A pair of National League West teams face off tonight in Colorado as the Rockies host the Padres. The Rockies are off to a 5-5 start while the Padres are just 2-8 on the season and in last place in the National League West. The Padres will start Clayton Richard today. Richard is make making his third start of the season, with a 4.50 era and 1.50 WHIP. Jon Gray will be making the start for the Rockies. Gray is 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Gray is coming off an excellent start at San Diego allowing just four hits and no earned runs in seven innings for the win. Padres offense has not been good this year. They are tied for 23rd in baseball with just 30 runs scored and they are 24th in baseball in batting average with a .221 average. The Padres are coming off a three-game road swing at Houston where they scored just six total runs. The Rockies have actually been a very good under team at Mile High Stadium going 8-21 over-under in their last 29 home games. I look for Gray to be able to hold down this anemic Padres offense tonight as this game goes under the total.

A couple of first-place division teams match up here on Monday as the Central leading Minnesota Twins face the West leading Houston Astros. The Twins are 4-3 to start the season while the Houston Astros are a nice 8-2. World Series MVP Justin Verlander makes his third start of the season today. Verlander is 1-0 on the season with a 2.31 era and a 1.11 WHIP. In addition Verlander has struck out 14 and walked just three on the season. Lance Lynn will make the start tonight for the Twins, Lynn has just one start this season for the Twins and that was jus four Innings where he allowed five runs, walked 6 batters and struck out just three. Lynn had lots of control problems in his first outing and that resulted in a 2.25 WHIP and 11.25 ERA. The Astros looked to be one of the best teams again this year in the major leagues and tonight I'm going to take Verlander minus the run and a half over the Twins.

It's Sunday Night Baseball as the New York Mets take on the Washington Nationals. The Mets are off to a very fast start going 6-1 to start the season including winning 4 games in a row. The Mets pitching has been outstanding allowing just 17 total runs in their 7 games, that is tops in the National League. The Nationals are 4-4, having lost four straight after starting the season 4-0. The Mets will start Matt Harvey. Harvey was brilliant in his first start of the season going five innings, allowing just one hit and no earned runs, striking out five and walking just one batter. Tanner Roark will start for the Nationals, he also had a very good opening day start going seven Innings, allowing four hits and just one earned runs in the team's win over Atlanta Braves 8-1. Roark has a 0.71 WHIP and a 1.29 ERA. Tonight's game should be a nice pitchers duel with runs coming at a premium. I'm taking the UNDER here tonight.

It's the penthouse against the outhouse today in the National League Central Division as the first place Pittsburgh Pirates take on the last place Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates are 6-1 to start the season. The Pirates have been hot with the bats hitting .282, that's second in baseball and scoring 49 runs for third in the majors. The Reds have not been good with the bats, scoring just 18 runs in their 1-5 start and giving up 40 runs on the season. They are ranked near the bottom of all offensive stats. Sal Romano makes his second start of the season for the Reds. Romano lost his opening game, going six Innings and allowing three earned runs against the Washington Nationals. The Pirates will counter with Chad Kuhl, who in his only start allowed four earned runs over 5 2/3 innings to get the win vs the Detroit Tigers. While I think Romano got the better first start, I can't go against the hot hitting Pirates and their bats today. I'm taking the Pirates.

The Baltimore Orioles look to improve on their 2-5 record as they play the New York Yankees today the Orioles have scored just 19 runs and seven games but they've allowed 36 runs. They have the largest run differential at - 17 in the American League. The New York Yankees are 4-3 to start the season after losing their last game 5 - 2 to the Orioles. Kevin Gausman makes just his second start of the Season tonight. Gausman went just 4 Innings giving up seven hits and six earned runs including three home runs in his loss to the twins 0-7. CC Sabathia gets the start tonight for the Yankees. Sabathia had a decent start his first game going just five innings, allowing five hits and two runs to the Blue Jays in the 3-5 loss. This series has been a big over play the last 26 games, these teams have gone over 20 times and under just six in those meetings. In addition, the over is 14-3 in their last 17 meetings at the New York Yankees. I like the total here today, play the over.

