The Cardinals lost game one of this series with the Rockies, 1-2. St Louis still has a 4-game lead over Chicago and a 5-game lead over Milwaukee for the NL Central lead. Dakota Hudson will start today's game. Hudson is 15-6 on the season with a 3.41 ERA. Hudson has been great of late, allowing no runs in four of his last five starts and winning five straight games. The Colorado Rockies starts Antonio Senzatela today. Senzatela has a 8-10 record in his 21 games. Senzatela has a lofty ERA of 7.19. Senzatela has allowed at least five runs in each of his last six starts. Big mismatch here in pitching today. Plus we have the best defensive team in the National League with the Carindals, always a plus. We get the first place Cardinals with a very hot pitcher today at about 1.45. I'll take that. Play St Louis.

St Louis and Colorado begin a three-game series tonight at Coors Field. The Cardinals are in 1st place in the NL Central, now 4-games ahead of the Cubs and 6-games in front of Milwaukee. Micheal Wacha will toe the rubber tonight for the redbirds. Wacha is only 5-6 on the season with a 4.89 ERA. Wacha has had a bit of inconsistency this season. The Rockies had high expectations this season, but at 60-84 they are looking toward next year. Chi Chi Gonzalez will get the start today, his 10th of the year. Gonzalez is 0-5 and the Rockies are 0-9 in his starts. Gonzalez has a 6.86 ERA and 1.643 WHIP. He's shown flashes of pitching well, but for the most part he won't be around long tonight. I expect St Louis to hit Gonzalez easily and Colorado always gets their runs at home. This one has OVER written all over it. Take the OVER tonight.

The Atlanta Braves have the NL East locked up tight with a 9-game lead over Washington and a 14-game lead over these Phillies. Philadelphia is still in the Wild Card race though. The Phillies are 2-games back of the Cubs right now for that 2nd Wild Card spot. The bad news is that there are two other teams still ahead of them for that 2nd spot (Arizona and Milwaukee). Still, the Phillies need every win as we enter the final weeks of the regular season. The Phillies took two of three from their weekend series with the Mets as they head into game one of this three-game set with the Braves. Aaron Nola has been one of the best for Philly this year. Nola is 12-4 in his 30 starts with a 3.63 ERA. At home, Nola is 6-1 with a 2.85 ERA. The Braves will send Mike Foltynewicz to the hill today. Foltynewicz is 5-5 with a 5.28 ERA. I like the Phillies here tonight with Nola. Take Philadelphia.

Sunday night action between two old rivals here as the Yankees take on the Red Sox. Boston looks as if they won't make the playoffs after winning the World Series last year. The Yankees lead the Sox by 16.5 games in the AL East. Moreover, Boston has fallen to 7-games out of the Wild Card race with time running out. These teams have split the first two games of their series with Boston winning Friday and the Yankees winning Saturday. The Yankees will start Masahiro Tanaka today. Tanaka is 10-8 on the season with a 4.42 ERA. Tanaka has pitched well of late, giving up just two runs over his last 13 innings and holding four of his last five opponents to two runs or fewer. Rick Porcello toes the rubber today for the Red Sox. Porcello is 12-11 on the season with a 5.63 ERA. Porcello got shelled in his last start, allowing eight hits and six runs over just four innings. The Red Sox look like a team defeated while the Yankees continue to roll. I'm taking the road team here on Sunday evening. Take New York Yankees.

The Angels snapped a four-game losing streak yesterday in game one of this series with the White Sox, 5-4. They beat one of the best the Sox have in Giolito. Today, the Angels look for two in a row as they send Andrew Heaney to the hill. Heaney is 3-4 in his 14 starts this season with a 4.16 ERA. Heaney has pitched well of late, allowing two runs or fewer in five of his last seven starts. The other two starts were four runs and three run outings. The Sox have now lost nine of their last 11 games. Dylan Covey will toe the rubber here today, but he likely won't be around long. Covey is 1-6 with a 7.17 ERA in his 10 starts. The Sox are 2-8 in Cover's 10 outings. In addition, Covey didn't get an out in his last start, allowing five hits and five runs to the Twins before being pulled in the first inning. That's the second time in the last three outings that Covey hasn't gotten out of the first inning and in his last three starts he's allowed 16 runs over 6 1/3 innings. I really like the Angels here today against a very poor Covey. Play LA Angels.

The Angels bring a 4-game losing streak into today's game 1 with their series at the White Sox. The Angels staff gave up 21 runs in their 3-game series with the A's. They will start Dillon Peters tonight. Peters is 2-2 in his seven starts with a 5.50 ERA. The Sox will start their best pitcher tonight in the person of Lucas Giolito. Giolito is 14-8 on the season with a 3.30 ERA and 1.088 WHIP. I'm taking the home team here tonight against a struggling Angels club. Play the White Sox.

The Atlanta Braves go for their 8th win in a row tonight as they have game two of their series with the Nationals tonight. The Braves took last night's contest 4-2 and tonight will start Dallas Keuchel who is 6-5 on the season with a 3.72 ERA. Keuchel has been even better at home with a 3-1 record and 2.38 ERA. The Nats have lost two straight and three of the last four. Washington will start Pat Corbin. Corbin is 11-6 on the season with a 3.19 ERA. His road record drops to just 4-4 and the ERA rises to 4.61. Both these pitchers can put together great outings and I expect to see a good pitcher's duel here tonight. I'm playing the UNDER.

The Philadelphia Phillies have been a good UNDER team of late, going 1-5 O/U in their last six games. The pitching has been solid and tonight's starter Zach Eflin has been good of late. Eflin has just a 8-11 record and 4.45 ERA, but he's allowed just six total runs over his last three starts (16 2/3 innings). The Mets will counter with Steven Marz here tonight. Martz is 9-8 on the season with a 4.07 ERA. However, at home he's been very good with a 6-1 record and 2.05 ERA. This one looks like a low scoring game with Martz at home where's he's most comfortable. I'm taking the UNDER here tonight.

The Oakland A's have the misfortune of playing in the division with the Houston Astros. The A's are having a very good season with a 79-58 record. They currently are holding onto one of those Wild Card slots, tied with the Cleveland Indians for the 2nd slot and 1-game back of the Rays for the first one. Then 5.5-games back are the Red Sox. So right now it's a 3-team race for two wild card slots between the Rays, A's and Indians. That makes these games against the 65-74 Angels important. The A's will start Tanner Roark who is 8-8 on the season with a 4.04 ERA. The Angels will start Patrick Sandoval for just the fifth time this year. Sandoval is 0-1 with a 5.71 ERA. Line is getting a bit high so get on this one early. Take the A's as they should have little trouble with Sandoval. Play Oakland.

 The Phillies have no chance in the divisional race as the Braves lead them by 12.5-games. However, they still have life in the Wild Card, as they sit 2.5-games back of the Cubs for that final spot. The Phillies bring a 3-game win streak into tonight's contest. Aaron Nola gets the start today for Philly. Nola is 12-4 on the season with a 3.45 ERA. Nola has allowed three runs or fewer in six straight starts. The Reds have lost three straight and six of their last seven games. Trevor Bauer has not had a lot of success since coming over from the Indians. Bauer is coming off a terrible start, allowing six runs over four innings with three walks. Bauer has now allowed six runs or more in three of his last four starts. I'm taking the Phillies here with one of their best on the mound today. Take Philadelphia.

The Mets took game one of this three-game series on Monday, 7-3. Today is a great pitching matchup as two of the top pitchers in the NL go head-to-head. Jacob deGrom starts for the Mets. Sure, his overall record is just 8-8, but don't let that fool you, he has a excellent 2.66 ERA with a 1.024 WHIP. The Nationals will counter with their best in Max Scherzer, who is 9-5 on the season with a 2.46 ERA and 1.016 ERA. Both these hurlers are very close to each other, but the Nationals are the better team. Plus, it's not often we get Scherzer at home at this price. I'm taking Washington.

Arizona saw its winning streak snapped on Sunday by the Dodgers at six-games after a 11-inning loss, 3-4. Still, they took three out of four from the Dodgers. Arizona is back in the Wild Card race with that winning streak, now 3-games back of Chicago for the 2nd spot. San Diego took Sunday's game from the Giants, 8-4. They took three of four from the Giants in that series. Today, Cal Quantrill starts for the Padres with a 4-5 record and 4.48 ERA. Quantrill got hit hard last time out, allowing eight runs over 4 1/3 innings in a 0-9 loss to the Dodgers. The D'backs will counter with Mike Leake. Leake is 10-10 on the season with a 4.73 ERA. The D'backs have a shot at a Wild Card, and they can't let up on the gas. Take Arizona today.

The Nationals took Sunday's game from the Marlins, 9-3. The Mets saw their 2-game win streak snapped on Sunday by the Phillies 2-5. The Nationals extended their win streak to four games on Sunday with a winner over the Marlins, 9-3. The Nats only trail the Braves by 5.5 games in the NL East. They also have a commanding lead in the Wild Card race with a 4 1/2 game lead over the Phillies. The Mets are four back in the Wild Card behind the Cubs, but they would have to get past four teams to get there, which is highly unlikely. The Nats start Joe Ross today. Ross is 3-1 in his six starts with a nifty 1.74 ERA. Ross has allowed just three total runs over his last five starts. Noah Syndergaard will start for the Mets with a 9-7 record and 4.14 ERA. Nationals are very hot and making a run at the division. I like them here a lot over the Mets. Play Washington.

