Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Detroit Tigers @ 8:40 ET - Yesterday's game was 4-3 Tigers by the top of the 3rd inning and, inexplicably, the game ended a 4-3 final. Very unusual for a game to go scoreless the rest of the way in Colorado and the teams did combine for 22 hits yesterday so its not like there were not opportunities. Today look for the teams to cash in more of those opportunities and, certainly, the chances should be there. The Rockies German Marquez has great numbers on the season but he has allowed 22 hits in the 16 innings spanning his last 3 starts. Also, Marquez has been rocked for 5 homers in his last two starts alone! His strikeout numbers trended down in his most recent start (versus a Royals team that hasn't scored a run since!) so this is also a bad sign for the Rockies right-hander. The Tigers start Michael Fullmer who also has some good numbers on the season but he's truly not 100% right now. That showed in his most recent start, allowed 4 earned runs in just 6 innings, and that was at home. Note that, on the the road this season, he is just 4-7 and Fullmer has been absolutely crushed for 16 earned runs in less than 14 innings of work spanning his last 3 starts away from home. The over is 23-14 this season in Tigers road games with a money line between -125 and +125. Also, Colorado has averaged 11.3 hits per game in their last 6 road games. Look for tonight to see plenty of runs early and often as both hurlers recent struggles continue. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - Good line value here with a low total thanks to the pitching match-up in this one. Since Drew Pomeranz and Marcus Stroman have good overall numbers on the season there is a low posted number here. The Blue Jays Stroman only allowed unearned runs in his most recent start versus the Red Sox but prior to that he allowed 6 earned runs in EACH of his two prior starts versus Boston. The Jays right-hander also allowed 5 earned runs in just 5 and 1/3 innings in his most recent start. Boston's Pomeranz gets plenty of run support on the road and his road starts have gone 8-4 to the over. He has walked 15 in his last 23 innings on the road and the southpaw, prior to allowing no earned runs in his most recent road start, did allow 6 earned runs in less than 12 innings of work spanning his two prior starts away from home. Even though the Blue Jays only had one big game in terms of runs scored in their series with Minnesota this past weekend, Toronto did tally an average of 10 hits per game in the series. The Red Sox will be ready to bounce back at the plate after rare tough weekend series with the Orioles. Boston enters this series having averaged 7 runs per game in their last 3 road games. The over is 19-9 this season in Red Sox road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. 10* OVER the total in Toronto

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Washington Nationals vs New York Mets @ 8:05 ET (Game 2 of double header) - The Nationals Tanner Roark has some good numbers versus the Mets in his career but he is 3-6 at home this season with a 5.09 ERA in those starts. I just don't trust him here to shut down New York and the fact is that this is a low total posted on this game considering it is the 2nd game of a double header so the bullpens could be a little "stretched out" for this game as well. Note that the Mets have scored 4 runs or more in 6 of their last 8 games. That is significant here because a 4-4 game guarantees us of no worse than a 5-4 final and 9 runs scored puts us in the win column here. Certainly the Nationals should have no trouble scoring big in this one. The Mets Seth Lugo has given up 10 runs (9 earned) on 17 hits in less than 12 innings of work spanning his two starts versus the Nats this season. The over is 8-3 in Lugo's starts this season and he has a 7.31 ERA in his last 3 starts. The Nationals have scored 4 runs or more in 4 of their last 6 games and their bats got going in a big way in yesterday's 9-4 win. The over is 55-26 in New York Mets night games this season and that incredible run should add another W here! 10* OVER the total in Washington in Game 2 of double-header Sunday night

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Los Angeles Angels vs Houston Astros @ 3:35 ET - Very warm weather this afternoon in Anaheim. High temperatures will approach 90 degrees and the winds, though not strong, will be blowing out toward center. The ball tends to carry better in day games (compared to at night) on the west coast and this is particularly true when the weather conditions are like this. The Angels got the 7-6 win yesterday and have now scored 5 runs or more in 6 of their last 9 games. They should enjoy success against Charlie Morton as he has not been quite as strong on the road as he has been at home this season and this is just his 3rd road start since the All Star break. As for the Astros sticks, look for them to "tee off" against Ricky Nolasco. The right-hander has been "shaky" recently for the Angels and, keep in mind, Nolasco is 6-12 with a 4.80 ERA in his starts this season. Also, he's facing the Astros for the 3rd time this season and he's has been fortunate to allow just 2 earned runs in each of the first two starts as he has given up 16 hits in 13 innings. Look for the "3rd time to be the charm" for Houston as they pound Nolasco who appears to be tiring a bit here late in the season. The over is 5-1-1 in Nolasco's last 7 starts. Also, the over is 14-6 this season (and 36-15 the last 3 seasons) when the Astros are on the road in a game with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Houston is 14-4 to the over in Sunday games this season. 10* OVER the total in the Los Angeles Angels game Sunday afternoon

Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Philadelphia Phillies vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:05 ET - The Phillies stayed hot at the plate yesterday but the Cubs surprisingly did not match them run for run. The result was an under that certainly had the feel of an over as the game was 6-1 by the bottom of the 2nd. It was another tough loss for me with that game not going over the total. My season has been filled with games like that as well as tight one-run losses or late game big hits that always seem to come for my opponents even when I have got the edge. But I digress. The key point here is that we should get some payback coming right back with the over in this match-up and I am also confident that the rest of the MLB season as well as the rest of the calendar year 2017 in all sports is going to produce an epic run for me after the most non-sensible run of bad beats and tough losses ever seen for me in this MLB season. As for this Saturday evening match-up Ben Lively gets the start for the Phillies and he is 0-4 with a 4.25 ERA in his 5 home starts while getting hit at a nearly .300 clip in those outings. In my opinion, how hittable he has been is going to catch up with him here and his rather low ERA (given the BAA he has) means a "correction" is coming. Look for Lively to get rocked as the Cubs respond after some recent frustration at the plate. As for the Chicago starter, Kyle Hendricks, he has had an ERA over a full run higher on the road compared to at home throughout his career. Also, the red hot Phillies lineup (led by Rhys Hoskins on a power-hitting tear) has averaged 7.4 runs per game in their last 7 games. More of the same here. 10* OVER the total in Philadelphia

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in St Louis Cardinals vs San Diego Padres @ 7:15 ET - The over is 6-1 in the last 7 starts that Luis Perdomo has made. The Padres right-hander has given up 63 hits in the 49 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 9 starts. As you can see, Perdomo has been very hittable and now he faces a Cardinals team that has been crushing the ball. That is why St Louis was 13-2 to the over in their last 15 games before yesterday's game fell just short of going over the total. St Louis will have Carlos Martinez on the mound in this one and the over is 8-2 in his last 10 starts. The Cards right-hander continues to get tremendous run support. However, its not like Martinez has been unhittable either as he has given up 60 hits in the 55 innings spanning his last 9 starts. Also, he has been roughed up for 18 earned runs in the 22 innings spanning his last 4 home starts! The over is 40-26 this season when the Padres are off of a loss. Also, in August games, San Diego is on a 46-26 run to the over. The over is 48-32 in Cardinals night games this season. 10* OVER the total in St Louis

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Los Angeles Dodgers @ 4:05 ET - After yesterday's crazy 1-0 Pirates win, look for the red hot lineups of each of these teams to resume their recent hitting surge this afternoon. Pittsburgh had scored 5 runs or more in 7 straight games prior to yesterday's low-scoring victory. The over was 6-1 in those 7 games. The Dodgers had scored 5 runs or more in 7 of their last 9 games before getting shutout yesterday. The over was 6-3 in those 9 games for Los Angeles. The Dodgers are 11-3 to the over in Thursday games this season and 37-24 to the over in their games against teams with a losing record. The over is 12-5 in Pittsburgh's games the last 3 seasons when they are a home dog in a price range of +125 to +175. Chad Kuhl gets the start for the Pirates and he has a 4.88 ERA in his home starts this season. He gave up 4 earned runs in 5 innings when he faced the Dodgers earlier this season. Hyun-Jin Ryu gets the start for the Dodgers this afternoon and he is 2-4 in road games this season and also has been hit at a .283 clip in his 6 day game starts this year! 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:10 ET - The Reds and Cubs combined for 22 runs yesterday. The Cubs have now won 7 of their last 9 games and they've averaged 7.8 runs per games during this hot stretch. The Reds have also been on fire at the plate as Cincinnati has averaged 6.9 runs per game in their last 13 games. More of the same can be expected here as Chicago is starting Michael Montgomery only because Jon Lester is on the disabled list. Montgomery has an 8.53 ERA in the last 3 starts he made and all 3 flew over the total. The Reds are starting Asher Wojciechowski because Scott Feldman is on the disabled list. Wojciechowski has allowed 10 earned runs in less than 10 innings of work spanning his last two starts and he gave up a pair of homers in each start. Both these starting pitchers have had rough times against the lineups they will be facing this evening. The over is 4-1 in the last 5 starts that Wojciechowski has made. The over is 12-5 this season in Cincinnati's home games where they are a dog of +125 to +175. The over is 31-17 in Reds divisional games this year. The over is 12-6 in Chicago's Wednesday games this season. 10* OVER the total in Cincinnati early Wednesday evening.

Total Crusher - Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Chicago White Sox vs Minnesota Twins @ 8:10 ET - Certainly the White Sox have not been hitting the ball well. Even though both games of yesterday's double header went over the total the fact is the ChiSox tallied very few hits. However, facing Kyle Gibson should bring out the best in the White Sox lineup. I am well aware of the fact that Gibson has great career numbers versus the ChiSox but the last time he faced them he allowed 5 earned runs in less than 6 innings of work. Also, he has a 6.05 ERA on the season and has given up 39 hits in his last 31 and 1/3 innings heading into this start. The over is now 8-3 in the Twins last 11 starts and Minnesota has been swinging hot bats. Minny has averaged scoring 6.9 runs per game in going 13-3 in their last 16 games. That said, young Lucas Giolito is in trouble here. The right-hander is highly touted but he has gone just 6-10 with a 4.48 ERA in the minors this season. Also, last season in his only major league appearances thus far, Giolito compiled a 6.75 ERA in 6 games (4 starts) and was hit at a .295 clip. Facing the red hot Twins should mean more struggles at the MLB level for Giolito here. The White Sox sticks, though they haven't been great as noted above, have averaged 5 runs per game in their last 14 games. This one should fly over the total as the bullpens also had to put in extra work yesterday due to the double header so this situation clearly favors the over today. The over is 17-8 in Chicago's home games this season where their money line is in a range of -125 to +125. Also, the over is 33-20 in Minnesota's games against teams with a losing record this season. 10* OVER the total in the Chicago White Sox game Tuesday evening

Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Atlanta Braves vs Seattle Mariners @ 7:35 ET - The Braves Mike Foltynewicz has been roughed up in 3 of his last 4 starts. The Atlanta right-hander has struggled to command his curveball and slider and the results have been rough. Foltynewicz has allowed 5 earned runs or more in 3 of his last 4 starts and none of those 3 poor outings saw him log more than 4 innings! Now he faces a fired up Seattle team off of a shutout loss. The Mariners have a solid lineup and they had scored 7 runs in each of their prior 3 games before being shutdown yesterday. The over is 6-0-1 in the last 7 starts that Foltynewicz has made and I expect another over here because the M's Andrew Albers is unlikely to enjoy success. The southpaw has pitched in the minors for much of his career and this will be just his 2nd start this season. Keep in mind he has been hit at a .286 clip at the major league level in 18 appearances (13 starts) in his career. The left-hander also has been hit at a .279 clip in his entire minor league career including getting hit at .305 or better in 2 of his last 3 years in the minors at the AAA level. The Braves have averaged 7.3 runs per game in their last 4 games and they'll stay hot at the plate tonight. Yesterday's 8-1 Atlanta win barely stayed under the total but the over was 6-3 in Braves games heading into that one. Seattle is 14-9 to the over after getting shutout and also 34-19 to the over in interleague games. The over is on a 19-9 run in Atlanta's games versus teams with a winning record this season and also the Braves are 9-5 to the over in inter-league action this season. 10* OVER the total in Atlanta early Monday evening.

ESPN Game of the Year - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs St Louis Cardinals @ 7 ET - The Cardinals are on a 12-1 run to the over in their last 13 games after yesterday's 6-4 loss went over the total. Both of these teams continue to have bullpen issues and are swinging the bats quite well. The Cardinals have averaged scoring nearly 8 runs per game in their last 13 games! The Pirates have averaged scoring 7 runs per game in their last 4 games. Really the only question than for this one than comes down to the starting pitcher. The fact is that this is perhaps the strongest edge of all when it comes to this play! The Cardinals are starting Mike Leake and he has an 8.81 ERA in his last 3 starts and has given up 28 hits in the 15 and 1/3 innings spanning those 3 outings. He'll be opposed by Ivan Nova who is off of a solid outing at Milwaukee but had gone into that game having compiled a 6.67 ERA in his 5 starts since the All Star break. As you can see from these numbers, neither one of these pitchers has been getting the job done recently. Additionally, the Pirates lineup will be facing Leake for the 4th time already this season and they've had 20 hits in 17 and 1/3 innings against him thus far. Based on his current form, this could really be a breakout game for the Pittsburgh bats. As for the Cardinals, though they didn't fare well against Nova earlier this season at least that means they have seen him already and their lineup is truly one of the hottest in baseball right now. Couple that with Nova's recent struggles and St Louis should stay red hot at the plate in this one. Not only is the over 12-1 in the Cards last 13 games, STL is also 13-4 to the over in Sunday games this season. That means we're testing a combined 25-5 (83%) mark here! Count me in! 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 3:10 ET - Yesterday's 6-3 Brewers win stayed under the total but the teams did combine for 21 hits. Overall Milwaukee has now averaged 6.1 runs per game in their last 7 games. The Rockies, prior to the loss last night, had averaged 9.7 runs per game in their last 3 games. As you can see, both these teams have been swinging the bats quite well and that should result in plenty of runs on a warm and very dry afternoon in Denver. The ball will be carrying extremely well at Coors Field, even though the wind will not be blowing out, as a result of the weather conditions. Kyle Freeland gets the start for the Rockies and he has given up 4 homers in his last 17 and 1/3 innings on the mound. He has been hit quite hard in many of his starts since mid-June and I expect more of the same here. As for the Brewers, Chase Anderson is returning from the disabled list and he got rocked in his rehab start at the AAA level in the minors. Also, this will be the 3rd time in the past 12 months that the Rockies are seeing Anderson and it is the first time at Coors Field. Anderson had allowed 4 earned runs in 3 of his last 5 road starts before lasting just 1 inning at Cincinnati on June 28th and then landing on the DL. The over is 15-9 in Brewers games versus left-handed starters this season. Also, the over was 5-1 in Anderson's last 6 road starts before he lasted just 1 inning against the Reds and went on the shelf. His road struggles resume here but his teammates stay hot at the plate. The expected result is a slugfest! 10* OVER The total in Colorado Sunday afternoon

Total Crusher - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Oakland A's @ 7:10 ET - After scoring 9 runs in back to back games, the Astros bats have been rather quiet the past two games. Facing the A's Kendall Graveman should help them wake up in a hurry. Oakland is 1-4 in Graveman's 5 road starts this season and he has compiled a 7.20 ERA in those outings. Being divisional foes, these lineups have familiarity with the pitchers they're facing today and Collin McHugh is also likely to struggle here. The Astros are only 1-4 in his 5 starts since he returned from an elbow injury that kept him out for the first half of this season. McHugh has allowed 9 earned runs in just 11 innings spanning his last two starts. He's facing an A's team that had averaged 6.2 runs per game in their last 6 games before being held to just 1 run yesterday. The A's had gone over in 4 of their last 5 games prior to yesterday's pitchers duel and they had reached double digits in hits in 4 of their last 6 games. Oakland's 38 doubles in the month of August is 2nd out of all 30 MLB teams and they've been one of the better hitting teams this month. Of course the Astros are one of the top teams in baseball and loaded with plenty of hitting prowess. The over is 31-19 in Athletics games against teams with a winning record this season. The over is 16-9 in the Astros last 25 games against teams with a losing record on the year. 10* OVER the total in Houston

Game of the Week - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Tampa Bay Rays vs Seattle Mariners @ 6:10 ET - Certainly the Rays have been struggling at the plate overall and they had a rough time yesterday with just 1 run on 4 hits. However, Tampa Bay had started to show signs of turning the corner before yesterday's poor effort as they had tallied 31 hits in their last 3 games. The key to the value in today's play is that the Rays can resume the turnaround at the plate because they are facing a hurler that is struggling. Ariel Miranda gets the start for the Mariners here and the southpaw is winless with an 8.21 ERA in his last 3 starts. Also, he has given up 5 homers in his last two road starts. Seattle also should have no trouble at the plate today either. The Mariners have scored 7 runs in back to back games and Jake Odorizzi has struggled with location of his pitches in recent starts and this has resulted in shortened outings and some overall ineffectiveness. The way the M's are swinging the bats they could make him pay in a hurry here and they have gotten to Odorizzi for 13 runs (8 earned) in the 8 innings spanning his last two starts versus Seattle. The over is 6-0 in his last 6 home starts this season and odds are favoring another one here! 10* OVER the total in Tampa Bay early Saturday evening.

