Today's picks: Why Red Sox will win vs. Blue Jays, plus MLB and NHL picks for Thursday

The Coach calls up his favorite handicappers, featured sports betting experts Mike McClure and Larry Hartstein on the Early Edge podcast, powered by SportsLine. Get your top plays for MLB, the NBA and NHL for Thursday, May 20. 

The Coach tells us about an upcoming MMA episode, and Larry and Mike reveal why you cannot miss an NFL podcast featuring futures from R.J. White. Mike then launches into his comprehensive weather report, focusing on conditions in Baltimore, Chicago (National League) and Oakland. Larry finishes off the Storylines of the Day by noting how lines are tightening up in NBA playoff props. 

The Coach provides three SportsLine Plays of the Day from the site models. in the NHL Playoffs, the Panthers and Lightning will clash at 6:30 p.m. ET, and both teams will continue to pour in the goals and go over 5.5. The Islanders return home, where the trends favor them, so the Coach backs the selection of New York -115 over Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. ET. In the NBA, he spotlights the site play of the Pacers +130 over the Wizards at 8 p.m. ET, as Indiana is coming off a very convincing play-in win and has the momentum. 

Texas' Dane Dunning has pitched well overall, but Mike believes the Yankees bats are well-suited to take advantage of his best offerings. He is all in on New York -0.5 in the first five innings and on the money line at -121 over Texas at 2:05 p.m. ET. Mike also recommends the Red Sox +120 against Steven Matz and the Blue Jays at 7:37 p.m. ET. "Matz has been decent and has a lot of strikeout upside, but really only against left-handed hitters," he says. "Boston is going to have seven right-handed batters in the lineup, including Kike Hernandez at the top. He hits left-handed pitchers very well. He is an underrated boost to this Boston Red Sox lineup." Mike then explains why Boston also has an advantage over the Toronto hitters. 

Larry's highlighted NBA prop is Rui Hachimura over 13.5 points, as he has performed well in regular-season matchups with the Wizards. He can bounce back from a quiet outing to give Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook the offensive help they need. 

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