Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 10* Top Play OVER 7.5 in Texas vs Cleveland @ 3:05 ET - I understand the low total here because Dunning has good numbers at home this season. However, with yesterday's 7-2 Rangers win, both these teams are on solid over trends and Dunning does enter this game in poor numbers looking at his last 3 starts. He has allowed 13 hits and 7 walks in 12 innings of work. Yes those outings were on the road but I am not expecting sudden magic at home for him and he is facing an Indians team that had been averaging 6.4 runs per game last 5 games prior to yesterday's 7-2 loss. As for Rangers sticks, they have averaged 5.5 runs last 8 games and face a struggling Civale. The Indians right-hander has allowed 11 earned runs in 7 innings in his last two starts and given up 6 longballs in those two outings. This one should easily get over the low total. 10* OVER 7.5 in Texas

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play OVER 9 in Houston Astros vs Oakland A's @ 7:10 ET - Yesterday's game exploded for 14 runs and I am expecting more of the same today. Not only did we see some bullpen implosion yesterday, both of these starters are likely to struggle. The Astros Jake Odorizzi has not lasted long in recent starts and the over is 6-3 in his home starts this season. The A's Paul Blackburn has a 5.79 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP on the road this season. These pitchers just matched up last week and that helps the hitters here as they see them immediately again and neither pitcher was overly dominant. I know Blackburn was better than Odorizzi but he still recorded only 1 strikeout in the 5-inning start and now faces the Astros in their own park. Houston still trying to hang onto the #2 seed in the AL for the post-season but the A's have averaged 5 runs a game last 7 games and will work to play the role of spoiler here but the Astros bats answer the call too as the over improves to 12-6 in the 18 games between these teams this season. 10* OVER 9 in Houston

IL Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER 9 runs in Washington Nationals vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - The Red Sox dropped yesterday game but this was preceded by an 8-4 stretch in which they scored an average of 8 runs per game in the 8 victories. Boston is still battling hard for a wild card spot and I expect them to score plenty here. They'll need all the runs they can get because Washington is off a 10-5 loss but it marked the 7th time in last 10 games that they have scored 5 or more runs! The Nationals Josh Rogers got hit hard in his most recent start plus had control issues with more walks than strikeouts. Boston's Eduardo Rodriguez has a 4.93 ERA this season and is facing a Nats lineup that has hit lefties well. More of the same expected here and taking advantage of the low total in this one. 10* OVER 9 runs in Washington

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Texas Rangers vs Los Angeles Angels @ 2:05 ET - Yesterday's 7-2 Angels win snuck over the total to improve the over to 6-3 in the last 9 Los Angeles games. Look for today's to fly over the total much more easily. The over is 3-1 in Rangers last 4 games against a right-handed starter and they should pound Cobb in this one. The Angels righty has a 4.99 ERA in road starts this season and the over is 11-6 in all his starts this season. The Rangers counter with Otto on the bump for this one and he is 0-3 with an 8.02 ERA in his 5 starts this season and is off a decent start versus Baltimore but this followed getting absolutely destroyed in the two starts just prior to that. Otto gets pounded here again but look for Cobb to have major problems too. The Rangers had won 3 of 4 games and scored an average of 5.5 runs per game before struggling yesterday so I look for them to get back on track in a big way this afternoon and both teams enjoy plenty of success at the plate. 10* OVER 8.5 in Texas

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in St Louis Cardinals vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 1:15 ET - The Cardinals winning streak ended yesterday but this was after 17 straight wins. St Louis averaged scoring 7 runs per game during this stretch. Look for bounce back at plate today for Cardinals.  The Brewers were on a 4-2 run to the over before yesterday's low-scoring shutout win. St Louis was on a 6-1 run to the over before the shutout loss. The hitters bounce back today as Brett Anderson has a 5.87 ERA and ridiculous 2.22 WHIP last 3 starts. JA Happ is coming back down to earth after a strong run as he has allowed 11 baserunners in 8 innings his last two starts and is not working deep into games. This is still a guy with a 5.86 ERA on the season and the Brewers fully relaxed at the plate as their playoff position is locked in. The Cardinals also locked into their wild card spot. Look for the hitters to excel in this one and that is even if a few of the regular rest which I am well aware of that potential. 10* OVER 8.5 runs in St Louis

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 runs in Baltimore Orioles vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - The Red Sox had just 3 hits in yesterday's game. Now they face a pitcher they have crushed to the tune of a 15.90 ERA in his two starts against them this season. Not only that but Zac Lowther has struggled overall in his starts this season with his most recent one (albeit versus a bad Texas lineup) being a rare exception. Boston entered yesterday's game scoring an average of nearly 7 runs per game last 9 games so look for a big bounce back here. The Sox will need all the runs they can get to because I do expect Nathan Eovaldi to struggle as well. The Orioles just recently faced Eovaldi and got to him for 3 earned runs on 7 hits in just 5 innings and now they face him in Baltimore where their home slugging percentage ranks among the best in the majors. Eovaldi has allowed 10 earned runs in less than 8 innings over his last two starts and the over is a perfect 3-0 in his last 3 starts. Look for that trend to continue here. 10* OVER 9.5 runs in Baltimore

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER 12 runs in Colorado Rockies vs Washington Nationals @ 3:10 ET - Yesterday's game totaled only 4 runs. The posted total on this one opened up at 12.5 and has dropped to a 12 and I am looking for a much different result today as both lineups explode. This is Espino's first ever start at Coors Field. The Nationals are an ugly 1-6 in his road starts and he has a 5.90 ERA away from home. Lambert is making just his 2nd start of the season and he was a bit shaky in the first one last week. This included giving up 2 homers in less than 4 innings of work. Lambert is now 3-7 with a 7.16 ERA in his 20 career MLB starts. Opponents have hit .319 against him in his MLB career which includes his 19 starts for the Rockies in 2019. Two starting pitchers likely to struggle and neither bullpen has been a strength this season. 10* OVER 12 runs in Colorado

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs @ 6:35 ET - The Pirates had been scoring runs like crazy and the over is 6-3 in their last 9 games. Prior to yesterday's ugly 13-1 loss the Pirates had scored 5 or more runs in 7 of 8 games. Also consider that this is a late season match-up between two teams just playing out the string. No playoff pressure so the hitters on each club can be fully relaxed and that is bad news for a pair of starters likely to struggle. I really would not care who starts here because will mention that the Cubs are off an under but this followed 10 straight overs! The fact is both of these clubs have been getting involved in plenty of high-scoring action of late no matter who is on the mound. Now I will touch on the pitchers as Alec Mills has been rocked in each of his last two starts overall and also has really struggled against the Pirates with 7 homers allowed in 3 starts and all have been in past 13 months! As for Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller, he is 2-8 with a 7.76 ERA in his 13 home starts this season! Both teams continue the over trending in this one. 10* OVER 8.5 runs in Pittsburgh

Earliest Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 runs in Cleveland Indians vs Kansas City Royals @ 1:10 ET - Jackson Kowar is the expected starter for the Royals here and he is 0-4 with an 11.45 ERA. Cal Quantrill has great numbers for the Indians but he just faced Kansas City last week and that could be a problem here. They have hit him decently this season (including 3 homers in 2 starts) plus are now getting a quick second look at him after having just seen him. Also, this total went from a 9 to a 9.5 and given the recent under stretch for the Royals I believe this is a sign of sharp money funneling in on the over in this one. My money is going to be on it as well. Yes the Indians game stayed under yesterday but the teams combined for 23 hits! That's ridiculous. Also ridiculous was the Royals having only 2 runs on 10 hits in their game yesterday. This game makes up for yesterday as the situation is ideal. 10* OVER 9.5 runs in Cleveland

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #915 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER 9 runs in Detroit Tigers vs Kansas City Royals @ 12:10 ET - Both these starting pitchers have some good recent numbers and I know that each of these teams have been trending under of late. However, yesterday's game had 18 hits but only 6 runs and I have reason to believe these pitchers get rocked here. Peralta allowed 5 earned runs in less than 6 innings when he last started against the Royals two weeks ago. Bubic has a 1.79 WHIP in his 3 career starts against the Tigers so he is lucky his ERA against them is not even higher. Speaking of high ERA numbers, Bubic now starts at Detroit for the first time in his career and he has a 5.68 ERA on the road this season. Each of his last two road starts stayed under but this followed the over going 6-2 in Bubic's first 8 road starts this season. That type of trending resumes here. 10* OVER 9 in Detroit

MLB Saturday 10* Top Play OVER 8 runs in Oakland - The A's off a 14-2 win yesterday and the over is now a perfect 8-0 in meetings between these teams at Oakland this season. Overall the Astros have had only 2 unders last dozen games so no matter who is on the mound here I am playing the over in this game. Take action on pitchers if you can. I will mention the pitchers here but the hot bats should continue no matter what in this one. The Astros averaging 7 runs last dozen games. The Athletics averaging 5.5 runs last dozen games. Houston starter Valdez has had the over go 3-0 in his last 3 starts. His last one was a good one but he allowed 4 earned runs in each of his two starts preceding that one. Valdez also allowed 5 earned runs in his only start against Oakland this season. The A's Sean Manaea enters this start struggling with an 8.10 ERA in his last two starts. The Astros tee off on the lefty here as they are #1 in the AL in both batting average and on base percentage against lefties on the season. Look for the over to reach 9-0 on the season in games between these teams at the Coliseum. 10* OVER 8 runs in Oakland

MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER 9 in Baltimore Orioles vs Texas Rangers @ 7:05 ET - I know the Rangers have a bad lineup and the Orioles, though decent, are not exactly juggernauts at the plate even when at home. However, no matter who pitches here I am expecting a slugfest tonight at Camden Yards. The Orioles bullpen on the season has been one of the worst in the league. The Rangers bullpen tends to struggle more on the road than at home. After yesterday's unusual 3-0 game, look for normalcy to return tonight and both teams swing the bats extremely well. The Orioles are expected to start Wells here and he is winless with an 8.65 ERA in his 3 starts this season. The Rangers are expected to start Howard here and he is winless with a 6.50 ERA as a starter this season plus has an ugly 8.53 ERA in his last 3 starts. Wells has allowed 5 homers in his last 3 starts so Texas should do some damage at the plate here. As for the Orioles, their slugging percentage in home games this season ranks 3rd in the AL behind the Red Sox and Blue Jays. That is impressive company to say the least and I expect the O's to have some solid success at the plate tonight. 10* OVER 9 in Baltimore

MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER 7 runs in Cleveland (Gm 1 of DH) - Wind blowing out at a strong clip for this one. Civale rocked for 7 earned runs in 3 innings in most recent home start. Lopez rocked for 6 earned runs in 4 innings in his most recent start. The over is 6-3 in Civale home starts this season. 3 of 4 meetings between these teams at Cleveland this season have gone over the total. White Sox game on Tuesday had just 8 runs scored on 28 hits in a ridiculous under. Look for this one to make up for that as the pitching match-up is ideal. Plus, no matter the pitchers here, even though the temperature will be cool, the winds will help us in this one. The ball will carry well and Lopez gave up 2 homers in most recent start and Civale gave up 3 homers in last home start. 10* OVER 7 runs in Cleveland (Gm 1 of DH)

MLB 10* Top Play OVER 8 runs in Miami Marlins vs Washington Nationals @ 6:40 ET - The Marlins Elieser Hernandez is off a start in which he shut out the Pirates. However, he did not make it out of the 6th inning and he walked 5 in that start while striking out just 3. Hernandez was a bit fortunate to say the least and I feel he will not be so fortunate in this one! The Nationals are just 4-5 last 9 games but have scored 6 or more runs in 7 of last 10 games. Washington should get the job done again at the plate tonight and keep in mind they did a lot of damage against the Miami bullpen last night too. As for the Marlins lineup, look for much more success today in comparison with yesterday. The Marlins will take advantage of facing Josiah Gray in this one. The over is 3-0 in his last 3 start as Gray has a 10.80 ERA during this stretch and allowed at least 5 earned runs in each outing! The over is 5-1-1 in Marlins last 7 games and they have scored 6 or more runs in each of their last two games against a right-handed starter. 10* OVER 8 in Miami

MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 in Boston @ 7:10 ET - The Red Sox start Eduardo Rodriguez in this one. The right-hander is off a strong road start but got hammered in his prior start which was at home. This comes as no surprise as Rodriguez has struggled at Fenway Park consistently this season. Rodriguez has a 6.32 ERA at home this season. Marcus Stroman gets the start for the Mets in this one. Certainly Stroman has pitched well but he is facing a big test here at Fenway Park. Boston has the #1 batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage in the American League in home games this season. The Mets generally don't fare as well at the plate but facing Rodriguez certainly should help in that regard. New York is coming off a rough homestand but has scored 6 or more runs in 5 of last 9 road games. The Red Sox have been red hot at home and have won 14 of 20 games there and averaged 7.8 runs scored per game during this stretch. This is why, regardless of the pitching match-up in this one (make this wager with ACTION on the pitchers if you can), I do like the over. The trending at Fenway Park has been big for overs. 11 of the last 14 games in Boston have totaled 11 or more runs and we just need 10 to cash our ticket in this one. We have strong odds on that in my opinion. 10* OVER 9.5 in Boston