 The Minnesota Twins have started the season well, off to a 3-2 start and tied for first place in the American League Central. Seattle is also 3-2 and they are in third place in the American League West. Unfortunately, they are in the division with Houston Astros who is already 6-1 to start the season. James Paxton starts today for Seattle, in his one start so far this year he had a pretty rough outing, giving up six runs in just 4 and 2/3 innings for an 11.57 era and 2.14 whip. Conversely, Kyle Gibson gets the start for the twins today. In his first start at Baltimore he pitched a brilliant six Innings giving up no runs and no hits to the Orioles for the victory. While the twins didn't get the no-hitter Gibson looked quite good in his opening start. I like the Twins here today with Gibson on the hill. Play the Twins

Houston -1.5 Runs. The Houston Astros are already out to a good season at 4-1 winning three straight games. After losing their second game of the season to the Rangers the Astros have won three straight scoring 23 runs and allowing just six. World Series MVP Justin Verlander makes his second start of the season. Verlander went six innings in his opening start, allowing four hits and no earned runs for the win. Baltimore counters with righthander Mike Wright. Wright has a career 5.86 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in 21 starts and 43 games. This will be Wright's first start of the season. I don't see the O's getting much here today against Verlander, who looks like he's already in the same form we saw from him last year. I'l lay the run and a half with the Astros.

Astros -1.5 Runs. I am not confident that i will see much from Tillman here vs the Astro's. He did not show very well in spring training and i dont see him holding up well vs the Astro's Big bats in their first home game off becoming THE CHAMPS last year. Should be an emotional envirorment tonight. Morton is not one of the top Astro's hurlers but he should show well for 4 or five innings and the bullpen will be glad to shut down the O's. Take Houston -1.5 runs.

The Milwaukee Brewers try to stay perfect on the young MLB season today as they try for 4-0! The Brewers have scored 17 runs in their three games and allowed 10 runs. They play a St Louis team that is just 1-2 in their first three games, scoring 11 runs and allowing 16. Miles Mikolas toes the rubber for the birds, with a 4-6 lifetime record and 5.32 ERA. Mikolas has pitched extensively in Japan where he established a 31-13 record over three seasons. Zach Davies gets the nod for the Brewers. Davies has a 31-18 record with a 3.91 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. Davies gets the home opener for the Brewers here today. Davies had a oblique injury in spring, but came back with just one run in 8.1 innings. Brewers with Davies is the way to go here today. Play Milwaukee.

The Angels and A's finish up their four game set today as the Angels look to take three of the four games. The Angels lost the opening game, but have taken the last two. The Angels will start Shohei Ohtani who will be making his major league debut. The Japanese hurler is just 23-years old and is 6-foot-3. Ohtani is called "Japan's Babe Ruth" and possesses both offensive and pitching skills. Ohtani had a 2.52 ERA with a 1.08 WHIP in Japan and was the Japan league's MVP in 2016. Daniel Gossett will start for the A's. Gossett has 18 career starts with a 6.11 ERA and 1.61 WHIP. The Angels haven't had too much trouble scoring in this series, with 16 runs over their first three games. I like this game to go OVER.

Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium, and the Sox hope his year of growth shines through. "He's still a young kid, still has not made a ton of starts at the big-league level," Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "He's looking more and more like the kind of guy we projected him to be, which is a stalwart in the rotation going forward." Giolito finished his six-week stint in the majors with a 2.38 ERA, striking out 34 and giving up just 31 hits with 12 walks in 45 1/3 innings. That was leaps and bounds better than the 6.75 ERA he recorded over six outings with the Nationals in 2016. He continued to impress this spring with a 2.04 ERA, striking out 17 with four walks over four Cactus League starts. Giolito said he was able to throw his curveball more for strikes and improve the shape of the pitch. Hahn said his curveball playing well even in the Arizona air makes the Sox optimistic about how effective the pitch will be out of the desert. Take the White Sox this evening.