Total Crusher - Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs St Louis Cardinals @ 7:05 ET - With two starting pitchers on good runs and that have strong overall numbers, this total is being held lower than it should be. The fact is that, with yesterday's 11-7 slug-fest win, the Cardinals are 10-1 to the over in their last 11 games. Also, none of the 11 games have totaled less than 9 runs so, with a posted total at 8 runs (like today's currently is), the Cards would be on an 11-0 run to the over! They should have no trouble with the offerings of the Pirates Trevor Williams. They just saw the right-hander last month and, although they managed only 2 runs against him, the Cardinals pounded Williams to the tune of 10 hits in 5 and 2/3 innings. As you can see from those numbers, there were simply some wasted opportunities. Even though the Cardinals Carlos Martinez was strong in his start versus the Pirates last month, the fact that Pittsburgh is getting another look at him just a month later should help them. Though Martinez has been pitching well he did allow 2 homers in his most recent road start. He has been more susceptible to the long ball away from home this season and the wind is expected to be blowing out for this one. Martinez is 6-3 at home this season but only 3-6 on the road and the Pirates are 5-2 in their last 7 home games and have averaged scoring 5.6 runs per game in those 7 games. With both teams having shaky bullpen work of late as well, this one should easily get over the low number. 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh early Friday evening

Total Crusher - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs St Louis Cardinals @ 7:05 ET - In 8 innings spanning his last two starts, the Cardinals Adam Wainwright has walked 8 while striking out just 1. That doesn't bode well for the Cards right-hander as he faces the Pirates Thursday evening. Pittsburgh scored 6 runs yesterday to get their offense back on track and they'll take advantage of facing a struggling right-hander whom they are very familiar with because St Louis is a division rival. The issue for the Pirates here will be their own pitching as James Taillon has endured some recent struggles. Taillon has a 9.95 ERA in his last 4 starts and he has allowed 45 hits in his last 29 and 1/3 innings. The righty is giving the Cardinals a 3rd look at him in a span of less than 2 months and he has a 4.91 ERA in the first two outings. The Cards hit him harder when they just faced him last month and St Louis comes into this game on a 9-1 run to the over! St Louis has averaged scoring 7.5 runs per game in these 10 games and I look for another big day at the plate from them in this one. Look for bullpen struggles to continue for each of these teams tonight as well as it was their downfall again in their respective games yesterday as well. 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs St Louis Cardinals @ 7:10 ET - With yesterday's 10-4 win, Boston is now 10-2 in the month of August and they've averaged 6.2 runs per game during this hot stretch. The Cardinals have now lost 2 straight but that was after winning 8 in a row and yesterday's high-scoring loss was their 9th straight over! Thanks, in part, to an offense that has averaged 7.9 runs per game in their last nine games, St Louis is on a perfect 9-0 run to the over. In interleague games this season the Cards are an incredible 14-2 to the over. The Red Sox, the last 3 seasons combined, are now 31-21 to the over in interleague action. Lance Lynn gets the start for the Cardinals and he has allowed 16 homers in his 13 road starts this season and has an ERA that in nearly a full run higher on the road compared to at home. Eduardo Rodriguez gets the start for Boston and the Cardinals did see him in May which should help them tonight. Of course it also helps that they've been red hot at the plate and are seeing the ball very well right now. The Red Sox lefthander has a 5.57 ERA in his last 6 starts. That said, even though he's off of a strong start, Rodriguez still hasn't been the same pitcher overall since he came off of the disabled list. Also, his ERA in night games is more than a full run higher than in day games this season. Look for the over to improve to a 10-0 run in St Louis games. 10* OVER the total in Boston

Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs St Louis Cardinals @ 7:10 ET - Wind will be blowing out to left field at Fenway Park on Tuesday evening. The Red Sox will have Rick Porcello on the mound. The veteran right-hander was giving up hits in bunches earlier this season but kept managing to escape with little damage done. You knew it had to eventually catch up with him and, sure enough, he has given up 9 earned runs in his last two home starts. In his last 3 starts overall, Porcello has allowed 5 homers and he has now given up 28 on the season. The weather will be favorable for the Cardinals to get some big hits in this game. The problem for St Louis is that Mike Leake takes the mound and he has a 5.62 ERA in his last 3 starts and he has been rocked for 19 hits in 11 innings in his last 2 starts. These pitchers matched up on May 17th in St Louis and the game went over the total with the hurlers combining to allow 16 hits in 13 innings. The Red Sox, entering Monday, are 9-1 so far in August and have averaged scoring 6.1 runs per game. The Cardinals are off of a loss but previously had won 8 straight games and the Cards scored an average of 8.5 runs per game in those 8 games. The over is 13-2 in Cardinals inter-league games this season. The over is 11-5 in Boston's Tuesday games this season. Both these teams have solid bullpens but these two lineups have been red hot and I look for more of the same on Tuesday evening. 10* OVER the total in Boston

Game of the Month Total - Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds @ 8:05 ET - Just a light wind expected at Wrigley Field this evening but it will be blowing out. It will aid the hitters in a hitter-friendly park on a mild summer evening in Chicago. The Cubs will have Jose Quintana on the mound here and he has given up 10 runs (9 earned) in 11 innings in his last two starts. The southpaw has given up 4 homers in those two outings and the Reds come into town swinging the bats well. Cincinnati lost 7-4 yesterday but that was their 8th straight over. The over is 8-0 in the Reds last 8 games thanks in part to the fact that Cincy has averaged scoring 7 runs per game during this hot streak. They won't be the only lineup putting up some big numbers tonight. The Cubs scored 7 runs or more in 2 of their 3 games at Arizona this weekend and they now return home where they have averaged scoring 6 runs per game in their last 6 games. They should have no trouble with the offerings of Asher Wojciechowski. Although the Reds right-hander is off of a respectable start he did allow 2 homers for the 2nd time in his last 3 starts and all those starts were at home. Now he's back on the road where he has an 8.00 ERA in his two starts and he has allowed 4 homers in those outings as well. In other words, look for more struggles here on a homer-friendly night in a homer-friendly venue! The over is 7-1 this season when the Reds are a road dog of +175 to +250 and the over is 17-6 this season when the Cubs are a home favorite of -175 to -250. Look for another slugfest here adding to Cincinnati's 8-0 run to the over. 10* OVER the total in the Chicago Cubs game

Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays @ 7:05 ET - The Rays have not been hitting the ball well at all but they finally get a chance to break out of their slump as they face a struggling Nick Tepesch in this one. The Blue Jays right-hander has made two starts this season and he lost them both plus compiled a 9.67 ERA in the process. Tepesch allowed 3 homers in less than 5 innings of work in his most recent start which was at home against the Yankees last week. The Rays are starting Jake Odorizzi in this one and the right-hander gave up 5 runs (3 earned) in just 4 and 1/3 innings in his lone start at Toronto this season. The Blue Jays won 7-1 yesterday and have averaged 5.4 runs per game in their last dozen games. Not only was Odorizzi struggling with a high pitch count in his most recent start but he took a line drive off his foot too. Look for him to labor again in this start as the Jays are heating up again with 7 wins in their last 11 games. Both of the starts Tepesch has made this season have resulted in overs and the over is also 9-1 in Odorizzi's last 10 starts! 10* OVER the total in Toronto

10* Top Play OVER the total in Oakland A's vs Baltimore Orioles @ 4:05 ET - Baltimore won 12-5 yesterday and both of these teams are "feeling it" right now. The Orioles have averaged 5.8 runs per game in their last 14 games. The Athletics have averaged 5.3 runs per game in their last 13 games. Jeremy Hellickson has pitched surprisingly well so far for Oakland since coming over from the Phillies but he did start to get hit hard late in his 2nd start at LA against the Angels. That is a sign of things to come here the way the A's are swinging the bats right now. Also, the ball carries better in day games compared to night games on the west coast and the wind will be blowing out at a good clip in Oakland today. The A's send Kendall Graveman to the mound for this one and he has allowed 11 runs (10 earned) in just 7 and 1/3 innings since returning to the rotation for Oakland. Also, he is 1-2 with a 7.71 ERA in his 4 career starts versus Baltimore. The over is 13-4 in Orioles Sunday games and 11-6 in Athletics Sunday games this season. 10* OVER the total in Oakland

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Indians @ 6:10 ET - The Rays Chris Archer certainly has strong numbers on the season but he has allowed 4 homers in his last 3 starts and did allow 7 earned runs in 12 innings in his two starts prior to a strong effort versus the Brewers in his most recent start. The real key to this play is that the Indians have been a nemesis for Archer throughout his career. The Rays right-hander is 0-6 with a 6.00 ERA in his 6 career starts versus Cleveland. Mike Clevinger gets this start for the Indians and he had been pitching so poorly that he was relegated to bullpen duty. His lone appearance out of the bullpen didn't go well either and now here is making a start again. I won't hesitate to step in and take advantage because he had allowed 5 earned runs in each of his last two starts prior to having a rough outing coming out of the bullpen as well. Neither team has been hitting the ball particularly well of late (at least heading into Friday) and that is why this is a contrarian play as many will likely look to the under here. However, that just means additional value for us with a low total posted on this game even though Clevinger is struggling and Archer has had a history of struggles versus Cleveland. Look for the over to improve to 11-5 in Archer's night game starts this season. 10* OVER the total in Tampa Bay

Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Detroit Tigers vs Minnesota Twins @ 7:10 ET - The over is 3-0 in the Tigers last 3 games after yesterday's loss to Pittsburgh totaled a dozen runs. It should be another crazy game in Detroit today with Anibal Sanchez and Kyle Gibson squaring off in this one. The Tigers Sanchez has a 7.92 ERA in his five starts since the All Star Break and the big ERA is certainly no fluke. Sanchez has been roughed up for 40 hits in 25 innings. The Twins come into this game on a hot streak as they've won 5 straight games. However, their issue today won't be at the plate as their issue is on the mound. Gibson gets the start for Minnesota this evening and he has a 6.75 ERA in his last 4 starts. Even though he had a strong start versus the Tigers recently, he had previously given up 11 earned runs in just 6 and 2/3 innings spanning his two prior starts versus Detroit. That said, don't surprised if the Detroit lineup takes advantage of having just faced Gibson 3 weeks ago. Each of Gibson's two home starts versus the Tigers went over the total and he also got pounded in his lone visit to Detroit this season. Sanchez has given up 9 earned runs in less than 10 innings of work spanning his last two home starts and they both flew over the total. He also got roughed up badly in his most recent road start so Sanchez certainly is showing no signs of turning the corner yet. That said, take advantage here! 10* OVER the total in Detroit

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:10 ET - This is a "contrarian" play because Rick Porcello and Jake Odorizzi are both respected starting pitchers overall and because the Rays have been struggling at the plate recently. Of course long-time followers know I like to be a contrarian and, in this case, there is plenty of reason to expect both Porcello and Odorizzi to get rocked in this one. Even though Porcello has pitched better of late he still has a 5.31 ERA in his last 3 starts and he allowed 6 homers in those outings. Also, though he pitched well against the Rays at Tampa in his most recent start versus them, they've given him trouble overall this season. TB has gotten to Porcello for 13 runs (11 earned) in just 10 and 1/3 innings in his two prior starts versus them this season. As for Odorizzi, he's coming off of the disabled list (back injury) for this one but, like Porcello, he has had trouble with the longball too. The Rays right-hander has given up 5 homers in his last 3 starts and that included a very ugly outing versus the Red Sox. Odorizzi has now given up 9 earned runs in his last 8 and 1/3 innings versus Boston. Though last night's game between these clubs was a pitchers duel, the Red Sox had previously scored 6.5 runs per game in going 6-2 in their prior 8 games. Look for the over to improve to 12-6 on the season in Rays Wednesday games. Also, the over is 8-1 in Odorizzi's last 9 starts! More of the same early Wednesday evening. 10* OVER the total in Tampa Bay

NOTE: AJ Griffin now getting the start for the Rangers but this is still a play for me. Griffin has a 7.27 ERA in his night starts this season. Also, the past two seasons combined Griffin has been hit much harder by lefties than righties and the Mets are loaded with left-handed sticks and switch-hitters. That will prove to make them a tough match-up for Griffin in this one. 10* OVER in New York Mets; here is the original write-up: Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Mets vs Texas Rangers @ 7:10 ET - The Mets Chris Flexen is only in the starting rotation due to injuries for New York. Once Robert Gsellman is back then Flexen will not be starting any longer. He just turned 23 early last month and, prior to this year, he had never even pitched above the Single A level in the minors. Not surprisingly, Flexen is struggling at the MLB level. He has given up 9 runs (8 earned) on 13 hits and 5 walks in just 6 innings spanning his two MLB starts. Keep in mind that the Mets also have a weak bullpen. That said, Flexen is likely to be an early exit again and that will expose New York's bullpen weakness again. As fro the New York lineup, they are a solid hitting team but off of a shutout loss Sunday night. Look for the Mets to respond in a big way tonight and, in fact, the over is a perfect 4-0 in Mets games this season when they are off of a shutout loss. They'll be facing the Rangers Andrew Cashner whom has not been as strong on the road as he has been at home this season. He is 3-6 with a 4.34 ERA away from home this year. Also, he is winless in four career starts versus the Mets and has compiled a 7.29 ERA and 1.86 WHIP in those four outings. Look for the over to improve to 3-0 in Flexen's rookie season starts. Also, the over is 9-2 in Mets Tuesday games this season and 50-18 in their night games this year! The Rangers have averaged scoring 5.6 runs per game in their last 12 games and the Mets will respond off of a home shutout loss to improve that over record to 5-0 YTD. 10* OVER the total in New York Mets

Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 8:10 ET - Both these clubs have been trending under of late but the odds makers hung an opener of 9.5 on this total with good reason. That said, the fact the early movement has knocked this total down to a 9 (with the over also available at plus money) means we're getting exceptional line value here. The Twins send Ervin Santana to the mound for this one and he is off of a complete game effort at San Diego in his most impressive start. As impressive as that is, the last two times Santana has thrown a complete game effort it seems to take something out of him over his next few starts. After his last two complete games, in his next game he has combined for allowing 14 hits and 6 walks in just 11 innings of work. That works out to a 1.81 WHIP. Overall, prior to his solid start versus the Padres, Santana had given up 4 earned runs or more in 5 of his last 8 starts. Keep in mind, the Twins right-hander had a 5.46 ERA in the months of June and July combined. His full season numbers look impressive enough and he is off of a strong start but you can see why this is giving bettors some "hidden value" in this one. Over the past 2+ months Santana has had trouble stringing together quality starts. As for the Brewers, Brent Suter gets the call in this one. The 2nd year pitcher is off of a tough start where he allowed 5 earned runs in 5 and 1/3 innings. Also, that start was at home and note that on the road Suter has allowed 12 hits in less than 11 innings spanning his last two starts away from home. The over is 6-3 this season (and 25-16 the last 3 seasons combined) in Milwaukee's Monday games. The over is 24-14 in Twins home games the last 3 seasons combined when they're a favorite in the -125 to -175 range. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Philadelphia Phillies @ 3:10 ET - Yesterday's game got over the total and the Phillies have been hitting better in their last 10 games. Philadelphia should have no trouble with the offerings of the Rockies Jeff Hoffman. The Colorado right-hander has a 10.38 ERA in his last 3 starts and also has a 7.05 ERA at hitter-friendly Coors Field this season. As for the Phils Aaron Nola, I am well aware of the fact that he has been pitching extremely well with a 2nd best franchise record 8 consecutive starts allowing 2 runs or less. In fact, you almost have to feel bad for the guy as he has to now put the streak on the line at the most hitter-friendly venue in the bigs. The problem for Nola is that this is his first ever start at Coors Field and the ball reacts differently here. He won't be able to get the movement he is use to getting on his pitches and the Rockies have been red hot at the plate in home games. Colorado not only scored 8 runs in yesterday's win, they've averaged 8 runs per game in their last 11 home games. Look for more of the same this afternoon and this one should fly over the total just like yesterday's match-up did. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Global Warning - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Tampa Bay Rays vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 6:10 ET - The Rays Alex Cobb got rocked in his most recent start. Though it may seem the norm to expect a bounce back after an outing like that, the issue for Cobb is that this could be a sing of things to come. There are some other issues recently that show he's not missing as many bats as he usually does and that was inevitably going to catch up with him. That is what happened at Houston on Monday and the result for Cobb was that he allowed 8 earned runs in only 3 innings of work! This season he has been hit 46 points higher in night starts than in day games and last season, in limited action, Cobb also got rocked with an 11.74 ERA in his 4 night starts. He has given up 5 homers in his last 3 starts and the Brewers are one of the top HR hitting teams in the majors (as are the Rays). Tampa Bay will be facing Zach Davies of the Brewers for the first time. He has put up some impressive numbers recently and has been solid on the road this year. However, Davies pattern last year showed a slow start, some improvement mid-summer and then a tough August. So far he has followed that type of patter this year and I am forecasting another tailing off for him His HR/9, BB/9, K/9 have all trended in the wrong direction from last year. Also, keep in mind, Davies had a 5.56 ERA and got hit at a .306 clip in August of last season. The Rays are 16-10 to the over this season in home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs and also entered Friday having gone 23-15 to the over in their games against teams with a winning record. 10* OVER the total in Tampa Bay Saturday

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Texas Rangers @ 8:10 ET - Yesterday's game was played in damp and chilly air with a strong north wind and temps in the mid-50s. Today's game will be played in temperatures about 20 degrees higher as temps are expected to peak in the mid-70s today in Minneapolis. Couple that with the fact that you have two pitchers likely to get rocked here and you have the perfect set-up for an over. Bartolo Colon is viewed to be pitching better because he has allowed just 3 earned runs in each of his last two starts. However, Colon was in trouble in those outings and the damage clearly could have been worse. The aging right-hander gave up 16 hits (including 3 homers) in those two outings and they spanned just 11 and 1/3 innings. Overall, Colon has a 5.87 ERA in his last 3 starts and a 7.87 ERA on the year. He gave up 5 earned runs in his most recent start versus Texas and this one is likely to be uglier as Colon is so hittable this season! As for the Rangers Martin Perez, he is facing the Twins for the 2nd time this season and this time it is on the road where he has recorded just 1 win in 7 starts. Also, Perez has a 7.79 ERA in his last 3 starts and his strikeout numbers are down too since the All Star break. Colon doesn't register many strikeouts either and that means plenty of contact for the hitters on a milder evening with the wind blowing out toward center at Target Field. The over is 12-4 in Colon's 16 starts this season. The over is 11-4 the last 15 times the Rangers have been on the road in a game with a posted total of 10 or 10.5 runs. The over is a long-term 103-69 in Twins games against teams with a losing record and the over is 5-2 in the last 7 starts Perez has made in addition to that 75% mark on the season for overs in Colon's starts! In other words, a slugfest is to be expected here. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Tampa Bay Rays @ 8:10 ET - Perhaps Houston's Dallas Keuchel should worry more about his own pitching and how he gets back on track after coming off of the disabled list rather than dissing his own team for not making moves at the trade deadline. Memo to Keuchel: your team has the best record in the American League (by far) and why change what has been working? In any event look for Keuchel to again get hammered just like he did at Detroit last week in a start that lasted only 3 innings. The southpaw gave up 14 hits in 12 innings in his two starts versus Tampa Bay last season and the Rays come into this match-up heating up at the plate. TB has scored 4 runs or more in 8 of their last 10 games including scoring at least 5 runs 7 times. Of course the Astros have one of the best lineups in baseball even when they're a little banged up. Wednesday they'll take advantage of facing a Rays starter, Austin Pruitt, whom gave up 5 earned runs in 5 innings in his start last week. He may put too much pressure on himself here as he is from the Houston area and went to both high school and college here. This is just his 3rd start in this, his rookie, season as he has mostly worked out of the bullpen. The results have not been good overall. Pruitt has been hit at a .319 clip and compiled a 6.63 ERA this season. The over is 9-2 in the Astros last 11 games. The over is 23-13 in Tampa Bay's games against teams with a winning record this season. Also, the over is 34-18 in Rays games when they are off of a win. Look for the over to improve to 11-5 in Astros Wednesday games this season. 10* OVER the total in Houston

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in San Diego Padres vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 4:40 ET - I am well aware of the fact that the Padres Clayton Richard does a good job of inducing ground balls and therefore he does get a lot of double plays. However, when you're getting hit as hard as he has been getting hit, damage will eventually be done and that certainly has been the case lately for the San Diego southpaw. Richard has gone 0-3 with a 9.86 ERA and ridiculous 2.42 WHIP in his last 3 starts. Look for his struggles to continue here as the Pirates take advantage of facing a struggling hurler and get their bats back on track. Before struggling at the plate in their 3 most recent games, the Pirates had recorded 11 hits or more in 6 of their 9 prior games! With the way Richard has been throwing, Pittsburgh's bats are likely going to resume that type of hitting and reach double digits in hits Sunday afternoon. The Pirates concern is the fact that Gerrit Cole has struggled on the road this season. He gave up only 2 runs Monday but did allow 10 baserunners in just 6 innings at San Francisco. Now Cole faces a red hot Padres team that has won 7 of its last 10 games and averaged scoring 5.4 runs per game during this hot stretch. The Padres are 12-3-1 to the over in their 16 games since the All Star Break. The over is 7-2-1 in Richard's last 10 starts. He has allowed 4 earned runs or more in 5 of his last 6 starts. Also, the Padres are 7-2 to the over this season (and 20-10 to the over the last 3 seasons combined) when they are on a winning streak of 3 games or more. 10* OVER the total in San Diego

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Miami Marlins vs Cincinnati Reds @ 7:10 ET - These teams just met in Cincinnati on Saturday with this same pitching match-up and the total was a high as an 11.5 in some places. Now the rematch total has moved down to a 9 from a 9.5 even though neither pitcher was sharp in Saturday's game. The Reds Robert Stephenson allowed 5 earned runs in 5 and 1/3 innings while the Marlins Chris O'Grady walked 6 in a start that lasted less than 5 innings. Many will want to play the under here since Miami is off of a record-setting game yesterday where 32 runs were scored in a 22-10 win over the Rangers at Texas. However, there is no reason to expect Miami not to stay hot at the plate against a very hittable Stephenson. At the same time, the Reds scored 5 runs in yesterday's loss at New York versus the Yankees and they have now scored 4 runs or more in 6 of their last 12 games. Even though those aren't phenomenal stats for Cincy, the fact they now face a pitcher (O'Grady) who has struggled with command of his pitches has me expecting at least 4 or more from the Reds here. Certainly the Marlins will at least match the Reds run for run and I expect at least a 6-5 type game in this one. The over is on a 24-16 run in Cincinnati's Thursday games and the over is on a 21-14 run in Reds road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. The over is 37-23 in Marlins night games this season and their .267 batting average versus right-handed pitching this season ranks them in the top 20% of the majors! 10* OVER the total in Miami

Game of the Week - Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Detroit Tigers vs Kansas City Royals @ 7:10 ET - These pitchers just squared off in Kansas City Wednesday and it was a 4-3 game that was a bit of a pitchers duel between these two starters. As a result, it comes as no surprise that this total has dropped down from a 9.5 to a 9 Monday morning. I am grabbing the value with the over here as the wind will be blowing out in Detroit this evening and, even though it will be cool by July standards, it will be a hitter-friendly evening at Comerica Park. The Royals will be seeing Verlander for the 4th time already this season and they did hit 3 homers against him in the last game they saw him in last season. Repetition tends to help the hitters and this will be Kansas City's fourth look at Verlander in less than two months time! Jason Hammel has a 7.25 ERA in his 8 career starts versus the Tigers and he has allowed 3 homers in a game in 2 of his last 4 starts versus Detroit. That under last week on Wednesday was just his 2nd under in 8 starts versus the Tigers in his career! I know both these pitchers have been trending under of late but the over is 7-2 overall in Detroit's last 9 games. Also, the Royals enter this game on a 5-game winning streak that has seen them score an average of 7.8 runs per game! The over is 26-14 in Tigers divisional games this season and I expect another one here. 10* OVER the total in Detroit

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Los Angeles Angels vs Boston Red Sox @ 3:35 ET - This total has dropped from a 9.5 to a 9 and there is some exceptional line value here with the over. Boston's Rick Porcello faced the Angels just last month while LA's Parker Bridwell faced the Red Sox in that same series. That said, these lineups just faced these starting pitchers not too long ago and that will be an edge for the hitters in the rematch. The fact is that Porcello has often been able to pitch his way out of jams but that doesn't change the fact that he is one of the most hittable starting pitchers in the majors. Porcello has been hit at a .300 clip on the season and Bridwell has a 4.91 ERA in his 3 home starts this season and 2 of the 3 did result in overs. Porcello allowed 9 hits in 6 innings in his most recent start while Bridwell has given up 17 hits in 12 and 1/3 innings in his two most recent home starts. With yesterday's 7-3 win the Angels have now scored 7 runs twice in their last three games while the Red Sox have averaged scoring 5 runs per game in their last 5 games. Look for the over to improve to 11-5 in Boston's Sunday games this season. 10* OVER the total in Los Angeles Angels

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Houston Astros @ 7:05 ET - The Astros Collin McHugh will make his first start of 2017 at the MLB level after missing time due to injury. He has been hit at a .309 clip in his rehab assignments in the minors as he has prepared for this start. If you think that is a fluke or that he is really "better than that" the fact is that he really didn't pitch all that great last year. Remember that McHugh had a great 2014 in terms of his ERA and then went 19-7 in 2015. This has him high on the radar of a lot of bettors. However, even with going 13-10 last season he actually was hit quite hard and that includes getting hit at a .295 clip in night games. Also, on the road last season McHugh compiled a 4.95 ERA and was hit at a .291 clip. He's facing a tough Orioles lineup that has averaged scoring 9.5 runs per game in their last 4 games. The over is 7-2 in Baltimore's last 9 games. As for the Astros sticks, they are averaging 7.3 runs per game in going 5-3 in their last 8 games. They should have no trouble with the offerings of Chris Tillman. The O's right-hander gave up 6 earned runs in just 2 innings when he last faced Houston. Also, Tillman has an ugly 7.20 ERA and 2.02 WHIP so far this season! The over is 27-12 in Astros road games this season and both these teams are loaded with confidence at the plate right now. 10* OVER the total in Baltimore

Game of the Month - Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Kansas City Royals vs Chicago White Sox @ 8:15 ET - Very warm evening in Kansas City with the wind blowing out toward left-center at a good clip. The way both these starting pitchers give up the long ball, the set up is perfect for a slugfest in this one. The Royals Ian Kennedy has some decent numbers on the season but he has allowed 10 homers in his 43 innings at home this season and that includes 2 in his most recent start. Though he pitched well in that outing overall, Kennedy was facing a Rangers team that has the worst batting average on the road this season out of all 30 teams. Kennedy now faces a White Sox team against whom he allowed 4 earned runs in just 4 and 1/3 innings when he faced them earlier this season. He did allow 2 homers in that start as well. The good news for Royals fans tonight is that, even if Kennedy is "giving it up", there is a high probability that Kansas City's lineup will be matching the ChiSox run for run. That's because the White Sox are starting James Shields and he has allowed 10 earned runs in 10 and 2/3 innings spanning his last two starts. The right-hander gave up 3 homers in his most recent road start. Overall on the season Shields has given up 11 home runs in 42 and 1/3 innings. The Royals scored 16 runs yesterday while the White Sox had an off day which was much needed as they are still winless since the All Star break. Chicago is 7-4 to the over this season (and 28-17 to the over the past 3 seasons combined) when they are playing after a day off. The Royals have averaged 11 hits per game in their last 5 games and the over should improve to 4-1 in their last 5 with another wild one on a hitter-friendly night at Kauffman Stadium. 10* OVER the total in Kansas City

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 1:35 ET - Hot afternoon weather in Boston with the wind blowing out toward center field or at least right-center in this one. The point is that it will be a hitter-friendly afternoon. I am well aware of the fact that last night's 5-1 Boston win means that the under is now 6-0 in the Red Sox last 6 games. However, this one is all about the pitching match-up and the fact that is a day game should also help our cause. Francisco Liriano gets the start for the Blue Jays and he exited his last start very early due to a sore neck. Whether or not the neck bothers him much today is not that much of a factor but it certainly won't help him. The fact is that Liriano has been consistently struggling whether his neck is sore or not! The Toronto southpaw has an 8.36 ERA in his last 3 starts. Also, on the season, Liriano has particularly struggled on the road! He has an 8.33 ERA in starts away from home and the over has gone 5-2 in those 7 games. The Red Sox hand the ball to Doug Fister for his 4th start of the season. In his first three starts he has compiled a 6.13 ERA and he already has 9 walks in less than 15 innings of work. He just faced the Jays on June 30th and Liriano just faced the Sox on July 1st. The fact these lineups just saw these starting pitchers also should lead to plenty of offense in this one. Also, Toronto has played 13 games as a road dog in a range of +125 to +175 and only 3 of the 13 games resulted in an under! 10* OVER the total in Boston

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Mets vs St Louis Cardinals @ 7:10 ET - The Mets got shutout yesterday but they had previously scored 30 runs in their 4 games since the All Star break. New York should bounce back in a big way tonight against a struggling Mike Leake. Cardinals right-hander hasn't allowed a lot of earned runs lately but this is hiding the fact he truly hasn't pitched well at all. In Leake's last two starts he has given up 10 runs (5 earned) on 16 and 6 walks in less than 9 innings of work spanning these two outings. As you can see from these numbers, Leake has been struggling much worse than his ERA would lead you to believe. Also, the righty has given up 8 earned runs in less than 9 innings of work spanning his last two starts against the Mets. New York will have Jacob deGrom on the mound and, though he's got great overall numbers, the Cardinals have been a bit of a nemesis for him. The Mets right-hander has given up 9 earned runs on 20 hits (including 7 homers!) in the less than 12 innings spanning deGrom's last two starts versus St Louis. The Cardinals are 11-7 to the over this season in road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. The Mets are 18-9 to the over in games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. Also, overall, New York is 28-14 to the over in home games this season, 9-4 to the over in Wednesday games, and 41-15 to the over in night games! More of the same expected tonight as the Mets look to bounce back from a shutout loss. 10* OVER the total in the New York Mets game