The Angels came back late in their Saturday game against the Red Sox to pull out the win 10-4. That win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Angels and snapped a 3-game win streak for the Red Sox. Andrew Heaney gets the start here on Sunday for the Halos. Heaney is 3-3 in his 13 starts with a 3.95 ERA. The Angels have won the last five starts for Heaney. The Red Sox will start David Price. Price is 7-5 on the year with a 4.36 ERA. In addition, the Sox have lost the last five starts of Price. I don't see that changing here on Sunday. I'm taking the Angels.

The Mets saw their losing streak increase to six-games with their loss to the Cubs on Thursday, 1-4. Zack Wheeler will try and snap the losing streak today for the Mets. Wheeler is 9-7 on the season with a 4.46 ERA. Wheeler is a touch worse on the road where he's 4-5 with a 4.58 ERA. The Phillies had Thursday off and sit at 69-63 on the season, now 2-games ahead of the Mets and in 3rd place in the NL East. The Phillies likely won't make a Wild Card spot. They will start one of their most effective pitchers today in Aaron Nola. Nola is 12-4 on the year with a 3.53 ERA. He's been better than that at home with a 6-1 record and 2.94 ERA. Nola has allowed more than three earned runs just two times (both four runs) in his last 13 starts. I like the Phillies a lot in this spot tonight against a Mets team that is on a very cold streak. Play Philadelphia.

Very big series here between the top two teams in the NL Central. The Milwaukee Brewers are in 2nd place, 4-games back of the Cubs. The Brewers had Thursday off as they prepare for this series. The Cubs finished sweeping the Mets with a 4-1 win on Thursday. Jose Quintana starts today for the Cubs. Quintana is 11-8 on the season with a 4.16 ERA. The Cubs have won eight of the last 10 starts by Quintana. The Brewers will start Chase Anderson. Anderson is 5-3 on the season with a 4.32 ERA. Anderson got shelled two starts ago by the Nationals, allowing 10 earned runs over 2 1/3 innings. However, he bounced back in his last start, allowing no runs over five innings to the Diamondbacks. The Brewers have lost three of Anderson's last five starts. I'll be taking the Cubs here on Friday early. Play Chicago Cubs.

A's -1.5 Runs - The A's need to win these games over teams like the Royals, but fell short last night. The A's led the Royals on Wednesday 2-0 and 4-2 before losing 4-6 in the late innings. Today, they are a big favorite as Chris Bassitt is on the hill with a 9-5 record and 3.59 ERA. The Royals will counter with Glenn Sparkman who is 3-8 on the season with a 5.79 ERA. As much as I like Oakland today, I have to lay the 1 1/2 runs here with Bassitt. Play Oakland - 1 1/2 runs.

The Oakland A's won't be catching the Houston Astros in the AL West, despite their nice 76-55 record. They still trail first play Houston by 9-games. However, the A's are currently holding onto the 2nd Wild Card playoff spot, one game ahead of Tampa Bay. Boston is six back and likely out of the race. So it looks like a three-way Wild Card battle for two spots between Cleveland, Oakland and Tampa Bay. That makes these games against the lower level teams all the more important to win. Oakland has done just that, taking the first two of this series by a combined 21-5 score. Today, Tanner Roark starts for the A's with a 8-8 mark and 3.95 ERA. The A's have won seven of Roark's 11 road games this year and Roark has a good 3.90 road ERA. The Royals have lost two straight, six of their last seven and 10 of their last 13 games. Jake Junis starts today for KC with a 8-12 record and 4.89 ERA. The Royals have lost four of Junis's last six starts and are 3-7 in his 10 home starts. I like Oakland again here on Wednesday. Play Oakland.

The Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians continue to duke it out for the AL Central lead. The Twins are back in front now with a 79-51 record with the Indians a close second at 75-55. The White Sox, well they are a long ways off at 60-70. Still, the Sox have something to be confident in today with their best pitcher on the hill in the person of Lucas Giolito. Giolito is 14-6 on the season with a 3.20 ERA. He's been super consistent this season and with the exception of a bad spot start here or there, he's been great. He's coming off his best start of the season, allowing no runs and just three hits to these Twins on August 21st. He's also struck out 36 batters in this last three starts and walked just four. The Twins will counter with Michael Pineda. Pineda is 9-5 on the season with a 4.26 ERA. This is a very good matchup here tonight and the Sox should be in this one with Giolito on the hill. I'm going to take Chicago here tonight. Play Chicago.

Big series here, especially for the Brewers with their NL Central foes St Louis. The Brewers have dropped to third in the division, 2-games back of the Cubs and now 4.5 games back of the division leading Cardinals. That makes this series imperative for Milwaukee if they want to stay in the race. The Cardinals have won four straight and will start Adam Wainwright today. Wainwright is 9-9 on the season with a 4.44 ERA. He's not been good on the road though, with a 3-5 record and 6.87 ERA. The Brewers will start Gio Gonzales who is 2-1 in his 12 starts with a 3.64 ERA. At home, the team has won four of his five starts. Gonzales has allowed one run in three of his last four starts. Brewers need this one tonight and I'm taking them here. Play Milwaukee.

It isn't very often you can take advantage of the Yankees as a +1.50 dog. But you can here tonight in LA. Yes, LA has the best record in baseball and Yes Kershaw is having a very good year. But, the Dodger's Achille's Heal is that bullpen and Kershaw rarely goes past six innings anymore. Plus, we get Domingo German on the hill for the Yankees who is 15-3 on the season with the Yanks winning 17 of his 21 starts. If that isn't a high value underdog, then I don't know what is. The Yankees could easily be up 2-0 in this series. They took game one 10-2 and lost last night 1-2. However, they had the bases loaded with 1 out in the top of the 9th and had back-to-back strikeouts to end the game. I like value dogs and this is one for the books. Take the Yankees.

Interleague action has Boston Red Sox traveling West to take on the San Diego Padres. Both of these teams had Thursday off as they prepare for this three-game set starting tonight. Both teams bring a 2-game losing streak into tonight's contest. Boston starts their best tonight with Eduardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez is 14-5 with a 4.12 ERA. He's coming off a 7 1/3 inning performance where he held Baltimore to no runs and just four hits. The Padres start Chris Paddack tonight. Paddack is 7-6 on the season with a 3.44 ERA. Paddack has been even better at home where he has a 5-2 record and 2.53 ERA. Even though Rodriguez has the better record, Paddack has the better ERA. I'll take the Padres here as a even dog. Play San Diego

Wrigley field can be a tough place to play, especially when the wind is blowing in from the outfield. That's just what is expected here today with winds around 14-MPH expected to blow in from the outfield. That usually means balls that could have left the yard will be held up. The Nat's Anibal Sanchez will look to take advantage of this wind today. Sanchez is 7-6 on the season with a 3.99 ERA. His counterpart will be Jon Lester. Lester is 10-8 with a 4.30 ERA and is coming off one of his best starts of the season. I'm taking the UNDER here on Friday. The wind will aid these pitchers and that will keep this contest under.

The Indians and Twins continue to jockey for position in the AL Central. Both teams lost on Wednesday so the Twins hold a 3-game lead over the Indians for the lead. The Indians look to even their series with the Mets here tonight after losing the first two games. Aaron Civale will start tonight for the Tribe. Civale is 1-2 on the season after four starts with a 1.50 ERA. Civale has allowed just four runs over four start (24 innings). The Mets will counter with Noah Syndergaard who is 8-6 on the season with a 3.86 ERA. Both these pitchers have been good, but I expect the Indians to salvage the final game of this 3-game set. Take Cleveland.

 The Yankees have lost two straight games, including last night's game one at Oakland, 2-6. The Yankees lost with one of their best on the mound in Domingo German who has 15 wins this year. The A's will look to take another here tonight with arguably their most successful starter on the hill in Michael Fiers. Fiers is 11-3 with a 3.36 ERA on the season. The A's have won five consecutive starts by Fiers. Fiers has been even better at home, going 7-1 in 13 starts with a 2.33 ERA and the A's are 10-3 in those starts. The Yankees will start J.A. Happ. Happ is 10-7 with a 5.40 ERA. Happ has allowed 12 runs over his last 15 2/3 innings. I am a big fan of Michael Fiers and he's even better at home. I really like this play tonight. Take Oakland.

The LA Angels looking to get back to the .500 mark as they sit at 63-66 on the season. The Angels will give Patrick Sandoval another start here today, only his third of the season. Sandoval is 0-1 with a 7.00 ERA in his first two starts. Sandoval allowed 11 hits and seven runs over his 9-innings of work. The Rangers start one of their best here tonight in Mike Minor. Minor is 11-7 on the season with a 2.94 ERA. Minor has held two of his last three opponents to no runs and a total of four runs over those three starts (22 innings). Cheap price to lay with such a good pitcher in Minor here tonight. I'm taking the home team. Play Texas.

Two of the worst teams in the AL meet up today here in Baltimore as the Orioles host the Royals. These clubs have split the first two games of this 3-game set. The Royals took game one and the O's took last night's contest, 4-1. Kansas City will start Mike Montgomery here today. Montgomery has a 2-3 record with a 3.68 ERA. Montgomery has been very good in his last two starts, allowing no runs over 13 innings with two walks and 15 KO's. The O's will counter with Aaron Brooks who is 2-7 with a lofty 7.36 ERA. Brooks has allowed 27 runs over his last five starts (22 2/3 innings). Brooks just not a good pitcher here and with the way Montgomery has pitched of late, I'll be on the visitor in this one. Play Kansas City.

