Contrarian Crusher Total - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #905 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs St Louis Cardinals @ 7:10 ET - Hot and steamy evening at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. It is the ideal weather for the ball to be jumping off the bats in Cincinnati and, based on this pitching match-up. we should see plenty of that in this one. Dakota Hudson starts for the Cardinals and he has had decent success against the Reds in his career but this will be his first ever start at Cincinnati! As for the Reds Tanner Roark, he had a decent start against the Cards earlier this season but that was preceded by a rough history against St Louis. Roark allowed 19 earned runs in 24 innings in his 5 prior starts against the Cardinals. The fact that Roark's April start against STL stayed under the total was very unusual as NONE of Roark's first 5 career starts against the Cards resulted in an under. As for the Cardinals, they are 14-8 to the over this season when they are a road dog in a range of +100 to +150. The Reds are 4-1 to the over this season when they enter a game off back to back losses to a division rival. After losing 2 straight to the Cubs, Cincinnati's bats get back on track here but Roark gives up plenty too in what should be a back and forth high-scoring affair. 10* OVER the total in Cincinnati

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #904 Thursday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Phillies Money Line (-) vs Los Angeles Dodgers @ 12:35 ET - The Phillies have Aaron Nola on the mound and that is a key to this selection. Nola has been on a tear of late. He has allowed a total of just 3 earned runs in his last 5 starts. Also, The Philadelphia right-hander has held the Dodgers to an average of just 2 earned runs per start in his 3 starts against them in his career. Ross Stripling starts for the Dodgers here and he has allowed 5 homers in his 3 starts against the Phillies in his career. Also, he got rocked for 5 earned runs in less than 5 innings in his most recent start against them. The Phillies lost Nola's most recent start but that was on a 2 out 2 run bomb in the top of the 9th. Prior to that the Phils had won 10 of his last 13 starts and they get back into the win column here with him on the mound. The past 2 and 1/2 months with Nola on the mound, the Phillies have lost back to back games only once! 10* PHILADELPHIA 

Contrarian Crusher Total - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #969 Wednesday 8* OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Detroit Tigers @ 7:10 ET - This total opened up at a 9.5 and of course the odds makers are well aware of the fact that the Indians Mike Clevinger has pitched very well in his last two starts and could be getting back on track finally. Of course the market moved this total down to a 9 but I feel the odds makers had it right. In typical contrarian fashion I am fading the market move. For one thing, the Tigers lineup does have plenty of familiarity with Clevinger and lets not forget that Detroit had scored an average of 6.6 runs per game in their 7 road games prior to getting shutout last night. I expect the Tigers lineup to bounce back here. The issue for Detroit is they can't stop teams from scoring and that won't change with Spencer Turnbull on the mound. Keep in mind, behind Turnbull is a Tigers bullpen that ranks as one of the worst in the majors. As for Turnbull's likelihood of success on the mound tonight it ranges between slim and none. The Detroit right-hander has given up 7 runs (6 earned) in just 8 innings of work in his last two road starts. Turnbull has as many walks as strikeouts in his last two starts away from home. Also, Turnbull is 0-3 with 11 earned runs allowed on 24 hits allowed in the 14 innings spanning his 3 career starts against the Indians. The over, prior to the shutout last night for the Tigers, was 10-2-1 in their previous 13 road games! The over is 8-2 this season when the Indians are off a shutout win. 10* OVER the total in Cleveland

Earliest Cash Total - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #975 Wednesday 8* OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs New York Mets @ 1:10 ET - This match-up features a pair of southpaws as Jason Vargas goes for the Mets and the Twins go with Martin Perez. This should lead to plenty of runs in this one as these are two of the top hitting teams in the majors against left-handed pitching. Minnesota is at the very top with a .294 batting average while New York ranks a solid 5th out of all 30 teams with a .273 batting average against lefties. The Mets Vargas has a 5.10 ERA in his road starts this season and only 3 of his 9 starts away from home have resulted in an under. As for the Twins Perez, he has allowed 4 earned runs or more in 4 of his last 5 starts even though he averaged only 5 and 2/3 innings per start in those four outings. Vargas has averaged only 5 innings per start in his last 5 starts and another short outing today would expose a Mets bullpen that is one of the worst in the majors. New York's over is 25-10 as a road underdog of +150 to +200 even including yesterday's rare under in that role. The over is 8-4 this season in Twins Wednesday games. This Wednesday game is getaway day for the Mets as they head to San Francisco after this one. Look for a slugfest to precede their trip west! 8* OVER the total in Minnesota

Contrarian Crusher Total - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #927 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 8:05 ET - No team in the American League has scored more runs at home than Texas. No team in the National League has a higher slugging percentage on the road than Arizona. The point is that both these teams can be expected to do plenty of damage here. I know that Alex Young has pitched very well for the Diamondbacks but his MLB action has been limited. He has made 3 starts and one was at home and the other two were both at pitcher friendly venues. Young is making his first ever "tough venue" road start and I expect the southpaw to finally come back down to earth after his surprising success at the MLB level. Keep in mind, Young had a combined 6.00 ERA in 40 appearances (20 starts) at the AAA level of the minors before his call up this season. Both last year and this year at the AAA level were not impressive for the young left-hander. As for Rangers starter Lance Lynn, he has pitched well this season but he has given up 15 hits in 14 innings in his two July starts - both at home. Also, in his final home start of June he allowed 5 earned runs in 7 innings. Even though this is an interleague game, the Diamondbacks did face Lynn earlier this season. They will fare much better now that they're seeing him for a 2nd time this season. The over is 23-13 this season when Arizona is a road underdog. Also, in road games with a posted total of 10 or 10.5 runs, the Diamondbacks are 3-1 to the over. Texas is 12-6 to the over this season when off a loss by a margin of 4 or more runs. The Rangers are also 8-3 to the over their last 11 games and 10-4 to the over in Tuesday games this season. 10* OVER the total in Texas

Earliest Cash Total - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #925 Tuesday 8* OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Washington Nationals @ 7:05 ET - Austin Voth gets the start for the Nationals. In 7 games (5 starts) at the MLB level, Voth has a 6.00 ERA. He faces an Orioles team that, though they are in the basement of the AL East, does have a tendency to swing the bats better when at home. Baltimore struggled in their 4-game series with the Rays but, in their previous 7 games at home the Orioles averaged scoring 6 runs per game. The Nationals enter this series off a rather tight, low-scoring series with the division rival Phillies. However, their prior 8 road games saw Washington score an average of 6 runs per game. The Nats will take advantage of facing a struggling Asher Wojciechowski. The right-hander has had a rough time at the MLB level just like Voth has thus far. Asher Wojciechowski has a 6.57 ERA in his 33 appearances (13 starts) at the MLB level. The over is 4-1-1 this season when the Nationals are a road favorite of -175 or more. The over is 6-1-1 the last 8 times Washington was on the road with a posted total of 11 or 11.5 runs. The over is 7-2 this season when the Nats are playing after a day off. The over is 19-7 this season when the Nationals are off of 3 consecutive games versus a division rival and also a perfect 4-0 when off a one-run loss to a division rival. Baltimore is 6-2 to the over in interleague action this season. The Orioles, as a home underdog of +150 to +200, are 14-2 to the over this season! More of the same expected here. 8* OVER the total in Baltimore

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #955 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Milwaukee Brewers vs Atlanta Braves @ 8:10 ET - The Brewers are one of the top slugging teams in the National League when at home. The Braves are one of the top slugging teams in the National League when facing right-handed pitching. Atlanta will take advantage of a struggling Adrian Houser in this one. Houser has been exceptional out of the bullpen this season but he has struggled in the starting role. Milwaukee is sticking with him, for now, but the fact is some guys never get right in this role and are better suited for bullpen duty. Note that Houser is now 0-3 with an 8.47 ERA in his 5 starts this season! Facing one of the hottest teams in the majors is unlikely to help matters for the struggling Houser. Speaking of struggling, the Braves Max Fried got rocked in each of his last two starts before the All Star break. Though he was successful against the Brewers earlier this season, that start was at Atlanta. When Fried faced Milwaukee at Miller Park last season he gave up 4 earned runs in a start that lasted only 3 innings. The over is 11-5-2 in Fried's starts this season. The over is 2-0 in Houser's last two starts. The Brewers are 5-0-1 to the over in their last 6 games. The over is 5-2 this season when Atlanta enters a game on a winning streak of 4 or more consecutive games. After getting shutout in their first game this month, the Braves have scored an average of 6 runs per game since then. Milwaukee has averaged scoring 5 runs per game their last 6 games but they've given up an average of 8 runs per game during this stretch as their bullpen has faltered. More of the same likely here, especially considering that Houser is unlikely to work deep into this game. 10* OVER the total in Milwaukee

Earliest Cash Total - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #961 Monday 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Tampa Bay Rays @ 7:05 ET - These opponents just saw these pitchers and though they each had success in that outing, the quick second look is going to change things in a hurry in this meeting. Note too that the Yankees James Paxton got hit at a .330 clip in his 5 June starts. Also, so far this month, Paxton's low ERA is deceiving as he has been hit at a .313 clip in his 2 July starts. Look for the Rays to hit him hard. I also look for Blake Snell to get hit hard too. The Tampa Bay southpaw has been solid at home this season but the road has been a different story. Snell is 2-4 with a 6.48 ERA in his 9 road starts this season. Also, Snell had a disastrous start at Yankee Stadium earlier this season and he has now allowed 23 earned runs in 26 inning spanning his last 7 starts in the Bronx. This venue has given him trouble more often than not throughout his career. Considering these factors as well as this total dropping from an opener of 9 down to an 8.5 as of early Monday morning, we have excellent line value here for a play on the over. The Yankees won 4-2 yesterday and the over is 16-7 this season when they are off a win by a victory margin of 2 or less runs this season. 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #930 Sunday 8* Boston Red Sox Money Line (-) vs Los Angeles Dodgers @ 7:05 ET - We're getting line value here because it is the Dodgers and because it is Hyun-Jin Ryu on the mound for LA. Yes, the Los Angeles southpaw has been great this season but his best numbers are at home. On the road he has been hit at a .263 clip and, just like he got hammered at Colorado (known as a tough venue for opposing pitchers), I expect a tough outing for him in Boston. Generally speaking, the Red Sox are a different team when they are at home. The fact they are actually below .500 at home thus far this season is an aberration and actually means a regression to the mean (or return to normal) is on the horizon. With David Price on the mound for this Sunday night affair, don't be surprised if that hot streak at home begins tonight. The Red Sox left-hander is 7-2 this season and he has been red hot in July. Price also beat LA twice in last year's World Series and is fully capable of another strong performance at home with Boston in need after last night's home blowout loss. The Dodgers are very tough to beat at LA but they are near the .500 mark on the road this season. Boston, having underachieved at home this season thus far, is offering value in the pick'em price range given all of the above. 8* BOSTON

Total of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #925 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Los Angeles Angels vs Seattle Mariners @ 4:05 ET - The Mariners Yusei Kikuchi has struggled this season and the Angels sticks have certainly been a part of that as they have caused plenty of damage when facing the southpaw. Kikuchi has faced the Angels three times and has a 12.34 ERA with 5 homers allowed in less than a dozen innings spanning those three outings. Los Angeles enters this game having piled up 22 runs in the first two games of this series and more of the same expected Sunday given this pitching match-up. Yes the Seattle bats have been held in check so far in this series but that should change today. The Mariners solid lineup will take advantage of facing a rookie hurler they've already seen twice this season. Overall, LA rookie Jose Suarez is struggling. That means it is particularly bad news when a struggling rookie has to face a potent lineup for the 3rd time already in the same season. The point is that the Mariners are very familiar with him and they can do plenty of damage against him. Note that the over is 9-1 in Kikuchi's ten road starts this season. Also, the over is a perfect 5-0 (one push) in the six starts that Suarez has made this season. The over is also 8-2-1 in the last 11 games between these teams as their match-ups continue to turn into slugfests. Certainly this match-up has all the right ingredients for the slugging ways to continue. Sometimes key players rest on a Sunday but, with both teams having an off day tomorrow, that should not be the case here and both lineups should end up being stacked! 10* OVER the total in Los Angeles Angels