AL West Total of the Year - Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Seattle Mariners @ 8:10 ET - I am well aware of the fact that the Astros Carlos Correa jammed his thumb and left yesterday's game early. Even if he does not play tonight or ends up on the disabled list, lets not forget that he was 1 for 8 with 3 strikeouts so far since the All Star break. Certainly he is a big stick but Houston has a solid lineup even if Correa sits. The big key here is the Mariners Sam Gaviglio is likely to struggle in his match-up. He has a 6.35 ERA in his last 3 starts overall plus he has a 5.16 ERA in road outings this season. Also, the Astros lineup just faced him in late June so they're getting a quick second look at him. Brad Peacock gets the start for the Mariners here and he is 2-4 with a 5.90 ERA in his starts versus Seattle. He has struggled badly the last two times he has hosted Seattle as Peacock has been rocked for 11 runs (6 earned) on 12 hits in 8 and 2/3 innings. Overall, with 23 walks in his last 30 and 1/3 innings, command has certainly been an issue for Peacock over his last 6 starts. The over is an insane 11-2 this season (and incredible 46-15 the last 3 seasons combined) in Mariners Tuesday games. The over is on a red hot 12-3-1 run in Houston's last 16 games. The Astros have averaged scoring 8.7 runs per game in their 10 games dating back to July 4th! Seattle has averaged scoring 5.1 runs per game in their last 10 games since Independence Day. Hot sticks and two pitchers likely to struggle in this one has me backing the over in a big way here. 10* OVER the total in Houston Tuesday evening

Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Kansas City Royals vs Detroit Tigers @ 8:15 ET - I know this is a big total and it has climbed even higher since the opening number but the line move is absolutely justified. Justin Vargas has great full season numbers but he is coming off of his worst start of the season (at Seattle before the break) and they were some troubling signs for him in that game. The rough outing versus the Mariners absolutely could be a sign of things to come. Also, he now faces a Tigers team that is #1 in the majors (out of all 30 clubs) with a .477 slugging percentage against left-handed pitchers this season! In his last two starts versus Detroit, Vargas has given up 9 earned runs in less than 9 innings of work. The Tigers will certainly need all the runs they can get here as a struggling Jordan Zimmerman takes to the mound for Detroit. Zimmerman has an ugly 9.94 ERA in his last 3 starts. Also, he is 0-4 with a 6.99 ERA on the road this season. Only 1 of his last 5 road starts has resulted in an under. Also, the over is 25-15 in Tigers road games this season and 21-12 in their divisional games this year. Look for the over to improve to 5-2 in the Royals 7 games versus Detroit so far this season with another high-scoring match-up tonight. 10* OVER the total in Kansas City

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs New York Yankees (Game 2) @ 8:05 ET - Yesterday's game went 16 innings so the bullpens definitely got some extra work. Additionally, these teams are now playing a double header Sunday and that means Game 2 of this day-night double header will mean that at least 34 innings of Red Sox / Yankees baseball will be played within a span of 24 hours. Needless to say the bullpens will be stretched out and couple that with the fact that these starting pitchers are likely to struggle and you have the perfect situation of an over Sunday night. The Red Sox will have David Price on the mound and the Boston southpaw has found the Yankees to be a nemesis of his. Since Price has gone to the Red Sox he has faced the Yanks plenty. The bad news for the Boston lefty is that the constant repetition has helped the Yankees zone in on his offerings. Price is 1-4 with an ugly 8.31 ERA in his 6 starts versus the Yanks. In his last 4 starts versus the Yankees Price has allowed 20 earned runs on 40 hits in just 23 innings of work. He'll be opposed by Masahiro Tanaka. The Yanks right-hander outdueled Chris Sale at Boston earlier this season but then got rocked in the rematch for 5 earned runs in 5 innings and this was a start in which he allowed 3 homers. Tanaka has a 6.24 ERA on the road this season and he comes into this start off of a home outing in which he allowed 5 earned runs in 4 and 1/3 innings. He did give up 2 homers in that start. The over is 6-3 in Tanaka's road starts this season and the over is a perfect 3-0 in Price's last 3 starts versus the Yankees. The over is 15-6 in Yanks road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 this season. Also, the over is 26-13 in Yankees games against teams with a winning record and 25-12 in Yankees divisional games this season. The Red Sox enter Sunday's action with a 10-3 mark to the over in their Sunday games this season. Regardless of the outcome in Game 1 of this double-header, look for the high-scoring trends to continue in the nightcap! 10* OVER the total in Boston in Game 2

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Detroit Tigers @ 8:05 ET - These teams combined to go 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position and the Indians left 10 men on base in their 4-0 win yesterday. While many will expect another low-scoring game today I am coming right back with the over in this one. After yesterday's futility at the plate in run scoring opportunities, look for the hitters to get it done today. Everyone will look at the recent starts of the Tigers Michael Fullmer and the Indians Corey Kluber and they'll expect a low-scoring game here but match-ups are extremely important when evaluating starting pitching. That said, Fullmer has allowed 9 earned runs on 13 hits and 6 walks in the 8 and 1/3 innings spanning his last two starts versus the Indians and those have both come within the past 10 months. As for the Indians Kluber, he has been crushed for 13 earned runs on 20 hits (including 3 homers) in the 13 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts against the Tigers. Not only have all 3 of those starts come within the past 10 months, 2 of them were outings this season! Look for both of these pitchers to continue to struggle against the same lineups that have been proven to give them trouble in the past. By the way, light winds at Progressive Field tonight but they will be blowing out toward center or right-center on a mild evening in Cleveland that will favor the hitters. Look for the over to improve to 5-0 in Fullmer's career starts against the Indians. Also, the Tigers are 9-3 to the over in Sunday games this season and Detroit is 49-25 to the over in road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs the last 3 seasons combined. 10* OVER the total in Cleveland

1st Half Game of the Year - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Chicago White Sox @ 3:10 ET - Yesterday's game stayed under the total but the White Sox entered that game on a 7-0 run to the over. Though the Rockies have been an "under team" this season, this pitching match-up is conducive to a high-scoring slugfest. Both these teams are among the top teams in the majors for batting average versus left-handed pitching. Also, both teams rank among the best in the majors for slugging percentage against southpaw hurlers. Carlos Rodon is making just his 3rd start of the season and this is his first-ever start at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Though Rodon had a strong start at Oakland, he did walk 6 in just 5 innings in his prior start and now he pitches at the most unfavorable park for pitchers in the majors. As for the Rockies, a struggling Kyle Freeland takes to the hill for this one. The Colorado southpaw has given up 42 hits in the 29 innings spanning his last 5 starts. Freeland is 0-3 with a 7.27 ERA and 1.79 WHIP in his last 3 starts. Though his home starts have had an incredible under trend this season, Freeland is in poor form and now facing the #1 offense in the majors when it comes to facing left-handers. As for the White Sox Rodon, the over is 3-0 in his last 3 starts dating back to September. This will not be a popular play but it will be a winner and I love fading the masses in situations like this. Big total but we get line value as it has already moved downward and both these pitchers get crushed here. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Total of the Week - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Los Angeles Angels @ 9:05 ET - The last time Tyson Ross faced the Angels he gave up 10 hits in 6 innings two years ago. Speaking of getting hit hard, Ross has compiled a 7.71 ERA in his last 3 starts. Coming off of an embarrassing 10-0 loss yesterday, the Angels sticks should respond here against a hurler who has struggled with command of his pitches. Ross walked 5 in 5 innings in his most recent start. The good news for Rangers fans is that the Texas lineup should enjoy another big day at the plate. Texas will take advantage of facing Jesse Chavez. The Angels right-hander has given up 5 earned runs or more in 4 of his last 6 road starts! Chavez is 2-5 on the road this season with an ugly 6.36 ERA. He has allowed 9 earned runs in 10 and 1/3 innings versus the Rangers so far this season and Texas already hit 3 homers off of Chavez in those two starts. The over is 4-1 in the 5 starts Chavez has made versus the Rangers in his career and the over is 3-1 this season in all the starts Ross has made. Rangers games have reached double digits in runs in 7 straight games and I look for another wild one today in Arlington after last night's game stalled out and ended up with 10 runs after a hot start by the Rangers in the early innings. This time both teams will be crushing the ball and scoring plenty. 10* OVER the total in Texas

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 7:05 ET - The Brewers won 11-2 at Chicago versus the Cubs yesterday afternoon and that makes them 7-1 in their last 8 games and Milwaukee has averaged 6.8 runs per game those 8 contests. Also, tonight's match-up against Yankees southpaw Jordan Montgomery will be the 3rd straight game (and 4th in last 5) in which the Brewers have faced a left-handed starter. That is a big edge for them and their bats should stay hot here. However, the issue for the Brewers will be their own starting pitcher as a struggling Junior Guerra gets the call here. The right-hander is 0-2 in his last 3 starts with a horrible 9.64 ERA and an unheard of 2.43 WHIP! Guerra gave up 4 homers in his most recent road start and now faces a Yankees team that has scored 6 runs or more in 7 of their last 11 games. The Yanks have averaged 5.7 runs per game during this solid 11-game stretch at the plate. The over is 7-3-1 in those 11 games. Also, the over is on a perfect 5-0 run in Montgomery's last 5 starts for the Yankees. The over is 24-10 in Yanks games against teams with a winning record this season and, also, the over is 7-2 in Yankees games where there a home fave in a range of -175 to -250 this season. 10* OVER the total in New York Yankees

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Houston Astros @ 7:05 ET - The Astros have gone over the total in 5 straight games and, overall, the over is 9-2-1 in Houston's last 12 games. The Blue Jays certainly have not been hitting like the Astros have but, look for them to build off back to back wins over the Yankees including scoring 7 runs in yesterday's game. Lance McCullers gets the start for the Astros here and he has not been nearly as dominant since coming off of the disabled list. The right-hander gave up 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in a start that only lasted 5 and 1/3 innings versus the Yankees in his most recent outing. He was hit hard in his only career start against Toronto and that was just last season. Speaking of getting hit hard, Francisco Liriano was rocked by the Astros when he most recently faced them and that was also last season. As for this season, the Blue Jays southpaw comes into this one struggling. Liriano has allowed 5 earned runs in 2 of his last 3 starts and ironically each of those two outings where he gave up 5 earned runs were the only two that stayed under the total. The over is 6-2 in Liriano's last 8 starts and I look for more of the same here as he faces a potent Astros lineup. Houston has averaged scoring nearly 8 runs per game in their last dozen games. In road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs the Astros are 29-13 to the over the past 3 seasons combined. 10* OVER the total in Toronto early Thursday evening.

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Cincinnati Reds @ 8:10 ET - This is a contrarian play as the total has already moved down from a 13 to a 12.5 as of early Tuesday morning. The fact is that bettors find it tough to play overs when they get up into this range but this big total is definitely warranted! The Reds send Homer Bailey to the mound and you have to really feel bad for the guy. So far in his return to the major league Bailey has been completely crushed for 14 earned runs in less than 5 innings of work spanning his two starts! Now the struggling (to put it mildly!) right-hander has to pitch at the most hitter-friendly venue in all of baseball! Like I said, you have to almost feel bad for the guy and this truly is unlikely to end well for him here considering the way he's getting knocked out around. The only hope for Bailey is to get plenty of run support here and I absolutely do expect that. The Rockies send southpaw Kyle Freeland to the mound for this one and he has a 6.75 ERA in his last two starts and those were on the road. Now he's back home at hitter-friendly Coors Field and though he has a surprisingly low ERA at home this season, he has given up 22 hits in the 18 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 3 home starts. It's going to catch up with him here and the Reds gave Freeland some trouble (including 2 homers) when they faced him in Cincinnati in late May. The over is 11-4 this season in Reds road games where they are a dog in a range of +125 to +175 on the money line. Also, the over is 8-1 in Cincinnati's Tuesday games this season. After a loss this season the Reds are 28-14 to the over and Cincy is 23-11 to the over in their games against teams with a winning record. Bailey's last 4 starts at the MLB level all flew over the total and this one will as well. Yes I am well aware of Freeland being an "under" pitcher this season but there are too many signs pointing to a slugfest here! The odds makers knew what they were doing when they set the big total on this one. Look for it to get there by the middle innings! 10* OVER the total in Colorado

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Philadelphia Phillies vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 4:05 ET - The Pirates got shutout yesterday and truly have not been hitting the ball all that well of late. However, the over is 3-0 this season (and 16-7 the last 3 seasons combined) when Pittsburgh is off of a shutout loss. Couple that with the fact that facing the Phillies Mark Leiter should do wonders for the Pirates lineup, and you have a nice set up for an over in this one. Philadelphia's Leiter gave up 9 hits in 5 innings at Seattle in just his 2nd MLB start earlier this week. He was fortunate he only allowed 4 earned runs as he did give up 3 homers among the 9 hits in just 5 innings. The Pirates will do some damage here. The Phillies are playing a little better of late and its building confidence for this lineup. Philadelphia has won 4 of its last 6 games and they've averaged 5.2 runs per game during this solid stretch. Also, the Phillies have averaged 5 runs per game in their last 3 home games. They'll face Jameson Taillon of the Pirates and they hit him well when they faced him last season and he has allowed 19 hits in the 17 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts. Though he has limited damage in those outings, the fact is that he's been far from unhittable and the Phillies are stringing together hits quite well over the past week. More of the same right here. By the way, only 7 of the last 21 times that Philly is off of a shutout win did their next game stay under the total! 10* OVER the total in Philadelphia

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Los Angeles @ 8:10 ET - The Twins send Adalberto Mejia to the mound for this one and his ERA is low over his last 3 starts but he's been in plenty of jams during this stretch. Mejia was simply fortunate to work out of a number of those jams but its going to catch up with him soon. In fact, Mejia has a 6.10 ERA and 1.75 WHIP in his 6 home starts this season. He is matched up tonight with an Angels hurler whom has been struggling away from home this year. Alex Meyer gets the start for Los Angeles and he is 1-4 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP in his road starts this season. The Angels right-hander was matched up with Mejia in Anaheim early last month and that was an unexpected pitchers duel. It is unlikely to be repeated here as now both lineups get another look at these starters and plus Meyer is now on the road where he struggles and Mejia is back at home where he's been struggling all season. Look for the over to improve to 5-1 in Meyer's road starts this season. The over is 16-8 in Twins home games where their money line has been in a range of -125 to +125 this season. Look for another one here as both these lineups should be able to "tee off" in this one. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Los Angeles Angels vs Seattle Mariners @ 10:05 ET - The Angels won Ricky Nolasco's last start and he had a rare strong outing but LA had previously lost each of his 10 prior outings! Also, in Nolasco's 6 prior starts he had given up 26 runs (22 earned) on 45 hits in only 32 and 2/3 innings of work. Now he faces a Seattle team that's lineup is rolling as the 10-0 win last night brings their scoring average up to 6 runs per game over their last 11 games. Although the Angels lineup has slumped their last 4 games, they previously had scored at least 4 runs per game in 7 straight games. Keep in mind, each team getting to just 4 runs guarantees us of no worse than a 5-4 final here and that final score would put this one into the win column. The Angels should enjoy success against Sam Gaviglio. The Mariners right-hander has 7 walks compared to just 4 strikeouts in his last two starts and those outings were at home. Note that on the road this season Gaviglio has a 5.51 ERA in his 3 starts! The over is 6-1 this season in the 7 match-ups between these divisional rivals so far this season. Also, the Mariners have had just 1 under in their last 9 games. The Angels have had just 2 unders in their last 8 home games. Look for more of the same tonight. 10* OVER the total in the Los Angeles Angels game late Saturday night. 