One of the best under teams in baseball in this matchup in the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds are 48-70-6 O/U/P on the season. Add to that fact that the Reds have a very good starter on the hill today in the person of Sonny Gray. Gray is only 8-6 on the season, but has a nifty 2.92 ERA. Gray has been red-hot of late, allowing NO runs over his last three starts and just seven total hits (18 innings). He also has 24 KO's, but has allowed 11 free passes. The Padres will counter with Cal Quantrill today. Quantrill is 4-3 and has a decent 3.66 ERA. Quantrill has allowed just five earned runs over his last five starts (28 2/3 innings). So we have two very hot pitchers matching up here and one of the best under teams in baseball in the Reds. I'm taking UNDER in this one.

Two of the teams battling it out for the NL Central division play tonight as the Cardinals host the Brewers. The Brewers are third right now in the Central with a 64-60 record while the Cardinals sit 2-games ahead of them at 65-57. The Cubs lead the division with a 66-58 record. The Cardinals will start their top winning pitcher tonight in the person of Dakota Hudson. Hudson is 11-6 with a 3.84 ERA. Hudson has allowed just two runs over his last 10 innings (2-starts). The Brewers will counter with Zach Davies who is 8-5 on the season with a 3.74 ERA. Davies hasn't been as good lately, allowing 17 runs over his last three starts (13 innings). Still, Davies has been good overall on the season. I like this game to go UNDER here tonight. Play UNDER.

The Giants have won three-straight games, all against the Diamondbacks. The Giants have been scoring in bunches, getting at least seven runs in each of the three games in this series. Sunday, the Giants start Madison Bumgarner who is 8-7 on the season with a 3.57 ERA. Bumgarner has been excellent in his last two starts, allowing one total run, three total hits and striking out 12 over 14 innings. Arizona has now lost four straight and six of their last eight games. They will turn to Merrill Kelly today. Kelly is 8-12 on the season with a 4.75 ERA. Kelly has got hit hard, allowing six runs or more in three of his last four starts. In addition, the D'backs have lost seven of his last eight starts. I look for the Giants to sweep this series today behind Bumgarner. Take San Francisco.

The Oakland A's have taken the first two games of this four-game set with the Houston Astros. The A's have improved to 70-52 but still trail Houston by 7.5 games in the AL West. However, the A's are just 1/2-game out of the race for one of the Wild Card spots and their nearest follower is the Red Sox, some six-games back of Oakland. The A's will start Chris Bassitt today with a 8-5 record and 3.56 ERA. Bassitt is off an excellent start, allowing no runs over seven innings to the White Sox in a win. Bassitt has now allowed just two runs over his last three starts (19 innings). Houston shot their best yesterday in Verlander and still lost. So today they go the other way and start Rogelio Armenteros, who makes his second start of the season. Armenteros did well in his initial start, going 5-innings and allowing just two his and one run for the win. However, I need to see more starts from this youngster before I will put any money on him. Instead, I'll take the dog A's today with a good pitcher on the mound I know has been very good of late. Play Oakland.

The Phillies are fresh off a sweep of 1st place Chicago and now begin a 3-game set with the Padres. Vincent Velasquez gets the start tonight for the Phils with a 3-6 record and 4.30 ERA. Velasquez has been very good of late, allowing 7 runs over his last five starts (22 2/3 innings). The Padres have lost three of their last four games. They will turn to Chris Paddock tonight. Paddock has a 7-5 record with a 3.26 ERA this season. Despite the Padres having a slightly better starter on the hill, I like the win streak the Phillies are on. They only trail in the Wild Card race by one-game, so they are making a move. Play Philadelphia.

The Braves look for the sweep over the Mets tonight at home. Atlanta took the first two games, 6-4 and 5-3. Julio Teheran will get the nod tonight. Teheran is 7-7 on the season with a 3.35 ERA and is coming off a nice outing where he allowed just one run over 7-innings for the win over Miami. The Braves are now 6-2 in Teheran's last eight starts. After an eight-game win streak, the Mets have now lost three straight. They will turn to newly acquired Marcus Stroman to stop the losing streak. Stroman is only 6-11 overall this season, and no record with the Mets. He has allowed seven runs over 10 1/3 innings with the Mets. Hard to go against the division leading Braves here tonight. Teheran has been more than adequate and I look for the Braves to sweep the Mets. Take Atlanta.

The Phillies trail the Braves by 9-games in the NL Central, so catching them is highly unlikely. However, the Phils are just two-games back in the race for a Wild Card spot. Philly took game one of this series yesterday over the Cubs, 4-2. They need to string some wins together, something they haven't done since the end of July. Aaron Nola will get the start tonight for Philadelphia. Nola is 10-3 with a nifty 3.66 ERA. Nola has also allowed just four runs over his last 12 innings of work and the club is 7-2 in Nola's last nine starts. The Cubs lead the Cardinals by 1-game and the Brewers by 2.5-games in the NL Central. The Cubs will start Cole Hamels tonight with a 6-3 record and 3.09 ERA. This is a great matchup here tonight, but I'm sticking with the home team here. Take Philadelphia.

Arizona has taken the first two games of this three-game set with the Rockies, including last night's contest, 9-3. The D'backs have scored nine and eight runs in the two games. Robbie Ray gets the nod today for the D'backs. Ray is 10-7 on the season with a solid 3.99 ERA. Ray has allowed over three runs just two times (both 4-runs) in just two of his last seven starts. Moreover, the D'backs are 6-1 in those last seven starts. Colorado has won just once in the last eight games. And, it doesn't look good today either as struggling Kyle Freeland once again toes the rubber for the Rocks. Freeland is 3-10 on the season with a high 7.06 ERA. Freeland has pitched better of late, but he's still not good this year and I'm going against him here today. Take Arizona.

Toronto has won two straight games over the Rangers, dominating them by a 22-4 run differential. The Jays try for the sweep here today as they send Sean Reid-Foley to the hill. Reid-Foley is 2-2 in his five starts with a 2.95 ERA. Reid-Foley has been very good in limited starts, including allowing a total of 2-runs over his last three starts (13 innings). The Rangers have lost two-straight games and six of their last seven. Kolby Allard makes his first start of the year tonight. Allard has one appearance and that was a 4 1/3 inning stint vs the Brewers where he allowed just two runs. I have to stick here early on the Jays. Two young pitchers, but I give the big edge to Reid-Foley. Take Toronto.

Defending world champion Red Sox look to be out of the playoff picture for this year. The Sox are now 8 1/2 games back in the race for a wild card spot. The Sox are way out of the AL East race, trailing the Yankees by 17 games. Chris Sale starts today and it has been a bad year for the lefty with a 6-11 record and 4.41 ERA. Sure, he pitched great last time out, allowing no runs and two hits over eight innings to the Angels. However, those type of starts are few and far between this year. Meanwhile, the surging Indians have taken the AL Central lead away from the Twins, now leading Minnesota by 1/2 game. The Indians have won nine of their last 11 games including yesterday's win over the Red Sox, 6-5. Mike Clevinger gets the start today with a 7-2 record and 3.02 ERA. Clevinger has won five straight starts and allowed over two runs just one time in that span (3 runs). The Indians and Clevinger are hot and I like to ride these teams, especially as a even home dog or slight favorite tonight. Play Cleveland.

The Washington Nationals making some noise in the NL as they now occupy the top Wild Card spot in the league with a 1-game lead over third place Milwaukee. The Nats are also only 6-games back of the Braves with an outside shot of catching Atlanta for the division. Joe Ross starts today for the Nats with a 2-1 record in his three starts and a 1.62 ERA. Ross has pitched well in limited use with no runs allowed over his last two starts (11 1/3 innings). The Reds have lost two straight after dropping yesterday's game to Washington, 6-7. Alex Wood gets only his 4th start of the season here tonight. Wood is 1-0 with a 5.65 ERA, but did get hit hard last start with five runs allowed over three innings. The Nationals just too hot right now to pass on them at home at this price. Take Washington.

The Boston Redsox split their four-game series with the Angels, winning the first two and then losing the last two games. The Sox are fading fast in the AL Wild Card race as they are now 7.5-games back of the Indians and Twins. Eduardo Rodriguez gets the start today with a 13-5 record and 4.19 ERA. Rodriguez coming off a loss where he gave up four runs over 6 1/3 innings to the Yankees. The Indians are now holding the top spot for a Wildcard playoff position, 2.5-games ahead of Tampa Bay. The Indians took two of three from 1st place Minnesota and now trail the Twins by just 1-game in the AL Central. The Tribe will turn to Zach Plesac today. Plesac is 6-3 this season with a nice 3.25 ERA. The Indians have won the last six starts from Plesaac with the pitcher going 3-0. In fact , Plesac has allowed over two runs just twice in those six starts and that was a 3-run and 4-run outing. I like the Tribe a lot here tonight a small home dog. They are playing well and Plesac has been very good. Take the dog price and enjoy the win. Play Cleveland.