MLB Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 in Miami - Late season match-ups between two teams that are simply looking to finish out a sub-par year are the types of situations I like to look at for overs. There is no playoff pressure. The hitters come to the plate relaxed. That said, when you have a pitching match-up that should be conducive to an over in a spot like this, it is time to pull the trigger. I know the Nats Fedde has been strong against the Marlins this season but the over is 3-0 in his last 3 starts and this is still a guy who has a 5.16 ERA on the year. Miami catching him at home and seeing him for the 3rd time in 4 weeks absolutely should lead to some success at the plate in this one. At the same time, Luzardo is going up against Washington in a similar situation - 3rd time in 4 weeks - and the Nationals have been hitting him hard. Luzardo has a 6.37 ERA on the season in his 15 starts and the over is 10-5 in those outings. More of the same here as he has a 9.00 ERA against the Nats this season and also the Marlins get their fair share of runs at home in this one too. 10* OVER 8.5 in Miami

NOTE: Jon Heasley, called up from AA Northwest Arkansas is now expected to get the start for the Royals in this one as Brady Singer was placed on the injured list. As noted in my original write-up, I do not care who pitches here. This is a TOP PLAY OVER no matter who the starting pitchers are: MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER 9 runs in Kansas City - The Royals burned me last night as the over 9.5 totaled just 9 runs and cost me a 5-0 sweep. We should get some payback right here coming right back with the over. This time Kansas City is hosting the Mariners. Note that Seattle is entering this game on run of 12-0 to the over their last dozen games. No matter who pitches here I look for the over to cash in this game so try to play this at a sports book that does not list pitchers on totals. The Mariners have scored an average of 5.3 runs per game last dozen games. The Royals, prior to last night's 7-2 loss to the A's, had scored an average of 6 runs per game last dozen games. This is why pitchers are not so important even on totals. How hot a lineup is really matters and both these teams, last night notwithstanding for KC, have been getting the job done in that regard. The expected starters, again I do not care who starts, are Flexen and Singer. Note that Flexen has a 5.40 ERA in last 3 starts and the over is 10-2 in his road starts this season. Singer is 4-10 with a 4.85 ERA this season and just got rocked in his most recent start. More of the same expected here. 10* OVER 9 in Kansas City

MLB 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 in Kansas City - The Royals scored 10 yesterday but it still was not enough as the A's scored a dozen! However, it did mark the 2nd straight day that Kansas City reached the double digit mark in runs scored. The Royals have scored an average of 6 runs per game last dozen games! The A's are averaging 7.5 runs scored in their last 8 road games. This is why, no matter who pitches here, I like the over in this match-up. The starters are expected to be Blackburn and Lynch and I will mention their numbers here but, again, no matter who pitches I like the over based on the hot sticks in these two lineups. Blackburn is 0-2 with 7.00 ERA in his two road starts this season and he has been hit hard in each of his last two starts and one of those was at home. Lynch has 6.83 ERA at home this season and he has been hammered in each of his last two starts and one of those was on the road. The point is these guys getting rocked everywhere of late but their home/road splits also show the value with this play. Look for a pair of red hot lineups to lead the way to an easy over again here. 10* OVER 9.5 in Oakland

10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Seattle - The over is now 11-0 in Seattle's last 11 games. The Mariners bullpen helped the cause again last night in an 8-4 final that included plenty of late scoring. Getting an 8.5 on this total is a great value. The rather low total is because Marco Gonzales is on the mound for the Mariners. Yes he does have decent overall numbers but he has allowed 16 homers in his 11 home starts this season and has a 5.87 ERA in his 3 career starts against the Red Sox. The over is 7-4 in Boston's last 11 games and the Red Sox have scored an average of 5.5 runs during this stretch. They build off last night's 8-4 win with another strong performance at the plate here. The issue for Boston however will be their own starting pitching situation. Tanner Houck is winless in his 11 starts this season and has a 4.86 ERA in his road starts. He has been roughed up in his last two road starts plus has had 7 walks against just 4 strikeouts in those outings. That does not bode well for him here as the Mariners have averaged 5.4 runs per game during their 11-game over streak. Look for that run to reach a perfect dozen this afternoon! 11-0 L11 and another one expected here. 10* OVER 8.5 runs in Seattle

MLB 10* OVER 9 in Baltimore - Yes Gerrit Cole is on the mound for the Yankees but that is keeping this total lower than it would otherwise be. The Orioles pitching situation is such a mess. Baltimore expected to start Alexander Wells here but really it never matters who the Orioles start because their pitching staff is such a mess including a league-worst bullpen. There has been only one under in Baltimore's last 6 games and they have allowed an average of 10 runs per game during this stretch. The Orioles have just 2 unders last 9 games have scored at least 6 runs in 6 of those 9 games so they have been hitting decently and are known for hitting better when at home. Wells has a 7.94 ERA in his 4 starts this season and just faced the Yankees and got rocked. The over is 5-0 in the Yankees last 5 games and New York has allowed an average of 7 runs per game last 9 games! In other words, their bullpen has not been overly sharp of late and, as noted above, the Orioles bullpen has been a train-wreck. Yankees have scored at least 6 runs in 3 straight games and stay hot here. 10* OVER 9 in Baltimore

10* Top Play OVER 9 in Texas - The Rangers Spencer Howard, former Phillie, has made 11 starts this season and has not won any of them. Amazingly he has trended under this season but that has truly kept him under the radar in terms of his poor performance and the fact that we should see some overs the rest of the year with him. Why? Well Howard has a 5.69 ERA this season and has been particularly poor at home with a 9.45 ERA as a host this season. He'll be opposed by Jake Odorizzi in this one. The Astros right-hander has seen the over go 12-7-1 in his starts this season and with both teams off unders yesterday (despite Rangers having 11 hits) I feel we have some value with this total posted at just 9 runs. Texas has had a disappointing season but they have been surprisingly competitive late in the year. The Rangers have been relegated to playing for next year so to speak but have won 9 of last 13 in that role. Texas has averaged 5 runs per game during this stretch. As for the Astros, they are off back to back low-scoring games but this was preceded by a stretch of 4 straight overs and Houston averaged scoring 7.8 runs during this 4-game stretch. They are sure to get going again at the plate as they face a struggling Howard here. The decent recent hitting for each club is why I really don't care who the starting pitchers are as I look for the over to improve to 10-6 in what is now the 16th game between these in-state rivals this season. 10* OVER 9 in Texas 

MLB 10* OVER 9 runs in Detroit - No matter who pitches here I like the over as the Rays continue to be on a high-scoring tear long-term. However, the pitching match-up here that is scheduled certainly does not hurt our chances of a slugfest! Tampa Bay's Luis Patino is off a start in which he allowed 4 earned runs in less than 3 innings and this was at home. Note that Patino has an ugly 7.44 ERA in his 3 road starts this season! As for Tigers starter Tarik Skubal, he has a 9.00 ERA his last two starts and has allowed 5 homers in his last 3 starts overall. The over 5-1 last 6 Rays games and 7-3 last 10 Tigers games and that trending continues here. 10* OVER 9 runs in Detroit

NOTE: Rangers now going with Wes Benjamin most likely. This is still a play for me. The other factors in totals are bullpens, how teams are hitting, situational, etc. It is not just about starting pitching so I do not care that Texas is starting Benjamin. The A's should still hit plenty here. This is still a play for me: 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Oakland - A's rolled to a 10-5 win yesterday and I look for another high-scoring game Saturday. Texas starts Kolby Allard and he is 2-12 with a 5.44 ERA on the season plus has been rocked for 2 homers in EACH of his last THREE starts. The Athletics start Cole Irvin here and he has been having a very rough time of late. He has allowed 5 homers in his last starts! Irvin has been hit very hard overall and has an 11.70 ERA in his last 3 starts. Allard has allowed 6 homers in his last 2 starts versus Oakland. Irvin just faced the Rangers and gave up 8 hits in 5 innings. Texas has been more competitive here late in the season and is 7-4 last 11 games and averaging 5.1 runs scored per game during this stretch. The A's have now scored an average of 6.2 runs last 10 games. Look for this one to get into double digits in runs scored. 10* OVER 8.5 runs in Oakland

NOTE: Tyler Alexander now expected to start for the Tigers. Still like this play, it is about the lineups not just the pitchers. Tampa Bay has been one of the hottest hitting teams in the majors for quite some time now as noted below and will bounce back off a low-scoring loss. Alexander is 5-9 with a 4.36 ERA and a .277 BAA in his career. The Rays will hit him well. Original write-up: 10* OVER 9 in Detroit - The Rays are off a 2-1 loss Wednesday but that followed a stretch of 4 straight overs. Also, Tampa Bay has scored an average of 8.8 runs last 5 games before that low-scoring loss. TB had scored more than 10 runs on their own in 3 straight road games prior to the 2-1 loss. They should pound the Tigers pitching here as Matt Boyd has struggled in his two starts since coming back to the rotation and the Detroit pen is nothing special either. As for Rays starter Michael Wacha, he has a 6.23 ERA on the road this season and the over is 7-2-1 in those 10 starts. The over is 6-3 in the Tigers last 9 games and they have averaged scoring 6 runs last 8 games. 10* OVER 9 in Detroit

NOTE: Sticking with this play. Dobnak was scratched due to injury so modifying this write-up as of about 4 hours before first pitch. As noted below, there are situational reasons as to why I liked this play. Also, now Andrew Albers is the starter. He was called up from AAA to make this start but he has been getting rocked at a .288 clip by hitters at the AAA level.  Also, at the MLB level, Albers got destroyed for 9 runs in 3 innings in most recent start and that was just earlier this month! ORIGINAL write-up: AL Total of the Year - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #961 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER 9 runs in Cleveland Indians vs Minnesota Twins @ 6:10 ET - Look for the 3rd time to be the charm in this match-up. I have seen this pattern before. Two ridiculously low-scoring games followed by an easy over in the next one and that is what I am expecting here based on this pitching match-up and that patterned situation I have seen many times before in the past. The Twins Randy Dobnak just moved back into the rotation and he allowed 5 earned runs in first start back. He is 1-4 with a 6.29 ERA as a starter this season. The Indians should finally get their bats going in this one. Cleveland has not hit well against the Twins so far in the first 3 games of this 4-game set but they entered this series having averaged 6 runs per game last 11 games. As for Minnesota, they have averaged nearly 5 runs per game last 10 road games and their 4-game winning streak also leads to extra confidence at the plate. That is bad news for Cal Quantrill because he is off a start in which he allowed 5 earned runs and 3 homers plus has struggled against Minnesota. Quantrill has an 8.68 ERA this season in his two starts against the Twins and was hit hard in both outings. 10* OVER 9 in Cleveland

Top Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #915 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 in Cleveland Indians vs Minnesota Twins @ 6:10 ET - If you want to describe Triston McKenzie's recent performances on the mound as falling into the category of Superman you would not be too far off of reality. However, if that is the case do note that these Twins have proven to be McKenzie's Kryptonite! McKenzie has made two starts against Minnesota in the past 12 months and he has been rocked to the tune of a 12.92 ERA in those two outings. That said, look for the Twins to continue their recent road success here but I can't trust their starting pitcher in this spot either. But, first off, about that road success - Minnesota is 5-3 last 8 road games and the Twins have scored an average of 5 runs per game last 9 games. I know the Indians have suddenly fallen quiet at the plate their last two games but that was preceded by a stretch in which Cleveland won 7 of 11 games and scored an average of 6 runs per game. I am looking for double digits to be scored in this one as Minnesota's Joe Ryan is making just his 2nd MLB start. Yes he has good minor league numbers but the step up to the bigs is a big one indeed. Even just looking at spring training 2020 note that he had a 6.14 ERA in 4 appearances (2 starts) against MLB competition. That said, this is also Ryan's first MLB road start and I expect the Indians offense to get back on track after being shutout yesterday. 10* OVER 8.5 in Cleveland

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #963 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 in Cleveland Indians vs Minnesota Twins @ 6:10 ET - These teams combined for 20 hits yesterday but the game stayed under the total. Look for plenty of hitting again today but this time it results in an over. The over was on an 8-3 run in Twins road games before yesterday's under. Minnesota did score 5 runs in the win and have now scored an average of 5 runs per game last 8 road games. The Indians were held to just 2 runs in the loss yesterday but Cleveland had won 7 of 11 games and scored an average of 6 runs per game during this stretch. Minnesota starter John Gant has a 7.30 ERA last 3 starts and each of his last two road starts have gone over the total. Cleveland starter Aaron Civale making his first start in quite some time but in his last start at home back in June he allowed 5 earned runs. He also allowed 4 earned runs earlier this season when he last faced Minnesota. 10* OVER 9.5 in Cleveland

Earliest Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #913 Monday 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 runs in New York Yankees vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 1:05 ET - The Yankees scored 7 runs but lost yesterday. The Blue Jays got 8 early runs in their game yesterday and then coasted to victory behind another dominating performance from Robbie Ray. Neither one of these pitchers are coming anywhere close to the level of a Robbie Ray right now. The Jays Hyun-Jin Ryu has allowed 10 earned runs in less than 10 innings over his last two starts. He gave up two homers and had more walks than strikeouts the last time he faced New York. The Yankees counter with Jameson Taillon here and he has a 9.22 ERA in his last 3 starts. All 3 of those went over the total and the over is 18-7 in his starts this season. The righty faced the Blue Jays earlier this season and got crushed for 5 earned runs in less than 4 innings of work! Toronto has won 4 straight games and scored an average of 8.5 runs per game. The Yankees have averaged 6 runs per game in their last 4 games against a southpaw starter. 10* OVER 9.5 runs in New York Yankees