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - Marco Estrada is off of a strong start for the Blue Jays but he previously allowed 23 earned runs in the 16 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 4 starts. 2 of those 4 starts were at home and, in fact, he has allowed 5 earned runs or more in 3 of his last 4 starts. With that said, the over is offering great value here because Estrada is matched up with another hurler tonight who is also likely to struggle. Boston sends Doug Fister to the mound and though his first start as a member of the Red Sox fell into the category of a "quality start" he did give up 7 hits and walk 3 in his 6 innings of work. Keep in mind, post-All Star break last season with the Astros, Fister went 4-7 with a 6.20 ERA and a .322 batting average against! In the minors this season as he prepared for his first start with the BoSox, Fister did get hit at a .281 clip. He'll now be on the mound in Toronto tonight where, the last time he pitched here he got rocked for 6 earned runs in 6 innings of work. Look for the Blue Jays lineup to bounce back off of a rare, home shutout yesterday. As for the Red Sox, they've scored an average of 7 runs per game in their last 6 victories and are coming off of scoring 6 runs in last night's win versus Minnesota. The over is 8-4 in Toronto's Friday games this season and there has been just 1 under in Estrada's last 5 home starts! Look for these trends to continue here. 10* OVER the total in Toronto

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Arizona Diamondbacks vs St Louis Cardinals @ 3:40 ET - Yesterday's game (4-3 Cardinals win) stayed under the total but it continued the Cards recent surge as they've now won 3 of their last 4 games and average 6 runs per game in the process! As for Arizona, even with yesterday's loss, they've won 6 of their last 8 games and have averaged 6.6 runs per game during this hot stretch. Look for the over to improve to 8-3 in Cards Thursday games as a struggling Lance Lynn takes to the mound for St Louis. He has given up 7 earned runs in each of his last two starts. 6 of the 15 hits he has allowed in just 10 and 1/3 innings have been homers! Even though Lynn has a solid ERA versus the Diamondbacks in his career, he has allowed 18 hits in the 12 innings spanning his last two starts at Arizona. The Dbacks will have Patrick Corbin on the mound. The southpaw allowed 7 earned runs in less than 6 innings of work in his last home start versus the Cardinals. Corbin comes into this outing have been hit rather hard of late. Even though his ERA has been much better in June compared to his disastrous May, note that Corbin has been hit at a .300 clip this month. He was also hit at a .359 clip in May. That is why his ERA has climbed from a 2.29 in April to now a 4.99 ERA overall on the season. Corbin has been fortunate he has limited damage in June but, the way the Cards have been going, look for the southpaw to come unraveled in this one. Even with yesterday's under, the over is 12-5 St Louis' last 17 games. The over is 10-5 in Lynn's starts this season and 4-1 in Corbin's last 5 starts. 10* OVER the total in Arizona

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics @ 8:10 ET - Jesse Hahn just got rocked by the Astros in Oakland on Thursday and now has to face them again. The results are unlikely to be good considering Houston had no problem with his offerings last week as Hahn gave up 10 runs (9 earned) in just 2 innings of work. The situation is similar for David Paulino as he opposed Hahn on that day and was roughed up for 3 earned runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in just 5 and 1/3 innings. Paulino was fortunate the damage wasn't worse in a rather unimpressive outing. In fact, Paulino has a 5.04 ERA in his 5 starts this season and the over is 4-1 in those 5 games. He's dealing with a very confident A's team here as they've won 4 straight games and have averaged 7 runs and 12 hits per game in their last 3 games. As for the Astros lineup, they've certainly had plenty of confidence at the plate of late as well. Houston has averaged 6.1 runs and 10.9 hits per game in going 7-3 in their last 10 games. The over is 24-12 in A's games against teams with a winning record this season. The over is 7-4 in Houston's Wednesday games this season. The over is 7-3 this season in Astros games versus the A's and that includes 3-1 when they are the host. Look for another slugfest in this match-up tonight! 10* OVER the total in Houston

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Minnesota Twins @ 7:10 ET - This is a contrarian play as, on the surface, it looks like a pitchers duel. The fact is that Chris Sale has allowed at least 3 earned runs in 7 of his last 9 starts. Also, he allowed 9 hits in 7 innings in his most recent start. The Twins could enjoy some surprising success at the plate here as Minnesota has gotten to Sale for 9 earned runs in 11 innings the last two times they have faced him. Also, Minny comes into this game having won 5 of their last 6 games and averaging 5.2 runs per game in those 5 victories. Jose Berrios gets the start for the Twins here and he has great numbers on the season but he has been hit a little harder in recent starts away from home. After back to back strong starts at home, look for Berrios to get "touched up" here. Boston is off of back to back home losses but they're hitting .281 at Fenway Park this season (#1 in the American League) and they've provided some huge run support in recent Sale starts. Look for them to back the ace southpaw with another strong effort tonight. Berrios has made 8 starts so far this season and not a single one has gone over the total. Sale is one of the best pitchers in the game today. Yet oddsmakers hung an 8.5 on this one for the opening total. Of course the total has since dropped to an 8 and I am happy to fade the move here based on the reasoning above. Look for the over to improve to 18-10 this season in Red Sox games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. 10* OVER the total in Boston

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Los Angeles Dodgers vs Colorado Rockies @ 4:10 ET - The very first numbers to come out on this game showed an opener of 9 on the total and then it dropped to as low as an 8 before now settling in at an 8.5 across the board. The fact is that 9 certainly may seem high for a game at Dodger Stadium but in typical contrarian fashion, that is part of the reason I am happily backing the over here. Don't be fooled by the big number on this one. the fact is that the Rockies Tyler Anderson got rocked by Seattle in his most recent start for 6 earned runs on 11 hits in 5 innings of work. Though his two prior outings were both solid road starts, he faced two of the worst teams in MLB - Cincinnati and Philadelphia. Now he faces a tough Dodgers lineup and, even with the strong starts versus the Reds and Phillies, Anderson has a 5.51 ERA on the road this season. The over is 4-2 in his 6 road starts this year. Although the Dodgers Brandon McCarthy has put up strong numbers this season, he has a 5.40 ERA in his last two starts versus the Rockies. Also, his strikeout numbers are down recently and he is facing a Colorado team that is averaging 5.5 runs per game in their games against right-handed starters this season. After struggling with southpaws Wood and Kershaw the past two games, the Rockies will be happy to face a right-hander today. Look for the over to improve to 5-2 in Anderson's road starts this season and 11-4 in Dodgers home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs on the year! 10* OVER the total in LA Dodgers Sunday afternoon

Total of the Month - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Los Angeles Angels @ 7:15 ET - With yesterday's 9-4 Red Sox win cruising over the total, Boston has now recorded 3 straight overs and the Angels have recorded 5 straight overs. On a mild evening at Fenway Park and with two struggling pitchers on the mound, I don't expect these trends to come to an end. JC Ramirez gets the start for the Angels and the right-hander has given up 18 earned runs on 28 hits in his last 18 innings of work. That equates to a 9.00 ERA in the last 4 starts Ramirez has made and he now faces a Boston team that is averaging 6.6 runs per game in its last 5 home games. The Red Sox will be starting David Price. The Boston southpaw got a late start to this season and he really has not been as impressive as we're use to seeing from Price. The bad news for the left-hander is that things appear to be getting worse, not better, as he has a 6.75 ERA and 1.94 WHIP in his last 3 starts. Price allowed 5 homers in the 16 innings spanning those 3 starts. He now faces an Angels team that has averaged 6.3 runs and 11 hits per game in it's last 6 games. In road games with a posted total of 10 or 10.5 runs, the over is 3-1 in Angels games this season. The Red Sox have gone 4-1 to the over in their last 5 games overall and they've had just 1 under in their last 5 home games. Look for another wild one at Fenway Park tonight. 10* OVER the total in Boston early Saturday evening.

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Miami Marlins vs Chicago Cubs @ 4:10 ET - After yesterday's pitchers duel, today's afternoon match-up has all the right ingredients to play out in completely opposite fashion. Look for a slugfest here! The Marlins Justin Nicolino returned from the disabled list and promptly got rocked at home versus Washington. The Miami southpaw gave up 6 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits (including 2 homers) in just 3 innings of work! Niccolino is facing a Cubs lineup that will be fired up after getting shutout yesterday and the Cubs have a .457 slugging percentage against southpaws this season. That ranks them 4th out of all 30 teams in the majors. As for the Marlins, they have an on base percentage of .342 against left-handed pitching this season and that ranks them 4th out of all 30 teams. Miami will be facing southpaw Jon Lester whom has not fared nearly as well on the road as he has at home. Away from home this season, Lester is 1-3 with a 5.84 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. The over is 17-9 this season in Miami's games against teams with a winning record and the over is also a solid 9-4 this year in Marlins games against left-handed starters. The Cubs, as a road favorite of -175 or more, are 4-2 to the over this season and 22-11 to the over the past 3 seasons combined. Also, Chicago is 10-6 to the over this year in games against left-handed starters. 10* OVER the total in Miami Saturday afternoon 

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Chicago White Sox vs Oakland A's @ 8:10 ET - Mike Pelfrey has pitched surprisingly well this season but, prior to a strong start in his most recent outing, he has been showing signs of coming back to 'reality' recently. Pelfrey, previous to a solid outing versus Toronto, had given up 12 hits and 8 walks for a total of 20 baserunners in the 9 innings spanning his two prior starts! We could see more results like that today as he is 0-4 with a 7.96 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP in the 4 starts he has made against the A's in his career. As for Oakland, Jharel Cotton gets the start in this one. The right-hander has gone 4-7 with a 5.40 ERA on the season. Also, he is not really showing any signs of improvement as he has a 6.23 ERA in his last 3 starts and he allowed 2 homers in EACH of those three outings! Facing the hot hitters of the White Sox is unlikely to help matters for Cotton. The ChiSox are 6-4 in their last 10 games and they've scored an average of 6.4 runs per game during this hot streak. The White Sox have averaged 11 hits per game in their last 13 games! As for the Athletics, the over is 13-5-2 in their last 20 games. Oakland is also 26-14 to the over this season when off of a loss. The White Sox are 19-11 to the over this season in their games against teams with a winning record. 10* OVER the total in Chicago White Sox

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Miami Marlins vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:10 ET - The Cubs lost 3-2 yesterday and truly haven't been overly impressive at the plate of late. However, facing Jeff Locke should bring out the best in them. They just faced him at Wrigley Field earlier this month and they really forced him to labor in that outing. Overall, Locke has been unimpressive with a 5.79 ERA and 1.64 WHIP in his last 3 starts. Now the Cubs get a quick second look at him and they'll be ready to crush the ball today after a disappointing home loss to the Padres yesterday. As for the Marlins, they were no-hit late into yesterday's match-up against Max Scherzer of the Nationals but then they managed to rally late for the 2-1 win. There is reason to believe the Marlins will fare much better against the Cubs Jake Arrieta. The right-hander did enjoy success against Miami earlier this month but that outing was at Wrigley Field. On the road this season, the Cubs are 3-6 in Arrieta's starts and he has a 5.07 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in those outings. Arrieta has allowed 4 earned runs or more in 5 of his last 7 road outings. His most recent start stayed under the total but, prior to that, 9 of Arrieta's last 12 starts went over the total. The Marlins are 29-13 to the over in night games this season and I expect another one here as both lineups respond after poor performances at the plate yesterday. The pitching match-up today is very conducive to an over. The Cubs lead the National League in homers (28) versus left-handed pitchers. Miami is hitting .263 in night games which ranks 5th in the NL this season. Their high-scoring trending under the lights continues in this one Thursday. 10* OVER the total in Miami

AL Central Total of the Year - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Chicago White Sox @ 8:10 ET - Jose Berrios has put up surprisingly strong numbers this season. However, he still has made only 7 starts this season and this is a guy who went 3-7 with an 8.02 ERA in twice as many starts as that last year. Also, although Berrios is off of a strong start, he had previously been showing signs of "coming back down to earth" after his "out of this world" start to the season. Berrios, in his 4 prior outings, allowed 11 earned runs on 21 hits and 11 walks in the 22 and 2/3 innings spanning those 4 starts. That works out to a 4.37 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Certainly those are respectable numbers but it shows that a Berrios "correction" of his insanely strong numbers from earlier this season is quite likely. The White Sox did face Berrios last October so thiey are not without some experience against the young right-hander. As for the ChiSox starting David Holmberg here, the southpaw has produced decent numbers but has only last 17 innings in his 4 starts. That means another long day for a White Sox bullpen that again saw plenty of action yesterday is quite likely tonight! These teams combined for 16 runs on 28 hits and I am expecting another wild one tonight. The ChiSox have averaged 11 hits per game in their last 12 games! The Twins bullpen has a 5.25 ERA this season which ranks them dead last in the majors. The over is 18-10 this season in Twins games against teams with a losing record and the over is 95-60 the last 3 seasons combined when Minny is facing a team with a sub-.500 record. With the low ERA numbers these two starters have this season the O/U in the 10 range may look high but, as you can see above, there is plenty of justification for the odds makers setting this total where they did. I'll gladly take advantage of the line move that has it a 9.5 in many books this morning. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Los Angeles Dodgers vs New York Mets @ 10:10 ET - Robert Gsellman gets the start for the Mets here and he has a 6.26 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP on the season. He was rocked for 7 earned runs on 11 hits in just 5 innings of work in his most recent start. That start was at home too! On the road this season Gsellman has a 7.96 ERA. The over is 9-3 in his 12 starts this season! As for the Dodgers, they'll have Brandon McCarthy on the mound for this one. Even though he has some strong numbers on the season he has as many walks as strikeouts in his last two starts. He's averaged less than 5 innings per start in his last 3 starts and the Mets, entering Monday's action, are averaging 5.9 runs per game on the road this season. As for the Dodgers they entered Monday night's action having averaged 6.2 runs per game while going 9-1 in their last 10 games. They should have no trouble with the offerings of a struggling Gsellman here while the Mets season-long trend of "overs" continues. New York entered Monday having gone 33-10 to the over in night games this season. Also, the over is a perfect 6-0 this season in Mets Tuesday games. The Dodgers entered Monday's action having gone 17-9 to the over this season in their games against teams with a winning record. Also, the Dodgers are 9-3 to the over this season in home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Entering Monday, LA was on an 8-1 run to the over in their last 9 games and the Mets were on a 5-1 run to the over. More of the same expected here on Tuesday. 10* OVER the total in LA Dodgers

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Boston Red Sox @ 8:05 ET - David Price is slated for the start for the Red Sox in tonight's game even though he is dealing with a blister on his throwing hand. Joe Musgrove gets the start for the Astros here even though he struggled through a short outing (couldn't complete 5 innings) versus the Rangers on Monday. Musgrove had just returned from a trip to the disabled list due to shoulder pain. The point is that both of these hurlers have some issues right now and I expect them both to struggle here. After a red hot 6-game tear, the Red Sox lineup has suddenly struggled in their last 3 games. Look for the opportunity for the Boston lineup to "get healthy" versus Musgrove to pay immediate dividends here. Opponents are hitting .290 against Musgrove on the season. As for Boston's Price, the southpaw wasn't exactly spectacular in his most recent start and that was against the lowly Phils. In his last road start he gave up 6 earned runs in 5 innings of work. Considering the blister issue as well as the fact that the Astros have a .463 slugging percentage at home this season (good for 4th in the National League this season), look for Price to again struggle on the road here just like he did in the Bronx earlier this month. The over is 7-2 in Boston's Sunday games this season and the over is 7-2 in Astros games played on Sundays this year. Look for more Sunday fireworks after yesterday's game stalled out and fell short of going over the total even though 6 runs were scored in the first three innings! 10* OVER the total in Houston

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs @ 8:15 ET - Jake Arrieta of the Cubs is coming off of a tough start so many will be looking for the "bounce back" here. After all, Arrieta is still a big "name" that guys look to for strong starts. The problem with that theory is he is just not producing this season and this is particularly true on the road. Arrieta gave up 4 runs at home in his most recent start and that was at home. On the road, Arrieta is coming off of a strong start but it was against the light-hitting Padres. Was San Diego's lineup a factor? You bet! In Arrieta's 5 prior road starts he gave up 4 earned runs or more in all 5 starts! Look for another tough outing here for him as Pitsburgh has scored 5 runs or more in 8 of their last 11 games. The Cubs have also been heating up at the plate again after a rare dry spell. Chicago has won 3 of its past 5 games and averaged 7 runs per game during this hot streak. Ivan Nova gets the start for the Pirates. He does have good overall numbers on the season and is off of a strong start. However, prior to shutting down the Marlins in a solid 6-inning outing, Nova had been getting a little "touched up" over his 7 prior starts (including 5 straight where he allowed at least 3 earned runs in every single outing). Nova's ERA in these 7 starts was a respectable 4.40 but he did allow 56 hits in the 45 innings! He now faces a dangerous Cubs lineup and, also helping our cause here is the unsettled Pirates bullpen. Remember those games where they recently blew back to back big leads versus Baltimore in interleague action? Their bullpen had another implosion in last night's 9-5 loss. The Bucs pen can't be trusted, Arrieta can't be trusted for the Cubs, and this one has the makings of another easy over. The over is 4-2 in Nova's last 6 starts and 9-3 in Arrieta's last 12 starts. Cubs divisional games are 20-9 to the over this season. The Pirates are 42-28 to the over in home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs the past 3 seasons combined. Another wild one expected here! 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh Saturday evening 