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #963 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Cincinnati Reds @ 8:10 ET - This total may seem absurd with how big it is but it is still not big enough. This one opened up at 13 and is now a 14 as of very early game day morning. Don't let the large number scare you. Tanner Roark has decent career numbers against the Rockies but the Reds right-hander made only one career start at Coors Field. Roark was very fortunate in that outing as he allowed 5 hits and plus walked 4 batters in that 5-inning effort and yet he managed to hold Colorado to 2 runs. He won't be so fortunate here. Hitting conditions will be ideal tonight in Denver and the ball is going to be jumping off the bats. Of course that is bad news for the Rockies starting pitcher tonight too. Kyle Freeland gets the start and he is having a hellish season. The Colorado southpaw is 2-6 with a 7.13 ERA. That is why the Rockies sent him to the minors to "get right" and he is now being called back up after his stint there. However, Freeland certainly still does NOT look right. The Colorado southpaw went 0-4 with an 8.80 ERA in his 6 starts with Albuquerque in the minors. He is likely to get rocked here. After last night's 3-2 final it may seem tough to expect 15 runs here but I see that and much more on the horizon in a slugfest tonight. The Rockies bullpen has a 6.16 ERA in home games this season. The Reds bullpen has been decent this season but they were welcomed to Coors Field last night by allowing 2 earned runs in just 1 inning and blowing the game. I expect the Cincinnati bullpen to be called upon much earlier in this one and the results will again be ugly for them. That said, this one has the makings of runs early, often, and throughout the contest. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #958 Saturday 8* Philadelphia Phillies Money Line (-) vs Washington Nationals @ 7:15 ET - The Phillies got shutout yesterday and I fully expect a bounce back today. Both the Nationals Patrick Corbin and the Phillies Aaron Nola have been two of the hottest pitchers in baseball. But it is hard to argue that Nola's long-term production isn't better than Corbin's because, simply put, it is! Nola is 25-8 in his 33 decisions the past two seasons combined. Philadelphia has been on a tear with him on the mound this season. Corbin is 37-38 his last 75 decisions at the MLB level. Also, though Corbin has been dominant at home for the Nationals this season, he has gone 3-4 with a 5.26 ERA in his 9 road starts this season. The Phillies are 10-3 in Nola's last 13 starts. He has given up just 8 hits in his last 21 and 2/3 innings. Though Corbin has also dominated recently, 3 of his last 4 starts were at home and the only one on the road was at Miami. Of course the Marlins have one of the worst lineups in baseball. Corbin is going to face a much tougher road test today and, prior to the Nationals winning his start at Miami, Washington had lost 4 straight road starts made by Corbin. Though the Phillies bullpen has been "up and down" this season, the Nationals bullpen ranks as the worst one in the National League. Home field, starting pitching edge, and bullpen edge all combine for a nice situational play on the Phillies here with their ace on the mound and the team coming off a shutout loss at home. 8* PHILADELPHIA

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #921 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros @ 8:05 ET - After getting shutout in last night's game the Astros will respond tonight. After scoring only 1 run after the 1st inning last night, the Rangers bats also are going to surprise some people tonight with more consistent offensive production. Yes, Gerrit Cole is a great pitcher and the Astros right-hander has been on fire of late. However, this will be just his 2nd road start since June 2nd. In other words, he has been dominating at home but this is a pitcher whom has struggled in Arlington. In his last 3 starts at Globe Life Park, Cole has allowed 16 runs (15 earned) in 15 and 1/3 innings. You read that right...Cole has allowed about a run per inning the last 3 times he has faced Texas in their park. As for run support here, Cole should receive plenty of it. Jesse Chavez is coming back down to earth after some surprising early success in the starters role. In his last two outings Chavez has allowed 9 runs (7 earned) in 11 innings of work and now he faces an angry Astros lineup (after last night's shutout loss) that is loaded with hitters whom have enjoyed success against him. Prior to last night's game totaling just 5 runs, 4 of the last 6 meetings between these teams had gone over the total. Those 4 overs averaged 17 runs per game! I am not saying this one will hit 17 but I am saying it gets to double figures and this game opened up at a 10.5 but has dropped to a 9.5 as of early Friday morning. I am all over the value being offered with this one after the line move. 10* OVER the total in Texas

NL Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #904 Friday 9* Philadelphia Phillies Money Line (-) vs Washington Nationals @ 6:05 ET - This one is all about the line value. Nick Pivetta certainly has been inconsistent for the Phillies this season but he is coming off a rough stretch prior to the All Star break. One of the key value spots that works coming off an All Star break is going anti-trend. In other words, a hot team or pitcher usually slows down right after the break as they didn't need or want the break. Conversely a cold team or pitcher usually heats up right after the break as they needed or wanted the break. Look for the break to have done Pivetta some good and he is 4-1 in his home starts this season. We're getting value here because Stephen Strasburg is on the mound for the Nationals. Lets not forget that he got clobbered at Citizens Bank Park earlier this season. Also, his night ERA is nearly a two full runs higher than his day game ERA this season. The Phillies are certainly capable of giving him a lot of trouble here at home on Friday. Philadelphia is 10-6 at home this season in games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs while Washington is 3-5 on the road this season in games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Overall the Phillies are 10 games over .500 at home this season while the Nationals have a losing record on the road. Hence the home dog value here is far too strong to ignore. Huge battle here for the two teams that are neck and neck in chasing the Braves in the NL East standings. The Phillies are hell bent on leaping the Nationals in the standings by taking at least 2 of 3 in this series. Look for the home team to improve to 5-0 in the last 5 games between these rivals. 9* PHILADELPHIA

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #951 Thursday 10* Top Play Houston Texans Money Line (-) @ Texas Rangers @ 8:05 ET - The public sees Framber Valdez with an ugly ERA as a starter this season. The sharps are the reason this line has moved Houston's way. The sharps are seeing the same thing I am seeing. Valdez is a much better pitcher than what his ERA as a starter would lead you to believe. This is a guy whom has held MLB hitters to a paltry .217 batting average in his 26 games (9 starts) in his MLB career. It is also important to note that he is a southpaw and the Rangers ugly .232 batting average against left-handed pitching this season has them tied with the light-hitting Indians for DEAD LAST in the majors! Texas is likely to struggle at the plate in this one. Conversely, though Lance Lynn has good overall numbers this season he gave up 3 homers in his start against the Astros two months ago. Lynn was fortunate that all 3 of the long balls came with no one on base and I like the fact that Houston is getting another quick look at him. There is a reason that this line opened up at a pick and jumped up from there to having Houston as a road favorite in the -120 range in this one. That reason is the sharps are onto this one. Look for the Astros to roll. Note that Houston enters this game having won 7 of their last 8 games. Texas enters this game having lost 6 of their last 8 games. Also, the Astros swept the Rangers in 4 games when they met most recently (mid-May). Houston is a long-term 70-32 on the road with a money line of -100 to -150. Texas has revenge here from their most recent game against the Astros but the Rangers are actually a poor 1-4 this season when revenging a road blowout loss vs opponent of 6 runs or more. 10* HOUSTON

Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #959 Sunday 9* Colorado Rockies Money Line (-) @ Arizona Diamondbacks @ 4:10 ET - Note the rating on this one. It is not a 10* Top Play but, as a 9* play, it is my strongest side play this entire week. Looking to wrap up the 1st Half of the MLB season with a big win in this late afternoon game Sunday. The Diamondbacks Alex Young looked great in his MLB debut but he faced the weak-hitting Giants. He'll get much more of a challenge today against the Rockies. Keep in mind, Young had a 6.09 ERA at the AAA level this season prior to his call-up. It is no fluke either as he had a 5.96 ERA at the AAA level last season too. Now certainly the Pacifiic Coast League can be tough on pitchers in the minors but I am merely stating that this guy does not exactly have "lights out" stuff and I expect the Rockies to avoid the sweep Sunday by pounding him. With German Marquez on the mound for Colorado it shouldn't take a lot of run support to secure a victory. The Rockies right-hander had a 2.95 ERA on the road last season and has a 3.06 ERA on the road this season. The point is that he is a much different pitcher when away from Coors Field. Yes he struggled at home against the Diamondbacks two months ago but he dominated them in his two prior starts (3 earned runs in 14 innings) including one here at Chase Field. Overall, Marquez has struck out 31 in the 20 innings spanning his last 3 starts against Arizona. He is a road favorite here with plenty of good reason and I am happy to lay the short price. Keep in mind, the Rockies entered this series having won 8 straight games over the Diamondbacks. After facing a pair of tough pitching match-ups to open the series they now take advantage of facing a rookie. 9* COLORADO

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #979 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Chicago White Sox vs Chicago Cubs @ 2:10 ET - When the Cubs were up 5-1 in the top of the 5th in yesterday's game and still had bases loaded and nobody out but yet didn't score a single run, I had a bad feeling that would burn us. Sure enough my hot streak with top totals ended because the game fell a half run short. We've had some good breaks along the way too and you have to take the bad with the good. So we move forward and when I saw the pitching match-up for Sunday (and after getting burned Saturday), I knew I would be coming right back with the over in the Chicago match-up again. Kyle Hendricks starts for the Cubs and he is 3-5 with a 5.53 ERA in his 8 road starts this season. Ivan Nova starts for the White Sox and he is 0-4 with an 8.31 ERA in his 7 home starts this season. The over is 9-4 in Cubs inter-league games this season. The over is 12-6 this season when the White Sox are a home dog of +125 or more. Payback time here as this one should take care of business for us after Saturday's frustrating finish. 10* OVER the total in Chicago White Sox

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #929 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Chicago White Sox vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:15 ET - The Cubs Jon Lester has been great this season in home games but, even though this game is being played in Chicago, it is on the south side at Guaranteed Rate Field. Note that Lester has a 5.67 ERA away from home this season. A cool front is blowing through Chicago today and that will keep temperatures very comfortable in the low 70s and with a solid north wind blowing out toward right. Some of the left-handed bats particularly of the Cubs could take advantage of that as they face the right-hander Lucas Giolito. While it is true that Giolioto has great numbers on the season, the Cubs got to him for 3 homers when they faced him last month. In that outing Giolito allowed 6 earned runs in just 4 and 1/3 innings of work. Giolito also faced the Cubs in September here on the south side and that start did not go particularly well either. In fact, Giolito has now allowed a total of 11 earned runs in his last two starts against the Cubs. Coincidentally, Lester happened to be matched up with Giolito in each of those two starts. Though Lester allowed a total of only 5 earned runs in 10 and 2/3 innings, the lefty did give up 15 hits so he was very fortunate to say the least. The White Sox won't let him off the hook this time as his road struggles continue this season. The over is 3-0 in Lester's last 3 starts against the White Sox. Also, the over is 6-1 in Lester's road starts this season. The Cubs are 4-1 to the over their last 5 games. The White Sox are 13-7 to the over their last 20 games. The Cubs are 9-3 to the over in inter-league games this season. The White Sox are 14-8 to the over this season in home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. 10* OVER the total in Chicago White Sox

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #975 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Washington Nationals vs Kansas City Royals @ 7:05 ET - The Royals are ranked in the bottom third of the majors for bullpen ERA. The Nationals relief corps is even worse as they are ranked dead last in the majors for bullpen ERA. This could prove to be a key factor early this evening in DC because it is unlikely that either one of these starting pitchers will last long. Kansas City is starting Brad Keller and he has been solid at home this season but the road has been a different story. Away from home, Keller is 2-6 with a 5.08 ERA in his 7 road starts. Opponents are hitting .281 against Keller when he is away from home. Last season, his rookie campaign, Keller also got hit at a .282 clip so there is consistency in terms of his performances away from home. The Nationals should jump all over him but their problem is that they also have an inexperienced hurler on the mound whom is still trying to find his way at the MLB level. Austin Voth gets the start here and he is off a poor start at Detroit. Keep in mind the Tigers are the lowest scoring team in the majors. Granted the Royals aren't a whole lot better but KC does enter this game having scored 4 or more runs in 5 of their last 6 games. All 5 of those games went over the total. As for the Nationals, they have a .458 slugging percentage in home games this season and that ranks them in the top third of teams in the majors! The Nats have won 13 of their last 16 games and have averaged scoring 5.5 runs per game during this stretch. 10* OVER the total in Washington