Going against too over the hill hurlers. LOL We all know the Yanks can put up some runs all on their own. the Blue jays will not be held down for long, especially vs CC who very well could come out of the box slow. Estrada lives off high ball outs. that may not be the best approach to this Yankee lineup. Judge, Stanton, Sanchez should see some hitable pitches. Take the OVER today

Cubs -1.5 Runs : Cubs took the season opener over the Marlins on Thursday, 8-4. Anthony Rizzo and Ian Happ both homered in the win. Jon Lester struggled, but got plenty of support from the powerful Cubs lineup. The Cubs lineup is loaded this season and they showed it on Thursday. The bullpen also looked good in relief of a struggling Lester. Miami saw the loss of Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees and that's a lot of power gone from the lineup. Stanton made his new team happy on Thursday with a home run for the Yankees. Kyle Hendricks will face Caleb Smith. Hendricks looked very good in spring with a 2.37 ERA and 23 KO's. Smith has just two career starts and 18.2 innings in the big leagues with a 7.71 ERA. I'm going to lay the run and half here with a very strong Cubs team against a Miami team in rebuild mode.

I gave out the Dodgers to win this world series so I am backing them here in game 7. LA survived the tsunami called Just Verlander. In fact, they handed the righthander his first loss of the season with the Astros, making him 11-1 since he was traded from the Tigers. Verlander was his same old dominating self except for one double by Taylor and a sac fly by Seager. The Astros had numerous chances to score including a 2nd and 3rd with no outs early in the game. ANy of those chances would have likely put the Dodgers away for good and they would be celebrating today. Now they have to play a game seven and LA doesn't think they can be beat. I have to agree, this one is all mental and the Dodgers have it.

The bullpens have really taken a beating in this series of late. It didn't seem to matter which pitcher either team trotted to the mound, they got hit hard with 25 runs scored in game 5 on Sunday. Now with the Astros up 3-2 in the series, they move venues back to LA for game six. With both pens having lots of questions, it will be imperative for the starters to go deeper in this contest. And the Astros have a huge advanatage here with Justin Verlander. Verlander hasn't lost game since coming over from Detroit. He's pitched brilliant in the entire postseason and only gave up two hits in his first start against LA (both home runs). The latter home run only came after a two-out walk, something he hasn't done much of either. Rich Hill will start for LA and while Hill has done well, he is no match for Verlander in this one. The Astros know they can't let this series go the full seven. They need to close it out here. Play Hou

Astros had to win the last two games in their series with the Yankees just to advance to the World Series. The Dodgers have really rolled through the playoffs, thanks to a perfect bullpen, excellent starting pitching and timely hitting. Their bullpen didn't allow a single run to the Cubs in the ALCS. Clayton Kershaw has looked like his old self and not the pitcher we have seen in past postseasons. Kershaw gets the start here in game 1 after going 2-0 in his three postseason starts, allowing seven runs over 17.1 innings. Dallas Keuchel will go for the Astros. Keuchel lost one game in the postseason, gave up five runs over 17.1 innings. I give a big advantage here to the Dodgers' bullpen and Dave Roberts won't hesitate to go there. Take LA.

 Strange conditions in LA for game 1 here tonight. It's expected to be over 100 degrees today in the LA area, a very unexpected temperature for the LA area during October. What does that mean for pitcher friendly Chavez Ravine? That means the air will be lighter and we are going to see the ball carry here tonight. The Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts, has already proven he will pull Kershaw at the first sign of trouble. These pitchers will tire tonight in this heat and I don't expect either to be around a long time here. Add to that the balls ability to carry in this heat and I'm taking the OVER tonight.