NL West Total of the Year - Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs San Francisco Giants @ 8:40 ET - Yes this is an important top pick for me (as you can see from the play title I am using) and yes I am aware that Eduardo Nunez and Buster Posey left last night's game in the latter innings with injuries. However, Nunez only had 1 of the Giants 17 hits yesterday! As for Posey, certainly he is a fantastic hitter but consider his importance behind the plate as well. If Posey isn't behind the dish for San Francisco it could absolutely be impacting to Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija. Regardless of who ends up behind the plate tonight, Samardzija is likely to struggle. The right-hander got rocked for 7 runs in 5 and 1/3 innings in his last start at Colorado and that was in late April. The weather will be very warm tonight and the hitters for both clubs should again have a huge night at the plate after the 19 run outburst last night. As for the Rockies Antonio Senzatela, he fared well when he faced the Giants earlier this season but he certainly is in poor current form now compared to how he was throwing in the early stages of this season. Senzatela has been hit quite hard in 5 of his last 6 outings. The one exception was an 8-inning gem against St Louis. In the other 5 outings Senzatela allowed 19 earned runs on 30 hits in 25 and 1/3 innings of work. That works out to a 6.75 ERA in those 5 starts and, right now, the Giants have been heating up at the plate. San Francisco has recorded double digits in hits in 4 of their last 7 games. The Giants have averaged 12.3 hits per game in their last 4 games! SF is on a 4-0 run to the over. The over is 8-2 in Senzatela's last 10 starts. Also, the over is 21-11 in San Francisco's road games this season! 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs San Francisco Giants @ 8:40 ET - The Giants lost 7-2 yesterday but they did have 10 hits. It was the third time in six games that San Francisco has reached double digits in hits. However, those games were at home and the Giants have actually been swinging the bats better on the road and now head to hitter-friendly Coors Field for this series. San Francisco has averaged 6 runs per game and 10.4 hits per game in their last 7 road games. I am well aware of the fact that Colorado's Jefff Hoffman has put up some phenomenal numbers in his last 3 starts but all those were on the road. Though he does have great strikeout numbers, Hoffman's lone home start did see him allow 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in just 5 and 1/3 innings of work. The Rockies are off of a 5-1 win yesterday and are now 9-4 in the month of June. Colorado has averaged 6 runs per game this month and this will be just their 3rd home game so far this month. It is getting to the time of year now when the ball carries exceptionally well at Coors Field and the Rockies scored a combined 19 runs in their other 2 home games this month. They should have no problem with the offerings of Matt Moore. The Giants left-hander has allowed 11 earned runs in less than 10 innings of work spanning his last two starts against the Rockies and one of those outings was in pitcher-friendly San Francisco. Moore is 0-4 on the road this season with a 7.94 ERA and 1.91 WHIP in his 7 starts away from home. The over is 6-0, one push, in his road starts this season. The over is 5-2 this season in Giants road games where they are a dog in a range of +125 to +175. Look for another one here as Moore's over record goes to 7-0 in road games this season! 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Texas Rangers @ 8:10 ET - The Astros are starting Francis Martes. He is only 21 years old and this will be his first ever MLB start. In his only other appearance (Friday) he allowed 4 earned runs in 3 and 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. This season has been his first season in the minors above the AA level and it has NOT gone well. Martes has gone winless in 8 starts with a 5.29 ERA and opponents have hit .299 against him! In other words, with a lack of success above the AA level in the minors now Martes makes his first ever MLB start. Now, making the situation even tougher on him is the fact that he faces a red hot Rangers lineup. Texas has won 5 straight games and 6 of their last 7. The Rangers have averaged 5.6 runs per game during this 7-game stretch. As for the Astros, though they've been slumping, they will take advantage of facing the Rangers Andrew Cashner for  the 3rd time in the past 6 weeks! In fact, Houston just saw him in Arlington less than 2 weeks ago and they pounded him for 5 earned runs on 11 hits in 6 innings of work. Cashner's strikeout numbers are down this season and the Astros are loaded with sluggers so when they make contact, look out! By the way, the Rangers bullpen (5.57 ERA and 1.68 WHIP on the road) should also help our cause here. On Wednesdays, the over is 6-3 in Astros games and 8-2 in Rangers games this season. Going further back, Texas is 41-19 to the over in Wednesday games the past 3 seasons combined. 10* OVER the total in Houston

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Texas Rangers @ 8:10 ET - Happy to go contrarian here as the early move pushed this total from a 9 down to an 8.5 and I understand the move based on Yu Darvish being on the mound for the Rangers and Joe Musgrove having thrown 7 scoreless innings in his most recent start. However, here are the keys to value for this total. Darvish is 0-4 with a 5.81 ERA in his last 6 starts versus the Astros. These teams face each other a lot so there is plenty of familiarity for the Houston hitters with Darvish. Also, the Rangers right-hander has particularly struggled versus the Astros of late with 8 earned runs allowed on 14 hits in just 9 innings of work spanning his last two starts against Houston. As for Musgrove, though he's off of a strong start, that outing took place two weeks ago as he's just now coming back from a trip to the disabled list with a shoulder injury. I do not expect him to be 100% here and he has given up 13 runs (12 earned) in only 14 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts versus the Rangers. Those 3 outings included 2 September starts and then another start versus Texas last month so the Rangers have seen plenty of him recently. Again, that familiarity often leads to success for the hitters. The over is a perfect 3-0 in Musgrove's last 3 starts against the Rangers and none of Darvish's last 3 starts have stayed under the total! The Rangers have scored 5 runs or more in 8 of their last 11 games. The Astros have averaged 7 runs per game in going 13-4 in their last 17 games! Plenty of potency expected from both of these lineups today! The over is 9-3-2 in the Astros last 14 games and the over is 13-8 in Texas' games against teams with a winning record this season. 10* OVER the total in Houston Monday evening.

Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Arizona Diamondbacks vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 4:10 ET - The first number that popped up on this total was a 9.5 but it was immediately bet down to an 8.5 before big bets were even able to come in. The point is that knowing where the odds makers heads were when setting a line is always helpful and I understand this will be a contrarian play with the public but this total has a great shot at surprising many. Even though the Brewers Chase Anderson and the Diamondbacks Ricky Ray have thrown extremely well of late, there are a number of key variables favoring the over. 2 of Anderson's last 3 starts have been at home and note that on the road this season he has a 4.36 ERA and the over is 4-2 in those 6 outings. 2 of Ray's last 3 starts have been on the road and note that at home this season he has a 5.67 ERA and the over is 5-1 in those 6 outings. Also, these lineups just faced these starting pitchers two weeks ago. The hurlers held the upper hand in those meetings but don't be surprised if the hitters fare much better in the rematch! The Brewers had averaged 6 runs and 11.5 hits per game in their last 4 games before getting shutdown yesterday. The Diamondbacks had averaged 8.6 runs per game in their last 5 games before yesterday's tight 3-2 win over Milwaukee. On the season Arizona is averaging 6.4 runs per game at home and the Brewers have a .450 slugging percentage versus lefties (ranks among tops in the league) and they have averaged 5.3 runs per game in match-ups with southpaw starters this year! Look for the over to improve to 10-5 this season in Brewers games against left-handers this season! The Diamondbacks had recorded 5 straight overs before yesterday's pitchers duel. Look for the "over trend" to resume here. 10* OVER the total in Arizona

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in St Louis Cardinals vs Philadelphia Phillies @ 2:15 ET - Despite 18 hits in yesterdays game, it easily stayed under the total as the Cardinals prevailed 3-2. I won't hesitate to come right back with the over in this afternoon's rematch. The ball tends to carry well in afternoon games at Busch Stadium and the wind is going to be blowing out to left-center in warm day game action in St Louis Saturday. The Phillies are starting Nick Pivetta and he continues to be shaky on the  mound. In his most recent start he only allowed 3 earned runs but he did give up 6 hits plus walked 3 in his 5 innings of work. That short start means that Pivetta has not lasted longer than 5 innings in any of his 5 starts this season. Carlos Martinez gets the start for St Louis today and he has good overall numbers on the year but he is just 1-2 with a 5.09 ERA in his 4 day game starts this season. Also, throughout his career, the righty has been tougher on right-handed bats than left-handed sticks and this season has been no different. Martinez has a 2.32 ERA against righties but a 4.42 ERA versus lefties. That is significant because the Phillies meat of the order has been hot and so, though they are righties, I expect them to stay hot against Martinez. Where the lefty/righty match-up helps is in the fact that much of the rest of the Phillies lineup includes switch-hitters and left-handed bats so don't be surprised if they enjoy some success here. With the Cards also likely to pound Pivetta, that sets this one up nicely for a slugfest on a warm afternoon at Busch Stadium with a hitter-friendly breeze. Also note that both of these bullpens have struggled this season and their ERA ranks them each in the lower third of the majors. Look for the over to make it 4-0 in Pivetta's last 4 starts. As a road dog of +125 or more this season, the Phillies are 14-7 to the over. Also, Philadelphia is 42-20 to the over in June games the past 3 seasons combined. The Cardinals are 15-9 to the over this season in their games against teams with a losing record. 10* OVER the total in St Louis in early afternoon action Saturday 

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in St Louis Cardinals vs Philadelphia Phillies @ 8:15 ET - The Phillies Jeremy Hellickson is winless in his last 3 starts and has compiled a 7.72 ERA and 1.72 WHIP in these 3 outings. The Cardinals Michael Wacha is winless in his last 3 starts and has compiled an 11.92 ERA and a 2.38 WHIP in these 3 outings. Also, Hellickson gave up 6 earned runs in 5 and 1/3 innings in his only career start at St Louis. Wacha has given up 4 earned runs or more in 2 of his 3 career starts versus the Phillies. The over is 8-2 in Wacha's 10 starts this season. Also, the over is 15-8 in Cardinals games against teams with a losing record this season. The Phillies are 42-19 to the over in June games the past 2+ seasons combined! The over is also 21-11 in Philadelphia's night games this season and the over is 10-4 when the Phils are a road dog in a range of +125 to +175. Light breeze blowing out toward left-center with hitter-friendly conditions expect on a mild night at Busch Stadium Friday. 10* OVER 8.5 runs in St Louis

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - Many books opened this total up at an 8.5 yesterday afternoon but the betting markets are telling the odds makers they don't know what they're doing as the markets have forced the odds makers down to a 7.5 with this total as of Thursday AM. Long-time followers know how I feel about the value of the odds makers compared to the betting markets! The point is that we're getting extreme line value here with this big downward move on this total. Yes I know David Price is on the mound for the BoSox but he has allowed 14 earned runs on 32 hits in 18 innings of work spanning his last 3 starts against the Yankees. Also, all 3 of those outings came after the midway point of last season so it's not like it is ancient history by any stretch of the imagination. Price will be opposed by the Yankees Michael Pineda. The Yanks right-hander has allowed 7 earned runs on 13 hits including 4 homers in his last 2 home starts versus the Red Sox. Also, Pineda comes into this outing off of a rough start in his most recent outing. The over was 5-2 in the Yankees last 7 games before yesterday's game stayed just under the total. The over is 19-10 in Yanks divisional games this season. The over is also 13-7 in Boston's last 20 road games. More of the same here as both pitchers struggled against lineups that have fared very well against them in recent meetings. 10* OVER the total in the New York Yankees game

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - I know CC Sabathia has pitched well recently but he has been rocked in 2 of his last 3 starts versus Boston and the Red Sox hitters are very familiar with him. As for Rick Porcello, though he has a decent ERA in his last 3 starts he truly has been getting hit hard and that means we get hidden value here with this over. The total opened up at a 9.5 even though Sabathia has a 2.04 ERA in his last 3 starts and even though Porcello has a 3.65 ERA in his last 2 starts. The key here is Sabathia's likelihood to struggle with the BoSox lineup AND the fact that Porcello has allowed 30 hits in the 19 innings spanning his last 3 starts! The Red Sox right-hander has simply been fortunate he's been able to avoid big damage in those starts but I expect an implosion is imminent for him with the way he's been getting hit so hard. The Yankees have averaged 6 runs per game in their last 9 games. The Red Sox have averaged 6 runs per game in their last 15 games which has encompassed a red hot 11-4 run for Boston. Two hot hitting teams, two starters likely to struggle, and a total moving favorably for our purposes. This is a great spot for a Top Total in my book. 10* OVER the total in New York Yankees

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER 10.5 runs +100 in Colorado Rockies vs Cleveland Indians @ 8:40 ET - I know the Indians Mike Clevinger has surprisingly decent numbers since moving into the rotation but, in my opinion, the last 2 starts are a sign of things to come. Clevinger has given up 7 earned runs in the less than 12 innings of work spanning his last 2 starts AND he gave up 2 homers in EACH outing! Now he has to pitch at hitter-friendly Coors Field and this one is offering great line value with the downward line move from an opener of 11. We're getting some value here because, just like Clevinger, Antonio Senzatela is over-rated and he is also showing some signs that a bit of an unraveling is about to take place. Senzatela has just one quality start in his last 4 starts. In the other 3 starts he only worked 5 innings in each start plus allowed 4 innings in each starts. That's a consistent 7.20 ERA in those 3 starts. Senzatela has been fortunate in that he gets a lot of run support and that has also helped lead the way to a 6-2 run to the over in his last 8 starts. The Rockies game Sunday at San Diego stayed under the total but that was just the 2nd over in Colorado's last 8 games. The Rockies have been a surprisingly strong team this season and they have averaged 5.4 runs per game at home this season. The Indians come into this one hot at the plate and have averaged 5.8 runs per game in their last 8 games. Senzatela's most recent home start was a gem but his 4 prior home starts went 4-0 to the over. At hitter-friendly Coors Field, look for the over to improve to 8-3 in Rockies Tuesday games this season. 10* OVER 10.5 runs in Colorado

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB 10* Monday Top Play OVER the total in Kansas City Royals vs Houston Astros @ 8:15 ET - Despite scoring 7 runs yesterday, the Astros game stayed under the total. Despite allowing 8 runs yesterday, the Royals game stayed under the total. I love situations like these as we now grab the over the very next day even though many will be looking at the under because of yesterday's results. That helps to hold a total in place and I like the value here in this spot because Houston's Mike Fiers has a 5.13 ERA on the season and Kansas City's Ian Kennedy is 0-5 with a 5.12 ERA on the season. Since Kennedy came off of the disabled list he's made 3 outings and none have lasted longer than 5 innings. I know Fiers has surprisingly decent numbers but this is still a guy who got hit at a .280 clip lase season and also is getting hit at a .280 clip again this season. Plus Fiers has given up 18 homers in his 11 starts this season. For the Royals, the over is on a perfect 5-0 run when they are off of a game where they allowed 1 run or less or scored 1 run or less or both (they had a 1-0 game recently). Look for this run of overs to improve to 6-0 Monday as they respond off of a shutout loss. Also, the red hot Astros offense has scored 68 runs in their last 7 games! That's an average of 9.7 runs per game and Houston should stay hot against Kennedy as he has a horrible 12.60 ERA in his last 3 starts. In Astros road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs, the over is 24-9 the past 2+ seasons! That means we're testing a combined 29-9 mark to the over in this one (including the aforementioned 5-0 involving Royals). 10* OVER the total in Kansas City

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:15 ET - This is a contrarian play as the total has already moved lower and many will look for an under here because David Price is on the hill for the Red Sox and because of Dylan Bundy's long-term numbers for the Orioles this season. However, Price struggled in a rehabilitation assignment before making his first start of this season and I would not be surprised to see him struggle here on the road after enjoyed success in a 5-inning stint in his first start of this season. The Orioles are very familiar with Price and are facing a southpaw starter for the 4th time in their last 8 games. The O's have won 3 straight games and  averaged 6.7 runs per game but they'll be hindered by their own starter in this game. I know Baltimore's Bundy has great numbers this season but he is facing the Red Sox for the 4th time already this season. Boston is averaging 6.3 runs per game in their last 12 games and I expect this to be a breakthrough game for them today against Bundy as the more a team sees a pitcher the more it tends to help that lineup make the proper adjustment. 4 times in 2 months is a lot! This is a contrarian play all the way but I expect the BoSox to bounce back after a miserable day at the plate yesterday. 10* OVER the total in Baltimore