Total of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #917 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees @ 5:10 ET - The Yankees won again (5-1) yesterday and they continue red hot at the plate as they again reached double digits in hits. The Yankees have now won 14 of their past 16 games and have scored an average of 7.6 runs per game during this hot streak! The Rays aren't known for their hitting prowess but I like their chances against an inconsistent JA Happ. Also, Tampa Bay lost 9-6 yesterday but that marked the 11th time in 13 games that the Rays have scored at least 4 runs. Keep in mind, with today's total posted at a 9, we only need each team to get to 4 runs to guarantee us of a non-losing ticket as the game would have to end at least 5-4. The fact is I am expecting much more than that here in terms of runs scored. The Rays have scored an average of 5.8 runs per game in their last 5 games and Happ has a 9.00 ERA in his last 3 starts and has continually been hit hard. Tampa Bay is starting Yonny Chirinos in this one. The TB right-hander has nearly as many walks as strikeouts in his last two starts. Also, in his two starts against the Yankees he has allowed 3 earned runs each time. Having just seen him a couple of weeks ago, the Yanks lineup is likely to enjoy even more success in the rematch today. Happ only allowed 2 earned runs to the Rays when he faced them two weeks ago but he did allow 7 hits in 5 innings and that was in the Bronx. In 2 of his last 3 starts at Tropicana Field he has been roughed up and that is where today's start is. The over is 3-0-1 in the Rays last 4 games. New York is off back to back unders in their IL series with the Mets but the Yankees entered that series on a 15-5 run to the over and their sticks have remained hot. The over is 25-10 in Yanks road games this season! 10* OVER the total in Tampa Bay

Daytime Dominator Total - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #913 Thursday 8* OVER the total in Chicago White Sox vs Detroit Tigers @ 2:10 ET - First off I want to note that if there is a pitching change in this match-up I still want you to be playing it as I will be this match-up no matter whom the starting pitchers end up being. Why is that? It is because these teams had to play 21 innings of baseball with yesterday's double-header as one of the games went 12 innings and the fact is that the hitters ruled the day. The teams combined for 27 runs in yesterday's twin-bill and I look for the lineups to stay hot here. The over is 6-2 in Chicago's last 8 home games. The over is 6-1-1 in Detroit's last 8 road games. The projected starters for this match-up are Matthew Boyd and Reynaldo Lopez. Both were slated to start Tuesday's opener which got rained out. Both guys were warming up and getting geared up for the start before the postponement was announced just before game time. That said, this is an awkward situation for the starters after what took place Tuesday plus now having their starts pushed back to Thursday. It is not as if either starter has been going well either. Boyd has a 6.88 ERA in his last 3 starts. As for Lopez, he has a 6.12 ERA in his 17 starts this season. Opponents are hitting .293 against Lopez this season. Behind these guys are two bullpens that saw plenty of action in yesterday's double-header and, that is why, no matter which starters end up getting the call in this one, I like the over as we should see another game reaching into the dozen runs range again today just like both of Wednesday's games did. 8* OVER the total in Chicago White Sox

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #957 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Atlanta Braves vs Philadelphia Phillies @ 7:20 ET - The lowest scoring game on the board yesterday was this match-up which ended up a 2-0 Phillies win thanks to a brilliant start from Aaron Nola. After that pitchers duel now we've got the perfect set up for a slugfest on Wednesday as Nick Pivetta squares off with Bryse Wilson. Philadelphia's Pivetta has an ugly 7.13 ERA over his last 3 starts and he has allowed 7 homers during this stretch. As for Atlanta's Wilson, he has an 8.31 ERA in limited action this season. He is very early in his MLB career but already Wilson has proven to struggle at this level. In 6 games (3 starts) the Braves right-hander has been been hit at a .306 clip at the MLB level. The Phillies, prior to scoring just 2 runs yesterday, had averaged 7.4 runs per game in their 7 prior games. The Braves, prior to being shutout yesterday, had won 17 of their last 23 games and averaged scoring 6.7 runs per game. The over is 3-0 in Pivetta's last 3 starts against the Braves and he got crushed in each of the last two. Wilson got crushed in his starts versus the Phillies earlier this season and the over is perfect in his starts this season. The Braves are 22-12 this season as a favorite of -125 to -175. In Braves home games with a posted total of 10 or 10.5 runs, the over is 5-2 this season. Philadelphia, prior to yesterday's shutout, had allowed 5 or more runs in 12 of their past 16 games! Atlanta, prior to getting a sharp start from Dallas Keuchel yesterday, had allowed 8 or more runs in 4 of their past 9 games. A slugfest on tap in this one. 10* OVER the total in Atlanta

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #955 Wednesday 8* Milwaukee Brewers Money Line (+) @ Cincinnati Reds @ 7:10 ET - This line opened up at nearly a pick'em and yet the Brewers are now in the +130 range as everyone is pounding a Reds team that, in my opinion, continues to be over-rated. Yes, Cincinnati got the 5-4 win yesterday but Milwaukee took the first game of the series to improve to 23-13 in divisional games this season and drop the Reds to 78-110 in divisional games including 15-21 this season. Even with the win yesterday, Cincinnati is still just 9-18 the last 27 home games with a posted total of 10 or 10.5 runs. Brewers starter Jhoulys Chacin has had a rough 2019 but I believe he is on the verge of turning the corner as his slider has looked sharp recently. In June his strikeout rate was back up and he allowed 2 or less earned runs in 2 of his last 3 starts. As for Reds starter Sonny Gray, he is 3-0 in his last 3 starts even though he has a 5.17 ERA and that included getting rocked at Milwaukee. Gray's luck runs out here as you can't keep pitching like that and get wins. As for Chacin, his luck is long overdue to turn. The Brewers, hands down, are the better team in this match-up and I am happy to grab the underdog price here. Milwaukee had won 3 straight prior to yesterday's loss while Cincinnati had lost 6 of their last 8 before the win yesterday. Brewers get back on track as they improve to 4-1 the last 5 times they were off a 1-run loss. 8* MILWAUKEE

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #927 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Houston Astros @ 8:10 ET - Jose Urquidy will be making his MLB debut for the Astros. The Houston right-hander is known for having great control but also known for not having overwhelming stuff in terms of his repertoire of pitches and their movement. That being said, making an MLB debut at Coors Field without having dominating stuff even in normal pitching conditions, this is unlikely to go well for Urquidy. Note that the Rockies last 8 home games have produced 7 overs and just 1 under. In these 8 games at Colorado, the Rockies have scored an average of 10 runs per game but also allowed an average of 10 runs per game! The home side is starting German Marquez in this one. The right-hander has been hit at a .314 clip at Coors Field this season and has produced a 5.70 ERA in his 9 starts here. Marquez had similar struggles at home last season with a 4.74 ERA and being hit at a .284 clip in Denver. I also like the fact that his ERA has been rising higher with each month this season. Last month Marquez compiled a 6.60 ERA in his five starts. The over is 5-2 this season when Houston is off a win over a division rival in which they allowed 1 run or less. Also, the Astros are 10-3 to the over in Tuesday games this season. Colorado is 18-8 to the over this season as a home favorite of -110 or more. After a game in which they allowed double digits in runs scored, the Rockies are 9-2 to the over this season. More of the same on tap in what should be another wild one at Coors Field Tuesday evening. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Earliest Cash Total - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #925 Tuesday 8* OVER the total in New York Mets vs New York Yankees @ 7:10 ET - Very rarely do you see this much early movement on a total and I am happy to go contrarian here and take advantage of the incredible added value. The very first number that popped up on this game when lines came out yesterday afternoon was a 10. Now, as of early Tuesday morning, the line has dropped all the way down to as low as an 8.5 in some spots. This is incredible value for a number of key reasons. One is that, believe it or not, the Mets rank among the top hitting teams in the majors against left-handed pitching this season. The Mets are hitting .280 with an on-base percentage of .350 and a slugging percentage of .476 against southpaws on the season! They'll be ready to tee off against lefty James Paxton of the Yankees. Paxton got crushed by the Mets three weeks ago and you can't really call it a fluke because the left-hander has a 6.08 ERA in his 6 starts since returning from the injury list in late May. As for Mets starter Zack Wheeler, struggles against the lineup he faces today are also quite likely. The right-hander got crushed by the Yanks earlier this season at Yankee Stadium. This is nothing new as Wheeler has a 10.00 ERA in his career against the Yankees. Part of the reason for the line move is the notion that the Yankees could be flat and tired after their big series in London against the rival Red Sox. I will blow holes right through both of those absurd theories. Yes the Red Sox are the biggest rival of the Yanks but they don't take the Subway Series lightly either. After all, this is the battle for New York head to head supremacy and, as such, it carries some extra meaning. As far as being tired, the Yankees game Sunday was an EARLY game that started at 10 AM ET because it started at 3 PM local time in London. Yes the Yankees then had a long flight back to New York after that game but they GAINED 5 hours on the clock coming back AND they had an OFF day yesterday. The Yankees will absolutely be ready here WITHOUT jet lag as they came from east to west which is so much easier than going the other way. Also note that the Mets bullpen is absolutely one of the worst in the majors. Even if Wheeler has a decent start (which would be a surprise) bullpen implosions have been frequent with this Mets bunch. This one is a helluva bargain at 8.5 runs. I expect the total may go back up as the day goes on but this one, regardless, should see double digits in runs scored. 8* OVER the total in New York Mets