NOTE: This is still a 10* Top Play for me. Pivetta was put on covid-19 list mid-morning today. So now Kutter Crawford makes MLB debut. Crawford had solid AA numbers in the minors this season but then struggled some when he faced AAA competition -  2-3 with 5.52 ERA in 6 appearances (5 starts). In his only spring training action (2019) he was rocked for 4 earned runs in 2 and 1/3 innings. I am betting he gets rocked again here. ORIGINAL write-up: Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #969 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 runs in Boston Red Sox vs Cleveland Indians @ 1:10 ET - Yesterday's game was very low-scoring. I do not expect a repeat here! The teams were both scoreless through six innings but this starting pitching match-up should mean runs early, often and throughout this contest. Cleveland's Zach Plesac is off a strong start but it was at Kansas City. He faces a much tougher test facing the Red Sox at Fenway Park. There have only been 6 unders in Plesac's 20 starts this season. He had been hit hard in each of his two starts preceding the good one against the Royals. Boston will counter with Nick Pivetta here and he is consistently getting hit hard of late. Pivetta has a 10.12 ERA in his last 3 starts. On the season the Red Sox right-hander has a 5.60 ERA in home starts. Prior to yesterday's under, the over was on a perfect 6-0 run in games at Fenway Park. Look for that over trending to resume immediately in this early afternoon match-up. 10* OVER 9.5 runs in Boston

TOP Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #967 Friday 10* Top Play OVER 9 in Tampa Bay Rays vs Minnesota Twins @ 7:10 ET - Randy Dobnak coming back from an right middle finger strain. His most recent rehab appearance in the minors saw him walk 4 and allow 5 hits in less than 5 innings of work plus he struck out only 2. In the bigs this season Dobnak is 1-6 with a 7.83 ERA. Now he faces a Rays team that had been red hot but is off a shutout loss and has lost back to back games after a 9-game winning streak in which they scored an average of 7 runs per game! In other words, Dobnak is lined up to get rocked in my opinion. However, I am not playing Tampa Bay here because I simply can not trust Michael Wacha. The Rays right-hander is off a good start but was hit hard with 19 hits allowed in 10 innings spanning his two prior starts. Wacha also gave up 7 earned runs on 11 hits in 5 innings at Minnesota less than 3 weeks ago. Look for the Twins to pound him again here. I know Minnesota has, overall, not been scoring much of late but this is a good match-up for them and this flies over the total. 10* OVER 9 in Tampa Bay

AL West Total of the Year - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #963 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Seattle Mariners vs Houston Astros @ 4:10 ET - Well aware of the fact that both teams have trended under of late but this game is set up perfectly for an over based on the pitching match-up. Jake Odorizzi starts for the Astros and the over is 11-6 in his starts this season and he has a 5.14 ERA on the road this season. In two starts at Seattle this season, Odorizzi allowed 7 earned runs in less than 10 innings of work. The Mariners start Logan Gilbert in this one. He has been rocked in his last 3 starts and one of those was against Houston and was a particularly rough one. In other words, this is unlikely to be the right match-up for him to turn things around. The over is 7-2 in Gilbert's home starts this season and he has a 5.66 ERA at home and a 13.50 ERA in his last 3 starts overall. Prior to yesterday's loss the Astros had won 8 of 11 games and scored an average of 7 runs in those 8 victories. Look for a big bounce back from Houston at the plate after being shutout by the Mariners yesterday but at the same time I certainly do not see Odorizzi enjoying success against the M's in this one either. 10* OVER 8.5 in Seattle

ESPN Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #965 Monday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:10 ET - Nick Pivetta is off back to back rough outings and has now struggled in 6 of his last 8 outings. In fact, in those 6 outings it has been quite ugly with 23 earned runs allowed in 23 and 2/3 innings! Now Pivetta has to face the hottest offense in baseball. The Rays have a slugging percentage of .486 last 30 days to top the majors. Guess who is #2 in that category in the American League? Yes, it is the Red Sox of course. That said we have two very potent lineups here but we get line value with a low total that opened up at a 9 and dropped to an 8.5 as of very early Monday morning. I will gladly grab the value here. I know Luis Patino has good numbers at home this season but he has been struggling a bit of late with too many walks and too many homers. That included allowing 4 earned runs on 6 hits (including 2 homers) in 6 innings at Boston 3 weeks ago. The Red Sox should get to him again here. The over is 6-2 in Boston's last 8 games. The Rays have not had any unders in their last 7 home games. Those trends continue here! 10* OVER 8.5 runs in Tampa Bay

NOTE about pitchers. I really do not care who pitches here. If there is a pitching change I would be re-releasing the play because the Rays are likely to go with Wacha but could go with Patino. The Orioles have no strong pitching left as Means was their one guy who was solid earlier this season but now even he is struggling and their bullpen has been horrid. This play is ON no matter who pitches but looks like will be Means vs Wacha. Please re-bet the over if it changes sometime prior to first pitch in this one. TOTAL ANNIHILATION - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #971 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 in Baltimore Orioles vs Tampa Bay Rays @ 7:05 ET - Patino is not likely to start here but just mentioning he is winless with a 7.44 ERA in his 5 road starts this season. Wacha is more likely to start and he has a 7.64 ERA in his 7 starts since the All Star break. Look for the Orioles (10 hits yesterday and 31 runs the 3 preceding games) to enjoy some success at the plate no matter who is pitching for the Rays. The reverse is true as well as the Rays should pound whoever the Orioles have out there. Looks like will be Means and he is 0-3 with an 8.16 ERA last 3 starts as his recent struggles continue. The Orioles bullpen has been one of worst in majors this season. Tampa Bay has won 9 of 10 games and scored an average of 7.2 runs per game during this stretch. This game has over written all over it after yesterday's game fell just short. 10* OVER 9.5 runs in Baltimore

Shocker Total of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #907 Friday 10* Top Play OVER 8 runs in Miami Marlins vs Cincinnati Reds @ 7:10 ET - Given the low ERA numbers of these two starters many will not expect a high-scoring game here. Hence, the shocker aspect of this pick. I do expect it to get crazy early in Miami on Friday. The Marlins are off a big 7-5 win over the Nationals yesterday. The Reds are off a big 5-1 win at Milwaukee yesterday. Cincinnati has won 7 of 11 games and scored an average of nearly 7 runs per game in those 7 wins. The Marlins have scored an average of 5.5 runs in back to back wins and should enjoy success against Wade Miley here. The Reds southpaw struggled with 5 hits and 3 walks in less than 5 innings versus Miami in his most recent start and was fortunate the damage was not worse than the 2 earned runs he allowed. Also, the over is 15-7 in his last 3 starts including 3-0 the last 3 and in his last road start Miley allowed 5 earned runs in 5 innings. The Marlins start Zach Thompson and he just faced the Reds and had decent success in the 5-inning start but now gives them a quick second look. The over is 3-0 in his last 3 starts and the over trends for each of these starters likely to continue here given the situation and the fact both lineups enter this game with plenty of confidence. 10* OVER 8 runs in Miami

Contrarian Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #904 Friday 10* Top Play UNDER 9 in Pittsburgh Pirates vs St Louis Cardinals @ 7:05 ET - JA Happ has been completely rejuvenated since coming to the Cardinals. Also, he has dominated the Pirates twice this month already and, on the season, has allowed a total of only 3 earned runs in 3 starts versus Pittsburgh. Happ enters this start undefeated with a 1.99 ERA in his 4 starts since coming to St Louis. Dillon Peters starts for the Pirates here. He was solid against the Cardinals last week and the fact is St Louis generally just does not score well. The Cards scored 7 in yesterday's wild 11-7 game but you can definitely chalk that game up to a statistical anomaly. St Louis, prior to yesterday, had been held to 4 or less runs in 7 of last 8 games. The Cardinals averaged only 2.4 runs in those 7 games. The Pirates had been held to 2.4 runs per game game in going 4-7 last 11 games before yesterday's rare explosion at the plate. Things return to normal tonight. 10* UNDER 9 in Pittsburgh

Contrarian Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #917 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 in Toronto Blue Jays @ 7:07 ET - First off, when teams combine for 27 hits in a game those batting lineups are going to carry some confidence into the next day no matter what pitchers they are facing. That said, even though both these pitchers have some strong numbers and overall are well-respected starters, there is reason to believe each guy will struggle some on Wednesday. Keep in mind, we also get a low total - 8.5 - to work with here because of the reputation of these two hurlers. By the way, both bullpens got hit in yesterday's game too. As for these starters, Robbie Ray is on rest of only 4 off days between starts here and he just had his longest start of the season at 8 innings. He threw 109 pitches in that outing and I would not be surprised to see him wear down here against a solid White Sox lineup especially as he gets into the middle innings of this one. As for Lucas Giolito, he is off a 7 inning outing and he has often struggled this season when off an outing of at least 7 innings. Here are few examples of what followed a long outing for Giolito: 7 earned runs in 1 inning; 3 homers in 7 innings; 5 walks and 6 hits for 11 baserunners in 6 innings; and, 3 walks and 6 hits for 9 baserunners in 4 innings. He has truly only been strong one time in five starts this season when he is off an outing in which he threw 7 or more innings. 10* OVER 8.5 in Toronto

The MLB Total of the Year - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #967 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER 9 runs in Toronto Blue Jays vs Chicago White Sox @ 7:07 ET - After yesterday's pitchers duel, I look for both these starting pitchers to get hit very hard. Jose Berrios has been roughed up in each of his last two starts. Also, he came to Toronto from Minnesota. Of course the Twins are a division rival of the White Sox. The point is that Chicago has plenty of familiarity with him and he did allow 3 homers in his most recent start against them. Also, this was preceded by Berrios getting hit very hard in one of the two prior starts against the White Sox this season as well. The O/U is 7-3 in Berrios road starts this season. I know this start is a home start for him but it is not his usual home of Minnesota. Yes he pitched well in his first two home starts for Toronto but this will be the most challenging match-up yet. I do look for him to get plenty of run support though as the Blue Jays should pound Dylan Cease. The White Sox right-hander has a 5.86 ERA on the road this season and only 3 of the dozen starts resulted in an under. These two teams have solid lineups even when not 100% healthy and yesterday's game saw them go a combined 2 for 16 with runners in scoring position. I expect much better clutch hitting in this one based on the pitching match-up and we'll see a much higher scoring game today. 10* OVER 9 runs in Toronto

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #905 Monday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Toronto Blue Jays vs Chicago White Sox @ 7:07 ET - This is a contrarian play because, with these pitchers on the mound, you might first be thinking of an under. However, there is a lot to like here about an over with this play. The White Sox will respond after being shut out at Tampa Bay yesterday. Chicago had scored an average of 5.4 runs per game in last 9 games before that one. The Blue Jays are off a 5-3 extra innings loss that made them use some extra bullpen arms yesterday. That could come into play here as well but the point is that the Blue Jays are also in bounce back mode but could have some trouble in the later innings with their bullpen too. Toronto had scored 5.3 runs per game in their last 7 games against right-handed starters before surprisingly struggling yesterday. Look for them to get back on track versus Lance Lynn as he has great numbers on the season but has been a little off lately. Lynn has allowed 3 homers in 9 innings over his last two starts. Speaking of being off, Alek Manoah just got rocked for the Blue Jays in his most recent outing. That was on the road but he also was not nearly as strong in his most recent home start as he had been for much of this season either. That said, the over is 3-0 in his last 3 starts and two of those were on the road and now he is at home where the over is 4-1 this season. The over is 5-3 in Lynn's road starts this season. Take advantage of the low total here as these are two solid lineups matching up in this one. 10* OVER 8.5 runs in Toronto

10* OVER 10.5 in Toronto - The Tigers are starting Hutchison and he got hammered and could not find the plate in his first start last week as he lasted less than two innings. Matz starts for the Blue Jays and is off a good road start but has been hit hard in recent home starts. Also, on the season, the Toronto lefty has a 4.57 ERA in home starts and that could easily be worse as he has an ugly 1.66 WHIP as a host this season. I know it has been back to back low-scoring unders so far in this series but look for the finale of the 3-game set to fly over the total. Both teams had been trending over coming into this series and this looks like the perfect pitching match-up for these lineups to come back to life and get off to a hot start and then carry the momentum through the game. Also, the over is 7-2 in Matz home starts this season. More of the same here. 10* OVER 10.5 in Toronto

IL Blowout - MLB 10* OVER 10.5 runs in Baltimore Orioles vs Atlanta Braves @ 7:05 ET - I know I fell short with this play last night but I do expect tonight to make up for it and for a lot of runs to be scored. Entering yesterday's action, as mentioned here in Friday's write-up, the Orioles had a .436 slugging percentage against lefties this season and that ranked 5th in the majors! Braves southpaw Drew Smyly has been struggling recently and this includes away from home where he has a 4.52 ERA on the road this season and the over is 11-2 in those 13 starts. Orioles right-hander Matt Harvey is likely to get rocked as he is 2-7 with a 6.60 ERA in his 11 home starts this season. Harvey, 7.45 ERA last 2 starts, faces a Braves team that is rolling on a hot streak. Atlanta has averaged scoring 6.5 runs per game last 11 games and the over was 6-2 last 8 Braves games prior to yesterday's low-scoring win. Orioles pitching, including bullpen, continues to get pounded as they have allowed nearly 9 runs per game during their current 16-game losing streak. 10* OVER 10.5 runs in Baltimore

