100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on A's +134

No matter how you look at it, Oakland is on fire. The Athletics (57-42) have won 21 out of their last 27 games, and are a blistering 8-1 over their last nine.

Now, the A’s will turn to right-hander Daniel Mengden (5-1, 4.21 ERA) in an attempt to hand the Twins (59-38) their second three-game losing streak of the season; something they didn’t experience even once before the All-Star break. In parallel with his club, Mengden is on his own hot streak of four wins in his last four starts. In his last outing, Mengden allowed just a single run in seven innings.

Over the last several weeks, Minnesota has seen their sizeable lead in the AL Central dwindle to just three. They’ll hope right-hander Michael Pineda (6-5, 4.38 ERA) can help them stop the bleeding this afternoon at home.

If the A’s are able to get to Pineda, there’s a good chance Matt Chapman will play an important part. Chapman has batted in seven runs on nine hits over his last six games, and he leads the Athletics with 22 home runs.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Twins -134

As winners of 13 of their last 16, the Athletics (56-42) will visit Minneapolis tonight to take on the Twins (59-37). The A’s are a scary team right now, having outscored their opponents by a margin of 55 to 22 over their last eight games, but their six-game win streak came to a screeching halt in the series opener at the hands of the Twins.

Minnesota will turn to All-Star Jose Berrios (8-5, 3.10 ERA) to keep or extend their three-game lead in the AL Central. In his last 12 home starts against teams with a winning record, Berrios is a solid 9-3.

The right-hander should have plenty of support from a very strong lineup to defend the club’s 29-18 home record. The Twins come into this evening’s contest leading the league in homers with 178, second in the league in scoring with 5.6 runs per game, and third in hitting with a .270 average.

Oakland will start left-hander Brett Anderson (9-5, 3.79 ERA). Anderson will have to carry a heavier load than Berrios, as the A’s rank just 18th in hitting with a .251 team average.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Cubs -156

With a 1-5 record since the All-Star break and only four wins over their last 14, the Padres (46-50) are in a slump that’s pulling them out of reach of the NL Wildcard chase.

In sharp contrast, the Cubs (52-44) are 5-1 since the break and are hoping to extend their NL Central lead.

These two clubs will bump heads this afternoon in Chicago when San Diego tries to put a dent in the Cubs’ impressive 34-17 record at Wrigley.

To do so, the Padres will turn to left-hander Eric Lauer (5-7, 4.04 ERA). Lauer will have to work his way back into the regular rotation after not pitching since July 5, after which he was put on bereavement leave.

Taking the mound for the Cubs will be veteran lefty Jon Lester (9-6, 3.74 ERA), who’s 5-1 with 30 strikeouts in just over 30 innings over his last five starts. Lester will be defending the Cubs’ 6-1 record over their last seven home games.

And the odds are against the Padres today when it comes to turning around their record of 0-4 in their last four series openers considering they’ve had to fly to Chicago after their game in Miami yesterday.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Indians -192

The Indians (54-40) are favored at home tonight against the struggling Tigers (29-62), and for good reason.

Not only is Cleveland riding a four-game win streak, but they’ve also dominated Detroit this season. The Tribe have won 11 of the 12 contests between the two teams, including the first three games of the current series, and 10 in a row.

Defending the Indians’ 29-20 home record will be right-hander Trevor Bauer (8-7, 3.65 ERA), who’s only suffered one loss since June 6.

After giving up three home runs and five total runs in his last start against Cleveland in June, Matthew Boyd (6-7, 3.95) will take the mound for the Tigers.

Boyd faces a tough task against a surging Cleveland lineup, with the likes of Jose Ramirez coming on with a double in four straight games and a multi-hit game in eight of his last 18.

We can also expect rookie Oscar Mercado to be chomping at the bit to face Boyd, with three homers, 12 RBIs, and a .394 average in nine games against the club from Detroit. And don’t overlook Roberto Perez, who’s 4-of-5 against Boyd.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Pirates +117

The Pirates (45-49) have a chance to claw their way even closer to the Cardinals (47-46) this afternoon after stealing a big win from St. Louis last night.

To do so, Pittsburgh will give the ball to Chris Archer (3-6, 5.42 ERA). Although the seventh inning proved to be too deep for him, Archer had his slider and four-seamer going to strike out ten batters in his most recent start, a season high. Archer gave up three runs on three hits in the game after carrying a one-hit shutout into the seventh.

Archer will be hoping to outduel right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon (1-0, 1.99 ERA), who’s jumped around between the bullpen and starting rotation.

This will be Ponce de Leon’s fifth start of the season, but he’s lost to the Pirates before. In his only start against the club last September, Pittsburgh managed two runs over five innings against Ponce de Leon.

On the flip side, Archer holds a 2.20 ERA without any decisions in three starts against St. Louis.

