Kansas City is 4-1 on the season, but their lone loss came when Chris Young started against the Mets.  The Royals will send Young to the mound again tonight, and we expect a similar losing result.  Young has limited experience against Houston’s lineup; he has faced the Astros in just 29 total at-bats.  However, my numbers project Young to have a 4.88 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in this game.  He also projects to a have a lowly 2.0 strikeout/ratio against the Astros. 

Houston will start Collin McHugh in this game.  My numbers project a strong outing for McHugh against Kansas City’s lineup.  McHugh is slated to give up 2.6 earned runs with a solid 3.69 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in this game based on my numbers.  McHugh has allowed just 2 total hits in a limited 36 pitches thrown to the Royals lineup in his career.  We’ll lay the price with Houston and McHugh in this game on Monday night.

9* Play ASTROS (-) (action).

Cleveland spoiled Chicago’s home opener with a 7-1 victory on Friday afternoon, but we expect a much different outcome in today’s game.  The Indians will send Cody Anderson to the mound in this game.  Anderson has limited experience against Chicago’s lineup; he has thrown just 47 total pitches to the White Sox.  However, my numbers project Anderson to have a 4.54 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in this game.  He also projects to a have a lowly 1.9 strikeout/ratio against the White Sox. 

Chicago will start Chris Sale in this game.  My numbers project a strong outing for Sale against Cleveland’s lineup.  Sale is slated to give up just 1.9 earned runs with a solid 2.60 ERA and an incredible 0.98 WHIP in this game based on my numbers.  Sale has allowed just 41 total hits in 608 pitches thrown to the Indians’ lineup in his career.  We’ll lay the price with Chicago and Sale in this game on Saturday afternoon.

9* Play WHITE SOX (-) (action).

St. Louis inexplicably lost all three games in Pittsburgh, so tonight’s opening game in Atlanta is important.  The Cardinals will send Jaime Garcia to the mound tonight.  My numbers project a strong outing for Garcia against Atlanta’s lineup.  Garcia is slated to give up just 1.9 earned runs with a solid 2.99 ERA and a terrific 1.20 WHIP in this game based on my numbers.  Garcia has allowed just 21 total hits in 256 pitches thrown to the Braves’ lineup in his career. 

Atlanta will start Matt Wisler in this game.  Wisler has limited experience against St. Louis’ lineup, but he was hit hard by the Cardinals.  Wisler has thrown just 94 total pitches to the Cardinals lineup; he gave up 8 hits with a .308 batting average against.  My numbers project Wisler to have a 4.15 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in this game.  We’ll side with St. Louis and Garcia in this game on Friday night.

9* Play CARDINALS (-) (action).

Los Angeles has won the first two games against the Padres by a combined score of 18-0, and we expect more of the same tonight.  The Dodgers will send Japanese import Kenta Maeda to the mound.  Maeda has a 5-pitch repertoire, and he only walked 1.9 batters per nine innings in more than 1,500 innings pitched in Japan.  He threw 28 complete games in Japan, including 5 last season.  Maeda is unknown to MLB hitters, and that gives him a significant advantage.

San Diego will send Andrew Cashner to the mound tonight.  My numbers project a poor outing for Cashner against Los Angeles’ lineup.  Cashner has allowed 14 runs in just 117 at-bats to the Dodgers in his career.  Overall, he has allowed 36 hits to the Dodgers’ lineup with 11 of those hits going for extra bases.  Los Angeles has hit .308 against Cashner with a strong .869 ops (on-base plus slugging percentage metric) against him.  We’ll lay the price with Los Angeles and Maeda in this game on Wednesday night.

9* Play DODGERS (-) (action).

San Francisco won 12-3 yesterday, and we expect another win by the Giants tonight.  San Francisco will send Johnny Cueto to the mound tonight; Cueto pitched for the Royals last season.  My numbers project a strong outing for Cueto against Milwaukee’s lineup.  The Brewers have just 20 hits in 98 at-bats against Cueto; Milwaukee hit just .204 with a weak .250 on-base percentage and a poor .556 ops (on-base plus slugging percentage metric) in those games.

Milwaukee will start Jimmy Nelson in this game.  Nelson has been hit hard by the Giants lineup in limited at-bats.  Nelson has given up 6 hits in 20 at-bats while allowing San Francisco to hit .300 against him.  My numbers project Nelson to have a poor 4.63 ERA and 1.45 WHIP with a terrible 2.2 strikeout/walk ratio in this game.  We’ll lay the price with San Francisco in this game on Tuesday night.

9* Play GIANTS (-) (action).

Toronto took Game 1 by the score of 5-3 on Sunday afternoon.  The Blue Jays will send R.A. Dickey to the mound tonight.  My numbers project a poor outing for Dickey against Tampa Bay’s lineup.  Dickey has allowed 21 runs in just 196 at-bats to the Rays in his career.  Dickey also owns a poor 38/20 strikeout/walk ratio against Tampa Bay’s lineup.  Overall, he has allowed 40 hits to the Ray’s lineup with 14 of those hits going for extra bases.

Tampa Bay will start Drew Smyly in this game.  Smyly has limited experienced against Toronto’s lineup, so that gives him a nice edge in this game, especially since it’s just the second game of the season.  Smyly has thrown just 84 total pitches to three guys listed in the Blue Jays’ lineup.  My numbers project Smyly to have a solid 8.8 strikeout rate over 9 innings pitched; Dickey projects just a 6.4 strikeout rate in this game.  We’ll side with Tampa Bay and Smyly in this game on Monday night.

9* Play RAYS (-) (action).

New York and Kansas City met in the World Series last season, and the Royals beat the Mets in five games.  Matt Harvey and Edinson Volquez squared off twice in that series with the Royals winning both games.  However, there are reasons to expect a different outcome tonight.  Matt Harvey is hell bent on redeeming himself for failing in the ninth inning of Game 5; he somehow convinced his manager to leave him in.  Harvey fine tuned three days ago in an abbreviated preseason start, and that will have him ready for a long outing in tonight’s game.

Kansas City will start Edinson Volquez in this game.  Volquez was extremely fortunate last season as his raw numbers were much better than his advanced metrics.  Those numbers will correct themselves this season, and tonight will be the start.  Volquez is not looking forward to this start either: “I don’t like it anymore,” he said.  “I like to enjoy the opening day. All the shows and fans. When you pitch opening day, you don’t have too much chance to enjoy it. You got to go to the bullpen, warm up and jump in the game.”  The starting pitchers are coming into this game with different mindsets, so we’ll back the Mets in this game on Sunday night.

10* Play METS (-) (action).

New York will host Kansas City for Game 3 of the World Series on Friday night.  The Mets will start Noah Syndergaard who is 8-2 with a terrific 2.41 ERA and an excellent 0.81 WHIP in 13 home starts for New York this season.  Syndergaard has pitched well in the playoffs; he has allowed just 4 runs and 8 hits with a solid 18/5 strikeout/walk ratio in 12 innings of work.  Not a single Kansas City hitter has faced the righty before, so that gives Syndergaard a nice matchup advantage in this game tonight.  The Mets’ bullpen is now rested after an off day on Thursday and has a solid 1.22 WHIP at home this year, while converting 29 of 40 save chances, so Syndergaard has support on the backend.

Kansas City will start Yordano Ventura who has a weak 4.36 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in his 15 road starts this season.  Ventura is 0-1 with a horrendous 5.09 ERA in four appearances spanning 17.2 innings this postseason.  New York has been outstanding at home this year where they are 52-33 SU.  The Mets are averaging 4.3 runs per game at home and should have a breakout offensive game tonight versus a subpar pitcher in Ventura.  Eleven of Kansas City’s fourteen bullpen losses, and 10 of their 17 blown saves this season have come on the road.  The Royals lose their DH with the pitcher batting, and that’s an advantage for New York in this game.  We’ll back the Mets at home in Game 3 of the World Series on Friday night.

9* Play METS (-) (action).

Kansas City will host New York in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night.  The Royals will start Edinson Volquez who is 9-4 with a 3.28 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in his 17 home starts this season.  Volquez was terrific in his last home start in the playoffs; he beat the Blue Jays after holding them scoreless on 2 hits in 6 innings of work.  Last season against the Mets, Volquez only gave up 2 runs and 12 hits in 11 innings of work.  Lucas Duda (2-8), Curtis Granderson (0-9) and David Wright (2-13) have struggled the most versus Volquez.  New York is hitting just .220 in 20 interleague games this season, and they are only hitting .235 this postseason.  Kansas City’s bullpen is an incredible 20-3 with a 2.48 ERA and 1.09 WHIP at home this year, so Volquez has plenty of support on the backend tonight.

New York will start Matt Harvey who has been much weaker on the road this season with just a 5-5 record and 3.65 ERA in his 12 road starts, compared to a 2.51 ERA in his 19 home starts.  This will be his first postseason road start this season.  Harvey has been on a pitch count and an innings limit, and that may come into play in this game.  The Mets' bullpen has a mediocre 3.50 ERA with 21 losses and 22 blown saves this season.  Kansas City's offense is hitting .278 while averaging 4.7 runs per game at home this year.  The Royals’ offense comes into this game in excellent current form; they are hitting .293 while averaging 6.4 runs in their past seven games overall.  In the playoffs, Kansas City is hitting .271 while scoring 5.7 runs per game.  Kansas City is 56-31 SU at home and they present solid value in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night.

10* Play ROYALS (action).

Toronto will host Kansas City for Game 5 of the ALCS on Wednesday afternoon.  The Blue Jays will start Marco Estrada who had a good outing against the Royals in Kansas City in Game 1 of this series.  Estrada gave up 3 earned runs on 6 hits in 5.1 innings of work while striking out six batters and walking none.  Estrada has allowed 2 earned runs or less in seven of his last ten starts, so he has been in good form for an extended time.  Over his last four home starts, Estrada have only given up 8 earned runs on 16 hits in 24.2 innings of work.  Toronto has their full compliment of bullpen arms ready for this game, so they won’t hesitate to go to them early for multiple innings, especially with Thursday being a day off.

Kansas City will start Edinson Volquez in this game.  Volquez pitched well in Game 1, but that outing came at home where he has much better numbers.  In his last road start in the playoffs, Volquez gave up 3 earned runs and 5 hits in 5.2 innings pitched in Houston.  Overall, Volquez is just 5-6 with a mediocre 3.82 ERA in 18 road outings this season.  Volquez had a terrible 5.18 ERA in six starts in September, so his results in Game 1 were a bit fluky, and overall he still has a poor 1-4 record and 5.40 ERA and 1.58 WHIP in his seven career starts against the Blue Jays.  Toronto has been a strong offensive team at home this season, averaging 5.5 runs per game with a .273 team batting average, so they should bounce back with a solid effort in Game 5 on Wednesday afternoon.

10* Play BLUE JAYS (-) (action).

The Mets will host the Cubs for Game 1 of the NLCS on Saturday night.  Chicago will start Jon Lester who has a 3.35 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in his 33 starts this season with a 216/48 strikeout/walk ratio, including a solid 2.99 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in his 13 road starts with a 91/16 K/BB ratio.  Lester enters this game in strong current form with a 2.42 ERA and 0.63 WHIP in his past three starts while allowing just 6 runs and only 13 hits over his last 22.1 innings pitched with an incredible 24/1 K/BB ratio.  The Cubs are 2-0 SU versus the Mets this season with Lester on the mound, including a strong performance in the one road game in New York when Lester allowed 0 runs and only 5 hits in 7 innings of work in a 2-0 shutout win.  Yoenis Cespedes (2-13), Kelly Johnson (1-15) and Daniel Murphy (1-6) have all struggled versus the southpaw.  The Mets' offense is struggling and batted just .206 in the NLDS which was the worst of any of the eight teams still playing.  New York has now scored 3 runs or less in 8 of their past 9 games, including scoring 1 run or less in over half of those recent games.

New York will start Matt Harvey who struggled in his one playoff appearance earlier this week when he allowed 3 runs and 7 hits in just 5 innings versus the Dodgers.  Harvey has been on a innings and pitch count recently and he might not pitch deep into this game.  This means a Mets' bullpen that had a mediocre 3.62 ERA at home this season might see extra work tonight.  Chris Coghlan (3-8), Starlin Castro (2-6), and Miguel Montero (3-5) have all hit Harvey well.  The Cubs have been a strong road team this season (50-34 SU) and they enter in fantastic current form, going 12-1 SU in their past thirteen games overall, including 8-1 on the road during that span.  Chicago has won 15 of the 20 meetings versus the Mets the past three seasons, including going a perfect 7-0 versus New York this year.  The Cubs present solid value in Game 1 of the NLCS on Saturday night.

9* Play CUBS (+) (action).

The Cardinals will look to carry momentum from their 4-0 home win last night as they host the Cubs for Game 2 of this NLDS on Saturday.  Jaime Garcia gets the start for St. Louis and the team is 13-7 SU with him on the mound this year.  The southpaw has a solid 2.43 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in those 20 games, including a strong 1.70 ERA and 0.89 WHIP in his ten home starts in which St. Louis has gone 8-2 SU.  Garcia finished the regular season in solid current form with a 1.89 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in his final three starts with an 18/4 strikeout/walk ratio.  Only six Cubs on this current roster have faced Garcia before with Dexter Fowler (0-9), David Ross (0-3) and Chris Denorfia (2-10) struggling the most.  The Cubs' offense has been weaker against left-handed starters this season, averaging just 3.8 runs per game with a .233 batting average.  The Cardinals' bullpen has been fantastic this season with a 2.55 ERA and 1.25 WHIP at home, while converting 83% of their save opportunities (28-of-35), so Garcia has plenty of support on the backend today.

The Cubs will start Kyle Hendricks who has a mediocre 3.95 ERA in his 32 starts this season, including an awful 4.47 ERA away from home; he has allowed 16 runs in his past five road starts.  Hendricks struggled in his one start against the Cardinals this season when he allowed 4 runs and 6 hits in just five innings of work in a 7-4 road loss.  He had only one strikeout in that game and an awful 7.20 ERA.  Matt Carpenter (6-10), Matt Holliday (6-12) and Jhonny Peralta (4-11) have all done well versus Hendricks.  The Cardinals have now won 10 of the past 13 home games in this series and they present solid value in Game 2 of this NLDS today.

9* Play CARDINALS (-) (action).

Kansas City will host Houston for Game 1 of this divisional playoff series on Thursday night.  The Royals will start Yordano Ventura who is 7-5 with an excellent 1.26 WHIP in his fourteen home starts for Kansas City this season.  Ventura comes into this game in good current form; he has allowed just 4 runs and 12 hits with a terrific 21/5 strikeout/walk ratio in his last three starts for a powerful 1.80 ERA and 0.85 WHIP.  Ventura beat the Astros at home back on July 26th after giving up just 1 earned run on 6 hits in 7 innings of work.  Jose Altuve (1-7) and Colby Rasmus (1-5) have struggled the most versus the right-hander.  Houston is only 34-48 SU on the road this season (compared to 53-28 SU at home), so they are likely to struggle in this game, especially after an emotional wild-card win just two nights ago.  The Royals’ bullpen has been fantastic all year, going 17-3 SU at home with a 2.55 ERA and 1.10 WHIP, so Ventura has plenty of support on the backend tonight.

Houston will start Collin McHugh who owns a poor 4.05 ERA in his sixteen road starts for the Astros this season.  McHugh will face a strong Kansas City offense that is hitting .279 while averaging 4.6 runs per game at home this season.  The Astros’ bullpen has been weaker on the road this year, going just 12-16 SU with nine blown saves in twenty-seven chances and a mediocre 3.70 ERA, so McHugh has inconsistent support on the backend.  Kansas City has a strong home field where they are 51-30 SU this season, and the Royals won two of three games against the Astros at home in the regular season.  Houston is playing in their fourth city over the past week, so this is a terrible scheduling spot for them, especially after winning a single-elimination game in New York on Tuesday night in which the Astros batted just .167 as a team.  There is solid value with Kansas City in Game 1 of this divisional playoff series on Thursday night.  

10* Play ROYALS (-) (action).

This game was rained out on Friday night and will now be played on Saturday afternoon as Game #1 of a double-header.  The Mets will start Noah Syndergaard who is 7-2 with a terrific 2.57 ERA and an outstanding 0.86 WHIP in eleven home starts this season.  He has an impressive 76/9 strikeout/walk ratio in 77 innings of work at home.  Syndergaard has a fantastic 2.08 ERA in his two career starts against Washington this season.  He has given up just 3 earned runs and 12 hits in 13 innings of work against the Nationals with 13 strikeouts.  Washington’s offense is in awful current form, averaging only 2.6 runs with a .237 batting average in their past seven games.  The Mets’ bullpen is rested and owns a 1.25 WHIP in all games this year, so Syndergaard has support on the backend today.