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #971 Friday 10* Top Play OVER 9 runs in Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox @ 7:10 ET - The White Sox have Lucas Giolito on the mound and the over is 9-3 in his road starts this season. He has been hit a little harder in recent starts too as he has struggled in 2 of his last 3 outings. I know Giolito is certainly a solid pitcher overall but this Rays team is swinging very hot sticks right now. Tampa Bay has won 11 of 14 games and scored an average of 7.7 runs per game during this hot stretch. The White Sox are also rolling again overall as they had won 8 of 12 before yesterday's 5-4 loss. Chicago had averaged 5.8 runs per game in those dozen games and should have no trouble with the offerings of Michael Wacha here. The Rays right-hander is 0-2 with an 11.57 ERA in his last 3 starts. The over is 10-4-2 in Wacha's 16 starts this season. More of the same on tap here and both teams have huge days at the plate. 10* OVER 9 in Tampa Bay

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #913 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Texas Rangers vs Seattle Mariners @ 2:05 ET - I know neither one of these lineups have been juggernauts in terms of scoring runs of late but this looks like the perfect match-up for a breakthrough game for each. That said, I love the value of this very low total, 8.5, for an American League game when you consider the pitching match-up here. Chris Flexen has struggled throughout his career and after a surprising run through much of this season, particularly in his home starts, he is starting to revert back to normal of late. Flexen has been hit much harder over his last 4 starts. Also, on the season he has proven to be much more susceptible to getting roughed up on the road and that was also true in his lone start at Texas earlier this season. Flexen has a 5.44 ERA in his road starts this season and opponents are hitting .327 against him away from home. The Rangers start former Phillie Spencer Howard here and the Mariners just faced him in his most recent start. This is a big edge to the hitters and they will get to him this time around. Though he was successful in that outing, Howard only lasted 3 innings and now Seattle gets another look. Keep in mind, he entered that start with an 8.03 ERA over his 3 prior starts. Return to normal here and both teams see their lineups have big games here. 10* OVER 8.5 in Texas

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Detroit Tigers vs Los Angeles Angels @ 7:10 ET - This total is an 8.5 and it is a contrarian play because both Shohei Ohtani and Tarik Skubal have been pitching well of late. However, I like the over here as Skubal is going to return to norms as I am expecting a regression to the mean. Also, the Angels exploding for 6 runs in the top of the 9th yesterday gives this team a ton of momentum heading into today's match-up. As for Ohtani, he has been known to be a much better pitcher at home in comparison with on the road. That said, I do expect some struggles for him here. He entered this season with a 6.20 ERA in his career on the road and he has a 4.54 ERA in his 7 road starts this season and that is even including a good one in his most recent outing. I know the Tigers offense has been quite in the past two games but this followed Detroit scoring an average of 6 runs a game over 6 prior games. The Angels have averaged scoring 5 runs per game in their last 4 road wins and Skubal's most recent home start was a good one but that was preceded by him allowing 3 homers in his prior home start. Just a strong feeling here that the Angels carry momentum from yesterday's huge 9th inning while the Tigers also hit well as Ohtani has some road struggles as his long-term tendency for that resumes here. 10* OVER the total in Detroit

NOTE: Drew Rasmussen is making just his 4th start of the season and is averaging only 3 innings per start. He is not a true starter. The Rays could change their mind and use an opener and then let Rasmussen get the bulk of the work - 3 or 4 innings. That said, I just want to emphasize that, just like yesterday's play involving these teams, I do not care who the starting pitchers are for either team. If possible, I would recommend to bet this total at a book that has action on pitchers on all bets in MLB. Either way, I am telling you straight away that if there is a pitching change, this is still a play for me and I would recommend to re-bet it if you did not already have action: Total of the Month: Rickenbach MLB Rotation #921 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER 8 runs in Tampa Bay Rays vs Baltimore Orioles @ 7:10 ET - As for the Orioles, John Means is scheduled to start. With how hot the Rays bats have been it does not matter whom Baltimore starts here and plus the Orioles bullpen has been dreadful and that continued yesterday. As for Means, he has a decent ERA his last 3 starts but his numbers, particularly in his last 2 starts, have certainly left a lot to be desired and this is helping to lead to value in this spot. Means has allowed 16 hits in just 9 and 1/3 innings in his last two starts and that including giving up just 1 earned run but 8 hits to the Rays. Also, Means just got absolutely destroyed by the Tigers when he gave them a quick 2nd look and now he is doing the same by facing this hot Tampa Bay lineup again after just seeing them two starts ago - exact same situation he just had relating to Detroit. Also, the Rays are on an 8-2 run to the over as TB has been hot. The Rays have scored an average of nearly 9 runs per game in their last 8 victories. The Orioles have allowed an average of about 9 runs per game last 12 games! Also, the Orioles had scored an average of 5 runs per game in last 6 games versus Rays prior to being held to just 2 runs yesterday. They should fare better today plus the TB bats should remain FIRE! 10* OVER the total in Tampa Bay

NOTE: Fleming likely to get most of the work for Rays while McHugh will serve as an opener here. I do not care who the starting pitchers are for either team. If possible, I would recommend to bet this total at a book that has action on pitchers on all bets in MLB. Either way, I am telling you straight away that if there is a pitching change, this is still a play for me and I would recommend to re-bet it if you did not already have action: Rickenbach MLB Rotation #963 Monday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Tampa Bay Rays vs Baltimore Orioles @ 7:10 ET - Collin McHugh expected to only serve as an opener here so lets discuss Josh Fleming as he is projected to get most of the action. Fleming has been hit hard and has a 10.13 ERA in his last 3 starts and the over is 7-4 in his 11 starts this season. Again, I know he is not the listed starter here but essentially he is the starter by virtue of getting most of the work here. As for the Orioles Matt Harvey is scheduled to start. With how hot the Rays bats have been it does not matter whom Baltimore starts here and plus the Orioles bullpen has been dreadful. As for Harvey, he has a decent ERA his last 3 starts but his numbers, particularly in his last 2 starts, have certainly left a lot to be desired and this is helping to lead to value in this spot. Harvey got absolutely destroyed by Tampa Bay earlier this season. Also, the Rays are off a 5-4 loss that stayed under the total but this was preceded by a 7-1 run to the over as TB had been hot. The Rays have scored an average of nearly 9 runs per game in their last 7 victories. The Orioles are off a 6-2 loss that stayed under the total but Baltimore has allowed an average of about 9.5 runs per game last 11 games! Also, the Orioles have scored an average of 5 runs per game in last 5 games versus Rays. 10* OVER the total in Tampa Bay

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #965 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 runs in Boston Red Sox vs Baltimore Orioles @ 4:10 ET - The Orioles were held to just 1 run yesterday and that was the difference in the game staying under the total as the Red Sox did explode for 8 runs in that game. Today I look for the Boston bats to again be rolling but, this time, the Baltimore bats should enjoy some success too. Chris Sale, of course, brings a certain reputation to the mound. But this will be his first MLB start in two years. Coming back from a major elbow issue, Sales will not work very deep into this game. Also, the last time he hosted the Orioles he did allow 3 earned runs in less than 5 innings of work. Jorge Lopez starts for the visitors in this one. I know he has some decent stats of late but Lopez also has a 7.45 ERA in his two starts versus the Red Sox this season. Boston enters this game scoring an average of 8.2 runs last 5 games. The Orioles have allowed 9.1 runs last 9 games. The Orioles lead the AL in slugging percentage versus southpaws this season so could surprise here with some success versus Sale. Also, over the past week, Baltimore is hitting .262 and the Red Sox are hitting .286 and we should see plenty of scoring today. 10* OVER the total in Boston

Divisional Dominator – Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Detroit Tigers vs Cleveland Indians @ 7 ET – The Tigers scored 6 runs yesterday but the game just stayed under the total. Detroit has been piling up hits lately and also should have no trouble with the offering of a struggling Zach Plesac. The Indians just got hammered 17-0 yesterday and now send Plesac to the hill likely to see more big runs scored. Plesac has a 7.71 ERA in his last 3 starts and all went over the total. The Tigers are 3-1 to the over in Tyler Alexander’s home starts this season. The fact that Cleveland just saw him is likely to help the hitters too. Alexander did enjoy some surprising success in that start but this is still a guy that is getting hit at a .284 clip at the MLB level. Alexander is a lefty and the Indians are 3-1 to the over in last 4 road games against a left-handed starter and they scored an average of 6.3 runs in those 4 games. More of the same expected here. 10* OVER the total in Detroit

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #967 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Detroit Tigers @ 4:05 ET - The Tigers and Orioles combined for 20 hits in yesterday's game after combining for 19 hits in Tuesday's game. Even though there were more hits yesterday there were only 7 runs scored after the teams combined for 13 runs on Tuesday. The fact is the teams are swinging hot bats and that should continue here and this one should make up for yesterday's shortfall of runs. The Orioles are starting John Means and he has been a little harder in each of his last two home starts and overall the over is 4-2 in his home starts this season. The Tigers are starting Matt Manning and he is 0-4 with a 9.13 ERA in his road starts this season. Manning has a 7.36 ERA in his last 3 starts and that includes getting hit hard by the Orioles but 3 of the 5 runs were unearned. In other words, his ERA last 3 starts could easily be higher. Look for plenty of runs here as these are also two of the worst bullpens in the league too. 10* OVER the total in Baltimore

NL Total of the Year - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #901 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in San Diego Padres vs Miami Marlins @ 4:10 ET - The Padres have the best bullpen in the majors on the season and the Marlins are not far behind. I say this based on ERA on the season. However, if you look at those same rankings over time periods like last 7 days, last 15 days, last 30 days then you will find the Padres ranking only in the middle of the pack while the Marlins are near the bottom. That said, and with the recent high-scoring trending of these two teams as well as two starting pitchers likely to struggle and the fact this is a day game at Petco Park all factors are combining to suggest an over in this one. I also like the early line move which was from an 8.5 down to an 8. The Marlins are 8-1 to the over last 9 games. The Padres are 8-1-1 to the over last 10 games. Miami's Sandy Alcantara is off a disastrous road start at Colorado and has struggled more on the road than at home this season. The over is 4-0-1 in games between these teams this season and the Padres start a struggling Randy Weathers here. The southpaw has allowed 14 earned runs in 7 innings spanning his last two starts and both of those were at home where he has worse numbers than on the road this season. As you an see, all signs pointing to a high-scoring game here and yet we have a low number to work with. These teams each pounded out a dozen hits yesterday and the Padres continue to score quite well even without the injured Fernando Tatis. 10* OVER the total in San Diego

IL Dominator - Rickenbach MLB 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Houston Astros vs Colorado Rockies at 8:10 ET - The Rockies have been hitting quite well and no it has not just been at Coors Field either. That said, I look for the bats to stay hot here as Houston's Jake Odorizzi has an 8.31 ERA in his last three starts and all 3 starts went over the total. The key to an over here is that, though Jon Gray has pitched well for the Rockies, I expect to struggle with this potent Astros lineup as they are at home for this one. Houston is getting a 2nd look at Gray as they faced him earlier this season. The right-hander has a 4.40 ERA in road starts this season and allowed 3 homers in his last 2 road starts plus is coming off a home outing in which he allowed 8 hits in 6 innings. The Astros have had only 4 unders in their past dozen games. Houston has scored an average of 5.8 runs per game during this stretch. The Rockies are 9-3 to the over in past dozen games and have scored an average of 7.4 runs per game during this stretch. As long-time followers know I like to take overs when a home team has a struggling hurler on the mound. That means the road team should get their fair share of runs and I have no question the home team should get their fair share as well as the Astros are a strong team at home. 10* OVER 8.5 in Houston

Bullpen game likely for Minnesota. We will play the over regardless of the pitching match-up in this game. Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach MLB 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 runs in Minnesota Twins vs Chicago White Sox at 8:10 ET - Minnesota is off a 7-5 win and the White Sox off a 9-3 win. Just like those games yesterday for each respective club, do not be surprised if this game also gets into double digits in runs scored. The over is 8-3 with one push in the last dozen Twins games. Minnesota has scored an average of 5.5 runs per game during this stretch and now face Chicago's Lucas Giolito. The White Sox right-hander just allowed 6 earned runs in four innings and note that the over is 8-3 in his road starts this season. Though Beau Burrows is getting the start for the Twins here as an opener, or at least expected to, note that Charlie Barnes is actually expected to be the long guy in this one. Barnes allowed 5 earned runs in just four innings in his most recent start and the White Sox have hit Minny really well this season. Prior to a 7-2 loss in most recent meeting, Chicago had scored 6.6 runs last 9 meetings. The over is 10-5-1 in the 16 meetings between these teams this season. By now, the hitters have a lot of familiarity with the respective relievers for each team too. Look for the over to improve to 9-3 in Giolito's road starts this season as this one gets into double digits in runs scored. 10* OVER 9.5 runs in Minnesota