Rubber game of this three-game set between the A's and White Sox today. The A's took game one on Friday, 7-0, with the Sox taking game two on Saturday, 3-2. Today, the A's will send Chris Bassitt to the hill. Bassitt is 7-5 on the season for the A's with a 3.80 ERA. Bassitt has been very good of late, allowing eight total runs over his last five starts (29 innings). The White Sox will counter with Lucas Giolito. Giolito has a very good 12-5 record and a 3.44 ERA. However, he's fallen down a rung or two in recent starts. The Sox have won just two of his last six starts and he has allowed some big runs during that span. Still, he's one, if not the best the White Sox have and that's why we see this smaller line on Bassitt today. I still like the A's, they are a quality team with a consistent starter on the hill. Play Oakland.

Arizona has won 3-games in a row after taking last night's extra inning game with the Dodgers, 3-2. The Rays will come back today with Alex Young. Young is 4-1 on the season with a 2.78 ERA. young has allowed over two runs just one time in his six starts and that was a four-run effort. The Dodgers turn to Kenta Maeda tonight. Maeda is 7-8 on the season with a 4.41 ERA. Maeda has been hit fairly hard the last two games, allowing eight runs over just 8 1/3 innings. Tonight, oddsmakers installed Maeda as a big favorite. I like the dog here as Young has pitched well for the D'backs. Always like a live dog and that's just what we get here tonight. Take Arizona.

Don't look now but the Cleveland Indians are making their move in the AL Central. The Indians have won three-straight games, including last night's win over the Twins, 7-5. The Indians now trail the Twins by just 1-game for the division lead. Tonight, the Indians can put themselves into a 2-way tie and they will look to their best pitcher this year to do just that, Shane Bieber. Bieber is 11-4 on the season with a 3.30 ERA. The Tribe has won six of his last seven starts and Bieber has allowed just four total runs over his last three starts (25 innings) including two complete game wins. The Twins will start Devin Smeltzer for just the fourth time this year. Smeltzer has a 2.45 ERA and is 1-1. Smeltzer has performed well, but the jury is still out on this pitcher. The jury isn't out on Bieber and the Indians. I'm sticking with the Tribe here tonight. Play Cleveland.

The Marlins put a whipping on the Braves yesterday in game one of their series, 9-2. The Marlins jumped out to a 8-0 lead and cruised from there. Today. Their best pitcher takes the mound in 7-5 Caleb Smith. Smith has a nice 3.18 ERA and has seen his club win five of his last six starts. The Braves will counter with Julio Teheran who is 6-7 on the season with a 3.46 ERA. Teheran has seen his team lost two of his last three starts. The Marlins are a live dog with their best hurler on the mound and it's a too much for me to pass on here. Play Miami.

What's the old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?" Well, I had these two over yesterday and that was a super easy winner for my clients. Tonight, I'm doing it again. Another over with the big hitting Yankees. The Yankees have won 9-straight games scoring 9 runs or more in five of those and seven runs or more in seven of the nine. J.A. Happ starts today with a 9-6 record and 5.24 ERA. The Jays will counter with Sean Reid-Foley who hasn't performed poorly in his four starts with a 1-2 record and 3.31 ERA. However, Reid-Foley has only face the Royals and Orioles twice each. He hasn't faced a hitting lineup like these Yankees. I look for another Yankees explosion here today. Play the OVER once again.

Yankees running away with the AL East as they have won 8-straight games to improve to 75-39 on the season and a 10-game lead over 2nd place Tampa Bay. The Yankees will start their best today in Domingo German who is 13-2 on the season with a 4.06 ERA. Thing about the Yankees, you don't have to have a great ERA to win games with the bats behind you that they have. Toronto is off a win yesterday over the Rays, 4-3. Thomas Pannone makes just his 6th start of the season tonight. Pannone is 0-3 with a high 9.28 ERA. That's bad for him against this Bronx Bombers battling lineup. Don't expect Pannone to be around long in this one. While German likely won't give up a lot, the Yankees should get this one over the total pretty much by themselves. Play the OVER.

The Phillies likely can't catch the Braves for the NL East division as they sit in third place with a 59-54 record. The Phillies have alternated wins and losses their last seven games, losing last night to the D'backs, 4-8. Tonight, the D'backs start Jason Vargas who is 6-5 on the season with a 3.61 ERA. Vargas hasn't been nearly as good on the road, where he is 3-3 with a 5.03 ERA this season. Arizona got back to the .500 mark with their win last night. The D'backs will start Zac Gallen tonight. Arizona recently acquired Gallen in a trade with the Marlins. The Padres are very high on Gallen with his array of pitches and his command and control. Gallen was dominant in Triple-A and then had seven solid starts in the majors. Therefore, it's no wonder that the oddsmakers have put a slightly medium price here tonight on Gallen as he makes his Arizona debut. I too am high on this pitcher and I like him a lot tonight. Play Arizona.

The Seattle Mariners bring a 5-game losing streak into this afternoon's contest. The Padres took game one of this IL set on Tuesday, 9-4. Today, the M's will turn to Yusei Kikuchi who is 4-8 on the season with a 5.49 ERA. The Mariners have lost four of his last five starts and nine of his last 11 starts. The Padres are still 8-games below the .500 mark and likely not going to get one of the Wild Card spots. The Padres start Joey Lucchesi today who is 7-6 in his 21 starts with a 4.23 ERA. Both these teams are having poor seasons, but much was expected from the Padres after some off-season moves. Still, the Padres are the better team with the better pitcher on the hill today. I'll lay the price. Take San Diego.

 Big IL matchup here today between a pair of division leaders in the NL's Braves and Al's Twins. Atlanta is 6-games ahead of the 2nd place Washington Nationals. The Braves and Twins have split the first two games of this series with Minnesota taking last night's contest, 12-7. The Braves start their best pitcher today in Max Fried. Fried is 12-4 on the season with a 4.13 ERA. Fried has won three straight games, allowing just five earned runs over that span (16 1/3 innings). The Twins lead in the AL Central has shrunk to just 3.50-games over the Indians. The Twins will send Martin Perez to the hill today. Perez is 7-4 in 19 starts with a 4.35 ERA. Perez has been hit a bit harder lately, allowing 13 earned runs over his last 15 innings. Braves a slight favorite here and I agree with that. I'll lay that number with the better team and the better pitcher. Play Atlanta.

Philadelphia and Washington both tied in the NL East at 59-30 and now both trail division leading Atlanta by 6-games. Still, both teams in the thick of it in the Wild Card races. The Phillies start Jake Arrieta today who is 8-8 this season with a 4.44 ERA. Arrieta hasn't gone a full six innings in any of his last five starts. His last start he went just four innings and allowed just one earned run in a 10-2 Phillies win, but failed to get the decision. Arizona trying to get back into the Wild Card Race with a 56-57 record. The D'backs lost game one of this series with the Phillies yesterday, 3-7. Arizona reaquired pitcher Mike Leake from the Seattle Mariners for prospects. Leake has a 4.40 ERA this year in Seattle and walks just 1.2 batters per nine innings. The D'backs also dealt pitcher Zack Greinke to the Astros for four prospects. Basically the D'backs traded one veteran pitcher for another and got some extra prospects tossed in for good measure. I like Arizona tonight with Leake making his debut for the diamondbacks. Take Arizona

 IL action has the Oakland A's making the trek East to take on the Chicago Cubs. Both these clubs are on 3-game win streaks. The A's are in the thick of the race for one of the AL Wild card slots. They still trail first place Houston by 8.5-games in the AL West. The A's have won six of their last seven games. Chris Bassitt makes the start today for the A's. Bassitt is 7-5 on the season with a 3.84 ERA. The Cubs are in 1st place in the NL Central, leading the Brewers by 4-games. Chicago will start Kyle Hendricks today. Hendricks is 8-8 on the season with a 3.07 ERA. Hendricks has not allowed a run over his last two starts (12 innings) and has not allowed over two runs in any of his last six starts. Hendricks pitcher as well as anyone right now and I like that here today. Plus A's at a bit of a disadvantage as the pitcher will have to hit and that takes away a bat from their lineup. Play Chicago.

The Giants and Rockies have split their first two games of this three-game set with the rubber game today. The Giants were looking to trade Madison Bumgarner, but after their recent hot streak and possible re-entry into the Wild Card fray, they decided to keep their one-time Ace. Tyler Beede takes the ball today for the Giants with a 3-4 record and 4.93 ERA. Beede hasn't been great, but he's been good enough for the team to post a 8-4 record in his 12 starts. The Rockies have dropped to last in the NL West after a recent slide which has seen the club drop 13 of their last 17 games. Kyle Freeland will toe the rubber today for the Rocks. Freeland is 2-9 on the season with a very high 7.48 ERA. Freeland has allowed at least five earned runs in five of his last six starts. I will be all over the Giants in this one. They are still playing well and the Rockies are not. Plus Freeland should give up lots of run at home where his ERA is 10.31. I'm a bit surprised the Giants a dog here, but I will take it. Play San Francisco.

The Oakland A's continue to pursue the Houston Astros in the AL West, now 8-games back. However, the Astros one of the forerunners for one of the Wild Card games. Today, they open a two-game weekend IL series with the Cardinals. The A's have won four of their last five games. Today, Michael Fiers looks to be the first pitcher on this staff to hit 10 wins. Fiers is 9-3 on the season with a 3.43 ERA. Fiers has been very good of late, allowing two runs or fewer in eight of his last nine starts and three runs or fewer in 16 straight starts. With all the hoopla in the NL Central surrounding the Cubs and Brewers, it's the Cardinals who have taken over the division lead with a 1-game lead over the Cubs and 1.5-game lead over the Brewers. Dakota Hudson starts today for the red birds. Hudson is 10-5 on the season with a 3.90 ERA, though he was hit fairly hard last time out with five runs allowed over four innings. This looks to be a great matchup, but I'm taking the A's tonight. Play Oakland.

