Game one went to the Phillies who dug themselves a 0-5 deficit in game one but battled back to tie the game and send it into extra innings where they won 6-5 in 10. Today, Zack Wheeler will start game two for the Phillies. Wheeler has been very good in the postseason, allowing five runs in his four starts (19 1/3 innings) with 25 KO's and just five walks. Wheeler's ERA over his last seven starts is a paltry 1.34 ERA. The Astros will start Framber Valdez who is 18-6 overall on the season with a 2.96 ERA. In his two postseason starts, Valdez has gone `12 2/3 innings and allowed two earned runs. Game one was a slugfest, but I look for the teams to settle down into a pitching duel here in game two. Take UNDER.

The Houston Astros have rolled through the playoffs, going 7-0 thus far. The Phillies road has been tougher, having to play at Atlanta and San Diego. We get a great pitching matchup in game one here on Friday from Houston. Houston manager Dusty Baker has been a major league manager for over 20 years but has yet to win a World Series so you have to believe there is extra incentive in the Houston dugout to win this thing. Zack Wheeler has been great for the Phillies in the postseason. In his four postseason starts, Wheeler has allowed five total runs with 27 KO's and just three walks. He is 2-1, with his loss coming in the Atlanta series. Wheeler has a 2.67 ERA this year and a 1.35 ERA over his last seven starts. It will be a tall task for the Phils today as they face Justin Verlander. Verlander is coming off six innings vs the Yankees where he gave up three hits and one run for the win, 4-2. Verlander has just two postseason starts and did get rocked in his first by Seattle, giving up six runs and 10 hits over four innings. Still, Verlander has just a 1.99 ERA this season. While I won't lay the big price with the Astros, I will take the UNDER here in game one.

The Houston Astros have rolled through the playoffs, going 7-0 thus far. The Phillies road has been tougher, having to play at Atlanta and San Diego. We get a great pitching matchup in game one here on Friday from Houston. Houston manager Dusty Baker has been a major league manager for over 20 years but has yet to win a World Series so you have to believe there is extra incentive in the Houston dugout to win this thing. Zack Wheeler was originally scheduled to start game one, but the Phillies have now switched over to Aaron Nola. Nola is 13-14 on the season with a 3.24 ERA. He has three postseason starts and did great vs the Cardinals and Braves with no runs over nine innings. But in his one start vs the Padres he went 4 2/3 innings and gave up six runs in the loss. It will be a tall task for the Phils today as they face Justin Verlander. Verlander is coming off six innings vs the Yankees where he gave up three hits and one run for the win, 4-2. Verlander has just two postseason starts and did get rocked in his first by Seattle, giving up six runs and 10 hits over four innings. Still, Verlander has just a 1.99 ERA this season. Unfortunately we have to sometimes lay bigger prices in these series games and I will do that with the Astros today.

The Astros look to take a commanding lead in this ALCS after taking the first two games in Houston, 4-2 and 3-2. Both games going under the total with both sides showing off their pitching. The Padres will start Cristian Javier today who is 11-8 overall on the season with a 2.68 ERA. Javier makes his first start since October 1st today. Javier has not allowed a run over his last four starts (23 innings). Gerrit Cole will hope to get the Yankees in the win column today. Cole is 15-8 overall on the season with a 3.41 ERA. Cole had two starts in the Cleveland series, allowing just three total runs over his 13 1/3 innings. Two very good pitchers and a series that has already shown off the defense and pitching. I'll stick with the UNDER today.

 The Astros look to take a commanding lead in this ALCS after taking the first two games in Houston, 4-2 and 3-2. Both games going under the total with both sides showing off their pitching. The Astros will start Cristian Javier today who is 11-8 overall on the season with a 2.68 ERA. Javier makes his first start since October 1st today. Javier has not allowed a run over his last four starts (23 innings). Gerrit Cole will hope to get the Yankees in the win column today. Cole is 15-8 overall on the season with a 3.41 ERA. Cole had two starts in the Cleveland series, allowing just three total runs over his 13 1/3 innings. Should be another close game here on Saturday. I'll take the dogs with Houston as Javier has been great and we'll see if that carries over to his first postseason start. Play Houston.

 After just one hit in game one of this NLCS, the Padres erupted in game two with 13 hits and eight runs as they evened this best of seven series at one game apiece. Manny Machado had three hits for the Padres and Brandon Drury had three RBI's. Joe Musgrove will start game three tonight in Philly. Musgrove is 11-7 on the season with a 2.83 ERA. In his two postseason starts he held the Mets to just one hit over seven innings and held the Dodgers to two runs over six innings, both as a dog. Musgrove has a 1.56 ERA over his last seven starts. Ranger Suarez starts for the Phillies. Suarez is 10-7 this season with a 3.63 ERA. In his one postseason start, he went just 3 1/3 innings vs the Braves and allowed three hits and five walks. I like Musgrove as I give a big edge in pitching with both their starter and bullpen here today. Play San Diego.

The Houston Astros took game one of this ALCS on Wednesday, 4-2. The game was tied early on but the long ball put the Astros ahead and they rode the arm of Justin Verlander to the win. The Yankees will turn to Luis Servino today who is 7-3 overall in his 20 starts. Severino has a 3.26 ERA and is 3-1 with a 3.03 ERA in his last seven starts. That includes one postseason start against the Guardians where he went 5 2/3 innings, gave up eight hits and three runs.  The Astros will start Framber Valdez who was very good this year with a 17-6 overall record and 2.78 ERA.  Valdez had one postseason start and that was against the Mariners where he went 5 2/3 innings, allowed four hits and two earned runs.  Astros look strong with the extra rest and I'll be be on them and Valdez here today.

The Houston Astros took game one of this ALCS on Wednesday, 4-2. The game was tied early on but the long ball put the Astros ahead and they rode the arm of Justin Verlander to the win. The Yankees will turn to Luis Servino today who is 7-3 overall in his 20 starts. Severino has a 3.26 ERA and is 3-1 with a 3.03 ERA in his last seven starts. That includes one postseason start against the Guardians where he went 5 2/3 innings, gave up eight hits and three runs.  The Astros will start Framber Valdez who was very good this year with a 17-6 overall record and 2.78 ERA.  Valdez had one postseason start and that was against the Mariners where he went 5 2/3 innings, allowed four hits and two earned runs.  Two big hitting teams that both have been good under plays this year. The Astros are 61-95 Ov/Under on the season while the Yankees are 77-85 Ov/Un on the year.  I'm taking the UNDER here in game two.

The Yankees and Guardians finally got their decisive game five completed on Tuesday with the Yanks taking the contest, 5-1. Houston finally gets back into the game after being off since last Saturday when they took care of Seattle, 1-0 in 18 innings. Justin Verlander will get the start in game one tonight. Verlander had a rare bad start in his last game on Oct 11th vs Seattle where he allowed six runs over four innings of work. Still, he's a favorite for Cy-Young this year with his 18-4 record and 2.01 ERA. The Yankees will counter with Jameson Taillon who is 14-5 overall but has yet to start in the postseason. Tallion has a overall 3.91 ERA but a 4.36 road ERA. Rough series for the Yankees against Cleveland and they might be in for a bit of a letdown here in game one at Houston tonight. I'll lay the Run Line with the Astros.

Pitching once again seems to be the name of the game in the National League playoffs. After great pitching in the Padres/Dodgers series, we got treated to another gem in game one in this series on Tuesday night. The Phillies got three total hits, though two were home runs including a 488 foot shot by Kyle Shwarber. The Padres could manage just one single in game one. Aaron Nola goes tonight for the Phillies. Nola was just 13-13 in the season but beat both the Cardinals and Braves in the playoffs, allowing no earned runs over his 12 2/3 innings of postseason work. Blake Snell will go for the Padres. Snell has nine innings of work in two postseason starts, allowing three runs. Looks like another pitcher's duel here tonight to me. Play the UNDER.

This was the new season for this playoff format where we had three wildcard teams and the top two teams in the division got a first round bye. So after the dust settled the top four teams in the National League, including the 111 win LA Dodgers are all gone. The Dodgers, Braves, Mets are all gone with the No 5 seeded Padres hosting the No 6 seeded Phillies in game one tonight. The Padres used great pitching and an amazing bullpen along with timely hitting to upset the heavily favored Dodgers. And tonight no one has been bigger for the Padres than Yu Darvish. Darvish was 18-8 on the season, including big wins over the Mets and Dodgers in the playoffs. He held the Mets to one run over seven innings and the Dodgers to three runs over five innings. His ERA this year is 3.09 and 2.60 at home. The Phillies will start Zack Wheeler tonight. Wheeler was 12-8 overall on the season and held the Cardinals to no runs over 6 1/3 innings and the Braves to three runs over six innings in his two postseason starts. I really like Darvish and the Padres pen as they take game one here tonight.