Washington will start Gio Gonzalez who has a poor 4.45 ERA in sixteen road starts for the Nationals this season.  Gonzalez lasted only 4.2 innings in his most recent start against the Mets this year, allowing 8 hits + walks combined..  Michael Cuddyer (6-16), Juan Lagares (10-23), Daniel Murphy (9-26), Ruben Tejada (7-23) and David Wright (6-19) have all had success versus Gonzalez.  New York’s offense has averaged 6.3 runs with a .273 batting average in their last seven games.  The Mets are 48-30 SU at home and 46-27 in all division games, including 10-6 versus Washington this season.  We’ll back the Mets in Game 1 of this double-header on Saturday afternoon.

9* Play METS (-) (Game 1) (action). 

Heavy sharp money on the Giants today as this line was quickly bet up within minutes, however there is still value on the Giants as my power ratings make San Francisco a -210 favorite tonight.  The Giants will start Chris Heston who owns a 3.07 ERA in his fourteen home starts for this season.  Heston will face a Colorado offense that is only hitting .228 while averaging just 3.5 runs per game on the road this year while going 30-48 SU away from home.  The Giants’ bullpen owns a 2.95 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with only five losses and four blown saves at home, so Heston has plenty of support on the backend tonight.

The Rockies will start Kyle Kendrick who is 6-13 with a terrible 6.54 ERA and an ugly 1.55 WHIP in his 26 starts this season.  In his 13 road starts this year, Kendrick owns an awful 5.55 ERA and 1.40 WHIP with the Rockies going 4-9 SU in those games.  Kendrick is 1-4 with a poor 6.10 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in his seven career starts against San Francisco.  In 12 innings pitched against the Giants this season, Kendrick has given up 9 earned runs on 13 hits.  Matt Duffy (4-7) and Buster Posey (8-15) have had the most success versus Kendrick.  The Giants hold all of the edges in this game on Friday night.

10* Play GIANTS (-) (action).

Kansas City will host Cleveland on Saturday night.  The Royals will start Kris Medlen who is 4-1 with a solid 1.22 WHIP in his six starts for Kansas City this season.  Medlen beat the Indians in Cleveland back on September 15th after holding them scoreless on 5 hits in 6.1 innings of work.  Medlen comes into this game in excellent current form; he has allowed just 2 earned runs and 13 hits in his last three starts with a fantastic 1.04 ERA and 1.10 WHIP.  Cleveland’s offense has struggled on the road all season; the Indians are only hitting .240 while averaging just 3.7 runs per game away from Cleveland.  Kansas City’s bullpen has been fantastic at home this season with a 17-3 record and 2.57 ERA and 1.11 WHIP while converting 24 of their 30 save opportunities, so Medlen has plenty of support on the backend tonight.

Cleveland will start Josh Tomlin who took the loss in that September 15th game against Medlen.  Overall, Tomlin owns a poor 4.50 ERA in his eleven career starts against Kansas City.  Lorenzo Cain (4-11), Jarrod Dyson (4-12), Mike Moustakas (6-15), Salvador Perez (8-12) and Alex Rios (6-14) have all had success versus the right-hander.  Kansas City’s offense comes into this game in good current form.  The Royals are hitting over .280 while averaging 5.4 runs in their last eight games.  Kansas City is 50-29 at home this season, and a #1 seed in the AL playoffs is well within their grasp.  We’ll lay the short price with Kansas City in this game on Saturday night.

9* Play ROYALS (-) (action).

Baltimore will play in Tampa Bay on Saturday night.  The Orioles will start Wei-Yin Chen who comes into this game in poor current form.  Chen has allowed 12 runs and 24 hits in his last three starts for a weak 5.94 ERA and 1.50 WHIP.  In his last outing against Tampa Bay back on August 31st, Chen gave up 5 earned and 9 hits in just 4.2 innings of work.  In his five starts versus the Rays this season, Chen has allowed 15 earned runs on 31 hits in 27.1 innings of work.  Tim Beckham (3-11), Logan Forsythe (10-25), Brandon Guyer (6-19), Kevin Kiermaier (4-10), Evan Longoria (10-34), Daniel Nava (7-17) and Desmond Jennings (8-30) have all had success versus the southpaw.  Tampa Bay has scored at least 4 runs or more in eight of their past twelve games (4.5 runs per game), so their offense is in good current form.

Tampa Bay will start Erasmo Ramirez who is coming off a real good outing against the Yankees; he came within six outs of pitching a no-hitter.  Ramirez owns a terrific 2.39 ERA and an excellent 0.98 WHIP in his eleven home starts this season.  Ramirez has dominated the Baltimore lineup with Chris Davis (3-14), Ryan Flaherty (2-9), J.J. Hardy (1-8), Manny Machado (2-13) and Matt Wieters (2-10) struggling the most.  The Orioles are only hitting .197 while scoring just 3.7 runs per game in dome games this season, both of which are their worst offensive subsets overall.  Tampa Bay's bullpen has a solid 1.17 WHIP, while converting 21 of their 29 save opportunities at home this season, so Ramirez has support on the backend.  Tampa Bay presents solid value in this game tonight.

9* Play RAYS (-) (action).

Seattle will begin a 3-game series in Texas on Friday night.  The Mariners will start James Paxton who will be making his second start after a long layoff.  Paxton lost his last start after giving up 3 runs and 3 walks in just 3 innings of work last Sunday.  Paxton lost to the Rangers at home back in April after giving up 7 runs on 9 hits in just 2.2 innings.  The Rangers' offense is in excellent current form right now; the Rangers have won five straight games while scoring 45 runs during that span, averaging an incredible 9.0 runs per game while batting over .315 as a team.  Seattle’s bullpen is 11-16 with a terrible 4.60 ERA and 1.47 WHIP on the road this season.  That unit also owns 29 losses and 20 blown saves in all games overall, so Paxton has little support on the backend.

Texas will start Yovani Gallardo who is 7-5 with a solid 3.42 ERA in his 14 home starts this season.  Gallardo just beat the Mariners in Seattle on September 7th; he gave up zero runs on 5 hits in 5.1 innings of work.  Gallardo is 2-1 with a terrific 1.56 ERA and a fantastic 1.21 WHIP in his three starts this season against Seattle.  The Mariners’ lineup is only hitting .198 (17-for-86) versus Gallardo with Logan Morrison (1-18) and Seth Smith (3-24) having the most trouble.  Seattle is hitting just .246 on the road, and only .243 in their last seven games overall.  The Rangers’ bullpen is 24-17 with 42 saves this season, so Gallardo has some support on the backend.  Texas presents solid value in this game on Friday night.

10* Play RANGERS (-) (action).

St. Louis will host the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.  The Cardinals will start Michael Wacha who is 15-4 with a terrific 2.69 ERA and an outstanding 1.13 WHIP in his 25 starts for St. Louis this season.  Wacha comes into this game in excellent current form; he has allowed just 2 earned runs in his last three starts with a 0.95 ERA and 1.16 WHIP.  He will be fresh for this outing since his last start came back on August 28th.  In Wacha’s last home start against the Cubs, he gave up just 1 earned run on 6 hits in 6 innings of work.  Wacha has not allowed more than 2 earned runs in any of his last six starts overall this season.  Kris Bryant (1-6), Chris Coghlan (1-6), Miguel Montero (2-13), and Addison Russell (0-4) have all struggled versus the right-hander.  The Cubs are only hitting .241 as a team this season, so they should struggle against Wacha and a solid Cardinals' bullpen that enters with a 2.37 ERA and 1.26 WHIP at home this season.

Chicago will start Jason Hammel who comes into this game in poor current form; he has allowed 9 earned runs in his last 16.1 innings of work.  Hammel owns an ugly 5.63 ERA in his last eight starts, and he has failed to reach the 6th innings in nine of his last ten starts overall.  Hammel is 1-3 with a terrible 6.31 ERA in his six career starts against the Cardinals.  In his one start at St. Louis this season, Hammel gave up 4 earned runs in just 4 innings of work.  Jason Heyward (9-16), Yadier Molina (5-11), and Jhonny Peralta (9-23) have all had success versus the right-hander.  St. Louis is 49-23 SU at home, and they are 19-9 in their last 28 home meetings in this divisional series, including 6-2 this year.  We’ll lay the price with St. Louis in this game on Tuesday night.

10* Play CARDINALS (-) (action).

Pittsburgh will begin a 3-game series in St. Louis on Friday night.  The Pirates will start J.A. Happ who is 3-4 with a terrible 5.14 ERA and a poor 1.41 WHIP in his 13 road starts this season.  Happ will be taking a step-up in offensive class against the Cardinals after facing a couple of weak lineups like the Marlins and Diamondbacks in two of his last three games.  Happ is 1-8 with a horrendous 6.79 ERA and an ugly 1.57 WHIP in his ten career starts against St. Louis.  Yadier Molina (6-15) and Brandon Moss (6-8) have had the most success versus the southpaw.  The Cardinals’ offense comes into this game in excellent current form; they are hitting .313 while averaging 5.9 runs in their last seven games.

St. Louis will start Carlos Martinez who is 13-5 with a terrific 2.77 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 24 starts this season.  Martinez has had eight days off since his last outing, so he’s well-rested for this game.  In his last two outings against the Pirates this season, Martinez has allowed just 3 earned runs on 13 hits in 15.1 innings of work.  He had an outstanding 16/2 strikeout/walk ratio in those games with a powerful 1.76 ERA and 0.98 WHIP.  Pedro Alvarez (3-14), Starling Marte (2-11), Andrew McCutchen (3-16), Aramis Ramirez (3-13), and Neil Walker (4-16) have all struggled versus Martinez.  The Pirates are in terrible current form, going 0-4 SU in their past four games while averaging just 2.8 runs on offense.  Overall, they have scored just 22 total runs in their last seven games (3.1 runs per game) while batting only .227 as a team.  St. Louis is 21-7 SU in their last 28 home meetings in this series, including 5-1 in six games this season.  St. Louis is 48-20 in all home games this season and we’ll lay the price with the Cardinals on Friday night.

10* Play CARDINALS (-) (action).

Texas will conclude their 3-game home series against Baltimore on Sunday afternoon.  The Rangers will start Derek Holland who will be making his fourth start of the season.  The southpaw has a solid 9/1 strikeout/walk ratio in 13.1 innings of work this year.  Holland is 4-2 with a 3.65 ERA in six career starts against the Orioles.  Chris Davis (0-7, 6 K's), JJ Hardy (2-13), Adam Jones (4-17), and Matt Wieters (2-15) have all struggled mightily versus the southpaw.  Baltimore comes into this game in terrible current form on a 1-9 SU slide while scoring 3 runs or less in nine of those past ten games.  The Orioles have also been a much weaker team on the road this season, going just 24-40 SU with a .240 batting average.

The Orioles will start Miguel Gonzalez who is 5-6 with a terrible 4.97 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in his twelve road starts this season.  Gonzalez comes into this game in poor current form; he has allowed 13 runs and 20 hits in his last three starts while earning a woeful 7.16 ERA and a horrendous 1.72 WHIP in those outings.  Back on June 30th, the right-hander gave up 6 earned runs on 8 hits to the Rangers in just 4.1 innings of work.  In four career starts versus Texas, Gonzalez has a 4.76 ERA and a weak 1.59 WHIP.  Elvis Andrus (3-11), Mitch Moreland (4-10), and Shin-Soo Choo (3-8) have all had success versus the right-hander.  Texas is 6-2 in their last eight games, while batting nearly .300 as a team during that span.  The Rangers are also 5-1 SU against Baltimore in their last six meetings.  We’ll lay the price with Texas in this game on Sunday afternoon.

9* Play RANGERS (-) (action).

Kansas City will begin a 4-game home series against Baltimore on Monday night.  The Royals will start Kris Medlen who will be making his first start of the season for Kansas City.  Medlen is 1-0 with a terrific 2.51 ERA and an outstanding 1.05 WHIP in seven appearances.  He has a solid 14/5 strikeout/walk ratio in 14.1 innings of work this season.  The hitters in Baltimore’s lineup only have 14 career at-bats against Medlen, so that gives the right-hander a nice matchup advantage in this game.  The Orioles are just 23-35 SU on the road where they are averaging only 3.9 runs per game this season with a .243 team batting average.  Kansas City’s bullpen is 15-2 with a 2.21 ERA and 1.08 WHIP at home, so Medlen has plenty of support on the backend.

Baltimore will start Ubaldo Jimenez who is 3-5 with a poor 4.61 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in his 13 road starts this season.  Jimenez lost both of his starts against the Royals last year after giving up 9 earned runs on 14 hits in just 11 innings of work for an awful 7.36 ERA and 1.73 WHIP.  Lorenzo Cain (6-14), Jarrod Dyson (3-9), and Eric Hosmer (9-26) have all had success versus Jimenez.  The Royals have a strong home field advantage where they are 42-20 SU this season and averaging 4.6 runs per game while batting .278 as a team.  Kansas City is 51-27 in all games against right-handed starters while averaging 4.7 runs and batting .273 this season.  The Royals are also 12-6 against the Orioles in their last 18 meetings, including 7-3 in the ten meetings at home.  Baltimore has lost four straight games, and five of their last six games overall.  We’ll back Kansas City in this game on Monday night.

10* Play ROYALS (-) (action).

Seattle will wrap-up their 3-game home series against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday afternoon.  The Mariners will start Taijuan Walker who has thrown five consecutive quality starts while earning a solid 3.15 ERA in those games.  Walker has a terrific 1.01 WHIP at home where he has given up just 49 hits in 61.2 innings of work this season.  He owns a 68/13 strikeout/walk ratio in those games.  Walker’s lone appearance against the White Sox came last year in Chicago where he gave up 1 earned run and just 2 hits in 4 innings of work.  The White Sox are only hitting .236 while averaging just 3.3 runs in daytime games this season.  Chicago is only 20-28 in those games as well, so the White Sox are unlikely to produce much offense today.

Chicago will start John Danks who is 2-7 with a terrible 5.69 ERA and an ugly 1.49 WHIP in 11 road starts for Chicago this season.  Danks is coming off a losing effort in Los Angeles against the Angels where he allowed 5 runs.  In his last three starts in Seattle, Danks has allowed 12 runs and 22 in 18.1 innings for a weak 5.40 ERA and 1.58 WHIP.  Robinson Cano (6-15), Nelson Cruz (6-20), and Austin Jackson (21-49) have all had success versus the southpaw.  The Chicago bullpen has 17 losses and 12 blown saves this season, including a weak 1.45 WHIP on the road, so Danks has inconsistent support on the backend.  The Mariners' offense has averaged 5.0 runs in their past seven games, so they enter in solid current form offensively.  Seattle presents nice value in this game at home on Sunday afternoon.

10* Play MARINERS (-) (action).

The New York Yankees will host the Cleveland Indians for a 4-game series beginning on Thursday night.  The Yankees will start Ivan Nova who is 5-4 with a 3.57 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in nine starts for New York this season.  Nova has pitched well at home where he has allowed just 10 runs and 16 hits in four starts this season for a strong 1.13 WHIP.  In his one career start against Cleveland, Nova gave up just 2 runs and four hits in seven innings of work at home.  The Yankees' bullpen has a solid 3.15 ERA and 1.11 WHIP at home this season while converting 82% of their save opportunities (18-of-22), so Nova has support on the backend.  Cleveland is not in good current form as they are just 1-4 SU in their past five games, scoring just one run in three of those four losses.  Overall, the Indians are averaging just 3.7 runs per game on the road this season with a .241 batting average, both of which are their worst offensive subsets overall.

Cleveland will start Josh Tomlin who has only started one game this season, and that resulted in a 4-1 road loss in Minnesota.  Tomlin has been terrible versus the Yankees over the years.  In fact, Tomlin owns an ugly 5.90 ERA in his five career starts against New York.  In his last road start in New York, Tomlin gave up 6 earned runs and 6 hits, including 3 home runs, in just 3 innings pitched.  New York’s offense comes into this game in good current form; they just scored 20 runs in their 3-game home series against the Twins.  The Yankees are 6-1 in their last seven games, and they are 35-21 at home where they are putting up 5.2 runs per game this season.  New York is 4-2 in their last six home games against Cleveland, and we’ll lay the price with the Yankees in this game on Thursday night.

9* Play YANKEES (-) (action).