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Indians @ 8:15 ET - I know Josh Tomlin just shut down the Royals in Cleveland and has had great success against them this season. However, they're now facing him for the 3rd time in less than 4 weeks and familiarity generally leads to success for the hitters. Tomlin had been rocked in consecutive starts before shutting down KC last week so don't be surprised if he gets roughed up here as his recent struggles resume.  As for the Royals, they will have Jason Vargas on the mound and he was very fortunate that he allowed only 2 earned runs to the Indians last week as he gave up 9 hits in less than 6 innings of work. Vargas also got rocked for 6 earned runs in just 4 innings of work in his most recent home start. The Indians have averaged 5.4 runs per game in their last 11 games. The Royals have scored at least 5 runs in 4 of their last 6 games. Kansas City was off yesterday and the over is 7-2 this season when the Royals are playing with a day off between games. This is a bit of a contrarian play considering the recent success Tomlin has had against the Royals but I expect a breakout game from the lineups here on a hitter friendly night at Kaufmann Stadium. They are familiar with the pitchers they are facing in this one. Very familiar in this divisional battle. 10* OVER the total in Kansas City 

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Toronto Blue Jays vs New York Yankees @ 7:05 ET - The very first totals opened up at 9.5 on this game and it's now an 8.5 and I love the value we're getting here with two solid lineups. I know CC Sabathia has pitched better of late but he's faced some weak-hitting teams. He now faces a Blue Jays team that has won 8 of its last 9 games and averaged 6 runs per game in the process. Also, Sabathia faced the Blue Jays 4 weeks ago and was rocked for 6 earned runs in just 4 innings of work. I know Toronto's Marco Estrada has been pitching well but the Yankees have a .463 slugging percentage against right-handers and that ranks them as one of the top hitting teams in the majors against right-handed pitching. The Yankees have pounded out 42 hits and 23 runs in their last 4 games and Estrada has given up 4 homers in his last 3 starts versus the Yanks. Though he's pitched well overall I do look for Estrada to struggle again here. Prior to his solid start versus Texas he had allowed 5 earned runs in 2 of his last 4 outings. The over is 16-7 in Yankees divisional games this season. 10* OVER the total in New York Yankees

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Chicago White Sox vs Boston Red Sox @ 8:10 ET - With yesterday's 13-7 win, Boston is now 7-2 in their last 9 games and they've averaged 7.1 runs per game during this hot streak. The Red Sox will have Drew Pomeranz on the mound for this one. The southpaw is facing a team that hits lefties very well and will be facing a left-handed pitcher for the 3rd straight day. The White Sox have a .462 slugging percentage against lefties this season and that ranks #1 out of all 30 MLB teams. Also, with scoring 7 runs yesterday, they ChiSox have averaged 6.2 runs per game their last 11 games. You've got two lineups here that have plenty of confidence and, in addition to Pomeranz getting rocked, look for Mike Pelfrey to also struggle. I know that Pelfrey has pitched surprisingly well in his last two starts but, prior to that, he had a 5.70 ERA with more walks than strikeouts in his first 5 starts this season. Let's not forget that Pelfrey got hit at a .332 clip last season and has not finshed an MLB season with an opponents batting average of less than .300 since the 2011 season! Now he faces a strong Boston lineup that got to him for 5 earned runs in 5 innings in his only start against them last season. The most recent start for Pomeranz stayed under the total but, prior to that, the over was 3-0 in his last 3 starts. As for Pelfrey, I look for this start to move the over to 3-0 in his last 3 outings. 10* OVER the total in the Chicago White Sox game

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Houston Astros @ 8:10 ET - The Twins Jose Berrios has been fantastic but he did allow 3 homers in his recent start and the wind will be blowing out toward right field in tonight's game. That certainly could be an issue for the Astros starter tonight. Michael Fiers has given up 18 homers in his 9 starts this season and, in fact, had been relegated to the bullpen recently. However, he immediately is right back in the rotation because Charlie Morton went on the 10-day disabled list. Yesterday's game got completely nuts and I expect this could turn into another wild one. Fiers has just been a mess this season for the Astros and he has a 6.37 ERA on the road this season with only 1 of those 5 starts resulting in an under. Although Berrios has pitched surprisingly well, the Astros have reached double digits in hits in 4 straight games now. The Twins 15 inning marathon loss Sunday used up the bullpen and then they got exposed yesterday as they allowed 14 runs in the final 2 innings of Monday's loss. Berrios has been getting a lot of strikeouts but that also means the pitch counts go up and the Twins pen could be exposed again tonight. The over is 23-9 in the last 2+ seasons in Astros road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Also, the over is 37-22 in the last 2+ seasons in Twins home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Seattle Mariners @ 3:10 ET - The Rockies have been heating up at the plate. With yesterday's 8-4 win over the Cardinals, Colorado has now scored an average of 6.8 runs per game during their current 7-3 hot streak their last 10 games. Monday the Rockies take on the Mariners and Seattle got back on track with a 5-0 win at Boston yesterday. The M's have been struggling at the plate recently but a big win like that as well as now a day game at hitter-friendly Coors Field is the kind of sequence that can rejuvenate a dangerous lineup. The Mariners do indeed have solid hitters up and down their lineup and they should have no problems with the offerings of Tyler Chatwood. The Rockies right-hander has a 6.18 ERA at home this season. He also had a 6.12 ERA at home last season. It's one of the drawbacks of being a Rockies pitcher. Chatwood has seen first hand how this home park can be so tough on a pitcher and he has a huge road/home dichotomy as he has been tremendous away from home but struggled mightily at Coors Field. I don't expect the Mariners Sam Gaviglio to find Coors Field to his liking either. He's making just the 3rd start of his MLB career and in the rookie's first two starts he has a total of just 3 strikeouts. Remember, contact at Coors Field is not a good thing so if he can't mow hitters down here it's likely to be a long afternoon for him. The over is on a 29-17 run in Mariners inter-league games the past 3 seasons and I look for a slugfest in this one. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Total of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Tampa Bay Rays @ 2:10 ET – The Rays Alex Cobb has not been the same pitcher since Tommy John surgery. He’s been inconsistent and about every other outing has been a rough outing for Cobb since he returned to the majors. Why expect a “rough one” here? Well one thing that is consistent about Cobb is that he has had a tendency throughout his entire career to struggle more on the road than at home. Also, since the Tommy John surgery, Cobb has seemed particularly vulnerable to left-handed batters and the Twins lineup will be loaded with left-handed bats and switch-hitters for this one. Also, the wind will be blowing out to center at a good clip on a mild afternoon in Minneapolis Sunday. In other words, all the proper variables are in place for Cobb to get rocked here. He is getting hit at a .271 clip in day games this season and has a 6.04 ERA against left-handed batters on the season. The Twins will have Kyle Gibson on the mound here and he was rocked for 6 runs in just 5 innings in his first start back after being recalled from the minors. In other words, his struggles continued even after being sent down to the minors! Simply put, Gibson just can’t “get right” this season and he has an 8.62 ERA in his 7 starts at the MLB level. Also, Tampa Bay has plenty of hitters who have enjoyed success against Gibson and, the way he’s throwing right now, he’s particularly vulnerable. The over is a perfect 4-0 in Gibson’s last 4 starts. The last 3 seasons combined the over is 35-21 in Twins home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. As for the Rays, they entered Saturday’s action having gone 17-8 to the over in their games against teams with a winning record this season. Look for more of the same on Sunday. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

Total Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs New York Mets @ 7:15 ET - Yesterday's game went over the total and the over is now an incredible 30-10 in Mets games this season. New York's games just keep finding their way over the total and yesterday's got there despite Pittsburgh scoring only 1 run in that game. Look for the Pirates lineup to get right back on track as they had scored 26 runs on 42 hits in their 3 prior games. The over is an insane 25-5 in Mets night games this season and 18-3 in their games against teams with a losing record. As for the Pirates, the over is 10-4 in their home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs so far this season. Though this pitching match-up may not seem conducive to an over, note that the Mets Zack Wheeler has not pitched in a week and he was already having issues with command of his pitches. He had walked 4 or more in 2 of his last 3 starts. The extra time off won't help here. I know he had asked the team for an extra day but then it turned into 2 extra days off and I would not be surprised to see him struggle here. As for the Pirates Gerrit Cole, I know he has great overall numbers but he got rocked by the Braves in his most recent start and now faces a Mets team that has scored 60 runs in their last 11 games! Overall, on the season the Mets are averaging 6.2 runs per contest in their road games. Also, the Mets bullpen has been horrible on the road this season. They entered Friday's action having a 7.17 ERA away from home so far this year. Wheeler has made 8 starts this season and he has not had a single one of those 8 result in an under! Look for the strong high-scoring trend in Mets games to continue here. 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Miami Marlins vs Los Angeles Angels @ 7:10 ET - I am well aware of the fact that Daniel Straily has put together some impressive numbers this season. However, he has been rocked in each of his last two starts against the Angels and that includes a recent one, last August, where he gave up 4 homers in less than 3 innings of work. After getting shutout yesterday at Tampa Bay, I look for the Halos sticks to get back on track Friday. The last time they got shutout (May 20th) their next game flew over the total with 12 runs scored. Having had success against Straily, the Angels step into the batters box with plenty of confidence in this one. Certainly the Marlins sticks should have no trouble with the offerings of Jesse Chavez in this one. The Angels right-hander has an 8.18 ERA in his two career starts at Miami and he was rocked in both outings. Chavez also comes into this start in questionable form as he's allowed 4 homers and 7 earned runs in his last 2 road starts spanning just 11 and 1/3 innings! The Marlins were off yesterday and they are 4-0-1 to the over this season the 5 times they were coming off of a day off. Also, the over is 8-3 this season in Miami's home games where they are price in a range of -125 to +125 and the over is 22-8 this season in Marlins night games! The Marlins most recent game (Wednesday) stayed under the total but that was their first under in a week. Look for that recent hot "over trend" to resume Friday evening. 10* OVER the total in Miami

Total Smash - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Milwaukee Brewers vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 8:10 ET - The home runs continue to fly at Miller Park and yesterday's over was the 8th in the Brewers last 11 games (both home and away). Overall, Milwaukee continues to be an "over team" and that shouldn't change today with Zach Davies on the mound. The right-hander has seen all 5 of his home starts result in overs this season and he has a compiled a 6.93 ERA and 1.91 WHIP in those outings! The Diamondbacks come into this game having scored an average of 6 runs per game during their red hot 8-1 run their last 9 games. Arizona won't slow down here as they take advantage of a pitcher (Davies) whom has given up 37 hits in less than 25 innings of work at home on the season. As for the Brewers sticks, I look for them to get to Robbie Ray early and often in this one. The Dbacks southpaw piled up strikeouts (but also gave up 5 earned runs in less than 6 innings of work) in his lone career appearance at Miller Park and that was just last season. Ray is coming off of a strong start but previously allowed 9 earned runs in 9 innings spanning his last 2 starts as both walks and home runs were an issue for him. The over is a perfect 3-0 in his last 3 starts and the Diamondbacks, overall, are 23-13 to the over the last 3 seasons combined when they enter a game on a winning streak of 3 games or more. The Brewers are 18-7 to the over in home games this season and also 7-3 to the over in their games against left-handed starters. 10* OVER the total in Milwaukee

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Kansas City Royals @ 7:05 ET - Not a lot of hitting in the first two games of this series but that changes today in the 3rd game of this 4-day set. The Royals will have Jason Hammel on the mound. He has given up 12 runs (11 earned) on 22 hits (including 4 homers) in his last 2 starts spanning 13 innings. The most recent of those two outings was against the Yankees so that means another bad start is likely here as the Yanks get a quick 2nd look at Hammel. The Royals right-hander has a 7.20 ERA with a horrible 2.07 WHIP in his 3 road starts this season. The Yankees will have Luis Severino on the mound for this one and he has struggled in his last two outings. The right-hander has solid numbers on the season but he's fading recently. Severino has given up 11 hits and 6 walks in the 7 and a third innings spanning his last two starts. Another note here is that if Hammel gets knocked out early, the Royals bullpen has a 6.12 ERA on the road this season. The over is 3-1 in Royals road games where their money line is in a range of +175 to +250. The over is a perfect 4-0 in the Yankees last 4 games that Severino has started. Also, the over is 16-8 this season in Yankees games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. When off of a loss this season, the over has gone 11-6 in Yanks game. 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Yankees

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Texas Rangers @ 7:10 ET - This total has dropped from an opener of 9.5 to a 9 and could even be headed toward 8.5 in some shops. Either way, this is opening up great line value on the over. I am well aware of Rick Porcello's long-term success at Fenway Park. However, the Rangers are 11-1 in their last 12 games and have averaged scoring 6 runs per game in these dozen games. Also, Porcello has allowed 9 runs (7 earned) on 18 hits in just 12 innings of work spanning his last 3 starts. Also the last two times Porcello has faced the Rangers as a host (including last season at Fenway Park) he has been rocked for a combined 12 runs (11 earned) on 24 hits in just 11 and 1/3 innings of work! Porcello is likely to need plenty of run support from his offense today and he is likely to get it! Texas is starting Andrew Cashner and he is off of back to back strong starts but those were at home and against two teams that are struggling to score runs this season - Oakland and Philadelphia. Now he's on the road where he has had some issues with command of his pitches and Cashner is facing a Red Sox team that will build off of a huge 12-run outburst that wrapped up their road trip Sunday. The Rangers are 5-1 to the over in their last 6 games against right-handed starters. The Red Sox are on an overall 12-2 run to the over in their last 14 games. Texas is 7-3 to the over this season in their games against teams with a winning record and the Red Sox are on a 7-0 run to the over when they're off of a win! 10* OVER the total in Boston early Tuesday evening

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Minnesota Twins @ 7:05 ET - The Orioles game stayed under the total yesterday but 4 of their 6 prior games had gone over the total and Baltimore averaged 7 runs per game during that stretch. Look for the hot hitting to resume today after the O's were held to just 1 run yesterday. Facing the Twins Kyle Gibson should help tremendously in that regard. Gibson is winless on the season and has an 8.20 ERA and 1.94 WHIP as a starter on the year. Each of his last three starts have gone over the total. The Twins should also enjoy plenty of success at the plate tonight as they will be able to "tee off" against a struggling hurler too. Ubaldo Jimenez gets the start for the Orioles and each of his 3 home starts this season have gone over the total. Overall, in his 3 most recent starts, Jimenez has given up 2 homers in all 3 starts while compiling an 8.44 ERA in these outings. The Twins played a double header yesterday and both games went over the total. The over is now 10-6 in Minnesota's games this month and the over in May Twins games is now 43-24 the last 2+ years. Look for the over to improve to 4-0 in Gibson's last 4 starts and 4-0 this season in Jimenez home starts. 10* OVER the total in Baltimore

Bulldogs Best - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in San Diego Padres vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 4:40 ET - Another blowout win for the Dbacks yesterday and they've now won 5 straight games and the over is 4-1-1 in their last 6 games. The Padres have been slumping but they have had just 2 unders in their last 9 games and I expect them to enjoy success against Zach Godley this afternoon. I know Godley has surprisingly impressive overall numbers so far this season but he's only made 3 starts and he struggled the most in his start against the Padres. In fact, in his last 2 starts against San Diego he has given up 6 earned runs in 10 innings of work. Godley is not the only one with a match-up "issue" here as the Padres Clayton Richard has struggled against Arizona. The San Diego southpaw has given up 14 runs (11 earned) on 23 hits in the less than 15 innings of work spanning his last 3 starts against the Dbacks. Also, Richard comes into this start having allowed 11 earned runs in the 11 innings spanning his last two home starts. He simply continues to get hit hard time and time again. The over is 3-1 in Richard's home starts this season and 2-1 in all of Godley's starts this year. The over is 8-2 in Padres games this season when they are on a losing streak of 3 games or more. The over is 23-12 the last three seasons combined when Arizona is on a winning streak of 3 games or more. 10* OVER the total in the San Diego