Washington continues to chase Atlanta in the NL East, seven games back of the Braves. The Nationals will start their Ace today in Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg is 14-4 on the season with a 3.26 ERA. Strasburg has been excellent of late, allowing just one run over his last 13 innings of work. Moreover, he's allowed just four total runs in his last five starts. The Diamondbacks will counter with Robbie Ray tonight. Ray is 9-7 on the season with a 3.91 ERA. Ray has also been very consistent for the D'backs this year, allowing three runs or fewer in four of his last five starts. I don't expect to see many runs in this matchup tonight. I'm taking the UNDER.

I'll be looking at the UNDER in this matchup here tonight between the Reds and Braves. The Reds one of the best under teams in baseball with a 39-64-4 O/U/P record. Big news for Reds fans was the acquisition of Trevor Bauer. Bauer makes his first start for the Reds and automatically assumes the role of Ace. Bauer's fiery temper might have played a part in the trade that sent Yasiul Piug to the Tribe. The Braves continue to cruise in the NL East, now 7-games ahead of both Philadelphia and Washington. Dallas Keuchel gets the start today with a 3-4 record and 3.86 ERA. Kuechel has been very consistent in his eight starts, allowing no more than four runs in any start. I like this game under today. We have a very good under team in Cincinnati with a new Ace on the hill today. Play UNDER.

The NY Mets bring a 7-game win streak into tonight's game at Pittsburgh. And, for the Mets, what better team to play than the Pirates. The Bucs are 1-10 their last 11 games and 3-16 their last 19 games. The Mets will start Steven Matz today. Matz is 6-6 with a 4.36 ERA this season. Matz has been very good of late, allowing just six total runs over his last four starts (21 innings). The Pirates will start Trevor Williams today. Williams is 3-4 in his 15 starts with a 4.87 ERA. The Pirates just are not winning, while the Mets are hot. No brainer here today for me, especially at a small price that the Mets are. Play New York.

The Reds and Braves begin their four game set tonight from Atlanta. The Reds took two of three in their series with Pittsburgh, including last night's win, 4-1. The Reds will turn to Anthony Desclafani tonight. Desclafani is 6-5 on the season with a 4.01 ERA. Desclafani has been very good of late, allowing three runs or fewer in each of his last five starts and nine of his last 10 starts. The Braves took two of three in their recent series at Washington. Max Fried will toe the rubber tonight for the Braves. Fried is 11-4 on the season with a 4.28 ERA. Both these pitchers having decent success this season. I like this game to go UNDER tonight. Play UNDER.

The Pittsburgh Pirates finally broke their 9-game losing streak on Tuesday with a win at Cincinnati. The Bucs jumped out to a big lead and never looked back. Still, this club has struggled to a 3-15 record their last 18 games. Dario Agrazal gets the start today for the Bucs with a 2-1 record in his six starts. Agrazal has a nice 3.24 ERA and other than one start has allowed three runs or fewer in the other five outings. The Reds had won six of their last nine games before Tuesday's setback. Good news is that they start their Ace today in Luis Castillo. Castillo is 9-4 on the season with a 2.78 ERA. Castillo got hit hard his last outing, allowing six runs over five innings. Normally consistent, that was Castillo's worst outing of the year. Don't expect this again, he's been very good for the Reds this season. I like today's game to go UNDER the total with two good pitchers on the hill. Play UNDER.

The Seattle Mariners put their 5-game win streak on the line tonight at Texas in game one of their short 2-game set. The M's will start Mike Leake here tonight. Leake is 9-8 on the season with a 4.25 ERA. Leake has been good of late, allowing seven total runs over his last four starts. The Rangers dropped back to the .500 mark at 53-53 on the season. Ariel Jurado starts today for the Rangers. Jurado is 5-5 on the season with a 5.67 ERA. A bit surprised the M's are a dog here tonight against this Rangers club. But I'll take it, play the Mariners and take the extra bucks.

The Yankees salvaged the final game of their four-game series with the Red Sox, taking the fourth game on Sunday, 9-6. The Yankees pitching staff got hit pretty hard, allowing 44 runs over the four-game series. In fact, the Yankees have allowed at least six runs in each of their last eight games. So it's not a far stretch to realize they have gone over in nine straight games. J.A. Happ starts today with a 8-5 record and 5.23 ERA. Happ went only 3 1/3 innings in his last start, allowing six earned runs to the Twins. The Diamondbacks got rocked by the Marlins on Monday, losing 6-11. The Marlins took three of four from the visiting D'Backs. Taylor Clarke starts today for the D'backs. Clarke is 3-3 with a 6.66 ERA ont he season. The D'backs are 7-2-2 Over/Under/Push in his 11 starts this season. The Yankees are one of the best hitting teams and baseball and that doesn't look good here tonight for the visiting D'backs. This one should fly over the total. Play OVER.

The Marlins and Diamondbacks conclude their four-game series here tonight at Miami. The Marlins are 2-1 in this series, taking Sunday's game 5-1. The Marlins have now won four of their last five games. The D'backs are 4-6 in their last 10 games. Marlins have won the last four starts of Smith, while the D'backs have lost the last five starts of Kelly. Marlins still playing tough and I'm on them here tonight. Play Miami.

The Nationals are chasing the Braves in the NL East so this is a big series for Washington. The Nats are 5.5-games back of the Braves. Washington salvaged the last game of their series with the Dodgers, winning 11-4. The Braves lost on Sunday to the Phillies, but still took two of three from Philadelphia. Today Corbin gives the Nats an edge with the team winning 13 of his 21 starts. Keuchel has been decent for the Braves with a 3.50 ERA, but Atlanta is just 3-4 in his starts. Take the home club here in Washington.

The Pittsburgh Pirates fall continued on Saturday at New York with a 0-3 loss to the Mets. It was the Bucs 7th straight loss and 13th in their last 15 games. Chris Archer will try and snap this losing skid for the Bucs. Archer is 3-7 in his 18 starts with a 5.40 ERA. The Pirates have lost the last three starts for Archer and you have to go back to early June for the last time that Archer got a win for a decision. The Mets have won three straight games. Jason Vargas will toe the rubber today for the Mets. Vargas is 5-5 on the season with a 3.59 ERA and 1.221 WHIP. Vargas coming off a nice outing where he allowed no runs over six innings to the Padres for the win. Mets only a -1.20 chalk here today against a horrible Pirates team that just can't find a way to win a game these days. I'm taking the Mets and will continue to make money against the Pirates. Play New York Mets.

The Red Sox have taken the first two game of this rivalry series with the Yankees and have cut into their AL East lead, now down to 9-games. To say the Red Sox have exploded offensively against the Yankees the last two games is an understatement. Boston has scored 29 runs to 8 in the first two games of this series. Today, the Sox put one of their best on the hill in Eduardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez is 12-4 this season with a 4.10 ERA. Rodriguez has been excellent of late, allowing two runs or fewer in each of his last five games. The Yankees have now lost four of their last six games. C.C. Sabathia gets the start today and is 5-5 this season with a 4.50 ERA. Sabathia got rocked in his last start, going just four innings and allowing six earned runs. Sabathia is a veteran, but he only has six quality starts out of 16 times on the hill. The Red Sox want every game in this series and I think they have a great chance to do just that today. Take Boston.

The San Francisco Giants have been one of the hottest teams in baseball? Is it too little too late? Not really. The Giants are 16-4 their last 20 games and that has gotten them to one game over the .500 mark. They still trail the division leading Dodgers by 14-games. However, they are now in contention for one of the Wild Card spots. Today, they travel South to take on the Padres. The Padres are 3.5 games back of the Giants in the West. I'm sure with the addition of Machado in the big offseason sweepstakes, the Padres expected much better results this season. The Padres are just 3-9 in their last 12 games. They will turn to Joey Lucchesi tonight. Lucchesi is 7-5 on the season with a 4.27 ERA and is off a 6-run effort vs the Cubs. The Giants counter with Jeff Samardzija. Samardzija is 7-8 on the season with a 4.08 ERA. Two pitchers here who are about even. The Giants are the much hotter team though. So why are the Giants a +1.30 dog? I think this line is a bit off, but that's ok, I'll take the price with a team that I see can win this game easily. Play San Francisco.

The Yankees took game one of their historic rivalry matchup with the Red Sox on Wednesday, 10-7. The win extended the Yankees win streak to two games while the Red Sox snapped their win streak at 2-games. The Yankees will start Masahiro Tanaka today. Tanaka is 7-5 in his 20 starts with a 4.00 ERA. The Red Sox now trail the Yankees by 12-games in the AL East, but at 56-47 they still are in the run for one of the two Wild Card spots. Rick Porcello will get the start today. Porcello is 8-7 on the season with a lofty 5.61 ERA and 1.464 WHIP. Porcello has been hit hard in his last five starts, allowing 27 runs over 23 innings. The Yankees are one of the best hitting teams in baseball and that doesn't bode well here today for the Red Sox. And with Tanaka not being very consistent, I'm looking to play the OVER here on Thursday.