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #951 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:05 ET - Adbert Alzolay has made two appearances thus far for the Cubs and he has been successful. However, this will be just his 2nd start at the MLB level and his first ever appearance on the road. Also, let us not forget that this is a guy whom last season and this season combined has a 4.40 ERA at the minor league level. In other words, as strong as he has been thus far, it has been very limited action for sure at the MLB level and I am predicting a regression to the mean begins today. Look for Alzolay to struggle Monday at Pittsburgh. The Pirates are off a tough series at the plate at Milwaukee. However, prior to struggling to score runs against the Brewers, Pittsburgh had averaged 6.7 runs per game in their 15 previous games. Look for the Bucs to get back on track as they return home for this series with the Cubs. As for Chicago, they have defeated Trevor Williams in 5 of his 6 career starts against him. The Cubs have a number of hitters in their lineup whom have enjoyed success against the Pirates right-hander. Williams will be dealing with a Cubs team that has scored 6 or more runs in 3 of their last 4 games. Williams has allowed 11 earned runs in the 12 innings spanning his last two starts. Also, on the season, Williams has a 6.00 ERA in his home starts with 3 of the 4 going over the total. Look for the Cubs hitters to start the new week off with a bang! This is the 10th Monday game this season for Chicago and so far the Cubs have had only 1 under this season in a Monday game! The Pirates are 18-9 to the over this season in games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Pittsburgh is 11-4 to the over this season when they are at home and priced as an underdog of +100 or higher. The over is 6-0-1 in Pirates Monday games this season. 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #907 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Los Angeles Dodgers @ 3:10 ET - Congrats to Rockies starting pitcher Chi Chi Gonzalez on making it all the way back from Tommy John surgery. He is coming off his first start at the MLB level since 2016. Though he allowed only 3 earned runs in that outing it was against a light-hitting Giants team and it was in pitcher-friendly San Francisco. Also, it is not as if he had a great outing as he allowed 6 hits plus walked 4 in just 5 innings of work. Now he faces the slugging Dodgers at the most hitter-friendly ballpark in baseball. Look for Gonzalez to struggle this afternoon at Coors Field. Keep in mind, prior to his MLB season debut versus SF, he was pitching in the minors this season. Gonzalez compiled a 5.66 ERA at the minor league level this season. In other words, he was very far from being dominant even when facing minor league hitters. Now he faces one of the toughest major league lineups in the game. Look for this one to get ugly for him fast. I know yesterday's game stayed well under the total but Kershaw went 7 innings and Gray went 6 and 2/3 innings. That means the teams combined to use just 3 and 1/3 innings of bullpen and that helped keep the total under. The fact is neither of these starts is likely to last long. Kenta Maeda has enjoyed some surprising success against the Rockies, even at Coors Field, in his career. However, I feel strongly it all catches up with him here as his road stats long-term tell the full story. Maeda has a 5.67 ERA on the road this season. Last season his home and road stats were about the same but in 2017 the Dodgers right-hander had a 5.62 ERA on the road. He is known for struggling away from home and the Rockies enter this game having averaged scoring 10.6 runs per game in their last 7 home games! They'll explode in this one and, keep in mind, prior to yesterday's low-scoring Rockies win the last 6 games here had averaged a total of 22 runs scored per game. Yes the total is a 13.5 on this one but don't let the big number scare you away as another slug-fest is on tap this afternoon at Coors Field. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Earliest Cash Total - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #903 Sunday 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs Chicago Cubs @ 1:10 ET - Hot and steamy afternoon at Great American Ball Park. Neither of the first two games of this series went over the total despite also having ideal conditions. That said, look for a Sunday slugfest to make up for that in this series finale. The Cubs Jon Lester has been great at home this season but he has a 5.82 ERA in his 6 road starts this season. Also, after a great start to the season, Lester has certainly cooled as he got hit at a .303 clip in May and then in June he has struggled often. Yes, the Cubs southpaw is off a strong start versus Atlanta. However, prior to that he endured a 3 start stretch in which he allowed 7 homers which helped lead the way to 13 earned runs allowed in less than 17 innings of work. Truly he has been "on the fade" for awhile now as Lester's final 3 starts in the month of May saw him allow 16 earned runs in just 14 innings! As for the Reds Anthony DeSclafani, his fade also started in mid-May as he has been getting hit quite hard ever since then. The Cincinnati right-hander also has struggled in day game outings this season. DeSclafani has been hit at a .301 clip and compiled a 6.52 ERA in his 8 afternoon starts this season. More of the same on tap here. Chicago is 5-1 to the over in Lester's 6 road starts this season. 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #975 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Seattle Mariners @ 8:15 ET - It may seem surprising to see a 9.5 posted on a total that involves Justin Verlander pitching at home in Houston. Of course long-time followers know that when something may look a little unusual I am one to fade market perception and be a contrarian. On that note, even with Verlander on the mound and the fact yesterday's 10-inning affair totaled only 3 runs, I am on the over in a big way in this one. For one thing, Verlander has allowed 7 homers in his last 3 starts. Also, this will be the 3rd time this season that the Mariners are getting a crack at Verlander and I look for the 3rd time to be the charm. The first two match-ups this season were in Seattle and Verlander held the upper hand. This one, however, is at Minute Maid Park and the last time Verlander faced the Mariners here was in August. The veteran right-hander got rocked for 6 earned runs in just 2 innings as he allowed 7 hits including 3 homers! Don't be surprised when Seattle enjoys some success at the plate in this one. As for the Astros sticks, they should pound Yusei Kikuchi as he has a 5.62 ERA in his last 3 starts and that could easily be even worse. Kikuchi has allowed nearly 2 base runners per inning in his last 3 outings! The over is an incredible 14-1-2 in Kikuchi's 17 starts this season! Prior to yesterday's under, the over was 4-1 in the Astros previous 5 games. The Mariners are 11-1-1 to the over in Saturday games this season! Also, Seattle is overall 55-25 to the over on the season - with 5 pushes - and that strong high-scoring trending resumes today after yesterday's rare low-scoring result. 10* OVER the total in Houston

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #901 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:10 ET - The Reds Sonny Gray and the Cubs Cole Hamels both have solid ERA numbers on the season. However, Gray has allowed 2 homers in each of his last two starts. Also, when he faced the Cubs last month the Reds right-hander also allowed 2 homers. Hamels allowed 8 hits (including 2 homers) in less than 7 innings of work the last time he faced the Reds. Also, he enters this start off an outing in which he also allowed 2 homers. Gray has a 6.00 ERA in his last 3 starts overall and Hamels, despite recent success, could struggle here at a very hitter-friendly park on a night when the ball will be carrying very well based on the weather forecast. The ball should be jumping off the bats on a very hot evening at Great American Ball Park. The Reds are happy to be back home after scoring just 1 run in each of the final two games of their road trip. Prior to that Cincinnati had scored an average of 6 runs per game in their 8 prior games! As for the Cubs, they're off a huge 9-7 win yesterday. Chicago has averaged scoring 5.3 runs per game their past 9 games. The over is 15-9 this season when the Cubs are facing a team with a losing record. Also, the over is 10-5 this season in Chicago's road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Look for the over to improve to 5-1 in the last 6 meetings between these divisional foes. 10* OVER the total in Cincinnati

Earliest Cash Total - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #915 Friday 8* OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Cleveland Indians @ 7:05 ET - The Indians Mike Clevinger certainly has had a history of fantastic starts but the key is that this is when he is healthy and in top form. This will be just his 4th start this season as Clevinger has been unable to stay healthy. Having been so limited in appearances even as we nearly are entering the All Star break, don't be surprised if the Indians right-hander shows some rust here. The Orioles John Means has solid numbers this season but he missed his last start due to "tired arm" concerns and I won't be surprised if he gets rocked tonight. Means did struggle at Cleveland last month when he most recently faced them. Also, the Baltimore southpaw allowed 7 hits in 5 innings in his most recent start in mid-June. Means should prove to be quite hittable again tonight as he tries to work back to top shape. At the same time, note that the Orioles bullpen has an ERA north of 6 on the season and that is the worst mark in the AL. The over is 7-1 in Baltimore's last 8 games. Also, the over is 11-2 this season when the Orioles are off a game in which they allowed double digits in runs. That is the case here and I am expecting plenty of scoring in this one. 8* OVER the total in Baltimore

Total of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #957 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Los Angeles Dodgers @ 8:40 PM ET - Hot weather in Denver today and the ball is going to be carrying very well in this one tonight. The result is excellent line value with the over in this one. Yes the posted total on this one is big but, with conditions like this tonight as well as a very favorable pitching match-up for the hitters, this one will have runs aplenty. The Dodgers are starting Walker Buehler in this one and this will be the 3rd time he has faced them this season. Yes he has had success thus far but look for the 3rd time to be the charm for the Rockies hitters. Last week's Buehler start was at Dodger Stadium and when he faced Colorado in early April that start was at Coors Field but with weather conditions completely unlike what will be seen tonight. The Rockies are averaging 7 runs per game at home this season. But the Colorado bullpen ERA at home is a 5.76 this season. That said the Dodgers hitters are poised for a big night at the plate too. Not only did they just face Peter Lambert last week in LA, now they get a shot at him in hitter-friendly Denver where Lambert has allowed 9 earned runs in just 8 innings spanning his two starts there. The over is a perfect 3-0 in Lambert's last 3 starts. The over is 7-3 in Colorado's Thursday games this season. The over is 23-13-1 in Rockies home games this season. With yesterday's over (Dodgers were at Arizona), note that Los Angeles has had just 2 unders in their last 9 games. All the over trending stays HOT in this one. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #967 Thursday 8* Seattle Mariners Money Line (+) @ Milwaukee Brewers @ 2:10 ET - Simply too much line value to pass up on in this one. The Mariners are going for the sweep and this is a classic case of hot versus not. Seattle has won 6 of its last 7 overall and 4 of its last 5 games on the road. Conversely, the Brewers have lost 10 of their last 14 overall and 4 of their last 6 games at home. The Mariners Mike Leake is off a tough home start in his most recent outing but he entered that outing having allowed only 7 earned runs in the 30 innings spanning his 4 prior starts. That works out to a phenomenal 2.10 ERA and Leake worked at least 7 innings in all 4 starts! Milwaukee's Chase Anderson has been at the other end of the spectrum as he has pitched into the 6th inning only once in his last 9 starts! Anderson has a poor 7.11 ERA in his last 4 home starts. Seattle's Leake has been superb in recent starts at Miller Park with only allowing 3 earned runs on just 9 hits while striking out 16 in 13 innings of work! More of the same expected here and this is a fantastic value spot with a large underdog on Thursday. 8* SEATTLE

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #907 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Miami Marlins vs Washington Nationals @ 7:10 ET - A lot of value here with low total posted on this game. I understand the low number of 7.5 (some odds makers opened up at 8) because Patrick Corbin had a great start versus the Marlins earlier this season and Zac Gailen had a great MLB debut last week. However, lets dive into the facts a little deeper and you can see why I am fading the line move on this one. The Nationals Corbin now has to pitch at Miami this time (first meeting was in DC) and the last time he pitched at Marlins Park he was rocked for 6 runs (5 earned) in 5 innings while allowing 3 homers! Corbin has a 5.82 ERA in his last 3 starts overall and a 5.91 ERA in road starts this season. The Marlins Gailen faced the team that drafted him (St Louis) last week so that was an emotional MLB debut for him. Yes he was successful in his 5 inning stint but it took 99 pitches to complete the 5 innings. The bullpen then imploded in that game and cost him a win. On that note, lets talk about these bullpens for a moment. The Nationals are the WORST bullpen in the majors this season based on team ERA and the Marlins certainly are NOT much better. That said, we've got a total of 7.5 in a game in which it wouldn't be a surprise if both starters got hit pretty hard and then weak bullpens also come into play. Note that the Nationals have won 7 of their last 10 games and have scored an average of 6.2 runs per game in doing so. Miami had won 6 of their last 9 games before yesterday's ugly loss and the Marlins had averaged 5 runs per game in winning 4 straight prior to that defeat. Look for the over to improve to 4-0 in Corbin's last 4 road starts. 10* OVER the total in Miami

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #921 Wednesday 8* San Diego Padres Money Line (-) @ Baltimore Orioles @ 3:05 ET - This line opened up as high as a -155 and has dropped to as low as a -125 as of early game day morning. In typical contrarian fashion, I am going against the line move. The Padres are offering great line value here because the Orioles are a horrific 9-29 at home this season. You read that right...they lose 3 out of every 4 HOME games...that is virtually unheard of futility. As for the Padres, their road record is nearly identical to their home record and, unlike Baltimore, San Diego is a team that plays .500 ball. With a win yesterday, the Padres are now 6-4 their last 10 games and they've averaged 7.4 runs per game during this 10-game stretch. At the other end of the spectrum, the Orioles are 1-12 their last 13 games! Baltimore has been held to 3 or less runs in 9 of its last 12 games. San Diego starter Matt Strahm has a 3.96 ERA on the road this season and that is even including a dreadful start at Colorado in his most recent outing. He'll surely fare much better here. Prior to that outing, Strahm had allowed just 31 hits in 33 innings spanning his first 6 road starts this season. The Orioles counter with Dylan Bundy in this one. The Baltimore right-hander is 0-2 and has allowed 15 hits in the 10 and 1/3 innings spanning hi last two starts.  On the season, the Orioles are 1-7 in Bundy's home starts! This is one is all about the right price for fading a horrible team. Even if you consider the starting pitching match-up even, note that the Padres also rate a bullpen edge here. 8* SAN DIEGO

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #969 Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (-) vs Minnesota Twins @ 8:10 ET - It looks "easy" here to take the Twins at home. Long-time followers know what that means for me. In typical contrarian fashion I am grabbing the "hidden value" with the Rays in this one. Yes, Minnesota is tied with the Yankees for most wins in the American League. However, the Rays are right up there with the Twins in terms of best road record in the majors so far this season. That said, I like the small road favorite price here. Like I said, many will be attracted to the home dog Twins here since Minnesota has fared well against left-handed starters this season and since the Rays Blake Snell has struggled in 3 of his last 4 starts. However, let us not forget that the odds makers are often the sharpest people in the room. This line is set this way with good reason and I like Tampa Bay in this one. Snell is fully capable of spinning a game here as he also has plenty of extra rest after short starts in each of his last two outings. The Twins Kyle Gibson also certainly has proven to be shaky of late. Yes he had a great outing two starts ago but that was against a Royals team that is one of the worst in the majors. In his other two most recent starts, Gibson has allowed 11 earned runs in just 9 and 1/3 innings. The Minnesota right-hander has a team record of 3-6 in his 9 career starts against TB and he has compiled a 5.22 ERA versus the Rays. Snell has a 3.60 ERA in his last two starts against the Twins and both were against Gibson. The Rays won the first one but lost the next one. Now it is payback time for Snell and the Rays in this one. 10* TAMPA BAY

