota requires stronger showings from their bench players and enhanced shooting accuracy to balance out the series.

The absence of Curry poses a major obstacle for the Warriors as they attempt to keep their offensive flow. The Timberwolves plan to take advantage of this chance by using their bigger roster to overpower the paint and dictate the game's pace. The second game will prove critical because both teams will refine their strategies during this closely fought series. I look for the Wolves to bounce back with a big win here on Thursday

Jim’s Play: Minnesota Timberwolves. 

George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida will host the final matchup of the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays three-game series on Thursday, May 8, 2025. After winning the first two games with scores of 8–4 and 7–0 the Phillies now look to sweep the series.

The Philadelphia Phillies will deploy left-handed pitcher Jesús Luzardo to take the mound. This season Luzardo has demonstrated strong performance with a 3–0 record, a 1.94 ERA and 47 strikeouts across 41.2 innings pitched. Throughout seven appearances this season he has thrown four quality starts without ever surrendering more than three earned runs in any single game.

The Tampa Bay team will have right-hander Ryan Pepiot take the mound during the game while he maintains a 2–4 record with a 4.23 ERA. At George M. Steinbrenner Field Ryan Pepiot has maintained a poor performance with a 1–3 record and a 4.82 ERA.

Kyle Schwarber leads the Phillies offensively with 12 home runs and 28 RBIs while Trea Turner maintains a .307 batting average. The Rays' offense produces an average of 3.85 runs per game which places them 22nd in MLB.

I like the way Luzardo has pitched this season and this one looks like a Philly sweep.

Jim’s Free play: Philadelphia Phillies

Fenway Park will host the final game of the series between the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox on Thursday, May 8, 2025 when first pitch takes place at 1:35 p.m. ET. The Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox have similar records of 18-19 and 19-19 respectively which makes their matchup crucial for gaining momentum this weekend.

The pitching matchup features two young right-handers: The Rangers will send Jack Leiter to the mound whereas the Red Sox will counter with their pitcher Brayan Bello. In his first year with the team Jack Leiter has a 2-1 win-loss record while maintaining a 4.58 ERA throughout his 17.2 innings pitched. Brayan Bello has delivered strong performances for Boston with his two wins and 2.55 ERA spread over the same number of innings. The two pitchers intend to stabilize their teams' performances while extending their bullpens' rest periods.

Alex Bregman leads the Red Sox offense with a .327 batting average along with nine home runs and 30 RBIs. Wilyer Abreu emerged as an important player by achieving a .278 batting average and hitting seven home runs. Adolis García tops the Rangers with five home runs and 20 RBIs while Wyatt Langford hits .280 and contributes six homers. Texas brought on former All-Star Bret Boone to serve as their hitting coach with the intention of improving their faltering offensive performance.

The Rangers have under-performed much of this season, especially on offense. 

I’ll take the Red Sox here on Thursday.

Jim’s Play: Boston Red Sox

The Baltimore Orioles face Minnesota Twins for the final game of their three-game series on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Target Field in Minneapolis. The Twins claimed victories in both initial games of the series with wins of 9-1 on Tuesday followed by another 5-2 win on Wednesday to push their ongoing winning streak to four games.

Right-handed pitcher Dean Kremer (3-4, 5.73 ERA) will take the mound for Baltimore. During his most recent outing, Kremer pitched seven shutout innings against the Kansas City Royals. Byron Buxton leads the Twins' batting lineup after hitting home runs in three straight games which included a three-run homer during Wednesday's match.

The Twins bring right-hander Bailey Ober (4-1, 3.72 ERA) who proves dependable in their rotation. Jhoan Durán added another save to his record by securing his fifth successful save this season on Wednesday .

Throughout the first pair of games the Orioles have only produced three runs on offense. Ramón Laureano delivered a solo homer that brought a bit of excitement on Wednesday yet the team must increase their offensive output to prevent a series sweep.

I don’t expect much different here on Thursday. The O’s won’t score much and the Twins will get the win and sweep the series.

Jim’s Play: Minnesota Twins

The Chicago White Sox will face the Kansas City Royals for the final game of their four-game series on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. The Kansas City Royals have taken control of the series by winning the first three games with final scores of 3-0, 4-3, and 2-1.

Right-handed pitcher Davis Martin (1-3, 3.52 ERA) will take the mound for the White Sox. During his previous start against Houston Martin gave up three runs over five innings. Martin demonstrated consistent performance but will have to maintain high focus to effectively limit the Royals' hitters. The Kansas City Royals will send left-hander Kris Bubic (3-2, 1.98 ERA) to face the White Sox. Kris Bubic stands out as a key pitcher for the Royals by maintaining an ERA below 2.00 across his 41 innings pitched this season.

Both teams find themselves at the bottom of the league in run production with identical totals of 127 runs for the season which places them 24th in MLB standings. The Royals have taken advantage of crucial hitting opportunities and Bobby Witt Jr. has been instrumental in sparking their success. Witt's two-run homer determined the outcome of Wednesday's game. Edgar Quero and Miguel Vargas have delivered recent offensive improvements for the White Sox who still face challenges in achieving plate consistency.

Two teams that have been having down years and offense has been a big reason. Neither team is very good offensively and with two decent starters on the hill today I expect this game to follow the previous three and be low scoring.  Bubic maintains a sub-2.00 ERA while Martin controls games well which suggests their upcoming contest will continue the trend of low scoring games. Take the under bet for the Thursday game in Kansas City. 

Jim’s Play: Under the Total