St. Louis will host San Francisco for a 3-game series beginning on Monday night.  The Cardinals will start Michael Wacha who is 14-4 with a terrific 2.93 ERA and an outstanding 1.12 WHIP in 22 starts for St. Louis this season.  Wacha has won his last three starts while giving up just 2 runs and 17 hits over 20 innings of work with an incredible 0.90 ERA and 1.15 WHIP during that span.  In his one career start against the Giants last season, Wacha allowed zero runs and only 3 hits in six innings of work with 7 strikeouts.  The Cardinals’ bullpen has been fantastic this season with a 2.08 ERA and 1.24 WHIP at home, converting 29-of-33 (88%) of their save opportunities, so Wacha has plenty of support on the backend.  San Francisco’s offense has been highly inconsistent this season.  The Giants just scored 25 runs in their last three games after only scoring 19 total runs in their seven games prior.  San Francisco is now taking to the road and is likely to regress after their 6-game homestand.

The Giants will start Chris Heston who comes into this game in terrible current form.  He is 0-2 while giving up 9 earned runs on 15 hits in 15 innings of work over his last three starts.  Heston earned an awful 5.40 ERA and a horrendous 1.53 WHIP in those outings.  In his last two road starts, Heston allowed 8 runs and 12 hits to the Cubs and Rangers for a terrible 8.31 ERA and 1.85 WHIP.  San Francisco’s bullpen is just 6-7 on the road with a mediocre 3.50 ERA, so Heston has inconsistent support on the backend.  St. Louis is a fantastic 44-18 SU at home this season and they have scored 26 runs in their past six games on this current homestand.  We’ll lay the price with St. Louis in this game on Monday night.

9* Play CARDINALS (-) (action).

The Kansas City Royals will host the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday Night Baseball.  The Royals will start Yordano Ventura who is coming off a solid home start five days ago when he held Detroit scoreless on 2 hits in 6 innings of work.  Ventura beat the Angels in Los Angeles back on April 12th after giving up just 2 earned runs and 4 hits in 5.2 innings of work with 7 strikeouts in that game.  Ventura has a terrific 2.70 ERA and an outstanding 1.14 WHIP in his three career starts against Los Angeles.  Kansas City’s bullpen is 14-2 at home this season with an excellent 2.20 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, so Ventura has plenty of support on the backend.  The Angels’ offense comes into this game in poor current form as they’ve scored just 21 total runs in their last eight games (2.6 runs per game), going just 2-6 SU during that span.  Los Angeles continues to struggle away from home, going only 24-33 SU on the road this season, compared to 36-23 SU in Anaheim.

Los Angeles will start Hector Santiago who comes into this game in poor current form; he has allowed 11 runs and 18 hits in his last three starts while earning a terrible 6.06 ERA.  Santiago hasn’t gone longer than six innings in any start since July 10th, and there’s no reason to expect anything different in this game.  Alcides Escobar (4-12), Omar Infante (3-7), Kendrys Morales (2-4), and Ben Zobrist (2-5) have all had success against Santiago.  Kansas City is an excellent 41-20 SU at home this season where they are hitting .280 as a team.  The Royals have scored 4 runs or more in eight straight games, and in nine of their last ten games overall and they are averaging 5.4 runs with a .294 batting average during the past week.  Kansas City is 5-1 versus Los Angeles in six meetings this season.  We’ll back the Royals in this game on Sunday night.

9* Play ROYALS (-) (action).

Seattle will wrap-up their 3-game series in Boston on Sunday afternoon.  The Mariners will start Vidal Nuno who has pitched in two games for Seattle this season.  Nuno has allowed 5 runs and 10 hits in 8.2 innings of work.  Nuno earned a poor 5.19 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in those outings.  In his one road start, Nuno earned a terrible 7.36 ERA and an ugly 1.91 WHIP.  Nuno will face a Boston offense that is in excellent current form.  The Red Sox have scored 67 total runs in their last seven games.  Boston is averaging 4.5 runs per game against left-handed starters this season, so they will get to Nuno in this game.  Hanley Ramirez (2-4) and Pablo Sandoval (2-3) have had success in limited at-bats versus Nuno.  Seattle’s bullpen owns a weak 4.68 ERA and 1.48 WHIP on the road, so Nuno has little support on the backend.

Boston will start Henry Owens in this game.  Owens will be making his first home start for the Red Sox.  In two road outings this season, Owens held the Tigers and Yankees to 4 total runs and eight hits in 10 innings of work.  He earned a solid 3.60 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in those outings.  Seattle’s offense has struggled versus left-handed starters as they are only averaging 3.4 runs per game against them this season.  The Mariners have also struggled in day games as they are only 17-22 while averaging 3.8 runs per game.  Boston has won the first two games in this series by a combined score of 37-11, and we expect more of the same here.  We’ll lay the price with Boston in this game on Sunday afternoon.  

10* Play RED SOX (-) (action).

Boston will play a quick two-game interleague series in Miami beginning on Tuesday night.  The Red Sox will start Steven Wright who comes into this game in good current form.  Wright is off a solid effort in New York against the Yankees where he only gave up 1 run and 4 hits in 8 innings of work.  He struck out nine batters in that 2-1 win as a +165 underdog.  Over his last three starts, Wright is 2-1 with a terrific 2.33 ERA and an outstanding 1.09 WHIP in 19.1 innings of work with a 21/6 strikeout/walk ratio.  The knuckleballer has never faced the Marlins before, so that gives him a nice matchup advantage in this game.  Miami is 2-10 SU in their last twelve games, and their offense has only scored 38 total runs during that span (3.2 runs per game).  Overall, Miami is just 28-47 in night games this season while averaging only 3.3 runs per game with a .245 team batting average.

Miami will start Justin Nicolino who will be making his third start for Miami this season.  His last outing came on June 26th at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Nicolino gave up 5 earned runs and 6 hits in just 4 innings of work in that game for a horrible 11.25 ERA and 1.75 WHIP.  Since then, Nicolino has allowed seven hits or more in four of his last seven AAA starts.  He has given up 134 hits in 115 innings of work overall.  The Red Sox are 8-4 while hitting .273 and scoring 5.5 runs per game against National League teams this season.  Boston is already 2-0 against Miami this year and the Red Sox present solid value in this game on Tuesday night.

10* Play RED SOX (-) (action).

Seattle will host Baltimore for a 3-game series beginning on Monday night.  The Mariners will start Vidal Nuno who will be making just his second start of the season for the Mariners.  In his first outing, Nuno allowed 3 earned runs and 5 hits in just 3.2 innings pitched versus the Colorado Rockies for an awful 7.36 ERA and 1.91 WHIP.  He gave up two home runs in that game as well.  Nuno faced the Orioles in June of last year; he gave up 5 runs on 6 hits (3 home runs) in 6.1 innings of work.  Seattle's bullpen has an awful 12-26 record this season with a weak 3.98 ERA, so Nuno does not have much support on the backend.  Baltimore is a respectable 16-12 while averaging 4.2 runs per game versus left-handed starters this season with a .261 team batting average.  The Orioles’ offense comes into this game in good current form as they’ve scored 29 runs so far on their 6-game road trip.  Baltimore has scored 4 runs or more in eight of their last ten games overall, averaging 5.2 runs per game during that span.

Baltimore will start Wei-Yin Chen who owns a solid 3.15 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in his eight road starts for the Orioles this season.  Chen beat the Mariners in Seattle last season, and overall he owns a 3.33 ERA and a solid 1.07 WHIP in his seven career starts against Seattle.  Robinson Cano (7-28), Jesus Montero (1-10), Kyle Seager (1-20), Mike Zunino (1-9), and Austin Jackson (1-8) have all struggled versus Chen.  Seattle is just 13-18 while averaging only 3.3 runs per game versus left-handed starters this season.  Chen has plenty of support on the backend as Baltimore’s bullpen has solid numbers on the road this season; they own a terrific 2.66 ERA and 1.21 WHIP while converting 80% of their save opportunities (12-of-15).  Baltimore went 2-1 against the Mariners in Seattle earlier this season and we’ll back the Orioles as a small favorite in this game on Monday night.

10* Play ORIOLES (-) (action).

Atlanta and Miami will wrap-up their 4-game series on early Sunday evening.  The Braves will start Shelby Miller who owns an excellent 1.97 ERA and an outstanding 1.19 WHIP in ten home starts for Atlanta this season.  In three starts against Miami this season, Miller has allowed just 1 earned run and 9 hits in 19 innings of work for an excellent 0.47 ERA and 0.74 WHIP.  Adeiny Hechavarria (2-8), Martin Prado (2-10), and Ichiro (0-4) have struggled against Miller.  The Marlins have lost six straight games, and are on a 1-10 SU slide, as their offense has struggled mightily without Giancarlo Stanton.  Miami is a horrible 17-38 on the road while averaging just 3.5 runs per game this season.

Miami will start Brad Hand who has a terrible 9.52 ERA and a horrendous 1.94 WHIP in his two road starts this season.  He also comes into this game in poor current form, allowing 8 runs over his last three starts (10.2 innings) with an awful 6.75 ERA and 1.97 WHIP.  Hand is 1-3 with a poor 4.43 ERA in his four career starts against Atlanta.  Miami's bullpen is 3-14 with a poor 4.22 ERA and 1.42 WHIP on the road this season, so Hand has no support on the backend.  The Braves’ offense comes into this game in excellent current form, averaging 5.9 runs with a .306 team batting average during their past seven games.  Atlanta is 10-2 versus Miami this season and we’ll back the Braves as they go for the four-game sweep in this game on early Sunday evening.

10* Play BRAVES (-) (action).

The Chicago White Sox will play in Kansas City against the Royals on Sunday afternoon.  The White Sox will start Jose Quintana who is 0-6 with a terrible 4.63 ERA and 1.39 WHIP in 15 career starts against the Royals.  In three games pitched against Kansas City this season, Quintana has given up 11 earned runs on 26 hits in 17.1 innings of work for a weak 5.71 ERA and 1.67 WHIP.  Chicago's bullpen has a poor 4.00 ERA and 1.50 WHIP on the road this season, so Quintana has no support on the backend.  Lorenzo Cain (15-40), Alcides Escobar (11-39), Mike Moustakas (11-35), Paulo Orlando (4-5), Salvador Perez (14-38), and Alex Rios (4-9) have all hit Quintana well.  Kansas City is 36-18 at home this season where they average 4.5 runs per game with a .278 team batting average.  The Royals have also been strong in daytime games, averaging 4.9 runs with a .270 batting average.

Kansas City will start Danny Duffy who comes into this game in good current form; he has allowed just 7 runs and 14 hits in his last three starts while earning a 3.32 ERA and 1.21 WHIP over 19 innings of work.  In three starts versus Chicago this season, Duffy has only allowed 6 runs on 20 hits in 18.1 innings of work for a 2.95 ERA and 1.20 WHIP.  Gordon Beckham (2-9), Melky Cabrera (2-8), Adam Eaton (3-14), Tyler Flowers (1-13), Alexei Ramirez (4-16), and Adam LaRoche (2-8) have all struggled against Duffy.  The White Sox are just 7-12 while hitting .221 and averaging 2.8 runs per game against left-handed starters this season.  Chicago is only 19-26 in daytime games while hitting just .235 and scoring only 3.2 runs per game.  The Royals’ bullpen owns an excellent 1.92 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with just one loss at home (13-1), so Duffy has plenty of support on the backend.  We’ll lay the short price with the Royals in this game on Sunday afternoon.

9* Play ROYALS (-) (action).

Los Angeles will host Baltimore again on Saturday night after an 8-4 home win last night.  The Angels will start Garrett Richards who is 7-2 with a terrific 2.36 ERA and a tremendous 0.95 WHIP in ten home starts this season.  Richards comes into this game in good current form; he has given up just 15 hits in his last three starts (21.2 innings) while earning a solid 1.06 WHIP in those outings.  In his one start against Baltimore this season, Richards held the Orioles to just 2 earned runs on 5 hits in 7.2 innings of work.  He had 7 strikeouts and only 1 walk in that game.  Chris Davis (1-4), JJ Hardy (1-11), Caleb Joseph (0-6), and Jimmy Paredes (1-6) have all struggled versus Richards.  Baltimore has been a much weaker team on the road this season, going just 21-32 and averaging only 3.9 runs per game with a .245 batting average, compared to 34-21 when batting as the home team with 4.7 runs scored per game and a .266 average.

Baltimore will start Ubaldo Jimenez who is 2-5 with a terrible 5.25 ERA and an ugly 1.70 WHIP in his twelve road starts this season.  The Orioles are just 3-9 SU in those games.  Jimenez was rocked by the Tigers in his last outing; he gave up 6 earned runs in just 4.2 innings of work.  Jimenez is 0-5 with a poor 5.34 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in his five career starts against the Angels.  In his most recent road start against the Angels in Los Angeles, Jimenez gave up 8 earned runs on 8 hits in just 4 innings of work.  Erick Aybar (6-14), David Freese (2-6), Chris Ianetta (3-5), Albert Pujols (6-22), Mike Trout (3-9), and Shane Victorino (3-7) have all hit Jimenez well.  The Angels are a solid 35-22 at home, compared to just 23-28 on the road, so we’ll lay the price with Los Angeles in this home game on Saturday night.

10* Play ANGELS (-) (action).

The Chicago White Sox will host the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday afternoon for the final game of this three-game series.  The White Sox will start Carlos Rodon who is 4-4 with a terrible 5.01 ERA and an ugly 1.64 WHIP in 14 starts for Chicago this season.  He has a weak 5.75 ERA and an awful 1.67 WHIP in seven home starts this year.  Rodon comes into this game in poor current form; he has allowed 15 runs and 20 hits in his last three starts (13.2 innings) while earning a horrific 9.88 ERA and 1.98 WHIP in those outings.  Tampa Bay has been stronger against left-handed starters this season, going 20-11 SU while averaging 4.4 runs per game with a .262 team batting average.  The Rays’ offense comes into this game in excellent current form; Tampa Bay is averaging 6.1 runs with a .285 batting average during their past seven games.

Tampa Bay will start Erasmo Ramirez who is 8-4 with a solid 3.06 ERA and a terrific 1.08 WHIP in 16 starts for Tampa Bay this season.  Ramirez has been excellent on the road where he is 4-1 with a 3.12 ERA and 1.14 WHIP.  He comes into this game in good current form as well; Ramirez has allowed just 7 earned runs in his last three starts.  He has allowed just 16 hits and only 2 walks in his past 18 innings of work for a solid 1.00 WHIP.  Ramirez has dominated the Chicago lineup as they are only hitting .176 (3-for-17) against him.  The White Sox are only 18-26 SU while hitting .235 and averaging just 3.2 runs in daytime games this season.  Ramirez has plenty of support on the backend as the Rays’ bullpen has converted 43 of their 54 save chances this season (80%), including 22 of 29 save opportunities on the road.  Tampa Bay presents solid value in this game on Wednesday afternoon.

9* Play RAYS (action).

Toronto will host Kansas City on Saturday afternoon after a 7-6 extra inning win last night.  The Blue Jays will start Mark Buehrle who is 5-1 with a terrific 2.98 ERA and an excellent 1.15 WHIP in his eight home starts this season.  He beat the Royals in Kansas City back on July 11th after giving up just two runs and five hits in seven innings of work.  Buehrle is 26-12 with a solid 3.55 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 53 career starts versus Kansas City.  Jarrod Dyson (0-9), Omar Infante (6-27), Kendrys Morales (2-9), Mike Moustakas (1-13), and Alex Rios (6-30) have all struggled against the southpaw.  Toronto's bullpen has a solid 2.93 ERA and 1.05 WHIP at home, so Buehrle has support on the backend.  Kansas City has now lost three straight games on this current road trip while scoring just 11 total runs in their past four games (2.8 per game).  Overall, the Royals have averaged just 3.9 runs with a weak .228 team batting average during their past seven games which is way below their season average of .270.

Kansas City will start Yordano Ventura who is 1-3 with a terrible 4.61 ERA in his seven starts away from home this season.  He comes into this game in awful current form.  Ventura has allowed 10 runs and 20 hits in his last three starts which all came at home.  He earned a poor 5.62 ERA and an ugly 1.50 WHIP in those three outings.  Toronto continues to roll offensively as they’ve scored 5 runs or more in three straight games, and in five of their last six games overall.  The Blue Jays are averaging 5.5 runs per game at home this season with a .279 batting average, and also 5.5 runs with a .275 average in all daytime games, so Toronto should have success against Ventura this afternoon.  Toronto is 6-3 against Kansas City in their last nine home games in this series, and the Blue Jays present solid value once again in this game on Saturday afternoon.

9* Play BLUE JAYS (-) (action).