They may actually get this ALDS game going today so we can move on to the ALCS against Houston. The Guardians have changed pitchers, now going with Aaron Civale instead of Bieber. Civale was only 5-6 during the regular season and has yet to start in the playoffs. He has a 4.92 ERA and is slightly better in his last seven starts with a 3-1 record and 3.23 ERA. The Yankees will stick witht Nestor Cortes today. Cortes is 12-4 on the season and has one start in this series back on the 14th. He went five innings and gave up six hits and two runs in the Cleveland win, 4-2. Must be a good reason for Civale starting today. Either he matches up well against the Yankees, he has been much better of late, or he will only go one or two innings as an opener and then bring in Bieber. Whatever the reason, the Guardians should be in this game until the end. I'll take the dog price with Cleveland.

The Braves face elimination today at the hands of the Phillies as they trail one game to two. Atlanta took a beating in Friday's contest, 1-9. Win or go home today for the Braves. That task will fall to Charlie Morton who is 9-6 on the season with a 4.34 ERA. He's been slightly worse over his last seven starts with a 5.65 ERA. The Phillies turn to Noah Syndergaard today who is 10-10 on the season with a 4.00 ERA. The Braves have gone over in six of their last eight road playoff games and are 25-9-3 Ov/Un in their last 37 games vs a team with a winning record. Philly has gone over in four straight home games and is 11-3-2 Ov/un in their last 16 home playoff games. I like today's game to go OVER. 

The Phillies shocked everyone by beating the Cardinals in two straight games in St Louis. That included that huge comeback in game one where down 0-2 in the top of the 9th the Phils scored six times. The one bad thing for the Phillies is this is their 13th straight road game. However, the Braves have been off all week as they got the bye in the first round and the hitters might not be in game timing for this first game. Philly will start Ranger Suarez who did not get a start in the NL Wild Card round. Suarez is 10-7 on the season with a 3.65 ERA but better on the road with a 6-3 record and 3.20 ERA. The Braves last played on October 5th at Miami and lost 9-12. They tied with the Mets for the NL East division but by virtue of head-to-head won the division and the bye. Max Fried will start today with a 14-7 record and 2.48 ERA. Fried has been very good and continues to be a solid option for the Braves. I'm going to take a shot here with the big dog Phillies in this one. Lets see if we can catch the Braves hitters a bit rusty in this one. Play Philadelphia.

Padres can pull the huge upset with a win here on Saturday and a 2-0 sweep of the Mets. Not only did the Mets give away the division title, but now they face elmination at home at the hands of the Padres. San Diego isn't known for their home run power, but they had three big long balls in their 7-1 win over the Mets on Friday. The Padres will start Blake Snell here on Saturday who is 8-10 overall with a 3.45 ERA. He's been much better of late, going 3-3 over his last seven games with a nice 1.76 ERA. In fact, he's allowed just two total yards over his last four starts (25 Innings). The Mets will get deGrom started here today. deGrom is 5-4 in his 11 starts with a 3.08 ERA. deGrom has been good, but not great. And here we get the Padres as a big dog with a hot Snell on the hill. Take San Diego.

Cleveland can put this Wildcard series away here on Saturday after winning game one on Friday, 2-1. Shane Bieber went 7 2/3 innings and allowed just three hits and one run with 8 KO's and one walk. Tampa Bay will turn to Tyler Glasnow who makes just his third start of the season. Glasnow last started on Oct 3 and went 3 2/3 innings against Boston and allowed two hits and no runs. Triston McKenzie is 11-10 this season with a 2.91 ERA. He's allowed just two runs in his last two starts (11 innings). It looks like a Cleveland sweep as they win game two. The Rays finished the season 0-5 and now are 0-6. They just didn't get hot at the right time. Play Cleveland.

AL Wild Card action here on Friday has the Seattle Mariners traveling North of the border to take on the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays finished with the top Wild Card spot as the Mariners snuck in for the 2nd spot. Both these clubs have won seven of their last 10 games. Seattle will start Luis Castillo who is 8-6 on the season with a 2.99 ERA. Toronto will counter with Alek Manoah who is 16-7 on the season with a 2.24 ERA. He's been even better of late, going 4-1 in his last seven starts with a 0.94 ERA. I like the way Manoah has been pitching and the Jays have home field here today. I'll take Toronto.

AL Wild card looks different this year than last. Last year it was two wild card teams and they played one game with the winner moving on. Now, we have three wild card teams and they play the best of three in this opening series. This early game on Friday has Tampa Bay Rays going to Cleveland to play the Guardians. Tampa Bay didn't finish well, losing their last five games as they head into the playoffs. Shane McClanahan will start today for the Rays with a 12-8 record this season and a 2.54 ERA. That number was slightly higher of late with a 2-3 record in his last seven starts and a 3.55 ERA. Cleveland finished the regular season winning its last two games. Shane Bieber will start this game one. Bieber has a 13-8 record with a 2.93 ERA. He has been better of late, going 5-1 in his last seven starts with a 2.44 ERA. I'm taking Cleveland in this opening Wild Card contest.

This is it for the Milwaukee Brewers. With the final series of the season at hand the Brewers trail the Philadelphia Phillies by two games for the final Wild Card spot. The Phillies have a tough 3-game series at Houston so it's no cake walk for them. However, the Brewers welcomen the Arizona Diamondbacks to town. The D'backs start Tommy Henry tonight who is 3-4 in his eight starts with a 5.98 ERA. Henry has allowed 17 earned runs over his last three starts (13 innings). The Brewers hopes ride with Brandon Woodruff who has been excellent all season with a 13-4 record and 3.05 ERA. He's been very perfect at home with an 8-0 record and 1.98 ERA. I'm taking the Brewers on the Run line tonight in what should be a blowout Milwaukee win.

The NL Wild Card race still in doubt. The Mets or Braves will take the top spot, depending on who wins the NL East. However, San Diego, Philly and Milwuakee still battling for two spots. Baring a complete collapse in these final days, the Padres should finish second as they lead the Phillies by two games and the Brewers by three. The White Sox hope to just finish at or above .500 as they sit at 78-80 on the season. They will start Lance Lynn today. Lynn is 7-7 in his 20 starts with a 4.16 ERA. The Padres will start Blake Snell. Snell is 8-9 with a 3.54 ER. Snell has been very good of late, allowing no runs over his last two starts, just three hits, 19 KO's and five BB's. Padres look for that clinching win and Snell looks to be a great bet to do it today.

Entering these final days of the regular season the Toronto Blue Jays holding onto that top Wild Card spot, 1.5 games ahead of 2nd place Seattle and 2-games ahead of third place Tampa Bay. The Orioles have been eliminated, so the only thing left is the order of finish. The Red Sox will start Brayan Bello today. Bello is 2-6 on the season with a 4.47 ERA. Those numbers are slightly worse on the road where he is 1-3 in five starts with a 4.81 ERA. Ross Stripling will toe the rubber for the Jays. Stripling is 8-4 in his 23 starts with a 3.07 ERA and a 2.56 home ERA. Jays still want to lock in that top stop so I'll take them here today as they have something to play for. Play Toronto.

Miami is a nice sized dog here today. Nothing new with that. However, anytime you can get Sandy Alcantara as a big dog you really have to take a look. Alcantara is 14-8 with a 2.32 this season. He has allowed just four total runs over his last three starts (24 innings). Milwaukee will also have one of their best on the mound in Corbin Burnes. Burnes is 11-8 on the season with a 3.25 ERA. He's been not so good of late, going 2-3 in his last seven with a 5.95 ERA. Yes, Milwaukee is fighting for a Wild Card, but I have to take a shot with Alcantara. Play Miami.

This looks to be the biggest series in baseball this weekend. The NY Mets and Atlanta Braves both fighting for the NL East title with the loser getting the top Wild Card spot. Right now the Mets lead the Braves by one game in the standings. The Mets are a favorite here in this first game. But for me, I'm a big shocked by this. The Mets start Jacob deGrom who is 5-3 with a 2.93 ERA. However, he has not been all that sharp of late, allowing 11 runs over his last 15 innings. And, when we look at the Braves, they are starting Max Fried who is 13-7 with a 2.50 ERA. But Fried has been very good of late, allowing five total runs over his last four starts (22 innings). The Braves lose this game and I believe they are done for the division title. Take the Braves as a small dog here in what I see is their must win spot. Play Atlanta.

Nothing left for the Guardians to play for as they ran away with the AL Central in the 2nd half of the season. The Guardians are 11 games in front of Chicago. The Guardians won't get a first round bye and will have to face one of the Wild Card teams. Kansas City has lost three games in a row but will have their best pitcher on the hill today in Brady Singer. Singer is 10-4 on the season with a 2.92 ERA. He's been even better of late, going 4-0 in his last seven starts with a 2.27 ERA. Cleveland will counter with Aaron Civale who is 3-6 in his 18 starts with a 5.19 ERA. HE's been better of late, going 1-1 in his last seven starts with a 3.38 ERA. In fact, he's allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts. I'm taking the UNDER here on Friday.