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #967 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Detroit Tigers vs Texas Rangers @ 7:10 ET - The Rangers and Tigers feature two of the worst bullpens in the majors based on both opponents batting average and team ERA for their respective bullpen work. Certainly that could prove to be an issue here but Texas right-hander Jesse Chavez is making his first "real start" since July of 2017. What I mean by "real start" is that he has been used as an "opener" this season but those are truly short stints. This is the first time Texas is using him in hopes of getting 5 or 6 innings out of him as a starter. That said, he may struggle the 2nd time through a lineup and also could struggle early in this start too. Why? Well he has allowed 7 earned runs on 15 hits in less than 11 innings of work in his last two starts at Comerica Park. The good news for Rangers fans here is that the Tigers starter is also likely to struggle. Jordan Zimmerman just recently returned from injury and certainly he was not sharp in his first start back. Detroit is now 0-5 in Zimmerman's last 5 starts and the over is a perfect 5-0 in those starts. That is due in large part to the fact that Zimmerman is 0-4 in those 5 starts and has compiled an ugly 9.58 ERA in those outings. The right-hander is coming back from an elbow injury and he could be limited here. With both starters unlikely to work deep into this game, their sub-par bullpens could be exposed in this one. Texas is scoring an average of 5.8 runs per game against right-handed starters this season. Certainly the Tigers numbers are not good in terms of offensive production this season. However, other than a shutout last week, the Tigers did average scoring 5.3 runs per game in their other 4 games. Couple that with the history of Chavez struggling in this park and you have a recipe for some Detroit success at the plate in this one. Look for the over to move to 6-0 in Zimmerman's last 6 starts as the over also moves to 10-3 in Rangers Tuesday games on the season. 10* OVER the total in Detroit

Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #904 Monday 10* Top Play Chicago Cubs Money Line (-) vs Atlanta Braves @ 8:05 ET - The Cubs are offering strong line value here at home against the Braves. Chicago southpaw Jon Lester has a 2.76 ERA in his 8 starts at Wrigley Field this season and the Cubs have gone 6-2 in those outings. The Braves are starting Julio Teheran in this one. The Atlanta right-hander gave up 6 earned runs in just 4 innings in his most recent start. Also, Teheran gave up 4 earned runs in just 6 innings in his most recent start at Wrigley Field. Teheran walked 3 while striking out just 1 in that outing. The Braves right-hander also allowed 2 homers in that start at Wrigley Field. Lester got a no decision in his only start against the Braves this season but that start was at Atlanta and he remains 6-2 with a 2.52 ERA in his 10 lifetime starts against the Braves. Both teams are off low-scoring wins yesterday but I like the fact the Cubs remain at home for this one while Atlanta continues their road trip. Also, Chicago is now 11-4 this season in home games with a money line range of +125 to -125. Look for that strong home record in this price range to continue on Monday. 10* CHICAGO CUBS

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #909 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 7:05 ET - Although the Yankees CC Sabathia has had great success at home this season, I expect the lefty to get roughed up here. The last time Sabathia faced the Blue Jays in the Bronx was not that long ago (September) and he was rocked for 5 earned runs in only 2 and 1/3 innings. Sabathia has allowed 5 homers in his last 9 and 1/3 innings against Toronto. The Blue Jays enter this contest with plenty of confidence at the plate. Toronto is off a 6-1 win Sunday and has won 3 of its last 4 games. Also, in terms of run production, the Blue Jays have scored an average of 6.3 runs per game their last 8 games. This one is likely to turn into a slugfest as the Blue Jays start Aaron Sanchez in this one. The right-hander is 0-8 in his last 8 decisions. Also, Sanchez is most recently 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA in his three most recent starts. He is 0-2 with 7 earned runs allowed in 11 and 2/3 innings spanning his last two starts against New York. The Yankees lineup comes into this game red hot. Prior to a 9-4 loss to the Astros yesterday, the Yankees had won 8 straight games and scored an average of 7.5 runs per game in doing so. Don't be surprised if this one ends up being a 7-6 type game. The over is 13-7, including 3-1 this season, when Toronto is on the road in a game with a posted total of 10 or 10.5 runs. 10* OVER the total in New York Yankees

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #977 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Seattle Mariners vs Baltimore Orioles @ 4:10 ET - Another high-scoring game yesterday as these two teams have now combined for 31 runs in the last two games. The Orioles are 8-2-1 to the over in their last 11 games as Baltimore has allowed an average of 8.6 runs per game their past 11 games. Seattle has scored an average of 7.8 runs their past 4 games. The Mariners are 18-5-2 to the over in their past 25 games! Seattle has allowed an average of 5.8 runs per game their last dozen games. Baltimore's Gabriel Ynoa is winless with a 5.65 ERA this season. Also, he has allowed 7 homers in his last 3 starts. Seattle's Yusei Kikuchi has allowed 6 homers in his last 3 starts while compiling an ugly 8.78 ERA in these outings. Incredibly, the over is 13-1-2 this season in Kikuchi's starts. The over is 22-6 in Mariners day games this season. This match-up also features the two worst bullpens in the American League this season as the Mariners have a 5.26 ERA and the Orioles have a 6.13 ERA on the season. With the way these starting pitchers and bullpens have been performing, plus the fact that both teams have hit well in recent days, this one has slugfest written all over it. 10* OVER the total in Seattle

Game of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #969 Sunday 10* Top Play Houston Astros Money Line (-) @ New York Yankees @ 2:05 ET - With yesterday's win the Yankees have now won 8 straight while the Astros have now lost 7 straight. That said, this big play for me Sunday on Houston may seem like a "gutsy" call but the reality is there are key reasons to expect the Astros lineup to have a huge afternoon compared to the Yankees sticks. Even though Houston lost 7-5 yesterday they outhit New York 11-7. Also, the Yanks struck out 12 times while the Astros fanned only 3 times. After a sloppy game (3 errors) for Houston yesterday, I fully expect a big bounce back with Justin Verlander on the mound in this one. Even though he has struggled with giving up the long ball in his last two starts, he has still looked quite impressive. Verlander continues to pile up the strikeouts while the Yankees J.A. Happ is struggling to record strikeouts. Overall, the Yanks southpaw has been getting hit quite hard and also has nearly as many walks as strikeouts in his last two starts combined. Verlander has a 2.92 ERA in road starts this season while Happ has a 5.13 ERA in home starts this season. Verlander has allowed only 15 hits while striking out 25 over the 20 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts versus the Yankees. Conversely, Happ has allowed 14 hits (including 4 homers) plus has walked 5 in his last two starts against the Astros. That means Happ is allowing nearly 2 baserunners per inning in recent starts versus Houston. The Astros are 16-6 against left-handed starters this season. The Yankees are 0-2 the last two times they faced Verlander and, in their prior meeting, the Yanks got the win despite Verlander pitching 8 innings of shutout ball with 14 strikeouts. Look for road dominance in this one. 10* HOUSTON 

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #953 Sunday 8* OVER the total in Washington Nationals vs Atlanta Braves @ 1:35 ET - The Nationals were originally going to start Patrick Corbin in this one but instead it will be Austin Voth getting the ball. This will be his first appearance this season and note that he compiled a 6.57 ERA in 4 games (2 starts) last season with Washington. Truly he has not impressed at the minor league level but the Nats don't have a lot of options so Voth gets the call. He is 13-25 the last 3 years combined in the minors with a 5.00 ERA. Keep in mind that is against minor league hitters! Now he faces a Braves team that has been knocking the cover off the ball plus one that terrorized the major league worst Nationals bullpen yesterday! It is unlikely that Voth goes deep so even more big runs against the Washington pen quite likely today. As for Braves starter Michael Soroka, he is having a great season but has struggled with his slider in his last two starts. That has led to Soroka allowing 8 earned runs in 11 innings spanning his last two starts and his strikeout numbers are down too. The over is 4-0 in Soroka's last 4 starts. The over is 18-4 in the Braves last 22 games. More of the same expected here on Sunday. 8* OVER the total in Washington

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #927 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Chicago White Sox @ 9:05 ET - This total opened up at an 11 and dropped to a 10.5 as of early game day morning.  I am well aware of the fact that Lance Lynn has pitched very well this season but he also struggles much more versus left-handed bats than righties. The White Sox have a number of left-handed bats and switch-hitters that could give him some trouble tonight. Also, with their 5-4 win last night, the White Sox have won 5 of their last 8 games and have averaged a respectable 6 runs scored per game in those 5 wins. The Rangers, despite the 5-4 tenth inning loss yesterday, have a very potent offense and have averaged scoring 5.7 runs per game at home this season and 5.8 runs per game against right-handed starters. Texas should enjoy a breakout game at the plate tonight as they take advantage of facing the struggling Odrisamer Despaigne. He is 13-26 with a 5.05 ERA at the MLB level in his career and things are going from bad to worse for the White Sox right-hander. He is 0-2 with an 8.71 ERA in his two starts this season. The over was 6-2 in the White Sox 8 games prior to last night's game staying under the total. The over was 4-1 in the Rangers last 5 games prior to now recording back to back unders at home (rare). Look for "normal" to return tonight with a slugfest at Globe Life Park in Arlington. 10* OVER the total in Texas

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #902 Saturday 7* Chicago Cubs Money Line (-) vs New York Mets @ 2:20 ET - When you fully understand a line move yet absolutely like the other side of the move (due to false market perception) that is when it generally pays off big to step in. This line opened up with the Cubs as a -165 favorite and they are now down in the -130 range as of early Saturday morning. Of course this has let to great line value here. The reason for the move is that Cubs starter Jose Quintana is on a long losing streak. However, the fact is that he hasn't pitched all that poorly. In fact, in his last 13 starts the Chicago left-hander has allowed 3 earned runs or less in 12 of the 13 outings. He pitched at least 5 innings in all but two of those outings. Quintana also is 2-1 with a 1.35 ERA in his 3 career starts versus the Mets. Conversely, the Mets Zach Wheeler is the pitcher that should get hammered in this outing. Wheeler has allowed 10 earned runs in his last 7 and 2/3 innings against the Cubs. Also, the Mets are 2-6 in the right-handers road starts this seasons and he has allowed 14 runs (9 earned) on 20 hits in the 10 and 2/3 innings spanning his last two road starts. Overall, Wheeler has allowed 5 homers in his last 3 starts. Clearly this game has home rout written all over it. Prior to the Mets getting a tight 5-4 win at Wrigley Field yesterday, New York had lost 6 of their 8 previous games. The Cubs were 8-2 in home games in the month of June prior to yesterday's loss. They bounce back big Saturday afternoon. 7* CHICAGO CUBS

Run Line Rout - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #954 Friday 8* Philadelphia Phillies Run Line -1.5 runs vs Miami Marlins @ 7:05 ET - Yes the Phillies have been struggling badly but they are now back home, have their ace pitcher on the mound, and are hosting one of the worst teams in baseball. Look for the Marlins to prove to be the perfect elixir for what ails Philadelphia. The Phillies start Aaron Nola in this one and he has a 2.41 ERA in his last 3 starts versus Miami. The Marlins start Sandy Alcantara in this one. He allowed 6 earned runs on 11 hits in just 5 innings of work when he faced the Phillies earlier this season and that start was at home. Now Alcantara faces them at Philly. As bad as the Phillies have been of late, the Marlins have been even worse. Of course I would never lay 2 to 1 odds on a money line but note that, even though the money line is up to as high as a -235 on this one, the run line is available as low as even money! That said, I am happy to lay the 1.5 runs here as 37 of the Marlins 46 losses this season have come by 2 or more runs. In other words, when Miami loses (often) it loses by big margins (often). Also, 31 of the Phillies 39 wins this season have come by 2 or more runs and this is the perfect bounce back spot for the Phils. Play PHILADELPHIA Run Line -1.5 runs