Seattle will begin a four-game series in Minnesota on Thursday night.  The Mariners will start J.A. Happ who is 2-3 with a terrible 5.37 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in ten road starts this season.  Happ comes into this game in poor current form; he has allowed 10 runs and 12 hits in his last three starts.  Over his last 12.2 innings of work, Happ has earned an awful 7.10 ERA and an ugly 1.66 WHIP with the Mariners going 0-3 SU in those games.  Seattle’s bullpen is 5-12 with a poor 4.05 ERA and 1.38 WHIP on the road this season, so Happ has little support on the backend.  Happ lost to the Twins last year after giving up 4 runs and six hits in just 3.2 innings of work and overall he has a terrible 1.82 WHIP in his two career starts versus the Twins.  Minnesota’s offense is in terrific current form as they’ve scored 28 total runs in their last five games (5.6 runs per game).  The Twins are scoring 5.0 runs per game versus left-handed starters this season and Minnesota has been a much stronger offensive team at home where they average 4.9 runs per game with a .282 team batting average, compared to just 3.5 runs and .223 on the road.

Minnesota will start Phil Hughes who is 7-2 with a 3.56 ERA and a terrific 1.09 WHIP in his eleven home starts this season with only six walks in 73.1 innings of work.  He comes into this game in excellent current form; he has allowed just 5 earned runs in his last three starts for a 2.37 ERA and 1.16 WHIP during that span.  Hughes owns a solid 3.23 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in his ten career starts against Seattle.  In his last three starts against the Mariners, Hughes has given up just 2 earned runs on 17 hits in 22.1 innings of work.  He had an impressive 24/2 strikeout/walk ratio in those outings and an incredible 0.81 ERA and 0.85 WHIP.  Seattle is only hitting .227 on the road this season, which is the second worst average in the league.  They enter in poor current form, losing four of their past five games overall.  Minnesota’s bullpen has blown just two saves at home this season, so Hughes has plenty of support on the backend.  The Twins are 11-6 against the Mariners in their last 17 meetings, including 4-2 in their last six games played in Minnesota.  We’ll lay the price with Minnesota in this game on Thursday night.

10* Play TWINS (-) (action).

San Francisco will host Milwaukee for a 3-game series beginning on Monday night.  The Giants will start Chris Heston who is 10-5 with a solid 3.18 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 19 outings this season.  In ten home starts, Heston owns a terrific 2.57 ERA.  He has given up just 18 earned runs on 61 hits in 63 innings of work at home this season.  Heston comes into this game in excellent current form; he has allowed just 1 run and 11 hits in his last three starts for an incredible 0.42 ERA and 0.80 WHIP during that span.  He is backed by a solid bullpen that has an 88% save ratio (14-of-16) at home this season.  Milwaukee's offense is struggling right now.  The Brewers have scored just 5 total runs over their last four games, including back-to-back shutout losses the past two days.  Milwaukee’s roster is in flux right now after trading Aramis Ramirez with more moves expected on the horizon.

Milwaukee will start Kyle Lohse who is 5-11 with a terrible 6.29 ERA and an ugly 1.45 WHIP in 20 starts this season.  He comes into this game in poor current form as well, allowing 11 runs and 25 hits in his last three starts for a weak 6.60 ERA and 1.93 WHIP.  Lohse is 4-5 with an awful 5.34 ERA and a horrendous 1.51 WHIP in ten career starts versus San Francisco.  Lohse gave up 5 runs in just 5.1 innings pitched against the Giants in Milwaukee on May 25th.  Brandon Crawford (3-9), Angel Pagan (6-16), and Hunter Pence (18-53) have all hit Lohse well.  San Francisco is in excellent current form as they have won five straight games and 11 of their past 12 overall, while averaging an incredible 6.3 runs per game during that span.  The Giants are 5-2 in their last seven meetings at home against the Brewers, and they won all three meetings in Milwaukee earlier this season.  We’ll lay the price with San Francisco in this game on Monday night.

10* Play GIANTS (-) (action).

Colorado will host Cincinnati for the third and final game of this three-game series on Sunday afternoon.  The Rockies will start Kyle Kendrick who is 3-11 with a terrible 6.12 ERA and an ugly 1.50 WHIP in 19 starts this season.  Kendrick owns just one win in Coors Field this season while earning an atrocious 6.90 ERA and a woeful 1.68 WHIP.  He has no power with only 56 strikeouts in 107.1 innings pitched, including an awful 21/18 K/BB ratio in his 47 innings pitched at home.  Kendrick comes into this game off an awful home outing against Texas in which he gave up 6 runs and 10 hits in just 4.1 innings of work.  The Rockies bullpen has been weak at home this year with a 4.66 ERA and 1.46 WHIP, converting only 53% of their save opportunities, so Kendrick does not have much support on the backend.  Kendrick owns a poor 4.45 ERA in his ten career starts versus Cincinnati.  Jay Bruce (6-20), Skip Schumaker (10-32), and Joey Votto (6-18) have hit the right-hander well.  The Reds’ offense is in strong current form, averaging 5.1 runs with a .295 batting average during the past week, and they have scored at least 4 runs or more in eight of their past nine games since the All-Star break.

Cincinnati will start Michael Lorenzen who has a solid 3.00 ERA in his six road starts this season.  Lorenzen pitched extremely well in his one career start against the Rockies earlier this season.  He held Colorado to just one run and two hits in seven innings of work back on May 26th for a 1.29 ERA and 0.71 WHIP.  The Rockies are not in good current form as they are a poor 2-5 during their past seven games since the All-Star break.  Overall, Colorado is just 41-54 in all games this season, including only 23-27 at home.  We’ll back Cincinnati in this game on Sunday afternoon.

10* Play REDS (+) (action).

Houston will play in Kansas City on Saturday night.  The Astros will start Scott Feldman who is 4-5 with a poor 4.93 ERA and a weak 1.43 WHIP in 11 starts this season.  He has absolutely no power with just 39 strikeouts in 65.2 innings this season.  Feldman comes into this game in terrible current form; he owns a 4.58 ERA and 1.64 WHIP during his last three starts.  Feldman has given up 10 runs on 23 hits in his last 17.2 innings of work.  He lost his last start after giving up 4 runs and nine hits in just 5.2 innings pitched at home against the Rangers.  In two starts against Kansas City last season, Feldman gave up 7 runs on 17 hits in 12 innings of work for a weak 4.50 ERA and 1.58 WHIP.  Lorenzo Cain (7-13) and Alex Rios (12-45) have had the most success against Feldman.  The Royals are 40-21 versus right-handed starters while hitting .279 and averaging 4.7 runs per game this season.  They enter in solid current form with a .291 batting average in their past seven games overall.

Kansas City will start Danny Duffy who comes into this game in excellent current form.  He has allowed just 3 runs and 15 hits in his last three starts with his last two outings producing victories.  Duffy has earned a terrific 1.33 ERA and an outstanding 1.08 WHIP in his last 20.1 innings of work.  Houston's weakest offensive subsets have come against left-handed starters this season, hitting just .234 and scoring only 3.8 runs per game.  The Astros’ offense has only scored 11 total runs in their last seven road games; they’ve scored 3 runs or less in six of those seven games away from home.  Kansas City’s bullpen is a fantastic 19-5 this season with a 2.10 ERA and 1.06, including 12-1 at home while converting 81% of their save opportunities (17-of-21), so Duffy has plenty of support on the backend.  We’ll lay the price with Kansas City at home in this game on Saturday night.

10* Play ROYALS (-) (action).

Detroit will conclude their 4-game home series against Seattle on Thursday afternoon.  The Tigers will start David Price who is 9-3 with a terrific 2.45 ERA and an outstanding 1.12 WHIP in his 19 starts this season.  Price comes into this game in excellent current form.  He has allowed just 2 earned runs in his last three starts, striking out 27 while only walking only five with a powerful 0.82 ERA and 1.09 WHIP during that span.  Price is 2-1 with a solid 2.53 ERA and a tremendous 0.81 WHIP in his four career starts against Seattle.  Dustin Ackley (2-9), Austin Jackson (4-21), Brad Miller (1-10), Seth Smith (1-4), Kyle Seager (0-10), and Mike Zunino (1-10) have all struggled against Price.  The Mariners are just 9-14 versus left-handed starters while hitting .239 and only scoring 3.0 runs per game.  Seattle is just 12-17 in all daytime games while only hitting .212 this season.  This will be Seattle’s last game of a 7-game road trip, so their lineup may be weaker if they rest some of their regular starters for this early daytime game.

Seattle will start Hisashi Iwakuma who has struggled with a weak 4.89 ERA and 2-4 SU team record in his six starts this season, including a 5.06 ERA on the road.  Iwakuma has given up 6 earned runs on 11 hits in 10.2 innings pitched away from home.  On July 6th at home, Iwakuma gave up 5 earned runs and 8 hits in 5 innings of work against Detroit.  Last year he allowed 5 runs and 8 hits in just six innings versus the Tigers.  Overall, he has an awful 8.18 ERA and 1.64 WHIP in his past two starts against Detroit.  Yoenis Cespedes (11-27), Jose Iglesias (2-7), Ian Kinsler (9-26), and Victor Martinez (5-9) have all hit Iwakuma well.  The Tigers are averaging a solid 4.7 runs at home this season with a .288 team batting average.  They have been particularly strong in daytime games, going 23-16 while averaging 5.5 runs with a .303 batting average overall.  Detroit is 4-2 against Seattle this year, including a 9-4 win on Wednesday night.  We’ll back the Tigers in this game on Thursday afternoon.

10* Play TIGERS (-) (action).

The New York Mets will play the second game of this three-game series in St. Louis on Saturday night.  The Mets will start Bartolo Colon who is 3-5 with a terrible 4.78 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in eight road starts this season.  He has allowed 10 hits in two of his last three starts with the Mets losing all three games.  Colon was awful against St. Louis earlier this season on May 20th when he lost 0-9 at home and allowed 9 runs and 11 hits in just 4.1 innings of work.  Overall, he has a poor 4.15 ERA in his seven career starts against the Cardinals.  Matt Carpenter (4-12), Jason Heyward (4-14), Matt Holliday (6-13), Mark Reynolds (6-17) and Kolten Wong (4-9) have all hit Colon well.  St. Louis is 32-11 at home, and they come into this game on a 3-game home winning streak.

St. Louis will start John Lackey who is 5-2 with a tremendous 1.98 ERA and an excellent 1.16 WHIP in his nine home starts this season.  Over his last three starts, Lackey has only given up 3 runs in 20.2 innings while earning a 1.31 ERA and 1.11 WHIP during that span.  Lackey held the Mets to just one run and three hits in seven innings at New York on May 18th.  He is backed by an excellent bullpen that sports a 2.07 ERA and 1.24 WHIP at home, converting 20-of-22 (92%) save opportunities.  The Mets have been a weak team away from home, going just 15-29 on the road where they are only averaging 2.9 runs per game with a .228 batting average.  New York has scored just 9 total runs in their last four road games, including only 2 runs last night in their loss against the Cardinals.  St. Louis is now 6-2 versus New York in their last eight meetings at home.  We’ll lay the price with the best team in the league on Saturday night.

10* Play CARDINALS (-) (action).

Detroit will host Baltimore on Saturday night.  The Tigers will start David Price who has lost just once in eight home starts this season.  Overall, Price is 9-2 with a terrific 2.52 ERA and an outstanding 1.13 WHIP in 18 starts this season.  He comes into this game in excellent current form; Price has allowed just 7 runs and 19 hits in his last three starts while earning a 2.14 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in those outings.  Price is 7-4 with a solid 2.79 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 18 career starts against Baltimore.  In two home outings against the Orioles last season, Price only allowed 5 runs and 14 hits in 13 innings of work.  Adam Jones (11-44), Nolan Reimold (4-25), and Travis Snider (0-7) have all struggled versus the southpaw.  The Orioles’ are in poor current form as they are just 1-6 in their past seven games while only averaging 2.9 runs with a .237 team batting average during that span.

Baltimore will start Chris Tillman who has a terrible 6.03 ERA and an ugly 1.86 WHIP in his seven road starts this season.  Tillman has given up 23 earned runs on 47 hits in just 34.1 innings pitched away from home.  His poor road numbers are a major concern, especially since Baltimore is just 15-26 as a team on the road this season.  Tillman has struggled agains the Detroit lineup, especially Anthony Gose (6-12) and Victor Martinez (4-10) who have good numbers against him.  The Tigers’ offense was in tremendous form prior to the All-Star break, and they scored 7 runs in their first game off the layoff on Friday night.  Detroit has scored 4 runs or more in eleven of their last twelve games, and 18 of their past 21 games overall, so Tillman’s road struggles are likely to continue.  We’ll lay the price with Detroit in this game on Saturday night.

9* Play TIGERS (-) (action).

The MLB All-Star Game will be played in Cincinnati this season.  The pitching edge goes to the National League with Zack Greinke, Gerrit Cole, Madison Bumgarner, Clayton Kershaw, and Jacob deGrom forming a solid group.  Greinke will get the start for the National League.  He hasn’t allowed a single run in his last 35.2 innings of work.  Overall, Greinke has allowed 1 run or less in 14 of his 18 starts this season.  Mark Melancon, Aroldis Chapman, and Jonathan Papelbon form a formidable trio out of the bullpen.

The American League will feature nine pitchers that will be making their first appearances in the All-Star Game.  Manager Ned Yost went with more middle relievers than closers, and that may backfire for the American League late in this game.  The American League will also feature nine hitters that will be making their All-Star Game debuts, so they are an inexperienced group to say the least.  The National League also owns the edge on the bench with Adrian Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki, Kris Bryant, and Anthony Rizzo.  The National League has won three of the last five meetings, and we’ll back them in this game on Tuesday night.

10* Play NATIONAL LEAGUE (-) (action).

Pittsburgh will host St. Louis on Sunday Night Baseball.  The Pirates will start Francisco Liriano who owns a solid 2.99 ERA and an outstanding 1.01 WHIP in his 17 starts this season.  He comes into this game in excellent current form, allowing just 4 runs and 15 hits in his last three starts for a 1.80 ERA and 1.10 WHIP.  The Pirates won all three of those games with Liriano on the mound.  Liriano has had success against the Cardinals; he is 4-2 with a strong 2.43 ERA and 0.97 WHIP versus the Cardinals in his career.  Matt Carpenter (4-22), Jason Heyward (2-9), Jon Jay (2-8), Yadier Molina (3-19), Mark Reynolds (1-18), and Kolten Wong (3-13) have all struggled against Liriano.  St. Louis has been much weaker against left-handed starters this season, going just 9-11 in those games, compared to 47-21 against right-handed starters.  Overall, the Cardinals are averaging only 3.4 runs per nine-innings with a .227 team batting average versus LHP, compared to 4.2 runs and .262 versus RHP.

St. Louis will start Tim Cooney who has not registered a decision in his first three outings for the Cardinals.  Overall, Cooney has given up 7 earned runs on 14 hits in 13.2 innings of work this season with 3 of those 14 hits (21%) being home runs.  Pittsburgh is a respectable 9-6 against left-handed starters this season while hitting .277 in those games and averaging 4.2 runs.  The Pirates’ offense is in good current form as they’ve scored 17 runs in their last four games, including 11 runs the past two days against the Cardinals.  Pittsburgh continues to be a much stronger team at home where they are 31-16 this season, and they are 18-9 at home in their last 27 meetings against the Cardinals.  These are two teams heading into the All-Star break in opposite directions as the Pirates are on a 10-2 SU run, while the Cardinals are on a 5-8 SU slide.

9* Play PIRATES (-) (action).

The New York Mets will host the Arizona Diamondbacks for a 3-game series beginning on Friday night.  The Mets will start Noah Syndergaard who is 3-1 with a terrific 1.89 ERA and an outstanding 0.90 WHIP in five home starts this season.  He owns an impressive 29/4 strikeout/walk ratio in 33.1 innings of work at home.  Syndergaard comes into this game in good current form, allowing just 2 runs and seven hits in his last two starts.  He has never faced Arizona before, so that gives him a nice advantage in this game.  Syndergaard has plenty of support on the backend as New York’s bullpen is 8-3 with a solid 2.59 ERA and 1.19 WHIP at home while converting 16 of their 21 save opportunities.

Arizona will start Chase Anderson who comes into this game in terrible current form.  He has an awful 7.64 ERA in his last three starts, allowing 15 runs and 16 hits with seven of those hits being home runs.  Anderson gave up eight hits in 5.2 innings pitched to the Mets back on June 6th.  Arizona’s bullpen has 17 losses and 13 blown saves on the season, so Anderson has inconsistent support on the backend.  New York has been a much stronger team at home this season where they are 29-14 and averaging 4.0 runs per game, compared to just 15-28 on the road (3.0 runs).  We’ll lay the price with New York in this game on Friday night.