PA Dominator: 10* OVER 8.5 in Philadelphia - The Phillies have now won 7 straight games and scored an average of 7.4 runs per game in the process. I know the Mets have not been scoring well but they have seen former Met Zack Wheeler plenty this season and he enters this game after allowing 7 earned runs in his last two starts combined. Something tells me he will struggle some today. Speaking of struggling having allowed some runs of late, New York's Taijuan Walker is 0-3 with a 9.20 ERA in his last three starts. Walker allowed multiple homers in each of the three starts. Walker allowed four earned runs the last time he visited Philly. Wheeler allowed four earned runs the last time he hosted the Mets. The Phillies bullpen is still quite shaky too but their lineup remains hot. Look for the finale of this 3-game set to find its way over the total. 10* OVER 8.5 in Philadelphia

AL Central Total of the Month 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 in Cleveland - The Tigers are on a long under streak. However, the Indians were on a 5-2 run to the over before back to back unders and this game has the makings of a crazy one. Detroit, before being held to a single run yesterday, had scored an average of 5.8 runs last ten games. Cleveland has had some duds in 3 of their last 9 games but has averaged 6.7 runs in the other 6 games and not scored less than four in any of those six games. This certainly looks like a good game for the bats to be very much alive again - 15 hits for the Indians in yesterday's game - as Tyler Alexander has a 5.30 ERA on the season and has been roughed up in each of his past two starts. Eli Morgan starts for Cleveland here and he gave up 4 earned runs in 5 innings in a start versus the Tigers two months ago. Overall, Morgan has an 8.81 ERA in his four home starts this season and the O/U is 3-1 in those. The O/U is 4-2 in all of Alexander's starts today. Detroit has scored at least 5 runs each of the last 3 times they were off a game in which they were held to 2 runs or less. At the same time, the Indians should definitely have another big game at the plate here. 10* OVER 9.5 in Cleveland

AL East Total of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #967 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:07 ET - The Red Sox only scored 1 run yesterday but pounded out 9 hits but left 11 men on base thanks in large part to going 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position. All of this is serving to give us some line value here as Boston should have scored much more yesterday. Now they face Alek Manoah who has great numbers so far in his rookie season. The key here, and I have used this angle with great success through the years in terms of rookie pitchers, he will be facing Boston for the 2nd time now. This season, there are two other teams he faced twice and, in both cases, one was a solid outing and the other one was not. This is a normal trending with young pitchers and I expect it to continue with Manaoh here. Two months ago he was successful against the Red Sox and now Boston will get to him in the rematch. The good news for Manoah is he should get plenty of run support from his teammates here. Boston's Nathan Eovaldi has struggled in 3 of his last 4 road outings. The Blue Jays enter this game having won 7 of 8 games and playing with a lot of confidence as a result of that plus finally being back at their true home at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. The Jays have scored an average of 6 runs per game in these 8 games. The over is 4-1 this season in games in which the Blue Jays were the host and that trend should continue here now that they are back north of the border too. Excellent line value with this total dropping to a 9 and I won't hesitate to go to my highest level with this play. 10* OVER the total in Toronto

Rickenbach MLB Rotation #919 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Detroit Tigers vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:10 ET - The over is 8-2 in last 10 games between these two teams. Boston is 8-4 to the over in Garrett Richards road starts this season. Richards has a 6.75 ERA in his last 3 starts and has allowed 5 homers in his last two starts. The Tigers start Wily Peralta here and he has allowed 4 homers in his last two starts while compiling an 11.00 ERA in these two outings! Red Sox bats come back to life here and the over improves to 4-1 their last 5 games with a high-scoring battle here. The Tigers have been trending under but have scored an average of 6 runs per game last 11 games and I am expecting both starters to struggle here. Also, Detroit's bullpen has a 5.00 ERA this season and the Boston pen has a 4.85 ERA last 30 days. Don't be surprised if plenty of runs early, often, and throughout this contest as a result. 10* OVER the total in Detroit

MLB Network Day Game - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #959 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Cleveland Indians @ 3:07 ET - The Blue Jays are on an under trend but a lot of that had to with the opposition they were facing. Toronto has been scoring just fine with an average of 7 runs scored during their 4-game winning streak. Now instead of hosting a Royals team that is again on the fade, the Jays are hosting an Indians team that has an O/U record of 29-10-1 in their 40 games against left-handed starters this season. Yes the Indians lost a low-scoring 2-1 game yesterday but they have still averaged scoring 6 runs per game last 4 games. Cleveland will be facing Robbie Ray. The Toronto left-hander has seen the over go 2-0 in his last 2 home starts and he allowed 3 homers in his most recent start as a host. A big key to this over today is that the Blue Jays should pound the Indians Eli Morgan. The Cleveland right-hander has a 7.47 ERA this season and the over is 5-2 in his 7 starts. This included Morgan getting rocked for 6 earned runs in less than 3 innings of work in his lone start against the Jays this season. The Blue Jays hit will here again as they ride the momentum of happily playing their home games in the Rogers Centre again. At the same time, note the Indians are 3-0 L3 games against a left-handed starter and scored 7.7 runs per game in those victories. With this total dropping from a 9.5 to a 9 it is go time with this one. 10* OVER the total in Toronto

Total of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #923 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - With yesterday's 9-5 Rays win the over is now on a 26-11 run in match-ups between these teams including 7-1 this season! I see no reason for this trend to come to a halt here. Yes Nick Pivetta has had success against the Rays but he enters this start in poor current form and the Tampa Bay bats are red hot. Pivetta has allowed 4 or more earned runs in 4 of last 5 starts and has a 7.04 ERA in his last 3 starts. The Rays have won 10 of 15 games and have scored an average of 6 runs per game during this stretch! The Red Sox will be facing Shane Mcclanahan and the lefty is off a very fortunate start. He allowed only 3 earned runs but gave up 9 hits and walked 3 for a WHIP of 2.00 in his 6-inning start versus a Yankees lineup. In other words, that is not a good sign for him here as he now takes on a Red Sox team that ranks 7th in majors for slugging percentage versus lefties this season and 3rd in majors for slugging percentage in road games! Boston has scored an average of 7 runs per game last 4 road games and will be a tough test for Mcclanahan who has a 4.33 ERA in the last two months and that is even with pitching out of some big jams in some recent starts. He could easily be north of 5.00 over the past two months and the potent Red Sox lineup is going to give him trouble here. That said, this turns into another high-scoring game because I expect Pivetta's struggles to continue. 10* OVER 8.5 runs in Tampa Bay

10* OVER 10 in Kansas City @ 8:10 ET - The Royals fell short 5-3 yesterday but this followed a 6-game winning streak in which they scored an average of 6 runs per game. Kansas City got to Lucas Giolito for 5 earned runs in 6 innings the last time they faced him and he is known for struggling more on the road than at home. KC sends Kris Bubic to the mound and the White Sox are known for pounding southpaws. Chicago is 19-9 against left-handed pitching this season and has scored an average of 6 runs per game in those contests. By the way, the over is 3-0 in Giolito's last 3 starts overall and also 8-2 in his 10 road starts this season! Bubic's most recent start resulted in an under but the over was 6-2 in his 8 prior starts this season. Look for a high-scoring slugfest at Kauffman Stadium on a hot summer night in KC Wednesday. 10* OVER 10 in Kansas City

Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach MLB Rotation #911 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Kansas City Royals vs Chicago White Sox @ 8:10 ET - Both teams are off wins yesterday in which they each allowed just 1 run. Based on this pitching match-up, each of these clubs is going to be giving up a whole lot more on Monday. The White Sox send Dallas Keuchel to the mound. He has a knack for struggling more on the road than at home. Also, he enters this start with a 5.62 ERA in his last 3 starts overall. Keuchel has been getting plenty of run support and the over is 3-0 in his last 3 starts and 6-3 in his road starts this season. Mike Minor starts for the Royals here. The over is 6-3 in his home start this season. Minor has a 5.61 ERA at home on the year. He is off a good start at Milwaukee but the Brewers have been involved in a lot of low-scoring games of late. In his two starts that just preceded that one, Minor allowed 10 earned runs in 10 innings. Also, now he faces a White Sox team that is known for pounding southpaws. Chicago ranks 4th in the majors for batting average versus lefties. The White Sox are 19-8 in games against left-handed starters and should hit Minor well, but I also expect Keuchel to get hit hard. The Royals are a solid hitting team at home and rank 6th out of all 30 MLB teams for batting average at home. KC averages 5 runs per game at home. White Sox average 6 runs per game versus left-handed starters. Minor allowed 5 earned runs in 5 innings in his only home start versus Chicago this season. Hot weather for this game this evening and we should see hot bats as well. Both teams rank in the lower half of the majors for bullpen ERA as well. The Royals have won 5 straight games and averaged scoring 6.2 runs per victory. The White Sox are off a low-scoring series with the Brewers but their bats will heat up against Minor and a Royals pen they are familiar with. The result should be plenty of runs for both teams in this one. 10* OVER the total in Kansas City

Contrarian Crusher - 10* OVER 8 in Houston - Great line value here because Kyle Gibson has a low ERA this season but is struggling now and Framber Valdez had great numbers against the Rangers last season but is struggling now. I know Texas has not been scoring well but they can get to Valdez here. He has a 6.46 ERA over his last 3 starts. As for Gibson, he has the impressive full season numbers but has allowed 13 earned runs in 11 and 1/3 innings spanning his last two starts. 8 of the 10 games between these teams have gone over the total including 6 of 7 meetings in Houston. This total is only an 8 and the Rangers have allowed 7.3 runs per game during their current 10-game losing streak. Astros have won 5 of 8 games and scored an average of 7 runs per game in those 5 wins. Again, the low posted total makes sense based on Gibson's full season numbers and Texas struggling to score runs but the key factors here are that Gibson is currently struggling and so to is Valdez. Also, the over is 4-1 in home starts for Valdez and 7-2 in road starts for Gibson this season. 10* OVER 8 in Houston

Rickenbach MLB Rotation #967 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Los Angeles Angels @ 8:10 ET - As long time followers know, I like to play overs in particular when I feel the home team pitcher will get hit hard. That is because the home team lineup usually hits the ball better when at home than on the road generally speaking so I am confident they will get their runs and the concern usually has more to do with the away team. As road teams struggle sometimes to hit as well, the confidence level rises when that road team lineup is facing a sub-par pitcher. That said, this one fits the bill perfectly because JA Happ is likely to struggle. The southpaw has a 6.15 ERA on the season and a 7.36 ERA in his last 3 starts. The O/U is 12-5 in his starts this year. The Angels have an O/U record of 21-9 this season in games against left-handed starters and have averaged 5.6 runs per game in those outings. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Angels and, though he has pitched better of late, he has a 6.37 ERA on the road this season and the O/U is 10-4 in his starts this year. He has allowed 14 earned runs in less than 12 innings in his last 3 starts against the Twins and the O/U is 6-1 in Cobb's 7 career starts against Minnesota. This total is double digits for a reason and I expect at least a dozen runs in this one. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

NL Central Total of the Year - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #905 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in St Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:15 ET - This is a contrarian play as you can see from the recent run of shutout innings for Kwang Hyun Kim. Being a contrarian has been a key for me through the years and I am sensing struggles for Kim in this one. For one thing, these lineups have faced these starting pitchers already as the Cubs have faced Kim and the Cardinals have faced Adbert Alzolay. Adding to the value here is the fact that Kim has nearly as many walks as strikeouts over his last 4 starts. Not only is Kim not a strikeout pitcher, he has walked 11 in his last 4 home starts. In his most recent one he did give up a lot of hard hit balls plus only struck out 1 batter. I think it is all catching up with Kim and that the Cubs will get to him early and often in this one. Yesterday ended up being a low-scoring Cardinals win but the teams did combine for 20 hits! I expect the Cards to get to Alzolay early and often. The Chicago right-hander is 1-6 with a 4.89 ERA in road starts this season. The O/U was on a 5-2 run in meetings between these teams before yesterday's under. The Cubs entered yesterday's game having been shutout once in last 7 games but averaging 5.5 runs per game in the other 6 games. The Cardinals have averaged 5.7 runs their last 3 games. Both teams have more success than most are expecting in this one Thursday. Based on the opening total and what I am seeing with line movement, the sharp money will be on the over in this match-up. 10* OVER the total in St Louis

Best Bet Blowout - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #971 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER 9 runs in Chicago White Sox vs Minnesota Twins @ 8:10 ET - This is another game with an interesting money line. The White Sox are 7-2 in the 9 home starts Dylan Cease has made this season and the Twins Michael Pineda is struggling badly and yet Chicago opened up as a -125 favorite here. This opener is telling me the odds makers feel there is a decent shot at the Twins getting an upset here and the only way I see that happening is if they score a pile of runs. The reason I say that is because Pineda should get rocked here. The Minnesota right-hander is 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA in his last 4 starts. Pineda also has struggled more at night than day games and more on the road than in home games. Specifically against the White Sox he has allowed 8 earned runs on 16 hits in less than 11 innings of work over two recent starts against them. This included 3 homers plus he particularly got roughed up in his most recent start against them which was only two weeks ago. Speaking of familiarity, the Twins lineup has plenty of familiarity with Cease and will be seeing him for the 4th time in a span of about 2 months. Cease has allowed 4 homers in those 3 starts and gave up 6 earned runs at Minnesota about two weeks ago. I know he has good numbers at home but he also has an 8.04 ERA in his 6 career starts about the Twins. Cease struggles here more than you would expect, Pineda's recent struggles continue, and also note that the bullpens allowed 8 of the 13 earned runs in yesterday's game. The over is already 7-2 this season in games between these teams at Chicago and I look for that trend to continue here. 10* OVER the total in Chicago White Sox