The ever changing AL Wild Card positions are tight as we head into the last games of the regular season. The Tampa Bay Rays are in 2nd place in the race, 1.5-games back of Toronto and a half game ahead of third place Seattle. Meanwhile, the Indians have nothing at stake as they have clinched the AL Central and just await the playoffs and who they will face. Right now the Indians look to face the third place Wild Card team, which could be these Rays. The Rays will turn to Jeffrey Springs today. Springs is 8-4 on the season with a 2.79 ERA. He's been better of late, posting a 4-1 record in his last seven starts and a 2.67 ERA. Cleveland will counter with Cal Quantrill who is 14-5 on the season with a 3.49 ERA. Quantrill has also been better of late with a 5-0 mark his last seven and a 2.52 ERA. Good pitching matchup here tonight, but the Rays have more at stake and I'll take them in this one. Play Tampa Bay.

Nice comeback for us on Tuesday night as we had the Tigers and they rallied to force extra innings and won it in the bottom of the 10th, 4-3. So we are coming back with them again here today. The Royals will send Daniel Lynch to the hill today with a 4-11 record and 5.06 ERA. That number goes up of late with a 0-4 record and 6.48 ERA in his last seven starts. The Tigers have now won four straight games and six of their last seven games. Matt Manning will toe the rubber today for the Tigers with a 2-3 record in his 12 starts and a 3.43 ERA. He's been a bit better at home with his ERA dropping to 2.52 in seven starts. I like the Tigers to continue their winning ways here tonight.

The Royals and Tigers begin a three game set here from Detroit on Tuesday. Kansas City took two of three game from Seattle and has won five of their last six games. Zack Greinke will start today with a 4-9 record in his 24 starts and a 4.21 ERA. He's been much worse on the road with a 0-7 record in his 12 starts and a 6.36 ERA. Detroit is coming off a sweep at the Chicago White Sox. They outscored the Sox by a 16-6 mark in the three games. Joey Wentz will get the start today for the Tigers. Wentz is 2-2 in his five starts with a 3.13 ERA. He has allowed just two runs total over his last four starts (20 2/3 innings). As bad as Grienke has been on the road and as good as Wentz has been lately, I'll be on the Tigers here today.

Two teams playing out the season has Arizona hosting the San Francisco Giants today. The Giants and D'backs have split the first two games with San Fran winning on Friday and the D'backs winning yesterday, 5-2. Scott Alexander makes only his 2nd start of the season for the Giants. Alexander only went one inning in his first start, allowing no runs and no hits. Looks like it's another bullpen day for the Giants as Alexander likely won't be around much past another first inning start. Arizona will start Drey Jameson who has only two starts under his belt. However, unlike Alexander, Jameson is a real starter and is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA. He went six solid innings vs the Dodgers in his last start, allowing seven hits and just two runs for the win. He's now beaten both LA and San Diego thus far. I doubt the Giants will give him much of a fight here today. I'll take Arizona and Jameson.

The Milwaukee Brewers need every win they can get at this point. The Brewers are in 4th in the NL battle for the Wild Card race where only three teams will make it. The Brewers trail 3rd place Philadelphia by 1.5 games and 2nd place San Diego by 2-games. Freddy Peralta will start today for the Brewers with a 4-3 record and 3.45 ERA. He's been better of late, going 1-1 in his last seven starts with a 2.27 ERA. Nick Lodolo will start for the Reds with a 4-7 mark in his 17 starts and a 3.90 ERA. Lodolo has been good for the Reds though, allowing three runs or fewer in five straight starts. Still, the Brewers need these games and Peralta should be good enough to get the job done today. Play Milwaukee.

 The Chicago Cubs have won four straight games after taking the first two games in this series with the Pirates. That includes last night's win, 6-5. They have not only won four straight, but eight of their last 11 games. Wade Miley looks to keep it going here today with a 1-1 record in his seven starts with a 3.48 ERA. Miley hasn't allowed more than three runs in any of his seven prior starts. The Pirates have now lost eight straight games after last night's loss. Johan Oviedo will take the hill with a 1-2 record in his five starts and a 4.82 ERA. Neither pitcher has a huge resume to draw on this year, but I'll take the team with the momentum here. Take the Cubs.

NL West battle here between two teams that have no shot at any postseason action. Far cry from the Giants team that won the NL West last year with over 100 wins. The Giants are only 73-77 this year though they have won four straight games. Carlos Rondon will toe the rubber today with a 13-8 record in his 29 starts and a 2.85 ERA. Rondon has allowed two runs or fewer in eight of his last nine starts. The Diamondbacks just came off a series with the Dodgers where they split the four games. They could have easily won three of those but couldn't hold a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the ninth last night, finally losing 2-3. That makes five losses in their last seven games. Tommy Henry starts today for the D'backs with a 3-4 record in his seven starts and a 5.50 ERA. He's allowed 12 runs over his last 8 1/3 innings of work. I'll take the Giants here today.

The Seattle Mariners sit in third place in the AL Wild Card race, four games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles. The Mariners have lost six of their last seven games as they dropped to third in the race, 1.5-games back of first place Toronto. The Royals trying to play the spoiler role here. They are coming off a 3-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins. Brady Singer will start for the Royals with a 9-4 record and 3.00 ERA. He's been better of late, going 4-0 with a 2.11 ERA over his last seven starts. Seattle will counter with Marco Gonzales, who is 10-14 in his 29 starts with a 4.01 ERA. I'm going to take the Royals here tonight with their best pitcher on the mound.

The Mineesota Twins faded down the stretch. Where they once led the AL Central, they are now 10-games back of the Guardians. And in the Wild Card Race they have dropped to 9.5 games back. While not mathematically eliminated, they are pretty much done. They have dropped four games as they host the Angels here tonight. Louie Varland makes his third start of the year tonight. Varland is 0-1 with a 5.23 ERA. Shoehie Ohtani will start for the Angels. Ohtani is 13-8 for the Angels with a 2.43 ERA. He's been very good of late, going 4-1 in his last seven starts with a 1.46 ERA. I'll take the Angels here tonight.

Big series here between two of the three wild card teams in the AL race. The Blue Jays are in 1st place in the Wild Card race, 1-game ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays and 1.5 games ahead of third place Seattle. Toronto lost the opening game of this series last night, 5-10. That makes two losses in a row for the Jays. Mitch White starts for the Jays with a 0-6 record in his 16 starts and a 5.12 ERA. That number goes up to 7.18 over his last eight starts. In fact, he's allowed 11 runs over his last seven innings of work. Jeffrey Springs starts for the Rays tonight with a 8-4 record in his 22 starts and a 2.68 ERA. Those numbers are better of late with a 6-1 record in his last seven starts and a 2.19 ERA. I'll take the Rays again here tonight to tighten the race.

Seattle with a tough loss on Wednesday to the A's, 1-2. The loss puts the Mariners in 3rd place in the AL Wild Card race, 1/2 game back of Tampa Bay and 2.5 games back of Toronto. However, they still maintain a 4-game lead over 4th place Baltimore. George Kirby will look to get the M's back in the win column today. Kirby is 7-4 in his 22 starts with a 2.98 ERA. He's been very good of late, going 4-1 in his last seven starts with a 2.11 ERA. The A's can continue to be a thorn in the side of the Mariners and Adrian Martinez will try and do just that. Martinez is 4-5 in is nine starts with a 5.77 ERA. Martinez has allowed 11 runs over his last 8 2/3 innings. I'm going to lay the RUN line here today with the Mariners.

The St Louis Cardinals have locked up the NL Central, taking a 8.5-game lead over the Brewers. The Brewers only hope is a Wild Card, but they are 2.5 games out right now. The Padres are in 2nd in the Wild Card race, 1.5 games ahead of their place Philly and four games ahead of Milwaukee. The Cardinals have lost two straight, including last night's open game with the Padres, 0-5. In fact, the Cardinals have now scored just one run combined in their last three games. Miles Mikolas will start tonight with a 11-12 record in 30 starts with a 3.46 ERA. He's been slightly worse on the road with a 4.56 ERA. Meanwhile the Padres have won four straight games. Blake Snell starts tonight with a 7-9 record in his 21 starts and a 3.93 ERA. I'm taking the Padres here as the Cardinals really have nothing to play for at this point.

The Dodgers are trying to make history this season. They already have 102 wins and the team's personal record is 106, which looks very easy at this point to possibly break. The All time record in baseball is 116 wins, but that doesn't look realistic, though still possible. The Dodgers also moved into 6th place ALL time in baseball in run differential as they have a +332 mark. The Diamondbacks come into today with a four game losing streak and six of eight. They will start Drey Jameson tonight with a 1-0 record in his only start. He looked very good vs the Padres, going seven strong innings, allowing two runs and no hits with KO's. The Dodgers start Tyler Anderson who is 14-3 on the season with a 2.64 ERA. Anderson went seven strong innings his last start vs these Diamondbacks, allowing five hits and not runs. In fact, it was against Nelson as neither team had scored a run into the 7th inning. I like a rematch here tonight of these pitchers to once again be a pitchers duel. Play UNDER.