10* Play METS (-) (action).

Seattle and Detroit will wrap-up their 3-game series on Wednesday afternoon.  The Mariners will start J.A. Happ in this game.  Happ is 4-5 in sixteen starts for Seattle this season.  He does not come into this game in good current form.  Happ has allowed 10 runs and 20 hits in his last three starts with two of those outings resulting in losses.  Happ earned a poor 4.50 ERA in those three games.  Detroit is 12-8 versus left-handed starters while hitting .285 and averaging 4.2 runs per game in those games.  The Tigers are 22-13 in daytime games this season in which they are hitting .303 while averaging 5.8 runs per game.  Over their last five games, Detroit has scored 39 total runs (7.8 runs per game), so they should have plenty of success against Happ this afternoon.

Detroit will start Anibal Sanchez in this game.  Sanchez is a perfect 2-0 in his last three starts with solid wins over the Blue Jays and Yankees.  He has allowed just 16 hits in his last 21.1 innings of work, earning an impressive 1.08 WHIP during that span.  In his two career starts against the Mariners, Sanchez has held them to just 3 runs in 12.1 innings of work with 16 strikeouts for a solid 2.19 ERA and 1.22 WHIP.  Nelson Cruz (1-5), Franklin Gutierrez (0-6), and Mark Trumbo (3-12) have all struggled against Sanchez.  Seattle is only 11-14 in daytime games this season, hitting just .211 and scoring 3.5 runs per game.  Detroit presents solid value in this game on Wednesday afternoon.

9* Play TIGERS (+) (action).

San Francisco will host the New York Mets on Tuesday night.  The Giants will send Matt Cain to the mound; he’ll be making his second start of the season.  Overall in his career, Cain is 53-49 at home with a solid 3.18 ERA compared to 42-47 on the road with a 3.66 ERA.  Those numbers clearly indicate Cain has been a much better pitcher at home, so we can disregard his poor effort in Miami in his last start.  Cain faced the Mets last season, holding them to just 2 runs on three hits in seven innings of work.  Lucas Duda (1-8) and Daniel Murphy (4-16) have struggled against Cain.  The Mets have scored just 33 runs in their last 13 games (2.5 runs per game), and they are only 14-27 in road games this season where they are hitting just .230 as a team.

New York will start Bartolo Colon who has struggled on the road where he owns a terrible 5.02 ERA in seven starts this season.  He comes into this game in poor current form with a weak 5.19 ERA and an awful 1.44 WHIP in his last three starts.  Colon has a woeful 5.46 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in five career starts versus San Francisco.  In two games last season, Colon gave up 9 runs and 16 hits to the Giants for an awful 6.10 ERA and 1.74 WHIP.  Brandon Crawford (4-7), Angel Pagan (4-9), and Buster Posey (3-7) have all had success against Colon.  San Francisco has scored 38 total runs in their last six home games, so they should hit Colon hard in this game, especially since he struggles on the road.  We’ll lay the price with San Francisco in this game on Tuesday night.

10* Play GIANTS (-) (action).

Washington will host Cincinnati for a 3-game series beginning on Monday night.  The Nationals will start Doug Fister who is 2-1 with a solid 3.69 ERA and an outstanding 1.17 WHIP in five home starts this season.  Fister is a perfect 2-0 with a terrific 1.29 ERA and an exceptional 0.79 WHIP in two career starts against the Reds.  Fister has dominated the Cincinnati lineup, especially Jay Bruce (0-3) and Billy Hamilton (0-6) who are hitless against the righty.  The Reds are a terrible 14-26 on the road while hitting .241 and only averaging 3.5 runs per game, both of which are their worst offensive subsets this season.  Cincinnati is in poor current form; they are just 2-7 over their last nine games, scoring 2 runs or less in six of those past nine games.  The Reds just got swept at home by Milwaukee in their last series, losing by combined scores of 5-25.  Washington’s bullpen has been excellent at home; they are 7-1 while converting 15 of their 18 save opportunities with a 2.52 ERA and 1.14 WHIP.

Cincinnati will start Anthony DeSclafani who comes into this game in poor current form.  He has allowed 13 runs and 21 hits in his last three starts while earning a terrible 5.09 ERA and an awful 1.59 WHIP in those outings.  DeSclafani gave up 2 runs on eight hits in six innings pitched to the Nationals back on May 29th.  Washington is a terrific 25-14 at home where they’ve scored 21 runs in their last four home games.  Overall, Washington is averaging 4.4 runs in all games this season with a .258 team batting average.  The Reds’ bullpen has been awful this year with a 4.05 ERA and they are just 2-11 on the road.  We’ll lay the price with Washington in this game on Monday night.

10* Play NATIONALS (-) (action).

Washington will host San Francisco on Sunday Night Baseball.  The Nationals will start Jordan Zimmermann who is 3-3 but has a terrific 2.39 ERA and a sterling 1.16 WHIP in his nine home starts this season.  Zimmermann is in excellent current form as he owns a fantastic 1.19 ERA and an outstanding 0.93 WHIP over his last three starts.  He has an impressive 17/1 strikeout/walk ratio in his last 22.2 innings of work.  In his last three starts against San Francisco, Zimmermann has allowed just 4 runs on 16 hits in 23.2 innings of work.  Nori Aoki (3-12), Brandon Crawford (3-13), Angel Pagan (5-24), and Buster Posey (3-15) all struggle against Zimmermann.  Washington has a strong bullpen that owns just one loss and three blown saves at home on the season with a solid 2.57 ERA and 1.14 WHIP, so Zimmermann has plenty of support on the backend.

San Francisco will start Ryan Vogelsong in this game tonight.  Vogelsong is 4-4 with a terrible 5.04 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in his eight road starts this season.  He faced the Nationals three times last season, and his results were not pretty.  Vogelsong allowed 10 runs and 15 hits in 17 innings of work; Washington went 2-1 in those games.  Ian Desmond (4-10) and Denard Span (5-13) have hit Vogelsong the hardest.  Washington is 24-14 at home where they’ve scored 18 total runs over their last three games.  The Nationals have won the first two games of this series, outscoring the Giants 11-4, and we expect Washington to sweep this series and notch another solid home win on Sunday night.

9* Play NATIONALS (-) (action).

New York and Tampa Bay will conclude their 3-game series on Sunday afternoon.  The Yankees will start Ivan Nova in this game.  Nova has been good in his two starts this season, allowing just 2 earned runs on eleven hits in 12 innings of work.  Overall, Nova is 5-5 with a 3.75 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in thirteen career starts against Tampa Bay.  The Rays’ offense is in poor current form as they’ve scored just 34 total runs in their last 13 games (2.6 runs per game); Tampa Bay is just 2-11 SU in those games.  The Yankees’ bullpen has blown just one save attempt at home this season, so Nova has plenty of support on the backend.

The Rays will start Erasmo Ramirez in this game.  Ramirez has a poor 4.18 ERA in five road starts this season.  He has allowed 11 earned runs on 22 hits in just 23.2 innings of work away from Tampa Bay.  Ramirez will face a New York team that is 23-14 at home where they are averaging a robust 5.7 runs per game this season.  The Yankees’ offense has scored 34 runs in their last five games at home.  New York has won three games in a row, and six of their past ten games overall.  Tampa Bay’s bullpen has 17 losses on the season, so Ramirez has little support on the backend.  New York is 8-4 in twelve meetings versus Tampa Bay this season, including 4-1 at home.  We’ll lay the price with New York in this game on Sunday afternoon.

9* Play YANKEES (-) (action).

The Cardinals will host the Cubs on Sunday night for this final game of this three-game divisional series.  Carlos Martinez gets the start for St. Louis and he is 8-3 with a 2.92 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 14 starts this season with 93 strikeouts in just 86.1 innings of work.  The Cardinals are 11-3 as a team in those starts, including 5-1 at home this year.  Martinez is pitching well and he has allowed just 6 earned runs in his last three starts (2.70 ERA) with 19 strikeouts to just five walks during that span.  Martinez has excellent support on the backend as the Cardinals' bullpen enters with a 1.77 ERA and 1.24 WHIP at home, converting 18 of their 20 save opportunities this season.  The Cubs' offense is struggling, scoring 2 runs or less in five straight games (1.2 runs per game average).

Jason Hammel gets the start for Chicago and he lost both of his starts last season against the Cardinals, allowing 8 runs in just 11.1 innings of work for a terrible 6.35 ERA.  Hammel does not have much support on the backend as the Cubs' bullpen has 13 losses and 10 blown saves this season.  Jason Heyward (8-14), Jhonny Peralta (8-20), and Yadier Molina (3-9) have all hit Hammel well.  The Cardinals are the best team in the league with a 50-24 record, including 28-7 at home this season.  They are 43-15 against right-handed starters and the Cardinals are in excellent current form, going 7-1 in their past eight games overall, averaging 6.3 runs per game during that span with a .290 batting average.  St. Louis is 6-2 versus the Cubs this season and the Cardinals present solid value in this game tonight.

9* Play CARDINALS (-) (action).

The Angels host the Mariners for the second game of this three-game series on Saturday.  Garrett Richards gets the start for the Angels and he has allowed one run or less in three of his last five home starts and overall he has a solid 2.23 ERA and 1.09 WHIP at home this season.  One of those strong home outings came against Seattle on May 5th when Richards allowed just 1 run and only 5 hits in seven innings of work.  Overall, Richards has an excellent 1.66 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in his six career starts against the Mariners, allowing just 2 runs and 13 hits combined in his past four starts against Seattle since 2013.  Dustin Ackley (4-18), Nelson Cruz (2-14), Brad Miller (2-11), Seth Smith (2-10), and Austin Jackson (1-13) have all struggled against Richards.  The Mariners have been a poor offensive team this season, averaging just 3.4 runs per game with a .231 team batting average, including batting only .220 in their past seven games overall.

Seattle will start J.A. Happ tonight and he has been awful on the road this season with a 5.86 ERA and 1.56 WHIP in his seven starts away from home.  He enters in terrible current form with a 0-3 record and 6.08 ERA and 1.95 WHIP in his past three starts overall.  Happ is also 0-3 in his three career starts versus the Angels, allowing 13 runs and 20 hits in just 11 innings of work for a horrendous 9.83 ERA and 2.37 WHIP.  Kole Calhoun (3-4), Erick Aybar (3-7), and Chris Iannetta (4-7) have solid numbers against the southpaw.  Seattle's bullpen has struggled on the road this season with a 3-8 record and 4.32 ERA, so Happ does not have any support on the backend.  Los Angeles holds substantial edges in both pitching and hitting in this game.

10* Play ANGELS (-) (action).

Los Angeles will play their fourth and final game in this series in Chicago on Thursday afternoon.  The Dodgers will start Carlos Frias who is struggling right now.  Frias has allowed 10 runs in his past two starts with a terrible 8.44 ERA in those games.  Overall, Frias is now 3-5 with a weak 4.87 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in 10 games as a starter for Los Angeles.  Frias will now face a Chicago squad in good current form, having won 4 of their past 5 games.

Chicago will start Jon Lester who owns a 3.80 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in his 14 starts for the Cubs this season with a solid 81/23 strikeout/walk ratio.  Lester has pitched better at home this season with a 3.26 ERA and 1.31 WHIP.  Lester is in good current form; he has allowed just 2 runs and eight hits in his last two outings against the Reds and Twins for an excellent 1.35 ERA and 0.83 WHIP.  Jimmy Rollins (1-11) and Alberto Callaspo (3-16) have both struggled against Lester.  Los Angeles is only 4-8 versus left-handed starters this season, averaging only 2.8 runs and hitting just .219 in those games.  Chicago presents solid value in this game at home on Thursday afternoon.

10* Play CUBS (-) (action).

Detroit will play the second game of this three-game series in Cleveland on Tuesday night.  The Tigers won 8-5 as a +130 underdog last night and will now start David Price in this game.  He has allowed just 3 runs and 16 hits in his last three starts.  He had an impressive 25/3 K/BB ratio in those outings and a fantastic 1.17 ERA and 0.83 WHIP.  In two games against Cleveland this season, the southpaw has allowed just 3 unearned runs (no earned runs) and only 11 hits in 14.2 innings of work.  Price is 8-1 with a terrific 2.11 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 11 career starts against Cleveland.  Michael Bourn (3-19), Yan Gomes (0-12), Jason Kipnis (4-16), David Murphy (2-10), and Jose Ramirez (1-9) have all struggled against the southpaw.  The Indians are just 11-17 versus left-handed starters, averaging only 3.7 runs, and they are just 14-22 in all home games this season.

Cleveland will start Danny Salazar tonight.  Salazar is having a good season, but he is hittable, and overall has an average 3.56 ERA.  In his 73.1 innings of work this season, Salazar has allowed 32 runs on 67 hits while giving up 11 home runs.  He has issued 19 walks as well.  Salazar has had problems with Detroit’s lineup with Miguel Cabrera (7-19), Nick Castellanos (4-14), Rajai Davis (4-10), Ian Kinsler (5-15), and Victor Martinez (5-17) all hitting him hard.  The Tigers are 8-2 against the Indians in 10 meetings this season, and they are 19-5 in their last 24 meetings in Cleveland overall.  We’ll back Detroit in this game on Tuesday night.

10* Play TIGERS (action).

The Los Angeles Angels will host the Houston Astros for a 3-game series beginning on Monday night.  The Angels will start Hector Santiago who is 4-4, but has a solid 2.90 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 13 starts this season.  The southpaw has been even better at home where he owns a terrific 2.49 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in eight starts for the Angels.  Santiago held the Astros to zero runs on just one hit in 6.1 innings pitched back on May 7th.  Houston’s offense has struggled against left-handed starters all season; the Astros are only averaging 3.6 runs per game against them with a weak .230 batting average.  The Angels’ bullpen has a solid 3.33 ERA and 1.20 WHIP this season, so Santiago has plenty of support on the backend.

Houston will start Brett Oberholtzer in this game tonight.  He has been a much weaker pitcher on the road this season with a poor 4.50 ERA and an ugly 1.70 WHIP in his two starts away from home.  The lefty gave up 11 runs and 14 hits in two losing starts against the Angels in Los Angeles last year for an awful 7.59 ERA and 1.59 WHIP.  Overall, Oberholtzer is 1-3 in his four career starts against the Angels with a poor 6.35 ERA and 1.46 WHIP.  The Angels’ offense has scored 22 runs in their last four games and they present solid value as a small home favorite in this game on Monday night.

10* Play ANGELS (-) (action).

Kansas City and Boston will wrap-up their 3-game series on Sunday afternoon.  The Royals will start Chris Young in this game.  Young is 5-2 with a terrific 2.11 ERA and an outstanding 1.02 WHIP in his eight starts this year.  The righty has gone at least six innings without giving up an earned run four times this season.  Boston’s offense may not be at 100% for this game as Pablo Sandoval and Blake Swihart both left Saturday’s game with injuries.  The Red Sox are just 14-22 on the road this season, batting only .232 as a team, and they are in poor current form, going just 3-9 during their past twelve games overall.

Boston will start Wade Miley in this game.  Miley is 2-4 with a terrible 5.82 ERA and an ugly 1.71 WHIP in seven road starts for the Red Sox.  He is in poor current form, allowing 9 runs on 20 hits in his last 17.2 innings of work.  Miley gave up 10 runs in 4.2 innings pitched to the Royals last season.  Kansas City’s offense is in good current form as they’ve had 10 hits or more in six straight games.  The Royals have scored 23 runs in their last four home games, and overall they are 22-12 at home this season.  Kansas City holds a substantial bullpen edge with a 1.34 ERA and 0.96 WHIP at home this season, while Boston's relievers have a weak 3.98 ERA and 1.41 WHIP on the road.  Kansas City holds all of the edges, so we'll lay the price in this game on Sunday afternoon.

10* Play ROYALS (-) (action).

San Francisco and Seattle will play on Tuesday afternoon.  The Giants will start Tim Lincecum who is 4-2 with a terrific 1.98 ERA and an outstanding 1.10 WHIP in six home games this season.  The righty has allowed just 8 earned runs on 28 hits in 36.3 innings of work at home.  Willie Bloomquist (3-13) and Seth Smith (11-44) have terrible numbers against Lincecum.  Seattle is only hitting .219 while averaging just 3.9 runs per game in the daytime this season.  The Mariners’ lineup isn’t very good, and it becomes ever worse when you take away their designated hitter which will be the case in this game.