: The St Louis Cardinals have been one of the hottest teams in the NL this 2nd half of the season. It doesn't hurt that they are playing Pittsburgh for the 6th time in their last 10 games. The Pirates are snake bit of late as they just keep finding ways to lose games. The Cardinals have taken the first two games of this series, 4-3 and 6-5. Adam Wainwright gets the call today for the Red Birds. Wainwright is 6-7 with a 4.41 ERA. Wainwright is either really good or really bad. The Pirates have lost nine of their last 11 games. Jordan Lyles will toe the rubber tonight for the Bucs. Lyles is 5-6 with a 4.91 ERA and 1.401 WHIP. Lyles, much like Wainwright, has been either really good or really bad. Tonight, I fully expect another St Louis win against a Pittsburgh team that just can't seem to win right now. Play St Louis.

The Giants have been red hot in the West, winners of 15 of their past 18 games and they have reached the .500 mark. While they likely will never catch the Dodgers, they do appear back in the NL Wild Card race. Which begs the question, is Madison Bumgarner still on the trading block with the deadline looming? Bumgarner gets the start today and it could quite possibly be his last in a Giants uniform. Bumgarner is only 5-7 on the season, but he has a good 3.58 ERA and he's been great of late. Bumgarner has allowed just three total runs over his last four starts. The NL Central leading Cubs visit San Francisco today. The Cubs lead the Brewers by just 2.5 games. Yu Darvish gets the start today for the Cubs. Darvish has been a major disappointment for the Cubs. In fact, he hasn't really been good in some time. Darvish is just 3-4 with a 4.46 ERA. He's also given up nine runs over his last two starts (9 innings). I like the Giants a lot here on Tuesday as they are red hot and Bumgarner has been on fire. Play San Francisco.

The Red Sox and Rays continue to fight each other for the AL Wild Card spots. Both trail in the AL East, the Sox 9-games back of the Yankees and the Rays 8-games back. Still, both having good seasons. The Rays lost game one of this series on Monday to the Sox, 4-9. Today, they start Yonny Chirinos. Chirinos is 5-5 on the season with a nice 3.12 ERA. The Red Sox counter with Chris Sale. Sale not having a year he will be proud of with a 4-9 record and 4.05 ERA. The oddsmakers still think he's a factor though, making him a 160+ favorite on the road here today. Yes, Sale had a great start last time out, allowing just two hits and no runs over 6-innings to the Blue Jays. However, the three starts prior he allowed 15 earned runs over three starts (16 2/3 innings). I'm sorry, but Sale should not be this big a chalk here today against a good Rays club. I'll take the value dog at home. Play Tampa Bay.

 The Reds have lost five of their last six games and nine of their last 12 games. Today, the Reds begin a series at Milwaukee and will send Sonny Gray to the hill. Gray is only 5-6 in his 19 starts, but has a decent 3.31 ERA and 1.132 WHIP. In fact, Gray has been solid in recent starts, allowing five total runs over his last four starts (27 1/3 innings) with just five walks and 35 KO's. Meanwhile, the Brewers have fallen to second place in the NL Central, 2.5-games back of the Cubs. Chase Anderson takes the ball today for the Brewers. Anderson is 4-2 in his 14 starts this season with a 3.88 ERA. Anderson has also been very good of late, allowing two runs or fewer in each of his last five starts. Both these starters today have been excellent lately and while I don't like a side here, I'm playing the UNDER.

 The Yankees had their 5-game win streak snapped on Sunday by the Rockies after taking the first two games in the series. The Twins beat the A's on Sunday, 7-6, snapping their 2-game losing streak. The Yankees are 64-34 now in the AL East, some 9-games ahead of the Rays. New York starts C.C. Sabathia today who is 5-4 in his 15 starts. Sabathia has been solid of late thought, allowing three runs or less in each of his last four games. The Twins improved to 60-38 with their win and are 3-games ahead of the Indians for the AL Central. Minnesota sends Martin Perez to the hill today. Perez is 7-3 in his 16 starts with a 3.79 ERA. Sabathia can be a question mark at times, but I like his recent starts and you can't get much better in offense than the Yankees. Play New York.

The St Louis Cardinals continue to move up in the NL Central division, now just 2-games back of 2nd place Milwaukee and 4.5-games back of first place Cubs. The Cardinals have won four of their last five games and seven of their last nine games. Daniel Ponce de Leon makes his 6th start of the season today. While de Leon has no record, he has a nifty 2.49 ERA and 1.066 WHIP in those starts. In addition, the Cardinals have won four of his five starts. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh continues to find ways to lose games. The Bucs lost two of their three to the Phillies over their weekend series and have now lost seven of their last nine games. Trevor Williams gets the start today for Pittsburgh. Williams is 3-3 in his 13 starts with a 5.16 ERA. Williams has been hit hard in recent starts, allowing 13 earned runs over his last two outings and 24 earned runs over his last four starts. I like the Cardinals here today. They have the better starter and have been playing the better ball. Take St Louis.

The Brewers have dropped to 2nd place in the NL Central, trailing the Cubs by 3-games. The Brewers have won two of three in this series with the Diamondbacks. Today, Brandon Woodruff gets the start. Woodruff has been one of the best this year with an 11-3 record in his 19 starts. Woodruff also has a 3.53 ERA. He's been even better than that of late, allowing three total runs over his last three starts (20 1/3 innings). Arizona, as all other NL West teams, are likely playing for a Wild Card spot with the Dodgers way out in front in the division. Arizona will start Alex Young today. Young has only started three games, but all three have been solid. Young has allowed just two earned runs total in those three starts (16 1/3 innings) with six total his, three walks and 12 KO's. If they can continue to get these kind of starts out of Young, he will prove an excellent addition to the starting staff. I'm taking the UNDER here today with two hot pitchers on the mound. Play UNDER.

The A's conclude their series with the Twins today in Minnesota. Oakland leads 2-1 after winning on Friday and Saturday. All three games have gone UNDER thus far. The A's are just 5.5 games back of Houston in the AL West now. Daniel Mengden starts today for the A's. Mengden is 5-1 with a 3.35 ERA in his seven starts. The A's lost his first start back on May 12th, but since then they are 6-0 in his starts. Mengden is coming off an excellent start, allowing four hits and one run to the Mariners in a 9-2 win. The Twins lead over the Indians has dropped to 3-games as they look to snap this two-game skid to the A's. Michael Pineda is 6-5 and will start today. Pineda has 4.38 ERA, but has been great of late. Pineda has allowed one earned run in each of his last three starts and five of his last six starts. Both pitchers are hot and as this series gone, I go. Play the UNDER.

The Phillies have to be happy that they split their 4-game series with the MLB's best record team in the Dodgers. Especially after giving the Dodgers 37 runs in a four-game series. I had the Phillies yesterday and talked about how the LA bullpen is their Achilles's Heal. That's exactly what happened as the Dodgers blew another lead on Thursday and the Phils came back to win. Today, Philly plays at the struggling Pirates. The Pirates have lost five of their last six games and seven of their last 10. The Bucs will start Jordan Lyles tonight. Lyles is 5-6 with a 5.16 ERA and has allowed 14 runs over his last 4 2/3 innings. Jake Arrieta starts for the Phils. Arrieta is 8-7 on the season with a 4.54 ERA. Arrieta coming off a good outing where he allowed one run over 5-innings of work. Neither pitcher is great, but the Phils are the better team and Pittsburgh is finding ways to lose. I'm taking the Phillies here at pick'em. Play Philadelphia.

Both these clubs off to hot 2nd half starts with the Mets winning four straight and the Giants five straight. The Mets are still only 44-51 while the Giants are almost back to .500 at 47-49. The Mets will start Noah Syndergaard tonight, who is 7-4 in his 18 starts with a 4.55 ERA. Syndergaard has been one of the better pitchers for the Mets this season. He will face Giants starter Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner is 5-7 on the season with a 3.78 ERA. However, he's pitched much like his old self here lately, allowing just four total runs over his last four starts (19 innings. The Giants are far back in the West, but they are making a big move with five straight wins and 12 wins in their last 14. I like the Red-Hot Giants a lot here tonight. Play San Francisco.

Early action here on the diamond for Thursday has baseball's best team (by record), the Dodgers, taking on the Phillies. The Dodgers have a league leading 64 wins this season and did take Wednesday's game with the Phillies, 7-2. LA has now scored 31 runs in the three games with the Phillies and taken two of the three. However, they could easily be up 3-0 in this four-game set. But as good as LA is, their one Achilles's Heal is their bullpen. The middle relief has been sketchy at best and the closer, Jansen, well lets just say he's always a gamble when he takes the mound. LA was leading in the 9th inning on Tuesday night when Jansen came in and gave up four straight hits, including the walk off winning hit by Harper. If there is one area LA needs to improve on before the trade deadline if they want to WIN the World Series and not just go there, that would be a closer. Ross Stipling is 2-2 in his 10 starts with a 3.53 ERA. Stripling has been inconsistent this season. Aaron Nola will oppose him for the Phillies. Nola is 8-2 in his 20 starts with a 3.63 ERA and has been very good of late. Nola has allowed just three total runs over his last five starts (35 2/3 innings). As good as the Dodgers are, Nola is the better starter today. I'm taking the Phillies and hoping they are close in the late innings when the LA bullpen takes to the hill. Play Los Angeles.