Total of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #957 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs San Diego Padres @ 7:05 ET - The Padres bullpen has a 5.52 ERA in road games. The Pirates bullpen has a 5.60 ERA in home games. San Diego starter Eric Lauer has a 7.82 ERA in road starts. Pittsburgh starter Joe Musgrove has a 5.71 ERA in home starts. Lauer has allowed 22 hits in 15 and 1/3 innings spanning his 3 career starts against the Pirates. Musgrove has fared well in his two career starts against the Padres but both of those were at pitcher friendly Petco Field. This match-up at PNC Park will prove to be a much tougher one for him. Musgrove's two starts against the Padres both went over the total and the over is 2-1 in Lauer's three starts against the Pirates. The over is 10-2 in Musgrove's last dozen starts! The over is 6-1 this season when the Padres are playing after a day off. Also, when San Diego enters a game on a winning streak of 3 or more games, the over is 7-1 this season. In home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs, the over is 7-2 in Pittsburgh this season. With this total dropping from a 9 to an 8.5 we have excellent line value here. The over is also 11-5 this season in Pirates games against left-handed starters. The Bucs enter this game having scored an average of 6 runs per game their last 11 games. The Padres enter this game having scored an average of 9 runs per game their last 6 games. Per all of the above, all signs point to this one cashing nicely for us. 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #909 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds @ 8:10 ET - Milwaukee's game flew over the total yesterday and I look for more of the same today. I know the Brewers had been trending under recently and, overall, the Reds have been trending under all season (including yesterday) but the situation here is conducive to an over. The Brewers are coming off a tough road trip and are happy to be back home. They will take advantage of facing a struggling Tanner Roark. The Cincinnati right-hander is 0-3 with a 5.00 ERA in his last 3 starts. All 3 of those outings resulted in an under but it certainly wasn't due to his pitching. Now Roark faces a Brewers team that has gotten to him for 7 earned runs in just 10 and 1/3 innings in his two most recent starts against them. Milwaukee has their own concern in terms of their starting pitcher Thursday. Jimmy Nelson gets the start and the Brewers right-hander has allowed 8 earned runs in just 7 innings combined in his first two starts this season (both this month). Also, Nelson certainly doesn't have good recent history against the Reds. In his most recent start against Cincinnati, Nelson gave up 9 earned runs in less than 4 innings of work. Look for the over to improve to a perfect 3-0 in Nelson's starts on the season. The Brewers have a .480 slugging percentage at home this season which ranks them 4th in the majors! The Reds have won 4 straight games and averaged 5.3 runs per game during this hot streak. Cincinnati scored 7 runs in their most recent road game too, also a victory. Both teams enjoy plenty of success at the plate in this one. 10* OVER the total in Milwaukee

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #967 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Seattle Mariners vs Kansas City Royals @ 6:40 ET - The Mariners got shut out at home yesterday and the 9-0 Royals win just missed going over the total. That has set up the type of situation I look for when it comes to totals. On Wednesday, the Mariners have the struggling pitcher on the mound so the Royals should keep scoring. At the same time, you know Seattle is poised to bounce back at the plate after a rare home shutout loss. The Mariners have been one of the hottest hitting teams in the majors this month. First off lets talk about Marco Gonzales. The Seattle left-hander is likely wishing he was not at home for this start. In his 4 home starts dating back to May 1st, Gonzales has been nothing short of awful. The southpaw has allowed 30 runs (24 earned) in just 15 and 1/3 innings. Those are horrible numbers of course and the KC bats have plenty of confidence here as they have now scored an average of 8 runs per game in their last 3 games. The Mariners, prior to yesterday's shutout, had scored an average of 6.6 runs per game their last dozen games. They'll bounce back here against Brad Keller. I know that the Kansas City right-hander has some impressive numbers this season and a low ERA on the season. However, Keller has been hit quite hard in many of his road starts this season. In fact, prior to a surprisingly strong road start at Minnesota in his most recent outing, Keller had given up 19 hits in 13 innings spanning his two prior starts away from home. The Mariners have a quality lineup that is in bounce back mode and will enjoy success here. The over is 15-4-2 in Seattle's last 21 games. The over is 20-6-1 in Mariners day games this season and this one starts at 3:40 PM local time. 10* OVER the total in Seattle

Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #951 Wednesday 10* Top Play Milwaukee Brewers Money Line (+) @ San Diego Padres @ 3:40 ET - First off, make this bet as action. That said, if there is a pitching change, your bet will still be active. I recommend this because the Padres Matt Strahm has been bothered by a rib injury and, if he would be scratched, I still like this play because I like the Brewers to bounce back after scoring just 1 run in yesterday's loss. Zach Davies is slated to be the starter for Milwaukee in this one. The right-hander has been a little up and down lately but the Padres lineup has very little experience with him plus he is still a fantastic 7-1 this season with a very impressive 2.60 ERA. On the road this season he has a superb 2.25 ERA in his 8 starts. Also, though Davies has been a little up and down, San Diego's Strahm has truly just been down in recent outings. The Padres left-hander has allowed multiple homers in each of his last 3 starts. In his last two starts, including one at home against a bad Marlins team, Strahm allowed 13 earned runs in less than 8 innings of work! The Brewers are 17-9 in day games this season. Milwaukee is off back to back losses and that is certainly noteworthy here as they have not lost 3 straight games since over 5 weeks ago in mid-May. The Padres Strahm is 0-3 in his last 3 starts! San Diego has won 3 straight games but, prior to this rare hot streak, the Padres had lost 13 of their last 19 games. The Brewers also rate the bullpen edge in this match-up. 10* MILWAUKEE

Total of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #917 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Cleveland Indians @ 8:05 ET - I am coming right back with the over in the Rangers / Indians match-up after losing by the slimmest of margins with yesterday's picks. Yes today's total is a 10.5 whereas yesterday's was a 9.5 but that is because of the pitching match-up here. Don't be fooled by the strong ERA of Zach Plesac and the respectable ERA of Adrian Sampson in this one. I will start with the latter. Sampson has been hit at a .287 batting average in his career and that includes opponents hitting .284 against him this season. In other words, his stuff is nothing special and I look for the Tribe to hammer him after being held to just 2 runs in yesterday's loss. As for Plesac, the 24-year old rookie started out like gangbusters in his first 3 starts but his most recent start (allowed 3 homers to the Reds) is a sign of things to come. That start versus Cincinnati was at home for Plesac and now he goes on the road for the first time in over two weeks. Not only that, he is facing a Rangers team that is the #1 scoring team in the AL when at home. Texas is averaging 5.9 runs per game in their 37 games played in Arlington this season. The Rangers have scored 7 or more runs in 3 of their last 4 home games. Cleveland, prior to being held to 2 runs in yesterday's loss, had scored an average of 8.3 runs per game in their last 3 road games. The Indians bats get back on track here and the Rangers sticks stay hot at home in hitter-friendly conditions at Globe Life Park in Arlington Tuesday. 10* OVER the total in Texas

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #915 Tuesday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Angels Money Line (-) @ Toronto Blue Jays @ 7:05 ET - The Angels doubled up the Blue Jays 10-5 yesterday and more of the same is on tap today. Toronto is 12-26 this season in games played on turf and, of course, that includes all their home games. The Blue Jays are also an ugly 14-27 in night games this season. The Angels are 9-6 this season against AL East teams and, overall, yesterday's big win moves LA's record to 5-2 in their last 7 games. The Jays have lost 8 of their last 11 games overall and that includes 5 straight defeats at home. Los Angeles is 4-2 in Tyler Skaggs career starts against the Blue Jays and the southpaw has compiled a 3.93 ERA in those outings. Toronto's Marcus Stroman gave up 4 earned runs in just 3 and 1/3 innings in his most recent start against the Angels. Also, the Jays right-hander has a 5.02 ERA in his 6 appearances (5 starts) versus LA. The Blue Jays righty has been laboring a bit in the month of June and has a 4.82 ERA. I mentioned Toronto's 3-8 run above and, going further back, it is a 5-15 run for the Blue Jays their last 20 games. The Angels opened up as high as a -125 favorite here but now fell into a pick'em price range. I love the value with the much better team at a bargain price here. 10* LOS ANGELES ANGELS

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #965 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Cleveland Indians @ 8:05 ET - Lance Lynn has strong numbers for the Rangers overall but even though he is undefeated in his home starts he has actually been hit quite hard in his starts in Arlington. Also, against left-handed batters Lynn struggles much more than against righties. That will prove to be an issue against the Indians because they are loaded with left-handed sticks and switch-hitters. Don't be surprised if Mike Clevinger struggles too. This is his first start at the MLB level since he hurt his back two months ago. In a rehab start at the AAA level he gave up 3 earned runs in just 2 innings. He is a hard thrower but that is actually the type of pitcher the Rangers have had success against in the past and Texas is a very strong hitting team when at home. Clevinger also may struggle a bit with his location as this is his first start in two months. The Rangers bats, especially when in Arlington, can certainly make pitchers pay for "mistake pitches" in terms of location. The Indians scored 8 runs in yesterday's win and they are 6-2 in their last 8 games and have averaged scoring 6 runs per game in those 8 games. The Rangers are off an 11-3 loss yesterday on the road but they entered that game having scored an average of 6 runs per game in their 9 prior games. The over is 5-1 in Cleveland's Monday games this season. The over is 15-9 when the Rangers are facing a team with a winning record. This total opened up at a 10 with good reason. The Indians have a strong bullpen but the Rangers do not and, with the line move down to a 9.5, I am happy to grab the extra value being offered here. 10* OVER the total in Texas

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #954 Monday 6* Atlanta Braves Money Line (-) vs New York Mets @ 7:20 ET - I never play big 2 to 1 favorites and rarely do I even step into the moderate price range. This is one of the exceptions in terms of a situation I absolutely deem worthy of a play despite being in the -145 price range as of early Monday morning. As you can see, I am dropping the rating to 6* since we're laying some juice here but the Braves should prove to be well worth the price. Mike Soroka gets the start for Atlanta and he had been red hot this season before a career worst outing in his last start. Soroka is still 7-1 this season with a 1.92 ERA even after an ugly start last week. Also, against the Mets last season he held them to just 1 earned run in two starts that totaled more than a dozen innings. Zach Wheeler gets the start for New York in this one. Wheeler, like Soroka, is also looking to bounce back off a career worst outing. However, unlike Soroka, Wheeler has struggled often this season. He has a 4.87 ERA on the season. Also, Wheeler is facing a much tougher lineup than Soroka is. Atlanta has a .493 slugging percentage in home games this season which ranks them 3rd in the majors. The Mets have a .401 slugging percentage in road games this season and that ranks them 19th in the majors. New York lost 4-3 yesterday while Atlanta won 15-1 in Sunday's action. The Mets don't have the offensive productivity to keep up with the Braves in this one. Also, Atlanta has the better bullpen. The Mets, as a road underdog of +125 to +175, have gone 1-9 this season! The Braves are 8-2 in Soroka's last 10 starts. More of the same expected here! 6* ATLANTA

Run Line Rout - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #926 Sunday 10* Top Play Houston Astros Run Line -1.5 runs vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 2:10 ET - The Astros are 2 to 1 favorites on the money line in this one with good reason. Of course I would never lay that type of price but this is the type of situation where the run line can prove to be very valuable. By taking Houston -1.5 runs the price on the Astros drops into the pick'em range and that is offering great value as an Astros win by 2 runs or more is highly like. The Astros are 6-1 in Brad Peacock's home starts this season. Also, the Blue Jays Trent Thornton has been in significant jams in his recent starts and has been fortunate to work himself out of those. The Toronto right-hander won't be so fortunate Sunday as he faces one of the toughest lineups in the league. The Astros have blasted the Jays by a combined score of 22 to 4 in the first two games of this series. Overall, Houston has averaged scoring 8.8 runs per game in their last 4 games. The Blue Jays last 10 losses have all come by 2 runs or more. In fact, Toronto has lost those 10 games by an average margin of 5.5 runs per defeat! The Blue Jays are 10-27 (including 1-7 this season) as a road underdog of +175 to +250 and that is the range they fall into again today. Look for another home rout as the Astros stay hot at the plate and also hold a big pitching edge in this match-up. Thornton has a 6.13 ERA in his last 3 starts. 10* HOUSTON Run Line -1.5 runs

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #921 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals @ 2:10 ET - The Twins have been hitting the ball very well but today have a "weak link" in their starting rotation taking the mound and that set this one up well to be an over. Of course the odds makers feel the same way I do and set this total as high a a 10 but the markets have already forced a move down to as low as a 9. This is the ideal situation I like to take advantage of in terms of value and I won't hesitate to step in on this one! The Twins Martin Perez is winless with an 8.75 ERA in his last 3 starts. The left-hander will be opposed by the Royals Jake Junis. The KC right-hander is unlikely to have success here. Junis gave up 3 homers in just 3 innings the last time he faced Minnesota. Also, Junis has allowed 9 homers in his last 6 road starts. Overall he has allowed at least 2 homers in 2 of his last 3 starts. The Twins have scored 5 or more runs in 8 of their last 10 games. Minnesota has had just 1 under in its last 10 games! The over is a perfect 4-0 in the last 4 starts that Perez has made. The over is 18-11-3 in Twins games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. This one is set to fly over the total and I am going to take advantage of the value added by false perception on the part of the betting markets. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