Seattle will start J.A. Happ who is 1-1 with a terrible 6.14 ERA and an ugly 1.57 WHIP on the road this season.  Happ is coming off a losing effort in Cleveland where he allowed 4 runs on 6 hits in just 2.3 innings of work.  Nori Aoki (6-11), Brandon Belt (3-5), and Buster Posey (2-3) all have had success against Happ.  San Francisco is 8-5 against left-handed starters this season, so they will have success versus Happ in this game.  We’ll lay the price with San Francisco in this game on Tuesday afternoon. 

9* Play GIANTS (-) (action).

A series victory is at stake as Detroit hosts Cleveland on Sunday afternoon.  The Indians will start Corey Kluber who has lost two straight starts coming into this outing.  He is 1-4 with a poor 4.06 ERA in seven road starts this season.  Overall, the Indians are 3-10 in Kluber's thirteen starts this season, including just 1-6 on the road.  Kluber is 2-5 with a weak 4.41 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 11 career starts against Detroit.  Miguel Cabrera (18-33), Nick Castellanos (5-15), Yoenis Cespedes (4-10), JD Martinez (5-12) and Victor Martinez (9-25) have all hit Kluber well.  The Tigers’ offense is in good current form as they’ve scored 4 runs or more in five of their last six games and they are batting .319 as a team during the past week.

Detroit will start Alfredo Simon in this game.  Simon is 3-1 with a terrific 1.80 ERA and a sterling 1.03 WHIP at home this season.  He has held the Indians to just 4 runs and 13 hits in two victories against them this season.  Simon is in good current form; the righty has allowed just 5 earned runs on 13 hits over his last three outings for a solid 2.11 ERA and 0.99 WHIP during that span.  Detroit is 32-14 versus Cleveland in their last 46 meetings in this series, including a 6-2 mark this season.  We’ll back Detroit in this game on Sunday afternoon.

9* Play TIGERS (+) (action).

Colorado will begin a 4-game series in Miami on Thursday night.  The two teams just played a series last week in Colorado with Miami winning two of the three games.  The Rockies will start Chris Rusin tonight.  He has started just three games so far this season, and he has only pitched a total of 18.2 innings.  Miami is one of the best offensive teams against left-handed starters this season; they are hitting .295 while averaging 5.1 runs per game.  The Marlins’ offense has scored 13 runs in their last three home games, so they should have success against Rusin tonight.

Miami will start David Phelps in this game.  Phelps is finally home where he has pitched much better this season.  He owns a respectable 3.71 ERA with a terrific 15/3 K/BB ratio in his three home starts.  Phelps will face a Colorado offense that is only hitting .246 away from home while scoring just 3.8 runs per games this season.  Phelps has plenty of support on the backend as Miami’s bullpen has a solid 3.25 ERA and 1.19 WHIP at home this season.  We’ll lay the price with Miami in this game on Thursday night.

9* Play MARLINS (-) (action).

Boston will play Game 2 of their 3-game series in Baltimore on Wednesday night.  The Red Sox will start Rick Porcello in this game.  Porcello is 3-6 with a terrible 5.21 ERA and an ugly 1.46 WHIP in 11 career starts against the Orioles.  This year, Porcello has faced Baltimore twice and he has allowed 12 runs and 18 hits in 11 innings of work.  Chris Davis (6-23), JJ Hardy (8-20), Manny Machado (5-15), Jimmy Paredes (4-7), Matt Wieters (4-13), and Delmon Young (9-29) have all hit Porcello hard.  Boston's bullpen has struggled on the road with a weak 4.13 ERA and 1.42 WHIP this season, blowing 50% of their save opportunities.

Baltimore will start Wei-Yin Chen who has a solid 3.18 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 11 starts this season.  The southpaw has held the Red Sox to just 2 earned runs in two starts against them this season.  Boston’s offense is in poor current form, especially on the road where they have been shutout in two of their past three games away from home.  Meanwhile, Baltimore has been a stronger team at home this season, averaging nearly a full run more per game.  The Orioles have won four of their past five games overall and they present solid value in this game on Wednesday night.

9* Play ORIOLES (-) (action).

Chicago will host Houston for a 3-game series which begins tonight.  The White Sox will start Chris Sale who is in terrific current form.  Sale has back-to-back shutout victories in which he pitched 14.2 scoreless innings, allowing just seven hits and two walks with 25 strikeouts in his past two starts.  The southpaw is 5-2 with a solid 3.27 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 10 starts for the White Sox this season with a dominating 79/16 K/BB ratio.  Sale has an incredible 0.38 ERA and an outstanding 0.71 WHIP in his three career starts against Houston.  The Astros are only hitting .228 while averaging just 3.3 runs in 22 games against left-handed starters this season.  Houston's lack of offense has finally caught up with them as the Astros have scored only two runs in three of their past four games during this current 4-game losing streak.

Houston will start Lance McCullers who is making his second start against Chicago this season.  McCullers allowed 2 runs and five hits in just 4.1 innings of work against the White Sox back on May 29th in a 6-3 home loss a -160 favorite.  This will only be McCullers second Major League road start, so his inexperience and the Astros' lack of recent offensive success does not bode well for him in this game.  Chicago is 4-2 versus Houston in their last six games at home in this series and the White Sox present solid value tonight with Chris Sale on the mound.

10* Play WHITE SOX (-) (action).

Despite the high line, there is still solid value with Toronto in this game as my power ratings make them a -210 favorite tonight and they enter in fantastic current form, going 5-0 in their past five games and outscoring those opponents 35-13.  Toronto will start Marco Estrada who is improving after a slow start this season.  He beat the Nationals in Washington his last time out after giving up just 2 runs in six innings of work.  Estrada also beat the Marlins last season in a 9-5 game in which he struck out seven batters while walking none.  Miami is only 12-17 on the road this season, and they are just 17-29 versus right-handed starters while only averaging 3.5 runs per game.

The Marlins will start Brad Hand tonight.  Hand is 1-1 with a poor 4.24 ERA in 16 appearances for Miami this season.  Hand is making just his third start this year and he will be facing a smoking hot Toronto offense that hit .304 during the past week and has scored 6 runs or more in five consecutive games.  Toronto is 9-5 versus left-handed starters this season, averaging 5.8 runs and batting .286 in those games.  Toronto also holds the bullpen edge with a 2.95 ERA and 1.12 WHIP at home, while Miami's relievers have a weak 4.22 ERA and 1.47 WHIP on the road this season.

9* Play BLUE JAYS (-) (action).

Toronto will host Houston for second game of this three-game series on Saturday afternoon.  The Blue Jays will start Drew Hutchison who is 3-1 with a solid 2.97 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in five home starts this season.  Hutchison already faced the Astros this season, and he held Houston to just 2 runs and five hits in six innings of work back in May.  Houston’s offense is in poor current form as they’ve scored 3 runs or less in six of their past eight games.

Houston will start Brett Oberholtzer this afternoon.  He has allowed 3 runs and 12 hits in just 8.1 innings of work this season.  The southpaw lost in Toronto last year after giving up 3 runs in 5.1 innings of work.  The Blue Jays’ offense is hot as they’ve scored 21 runs in their last three games, and they’ve scored 6 runs or more in four of their last five home games.  Toronto is 8-5 against left-handed starters while averaging 5.7 runs and hitting .284 in those games.  Toronto is 6-2 in their last eight home games versus Houston, and since they own all of the edges in this game, we’ll lay the price with the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon.

9* Play BLUE JAYS (-) (action).

Washington will host the Chicago Cubs for the second game of this four-game series on Friday night.  The pitching matchup is a rematch of the May 25th meeting which the Nationals won 2-1.  Tanner Roark got that win for Washington in Chicago after allowing just 1 run and three hits in five innings of work.  Overall this season, Roark has allowed just 3 runs and seven hits in 11 innings pitched as a starter for Washington with a strong 2.45 ERA and 0.91 WHIP.  He will face a struggling Chicago offense that has scored 3 runs or less in eight of their past ten games, averaging just 2.5 runs per game during that span.

Chicago will start Tsuyoshi Wada in this game.  He has not gone deep in any of his three starts this season; he’s only averaging 5.1 innings per start.  That means a shaky Cubs’ bullpen will come into play; they own a poor 4.42 ERA and a weak 1.46 WHIP on the road this season, blowing 5 of their 12 save attempts.  The Nationals are 8-4 while averaging 4.6 runs per game against left-handed starters this season which is their best offensive subset overall.  We’ll lay the price with Washington in this game on Friday night.

10* Play NATIONALS (-) (action).

New York is coming off a solid 7-0 shutout win last night and they will now play Game 2 of their 3-game series in San Diego on Tuesday night.  The Mets will start Noah Syndergaard who is 2-2 with a terrific 2.55 ERA and an outstanding 1.10 WHIP in his four starts for New York.  He has 22 strikeouts to just five walks on the season.  San Diego’s offense has averaged just 3.9 runs against right-handed starters this year which is the team's worst offensive subset.  The Padres were stymied by DeGrom last night (0 runs on 2 hits), and the same struggles are likely against Syndergaard this evening.

San Diego will start Ian Kennedy who is 2-5 with a terrible 7.15 ERA and an ugly 1.49 WHIP in his eight outings this season.  He has given up 12 home runs in 39 innings of work.  At home, the Padres are 1-4 in Kennedy's five starts where he has a horrendous 9.70 ERA and a woeful 1.64 WHIP.  Last year, the Mets were 2-0 against Kennedy, rocking him for 7 runs and 13 hits in just 10.1 innings of work.  Curtis Granderson (5-9), John Mayberry Jr. (3-8), and Ruben Tejada (2-6) all have good numbers against Kennedy.  We’ll lay the price with the New York Mets in this game on Tuesday night.

10* Play METS (-) (action).

Miami will host the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.  The Marlins are going with Brad Hand who will make only his second start of the season (14 relief appearances).  In his first start, Hand threw five innings in Pittsburgh where he only recorded two strikeouts.  Overall, the southpaw has a poor 4.50 ERA in 15 appearances for Miami this season.  Chicago’s offense is hitting .271 against left-handed starters while scoring 5.9 runs per game.  Hand will not be able to go too deep in this game, so that means a weak Miami bullpen (3.95 ERA and 50% blown save rate) will come into play.

Chicago will start Kyle Hendricks tonight.  He comes into this game in excellent current form, allowing just 6 runs with an 18/3 strikeout/walk ratio in his last three starts for a strong 2.49 ERA and 0.92 WHIP during that span with the Cubs going a perfect 3-0 in those games.  Miami's offense has struggled at home this season, averaging just 3.4 runs per game with a weak 10-16 record.  The Cubs are 6-2 versus the Marlins in their last eight meetings in Miami, and 9-5 in their last 14 games overall in this series.  We’ll lay the price with the Chicago Cubs in this game on Tuesday night.

9* Play CUBS (-) (action).

St. Louis and Los Angeles will play Game 2 of their 3-game series on Saturday night.  The Cardinals will start Michael Wacha who is a perfect 7-0 with an outstanding 1.87 ERA and a terrific 1.04 WHIP in nine starts this season.  Wacha has given up just 14 total runs in those nine outings.  Wacha threw 13.2 innings of shutout baseball against the Dodgers back in 2013; he did not face them last season.  Wacha will face a struggling Los Angeles offense that has scored just 2 total runs in their last two games.

Los Angeles will start Carlos Frias in this game.  Frias has lost two straight starts for the Dodgers after giving up 11 runs and 19 hits in just 10 innings of work.  Frias is not pitching deep into games; he is only averaging 5.1 innings per start.  That means a vulnerable Los Angeles bullpen will come into play in this game.  The Dodgers’ bullpen has allowed 37 hits in 43.1 innings pitched on the road this season with a mediocre 3.32 ERA and 1.34 WHIP, blowing 50% of their save opportunities.  The Cardinals are hot right now (five straight wins), and they have been incredible at home where they are 19-5 on the season.  St. Louis has all of the edges in this game, so we’ll lay the price with the Cardinals on Saturday night.

10* Play CARDINALS (-) (action).

San Diego will play Game 2 of their 4-game series against Pittsburgh on Friday night.  The Padres will start James Shields who has not lost in ten starts this season.  He is a perfect 6-0 with 82 strikeouts in 62.1 innings of work with a solid 1.20 WHIP.  Shields has dominated the Pirates’ lineup with only Chris Stewart (1-6) picking up a hit against him.  Pittsburgh’s offense has been highly inconsistent this season, and overall, the Pirates are batting just .248 on the road with a 10-13 record, compared to a 15-9 mark at home.

Pittsburgh will start Francisco Liriano in this game tonight.  Liriano is just 2-4 with a mediocre 3.86 ERA in nine starts for the Pirates.  He comes into this game in terrible current form as he owns a horrendous 6.60 ERA and an ugly 1.67 WHIP over his last three starts.  Liriano lost both games against San Diego last season after giving up 5 runs in just 12 innings of work.  San Diego’s offense is averaging 5.1 runs per game against left-handed starters this season, so they should have success against Liriano this evening.  We’ll lay the short price with San Diego at home on Friday night.

10* Play PADRES (-) (action).

San Francisco will play Game 2 of their 3-game series in Milwaukee on Tuesday night.  The Giants will start Madison Bumgarner in this game.  Bumgarner is 5-2 with a terrific 2.84 ERA and a tremendous 1.14 WHIP in his nine starts this season.  Bumgarner also owns a fantastic 1.65 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in seven career starts against Milwaukee.  He beat the Brewers at home last year, holding them to just 1 run and five hits in six innings of work.  Carlos Gomez (3-12) and Gerardo Parra (2-16) have poor numbers against Bumgarner.  Milwaukee is only hitting .226 in all games this season with a poor 16-30 record, including just 8-16 at home.

Milwaukee will start Matt Garza in this game tonight.  Garza has allowed 14 runs and 15 hits in his last two starts, and his struggles will continue in this game against the hot San Francisco offense.  The Giants have scored 74 runs over their last 11 games, so they come into this game in tremendous current form.  Overall, San Francisco is averaging 5.1 runs per game on the road this season with a .284 team batting average.  San Francisco holds all of the edges in this game, so we’ll lay the price with the Giants on Tuesday night.

9* Play GIANTS (-) (action).

Toronto will host the Chicago White Sox for a 3-game series beginning on Monday night.  The Blue Jays will send Drew Hutchison to the mound in this game.  Hutchison has improved after a slow start to the season.  He has allowed just 7 runs and 18 hits in his last three starts with a solid 1.25 WHIP and a powerful 20/4 strikeout/walk ratio.  He will now face a struggling Chicago offense that has scored just 15 total runs during their last seven games (2.1 runs per game) with an awful .196 team batting average during that span.  Overall, the White Sox are just 7-12 on the road this season.

Chicago will start Hector Noesi in this game tonight.  Noesi is 0-3 with a terrible 6.06 ERA and an ugly 1.65 WHIP in his four starts this season.  Noesi was atrocious in his one road start with a horrendous 10.39 ERA and 1.62 WHIP, allowing 10 runs and hits combined in just 4.1 innings.  Toronto’s offense is in good current form as they’ve scored 21 runs over their last four games.  The Blue Jays are averaging 5.1 runs per game against right-handed starters this season, and they've been a stronger team at home overall, so they should have success against Noesi.  We’ll lay the price with Toronto in this game on Monday night.

9* Play BLUE JAYS (-) (action).

San Francisco and Colorado will play a double header on Saturday; this is a play on the Rockies in Game 1.  The Giants will start Chris Heston who will be facing Colorado for the third time this season.  He gave up 6 runs and 11 hits in 5.1 innings of work in his last outing in Colorado at Coors Field.  Overall, Heston has a poor 4.84 ERA in four road starts this season.  He is coming off a terrible game in Cincinnati, and he owns an awful 6.19 ERA and an ugly 1.56 WHIP over his last three starts.

Colorado will start Jordan Lyles in this game.  Lyles has pitched much better at home this season; he owns a 3.51 ERA in four home starts which is a solid number in hitter friendly Coor's Field.  Lyles has allowed just 1 home run in 25.2 innings of work at home.  Nori Aoki (3-14), Brandon Belt (1-5), Brandon Crawford (0-5), Joe Panik (1-5), and Buster Posey (2-9) have all struggled against Lyles.  San Francisco’s offense is only averaging 3.3 runs per game in day games this season, so they will likely struggle this afternoon.  We’ll back Colorado in Game 1 of their doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.

9* Play ROCKIES (-) (Game 1) (action).

Baltimore will host Seattle on Wednesday night after a 9-4 win last night.  The Orioles will start Wei-Yin Chen who is just 1-2 but has pitched well with a strong 2.53 ERA and an outstanding 1.08 WHIP in seven starts this season.  He owns an impressive 2.67 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in his four home outings.  Last year, Chen held the Mariners to just 1 run and 10 hits in two games.  Robinson Cano (6-25), Nelson Cruz (1-6), Kyle Seager (1-17), and Dustin Ackley (3-13) have all struggled against Chen.  Seattle is only hitting .239 while averaging just 3.5 runs per game in eight games against left-handed starters this season.