 The Pirates broke their four-game losing streak on Tuesday with a 3-1 win at St Louis. The loss also snapped a 3-game winning streak for the Cardinals. Today's matchup I'll be looking at the UNDER. These clubs went under for the 2nd time in this series with the four runs on Tuesday and the seven runs on Monday. Chris Archer will start today for the Pirates. Archer is only 3-6 on the season with a 5.42 ERA. However, he's pitched much better of late, allowing just nine total runs over his last four starts (20 innings). During that span the Bucs are 3-1 while Archer has no decisions in each. The Cardinals have been an under team this year with a 38-47-7 O/U/P mark. St Louis has now gone under in six straight games. Daniel Poncedeleon starts today for just his fifth time. While he has no record, he does have a nifty 1.25 ERA and has allowed just three total runs over his 21 2/3 innings. In addition, he has eight walks to go with his 23 KO's. I will look once again for the UNDER here early on Wednesday. Play UNDER.

Arizona in a four-way fight for 2nd place in the NL West. The Dodgers are running away with the division at 63-33. The D'backs and the rest of the division are all within 2-games with Arizona at 47-47. Arizona has lost two straight games after a modest 4-game win streak. Alex Young makes only his third start of the season here tonight. Young is 2-0 with a 0.82 ERA and 0.455 WHIP. Young has allowed just one run over his 11 innings of work thus far. The Rangers have dropped to 8.5-games back of the Astros in the AL West after losing two straight games. The Rangers will turn to their ACE this year in Lance Lynn. Lynn is having a terrific season at 12-4 with a 3.69 ERA. Lynn has allowed just two runs over his last three starts (22 innings) with three walks and 26 KO's. The way Lynn is pitching, this line should be even higher than it is today. I love the Rangers in this one, even at a buck-fifty or there abouts. Play Texas.

 The Atlanta Braves bring a 4-game winning streak into today's game at Milwaukee. The Braves are having an outstanding season at 57-37 and in 1st place in the NL East, 7-games ahead of 2nd place Washington. The Braves will send Max Fried to the hill today. Fried is 9-4 in his 18 starts with a 4.36 ERA and 1.412 WHIP. Fried hasn't been great, but he's received a lot of run support this year. And, he has 10 quality starts in his 18 outings. The Brewers have dropped to 48-46 now and 2.5-games back of the Cubs for first place in the NL Central. Milwaukee has lost four of their last five and seven of their last nine games. Adrian Houser starts today for the Brewers with a 0-3 record in his five starts. Houser has a 8.47 ERA and 2.176 WHIP. Houser has yet to have a quality outing and I don't expect one today against a very potent Atlanta offense. Not sure why the Braves are this price here today. The oddsmaker are giving way too much respect to a struggling Milwaukee team. I'll take the Braves here on the road at around pick'em. Play Atlanta.

 I'll be looking at the under in this contest today. One big reason is that hurler on the hill for the Mets, Jacob deGrom. deGrom is only 4-7 on the season, but he's been so consistent. In his last nine starts he's allowed two runs or fewer in eight starts and three runs in the other start. deGrom has a nice 2.89 ERA on the road this season. The Marlins will counter with Sandy Alcantara. Alcantara is only 4-8 this year, but he's got a decent 3.82 ERA and he's also allowed two runs or fewer in six of his last nine starts. Don't expect the Marlins to get much of anything here today. If we can get a good start out of Alcantara, this one will go UNDER.

The Indians showing they might not be good enough to catch the Twins in the AL Central. They Indians have lost the first two games in this critical series, scoring just two runs yesterday and three runs on Friday. Shane Bieber will start today for the Tribe, with a 8-3 record and 3.43 ERA this season. Bieber has been excellent of late, allowing two runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts. The Twins turn to Jose Berrios today. Berrios is 8-5 in his 18 starts. But what impresses me even more is that he's had 14 quality starts in his 18 outings. Berrios has a nifty 3.00 ERA and hasn't allowed more than 3-runs in his last eight starts. I love this one to go UNDER here on Sunday. Play UNDER.

Reason: Huge series here for the Indians as they can't afford to lose any more ground in the AL Central race to the division leading Twins. The Indians lost game one of this series on Friday, 3-5 and now are 6.5-games back. The Indians will look to Trevor Bauer today. Bauer is 8-6 with a 3.68 ERA and 1.182 WHIP on the season. Bauer has had a few rough spots lately but has still shown his flashes of brilliance. In his last start, Bauer went seven strong innings, allowed one run for the win over the Reds. The Twins will start Jake Odorizzi. Odorizzi is 10-4 on the season with a 3.15 ERA. Odorizzi got hit hard last time out, going only 3-innings, allowing four hits and five runs to go with three walks. That's nine runs he's allowed over his last 8 1/3 innings. Indians need this one tonight. Play Cleveland.

: Rematch of the World Series from last season as the Dodgers take on the Red Sox from Fenway park. The Dodgers have the best record in baseball at 60-32 and the Red Sox have played much better of late, now 49-41 on the season and winners of four straight games. LA will start Kenta Maeda today with a 7-5 record in his 17 starts and a 3.76 ERA. Maeda has pitched well all season and has allowed nine total runs over his last four starts (24 innings). The Red Sox have closed to within 2.5-games of 2nd place Tampa Bay and 9-games of 1st place New York. The Sox will start Eduardo Rodriguez today. Rodriguez is 9-4 in his 18 starts with a 4.65 ERA and 1.344 WHIP. This looks to be one of the best games and matchups on the board. I like the host here as the Red Sox are looking much better of late. Play Boston.

The Rays being the 2nd half of the MLB season with a 6.5 game deficit in the AL East behind the Yankees. The Yankees having a great season, so the Rays are chasing one of the best this year. Good news is that the Rays are positioned for a Wild Card spot right now. The Rays will send Yonny Chirinos to the hill today. Chirinos is 4-4 with a 2.89 ERA this season. Chirinos has pitched very well in his 12 starts with 9 quality outings. In addition, he's allowed three runs or fewer in 11 of those starts. The Orioles are having a horrible season at 27-62. Dylan Bundy will toe the rubber today for the O's. Bundy is 4-10 on the season with a 4.65 ERA. Bundy is coming off one of his best starts of the season, a three-hit, one-run outing last time at Toronto in a 4-1 Jays win. These are the games the Rays really need to clean up on the rest of the way. And Chirinos has been such a consistent pitcher all season. I'm playing Tampa Bay.

Start of the 2nd half of the season today with just this one game between the Astros and the Rangers. Big game for both as the Rangers have closed the gap the in AL West. Yes, they still trail first place Houston by nine-games, but it was a lot more than that five weeks ago. Texas can take a bite out of that lead as they play Houston in seven of their next nine games. The Rangers pitcher with the most wins, Lance Lynn, takes the hill today. Lynn is 11-4 on the season with a 3.91 ERA and 1.217 WHIP. Lynn has won four straight starts and allowed over two runs just once in those wins. The Astros will counter with Framber Valdez. Valdez is 1-2 in his four starts with a 6.52 ERA and 1.397 WHIP. Valdez has allowed 11 runs over his last 6 1/3 innings. The Rangers look like a good start here to the 2nd half with a decisive edge on the hill today. Plus, we get the Rangers as a home dog! Take Texas.

 Intrastate rivalry today between these Ohio teams has the Reds hosting the Indians in this final day of the 1st half of the MLB season. The Indians look to close out this last day of the 1st half of the season with a six game winning streak. The Indians improved to 49-38. They will start Trevor Bauer today. Bauer is 7-6 in his 19 starts with a 3.82 ERA. Bauer has been better on the road with a 6-3 record and 2.56 ERA this season in nine starts. The Reds will counter with Tyler Mahle today. Mahle is 2-8 with a 4.47 ERA in his 16 starts. The Reds have lost four of Mahle's last five starts. I'm taking the road team here in this Ohio rivalry game today. Play Cleveland.

The Rockies and Diamondbacks both looking to finish the first half of the season on a positive note. Both clubs have 44 wins entering today's play. Yet, both trail first place LA Dodgers by double-digits. The Rockies have lost four straight games. They will send Jon Gray to the hill. Gray is 9-5 in his 17 starts and the team is 11-6 in his outings. Gray has a nice 3.86 ERA and the Rocks have won seven of his last eight starts. Arizona will counter with Robbie Ray. Ray is 5-6 in his 18 starts with a 4.10 ERA. The D'backs have lost Ray's last four starts and six of his last seven. I like the visitors today. These are pretty equal teams, but I give the big edge to Gray over Ray here tonight. Play Colorado.

The Cardinals look to extend their 3-game win streak tonight at San Francisco after beating the Giants on Friday evening, 9-4. Two more games here this weekend before the All Star break. The Cardinals will send Miles Mikolas to the hill today. Mikolas is 5-8 in his 17 starts with a 4.34 ERA. Mikolas has been up and down all season long. The birds have lost six of his last seven starts. The Giants had their own 4-game win streak snapped last night by the Cards. Madison Bumgarner will toe the rubber tonight for the Giants. Bumgarner is 5-7 in his 18 starts with a 3.94 ERA. Bumgarner has pitched well of late, going 13 total innings, allowing just seven hits and three runs. I like the hosts to rebound here tonight. Play San Francisco.

The City series picks up from the South side of Chicago as the White Sox host the Cubs. This will be the last series for these clubs before the All Star break. The Cubs are coming off a series loss to the Pirates, 1-3. They did salvage the last game of the series, 11-3. Jon Lester starts today for the Cubs. Lester has been inconsistent all season, evidenced by his 7-6 record in 16 starts. Lester has a 3.89 ERA and 1.307 WHIP. The Sox have won three of their last four games and five of seven. They will send their best pitcher to the mound today, Lucas Giolito. Giolito is 11-2 in his 16 starts with a 2.72 ERA. Giolito is coming off a five-inning outing vs the Twins where he allowed just one hit and no runs. The Sox have won 10 of Giolito's last 12 starts. I like the Sox here tonight with their best on the hill. Play the White Sox.