Two teams both in the Wild Card races meet here on Tuesday in Philly. The Phillies are in 3rd place for that final Wild Card slot in the NL, just a half game back of 2nd place San Diego and 2.5 ahead of fourth place Milwaukee. The Blue Jays are in 1st place in the Wild Card race, a half one game ahead of the Rays and 1.5-games ahead of the Mariners. Every game is critical for both clubs. The Jays took two of three from the Orioles over the weekend, though they did lose on Sunday, 4-5. Ross Stripling starts today with a 7-4 record and 2.82 ERA. Stripling hasn't allowed more than three runs in his last 16 starts. The Phils have lost four straight games as they looks to Kyle Gibson to get them back on the win column. Gibson is 10-6 with a 4.45 ERA. He's not been quite as good as Stripling, nor have the Phillies. I'm going to take the Rays here today.

Seattle now in 3rd place in the ever changing AL Wild Card picture. The Mariners are 1.5 games back of the Rays and 2-games back of the Blue Jays. They have a four-game lead over fourth place Baltimore though. The M's will start one of their best today in Logan Gilbert. Gilbert is 12-6 on the season with a 3.24 ERA. He's been hot of late, allowing just one run over his last three starts (17 Innings) and not allowing more than two runs in any of his last five starts. The Angels will counter with Jose Suarez. Suarez is 5-7 in his 17 starts with a 4.04 ERA. He's not allowed more than three runs in any of his last eight starts. I'll take the UNDER tonight in this matchup.

Padres and Diamondbacks close out their set here on Sunday. The teams split the first two games of this series with the Padres winning on Friday, 12-3. The Padres best pitcher will take to the hill here on Sunday in Yu Darvish. Darvish is 14-7 on the season with a 3.16 ERA. He's only allowed three total runs over his last three starts (21 innings). Arizona will counter with Ryne Nelson who is 1-0 in his two starts this year. Those were impressive starts against the Dodgers and Padres, allowing no runs over 13 innings. Nelson looks to be the real thing. Two excellent pitchers has me on the UNDER.

 took game one on Friday, 2-1 and the Rockies won game two on Saturday, 3-1. The Rockies will send Ryan Feltner to the hill today. Feltner is 2-8 in his 15 starts with a 6.40 ERA. The Cubs will counter with Javier Assad who is 1-1 in his four starts with a 2.21 ERA. Assad has allowed one run or no runs in three of his four starts. Assad look pretty good so far this year, I'll give him another shot on Sunday.

Texas lost to Tampa Bay on Saturday, 1-5. The two teams have split the first two in this series. Tampa is tied for 2nd in the wild card race right now, 1.5-games back of first place Toronto. Good news is they have opened-up a 5.5-game lead over the Orioles with time running out. Tampa will start Jeffrey Springs who is 7-4 in his 21 starts this season with a nifty 2.65 ERA. He's been even better at home with a 2.01 ERA in nine starts. The Rangers will start Glenn Otto who is 6-8 in 23 starts with a 4.71 ERA. He's been better of late, going 2-0 with a 3.44 ERA in his last seven starts. I like this game under today.

Excellent pitchers duel here tonight as the Padres play at Arizona. The Padres holding onto that third and final Wild Card slote. They are 1.5 games back of the Phillies for the 2nd spot and 1.5 games ahead of the Brewers for the third spot. The Padres start Joe Musgrove with his 9-7 record in his 26 starts with a 3.28 ERA. He's been slightly worse of late with a 1-2 record in his last seven starts and a 4.15 ERA. Arizona starts their Ace here today in Zac Gallen. Gallen is 12-2 on the season with a 2.55 ERA. But, unlike Musgrove, he's been amazing of late, going 6-0 in his last seven starts with a 0.57 ERA. I'm taking the D'backs tonight with Gallen on the hill.

The Seattle Mariners are tied for first place in the AL Wild Card race with the Toronto Blue Jays. Both teams lead their place Tampa Bay by a half game and fourth place Baltimore by 4.5-games. It's anyone's race as all three teams can finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd. That makes every game very important, especially today at the Angels. The Mariners' had yesterday off and will start Robbie Ray here today. Ray is 12-9 on the season with a 3.56 ERA. He's been hot of late, going 4-1 in his last seven starts with a 2.05 ERA. The Angels will counter with Michael Lorenzen who is 6-6 with a 4.70 ERA. He's been worse of late, going 1-4 in his last seven with a 6.62 ERA. The M's look to stay in first place in the Wild Card race as they win tonight.

Kansas City travels to Beantown today to face the Boston Red Sox. The Royals are coming off a road loss last night at Minnesota, 2-3. That makes three losses in a row for the Twins and seven of the last nine. Jon Heasley starts tonight for the Sox with a 3-8 record and 5.51 ERA. That number goes up last seven starts with a 2-4 record and 6.75 ERA. Boston plays in the most competitive division in baseball as the other four teams all in playoff contention. Only last place Boston is out of the postseason. Michael Wacha has been the ACE of the staff this year with a 11-1 record and 2.69 ERA. At home he has been even better with a 5-1 record and 1.79 ERA. I'll lay the run line tonight with the Red Sox.

The AL Central has three teams in contention for the crown and playoff spot with the Guardians in 1st place, the White Sox three games back and the Twins four back. None will be Wildcards since that is being dominated right now by the AL East teams. That makes this a big series, especially for the Twins. The Twins are coming off a sweep of the KC Royals. The will send Bailey Ober to the mound today with a 1-2 record and 4.01 ERA. Cleveland will counter with Triston McKenzie who is 10-10 on the season with a 2.99 ERA. He's been better at home with a 5-3 record and 2.84 ERA. I like the Guardians in this key AL Central matchup tonight.

 The Rockies begin a three-game set at Chicago here on Friday after splitting two games at the White Sox. They won on Thursday, 3-0. That was their fifth win in their last seven games. German Marquez will get the start here today with a 8-10 record in his 27 starts and a 5.25 ERA. Marquez got roughed-up in his last start going four innings vs the Diamondbacks and giving up seven hits and nine runs. Meanwhile the Cubs are coming off a sweep over the first place NY Mets, holding them to just six runs in three games. Marcus Stroman will start today. Stroman is 3-7 in his 21 starts with a 3.91 ERA. While neither team or pitcher is all that great, the sweep of the Mets was mighty impressive to me. Lets see if the Cubs can keep the momentum going here today. Play Chicago.

The Braves or Mets will have the top spot in the NL Wild Card locked-up, depending on which team takes the division. That leaves two spots left and the Phillies hold a 2.5-game lead right now over third place San Diego with the Brewers 2-back of the Padres. The Phillies have won five straight games after taking the first two in this series with the Marlins. They have held Miami to just one run in each game. In addition, they have won seven of their last eight games. Noah Syndergaard will start today for the Phils. He's 9-9 in his 22 starts with a 4.09 ERA. The Marlins have lost two straight games and five of their last six. Pablo Lopez will start for the fish with a 8-10 record in his 28 starts and a 4.10 ERA. He's been worse lately with a 1-4 record in his last seven games and a 6.17 ERA. I'll stick with the hot Phillies here tonight.

The Yankees had their lead in the AL east dwindle to 4.5-games, but they have not let it slip further as they are now back to 6-games. The Yankees have won three straight games and seven of their last 10 games. Their series continues here tonight with the last place Boston Red Sox. Nestor Cortes will toe the rubber today for the Yankees. Cortes is 9-4 in his 24 starts with a 2.73 ERA. Meanwhile, the RedSox have lost five of their last seven games, including game one of this series last night, 6-7. Brayan Bello will start today for the Red Sox. Bello is 1-4 in his seven starts with a 6.12 ERA. Yankees look to have got back on the winning track and should take this game tonight.

 Very important WIld Card matchup today as the Toronto Blue Jays hold just a half game lead in the race over the Tampa Bay Rays and the Seattle Mariners. Good thing is that fourth place Baltimore is now five-games back. The Rays lost last night at Toronto, 2-7. Every game in this matchup is important. Drew Rasmussen will start today for the Rays with a 10-4 record in 24 starts and a 2.57 ERA. Rasmussen has been hot of late, allowing two runs or fewer in each of his last seven starts. Toronto will counter with Ross Stripling who is 6-4 in his 20 starts with a 2.91 ERA. Should be another great matchup here tonight. I'll be on the UNDER.

The Seattle Mariners are tied for the top AL Wild Card spot with Toronto at 79-61. They now have a 5.5-game lead over 4th place Baltimore. Meanwhile in the NL, the Padres holding onto 3rd place in the Wild Card race, 2-games ahead of fourth place Milwaukee. The Padres look to snap a 2-game losing streak as they come off a series with the Dodgers where they lost two of the three games. Yu Darvish has been one of their best this year with a 13-7 record and 3.31 ERA. The Mariners will counter with Logan Gilbert who is 12-5 in his 28 starts with a 3.28 ERA. Gilbert has allowed no runs over his last two starts (12 innings). Should be a very good game and series here tonight. I'll take Seattle in this one.

