May 1: HITTERS

Evan Longoria, 3B, Rays (Orioles, $3,100): Technically a road game but it’s being played in Tampa. Longoria pounds his opposing starter tonight, Chris Tillman, like few have ever pounded any pitcher: 14-for-36 with six homers. He is obviously a must play tonight. He’s also the Rays hottest hitter of late, 1.023 OPS over his last week. Stanford says that we should play the hot hitters based on the hitter’s last 25 at bats.

Joc Pederson, OF, Dodgers (Diamondbacks, $3,600): He’s also on fire, lately (1.346 OPS the last week) and all year (a near perfect 99 hitting score for the year). Finally batting now at the top of the Dodgers’ lineup where he belongs, the powerful Pederson is unlikely to be stopped by Rubby De La Rosa.

Andre Ethier, OF, Dodgers (Diamondbacks, $2,700): Also hot of late going 6-17 with two homers the past week. He, too, has been raking all year, scoring a 97 on the Inside-Edge 100-point hitting scale. Ethier’s hard-hit rate is 21.7% (average is 15.4%) and it shows in his slugging average (.587).

Mark Trumbo, OF, Diamondbacks (at Dodgers, $3,600): He’s on fire the last week (1.255 OPS) and goes up against Carlos Frias, making only his third big-league start and who has been unimpressive in the minors (5.01 ERA in Albuquerque in 2014).

Caleb Joseph, C, Orioles (Rays, $2,700): Again this game is in Tampa Bay though the Orioles bat last. You have to pick on Alex Colome making his first 2015 start in a cheap way and Joseph has been a strong hitter (94 out of 100 on the Inside-Edge scale). Note whether A.J. Pierzynski ($2,900) is in the lineup because if you have a couple hundred extra bucks, he’s as hot a hitter as there is. Read More »

Wall Street Journal railbirds weigh in on their predictions and handicapping approaches for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.

Trying to make money on the Derby, the value play is to break the so-called betting rules. Using this approach, I’d rather take a horse that is an overlay than count on American Pharoah to get a clean break from the No. 17 post at 5-2 odds. Read More »

Here’s all you need to know about how the Chicago Bulls felt toward the Milwaukee Bucks: In the final moments of Game 6, with the Bulls up by more than fifty points and needing only to dribble for fifteen or so seconds for the game to be over, Nikola Mirotic whipped the ball down court to Doug McDermott, who was promptly fouled under the basket. He made his free throws, pushing Chicago’s game-ending lead to… fifty-four.

A sign of disrespect, considering most teams would’ve been happy with fifty-two? Maybe. This was a particularly aggressive game for a series finale, with one Milwaukee player—the prodigal Giannis Antetokounmpo—ejected for shoving Chicago’s Mike Dunleavy Jr. to the ground. Read More »

• • 7:01 pm (EDT)
  • Kevin Clark

  The wait is over. The months-long run up to the NFL draft, when every prospect is overhyped, underhyped, vetted and discussed to the point of absurdity, is over. Tonight, starting at 8 p.m., the NFL's 32 teams will try to make their teams better and in some cases, will try to change the course of the franchise. For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the worst team in the NFL this year, they'll get a chance to draft Florida State Heisman-winning quarterback Jameis Winston. It's apparently been an easy decision for coach Lovie Smith and the Tampa front office--Winston has seemed like a done deal to Tampa for weeks.

   After that is where it gets interesting. The Tennessee Titans have the second pick, and logic dictates they will take Oregon star Marcus Mariota. But there questions about whether he'll fit with Tennessee's offensive style and the teams that are a fit are trying to pry the pick from Tennessee. Teams like the Philadelphia Eagles, coached by Mariota's old college coach, Chip Kelly, have shown interest, so have the Cleveland Browns and St. Louis Rams. The potential for an auction for the second pick will make for heavy drama in Chicago. It's the first time the draft has been outside of New York in over 50 years. The city is clearly excited: NFL fans flooded the streets of Chicago on Thursday and the NFL has taken over Grant Park downtown with a massive tribute to NFL excess. It's a startling contrast to the somewhat understated events that unfolded at Radio City Music Hall in midtown Manhattan in the last few years.

  Meanwhile, players such as USC's Leonard Williams, Alabama's Amari Cooper and West Virginia's Kevin White will pad out a good class of players--where they go, and who will even have high draft picks by about 8:45 eastern--will make for a dramatic few hours.

Saturday night’s Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao showdown will likely be historic. And that’s not just based on the fight in the ring, but also for the business interests associated with the event.

The boxing event is expected to bring in the most pay-per-view buys of any fight in history.

According to Showtime Sports, in his last four fights, Mayweather has garnered nearly 5 million pay-per-view buys. His 2013 bout against Canelo Alvarez is the highest grossing pay-per-view event of all time, bringing in about $150 million in gross revenue on 2.2 million pay-per-view buys and live gate receipts of more than $20 million. Read More »

The Oklahoma City Thunder hired Florida’s Billy Donovan as their new coach on Thursday, hoping he will help the franchise finally win an NBA championship.

Donovan, 49, led Florida to two national championships, four Final Fours, seven Elite Eights and 14 NCAA Tournament berths in 19 years. He signed a one-year contract extension with the Gators in December that would have paid him an average salary of $4 million through 2020.

But, eight years after leaving Florida to coach the Orlando Magic and then changing his mind the following day, Donovan is back in the NBA. It isn’t likely he’ll head back to Gainesville this time—he inherits 2013-14 MVP Kevin Durant and 2014-15 scoring champion Russell Westbrook. Read More »

Ohio’s highest court on Thursday struck down Cleveland’s so-called “jock tax,” ruling that the city was excessively taxing visiting professional athletes using an illegal method to calculate their bills. Read More »

In boxing, no less than in baseball, the matchup between a righty and a lefty has special significance and demands adjustments in strategy.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is an orthodox boxer who leads with his left hand and carries his big stick in his right. Pacquiao is a southpaw who jabs with his right and bombs away with his left.

When a southpaw and an orthodox boxer meet—like on Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas—it will often seem as though they are playing fistic patty cake because of the differing stances. One fighter jabs; the other catches the jab with his lead hand. Back and forth the glove tapping goes.

Experts agree that the jab duel between Pacquiao and Mayweather will play a prominent role in determining the shape of the action. Read More »

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are recognized as the two best boxers in the world. They’re also both fairly nifty on social media, and have been sharing the buildup to the big fight with their millions of fans.

The boxers’ social media profiles mirror their styles in the ring. Mayweather is polished and professional, while Pacquiao, who typically throws more punches, posts regularly from all angles: his training, his family life, his religion. Read More »

Violence in the city erupted on Monday following the funeral for Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died in police custody this month. Maryland National Guard troops were brought in as the governor declared a state of emergency. The city of Baltimore implemented a curfew, which went into effect on Tuesday at 10:00 p.m.

The Wall Street Journal’s Brian Costa reports from the game, sharing information and photos on social media. Read More »