AL East Total of the Year - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #917 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Tampa Bay Rays vs Baltimore Orioles @ 7:10 ET - We get a low total to work with here because both John Means and Shane McClanahan have great full season numbers. The key to the value here is a bit hidden and that is what makes this a special situation the way I see it! The Orioles Means is coming back from a shoulder injury. He was struggling a bit right before he went on the disabled list. Now, in his 3 rehab starts he also struggled. The Rays were 6-0 and had scored piles of runs against the Orioles before losing to Baltimore for the first time this season in yesterday's game. That was also just the 2nd under in 7 games between these teams this season. I fully expect the Tampa Bay bats to bounce back here and take advantage of a pitcher who could be a bit rusty and also not completely trusting in himself just yet. As for the other side of this equation, yes I do expect the Orioles sticks to enjoy success against McClanahan. He is from Baltimore and grew up idolizing Cal Ripken and the Orioles. Don't be surprised if he ends up struggling to harness his emotions in this start and sometimes that leads to mistake pitches. That said, right now the Orioles have been hot at the plate so this could spell trouble. Baltimore has won 3 straight games and scored an average of 6.3 runs per game in those contests. The Orioles had been trending over heavily before back to back unders. The Rays were on a 3-0 run to the over before yesterday's under. I am aware of the fact the TB pen has been fantastic at home in recent weeks but this total is just too low considering all of the above variables and the Baltimore pen is certainly not a strength. With Rays in bounce back mode they should score a pile here but I expect the O's to get to McClanahan early and often as well. 10* OVER the total in Tampa Bay

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #969 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Detroit Tigers vs Texas Rangers @ 7:10 ET - This is a contrarian play because the over has cashed in only 3 times in the 17 starts Casey Mize has made this season and Kyle Gibson has a 2.29 ERA in his 17 starts this season. How do I get an over based on that? Well, these pitchers just faced these teams so that gives the lineups an edge. Also, Gibson allowed 5 earned runs in that game for one of his worst starts of the season and it was no fluke as he gave up a lot of hard hit outs too and the damage could have been worse. The over is a surprising 6-2 in Gibson's road starts this season and, after the Rangers got hammered 15-0 combined in their double header loss via sweep at Toronto yesterday, I am expecting a big bounce back at the plate for Texas. The Rangers hit two homers against Mize in the same start in which Gibson was hit hard by the Tigers. Gibson actually has allowed at least 4 earned runs in each of his last 3 starts against Detroit and was hit very hard in all 3 of them - 28 hits in less than 17 innings combined! Mize has a 5.14 ERA last two starts and a 4.15 ERA at home this season. Certainly not overly impressive and the Rangers quick second look at him should produce some big results. The Tigers bullpen has been one of the worst in MLB this season and the Rangers bullpen has a 5.51 ERA on the road which is one of the worst marks in the majors. Look for runs early, often, and throughout this contest and we will take advantage of the generously low number. 10* OVER the total in Detroit

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #963 Monday 9* Top Play OVER the total in Chicago White Sox vs Minnesota Twins @ 5:10 ET (Game 1 of Double Header) - I am predicting this is the game where Lance Lynn runs into some trouble that he does not escape from. In his two July starts he has walked 8 in 12 innings but managed to get out of jams. In June he was not as sharp as April or May as he compiled a 3.81 ERA in the month. I just feel he is edging closer to one of those starts where he unravels a bit and this is it as we catch the Twins ready to bounce back big off a shutout loss yesterday. Minnesota is facing Lynn for the 4th time in a span of about 2 months so they are plenty familiar with him. As for the Twins starter, Griffin Jax gets the call and in 5 games at the MLB level this season he has an 8.66 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. I just do not feel he is quite ready yet for the big show and I look for the White Sox to tattoo him here. Chicago is off a shutout win yesterday and has won 7 of last 8 games and scored an average of 7.3 runs per game in the 7 victories. They hit well here again but the Twins surprise by getting to Lynn early and often and this 7-inning affair goes over the short number. 9* OVER the total in Chicago White Sox

Total of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #913 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Arizona Diamondbacks vs Chicago Cubs @ 4:10 ET - The Diamondbacks continue to find ways to lose and have the worst bullpen in baseball. They gave up 3 runs in the top of the 9th to lose 4-2 to the Cubs. The way I see today's game playing out is that Chicago's Zach Davies is going to get hit so Arizona will get their runs today. I know that Merrill Kelly has decent numbers for the Diamondbacks this season. However, he dealt with leg cramping in his most recent start plus his strikeouts are down recently and his only career start against the Cubs was an ugly one. I am looking for another ugly one here as Chicago has won 4 of 6 games and scored an average of 5.3 runs per game last 7 games and the over was on an 5-0 run in their games before a sudden 3-game under streak which I see ending here. Davies has allowed 3 homers in his last 2 starts and his strikeout numbers are down too. The Dbacks had gone over in 4 of 5 games prior to this series and, after back to back unders, this looks like the right match-up for plenty of runs. This is a bit of a contrarian play and long-time followers know I love looking for contrarian situations. I saw some 9.5 popping up on this game and to Joe Public the total of 9 might have already seemed high. So you know where I am going with this...the odds makers are sharp and this total is set this way for a reason. Look for plenty of runs in this one. 10* OVER the total in Arizona

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #979 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Atlanta Braves vs Tampa Bay Rays @ 7:20 ET - The Braves blew the lead in last night's loss and their bullpen woes could be an issue tonight. That's because Max Fried has an 8.10 ERA in his last two starts and has lasted only 5 innings in each of his last 3 starts. He is expected to be opposed by the Rays Josh Fleming. The TB southpaw has been working out of the pen but has struggled as a starter with 5 earned runs allowed in each of his last two starts. Also, Fleming has been hit hard and given up a lot of runs in each of his last four road appearances. That said, no matter who Tampa Bay starts, Fleming is likely to get a lot of work here and no matter who the Braves start here, their bullpen has been a mess. So no matter who the pitchers are here, I do like the over in this match-up but do note that the over is 3-0 in Fleming's last 3 starts and 3-0 in Fried's last 3 starts. Look for another high-scoring game in this one. 10* OVER the total in Atlanta

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #905 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Washington Nationals vs San Diego Padres @ 7:05 ET - I like the over here no matter who pitches. Why? Well, these teams have had only 2 unders in their last 11 meetings! The Padres are scheduled to throw Chris Paddack and he has a 12.71 ERA in his last 3 starts. The Nationals are expected to start Erick Fedde and he has a 9.45 ERA in his last 3 starts. These teams just met for 4 games in San Diego prior to the All Star break and not only was the over a perfect 4-0, the games averaged 15 runs each! That said, as noted above, no matter who starts in this one, my play is the over as these teams continue to pound each other in the first game of this 3-game set in DC. 10* OVER the total in Washington

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #923 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Houston Astros vs New York Yankees @ 2:10 ET - This is contrarian all the way. This total has moved from a 9 to an 8.5 for a few reasons. A big one is that Carlos Correa is likely to again be out of the lineup Sunday for the Astros. Another is that Jameson Taillon is off a strong start for the Yankees. So, weaker Houston lineup, starting pitcher entering off strong start, and you can see why this total made a downward move. In my mind, this is merely serving to give us excellent line value here. The Astros should still hit Taillon well. His last start was a rare successful road outing and the first time he pitched 7 innings this season. After throwing over 100 pitches and also helped by being given a huge early 8-0 lead in that game, Taillon comes back down to earth here. Taillon, even off the great start at Seattle, still has an 8.25 ERA on the road this season. His trending in recent seasons also has shown him to be much better at home than on the road. This season, the O/U in his road starts is 6-0. As for Astros starter Framber Valdez, he has seen the over go 3-1 in his home starts and he allowed 6 runs (5 earned) on 10 hits in just 5 innings in his most recent home start. The last time Valdez faced the Yankees he allowed 5 earned runs in 3 and 1/3 innings. After yesterday's 1-0 game we have seen an over-reaction here particularly because of the Correa situation too. That said, this is not Cole and Greinke today! This total is being kept way too low considering this match-up is Taillon and Valdez. Look for plenty of runs in this one. 10* OVER 8.5 in Houston

IL Total of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #979 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Philadelphia Phillies @ 4:10 ET - This IL (InterLeague) match-up totaled 16 runs yesterday and I expect another wild one today. We get some excellent value here because it looks like Martin Perez has been throwing well but, the fact is, he has not. Perez has a 1.88 ERA his last 3 starts but he has been very fortunate. Perez has allowed 21 hits in just 14 and 1/3 innings. Also, Perez has allowed 7 earned runs in 11 innings in his two most recent starts against the Phillies and he walked 6 in one of those outings so the damage could have been much worse. Matt Moore gets the start for the Phillies here. The southpaw is off a tough start against the Cubs at Wrigley Field and the damage could have been worse as he allowed 5 hits and walked 2 in just 4 innings. Moore has a 6.30 ERA as a starter this season and Boston could pound him here. The Red Sox have won 11 of 14 games and Boston has averaged scoring 6 runs per game during this stretch. The Phillies have seen the over go a perfect 6-0 in last road games. Philadelphia has scored an average of 8 runs per game in those contests. On a very pleasant afternoon at Fenway Park with great weather expected, look for plenty of runs in this one. 10* OVER the total in Boston

1st Half of the Season Total of the Year - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #915 Friday 10* Top Play OVER 10.5 runs in Chicago White Sox vs Baltimore Orioles @ 7:05 ET - The over is 8-2 in Chicago's last 10 games. The White Sox should pound Jorge Lopez but they have concerns on the mound of their own here as Dallas Keuchel gets the call in this one. Keuchel has allowed 13 runs (10 earned) in 6 and 2/3 innings spanning his last two starts. Both of those outings were on the road where he has a 5.12 ERA on the season. The White Sox southpaw allowed 3 homers among 8 hits in just 5 innings in his prior start against the Orioles this season and that was at home. Now he faces them at Baltimore where the O's are known to hit better. Baltimore starts Lopez here and he has allowed 9 earned runs on 17 hits and 8 walks in 9 and 1/3 innings in his last two starts overall. Also, seeing the White Sox may not help matters as he has allowed 22 hits including 5 homers in 16 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts against them. The over is on a 14-5 run in Orioles games and as mentioned above Chicago has been trending over as well last 10 games. Look for plenty of runs in this one as a result. 10* OVER 10.5 runs in Baltimore

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #963 Thursday 10* OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Oakland A's @ 2:10 ET - The A's .429 slugging percentage in road games this season ranks as one of the best in the majors. The Astros overall .444 slugging percentage on the season also ranks as one of the best in the majors. After yesterday's low-scoring under featured very few hits, I look for the bats to come back to life in this one. Houston's Lance McCullers has great numbers on the season but he did walk 4 in his most recent start and was lucky to get out of numerous jams as he allowed 10 baserunners in that start. The right-hander also walked 4 in his most recent home start. The A's have already seen him twice this season and, likewise, the Astros hitters have already seen Oakland's Frankie Montas twice this year. Montas has allowed 20 hits (including 4 homers) in less than 15 innings in his last 3 starts against Houston. The over is 9-3 in the 12 games between these divisional foes so far this season. The over is 8-4 in McCullers starts this season and 4-2 in Montas road starts this season. Also, the A's righthander has allowed 10 earned runs in less than 11 innings of work spanning his last two starts. 10* OVER the total in Houston

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #901 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Atlanta Braves @ 12:35 ET - I used this play yesterday and it never had a chance. That will not stop me from coming right back with it today. That was just the 3rd under in the last 13 games between these teams. Also, I know Drew Smyly has been fantastic his last 3 starts but 2 of those were at home. The over is 6-2 in his road starts this season and he has a respectable, but not great, 4.22 ERA on the road this season. Smyly has allowed 7 earned runs in 12 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 2 starts against the Pirates and he allowed 2 homers in EACH start and that includes one this season in Atlanta. The Pirates counter with William Crowe in this one. He has an 8.59 ERA in two starts versus the Braves this season and both went over the total and that includes being matched up with Smyly on May 20th in Atlanta. That one totaled double digits in runs and this one should too. Crowe is 0-4 with a 5.66 ERA in his 5 home starts this season. Look for this one to be the complete opposite of yesterday's low-scoring duel. We'll see a surprising early afternoon slugfest in this one. 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #951 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Atlanta Braves @ 7:05 ET - I know that Ian Anderson has great numbers for the Braves this season and his road starts have trended under. However, the Pirates have seen him once already this season and do tend to hit better at home and showed that tendency with yesterday's 11-1 win. They should do enough here with the bats for us to get the over because the Atlanta bats should absolutely pound Chad Kuhl. The over is 8-2 in the Pirates right-handers 10 home starts this season and it will be a very hot day in Pittsburgh today so still very warm in the evening too. Kuhl has a 5.16 ERA on the season and has had some command issues in recent starts. I know he has some good numbers at times this season but he looks a little "off" in recent outings and this is not a good match-up for him with the Braves hungry to bounce back off yesterday's shellacking. 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #915 OVER 8.5 runs in Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Indians @ 7:10 ET - Logan Allen starts for the Indians and is 1-5 with an 8.85 ERA as a starter this season. The over is 6-2 in Rich Hill's 8 home starts this season. Though he has pitched fairly well overall this season, he has allowed 5 homers in his last 3 starts. I know Cleveland is off back to back unders but this followed a streak of 7 straight games without an under and I expect Allen to get pounded and for Hill to continue to have some long-ball troubles in this one. The Rays have averaged scoring 5.8 runs per game last 14 home games. Tampa Bay is off back to back unders but this followed a 4-1 stretch to the over. This is a bit of a contrarian play based on recent results but I like having the over here based on all of the above and with each club off B2B unders but now enjoying a change of scenery to begin this series. 10* OVER 8.5 runs in Tampa Bay