The Dodgers can clinch the NL West by Tuesday, September 13. LA won again on Sunday over the Padres, 11-2, getting a grand slam from Justin Turner. There isn't much bad you can say about the Dodgers. Their starting pitching is excellent, their pen is excellent and they hit like crazy. But, now and then they have letdowns and that's what we need to look for to make some money. Tyler Anderson will start today at 13-3 overall and 2.76 ERA. Anderson has lost two of his last five starts though. Despite being in the NL West, the Arizona Diamondbacks are not a bad team at 66-73. Ryne Nelson has jut one start and it was very good, going seven innings vs the Padres for the WIN, allowing four hits and no runs. I'm going to take the young pitcher at around +2.00 dog here today. Take Arizona.

Arizona has lost the first two games of this series to the Rockies including last night, 1-4. They have also lost four straight games. Zach Gallen is one of their best pitchers and he will go today with a 11-2 record and 2.48 ERA. He's been almost perfect in his last seven starts, going 6-0 with a 0.57 ERA. The Rockies will try for the sweep here today with Ryan Feltner on the hill. Feltner is 2-7 on the season with a 6.13 ERA. Can't compare these two starters so I'll gladly take Arizona here today to salvage the final game of this set.

The Houston Astros have little challenge in the AL West with a 12-game lead over the Mariners. Still, they have to play the rest of the season and today they face the Angels and Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani is 11-8 on the season with a nifty 2.58 ERA. He's been slightly better at home with a 2.19 ERA. In fact, he's allowed one total run over his last two starts (15 innings). The Astros will counter with Jose Urquidy who is 13-5 with a 3.51 ERA. He's been better of late, going 5-2 with a 2.58 ERA over his last seven starts. I'm going to stick with the UNDER here in this one.    

Huge series here as the Rays continue to put the pressure on the fading Yankees. The Yankees had a double-digit lead not very long ago and now the Rays have dwindled that down to just 3.5 games in the AL East. The Rays have won four straight, including beating the Yankees last night, 4-2. The Rays pitching has been great, allowing two runs or fewer in seven of their last nine games. The Rays will start Corey Kluber here today who is 10-7 and 4.00 ERA. Kluber is coming off an excellent start where he allowed two hits and no runs over seven innings to the Yankees. The Yankees will start Jameson Taillon who is 12-4 on the season. Taillon has a 3.95 ERA and has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last three starts. Should be another excellent game here today, I'll take the UNDER.

The Chicago White Sox are in a 3-team race for the AL Central. The Sox and Twins both trail first place Cleveland by 1.5 games. And really which ever team wins the other two won't be making the playoffs as both teams are 7-games back in the Wild Card race. So these games are important to the Sox. The Sox will start Lucas Giolito who is 10-9 with a 5.21 ERA. He's pitched pretty well of late, allowing two runs or fewer in two of his last three games. Oakland just playing out the season with send James Kaprielian to the hill. He's just 3-9 with a 4.79 ERA in his 22 startss. He's also pitched pretty well of late, allowing two runs in three of this last four starts. While neither pitcher is very good, they have been much better of late. I'll take the UNDER.

Right now the Seattle Mariners are in the postseason, however things can change in a hurry. The M's are in 2nd place in the 3-slot Wild Card race, just 1-game back of Tampa Bay and a half game ahead of 3rd place Toronto. Right now, 4th place Baltimore is 4.5 games back and fading. The Mariners have won eight of their last 10 games. However, they did lost two of their three-game set to the White Sox, including yesterday's contest, 6-9. Robbie Ray will look to get them back in the win column today with a 12-8 record and 3.45 ERA. He's been very good at home with a 6-3 record and 2.49 ERA. The Braves are breathing down the Mets backs as they sit just a half game back in the NL East. Even if they don't win the conference, they have the top NL Wild card locked-up with a 11 game lead over the Padres. Charlie Morton will start today for the Braves with a 7-5 record and 4.01 ERA. He's been worse on the road with a 2-4 record and 5.24 ERA. I'm a bit surprised that the Braves are a slight road favorite here with Morton. I'll take the home team though. Play the Mariners.

Toronto is 8-games back of the Yankees in the AL East, but is holding onto that 3rd and final AL Wild Card slote. They are 4-games back of 2nd place Seattle, but 4.5-games ahead of fourth place Baltimore. Toronto will send Ross Stripling to the mound today. Stripling is 6-4 in his 19 starts with a 2.91 ERA. The Rangers finally snapped their 9-game losing streak by taking Tuesday's game against the Astros, 4-3. However, they lost Wednesday's game and their win streak was a brief 1-game. Dane Dunning will start today with a 3-8 record in his 26 starts and a 4.37 ERA. Toronto playing too well and Texas looks like they have packed it in for the season. I'll take the Jays here today.

Tampa Bay making a huge late season charge at the 1st place Yankees, now just 4.5-games back. Just a few months ago that number was more like 15-games back. The Rays have won eight of 10 and three straight games. They also hold the top AL Wild Card slot right now with a 1-game lead over the Mariners. Drew Rasmussen will start today with a 9-4 record in his 23 starts and a 2.70 ERA. That number is even better during the last seven games with a 3-1 record and 1.85 ERA. The Yankees lost last night to the Twins, 3-4. That did snap a four-game win streak. Frankie Montas will toe the rubber for the Yankees with a 5-11 record and 3.72 ERA. His numbers go up the last seven starts with a 2-2 record and 5.55 ERA.

The Tampa Bay Rays are hot on the heals of the Yankees in the AL East. What looked like a longshot just a few months ago when they trailed by 15-games is now down to just 4.5-games. They are also tied for 1st in the AL Wildcard race with the Seattle Mariners, 1.5-games ahead of third place Toronto and 3.5-games ahead of fourth place Baltimore. The Rays have won two straight games and seven of their last 10 games. The Rays will start Jeffrey Springs today who is 6-4 in his 19 starts with a 2.90 ERA. Springs is coming off a win over the Yankees, allowing no runs and four hits over 5 2/3 innings. The Red Sox had their five-game win streak snapped by the Rays on Monday, 3-4 and then lost game two on Tuesday, 4-8. Nick Pivetta will start today with a 9-10 record and 4.37 ERA. Rays just too hot for me to not take them here today. They have momentum to catch the Yankees and they have a very good starter in Springs on the hill. Play Tampa Bay.

Game 1 of this doubleheader as the Yankees are desperate to stop their slide. Just a few months ago the Yankees led the AL East by 15 games. Now, it's down to just 4.5-games over the Rays. Domingo German will try and get the Yankees back on the right path in game one here on Wednesday. German is 2-3 in his nine starts with a 3.12 ERA. He's been very good of late, allowing two runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts. The Minnesota Twins are a team that lead a good portion of this only to fall back to second place in the AL Central, 1.5-games back of the Guardians. The Twins will throw Louie Varland into the fire today as he will be making his major league debut here in game one. Varland was the Twins' Minor League pitcher of the Year for 2021. Both teams need wins, but I'll take the Yankees here in game one with German.

The Arizona Diamondback would like nothing better than to put a crimp in the San Diego Padres Wild Card hopes. Right now the Padres and Phillies are tied for the 2nd and 3rd Wild Card spots with the Brewers the only other team with a real chance, sitting 2-games back. The Diamondbacks took game one from the Padres on Monday, 5-0. In fact, the D'backs have held four of their last five opponents to 1 run or no runs in a 4-1 streak. In addition, they are 9-2 over their last 11 games. Merrill Kelly has been a bright spot for the D'backs this year with a 12-5 record and 2.84 ERA. He is also great on the road with a 8-1 record in his 12 starts and a 2.74 ERA. The Padres hope to snap a 3-game losing streak here today. Juan Soto who they picked up at the trade deadline has been in a terrible slump of late. And with Fernando Tatis missing the rest of the season, Soto has to pick it up if the Padres hope to stave off the Brewers. Joe Musgrove starts for the Padres with a 9-6 record and 3.01 ERA. Musgrove hasn't been as good of late though, going only 1-3 in his last seven starts with a 4.05 ERA. I'm getting a hot Arizona team with their best pitcher on the hill at this kind of plus money? I'll take that shot. Play Arizona.

The Arizona Diamondback would like nothing better than to put a crimp in the San Diego Padres Wild Card hopes. Right now the Padres and Phillies are tied for the 2nd and 3rd Wild Card spots with the Brewers the only other team with a real chance, sitting 2-games back. The Diamondbacks took game one from the Padres on Monday, 5-0. In fact, the D'backs have held four of their last five opponents to 1 run or no runs in a 4-1 streak. In addition, they are 9-2 over their last 11 games. Merrill Kelly has been a bright spot for the D'backs this year with a 12-5 record and 2.84 ERA. He is also great on the road with a 8-1 record in his 12 starts and a 2.74 ERA. The Padres hope to snap a 3-game losing streak here today. Juan Soto who they picked up at the trade deadline has been in a terrible slump of late. And with Fernando Tatis missing the rest of the season, Soto has to pick it up if the Padres hope to stave off the Brewers. Joe Musgrove starts for the Padres with a 9-6 record and 3.01 ERA. Musgrove hasn't been as good of late though, going only 1-3 in his last seven starts with a 4.05 ERA. Your free play for Tuesday is on the UNDER.