Total of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #961 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs San Diego Padres @ 8:10 ET - Yesterday's game was a wild one to say the least. The Padres came up with a huge rally in the top of the 9th and then won the game with another huge rally in the top of the 12th! The game finished a 16-12 San Diego win and both teams had to use 7 innings of bullpen as the starters for both the Padres and Rockies only lasted 5 innings. Another wild one is quite likely tonight and I like the fact that the total on this game dropped from an 11.5 to an 11 as that is offering up even more line value with this one. Both the Padres Eric Lauer and Rockies German Marquez are likely to struggle here. Marquez has been great on the road last season and this season but home outings have been a different story. Last season Marquez was hit at a .284 clip in home games and compiled a 4.74 ERA. This season Marquez has been hit at a .303 clip at Coors Field and compiled a 5.06 ERA. Lauer has made two career starts at Coors Field and both were nightmares. The Padres southpaw has allowed 15 runs (14 earned) in just 6 innings spanning his two career starts at Colorado. Considering the likelihood of each starter struggling here, the fact that both bullpens got stretched out yesterday, and the fact that the ball will again be carrying very well at hitter-friendly Coors Field, this one has "over" written all "over" it! 4 of the 5 meetings between these teams in Colorado this season have resulted in an over. The over is 9-3-1 in San Diego's last 13 games. Each team scored a dozen runs yesterday and I look for the teams to, at the very least, combine for a dozen runs in this one Saturday. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Run Line Rout - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #954 Saturday 10* Top Play Washington Nationals Run Line -1.5 runs vs Arizona Cardinals @ 4:05 ET - Huge pitching edge for the Nationals here and, of course, that is why they are priced as a 2 to 1 favorite here on the money line. We can still get involved here with Washington without laying big prices as we can go with the Nationals on the run line in this one. That brings the price down to a pick'em range and, certainly a Washington win is likely to come by 2 or more runs here. That's because 25 of the Nationals 32 wins this season have come by 2 or more runs and more than half of the Diamondbacks losses this season have come by a multiple run margin. Arizona is starting Taylor Clarke in this one and the right-hander has a 6.35 ERA as a starter this season including a 9.58 ERA in his last 3 starts. The Nats start Stephen Strasburg in this one and he has settled in quite nicely after a rough start to the season when he was struggling with the long ball. Strasburg has allowed 2 earned runs or less in 8 of his last 10 starts. Also, one of the weaknesses for Washington is their bullpen but Strasburg has averaged 7 innings per starts his last 10 starts so truly the bullpen impact in this game should be minimal and the Nationals should be able to use their top relievers to close this one out. In home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs, the Nationals are 5-1 this season. Also, the Nats are 3-0 in Strasburg's last 3 starts overall and also 3-0 in his last 3 home starts. As a road dog in a range of +175 to +250, Arizona is 2-11 their last 13 and I like the strong odds that a Diamondbacks loss here comes by 2 or more runs. 10* WASHINGTON Run Line -1.5 runs

Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #903 Friday 10* Top Play St Louis Cardinals Money Line (+) @ New York Mets @ 7:10 ET - The Cardinals bullpen ranks #1 in the majors for opponents batting average as they have held the opposition to a .205 so far this season. Conversely, the Mets bullpen ranks near the bottom of the majors for opponents batting average (.261) and ERA (5.08) on the season. As for the starting pitchers in this match-up, Daniel Ponce de Leon holds an advantage in that the Mets hitters are not familiar with him. Though he has been pitching at the AAA level he has good stuff and has had some success at the major league level in his career. With that said, he is flying under the radar right now and this has led to great value in this spot. I especially like the fact that the Cards opened up as a -115 favorite here and now the Mets are as high as a -135 favorite as of very early Friday morning. As long-time followers know, I love going against the grain when it comes to line moves. Sure Steven Matz deserves some respect but the Mets southpaw has a match-up issue when it comes to facing the Cardinals. The southpaw is 0-3 with an 8.49 ERA and 1.89 WHIP in his 3 career starts against St Louis. That spells trouble in this spot and, I also rate the lineups as equal. That said, we have the edge both in starting pitching and in terms of the relievers for this match-up. The Mets went 19-35 in June games the past two years and have not impressed in June of this year thus far. At the MLB level Ponce de Leon has a 2.61 ERA and has held opponents to a .194 batting average. Those stats are over 38 innings and I look for him to get his much-deserved first win at the MLB level on Friday night at Citi Field. 10* ST LOUIS CARDINALS

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #917 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Tampa Bay Rays vs Los Angeles Angels @ 7:10 ET - Yesterday's total was an 8.5 and moved to a 9 in some spots and those who had the over got burned. The game was 5-3 through 5 innings so only one run was needed the rest of the way but it didn't happen. Yes the Rays pen has been strong this season but they had struggled some of late. Also, the Angels bullpen ranks in the bottom of the 3rd of the majors but, inexplicably, there was not a single run scored in the final 4 innings of last night's game. I like coming back with the over in the very next game after one plays out like that and I especially like the fact that this total opened up as high as an 8 but has since dropped to as low as a 7 as of early Friday morning. The Rays Blake Snell has great numbers again this season but has a 6.10 ERA in his last two starts. The Angels Andrew Heaney has allowed multiple homers in each of his 3 starts this season. The trouble with the longball is why he has a 6.17 ERA in his last two starts. Based on the above as well as the low total on this one following the line move, you can see why I like the over in this match-up. The Angels are averaging 5.7 runs per game their last dozen games. The Rays have suddenly been held to 3 or less runs in each of their last 3 games but, prior to this tough 3-game stretch, they had averaged 5.6 runs per game their last 9 games. Heaney allowed 4 earned runs in 6 innings in his lone career start at Tropicana Field and the Rays again get to the homer-prone lefty in this one. 10* OVER the total in Tampa Bay

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #961 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Seattle Mariners @ 1:10 ET - Yesterday's game flew over the total to continue the high-scoring trend for these two ball clubs. The over is now 7-1 in the Mariners last 8 games and the Twins are 8-1-3 to the over in their last 12 games. That' right, three pushes and just ONE under in Minnesota's last DOZEN games! Look for the high-scoring ways of both teams to continue here as this is also a favorable pitching match-up for an over and the weather will be very pleasant in Minneapolis for this afternoon affair. The Twins are starting Michael Pineda and he got rocked for 3 earned runs on 8 hits in only 5 innings in his first start back after returning from injury. The Mariners are starting Yusei Kikuchi and he is in a horrific slide. In his last 3 starts Kikuchi has allowed 29 hits (including 6 homers) in just 10 innings of work! The southpaw was successful against the Twins in a mid-May start but he has struggled since then and Minnesota will enjoy success in their 2nd shot at Kikuchi this afternoon. As for the Twins Pineda, he has allowed 6 homers in 18 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts against the Mariners. The over is 19-5 in Seattle's day games this season and also a perfect 6-0 in their road games with a posted total of 10 or 10.5 runs. Look for the over to improve to 9-1 this season in Mariners Thursday games! The over is 8-4 this season in Minnesota's games against left-handed starters. The over is 6-1 this season in Twins Thursday games. More of the same expected here. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

NOTE: Derek Law now getting the start as an "opener" for the Blues Jays in this one. He has pitched only 18 innings in his 14 appearances out of the bullpen this season. Law has a 5.89 ERA. This play remains as a Top Play even though Law is now the opener. Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #913 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 7:05 ET - Both these teams have been trending under this month and we've got a big total (11) posted on this game. That would make this seem like a value spot for an under but the pitching match-up here suggests plenty of runs in this one! The Blue Jays Edwin Jackson is struggling badly this season and even though only 2 of the runs he allowed in his most recent start were earned, the fact is he allowed 6 runs in 3 and 1/3 innings. The veteran right-hander is 0-4 with an 11.90 ERA on the season. He'll be opposed by the Orioles David Hess and he is 1-8 with a 7.08 ERA on the season. He had a great start against the Blue Jays very early this season but, since then, Hess has compiled an 8.20 ERA. The over is 3-1 in Jackson's last 4 starts and the over is 4-1 the 5 home starts Hess has made this season. The weather will also be favorable for an over at Oriole Park at Camden Yards tonight. This venue is known as a hitter friendly venue and everything lines up well for runs early, often, and throughout this contest. The Orioles bullpen has a 5.61 ERA this season which ranks them dead last in the American League. The last 10 times Baltimore has played a home game with a posted total of 11 or 11.5 runs, only 3 of the 10 games has resulted in an under! In other words, don't let the big number keep you away from this match-up as the Orioles and Blue Jays should both do plenty of damage at the plate considering this pitching match-up. Toronto had allowed an average of 7 runs per game their last 9 games before yesterday's under. The Orioles had allowed an average of 7 runs per game in their last 3 home games prior to yesterday. Look for both teams to put plenty on the board in this one. 10* OVER the total in Baltimore

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #915 Wednesday 8* OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Texas Rangers @ 4:05 ET - Fenway is a hitter friendly park and temperatures will be mild this afternoon in Boston with the wind expected to be blowing out toward left-center field. Also, the total opened up at a 10 on this one but has dropped to a 9.5 as of early game day morning. This has resulted in added value in this match-up. The Rangers won yesterday's game 9-5 and Texas has won 9 of its last 12 games. The Rangers have scored an average of 6 runs per game in their last dozen games. On the season Texas is averaging 6 runs per game against right-handed starters while the Red Sox are averaging 5.5 runs per game against right-handed starters and 5.5 runs per game in home games. Boston's Rick Porcello gets the start in this one and he has been hit very hard while compiling a 6.23 ERA in his last 3 starts. The last time Porcello faced Texas as a host he allowed 11 hits in less than 7 innings of work. The Rangers hand the ball to Lance Lynn for this one. The right-hander has produced surprisingly solid numbers this season. However, Lynn's recent starts have included, among his last 5, two against the Royals and two against the Mariners. Both of these teams are last place teams that have been struggling. Now he faces a solid Red Sox lineup that is ultra dangerous at home. The over is 10-5 this season in Rangers games in which their money line ranges from +125 to +175. Texas is 15-7 to the over this season in day games. The over is 6-3 in Red Sox Wednesday games and 15-9 in their day games this season. 8* OVER the total in Boston

Early Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #973 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Cincinnati Reds @ 7:10 ET - These are two well-respected pitchers and that is helping to keep this total low. The key to the value is that both hurlers have struggled of late and so we have got some solid value here considering the way the Indians have been scoring runs. Cleveland is starting Trevor Bauer and he has allowed 26 runs (21 earned) in the 32 innings spanning his last 5 starts! The Reds do have familiarity with him since they have faced him in prior season in interleague action. While this will be Cincinnati's Luis Castillo first start against the Indians, Cleveland still should enjoy success. Why is that? The Reds right-hander has had command issues of late. Though he is off a better start, Castillo previously allowed 7 runs (6 earned) in just 8 innings of work spanning his two prior starts. He'll be facing an Indians team that has scored an average of 6 runs per game in their last 6 games. The over is 4-1 in the last 5 games for the Tribe. Bauer has allowed 4 homers in his last two home starts. Pleasant weather expected at Progressive Field this evening as well. 10* OVER the total in Cleveland

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #952 Tuesday 8* Philadelphia Phillies Money Line (-) vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 7:05 ET - The Phillies opened up as high as a -160 favorite for this one but now have dropped down to the -125 range as of early game day morning. Yes the Diamondbacks won the series opener yesterday and have been hot, but the Phillies are not getting nearly the respect they should in this spot. Philly has been a strong home team this season and Arrieta has pitched very well in his home starts since coming the Phillies. Last season he held hitters to a .238 batting average in his home outings while compiling a 3.64 ERA. This season, most all of Arrieta's home starts have been a quality start and he has held opponents to a .241 batting average. In his last 6 starts versus Arizona he has held them to a .211 batting average while compiling a 2.03 ERA. Jon Duplantier gets the start for the Diamondbacks here and he went winless in his 6 starts at the minor league level this season while compiling a 4.76 ERA. Yes he is a talented young hurler but he is still unpolished at this point. The Philles take advantage and bounce back after rare consecutive losses at home. Philly had won 22 of their first 33 home games this season before these back to back losses. I like the value here with the short home favorite. 8* PHILADELPHIA