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #955 Sunday 10* OVER the total in Philadelphia Phillies vs San Diego Padres @ 1:05 ET - The over is 6-2 in Blake Snell's road starts this season. The Padres are 0-8 in Snell's outings away from home this season where the lefty has a 10.36 ERA in his starts. I simply do not trust Vince Velasquez or the Phillies bullpen enough to play against him however. That said, I like the over a lot here! Look for Snell's road misery to continue. He missed his last start in the rotation due to illness and now faces a Phillies team which has won 5 of last 8 games and starting to build some confidence again. As for Velasquez, he is off a great start versus Miami but had been struggling heading into that outing. The Padres have now lost 3 straight but had been red hot, including at the plate, and their big hitters bounce back large in this one. 10* OVER the total in Philadelphia

Earliest Cash Eve - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #921 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Houston Astros @ 7:15 ET - The Indians Eli Morgan is struggling badly and has a 10.32 ERA in his 3 home starts and all went over the total. The Astros Jake Odorizzi is coming off back to back strong outings but faced the Orioles and Tigers. He faces a much tougher test here and Odorizzi was not exactly on fire this season prior to these last two starts. I expect his struggles to resume here as the Indians bounce back from a couple recent sub-par performances at the plate. Odorizzi has seen the over go 5-2-1 in his 8 starts for Houston this season. The Indians have seen the over go 6-1-1 in their last 8 games and they'll get their bats going again here but I expect Morgan's struggles to continue so the Astros likely pound the ball too. Over the last 30 days the Houston production at the plate has been phenomenal with a .297 batting average and .498 slugging percentage. The over is on a 5-1 run in the Astros last 6 games. More of the same expected here. 10* OVER the total in Cleveland

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #930 Saturday 10* Top Play UNDER the total in New York Yankees vs New York Mets @ 1:05 ET - The Yankees Jordan Montgomery may not have flashy overall numbers but he has been rock solid at home where he has a 2.61 ERA and has held opponents to a .212 batting average. Last season he was also much better at home than on the road. The Mets Taijuan Walker has been fantastic in day games this season with a 1.89 ERA and a .190 batting average against. Overall he is having a very strong season and has a 3.26 ERA in his 4 career starts against the Yankees. Montgomery was solid in his lone career start against the Mets. This total has moved up to an 8.5 and only 7 of the Mets last 29 games have totaled 9 or more runs. The Yankees are off back to back high-scoring games but had averaged scoring only 2.5 runs per game in the 4 games immediately prior to those. 10* UNDER the total in New York Yankees

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #961 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs St Louis Cardinals @ 8:10 ET - This total was as low as an 11.5 when it opened up and now it is a 12.5 as of early morning Friday. The Rockies have stayed under the total in 5 straight games and the Cardinals have had just 1 over their last 7 games. In other words, the old saying of "someone knows something" holds true here. Indeed I expect the sharp money to line up on the over in this one and am expecting a wild game at Coors Field. I know the recent games there have not lived up to the billing of the usual high-scoring slugfests we see there but this one has all the right ingredients. The Cardinals Johan Oviedo has been hit hard in each of his last two starts and went 0-2 in them. He is winless with a 6.91 ERA on the road this season and the over is 4-0 in those outings. The Rockies Chi Chi Gonzalez is off a rare good start at Milwaukee but he allowed 10 earned runs in 11 and 1/3 innings spanning his two outings prior to that one. Both of those were at home and he struggled at Coors Field and I expect more of the same here. Gonzalez faced the Cardinals at St Louis in May and he allowed 7 earned runs in 4 innings! The Cards will be on him early and often again in this one. As for Oviedo, it will be his first ever start at Coors Field and that typically does not go well for pitchers and especially those in poor current form like he is. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Earliest Cash EVE - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #925 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Houston Astros @ 7:10 ET - Something funny going on with this one. Total opened up as high as a 9.5 but has dropped to an 8.5 as of game day morning. I know that the wind is expected to be blowing in at Progressive Field for this one but the odds maker had this total right in my opinion and now we're going to take advantage of value on the other side of the line move as I fully expect double digits here. The Astros are off a 3-game sweep at the hands of the Orioles and this was at home. That said, going on the road and getting refocused with a change of scenery in a new venue should be a great thing for Houston. The Astros went 5-2 on most recent road trip and averaged scoring 6 runs per game. The Indians are off a home double-header sweep at the hands of the Tigers yesterday. That double-header was because Tuesday's game got rained out and that pushed JC Mejia's start back from Tuesday to Thursday. Anything that throws off a pitchers routine can be tough on them and this is particularly true of a rookie. Also, Mejia has struggled since moving into the starting role in June. He is winless in his 5 starts and has compiled a 6.27 ERA. He'll be opposed by Framber Valdez of the Astros. I know the Houston southpaw has been pitching well but he does tend to struggle more on the road than at home and the Indians have a .448 slugging percentage in last 12 games at home and had won 9 of 10 at home prior to yesterday's double header sweep. In those 10 home games the Indians averaged 6.2 runs per game. 10* OVER the total in Cleveland

Earliest Cash DAY - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #919 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Kansas City Royals @ 1:10 ET - Rainy weather moving into the Boston area but it should be after this one is already in the books and I look for plenty of runs here after yesterday's game was 5-2 in the top of the 6th but then saw only 1 more run scored the rest of the way. The Royals Kris Bubic has a 7.36 ERA on the road this season and a 9.49 ERA in his last 3 starts overall. Bubic had been working out of the bullpen most recently but struggled in 2 of those 3 appearances as well including a rough outing versus the Red Sox. Boston starts Nathan Eovaldi here and he has solid overall numbers this season but just recently faced the Royals and struggled in that outing with 7 hits allowed in only 4 innings on the mound. Kansas City now gets another look at him here and I expect more success for them at the plate in this one. 10* OVER the total in Boston

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #955 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 3:10 ET - This total opened up at an 11.5 and has dropped down to an 11 as of 5 hours prior to game time. The Pirates have been shutout by the Rockies in back to back games and almost got no-hit in last night's 8-0 loss as they only managed a 9th inning single. However, in typical contrarian fashion, I am on the over here and happy to fade the line move. The over is 8-1 in Chad Kuhl's starts this season including a perfect 6-0 in his road starts. The Pirates right-hander has a 6.04 ERA on the road this season and also was hit very hard in his lone career start at Coors Field. The Rockies Jon Gray is off a great start at Milwaukee but that was preceded by two very rough outings and that included a tough one against Pittsburgh. Something about the Pirates is probably what Gray has to be thinking as he has a 7.94 ERA in his career against them and the over is a perfect 5-0 in those 5 starts as he has complied a 1.94 WHIP too. Despite all the recent unders, this is an afternoon game at hitter-friendly Coors Field and the weather will be warm and I expect the bats to be hot. Don't be surprised if the Rockies again get to 8 runs here but, this time, the Pirates finally join the party after being shutout in the first two games of this series. Keep in mind, Pittsburgh had entered this series averaging a respectable 5.3 runs per game last 9 games. Their sticks get back on track here as they continue to give Gray trouble. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

NOTE about pitching change. This is still a play for me. Craig Stammen had an ERA north of 5.00 the only two seasons he was used as a starter in his MLB career. Though he has pitched well this season out of the bullpen, he averages only 1 and 1/3 innings per outing and only 2 times in 33 appearances has he pitched more than 2 innings. Though the Padres bullpen has great numbers on the season, they have a 4.42 ERA last 15 days and opponents batting average of .292 last 7 days. Both of those numbers are poor as San Diego's pen has been trending the wrong direction as you can see. So this is still a play for me. ORIGINAL write-up: Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #903 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs San Diego Padres @ 7:10 ET - The over is on a 10-2 run in Padres games and that includes 3-1 when they recently hosted the Reds out west. Now this game is in Cincinnati where it will be steamy and hot on Tuesday and the ball should be flying out of hitter friendly Great American Ball Park. Blake Snell starts for the Padres and the over is 6-2 in his 8 road starts this season and he is winless in them with a 10.36 ERA on the year away from home. The Reds start Tony Santillan and he has some respectable numbers since moving into the rotation but the worst of his 3 starts was at San Diego and the Padres are expected to get to him again here. Early and often plenty of runs in this one based on the pitching match-up and the weather conditions and the recent history between these teams. Reds averaging 5.8 runs per game at home this season and the Padres averaging 5.5 runs per game last dozen games. 10* OVER the total in Cincinnati 

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #951 Monday 10* Top Play OVER 11 runs in Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 5:10 ET - Kyle Freeland gets start for Rockies and has a 10.38 ERA at home this season and a 9.39 ERA in day games (3 pm local time start here). Last season he got hit at a .295 clip in home games. In 2019, Freeland had a 9.25 ERA and was hit at a .337 clip in home games. You can see where I am going with this and the Pirates are off a 7-2 win and have now won 6 of 9 games and scored an average of 7 runs per game in the 6 victories. The Pirates issue today will be their own pitching. Tyler Anderson used to pitch for the Rockies and was drafted by them and certainly does not have fond memories of pitching here. He regularly got crushed at Coors Field and he has struggled in road starts since leaving Colorado after a 2019 season in which he went winless with an 11.76 ERA in five starts. With the Giants in 2020, Anderson went 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA in his six road starts. This season he is 2-4 with a 6.06 ERA in his 6 road starts. Anderson has been crushed in his last two road starts and Freeland has been hammered in his only two home starts this season. More of the same expected here. Prior to a shutout loss staying under the total yesterday, the Rockies were on a 7-2-1 run to the over and should resume that trending here. Colorado has averaged nearly 7 runs per game last 6 home games and the weather will be excellent for an over in Denver today. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #925 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Cleveland Indians @ 2:10 ET - Yesterday's game was rained out so Sam Hentges gets the start today for the Indians but the Twins decided to hold Kenta Maeda off until Monday. That means Sunday the start goes to Minnesota's originally scheduled starter which was JA Happ. That is good news for over players as the over is 10-3 in his starts this season. Happ is having a very rough time of it this season with a 6.09 ERA on the year and a 7.90 ERA in his last 3 starts. Hentges is off a rare solid road outing as his first two road starts both went over the total. Even after a good start in his last outing, the Indians southpaw still has a 6.94 ERA on the road this season. The over is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings between these teams and I look for a wild one early Sunday afternoon as both these pitchers get roughed up and we could see something similar to an 8-7 final like we saw Friday. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #921 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs New York Yankees @ 1:10 ET - Hot afternoon at Fenway Park with the wind blowing out. Yet we get a low total because Gerrit Cole is on the mound for the Yankees. As fantastic of a hurler as he is, Cole has allowed 2 homers in each of his last 2 road starts. Also, he is facing a Red Sox team that is now 5-0 against the Yankees this season and has scored an average of 5.4 runs per game in those 5 victories. So I do fully expect Boston to get their fair share of runs but finally, today, the Yankees bats should come back to life. They will take advantage of facing a struggling Eduardo Rodriguez. The Red Sox southpaw has a 7.98 ERA in his last 3 starts. All 3 of those starts went over the total and I fully expect this one to do the same. 10* OVER the total in Boston

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #958 Saturday 10* Top Play UNDER 9 runs in Cincinnati Reds vs Atlanta Braves @ 4:10 ET - We get a big number to work with because Luis Castillo has an ugly record and ugly ERA on the season. The long-term year over year numbers tell the real story with Castillo and the fact is that he is back in solid form this month. Castillo has a 2.19 ERA in June and opponents have only hit .155 against him! Also, in his last two starts against the Braves he has allowed 1 earned run total! As for Ian Anderson against the Reds, he pitched 6 shutout innings against them in his only career start against them. The young right-hander has been fantastic away from home this season. Anderson has a 2.37 ERA in road outings this year. Overall, in 20 career starts at the MLB level, Anderson has a 2.92 ERA and has held opponents to a .206 batting average! We get a total of 9 to work with here and I love the value because I fully expect a pitchers duel based on all of the above. Also, 8 of the last 11 meetings between these teams have resulted in an under. The Braves have not scored more than 3 runs in any of their last 8 games and have scored an average of only 2 runs per game during this stretch. The Reds have been held to just 2 runs in 5 of their last 10 games. 10* UNDER 9 runs in Cincinnati