Elimination game here for the Astros after they were swept in New York, 3-0. The Yankees pitchers shut down the Astros hitters, holding Houston to just five runs over the three games (four of those coming in game 4). The Astros have now scored two runs or less in four of their five games in this series. Now we'll see what the Astros are made of, playing from behind. The Astros will turn to their great acquisition during late season, Justin Verlander. Verlander is 3-0 in the postseason, pitching a nine inning complete game last time out, allowing just one run and five hits. Luis Servino starts tonight for the Yankees. Servino has allowed seven runs in 11.1 postseason innings. This is where the Astros play well and I look for Houston to even this series behind the best pitcher on either team. Take Houston.

The first two games of this series were pitcher's duels, with both games going under in 2-1 finals. Game three just did go over and took a top of the 9th run from the Astros to get the OVER. Game four was a good OVER play and really the only true over of this series. Now we get back to the team's aces and that likely means another low scoring affair. Dallas Keuchel makes his third start of the post season and has been almost perfect. Keuchel has 12.2 innings of work and has allowed just one run on seven hits, no walks and 17 KO's. Masahiro Tanaka toes the rubber for the Yankees and has also been very good in the postseason, going 13 innings allowing two runs, two walks and 10 KO's. I look for another strong performance from both of these pitchers. Play the UNDER.

The first two games of this series were both 2-1 finals and went UNDER. Game three moved to New York and just did make it over in the 9th inning when the Astros pushed over a run to make it 8-1. The Astros have been punushing the ball prior to this series, scoring 31 runs in their four games against the Red Sox. The Yankees pitching has really kept them in check. Sonny Gray gets the start here in game four and had a off-season, posting just a 10-12 record with a 3.55 ERA. In his lone postseason start, Gray allowed three runs over 3.1 innings to the Indians and had four walks. The Astros turn to Lance McCullers today. McCullers had a very similar line to Gray, posting just three innings of work in his one start with two runs allowed and two walks. McCullers had injury problems this year and almost wasn't included on the ALCS roster. This is the spot where I like the OVER. Neither team has their top two pitchers starting and the Astros are primed to get their bats working again. Take the OVER.

This series has been a low scoring series owned by the pitching. Charlie Morton makes his second start of the postseason for the Astros. Morton had a no decision in his start at Boston, going seven innings and allowing two runs. He's opposed by CC Sabathia, who had two starts vs the Indians. Sabathia went 4.1 and 5.1 innings, allowing a total of four runs over 9.2 innings. Yankees haven't scored but two runs against the Astros. Aaron Judge, the Yankees slugger has had trouble hitting the ball, going just 2-for-20 with 12 strikeouts. This is the pivotal game for the Yankees, either make this a series at 2-1 or be down a insurmountable 3-0. This is the spot they woke up vs the Indians and I see the same here. I'm taking New York to make this a series.

 The Cubs ran into a buzz saw in game four in the name of pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who shined in a last minute start for the Nationals. Strasburg struck out 12 batters and gave up no runs to even the series at two-games apiece. The Cubs start their hottest pitcher in Kyle Hendricks. Hendricks is coming off a excellent start in this series, allowing no runs and just two hits over seven innings in a game one win. The Nats have Gio Gonzalez penciled in for the start, but that could change. This game has the Cubs a slight favorite and despite who starts for the Nationals I know I have a great shot with Hendricks. I'm taking the Cubs here in game 5.

Astros looking to sweep this series and wrap up their WildCard series with the Red Sox here today. The Astros took another easy winner in games 2, winning 8-2 over the Sox. Jose Altuve, all 5-foot-6 of him, is the likely MVP of this series. Through his 2 games he has two intentional walks, three Home runs and is batting 5 for 7 (.714) in the series. The real story are the Red Sox starters or lack thereof. Chris Sale and Drew Pomeranz have not been good. After Sale was shelled in game one, Pomeranz gav up four runs on fives hits in two innings in game two. This whole series has been dominated by the Astros from pens to bats and I don't see that changing here today. Take the Astros.