Seattle will start Roenis Elias in this game.  Elias is winless this season, and he lost his one start against the Orioles in Baltimore last year.  This season, Elias owns a terrible 4.15 ERA on the road.  He will face a Baltimore offense that is hitting .322 while averaging a whopping 7.0 runs per game against left-handed starters this year.  Seattle’s bullpen is a mess with a 5-11 record, including a 2-7 mark on the road with an awful 4.53 ERA and 1.53 WHIP, so they will provide little support for Elias on the backend.  Baltimore holds all of the edges in this game, so we’ll back the Orioles on Wednesday night.

9* Play ORIOLES (-) (action).

The New York Yankees will wrap-up their brief 2-game interleague series in Washington on Wednesday night.  The Yankees will start Adam Warren in this game.  Warren has a terrible 6.04 ERA and a poor 1.39 WHIP in his four road starts for New York this season.  He will face a Washington offense that is in excellent current form; the Nationals have scored 6 runs or more in nine of their last twelve games.  Washington’s hot offensive play should continue in this game, especially against Warren who has struggled on the road all season.

Washington will start Jordan Zimmermann who has won four straight starts.  Zimmermann has allowed just 4 earned runs during his past three starts with an excellent 1.89 ERA during that span.  He has been outstanding at home where Zimmermann owns a strong 2.49 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 25.1 innings of work this year.  The Yankees’ lineup will be without Jacoby Ellsbury who was put on the 15-day disabled list after leaving Tuesday’s game with a knee injury.  New York’s bullpen had to be used for 5 innings last night, so Warren will have limited support on the backend this evening.  We’ll lay the price with Washington in this game on Wednesday night.

9* Play NATIONALS (-) (action).

Oakland will play Game 2 of their 3-game series in Houston on Tuesday night.  The Athletics will start Sonny Gray who has been outstanding this season with a 1.61 ERA and 0.93 WHIP and a 53/15 strikeout/walk ratio.  The righty has allowed 1 earned run or less in six of his eight starts.  Gray has allowed a total of just 2 runs and 11 hits in his last three outings with a dominant 0.92 ERA during that span.  He beat the Astros at home last year, and overall Gray is 2-1 against Houston in his career.  Chris Carter (1-7), Matt Dominguez (0-6), and Evan Gattis (0-3) all have poor numbers against Gray.

Houston will start an overrated Roberto Hernandez.  In his three home starts this season, Hernandez owns a terrible 5.40 ERA.  Hernandez has just four strikeouts in his last 20 innings of work.  Billy Butler (12-38), Coco Crisp (9-22), and Josh Reddick (2-7) all have good numbers against Hernandez.  Oakland is averaging 4.8 runs per game against right-handed starters this season, and they should have plenty of success versus Hernandez in this game.  We'll lay the price with Oakland as they hold a substantial pitching edge in this game on Tuesday night.

9* Play ATHLETICS (-) (action).

Oakland will begin a 3-game series in Houston on Monday night.  The Athletics are ice cold right now, going 1-10 in their past eleven games.  Meanwhile, the Astros are heating up, having won five games in a row, and seven of their last ten games overall.  Houston has scored 4 runs or more in each of their last five games (5.6 runs per game), and their offensive success should continue against Drew Pomeranz in this game.  Pomeranz has already faced the Astros twice this season, and his results have been terrible.  Pomeranz has given up 9 runs and 12 hits in just 10 innings pitched versus Houston.  Overall, the southpaw is 0-3 in four road starts this season; he has a terrible 6.87 ERA and an ugly 1.68 WHIP in those outings.

Houston will start Lance McCullers in this game.  McCullers will make his Major League debut for the Astros.  He was 3-1 with a sterling 0.62 ERA in six games for Double-A Corpus Christi before getting called-up.  McCullers allowed just 3 runs on 15 hits in 29 innings of work.  He had 43 strikeouts to just 11 walks in those outings.  Oakland is only 8-12 on the road, and they’ve scored 3 runs or less in five of their last six road games.  Houston is 4-2 in their six games against Oakland this season, so we’ll lay the short price with the Astros at home in this game on Monday night.

10* Play ASTROS (-) (action).

Detroit will play in St. Louis on Sunday Night Baseball.  The Tigers will start Alfredo Simon in this game.  Simon is not in good current form, having allowed 10 runs and 20 hits in his last 17 innings of work.  The Cardinals are quite familiar with Simon after facing him three times over a month’s span near the end of last season.  Matt Adams (3-7), Jon Jay (7-17), and Yadier Molina (5-14) all hit Simon well.  St. Louis is a terrific 14-5 at home where they are averaging 4.8 runs per game and batting .276 as a team.  The Cardinals are also 20-7 against right-handed starters this season.

St. Louis will start Lance Lynn in this game tonight.  Lynn has allowed just 6 runs and 16 hits in his last three outings for a solid 2.84 ERA and 1.21 WHIP during that span.  The Tigers’ lineup has struggled against Lynn, especially J.D. Martinez who is 0-for-6 versus the Cardinals’ starter.  Detroit is only hitting .244 in their 18 night games this season while scoring just 2.9 runs per game which is way below their overall season average.  This is an important game for St. Louis as they are looking to avoid a home sweep on national TV before beginning an extended road trip on Monday.  Lay the price with the Cardinals in this game on Sunday night.

9* Play CARDINALS (-) (action).

Cleveland will play Game 2 of their 3-game series in Texas on Saturday night.  The Indians will start Danny Salazar who has been hot this season.  Salazar is 4-1 with a strong 3.27 ERA and an impressive 0.88 WHIP in five starts.  He has 48 strikeouts to just five walks; Salazar has not committed a walk in his last three outings.  Salazar held the Rangers to just 1 un-earned run in six innings pitched at home last season, and he should have similar success in this outing.  Texas is only hitting .233 in all games this season, including .232 against right-handed starters, so they will likely struggle against Salazar.

Texas will send Colby Lewis to the mound tonight.  Lewis is pitching over his head this season, and he is set to regress.  Lewis has a terrible 5.59 ERA and an ugly 1.41 WHIP in five career starts against the Indians.  Cleveland’s offense broke out on Friday night; the Indians scored 8 runs on 12 hits and overall they are batting .284 as a team in their past seven games.  The bullpen advantage also goes to Cleveland as they have dominated this series over the past few seasons.  The Indians hold all of the edges in this game, so lay the price with Cleveland on Saturday night.

10* Play INDIANS (-) (action).

Los Angeles will begin a 3-game series in Baltimore on Friday night.  The Angels will start Jered Weaver in this game.  Weaver is 0-3 with a terrible 6.37 ERA in four road starts this season.  Weaver will now pitch in Baltimore where he has had previous struggles.  Weaver has allowed 10 runs and 13 hits in his last two starts at Camden Yards.  Adam Jones (7-23) and Delmon Young (7-18) have great numbers against the righty.  Baltimore is 10-6 at home where they are hitting .291 as a team and averaging 5.7 runs per game this season.  

Baltimore will start Wei-Yin Chen who has a terrific 2.52 ERA and a tremendous 1.09 WHIP in six starts this season.  Chen has not faced the Angels since 2012, so that gives him a nice advantage in this game.  Los Angeles is just 7-8 on the road where they are only hitting .223 as a team and averaging 3.7 runs per game.  The Angels are only hitting .233 in night games, and they are hitting just .230 overall this season.  Baltimore is 9-4 in their last 13 games against the Angels, including 4-2 in their last six games at home.  We’ll lay the price with Baltimore in this game on Friday night.

9* Play ORIOLES (-) (action).

Chicago will host Pittsburgh on Friday afternoon.  Kyle Hendricks will face the Pirates for the third time this season.  In his previous two outings against Pittsburgh, Hendricks has allowed just 5 runs and 10 hits.  Overall, Hendricks has a good 3.27 ERA and an excellent 1.00 WHIP in two home starts this season.  He will be facing a Pittsburgh team that is just 8-11 on the road this season.  The Pirates come into this game off two straight losses to the lowly Phillies, so they are not in good current form.  

Pittsburgh will start Jeff Locke in this game.  Locke has started twice against the Cubs this season, and his outings have been terrible.  He has allowed 10 runs and 15 hits in 8.2 innings of work.  Overall, the southpaw has an awful 5.11 ERA and an ugly 1.54 WHIP in seven career starts against Chicago.  The Cubs are hitting a solid .272 while averaging 4.8 runs per game against left-handed starters this season.  Chicago is also coming off a 4-game sweep of the Mets, so they have a lot of momentum.  We’ll back the Cubs in this game on Friday afternoon. 

9* Play CUBS (-) (action).

Houston will host San Francisco for the second and final game of their mini-series on Wednesday night.  The Astros will send Brett Oberholtzer to the mound and he will be making his first start of the season after being activated from the disabled list.  The southpaw has been dealing with a blister issue, and he will most likely be on a pitch count after throwing just 72 pitches in his Triple-A rehab start.  Oberholtzer will face a San Francisco team that is 6-2 versus left-handed starters this season.  The Giants’ offense has scored 19 runs during their past four games while going 3-1 SU, so the team is in good current form.

San Francisco will start Tim Hudson tonight.  Hudson owns a solid 2.03 ERA in his road starts this season.  Hudson is 5-1 with a 2.09 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in nine career starts against the Astros.  Houston’s hitters are a combined 8-for-32 (.250 batting average) versus Hudson with six of the eight total hits coming from one player, Colby Rasmus.  Houston’s offense is in terrible current form as they’ve scored just 16 total runs in their last eight games, scoring 1 run or less in five of those eight games and going 2-6 SU.  Hudson has plenty of support on the backend as the Giants’ bullpen owns a solid 3.23 ERA and 1.29 WHIP on the season with an 82% save ratio.  San Francisco presents solid value as an underdog in this game on Wednesday night.

9* Play GIANTS (+) (action).

Texas and Kansas City will play Game 2 of their 4-game series on Tuesday night.  The Rangers will start Nick Martinez in this game.  Martinez has not lost in his six starts for Texas this season.  He is 2-0 with a terrific 1.47 ERA and an outstanding 1.17 WHIP on the year.  Martinez has given up just 6 earned runs in 36.2 innings of work this season.  Martinez has never faced the Royals before, so that gives him a nice advantage versus the Kansas City hitters coming into this game.

Kansas City will start Edinson Volquez tonight.  Volquez has not won either of his two road starts, and he’s been dealing with a blister in his past few outings.  That blister finally popped in his last start against the Indians, causing him to leave early.  Volquez gave up 3 runs in three innings pitched in that game.  Texas’ offense is starting to improve as they’ve scored 5 runs or more in four of their past seven games.  We’ll back Texas as a home underdog in this game on Tuesday night.

9* Play RANGERS (+) (action).

Chicago will play their first of a 3-game series in Milwaukee on Monday night.  The White Sox will start Jeff Samardzija in this game.  Samardzija is 0-2 with a terrible 6.16 ERA and an ugly 1.47 WHIP in three road starts this season.  The righty is 0-5 with a poor 4.50 ERA in eight career starts against Milwaukee.  Last year, he lost two games to the Brewers after giving up 12 runs and 14 hits in eight innings of work.  Ryan Braun (9-18), Gerardo Parra (4-11), and Jean Segura (5-18) have had success against Samardzija.  

Milwaukee will start Wily Peralta in this game.  Peralta is in good current form; he has allowed just 6 total runs in his last three starts.  Chicago is just 2-11 on the road this season where they are only hitting .236 as a team while averaging a paltry 2.8 runs per game.  The White Sox are also losing a hitter in their lineup since they will be playing in a National League park.  Milwaukee won their last two games by a combined score of 15-6, so they come into this game in excellent current form.  We’ll back Milwaukee in this game on Monday night. 

9* Play BREWERS (-) (action).

Kansas City will play in Detroit on Saturday afternoon.  This game is a rematch of a May 3rd meeting between Jeremy Guthrie and Anibal Sanchez.  The Tigers won that game 6-4.  Guthrie gave up 6 runs and 11 hits to Detroit in that loss.  Guthrie has a poor 4.90 ERA and an ugly 1.50 WHIP in 20 career starts against Detroit.  Alex Avila (10-32), Miguel Cabrera (19-53), Nick Castellanos (5-12), Ian Kinsler (15-45), Victor Martinez (13-37), and JD Martinez (6-21) have all hit Guthrie hard.  Detroit is 13-3 in day games this season while hitting an impressive .309 in those games and averaging 6.1 runs scored.

Detroit’s Anibal Sanchez got the win back in that May 3rd game after giving up 3 runs and four hits in 7.1 innings of work.  Sanchez is 6-2 with a strong 1.40 ERA and an impressive 0.95 WHIP in eight career starts against Kansas City.  The Royals' offense has begun to cool off, scoring 4 runs or less in four of their past seven games and batting just .250 as a team during that span, compared to the .300 they averaged in all other games this season.  Look for Detroit to notch a nice home win on Saturday afternoon.

9* Play TIGERS (-) (action).

Texas and Houston will complete their 3-game series on Wednesday night.  Texas will start Colby Lewis against the Astros who are 10-2 over their last 12 games.  Lewis was roughed up by Houston at home back on April 12th as he allowed 4 runs and seven hits in 7.1 innings of work.  Jose Altuve (5-14), Hank Conger (5-17), and Jed Lowrie (6-20) have good numbers against Lewis.  Houston is 10-5 versus right-handed starters this season while scoring 5.4 runs per game.  The Rangers’ bullpen has been awful on the road as they own a poor 4.87 ERA and a terrible 1.49 WHIP.  That unit doesn’t provide much support for Lewis on the backend.    

Houston will start Sam Deduno in this game.  Deduno pitched well in his first start of the season.  He gave up just 1 run and three hits in four innings against Seattle.  Deduno will face a Texas team that is only hitting .212 on the road this season.  Over their last seven games, the Rangers are only averaging 3.7 runs per game, so they are not in good current form.  Houston’s bullpen has been fantastic at home this season where they own a terrific 1.99 ERA and an incredible 0.73 WHIP in 49.7 innings of work.  We’ll lay the price with Houston in this game on Wednesday night.  

9* Play ASTROS (-) (action).

San Francisco and San Diego will play their third and final game of this series on Wednesday afternoon.  Chris Heston will get the start for the Giants.  Heston is 2-2 with a strong 2.51 ERA and 1.18 ERA in five starts this season.  At home, Heston has been terrific with a 1.29 ERA and 1.00 WHIP; he has allowed just 4 runs in 21 innings of work.  The Padres have never faced Heston before, so that gives him a nice edge in this game.  San Diego is only hitting .216 in 10 day games this season, and their offense hasn’t scored a single run in their last two games. 

San Diego will start Ian Kennedy who is making his first road start of the season.  Kennedy faced San Francisco back on April 9th, and he left that game in the third inning due to injury; he gave up two hits and two walks in that outing.  Nori Aoki (5-10), Brandon Belt (8-25), and Buster Posey (15-37) have good numbers against Kennedy.  San Francisco’s offense has scored 18 runs over their last four games, and they’ll have success in this game against Kennedy.  We’ll lay the price with San Francisco in this game on Wednesday afternoon.

9* Play GIANTS (-) (action).

Washington will play their fourth and final game of this series in New York on Sunday afternoon.  Doug Fister will get the start for the Nationals.  Fister is a perfect 4-0 with a stellar 1.01 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in four career starts against the Mets.  Last year, Fister went a sterling 5-1 with a 1.90 ERA in day games while holding opponents to a .192 batting average.  New York’s offense has struggled against right-handed starters this season as they are only hitting .236 against them in 20 games.

The Mets will start Dillon Gee in this game.  Gee has a poor 4.26 ERA in two home starts for New York this season.  He has allowed 3 earned runs or more in three straight starts against the Nationals.  Ian Desmond (11-41), Bryce Harper (7-19), and Jayson Werth (11-37) all have good numbers against Gee.  Washington’s offense has been much stronger on the road this season where they average 4.7 runs per game.  The Nationals are finally playing up to their preseason expectations, going 4-1 in their past five games, while the Mets are starting to regress, going 1-4 in their last five games. We’ll back Washington in this game on Sunday afternoon. 

9* Play NATIONALS (action).