Total of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #917 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Baltimore Orioles @ 7:07 ET - Yesterday's game was 6-0 after 1 inning and 9-0 after 3 innings and yet amazingly stayed under the total! The game ended 9-0! Today's total opened up at an 11 and has settled in at a 10.5 and I expect today to make up for yesterday's dramatic shortfall with the total. Sometimes the 9-0 games like that just stay like that or with very little scoring the rest of the way but today's game should see much more balanced scoring with both teams getting in on the action. Toronto should pound the Orioles Matt Harvey as he is having a horrible season and showing no signs of improvement. He went 1-5 with a 9.64 ERA in May and now is 0-3 with an 11.20 ERA in June! The Blue Jays have won 5 straight games and averaged scoring 6 runs per game in the winning streak and should easily get to at least that again today. The difference in this one will be that the Baltimore bats get in on the fun too! The Orioles just faced Alek Manoah and got to him for 5 earned runs in 3 and 1/3 innings! Also, in his only home start this season, Manoah allowed 4 earned runs in 3 and 1/3 innings as well. This one has all the right ingredients for a slugfest! 10* OVER the total in Toronto

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #961 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER 8 runs in Texas Rangers vs Oakland A's @ 2:05 ET - Yesterday there were 13 games in MLB and this game and the Phillies match-up with the Nationals were the only two contests that saw both teams reach double digits in hits. The game in Philadelphia totaled 25 runs. This one totaled just 8 runs. The point is that I feel we have some value here after each team pounded out 10 hits in yesterday's game and yet the match-up fell just short of going over the total. I also like the fact that the total on this one opened up as high as a 9 but has now dropped to an 8. I know that both Chris Bassitt of Oakland and Kolby Allard of Texas have been pitching well this season. However, couple things about that. Bassitt has higher ERAs and higher BAA in both road games and day games this season than home games and night games. Also, the Rangers with experience against him at the plate include 4 guys who are a combined 5 for 11 against him. As for Allard, he is having a strong season but this is still a guy who has a 5.53 ERA in his 127 innings at the MLB level. Does he really merit a game total of 8 against a pretty solid Athletics lineup. In fact, Oakland's hitters with experience against him include 5 players who are a combined 8 for 17 against him. A's games were on an 8-2 run to the over prior to yesterday's under. Also, Rangers had just 2 unders last 10 games prior to yesterday's under. These teams cash more of their opportunities this afternoon than they did last night. 10* OVER 8 in Texas

Earliest Cash Total of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #909 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Houston Astros @ 7:05 ET - This total opened up at a 10.5 and has dropped to a 9.5 which has opened up excellent line value on the over in my opinion. Yes the Orioles Thomas Eshelman is facing the team that drafted him and will want to come up big but sometimes pitchers tend to overthrow in situations like this. He has only made 1 start this season and in home start the past two seasons he has a 5.91 ERA. Eshelman, overall, has a 5.02 ERA and has been hit at a .282 clip in his 23 MLB appearances so those are far from dominant numbers. As for the Astros Jose Urquidy, he is 1-2 with a 4.59 ERA in his road starts this season. Last season his ERA was a run higher on the road compared to at home and he has continued that trending this season. In the year before that he was hit at a .273 clip in away games. Urquidy simply tends to be a different pitcher when on the road. Yesterday's game was a pitchers duel but Monday's game totaled 12 runs and was the 5th over in a 6-game stretch for the Orioles and 7th in 8 games for the Astros. After a 3-1 game yesterday, the big hitting resumes today. The Astros bullpen has a 4.57 ERA on the road this season and the Orioles bullpen has an overall 4.74 ERA to rank among the worst in the majors. 10* OVER the total in Baltimore

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #967 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Cincinnati Reds @ 1:10 ET - Yesterday's game did take extra innings to get over the total and I am well aware of that. I also know Byron Buxton left the game with an injury and is likely out again but he has missed a lot of time already and the Twins are otherwise mostly returning to health in their lineup. Wade Miley has been strong for the Reds this season but his strikeout numbers are down in his last couple starts and he faces a tough road test here. The Twins have a .450 slugging percentage against lefties which is one of the best marks in baseball. Minnesota will surprise by hitting Miley well especially being buoyed by the momentum of last night's 7-5 extra innings win. Also, the Twins will need all the runs they can get because I expect Bailey Ober to struggle in this one. Ober is off a solid outing at Seattle but he entered that start getting hit at a .321 clip in his first 3 starts. He is a rookie and averaging just 4 innings per start and the Twins bullpen is not a good one and, for that matter, neither is the Reds. Each team's sub-par pen got some extra work last night too which helps our cause here. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #909 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Houston Astros @ 7:05 ET - The Astros are 6-1 to the over last 7 games. The Orioles are 4-1 to the over last 5 games. Houston has won 7 straight games courtesy of a red hot lineup as they have averaged 8 runs per game during this winning streak. Baltimore is not a great hitting team overall but they generally score better at home and that has been the case again this season. The Orioles are averaging 4.7 runs per game at home this season and enter this one on an overall 5-game stretch that has seen them average 5.6 runs per game. Jake Odorizzi starts for Houston and the past 2 seasons combined he has pitched in 11 games (10 starts) and has a 6.00 ERA. Keegan Akin starts for Baltimore in this one. The southpaw has allowed 11 earned runs in less than 10 innings of work spanning his last two starts. The Astros are hitting .287 versus lefties this season and that is tops in the majors! Houston's bullpen has struggled on the road with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP! That WHIP indicates that ERA could easily be higher. The Orioles bullpen has a 4.77 ERA on the season and has struggled badly with save opportunities. 10* OVER the total in Baltimore

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #955 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER 12 runs in Colorado Rockies vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 3:10 ET - The over is 7-2-1 in the Rockies last 10 games and the situation here is perfect for another high-scoring slugfest at Coors Field. Colorado has scored an average of 7 runs per game last 5 games and is on a 5-1 run last 6 so, despite blowing last night's game, the Rockies are playing with confidence right now. The Brewers have scored 5 or more runs in 4 of last 6 road games. They should get plenty here against a struggling Chi Chi Gonzalez. He is winless with an 8.80 ERA in his 3 starts in June. Opponents are hitting .299 against him this season and hit .289 against him last season and he compiled a 6.86 ERA in the shortened 2020 season. He is 4-14 with a 5.91 ERA in his last 5 seasons at the MLB level. Also likely to struggle today is Eric Lauer of the Brewers. The Milwaukee southpaw is 0-4 with a 9.35 ERA and a 2.23 WHIP in his 7 career starts against the Rockies and has particularly struggled at Coors Field. Lauer is 0-2 with 11 earned runs allowed in 7 innings in his 2 June starts. More of the same expected here. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #919 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER 9 runs in Texas Rangers vs Minnesota Twins @ 4:05 ET - The Rangers start Kolby Allard here. Though he has some solid numbers this season he likely will struggle here. The Twins have a .461 slugging percentage against lefties this year which ranks them #2 in the majors behind the White Sox. Also, the over is on a 7-3 run in Twins games. Minnesota has scored 7 runs in back to back road games. The over is on a 5-0-1 run in Rangers games. Texas should have success at the plate today considering they are facing a struggling Randy Dobnak. The Twins right-hander is 0-3 with a 9.36 ERA in his last 3 starts. The over is cashing at a 75% clip in Dobnak's starts this season. Overall, in his 12 appearances (8 out of the pen) this season, Dobnak has an 8.38 ERA and opponents are crushing him to the tune of a .335 batting average against. Considering all of the above as well as two bullpens that have struggled overall this season, the over trending should absolutely continue. 10* OVER 9 runs in Texas  

Earliest Cash Total of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #953 Friday 10* Top Play OVER 9 runs in Atlanta Braves vs St Louis Cardinals @ 7:20 ET - Interesting total here in my opinion. This one was in the 9.5 range and it is a National League game and Carlos Martinez coming off a great start and Max Fried has allowed only 1 earned run in 5 of his last 7 starts. Also, the Cardinals have scored only 1.5 runs per game in their last 6 games. That said, of course there is more than meets the eye here and the odds makers are right in setting this one higher than most would expect. Note that Martinez is 1-5 with a 6.21 ERA in road games and 1-4 with a 7.25 ERA in night games this season! He had been rocked in back to back starts prior to the successful outing in his most recent start. As for Fried, he has allowed 6 runs (5 earned) on 12 hits in less than 10 innings of work spanning his last two home starts. Also, the Cardinals team he is facing is one of the top three slugging teams in the National League against left-handed pitching. Fried is 1-3 with a 5.11 ERA in his evening starts this season. His only career start against St Louis resulted in an over and each of the last 3 starts Martinez has made against the Braves has resulted in an over. 10* OVER 9 runs in Atlanta

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #913 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs New York Yankees @ 7:05 ET - Yesterday's game was a pitchers duel so today's total is more than double the total runs scored in Wednesday's 3-2 Yankees win. That said, one may be enticed to look at the under but this match-up truly has the makings of a slugfest. The Yankees Michael King is 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA in his 3 starts since taking over Corey Kluber's spot in the rotation. The Blue Jays are expected to start TJ Zeuch here and he struggled to a 6.75 ERA in his 4 appearances (2 starts) at the MLB level this season. He has had trouble with more walks than strikeouts. Also, Zeuch has allowed 5 homers in his 12 innings with the Blue Jays this season and that is bad news against the slugging Yankees. New York ranks 5th in the majors for homers in road games this season and the Blue Jays 103 homers on the season ranks them #1 overall for the season! The over was on a 7-1 run in Yankees games prior to yesterday's under. The Blue Jays have not had back to back unders in a week. That is just another reason that, after yesterday's pitchers duel, I am fully expecting a slugfest here. 10* OVER the total in Toronto

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #955 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER 12 in Colorado Rockies vs San Diego Padres @ 3:10 ET - Hot afternoon with thin air of Coors Field and a pair of struggling starting pitchers. Yes, this total is a big one but truly this game has the makings of an absolute slugfest. The Padres scored the first 4 runs early yesterday but then the Rockies doubled them up the rest of the way for an 8-4 win. That kind of total would only give us a push here but I am expecting to see this one get to the 15 range. The Padres Blake Snell is winless with a 9.23 ERA in his road starts this season and the over is 5-2 in those 7 outings. The San Diego left-hander gave up 5 hits and walked 3 in 4 innings in his prior start here this season but was fortunate to allow only 2 earned runs in that one. He will not be so fortunate here. As for the Rockies Kyle Freeland, he has struggled mightily with a 9.00 ERA so far this season. The Colorado southpaw also has allowed 7 homers in his last 2 starts and that spells trouble against a San Diego team with plenty of pop in their lineup! Freeland allowed 11 hits in 4 and 1/3 innings the last time he hosted the Padres and he was fortunate to allow only 4 earned runs in that one. The over is 4-2 in the last 6 Rockies games overall and those 4 overs averaged 14 runs per game which is the range I expect this one will get into as well. Just too many problems for each of these starting pitchers and the Rockies bullpen ranks as one of the worst in the majors and the Padres bullpen has been excellent but pitching at Coors Field is a different kind of test and San Diego's pen saw that yesterday. 10* OVER 12 in Colorado

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #917 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Baltimore Orioles @ 7:10 ET - The wind will be out of the north at Progressive Field and it will be a cool evening and not so favorable for the hitters. However, sometimes that serves to give us line value and that is the case here. The total has dropped partially because of the weather factor I am sure but all other signs, in my opinion, are pointing to an over in this one. The Indians start Cal Quantrill and he has struggled in the starters role in limited action this season. That includes getting rocked at Baltimore a little over a week ago. Giving the Orioles a quick second look at him is unlikely to help matters for the right-hander. Speaking of struggles, Matt Harvey gets the ball for the O's here. He is 0-2 with a 13.00 ERA in his last three starts. Also, Harvey has a 7.90 ERA in his 6 road starts this season and the over is 5-1 in those 6 outings. I expect more of the same here as he also has been rocked in both his starts against Cleveland in his career. In starts against the Indians, Harvey is 0-2 with a 12.86 ERA. Regardless of the weather tonight, though it may prevent many homers, both these starting pitchers likely to struggle and set the tone for a high-scoring game at Progressive Field. 10* OVER the total in Cleveland

NL West Total of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #959 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs San Diego Padres @ 8:40 ET - Having the over in the Rockies game yesterday at Cincinnati, I painfully watched as Colorado went an incredible 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position and left a dozen men on base in the game! Now that the Rockies are back home, I look for a lot more clutch hitting today to make up for yesterday's ugly effort at the plate. Temperatures will be near 100 degrees for a high today in Denver and it will be a hitter-friendly night at a hitter-friendly ballpark. Look for both lineups to take advantage. This is a bit of a contrarian play from the standpoint that Dinelson Lamet and Austin Gomber have had some success in recent meetings against the teams they are facing today but contrarian should prove to be the way to go here. Gomber will be facing the Padres for a 3rd time in the span of 5 weeks and this tends to favor the hitters. Also, San Diego enters this game off a huge win at New York against the Mets yesterday in which they got 3 big homers from their key players and will carry confidence and momentum into Coors Field as a result. The issue for the Padres will be that Lamet has been unable to work deep into starts and the Rockies just faced him here last month. Lamet is getting hit at a .270 clip in road starts and a .271 clip in evening games this season and faces a major test on a hot night at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Given Gomber's recent success on the mound I am not surprised this total dropped from an 11.5 to an 11 and it could move even more but it should prove to be fruitful to be a contrarian on this one based on the above. The Rockies .277 batting average at home leads the majors and the Padres bats are feeling it after yesterday's big win over the Mets. 10* OVER the total in Colorado