The Houston Astros have the AL West locked-up with a 87-48 record and 11-game lead over the Mariners. They also hold a 6-game lead over the Yankees for the best record in the A.L. So for now there is little pressure on this club. However, whenever their rivals for upstate come to down it's always makes for a great series. The Rangers have been horrible of late, losing 9-straight games, including last night's opener with the Astros, 0-1. Glenn Otto will try to wright the ship today as he's 6-8 in his 21 starts with a 4.82 ERA. Will be a tall order for Otto and the Rangers though as they face one of the best Astros pitchers in Framber Valdez. Valdez is 14-4 on the season with a 2.63 ERA. Valdez has allowed two runs or fewer in four of his last five starts. He's also allowed more than three runs just one time in his 25 starts this season. Rest assured the Rangers won't score much here today. I'll take the Astros on the Run line against a poor starter in Otto.

Cleveland and Minnesota are now tied for first place in the AL Central at 68-64 after the Guardians loss on Sunday to the Mariners in 11 innings, 3-6. Which ever team wins the Central, that is their only hope at this point since there are four teams ahead of them in them in the AL Wild Card race. Triston McKenzie will start for the Guardians. McKenzie is 9-10 in his 24 starts with a 3.13 ERA. The Royals will start their best pitcher here on this Holiday Monday, Brady Singer. Singer is 7-4 in his 19 starts with a 3.26 ERA. He's been better at home with a 6-2 record in 11 starts and a 2.76 ERA. I like Singer a lot and this is likely their one chance in the series for a win. Play Kansas City.

 Milwaukee falling back fast in the NL Central, now trailing the Cardinals by 7.5-games. Plus, the WildCard looks bad too as the Braves or Mets will claim the top spot and a host of other teams battling for the final two spots. Jason Alexander will do his best to not pull a "George" here today as he takes to the mound. Alexander is 2-1 in his eight starts with a 4.04 ERA. The D'backs lost to Milwaukee yesterday, 6-8, but have been hot winning seven of their last nine games. They get one of their top two starters on the hill today in Zac Gallen. Gallen is 10-2 in his 25 starts with a 2.59 ERA. He's been great of late, going 5-0 in his last seven starts with a 0.80 ERA. I'll take Arizona today with a red-hot pitcher on the mound.

Two teams that are battling for playoff spots meet in the final game of their set as the Guardians host the Mariners. The Guardians have a modest 1-game lead in the AL Central over the Twins and 2-games over the White Sox. Not so good looking in the Wild Card though as the sit 4-games back of the Orioles right now in what is a 4-6 team race for three spots. The Mariners are 2nd in the Wild card race, just one percentage point behind 1st place Tampa Bay. They are 2-games ahead of Toronto and 3.5-games ahead of the Orioles. Seattle has also won six straight games, getting great pitching. The M's have allowed 1 run total in their last three games and no more than three runs in any of their last six and 10 of their last 11. The pen has a solid 3.31 ERA and 3.00 ERA over their last seven games. George Kirby starts today with a 6-3 record in his 19 starts and 3.16 ERA. That drops to 2.11 ERA over his last seven starts with a 4-0 record. The Guardians have lost four straight games, scoring a total of 1-run during that span. Cal Quantrill starts today with an 11-5 record and 3.50 ERA. He has allowed one or no runs in four of his last five starts. This looks to be a very low scoring game with two very good pitching staffs meeting. Take the UNDER.

 The Texas Rangers are stuck in the middle of a 7-game losing streak after dropping the first three games of this series with the Red Sox. Moreover, they have allowed 23 runs to the Sox in the 3-games. Today, they turn to Dane Dunning to try and end the streak. Dunning, however, is just 3-7 in his 25 starts with a 4.18 ERA and a 0-5 record on the road with a 5.25 ERA. Meanwhile, the Red Sox have won four straight games and have gone over in four of their last five games. Josh WInckowski will start today with a 5-7 record and 5.83 ERA. That number is even worse at home where he is 3-4 with a 7.00 ERA. Neither starter likely around long in this game. I'll take the OVER.

The Cleveland Guardians in a three way race for the AL Central. They lead the division by just 1-game over the Twins and 3-games over the White Sox with lots of baseball left. The issue for all three teams is that they likely won't get a Wild Card with four teams above the Twins right now and a 4-game gap. Xzavion Curry makes his second start for the Guardians. Curry has no record with a 5.40 ERA. His one start was on August 15th vs Detroit where he went five innings and allowed eight hits and three runs. The Mariners have the 2nd spot in the AL Wild Card race, and are just a few percentage points behind 1st place Tampa Bay. They have a 2-game lead over the Jays. Robbie Ray will start today with a 11-8 record and 3.58 ERA. Ray has not allowed more than two runs over any of his last five starts. I'm taking Seattle here against a relatively unknown Cleveland pitcher.

The Baltimore Orioles still fighting for a playoff Wild Card slot, sit in fourth place, just 1.5 games back of third place Toronto. The O's have won three straight and seven of their last 10 to keep pace with the pack. Adam Oller starts for the A's today with a 2-6 overall record and 5.66 ERA. The O's will counter with Austin Voth. Voth is 4-2 with a 4.48 ERA. He's pitched very well of late, allowing just three total runs over his last three starts (17 2/3 innings). I'm taking the UNDER in this one as both pitchers have been very good in recent starts. Play UNDER.

Tampa Bay and New York are battling in the AL East and what looked like an insurmountable lead by the Yankees now looks vulnerable. The Rays hold the top Wild Card spot right now, percentage points ahead of the Mariners and 2-games ahead of Toronto. But they have a good shot of over taking the Yankees. Thanks to the Yankees lackluster play of late, losing two straight and going 5-5 over their last 10 games, the Rays are just 5-games back. The Yankees will start CLarke Schmidt today, who is 5-3 on the season with a 2.89 ERA. Schmidt went just 4.1 innings in his last start at Oakland, allowing eight hits and four runs for the loss. Tampa will counter with Corey Kluber who is 9-7 on the season with a 4.21 ERA. Kluber has allowed more than three runs just one time in his last five starts. The Rays have momentum and confidence as they play game two of their set with the Yankees. I'm sticking with Tampa Bay here today.

These two old rivals begin a 3-game set today from St Louis. The Cardinals have opened up a 6.5-game lead in the NL Central over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cards took two of their three games from the Reds, including Thursday's contest, 5-3. That makes them 4-1 in their last five games. Jordan Montgomery will start today for the Red Birds with a 7-3 record in his 26 starts and a 3.28 ERA. He is off a tough start where he went five innings vs the Braves and allowed eight hits and five runs. That snapped a streak of four games where he had allowed a total of just one total run. The Cubs were able to salvage the final game of their three game set with the Blue Jays, winning 7-5 to get one win. Adrian Sampson will start today with a 1-4 record in his 12 starts and a 4.35 ERA. The Cardinals have all the momentum and should win this game going away. Lay the Run line with the Cardinals.

The Yankees had a huge lead in the AL East, but that is now down to 6-games over the Rays. They have hit a bit of slump lately, losing four of their last five games, including last night at the Angels, 2-3. Thus begins a big series with the Rays tonight. Domingo German will start tonight with a 2-2 record in his eight starts and a 3.19 ERA. He's been very good of late, allowing one earned run over his last 14 innings with eight KO's and no Walks. The Rays have won three straight games and look to put a dent in that lead by the Yankees. Jeffrey Springs will start tonight with a 5-4 record in his 18 starts and a 3.08 ERA. Both these pitchers are very good and I will take the UNDER here tonight.

The Oakland A's look to snap a 2-game losing streak here tonight as they begin a series at Baltimore. The A's have got decent pitching and their bullpen has a 3.67 ERA over their last seven games. JP Sears will toe the rubber for the A's. Sears is 4-1 in his six starts with a 1.69 ERA. The O's offense has been pretty bad of late, but the pitching has been very good. They have two shutout wins in a row and the bullpen has a 1.69 ERA over their last seven games. The O's are in the hunt for one of the three wild card slots, just 1.5 games back of the pack. Dean Kremer will start tonight for the O's with a 6-4 record in his 15 starts and a 3.24 ERA. He's allowed just two runs over his last 13 innings. This one looks like a dead under to me tonight.  15-Star Total Annihilator.

Game three of this series between the two best National League teams. The Dodgers took game one and the Mets came back with game two on Wednesday, 2-1. LA has the NL West already wrapped-up as they lead the Padres now by 18.5 Games. Clayton Kershaw makes his return today from the IL List. Kershaw is 7-3 in his 15 starts this year with a 2.64 ERA. Kershaw makes his first start since August 4th. The Mets are holding off Atlanta in the NL West, 3-games in first place. Chris Bassitt is 11-7 in his 24 starts with a 3.28 ERA. Kershaw is a question as to how sharp he will be in his return today. I'll take Bassitt as a small dog at home.