Expect continued success for Pirates first-baseman Josh Bell, who likes batting against righties. He’s hit 20 of his 27 homeruns against right-handed pitching.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Royals +120

Despite a weak away record of 17-28, the White Sox (42-48) will be the favorites tonight when they visit the Royals (33-62), and they’ll be counting on the inexperienced Dylan Cease (1-0, 5.40 ERA) to shut down Kansas City and get their first win since the break.

This will be Cease’s second career start in the majors after giving up five hits and three runs in five innings in his major league debut.

Although the Royals have struggled this season, their lineup must be salivating to face the right-handed rookie. Over the last seven days, Kansas City has five players batting .300 or higher, including a .417 average from Jorge Soler, who leads the team with 25 home runs and 64 RBIs.

Hoping to build on the back end of his previous six-inning start for the Royals, righty Glenn Sparkman (2-5, 5.18 ERA) will make his second start against Chicago this year. In his last outing, Sparkman settled in after giving up four runs in the first two innings, closing out his appearance with four straight scoreless innings.

Sparkman and the Royals will be counting on Nicky Lopez, who’s registered six hits in 15 at-bats since the All-Star break, and Whit Merrifield, who’s riding a 13-game hitting streak, to keep up their form.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Pirates +131

Although the Cardinals (46-45) enter tonight’s contest with the Pirates (44-48) as straightforward favorites, the hot arm of Joe Musgrove (6-7, 4.15 ERA) is poised to give Pittsburgh a great chance to steal this one in St. Louis.

The Pirates have won each of Musgrove’s last four starts, in which the right-hander has allowed just four earned runs with a 1.64 ERA over 22 innings.

Adding Musgrove’s recent form to the bats of Starling Marte and Josh Bell will combine for a lot of firepower on the field for Pittsburgh. Josh Bell leads the Pirates in batting with 27 homers, 84 RBIs, and a .298 average. And over his last 15 games, Marte is hitting .295 with four home runs of his own.

Marte and Bell will be facing right-hander Miles Mikolas (5-9, 4.53 ERA), who didn’t end the first half of the season on the same sort of hot streak as his counterpart tonight. Instead, Mikolas gave up four earned runs (five total) in just four innings against the Giants his last time out.

Also concerning for the Cardinals is how five Pittsburgh hitters are batting anywhere from .294 to .381 in their respective careers against Mikolas.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Cubs -159

The Cubs (49-43) can complete the sweep of Pittsburgh this afternoon when the visiting Pirates (44-47) try to worsen Chicago’s impressive 31-16 record at home.

Including two straight losses to the Cubs, Pittsburgh has lost four of the last six dating back to before the All-Star break.

Hoping to avoid another losing streak, the Pirates will send out right-hander Trevor Williams (3-2, 4.54 ERA), who’s struggled since coming off the injured list in May. Since that point, Williams has allowed 26 hits and 16 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings.

Opposite Williams will be Jose Quintana (6-7, 4.19 ERA), who tends to pitch well against the Pirates. In seven career starts against Pittsburgh, Quintana is 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA.

Although Pirates outfielder Starling Marte was able to hit two homers on Saturday, he’s had a difficult time against Quintana, batting just .167 over 18 at-bats.

In contrast, Kyle Schwarber can give a boost to the Cubs if he keeps up his own average of .353 with two home runs in 17 at-bats against Williams.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Reds +113

When Kyle Freeland (2-6, 7.13 ERA) takes the mound for the Rockies (45-45) tonight, he’ll continue searching for the form that made him one of the best pitchers in the NL last year.

But after finishing fourth in Cy Young voting on the back of a 17-7 record with a 2.85 ERA last season, Freeland was sent down to Triple-A this May when he went 0-2 with a 10.17 ERA in six starts.

If Freeland continues to struggle, this might be a lopsided competition in favor of the road-dog Reds (41-47), who will turn to right-hander Tanner Roark (5-6, 3.51 ERA) to end their three-game losing streak.

Before his last start, Roark was ranked third in the majors in homers given up with just 0.735 per nine innings.

Luckily for the Reds, Roark is a July and August pitcher. He holds a record of 27-14 over those two months, contrasting sharply against his 42-46 record in other months.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Indians -136

After closing out the first half of the season with 21 wins out of 29 games, the Indians (50-38) will be hoping to do direct damage to the 5.5-game lead that the Twins (56-33) hold in the American League Central.

Facing the hot bats of Cleveland will be right-hander Kyle Gibson (8-4, 4.09 ERA), who’s struggled against the core of the Indians lineup.

With at least 30 plate appearances against Gibson, Jason Kipnis can boast 11 walks with a .419 average, Francisco Lindor is hitting a .382 average, and Jose Ramirez has a .333 average.

On the flip side, Cleveland will be excited for another start from Mike Clevinger (2-2, 4.44 ERA), who registered nine strikeouts and no walks in a four-hit game against the Royals his last time out.

With a much lesser history of success against Clevinger, the Minnesota bats are likely to struggle to keep up in this contest.