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Cleveland Indians @ 4:10 ET - Mike Fiers of the Astros has been giving up tons of homers. Fiers has already allowed 16 homers this season including 8 in his last 3 starts! The Indians are averaging 5.8 runs per game in their last 5 games. On the season they've averaged 5 runs per game (plus have a slugging percentage of .433) against right-handed starters. They should pound Fiers as his struggles continue. The right-hander gave up 2 homers to the Indians when he faced them earlier this season and he has truly regressed since then. As for the Cleveland hurler this afternoon it will be Mike Clevinger on the mound and he's been struggling to find the plate in his first two start this season. With 9 walks in just 10 innings, Clevinger has been getting himself into jams. That spells trouble against an Astros team that has averaged 5.4 runs per game against right-handed pitchers while hitting .278 against them on the season. Even with last night's loss, Houston is still 9-2 their last 11 games and they've averaged 6 runs per game during this hot streak. Look for more of the same here! The over is 4-1-1 in Fiers last 6 starts. Also, the over is 7-3 this season when the Astros are off of a loss. The Indians had recorded 4 straight overs before yesterday's game stayed just under the total. These two solid lineups make up for that one today! 10* OVER the total in Houston

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Cleveland Indians @ 8:10 ET - This total has dropped from a 9 to an 8.5 and in some books as of mid-day gameday you don't even have to lay any juice when going over the 8.5 total. This is a fantastic value because neither one of these starting pitchers should be expected to enjoy much success here. Cleveland is starting Trevor Bauer and he has struggled this season including a 7.87 ERA and 1.75 WHIP in his last three starts. Also, in his last two starts against the Astros, Bauer has given up 9 earned runs in 11 innings and he allowed 4 homers in those two outings. Houston will have Charlie Morton on the mound and he piled up the strikeouts in his most recent start but he has walked 4 batters in each of his last two starts even though he didn't complete 6 innings in either outing. The Indians come into this game having averaged 6 runs per game in their last 4 games and also having scored at least 6 runs in each of their past two road games. The Astros also come in red hot as they have won 9 of their last 10 games and have averaged 6.3 runs per game in those 10 games. The Astros game Wednesday stayed under but previously they had not had an under in 4 straight games and the Indians do come into this one having gone over the total in 4 straight games. Look for the over to improve to 5-2 this season when the Astros are playing after a day off. A lot of line value here because these pitchers have the "attention" of the betting markets right now and both teams do have solid bullpens. But these lineups have plenty of pop at the plate and have been hot. That's why I am being a contrarian here and looking for a high-scoring match-up. 10* OVER the total in Houston

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Philadelphia Phillies @ 2:05 ET - This is a contrarian play because I am happy to go with the over even though the Rangers Martin Perez has a low ERA this season and the under is 6-2 in his starts and the under is 2-1 in Nick Pivetta's starts. The fact is that Perez has a 3.89 ERA this season but 1.68 WHIP and that means he has been playing with fire far too often. When a pitcher is doing that they are eventually going to get burned. The Phillies have averaged 5 runs per game in their games against left-handed starters and Perez has allowed 23 hits in his last 18 innings. As for the Phils Pivetta, he has been rocked for 23 hits (including 5 homers) in less than 15 innings of work spanning his 3 starts this season. The young right-hander also walked 4 in his most recent start even though he couldn't even complete 5 innings. Pivetta is facing a Texas lineup that has been red hot as the Rangers have won 8 straight games and averaged 6.4 runs per game during this 8-0 run. The Phillies are 9-3 to the over this season in road games where they are an underdog in a range of +125 to +175. Also, Philadelphia is 29-13 to the over in interleague games the past 3 seasons combined. The Phils sticks have been a little quiet so far in this series but they came to Texas having scored 5.7 runs per game in their 6 prior games. Look for Perez, who has been ultra hittable of late, to bring out the best in the Phillies sticks today. The Rangers, against a struggling rookie hurler, should stay red hot at the plate too. 10* OVER the total in Texas

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds @ 8:05 ET - I won with the over in this match-up yesterday and I expect another slugfest today. Last night 7 homers were hit and, once again, it will be another warm evening at Wrigley Field with the wind blowing out toward left field. Even though the Reds Scott Feldman has surprisingly decent numbers so far this season, the veteran right-hander pitches to contact (only 7 strikeouts in the 16 innings spanning his last two starts) and contract = trouble when the wind is blowing out at Wrigley Field. As for the Cubs pitcher in this one, Kyle Hendricks is getting the call and he has solid numbers this season but actually has a 4.11 ERA at home that could be even higher as he has a 1.57 WHIP in home games. The last time he faced the Reds he allowed 4 earned runs in only 5 innings of work. The over is now an incredible 29-10 in match-ups between these clubs in recent seasons. Also, the over is 13-4 this season in Cincinnati's games when they are off of a loss. Also, when on a losing streak of 3 games or more, the Reds have seen the over go a perfect 5-0 this season! The Cubs are 11-6 to the over this season and their lineup is full of power while the Reds also have a dangerous lineup with some big HR hitters as well. Look for another slugfest here and I'll gladly fade the line move as the odds makers said we want 12.5 on this game and the betting markets have already pushed it down to an 11.5 this morning! 10* OVER the total in Chicago Cubs

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* OVER the total in Kansas City Royals vs New York Yankees @ 8:15 ET - Wind blowing out to left. Warm temperatures. The Royals hitting much better with a 6-1 record their last 7 games and averaging 6 runs per game in those 6 wins. The Yankees sticks have been strong all season as they've averaged 5.7 runs per game on the year. Also, the Yanks have won 7 of their last 11 games and have averaged 6.6 runs per game during this hot stretch. The pitching match-up tonight is certainly conducive to an over as C.C. Sabathia is winless in his last 3 starts with an ugly 10.34 ERA in these outings. The Royals Jason Hammel has allowed 16 runs (15 earned!) in the 19 innings spanning his last 4 starts. The over is 4-1 this season when Kansas City is playing after a day off. New York is 9-4 to the over this season when they are off of a loss. Also, when the Yankees are off of a game where they allowed 10 runs or more, they've gone 14-6 to the over the past 3 seasons combined. 10* OVER the total in Kansas City

Global Smash - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Los Angeles Angels vs Detroit Tigers @ 9:05 ET - It has been feast or famine lately for the Tigers sticks and, based on the fact they're facing the Angels Ricky Nolasco tonight, I definitely look for more feast than famine in this one. Detroit, prior to getting shutout yesterday, had scored 5 runs or more in 8 of their last 10 games. Yesterday's loss was the 3rd time in 8 games that the Tigers had been held to 2 runs or less but, as you can see, they've had some big production on offense in most of their games. As far as facing Nolasco, he has given up 3 homers in his last 2 starts versus Detroit and plus has walked 6 while striking out just 2. Look for the Tigers to making plenty of contact against him and they have roughed him up for 9 hits in 6 innings in 2 of his last 3 starts against them. The Angels are also likely to hit well in this one. Los Angeles is facing a struggling Daniel Norris. The Tigers left-hander has an ugly 2.05 WHIP in his last 3 starts so truly he is fortunate that his 5.52 ERA is not higher than it is! The Angels exploded for 7 runs on 14 hits yesterday and I look for them to carry some momentum from that performance right into today's game. The over is 0-1 this season (but went 15-8-1 the prior 2 seasons) when the Angels are off of a shutout win. Detroit is 8-1 to the over this season (and 47-20 to the over the past 2+ seasons) when they are on the road and the posted total is 8 or 8.5 runs. Also, when off of a loss this season the Tigers have gone 12-3 to the over. 10* OVER the total in Los Angeles Angels

Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 runs in Texas Rangers vs Oakland A's @ 8:05 ET - The Rangers got a huge come from behind win last night and are now 3-0 in their last 3 games and have scored 20 runs in the 3 victories. On a night when the wind will be blowing out to right and there there two right-handed pitchers on the mound and I won't expect to see some more bombs hit tonight. The A's are off of a 3-1 win Wednesday but previously the over was 8-1 in their last 9 games. Oakland, like Texas, comes into this game with some confidence at the plate as they've won 5 of their last 7 games and have averaged 5.6 runs in the 5 victories. The A's will are likely to get to the Rangers Andrew Cashner as he has been quite fortunate. In his two home starts he has walked 10 batters in only 10 innings of work. In his last home start, Cashner gave up 5 hits and walked 6 in only 4 innings of work and, though he allowed two homers, miraculously only gave up 2 earned runs. That is helping to give us line value here because Cashner is 11-30 in his last 41 decisions and had a 4.34 ERA two years ago (helped by pitching home games in San Diego) and a 5.25 ERA last season. He got hit at a .279 clip for the season each year. He's just not that solid of a pitcher and his issues with command of his pitches this season is foretelling of the damage that will be coming his way. The A's will have Jesse Hahn on the mound and he's been rocked for 8 runs (5 earned) on 14 hits in his last 2 starts which have spanned less than 10 innings. Also, Hahn walked 4 in his last start and that outing didn't even last 4 innings. The over is 2-0 in his last 2 starts and Oakland is 4-1 to the over this season in games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Also, the A's are 10-5 to the over when off of a win. Look for another one here. 10* OVER the total in Texas

Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Chicago White Sox vs Minnesota Twins @ 8:10 ET - I know Phil Hughes is off of a good start but he was rocked for 10 hits in less than 6 innings in his most recent road start and was certainly lucky he only allowed 4 earned runs in that outing. Look for Hughes to again get hit hard again now that he's back on the road for this one. He faced off with tonight's counterpart, Derek Holland, 5 weeks ago and both had solid outings. However, this will now be a 2nd look for these lineups and the weather will also be much better than it was in early April. Certainly more favorable for the hitters here. Holland has been pitching well but the Twins are crushing the ball of late and have just 1 under in their last 10 games. In their last games Minnesota is averaging 5.2 runs per game and they are averaging 4.8 runs per game on the road this season while the ChiSox are averaging 4.7 runs per game at home this season. Look for both teams to get to at least 4 runs here and that guarantees us of no worse than a 5-4 final which sends this one over the total. The over is 23-15 when the White Sox are playing after a day off. Also, the over is 4-2 this season in ChiSox games where the line ranges from -125 to +125. Look for the over to improve to a perfect 4-0 in White Sox Thursday games this season. As for Minnesota, the over is 4-2 this season when playing with a day off and also the Twins are 38-19 to the over in May games the past 2+ seasons. Minny also is 84-54 to the over the past 2+ seasons in games against teams with a losing record. 10* OVER the total in Chicago White Sox

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Milwaukee Brewers vs Boston Red Sox @ 8:10 ET - A lot of times when teams are off of a high-scoring game where both clubs knocked the cover off of the ball it is good to come back with the under in the next game. However, I am going contrarian in this one because the Red Sox have now scored 35 runs in their last 3 games and they've given up 17 runs in their last two games. As for the Brewers, they're averaging 5.5 runs per game at home this season including 7 per game in their last 5 played at Miller Park. The Brewers Chase Anderson got off to a great start this season but he's now given up 4 earned runs in each of his past 2 starts and now faces a red hot and powerful Boston lineup. As for the Red Sox Kyle Kendrick, he got hammered by Baltimore in his first start this season and he is now facing one of this season's most powerful lineups thusfar as the Brewers have 52 homers in their first 33 games. The last 30 times the BoSox were off of a game where they allowed 10 runs or more - they lost 11-7 yesterday - they have had just 11 unders in those 30 occurrences. The over is 11-5 this season when Milwaukee is off of a win. Also, they are 13-5 to the over in their home games this season. In their last 43 interleague games, the Brewers have had just 15 unders. Look for another wild one here as Kendrick has been hit at a .285 clip in his last 3 seasons at the big league level. He just doesn't have the same stuff he used to. 10* OVER the total in Milwaukee

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER 9 runs in Chicago White Sox vs Minnesota Twins @ 8:10 ET - Mike Pelfrey gets the start for the White Sox and he doesn't pitch deep into games and has more walks than strikeouts in his starts this season. He is truly fortunate he has a 5.02 ERA this season as it easily could be higher. Look for the Twins to pound him here as Pelfrey has allowed 11 earned runs in his last 11 innings against Minnesota and that spans 3 starts and all were last season. The Twins are averaging 5.6 runs per game in their last 8 games. The over is 8-1 in Minnesota's last 9 games as their bullpen has also been struggling badly in recent games. The Twins are already 5-1 to the over this month and are now 38-19 to the over in their last 57 games played in the month of May. Look for the Twins to improve to 5-2 to the over this season when playing with a day off. The White Sox should also be pounding the ball this evening. I know Hector Santiago has some strong numbers early this season but the ChiSox rank #2 in the majors as they're hitting .292 against left-handers on the year. Also, Santiago was fortunate in his most recent road start as he allowed 6 hits and walked 4 for a total of 10 baserunners in just 5 innings of work. He may not be so fortunate against the ChiSox to allow only 2 earned runs with numbers like that! The White Sox are 8-3 in games against left-handed starters this season and have averaged 5.8 runs per game in those contests. The White Sox are averaging 5 runs per game at home this season and in their last 40 games when playing after a day off they've had just 15 unders. Look for the over to improve to 5-2 in White Sox home games where their money line has ranged from -125 to +125 so far this season. 10* Top Play OVER 9 runs in the Chicago White Sox game.

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 3:10 ET - Must admit I have been burned so far in this series but that changes in a big way Sunday. Wind blowing out, mild temperatures, and thin mile high air all combine for a great afternoon for the ball to carry extremely well at Coors Field. That said, Tyler Chatwood is in trouble here as the Rockies right-hander has a 7.16 ERA at home with a 1.90 WHIP and, overall, he has allowed 9 homers in his 6 starts this season. Chatwood has as many walks as strikeouts in his last 3 starts combined. Also, he has been rocked for 11 earned runs in the 11 innings spanning his last two starts against the Diamondbacks. Arizona will have Taijuan Walker on the mound for this one and he is only 4-9 in road starts in his career. Surprisingly he had a decent start at Colorado in his only career appearance here but the Rockies have been heating up their bats at home recently and have averaged 7.4 runs per game in their last 9 games at Coors Field. The Diamondbacks sticks were quiet yesterday but they had previously scored at least 5 runs in 7 of their last 11 games. Look for more of the same here as Chatwood's struggles continue. By the way, Walker did walk 5 in less than 5 innings of work in his most recent start and that was on the road just like this one is. The over is 2-1 in Walker's last 3 starts and 3-0 in Chatwood's last 3 starts. In home games with a line between -125 and +125 for the Rockies, the over has gone 6-2 this season! Look for a slugfest here. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Rickenbach MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 8:10 ET - I lost with this play yesterday as the Dbacks had 5 runs very early in the game but then it settled into a surprisingly low-scoring affair the rest of the way and fell just short. I won't hesitate to come right back with the over in Colorado today. The temperatures will be very warm today in Denver so it will be a mild evening at Coors Field AND the wind will be blowing out. It is the perfect set-up for a slugfest to develop in the thin Mile High air tonight. The Rockies send Tyler Anderson to the mound and he's an awful 1-3 with a 7.71 ERA this season and that is even though 4 of his 6 starts have been away from hitter-friendly Coors Field this season. He'll also be facing Arizona for the 4th time in less than a year and the results have not been good. Anderson has compiled a 7.80 ERA in his 3 starts against the Diamondbacks with an ugly 2.07 WHIP. That's right, the Rockies southpaw is allowing 2 baserunners per inning in his outings versus Arizona in his career. Pat Corbin gets the starts for the Dbacks here and he had a great start versus the Rockies last weekend but that was in Arizona. Now he faces them in Colorado where he got rocked for 6 earned runs in 4 and 1/3 innings last season. In fact, prior to the strong start versus the Rockies last weekend, Corbin had allowed 5 homers in his last 2 starts versus Colorado. The over is 6-2 this season in Rockies home games with a money line in a range of -125 to +125. The over is also a perfect 4-0 this season in Arizona's Saturday games. More of the same this Saturday. 10* OVER the total in Colorado