A battle of the top National League teams as the Dodgers and Mets play game two of their series. The Dodgers won game one on Tuesday in a nail-biter, 4-3. Today we get a great pitching matchup as 12-2 Tyler Anderson of the Dodgers will face 3-1 Jacob deGrom of the Mets. The Dodgers won three straight games and Anderson has a 2.71 ERA and a 2.08 ERA in his last seven starts. deGrom has a 2.15 ERA and a 1.53 ERA at home. deGrom has just five starts but has been very good since his return. Dodgers a farily big dog here and how often this year will we get them at this price? Probably not again. I'll take the value with the dog Dodgers here today.

The Phillies look to snap a 2-game losing streak here tonight as they game two of this series in Arizona tonight. The Phillies still hold onto the 2nd NL Wild Card slot right now, 1.5-games ahead of the Padres and 3-games ahead of the Brewers. The Phils will start Aaron Nola tonight who is 9-10 in his 25 starts with a 3.08 ERA. Arizona just came off a three-game sweep of the White Sox and then took game one of this series with the Phillies last night, 13-7, despite trailing 1-7 in the early innings. Zach Gallen has been excellent for the D'backs with a 9-2 record in his 24 starts and a 2.73 ERA. He's been on fire of late, going 5-0 in his last seven starts with a 0.80 ERA. I get Gallen as a dog here tonight, that's too much to pass on for me. Take Arizona.

The Chicago White Sox are watching their postseason aspirations slide away. They now trail in the AL Wild Card by 6.5 games and they trail in the AL Central by 5-games. It doesn't help that the Sox are coming off a three-games sweep at the hands of Arizona. They will start Lucas Giolito tonight with a 10-7 record and 5.14 ERA. He's ERA has gone up of late with a 6.29 ERA in his last seven starts. The Royals are coming off a win against the Padres on Monday, 15-7. They will send their best pitcher to the hill tonight in Brady Singer. Singer is 7-4 in his 18 starts with a 3.07 ERA. He's been better of late with a 3-1 record in his last seven starts and a 1.79 ERA. I'm taking the Royals as a live dog here tonight.

While the Braves hope to catch the Mets and win the division, they can take some comfort in knowing they have the top NL WildCard all but locked-up. The Braves have a 8.5 game lead over 2nd place Philly. With the Mets having to play the Dodgers, the Braves hope to make a move on them and it starts tonight. Max Fried starts with a 12-4 record and 2.52 ERA. Fried has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last four starts. The Rockies snapped a four game losing streak with a win over the Mets on Monday, 1-0. They have now scored one or no runs in three of their last four games. Jose Urena will start tonight with a 2-5 record and 6.35 ERA. He's been much worse of late, going 1-4 in his last seven starts with a 9.19 ERA. I'm taking the Mets on the Run Line in what should be a rout tonight.

A little Florida State action here today as the Tampa Bay Rays take on the Marlins from Miami in a short two game stint. Tampa Bay currently holds the top AL Wild Card spot with a 1-game lead over the Mariners. Shane McClanahan will start today for the Rays with a 11-5 record and 2.20 ERA in his 24 starts. He's allowed just four total runs over his last three starts (19 innings). Miami just concluded a four-game set with the Dodgers, losing three of the four games. Jesus Juzardo will start today with a 3-5 record in his 11 starts and a 3.34 ERA. He's allowed two runs or fewer in four of his last five starts. Both pitchers are solid and I'm taking UNDER.

The Cleveland Guardians are in a fight in the AL Central with the Minnesota Twins for first place. The Guardians lead the Twins by just 1.5 games. The Twins are three games back of a AL Wild Card game with four teams ahead of them. The O's only hope is a Wild Card and right now they are two games back of that spot. The O's took two of their three games at Houston, losing the Monday matchup, 1-3. They are now 5-2 their last seven games. Spenser Watkins starts today with a 4-4 record and 3.78 ERA. He's allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his last nine games. Meanwhile, the Guardians have lost three of their last four games. They will send Cal Quantrill to the hill today. Quantrill is 10-5 in his 24 starts with a 3.59 ERA. He's allowed no runs in three of his last four starts. I'm taking UNDER here today.

The Atlanta Braves continue to try and win the NL East, as they trail 1st place NY Mets by 3-games. However, the Braves have a strangle hold on the top Wild Card spot in the NL, leading by nine-games. As for the Cardinals, they have used the last 30 days to leap frog over the Brewers in the NL Central and now lead Milwaukee by 6-games. The Braves will start Jake Odorizzi today, who is 5-5 in his 16 starts with a 3.95 ERA. That number goes up slightly over his last seven starts with a 1-3 record and 4.62 ERA. The Cardinals will start Adam Wainwright today. Wainwright is 9-9 in his 25 starts with a 3.11 ERA. Wainwright's allowed just three total runs over his last three starts (22 innings). I'll take the Cardinals and Wainwright here today.

The Philadelphia Phillies got the shut-out win over the Pirates on Saturday, 6-0. That makes six straight wins for the Phillies, including two straight over the Bucs. They have outscored the Bucs in the two games, 13-4. Noah Syndergaard gets the start today for Philly with a 8-8 overall record in 19 starts and a 3.77 ERA. He's been slightly better of late with a 3-2 record in seven starts with a 3.63 ERA. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has lost seven straight after their setback on Saturday. They have also been outscored 14-54 over their last six games. Roansy Contreras will start today for Pitsburgh. Contreras is 2-4 in 11 starts with a 3.90 ERA. That ERA goes up to 4.89 ERA over his last seven starts. With Atlanta or NY having a strangle hold on the NL top Wild Card, it's a battle for the final two. Right now Philly has that 2nd spot, 2.5 games ahead of the Padres and five games ahead of the Brewers. They know they need wins against teams like Pittsburgh to keep their postseason hopes going. Take Philly on the Run Line today.

The Dodgers had their 3-game win streak snapped on Saturday by the Marlins and their Ace, Sandy Alcantara. Alcantara pitched a complete game, allowing just one run to the Dodgers and striking out nine, 2-1. The Dodgers were their own worst enemy, committing two very bad errors in the 6th that were ruled hits by the Santa Claus scoring the game. With two outs a slow comebacker to the mound went right under Mays glove for a runner. The next batter hit a slow roller to 2nd base that went under Taylor's glove. Next up, base hit for the eventual winning 2nd run. The Dodgers have been a very good fielding team, but three errors on Friday and those two miscues on Saturday leave a lot be be desired. The Dodgers will start Julio Urias this morning with a 13-7 record and 2.36 ERA. He's been great of late, going 6-1 in his last seven games with a 1.02 ERA. He's allowed just two total runs in his last four games. Edward Cabrera will start for the fish. Cabrera is 4-1 in his seven starts with a 1.41 ERA. He's been very good this far as has Urias. I'll take this game UNDER.

The Atlanta Braves trail the NY Mets in the NL East by just 2-games. However, they have a strangle hold on the top NL Wild Card slot with a 10-game lead. The Braves have won four straight games after Friday's win over the Cardinals, 11-4. That makes 25 runs scored over their last two games. Charlie Morton will start today for the Braves with a 6-5 record in his 24 starts and a 3.99 ERA. He's been a bit worse on the road with a 2-4 record in 11 starts and a 5.08 ERA. The Cardinals are cruising in the NL Central, with a 6-game lead over the Brewers. They will start Jordan Montgomery today with a 7-3 record in his 25 starts and a 3.08 ERA. Montgomery has been great of late with just one total run allowed over his last four starts (25 2/3 innings). I'll take the Cardinals to even this series here today.

Tampa Bay continues to hold onto that Wild Card top spot in the American League, a 1/2 game ahead of both Toronto and Seattle with Baltimore 2.5 games back. Tampa Bay saw its six-game win streak snapped on Friday by Boston, 8-9. The Rays look to get back in the win column today with Jeffrey Springs on the hill. Springs is 5-3 in his 17 starts with a 2.76 ERA. Springs has allowed just two runs in his last two starts (10 2/3 innings) and three runs over his last four starts (21 2/3 innings). The Sox snapped their four-game losing streak on Friday with their win. Rich Hill will start today with a 5-5 record in his 18 starts and a 4.79 ERA. He has not done well at home, going 1-3 in seven starts with a 7.12 ERA. I'll take Tampa Bay to bounce back today.

The Yankees have won four straight games after their win over the A's on Thursday, 13-4. While the Yankees offense hasn't exploded in some time, the 13 runs last night was more than their previous three games combined. Gerrit Cole gets the start tonight for the Yankees with a 9-6 record in his 25 starts and a 3.41 ERA. Cole hasn't been that good of late, posting a 1-4 record in his last seven starts and a 4.30 ERA. The A's will counter tonight with JP Sears. Sears has been a bright spot in what has otherwise been a bad season. Sears has started five games and has a 4-0 record and 1.04 ERA. He's coming off a win over the Mariners as a +1.9 dog, allowing just one run over five innings for the win. I'm taking the Run Line here with the A's since I get +1.5 runs and still a plus money line. Play Oakland on the money line.