Game 2 of the Wild Cards here with the Dodger taking game one with Clayton Kershaw, 9-5. Once again we see team's top pitchers struggling in these series. As for Kershaw, the post season has always been his problem area and yesterday was really no different, giving up four solo home runs. Lucky for Kershaw, the Dodgers offense was up to the task. Today, the D'backs will get to start one of their two top pitchers in Robbie Ray. Ray had to be used in the Colorado Wild Card win, but he's ready to start today. Ray threw 34 pitches and 2.1 innings on Wednesday. Ray was 15-5 on the season with a 2.89 ERA, including three wins against the Dodges and a 2.27 ERA. Rich Hill starts for LA. Hill has struggled against Arizona, posting a 0-3 record and 5.03 ERA this year. I like Arizona to bounce back here today with Ray on the hill. Play Arizona.

The Dodgers definitely had their issues down the stretch, especially with starting pitchers that were great for most of the season. Tonight LA starts Clayton Kershaw, their ace. In recent years, Kershaw has looked anything but the part in the post season, failing on multiple occasions to get the wins. Add to that fact that the D'backs were one of the hottest teams down the stretch and we have what could be a big upset tonight. Price just too much to pass on in this spot. Take Arizona plus the big money.

Not sure that I agree with the oddsmakers in this one, making the Cubs such a huge dog. Kendricks is a quality starter and his 7-5 record might not reflect this, his 3.03 ERA and 1.19 WHIP surely do. Strasburg has the record at 15-4, but his 2.52 ERA and 1.02 WHIP are only slight better than Kendricks. Lots of good value here with the Cubs. Play Chicago.

When the Yankees beat the Twins for the Wildcard, they celebrated like they just won the World Series. Sorry guys, but one postseason win doesn't deserve the bubbly. And, it showed, with the Indians shutting them down in game one, 4-0. Now the Yanks have to face the Indians ace in Corey Kluber. Kluber is 18-4 with a 2.25 ERA and 0.87 ERA. CC Sabathia is way too big a question mark for me to throw any backing the Yankees way. I'm taking the Indians in game two here today.

When the Yankees beat the Twins for the Wildcard, they celebrated like they just won the World Series. Sorry guys, but one postseason win doesn't deserve the bubbly. And, it showed, with the Indians shutting them down in game one, 4-0. Now the Yanks have to face the Indians ace in Corey Kluber. Kluber is 18-4 with a 2.25 ERA and 0.87 ERA. CC Sabathia is way too big a question mark for me to throw any backing the Yankees way. I don't see New York getting much again here today. I'm going with the UNDER in what could be another pitchers duel.

Astros coming off a big win in game one over the Red Sox, 8-2. Tonight they send Dallas Keuchel to the hill with his 14-5 record, 2.90 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. The Sox will try and rebound with Drew Pomeranz. Pomeranz had 17 wins this season but a slightly higher ERA with 3.32 and a WHIP among the higher in these early playoff games at 1.35. Astros just playing too well, especially at home and full of confidence. Take the Astros in game two.

The AL East champion vs the AL West champion here in game 1. The Red Sox won their division by two games over the Yankees. The Astros cruised to an easy 21 game difference over second place LA Angels. One of the biggest moves the Astros made was the late season addition of Justin Verlander from Detroit. Verlander gets the start here today. The 34-year old finished with a 15-8 record, 3.36 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. Most importantly though is that Verlander was a perfect 5-0 with the Astros and a stellar 1.06 ERA in his five starts. Chris Sale had a great year for Boston,posting a 17-8 record with a 0.97 WHIP and 2.90 ERA. Two great pitchers here, but I'm going with the Astros at home and with a very hot Verlander on the hill. Play Houston in game one.