Pittsburgh and St. Louis will begin a 3-game series on Friday night.  A.J. Burnett will start for the Pirates.  The righty has allowed 13 runs in his last three starts in St. Louis against the Cardinals.  Overall, Burnett has a poor 4.34 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 19 career outings against the Cardinals.  Matt Carpenter (9-23), Jason Heyward (7-16), Matt Holliday (9-30), Jon Jay (7-23), and Mark Reynolds (5-13) all have good numbers against Burnett.  The Cardinals’ offense is in tremendous current form as they’ve scored 25 runs during their past three games.

St. Louis will start Lance Lynn in this game tonight.  Lynn has allowed just 5 runs and 14 hits in his last two starts against Pittsburgh at home.  Lynn will face a weak Pittsburgh offense that is hitting only .230 as a team this season, and just .207 in night games.  The Pirates' offense has been inconsistent this year and they have scored 2 runs or less in three of their past five games.  St. Louis is 16-6 in their last 22 games against Pittsburgh, so we’ll lay the price with the Cardinals at home in this game on Friday night.

9* Play CARDINALS (-) (action).

Baltimore will play the first of a 3-game series in Tampa Bay beginning on Friday night.  This series was moved to Tampa Bay after the ugly riots and incidents that transpired in Baltimore earlier this week.  Baltimore is still considered the "home" team, so they will have the advantage of batting in the bottom half of each inning.  Tampa Bay has a weak home field, so the change of venue has actually created better line value with the Orioles tonight.

Chris Tillman will get the start for the Orioles.  Tillman beat the Rays back on April 6th after he allowed just 1 run and four hits in 6.2 innings of work which was his best start this season.  Tillman has three straight wins against Tampa Bay while only giving up 2 earned runs and 11 hits combined in those outings.  The Rays are coming off a 3-game series against the Yankees in New York where they scored just 6 total runs.

Tampa Bay will start Alex Colome in this game.  Colome is making his first start of the season after dealing with visa issues and pneumonia.  Colome is expected to throw right around 80 pitches in this game as he builds his stamina back up which means Tampa Bay's mediocre bullpen (4.04 ERA) will see extra work tonight.  Colome will face a suddenly hot Baltimore offense that is hitting .310 in their last seven games while putting up 7.1 runs per game.  Baltimore holds all of the edges in this game, so we’ll back the Orioles on Friday night.

9* Play ORIOLES (action).

Miami will welcome the New York Mets for a 3-game series beginning on Monday night.  The teams recently played in New York, and the Mets swept the Marlins, so the home team will be ready, especially for tonight’s game.  Miami will start Jarred Cosart who has pitched well this season as he owns a solid 3.64 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in his three starts.  At home, Cosart has allowed just 1 earned run on three hits, earning a terrific 1.50 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in his lone outing.

New York is in a difficult situational and scheduling spot for this game in Miami tonight.  The Mets are coming off a high-profile 3-game series against the Yankees with the last game coming on Sunday Night Baseball.  Now the Mets must travel on short rest and face a Miami team that is remaining at home in good current form after just sweeping the Nationals in three games by a combined score of 17-4.  Dillon Gee will get the start for New York tonight.  Gee gave up 4 runs and five hits in 5.2 innings pitched against the Marlins earlier this month.  Gee has allowed 4 runs in each of his last two starts against Miami with both of those outings coming at home.  Miami is on a 5-game winning streak, and their offense is in excellent current form; they scored 32 total runs over those past five games.  We’ll lay the short price with Miami in this game on Monday night. 

9* Play MARLINS (-) (action).

Cleveland will finish their three-game series in Detroit on Sunday afternoon.  Carlos Carrasco will get the start for the Indians.  Carrasco is 1-5 with a terrible 8.18 ERA and an ugly 2.33 WHIP in seven career starts against Detroit.  In the span of 10 days last season, he gave up 5 runs and 17 hits to the Tigers; Detroit won both of those games.  The Tigers are hitting .291 while scoring 4.6 runs per game in 12 games against right-handed starters this season.  Cleveland’s bullpen is 0-3 this year with two blown saves already and a weak 1.43 WHIP overall.

Detroit will send Kyle Lobstein to the mound this afternoon.  Lobstein already owns a win over Cleveland after he held them to 3 runs in five innings of work exactly two weeks ago.  Lobstein has given up just 4 runs and 11 hits in two starts for Detroit this season.  The Indians are only 1-5 versus left-handed starters this season while hitting .192 and only averaging 3.2 runs per game.  The Tigers are 30-13 in their last 43 games against Cleveland, including 4-1 this season.  There is solid value with Detroit as a rare home underdog in this game on Sunday afternoon. 

9* Play TIGERS (+) (action).

San Francisco and Colorado will play Game 2 of their 3-game series on Saturday night.  The Giants will start Tim Hudson in this game.  Hudson has already lost 4-1 to the Rockies this season, and that game was in San Francisco.  Hudson now pitches in Coors Field where he has been awful.  Hudson is 0-2 with a woeful 7.29 ERA in Colorado, giving up 55 hits in 42 innings of work.  Charlie Blackmon (6-19), Corey Dickerson (4-10), DJ LeMahieu (4-11), and Troy Tulowitzki (6-22) all hit Hudson hard.  

Colorado will send Jorge De La Rosa to the mound.  De La Rosa is 9-6 with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP in 21 career starts against San Francisco.  Brandon Belt (2-8), Angel Pagan (7-30), and Nori Aoki (0-4) have struggled against De La Rosa.  San Francisco is just 4-10 over their last 14 games, and their offense has been very weak, scoring 3 runs or less in nine of those games.  Colorado is hitting .303 as a team at home this season where they are averaging 4.6 runs per game.  The Rockies are 4-0 against the Giants this season, so we’ll lay the price with Colorado in this game on Saturday night.

9* Play ROCKIES (-) (action).

San Diego and Los Angeles will start a 3-game series on Friday night.  Andrew Cashner will get the start for the Padres.  Cashner faced the Dodgers back on April 8th, and he was not at his best in that outing.  However, we expect a much better bounce-back performance from Cashner in this game considering he still owns a terrific 2.15 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP in seven career starts against Los Angeles.

Los Angeles will start Zack Greinke in this game.  Greinke lost 7-3 to the Padres back on April 7th.  San Diego is 5-2 at home this year where they are hitting a solid .284 as a team while averaging 4.1 runs per game.  The Padres are 7-3 in night games, hitting .311 as a team and scoring 5.9 runs per game.  San Diego’s offense is in good current form; they’ve averaged 6.0 runs during their past seven games.  The Dodgers’ bullpen is 0-3 on the road with a terrible 5.19 ERA and 1.62 WHIP, so they’ll provide little help to Greinke on the backend.  There is solid value with San Diego as a home underdog in this game on Friday night.

9* Play PADRES (+) (action).

Detroit will host Cleveland for a 3-game series beginning on Friday night.  Shane Greene has been a revelation for the Tigers as he makes his fourth start of the season.  Greene is a perfect 3-0 with an incredible 0.39 ERA and an outstanding 0.74 WHIP.  He has given up just 1 earned run and 12 hits in 23 innings of work.  Greene has 11 strikeouts to just five walks on the season.  Cleveland’s offense is hitting a weak .214 while averaging just 2.7 runs in their nine road games this season.  The Indians are hitting just .173 while averaging only 2.3 runs in their six night games as well.

Cleveland’s Danny Salazar will make his second start of the season.  Salazar has struggled against the Tigers in Detroit.  In his last two starts in Detroit, Salazar has allowed 8 runs and 12 hits in two losses for the Indians.  Detroit’s offense is averaging 4.8 runs per game and hitting a solid .286 as a team this season, and they are now taking a big step-down in pitching class against Salazar in this game.  Cleveland’s bullpen is 0-3 with two blown saves; they own a 3.91 ERA and a weak 1.45 WHIP on the season.  Detroit is 29-12 in their last 41 games against Cleveland, so we’ll lay the short price with the Tigers at home on Friday night.

9* Play TIGERS (-) (action).

Miami will travel to Philadelphia and begin a 3-game series on Tuesday night.  Dan Haren will get the start for Miami.  Haren has allowed 3 runs and seven hits in two starts this season.  But tonight he will face a Philadelphia team that he has struggled mightily against.  Last year, Haren lost a start in Philadelphia, and overall, he is just 1-5 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 10 career starts against the Phillies.  Ben Revere (8-18), Grady Sizemore (11-20), and Chase Utley (6-21) all hit Haren hard.

Philadelphia will start Jerome Williams in this game tonight.  Williams pitched well in his one home start this season while holding the Nationals to just 1 run and five hits in six innings of work.  Ichiro Suzuki has faced Williams the most, and he is just 2-for-15 against him.  Miami has lost four straight games, and seven of their last nine games overall.  Philadelphia also holds the bullpen edge with a solid 2.63 ERA compared to Miami’s 4.91 ERA.  With the Phillies 14-6 at home in their last twenty games against the Marlins, we’ll back Philadelphia as a home underdog on Tuesday night. 

9* Play PHILLIES (+) (action).

Los Angeles returns home to face Oakland in a 4-game series beginning on Monday night.  The Angels are 0-3 at home so far this season, so this is an important game for them in front of their fans.  Kendall Graveman will get the start for Oakland.  Graveman has given up 8 runs and 11 hits in his two starts this season for an awful 7.27 ERA and 1.85 WHIP.  He only has four strikeouts with five walks on the season.  Graveman will now face a Los Angeles lineup that has a lot of weapons and is set to break out offensively.  The Angels have been inconsistent on offense so far this season, but they have plenty of talent, and have scored 6+ runs in three of their past six games.

The Angels will start Matt Shoemaker tonight.  Shoemaker has won both of his starts this season, and we expect him to notch another win in this outing.  He only gave up 3 runs and six hits in each game pitched against the Rangers and Mariners on the road for a solid 1.05 WHIP.  Shoemaker beat the Athletics at home last August after allowing just five hits in seven innings of work.  Oakland’s offense has scored only 12 total runs in their last four games, and we expect them to struggle against Shoemaker tonight.  The Angels hold all of the edges in this game, so we’ll lay the price with Los Angeles at home this evening.

9* Play ANGELS (-) (action).

San Francisco has had a rough season so far, but we expect the Giants to notch a solid home win over Arizona on Sunday afternoon.  The Giants will start Tim Hudson in this game.  Hudson is 9-1 with a terrific 2.01 ERA and a sterling 0.99 WHIP in 13 career starts against the Diamondbacks.  Hudson won both meetings against Arizona last year, and he is coming off a couple of solid starts to begin this season.  Aaron Hill (2-14), AJ Pollock (2-9), and Mark Trumbo (2-8) all have had their problems with Hudson.  

Arizona’s Jeremy Hellickson already has a loss to the Giants this season.  He gave up 3 runs and nine hits in just 4.3 innings of work.  San Francisco won that game 5-2 in Arizona.  Overall, Hellickson has allowed 16 hits in 11 innings of work this season.  He has not been what Arizona hoped he would be after acquiring him from the Tampa Bay Rays.  San Francisco is in a good spot for a win, and since Hellickson is in poor current form, we’ll lay the price with the Giants in this game on Sunday afternoon.

10* Play GIANTS (-) (action).

Oakland will play in Kansas City on Sunday afternoon.  Scott Kazmir faced the Royals twice last year, and he gave up 7 runs and 17 hits in two losses.  Overall, Kazmir is 4-7 with a terrible 5.11 ERA in 17 career starts against Kansas City.  Eric Hosmer (6-15), Omar Infante (7-19), and Salvador Perez (4-14) have great numbers against Kazmir.  The Royals are 4-1 versus left-handed starters this season while hitting .304 in those games.  Kansas City’s offense has also been strong in the daytime, putting up 8 runs per game. 

Kansas City will start Danny Duffy in this game.  Duffy has not lost in three career starts against the Athletics.  He owns a solid 2.45 ERA and a strong 1.09 WHIP in those games.  Oakland’s hitters are a combined 6-for-29 against Duffy, and we don’t expect much improvement in this game since the Athletics are 0-3 in day games this season.  The Royals have one of the deepest bullpens in baseball, so there’s plenty of support on the backend for Duffy should he need it.  We’ll back Kansas City in this game on Sunday afternoon.

9* Play ROYALS (+) (action).

Detroit will look for the series victory at home over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday afternoon.  Shane Greene has been terrific for the Tigers so far.  Greene has allowed just 1 unearned run and seven hits in two starts this season.  Greene has eight strikeouts and just one walk in 16 innings of work.  Chicago’s offense was only hitting .197 as a team on the road before breaking out against Anibal Sanchez on Saturday.  But we expect the White Sox to revert back to their struggles in this game, especially against Greene who is in good current form.

Chicago’s Jose Quintana is making his third road start against a division opponent already this season.  Quintana has trouble pitching against Detroit as Miguel Cabrera (7-20), Rajai Davis (10-26), Ian Kinsler (5-17), and Victor Martinez (7-18) all have had good success against the southpaw.  The Tigers’ offense has been excellent at home this season as they’ve scored 27 runs in five games.  Chicago’s bullpen has a poor 5.15 ERA and an ugly 1.57 WHIP on the road; their shaky unit has had a slew of problems in the past as well.  Detroit holds all of the edges in this game, so we’ll lay the price with the Tigers in this game on Sunday afternoon.

9* Play TIGERS (-) (action).

New York will play in Tampa Bay on Saturday night.  Masahiro Tanaka will start for the Yankees.  Tanaka has allowed 9 runs and nine hits in two starts this season with an awful 7.00 ERA and 1.56 WHIP.  He should be 0-2 (instead of 1-1), but the Yankees’ offense provided Tanaka with a lot of run support in both games.  Tanaka should get hit hard once again in this game against the Rays.  Tampa Bay’s offense is heating up and has scored 4 runs or more in three straight games, and in five of their last eight games overall, averaging 4.9 runs per game during that span.

Tampa Bay’s Jake Odorizzi has been stellar so far this season.  Odorizzi has allowed just 1 run and four hits in his two starts with an incredible 0.61 ERA and 0.48 WHIP.  The righty has 10 strikeouts and just three walks on the season.  Last September, Odorizzi allowed just 1 run and five hits in six innings pitched at home against the Yankees.  New York’s offense is hitting just .222 as a unit despite averaging 5 runs per game.  Tampa Bay is 23-16 in their last 39 games versus New York, and since Tanaka is in terrible form, we’ll back the Rays in this game on Saturday night.

9* Play RAYS (-) (action).

Cincinnati will play Game 2 of their series in St. Louis on Saturday afternoon.  Homer Bailey comes off the disabled list to make the start for the Reds.  Bailey was dealing with an injury near his right elbow, and he had a rehab start in AAA.  Overall, Bailey is 6-10 with a terrible 4.98 ERA and an ugly 1.51 WHIP in 20 career starts against St. Louis.  Matt Adams (6-10), Matt Carpenter (15-25), Matt Holliday (13-42), Jon Jay (8-27), Yadier Molina (11-33), and Mark Reynolds (5-16) all have great numbers against Bailey.  It is unlikely Bailey will be able to go deep in this game which means Cincinnati's struggling bullpen will likely see extra work today.  The Reds' relievers have a 4.70 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in all games this season, including a horrible 5.79 ERA and 2.14 WHIP on the road.  

St. Louis will start Carlos Martinez this afternoon.  Martinez is coming off a solid start in Cincinnati his last time out.  He held the Reds to just 2 runs and four hits in six innings of work.  Martinez had eight strikeouts while only walking two batters in that outing.  Overall, he has a strong 2.57 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in his two appearances this season.  Martinez has been an excellent starter since transitioning from the bullpen and St. Louis presents solid value at home on Saturday afternoon.

9* Play CARDINALS (-) (action).

Baltimore will begin a 4-game series in Boston on Friday night.  Ubaldo Jimenez will get the start for the Orioles against a Red Sox team that he has struggled mightily against.  Jimenez is 1-4 with a terrible 8.68 ERA and an ugly 1.98 WHIP in eight career starts against Boston.  In his last two road starts against the Red Sox, Jimenez has allowed 7 runs and nine hits in nine innings of work.  Boston’s offense is hitting .295 at home this season, and they are averaging 6.2 runs per game overall.  Baltimore’s bullpen has an atrocious 5.24 ERA this season, so they’ll provide little help to Jimenez on the backend.

Boston will start Joe Kelly in this game.  Kelly won his first start of the season when he beat the Yankees 8-4.  Kelly allowed just 1 run and one hit in seven innings of work in that game against New York.  The Orioles are just 3-4 over their last seven games, and just three of their nine games so far this season have come on the road.  Baltimore’s offense hit just .185 in their first road series of the season, and they were shutout in one of those games.  Boston owns all of the edges in this game, so we’ll lay the price with the Red Sox on Friday night.

10* Play RED SOX (-) (action).