Looks lie the Minnesota Twins are going to have a uphill battle to make the Playoffs. They were in 1st for a good portion of the season, but now have fallen back and trail the Wild Card race by four-games with four teams ahead of them. Won't get any easier as they play at 1st place Houston tonight. The Twins are already in a 5-game losing streak. Chris Archer will try to turn that around with a 2-6 record and 4.02 ERA. The Astros have won three straight and five of their last seven games. Luis Garcia will toe the rubber for the Astros with a 10-8 record and 4.01 ERA. The way the Twins are struggling, I'll lay the Run-Line here with the Astros.

Reason: Tampa Bay holding onto that top Wild Card slot at 1.5 games up right now for that race. They are in contention with two other AL East tames, the Jays and the Orioles. The Mariners hold the third spot currently with the Jays second. The Rays are looking for the four-game sweep here tonight vs the Angels. They have outscored LA in the three games, 17-5. They will face Patrick Sandoval today who is 4-8 in his 20 starts with a 2.97 ERA. The Rays will counter with Drew Rasmussen who is 8-2 in his 21 starts and a 2.82 ERA. He's been even better at home with a 5-1 record in 10 starts and a 1.99 ERA. I'll lay the Run Line here early on Thursday with the Rays.

The Angels have dropped the first two games of this series with the Rays, scoring one run in each game. In fact, the offense has scored one run or no runs in four of their last five games. Mike Mayers will make his first start for the Halos, replacing Touki Toussaint who has been relegated to the pen. Mayers has worked out of the pen this year with a 1-0 record and 5.22 ERA. The Rays currently hold the top Wild Card spot in the A.L, a half game ahead of the Jays and Mariners with the Orioles 2.5-games back. Shane McClanahan will start today for the Rays. He's 11-5 in his 23 starts with a 2.29 ERA. I fully expect the Angels pathetic offense to once again be shut down here tonight. I'll go with the UNDER.

The Orioles need to keep winning if they hope to have a shot at one of the three AL Wild Card plays. Right now they are 4th in the race, 2.5 games back of both Toronto and Seattle. Minnesota is right behind them at 4 games back. The Orioles took game one of this three game set on Tuesday night, 5-3. The Sox will start Lucas Giolito today with a 9-7 mark in his 22 starts and a 5.34 ERA. He's been worse of late, posting a 6.03 ERA in his last seven starts. He has also allowed 11 runs over his last 10 innings. The O's turn to Spenser Watkins today. Watkins is 4-3 in his 16 starts with a 3.84 ERA. He's been good of late, with a 3-2 record and 2.70 ERA in his last seven starts. O's a small dog here and for me they should be favored. Play Baltimore.

The NL Wild Card race is really a two-team race now as Atlanta has at least locked-up the Wild Card with an 8-game lead. However, just 1.5-games separate the next three teams for those final two spots, including Philadelphia which is tied for 2nd right now with the Padres. The Phillies took game one of this four game set with the Reds on Monday, 4-1. That was only their 2nd win in their last six games. Ranger Suarez makes the start here tonight for the Phils with a 8-5 record in his 21 starts and a 3.31 ERA. However, he's been much better of late, going 2-1 in his last seven starts with a 1.71 ERA. The Reds simply playing out the remainder of the season as they won't be going anywhere this postseason. They start Nick Lodolo here this evening with a 3-4 record in his 11 starts and a 4.11 ERA. Lodolo coming off his best start of the season last time out vs this Phillies team. He allowed them five hits and no runs over seven innings in a 1-0 Reds win. I'll stick with the UNDER here tonight.

Reason: The Braves will make the postseason and be able to defend their Championship. They are 8-games in front of the next team for the top Wild Card slot. However, they still have the Mets in their sights for the AL East, just three-games back. The Braves beat Pittsburgh in game one of this three-game set last night, 2-1. Tonight, they will send Max Fried to the hill with a 11-4 record in his 23 starts and a 2.60 ERA. Fried has not allowed more than three runs in any of his last 10 starts. The Pirates have lost three straight games, due in part to the bad bullpen of late which has a 6.12 ERA over its last seven games. J.T. Brubaker will start today for the Bucs with a 3-10 record and 4.19 ERA over his 23 starts. Brubaker has pitched better than his 3-10 indicates, but again, this is Pittsburgh. I'll take the Braves and lay the Run Line.

Reason: Game one of this doubleheader here on Tuesday has the St Louis Cardinals taking on the Chicago Cubs. St Louis trailed Milwaukee in the NL Central back in late July. Now, some 3-weeks Plus later they sit 5-games in 1st place over the Brewers. Adam Wainwright is 9-8 on the season with a 3.11 ERA. He's been better of late with a 3-1 record in his last seven starts and a 3.02 ERA. Wainwright has allowed one run or zero in four of his last five starts. The Chicago Cubs had their five-game win streak snapped by the Brewers and then lost again last night in the opening game of this series, 0-1. The Cubs have called up Javier Assad to start game one here today. Assad has a 2.66 ERA this year in both Double-A and Triple-A combined. Whether Assad's good play will carry over to the big league we'll see. I'm sticking with a very strong Cards team today and laying the run line.

The Angels and Rays begin a four-game set tonight from Tampa Bay. The Angels have lost two-straight games and five of their last six. Tucker Davidson makes his sixth start of the season. Davidson is 2-3 with a 5.56 ERA. He has a slightly higher 6.00 ERA in his two road starts. Tampa Bay has won two straight games and has improved to 65-55 on the season. The Rays, Jays and Mariners are all tied for the top three Wild Card slots, with the Twins and Orioles 2.5-games back. Jeffrey Springs starts for the Rays today. Springs is 4-3 in his 16 starts with a nifty 2.85 ERA. He has allowed just three total runs over his last three starts (16 innings). I'll take the home club here today as LA has to make the long trip East and that is never easy. Lay the Run Line with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Subway series renews here tonight as the battle for the Big Apple between the Mets and Yankees play game one of this series. The Mets coming off a series with the Phillies where they took three of four games. Max Scherzer starts today and even though he has nine wins, that's fourth on this team in wins. Scherzer also has a 2.15 ERA and other than his last start where he gave up four runs to the Braves, he's allowed two runs or fewer in the previous 10 games. The Yankees have hit a bit of a skid of late. They did win on Sunday vs the Blue Jays, 4-2. However, that was the only game of their four-game set with Toronto they won. Moreover, they have now lost six of their last eight games. Domingo German will start tonight with a 1-2 record in his six starts and a 4.45 ERA. I'm taking the Mets here tonight as Scherzer is way better than German has been. Play the Mets.

The Marlins have a tough task, beating the best team in baseball on their home field. That's the case today as Miami has to play at the LA Dodgers. Miami has lost the first two games in this series, getting outscored 1-9. The good news is that they have their ACE Sand Alcantara on the hill. Alcantara is a legitimate NL Cy Young candidate as he has a 11-5 record in 24 starts and a measy 1.92 ERA. The Dodgers have just about everything to make a big run at another World Series Title. However, today's starter is a bit of a question mark. Ryan Pepiot makes his seventh start of the season with a 4.26 ERA. He's made it into the fifth inning just once in those six previous starts. I can't pass up on Alcantara as a big road dog here today. Take Miami.

 The Cardinals won their sixth straight game on Saturday with a win over the D'backs, 16-7. The Cards have taken over 1st place in the NL Central from Milwaukee, now leading the Brewers by 4-games. Jose Quintana will start today for the Red Birds. Quintana is 4-5 in his 23 starts with a 3.23 ERA. He's allowed two runs or fewer in five straight games. Arizona looks to salvage the rubber game of this series today. They will look to Merrill Kelly to do just that. Kelly is 10-5 in his 24 starts with a nifty 2.81 ERA. He's been even better of late going 3-0 in his last seven starts with a 1.53 ERA. Two hot pitchers looks like an UNDER for me here today.

Seattle and Oakland have split the first two games of this series, with the Mariners taking game 1, 10-2, and the A's taking last night's game, 4-3. The Mariners made a big mid-season pickup of Luis Castillo to make a run for one of the Wild Card slots. Right now the M's are tied for 1st in the Wild card race with Toronto and 1-game ahead of Tampa Bay and 1.5 ahead of Minnesota. In fact, there are six teams that are within three games of each other for three WildCard slots. Louis Castillo has been very good since he came over to Seattle as he's allowed just five runs in his last three starts, all team wins. He's now 5-4 on the season with a 2.73 ERA. The Oakland A's just playing for pride at this point, JP Sears gets the start today, just his fifth of the season. Sears is 3-0 in four starts with a 0.86 ERA. He's looked very sharp for the A's, allowing no runs in three of his starts. I'll take the UNDER here today with two very good pitchers.

The Milwaukee Brewers have dropped the first two games of this series with the Cubs. If they want to keep pace with the Cardinals in the NL Central then they can't let these games slip by. The Brewers now trail St Louis by 4-games in the division. Brandon Woodruff will start today for the Brewers with a 9-3 record in his 18 starts and a 3.53 ERA. The Cubs have won five straight games as they look for the sweep here today. Justin Steele will start for the Cubs with a 4-7 record and 3.43 ERA. However, he's been very good his last seven starts, posting a 1.66 ERA. Cubs a very live dog here today and that's all I need to be on them Play Chicago Cubs.