The NL West was loaded this season, with the Dodgers having that dominant mid-season run and the D'backs and Rockies both claiming Wild Card slots. This matchup will come down to the Rockies hitters vs the D'backs pitchers. Jon Gray starts for the Rockies and is 10-4 this year with a 3.676 ERA. He was 2-1 this season against Arizona. Zack Greinke will start for Arizona, posting a 17-7 mark this year with a 3.20 ERA. He also was 2-1 against Colorado this year. For the most part, Grienke has shut down Colorado hitters, with Arendo Nolan giving Zach the most problems, with six hits in 16 at bats. Still, while both these pitchers are excellent, I like Arizona here with their Ace on the hill who has shown he can shut down Rockies hitters.

The Yankees had to settle for a Wild Card spot after falling two games short of the Red Sox for the AL East title. The Yankees finished with the best run differential in the AL at +198, a full 81 runs better than the Sox. Luis Severino has earned the right to start this Wild Card game. Severino had an excellent season, posting a stellar 14-6 record with a 2.98 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. Meanwhile, the Twins were an unlikely participant this year in the postseason. The Twins finished 2nd, 17 games back of 1st place Cleveland. Ervin Santana will try and shock the Yankees here tonight. Santana was 16-8 this season with a 3.28 ERA and 1.13 ERA. The Twins are 0-5 in their last five road playoff games. The Yanks are 13-3 in their last 16 at home and today I'll lay the 1.5 runs with the Yankees

9/28 07:10 PM EST   MLB   (963) HOUSTON ASTROS VS (964) BOSTON RED SOX.
Take: MLB Inner Circle: Play (963) HOUSTON ASTROS.
Reason: Houston took Texas to task en route by outscoring its Lone Star State rivals 37-7 during a three-game sweep. Astros righty Brad Peacock (12-2, 2.98 ERA) has won his last two trips to the mound to improve to 9-2 with a 3.21 ERA as a starter. The Red Sox are 1-6 in Rodriguez's last 7 starts during game 1 of a series. Play Houston.

09/28 04:10 PM EST  MLB   (951) CINCINNATI REDS VS (952) MILWAUKEE BREWERS.
Take: over the total
Reason: Cincinnati is 6-2 over the total against a left-handed starter. The Over is 10-4 in the last 14 meetings between these rivals. Milwaukee is an easy home run park and the Over is 16-5-1 in the last 22 meetings in Milwaukee. Play Cincinnati/Milwaukee Over the total.

09/27 07:05 PM EST   MLB   (919) TAMPA BAY RAYS VS (920) NEW YORK YANKEES.
Take: Run Line Game of the Month: Play the (920) NEW YORK YANKEES on the Run-Line.
Reason:  Tampa Bay has lost 2 in a row and plays its sixth straight road game, on a 3-7 run on the road. Rays starter Matt Andriese is 0-3 with a 7.20 ERA in five outings since coming off the disabled list and 1-4 with a 5.60 ERA on the road in 2017. The Yankees are on a 10-1 run at home and won for the 17th time in 23 contests with a 6-1 triumph on Tuesday, moving to within three games of first-place Boston in the AL East with five remaining. Yankees starter Luis Severino (13-6, 3.03 ERA) is 8-2 since the All-Star break and the Rays are 7-22 in the last 29 meetings in New York. Play the NY Yankees on the Run-Line.

09/27 07:05 PM EST  MLB   (929) BALTIMORE ORIOLES VS (930) PITTSBURGH PIRATES.
Take: MLB Inner Circle: Play (930) PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Reason:  The Orioles are on a 3-9 run, as the beleaguered pitching staff has been pummeled for at least eight runs in eight of their last nine setbacks. The Orioles are on a 20-41 run on the road. Pittsburgh is 38-13 in interleague games vs. a team with a losing record. Pirates riighty Chad Kuhl throws best at home and the Pirates are 25-8 in their last 33 interleague home games vs. a team with a losing record. Play Pittsburgh.