The AL West has become a race again since the Astros have cooled off some. Still. the 2nd place A's look to continue closing that 7.5 game gap with Houston here tonight. The A's just took two of three games from the Twins as they head into this final series before the All Star game. The A's will send Brett Anderson to the hill today. Anderson is 8-5 in his 17 starts with a 3.92 ERA. With the exception of one poor outing, Anderson has pitched well in seven of his last eight starts. The Mariners just dropped two of three games to the Cardinals. That makes Seattle 1-6 in their last seven games and drops them to 38-53 on the season. Yusei Kukuchi will toe the rubber today for the M's. Kukuchi is 4-5 with a 5.12 ERA in his 18 starts. Kukuchi has been roughed up a bit of late, allowing five runs or more in five of his last seven starts. I'm sticking with the hotter team and better starter tonight. Play Oakland.

The Brewers look to snap their two-game losing streak to the Reds here on Thursday. Milwaukee took game one 8-6, lost game two 4-5 and lost game three 0-3 yesterday. I had my 1st half of the season Game of the Year winner on the Reds yesterday in that shutout. Today, I'm switching over to the Brewers. Brandon Woodruff will start today with a 10-2 record in his 17 starts. Woodruff has a 3.79 ERA and 1.137 WHIP. The Brewers have won 11 of the last 12 starts by Woodruff. The Reds win yesterday was just their 2nd in the last seven games. They will turn to Luis Castillo today. Castillo is 7-3 in his 17 starts with a 2.56 ERA. Castillo has pitched well, but the Reds have still only won one of his last four starts and two of his last seven. I like the Brewers to bounce back here today and take this final game of the series. Play Milwaukee.

These clubs have split the first two games of this 4-game set. The Brewers took game one on Monday, 8-6 and the Reds took game two yesterday, 5-4. The Brewers still holding onto first place in the NL Central with a 46-40 record, one game over the Cubs and the Reds while in last are just 5.5 games back. The Reds will turn to Sonny Gray today. Gray is 4-5 in his 16 starts with a 3.83 ERA. Gray has pitched very well though, allowing over three runs in any start just once in his 16 outings. Gray keeps this Reds team in games and that's important. The Brewers will start Jhoulys Chacin. Chacin is 3-8 and struggled to a 5.60 ERA and 1.521 WHIP this season. Chacin is coming off one of his better starts though, going five innings and allowing just one run to the Pirates. The Brewers have lost six of Chacin's last seven starts. I like the Reds a lot here tonight. Play Cincinnati.

 Both these clubs had Monday off as they head into this final week before the All-Star break. The Twins hold a comfortable 8-game lead in the AL Central over the Indians and 13 games over the White Sox, though they are just 5-5 in their last 10 games. The A's are 46-39 and 7-games back of Houston in the AL West. The Astros lead has shrunk in recent weeks and now both the Rangers and A's are back in contention. Jake Odorizzi gets the start today for the Twins. Odorizzi is 10-3 with a 2.73 ERA, though he has allowed 11 runs over his last 15 1/3 innings of work. The A's have won three-straight games and will look for four here with Daniel Mengden. Mengden is 2-1 in his four starts with a 2.42 ERA. Mengden gave up four runs in his first start and since has allowed a total of two runs over his next three starts. The A's are a home dog here and Mengden has all it takes to stick with the Odorizzi. I'm taking the home dog. Play Oakland.

The Twins snapped their modest 2-game losing streak with a win over the White Sox on Saturday, 10-3. Lewis Thorpe has been called up from Triple-A Rochester to make a spot start here on Sunday. Kyle Gibson, today's starter, had to be used in that marathon 18-inning affair last Thursday. Thorpe has 14 starts in Rochester with a 5.71 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. The White Sox start their best here on Sunday in Lucas Giolito. Giolito is 10-2 in his 15 starts with a 2.87 ERA and 1.066 WHIP. The White Sox have lost Giolito's last two starts after winning nine straight. Still, Giolito is the best the Sox have to offer and I'll be on him here today. Play the White Sox.

The Houston Astros have struggled lately and that carried over on Saturday even to their Ace, Justin Verlander. It was a tough outing for their top pitcher, but they did pull out the win over the 35-50 Mariners, 6-5 in 10 Innings. Texas saw their 5-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, 2-5. Still, the Rangers have made the AL West a race having closed the lead to just 5.5 games. The Rangers will start Jesse Chavez today. Chavez is 1-0 in just five starts with a 0.00 ERA. Chavez was only going one inning or so, but lately has gone three and five innings. Still, he's allowed no earned runs and the team is 4-1 in his starts. The win by Tampa on Saturday was just their 2nd in five games and fourth in their last 12 games. Blake Snell starts today's contest. Snell is 4-7 in his 16 starts with a 5.01 ERA and 1.342 WHIP. Snell was hit hard in his last outing, going just 3 1/3 innings and allowing seven runs. The start before that Snell went just 1/3 of an inning and allowed six runs. That means he's gone just 3 2/3 innings his last two starts and allowed 13 earned runs. Not sure what's wrong with Snell, but this is not the same pitcher we saw last year. I'm taking a hot Texas team today. Play Texas.

Arizona and San Francisco have split the first two games of this four-game series, with the Diamondbacks taking game 1 and the Giants winning on Friday night, 6-3. The D'backs will send their Ace to the hill for Saturday night's contest. Zack Greinke is 8-3 in his 17 starts with a 3.08 ERA and 0.954 WHIP. The D'backs have won four of his last five starts even though Greinke has been hit harder in his last two outings, allowing nine runs over 13 innings. The Giants have had a rough season and lately they have lost four of their last six games. Drew Pmeranz will start today with a 2-8 record and lofty 6.79 ERA and 1.748 WHIP. Pomerance had been on a roll before the last two games. He's allowed nine runs over his last 9 1/3 innings. The Giants have also lost four of his last six starts. Big difference in starters here tonight, the D'backs Ace against a struggling Giants hurler. The price is right too. Play Arizona.

The Phillies had their 4-game winning streak snapped by the Marlins in game one of their series on Friday, 6-2. The Phillies are still in 2nd place in the NL East, while the Marlins are in last place. Miami snapped its three game losing streak with the win on Friday. The Marlins will send Jordan Yamamoto to the hill today with a 3-0 record in his three starts. Yamamoto has been very good, allowing just two total runs for a 0.95 ERA and 0.789 WHIP. Philly will counter with Zach Eflin. Eflin is 7-7 in his 15 starts with a 3.26 ERA. Eflin got rocked his last start, allowing six runs and 11 hits over 5-innings of work. Still, the Phillies won that game, but are still just 2-5 in Eflin's last seven starts. I'm not 100% convinced in Yamamoto yet, but anyone who has had three excellent starts and now is a home dog, is a play for me. I'm taking the Marlins as a live dog here on Saturday.

Texas brings a 5-game win streak into today's first game with the Rays. The Rays won yesterday over Minnesota, salvaging one game of that three-game series with the Twins. The Rays have now lost seven of their last 10 games. Yonny Chirinos will start today for the Rays. Chirinos is 4-3 in his 10 starts this season with a nice 2.63 ERA. Even with those good numbers the Rays have lost his last three starts and four of five. The Rangers have quietly broken off what looked to be a insurmountable Houston lead in the AL West to just 4.5-games with a 5-game winning streak. The Rangers will start their top winner today in Lance Lynn. Lynn leads the staff with nine wins and a 4.32 ERA. Rangers are around a +1.30 dog here today. I like teams on a winning streak with one of their best on the mound and a dog. Big series for the Rangers to get back into this race. Take Texas tonight.

I'm looking at the OVER in this matchup tonight. Both these clubs have been over teams this year with the D'backs at 41-37-4 O/U/P and the Giants at 40-35-4 O/U/P. The D'backs do it with an offense that averages 5.2 runs per game while allowing 4.6 runs. The Giants only average 3.9 runs, but allow a whopping 5.1 runs per game. The D'backs will start Lefty Alex Young tonight. Young was brought up from Triple-A Reno. Young has a 6.09 ERA in his 20 appearances at Reno this year. The Giants will start Tyler Beede who has a 1-1 record but a lofty 7.08 REA and 1.786 WHIP. Two horrible pitchers here tonight along with two suspect bullpens. I really like this one go to OVER tonight. Play the OVER.

The Texas Rangers won their 3rd game in a row yesterday, while the Tigers lost their 5th in a row. The Rangers took the opener with the Tigers 5-3. Today they will start Mike Minor. Minor is 7-4 for the Rangers in 16 starts with a 2.52 ERA and 1.148 WHIP. Minor has not allowed more than three runs in a start in his last 10 starts. The Tigers not only have lost five straight, but 11 of their last 13 games. Matt Boyd will start today with a 3.61 ERA and 1.109 WHIP. Boyd has been one of their better starters, however he's allowed nine runs over his last 10 innings of work. I'm a bit surprised that we get the Rangers today at just a pick price considering they are playing well while the Tigers are not. Plus we get the better starter by far. This is my June Game of the Month, play Texas.