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #903 Monday 8* OVER the total in St Louis Cardinals vs Miami Marlins @ 7:10 ET - This is a contrarian play as most will be looking for a lower-scoring game involving the light-hitting Marlins. The fact is Miami has been better at the plate overall the past week or so. The Marlins lost 7-6 yesterday but that marked the 5th time in their last 8 games that they have scored 6 or more runs. During this stretch Miami has averaged scoring 6.3 runs per game. On Monday, look for the Marlins to take advantage of facing a struggling Michael Wacha. He is back now from being relegated to bullpen duty and the long-term numbers don't lie. The Cardinals right-hander has a 6.30 ERA on the season. He is facing a Marlins lineup that has produced double digits in hits in 5 of its last 8 games. Wacha has seen the over go 6-2-1 in his 9 starts this season. The Marlins will have Sandy Alcantara on the mound. He is a former Cardinal and facing them for the first time since departing St Louis. Oftentimes pitchers can be guilty of trying to "overdo it" when facing their former team. That generally can lead to a loss of command and mistake pitches. Don't be surprised if the Cardinals get to him early and often in this one. The over is 22-13 to the over (including 4-2 this season) in Monday games. The Marlins are 25-15 to the over in night games this season and 6-2 to the over this month. Their bullpen ranks among the worst in the majors and the Cardinals bullpen ranks only in the middle of the pack. In other words, we should also get some late-inning runs if needed. 8* OVER the total in Miami

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #911 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Tampa Bay Rays vs Oakland A's @ 7:10 ET - Charlie Morton has great numbers for the Rays but the A's lineup includes a number of guys that have enjoyed plenty of success against him. Don't be surprised when Oakland enjoys some success tonight against Morton. The issues for the Athletics is going to be slowing down the Rays. The A's are starting rookie Tanner Anderson. He has been pitching at AAA Las Vegas. At that level Anderson has compiled a 6.26 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) and now he'll be facing major league hitters so the likelihood of getting hit hard is certainly there! In terms of production on offense in this one, Oakland has scored 5 or more runs in 5 of their last 6 games and they have averaged 6 runs per game. The Rays come into this one hot as well in terms of their run production. Tampa Bay has averaged scoring 5.5 runs per game in their last 8 games and has scored 5 or more runs in 6 of their last 8 games. Each of these teams has produced 4 or more runs in 7 of their last 8 games. That is definitely noteworthy here as getting this game to 4-4 guarantees us of a winning ticket as that means the game has to end 5-4 at the very least. Both the A's and Rays are each 4-2 to the over in their Monday games this season. Look for plenty of runs in this one...early, often, and throughout this contest. 10* OVER the total in Tampa Bay  

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #975 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Oakland Athletics @ 3:05 ET - This is a contrarian play when looking at how well Frankie Montas has pitched for the A's this season. However, as long-time followers know, I go contrarian to public perception quite often and that is the case here as per usual. With this total at 11 or 11.5 runs many perceive it to be too high considering that Montas is 7-2 with a 2.83 ERA for Oakland this season. The key to the value is he is facing a Rangers team that has been one of the top hitting teams in the majors this season and that tends to be particularly dangerous when on their home field. After yesterday's sweep of the double-header, Texas is 9-3 their last dozen games and the Rangers have scored an average of 6 runs per game during this stretch. On the season Texas is averaging 6 runs per game against right-handed starters and the A's are averaging 6 runs per game in road games. Oakland should have no trouble with the offerings of Rangers lefty Drew Smyly in this one. The Texas southpaw has been rocked in each of his last two outings and also got rocked by the A's when he faced them earlier this season. Smyly is 0-2 with a 7.43 ERA in his 6 home starts this season. Oakland is 16-8 to the over, including 5-1 this season, in road games in which they are a road favorite in a price range of -125 to -175. Texas is 7-3 to the over in Sunday games this season and the over is 14-7 in Rangers day games this season after Game 1 of yesterday's double-header had 15 runs scored and soared over the total. More of the same here! 10* OVER the total in Texas

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #973 Sunday 8* OVER the total in Kansas City Royals vs Chicago White Sox @ 2:15 ET - The Royals are starting Glenn Sparkman here. He is off a respectable start against the Red Sox in his most recent outing but he struck out only 2 in 5 and 1/3 innings. Now he faces the team that clobbered him in his prior start as he allowed 4 earned runs in just 1 inning against the White Sox in late May. The ChiSox won again over the Royals yesterday as their dominance (7-2 L9) over KC continues. The White Sox, prior to yesterday's low-scoring win, had scored 4 or more runs in 7 of their last 9 games against the Royals. Look for that trend to resume here and note that in 5 of the 7 Chicago scored at least 5 runs and I expect them to get to at least that today. The Royals sticks should also come to life here after getting shutout by a red hot Lucas Giolito yesterday. The White Sox start the struggling Reynaldo Lopez in this one. The right-hander is 0-4 with an 8.75 ERA in his 5 road starts this season and opponents have hit .340 against Lopez in his outings away from home! More of the same expected here! The over is a perfect 3-0 in the last 3 starts Lopez has made. The over is a perfect 7-0 this season in Royals home games with a posted total of 10 or 10.5 runs. In other words, don't let the big number posted on this total scare you. It is certainly justified for all the reasons noted above. 8* OVER the total in Kansas City

TV Game of the Day - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #923 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs New York Yankees @ 4:10 ET - CC Sabathia is a former Indian and this could be the last time he pitches at Cleveland. Though the veteran left-hander will be be amped up to have a strong start it is unlikely that will be the case here. He has been hammered in each of his last two starts at Progressive Field. Also, the Tribe continue to be stronger with the sticks of late. With their 5-2 win yesterday, the Indians have averaged a respectable 5 runs per game over their last dozen games. The Yankees, prior to yesterday's poor day at the plate, had averaged 7 runs per game in their last 11 road games. Also, New York had scored 6 or more runs in 10 of those 11 road games. The Indians sticks should enjoy plenty of success as homer-prone Sabathia's struggles with the long ball continue. The Yankees southpaw has allowed 13 homers in his last 7 starts! The Yanks sticks should crush the ball here too as they take advantage of facing Cleveland's Adam Plutko. The Indians right-hander has been bouncing between the majors and minors this season and neither has gone well for him. Plutko has a 6.35 ERA at the MLB level this season and a 5.50 ERA in the majors in his career! In the minors this season Plutko has gone 1-3 with a 7.47 ERA! You can see why I am expecting the Yankees sticks to bounce back after yesterday's disappointment. Even including yesterday's under, the Yankees are an incredible 20-7 to the over in road games this season. 10* OVER the total in Cleveland

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #902 Saturday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Phillies Money Line (-) vs Cincinnati Reds @ 4:05 ET - This line (-135 range) of course includes the home field factor. In other words, this line is basically saying that these teams would be equal on a neutral field and I completely disagree with that. This is the reason I am willing to lay a -135 price for a 10* Top Play and that is rare for me. Keep in mind, the Phillies are at the top of the NL East while the Reds are in the basement of the NL Central. Philadelphia is a fantastic 21-11 in home games this season while Cincinnati is a sub-par 13-19 in road games on the season. The Phillies are starting Nick Pivetta in this one and, after being demoted to AAA ball in the minors earlier this season, he has come back to the bigs with vengeance. Pivetta has allowed only 6 hits and has walked 0 while striking out 15 in the 11 innings spanning his two starts since returning to the Phils. The right-hander's ERA at the MLB level doesn't do him justice as he truly is a strikeout machine and his demotion in April looks like it woke him up and has taken him to another level. The only time he has hosted the Reds in his career he held them to just 2 earned runs on only 5 hits in 7 innings of work. He is capable of dominating here while the Nationals Tanner Roark is likely to get hit hard. The Washington right-hander has been hit at a .307 clip and has a 2.01 WHIP (2 baserunner per inning!) against left-handed hitters this season. Keep in mind the Phillies recent red hot left-handed bat Jay Bruce and other lefties likely to be in the lineup today include Bryce Harper, Adam Haseley, and switch-hitter Cesar Hernandez. Also, the right-handed sticks of Jean Segura, Rhys Hoskins, and Jean Segura (their 3-4-5 hitters in yesterday's lineup) have hit a combined .407 in 59 career at-bats versus Roark. Also, Maikel Franco is hitting .290 in 31 career at-bats versus Roark. The home team smashes their way to a blowout win in this one as the match-up edges for the Phillies make them well worth the price here. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #915 Saturday 8* OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays @ 1:05 ET - David Price was slated as the Boston starter originally for this match-up but then the decision was made to call up Josh Smith for this start. The Red Sox 31-year old right-hander is 5-9 with a 5.28 ERA in his MLB career. In 6 starts with Pawtucket at the AAA level of the minors this season, Smith has compiled a 5.23 ERA. You can see why I am expecting him to get lit up here by a Rays team that is averaging 5.6 runs per game in its last 16 games - an 11-5 stretch for Tampa Bay. The issue for the Rays today won't be at the plate, rather it will be their own pitching issues. Ryan Yarbrough gets the start for TB and the left-hander has been struggling. His first outing this season was a quality one April 1st but, since then, Yarbrough has a 6.82 ERA in his last 7 outings! This is his 2nd season in the bigs and Yarbrough has a 6.09 ERA in day game action. Here he faces a potent Red Sox team in a hitter-friendly venue and this is unlikely to go well for the Rays southpaw. Prior to yesterday's game staying under the total, the over was 10-4 in Boston's last 14 home games. Overall, the over was on a 6-3 run in the last 9 games for the Red Sox. After being held to just 1 run yesterday, the home team gets their bats back on track Saturday but the Rays match them run for run. The end result? A slugfest early this afternoon at Fenway Park. 10* OVER the total in Boston

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #959 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Milwaukee Brewers vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 8:10 ET - The Pirates are 17-10 to the over this season when off a win. Pittsburgh is 10-5 to the over this season in games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. The Pirates 6-1 win yesterday stayed under the total but, prior to that one, the over was 24-7-2 in their 33 prior games. Pittsburgh is starting Rookie Davis in this one and this will be his first start since the 2017 season. Out of the bullpen he has a 5.87 ERA this season. Milwaukee, just like Pittsburgh, is off a victory in which they allowed only 1 run yesterday. However, though that game stayed under the total, the over was 5-1 in the Brewers 6 prior games. Also, Brandon Woodruff gets the start in this one and the Pirates are proving to be a nemesis for him. The Milwaukee right-hander has allowed 12 earned runs in 9 innings spanning his two career starts against the Pirates and that includes getting hammered by them on Saturday. Giving Pittsburgh a quick "second look" at him here is unlikely to help matters for Woodruff. He won't be fooling many sticks in this one. The over is 5-1 in Woodruff's last 6 home starts. The over is 3-1 this season when the Brewers are a home favorite in a money line range of -175 to -250. The over trending for each of these teams resumes in a big way on Friday night at Miller Park. 10* OVER the total in Milwaukee

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #969 Thursday 8* OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs New York Yankees @ 7:10 ET - I got burned by both these teams yesterday and now they are matched up and I expect some payback based on this pitching match-up. I had the Yankees over and despite 6 runs by the top of the 4th I lost that pick yesterday. I had the Indians and they lost 5-4 in a frustrating effort versus the Twins yesterday. Look for both teams to help me out today as they crush these pitchers. The Yankees are starting Domingo German and he was red hot for an extended stretch but he certainly has cooled of late. He has a 10.38 ERA in his last two starts. Zach Plesac gets the start for the Indians and he has been great in the first two starts of his MLB career. However, he now faces a Yankees team that has scored an average of 7 runs per game their last 11 road games. Tremendous consistency for the Yanks lineup away from home too as they have scored 6 or more runs in 10 of those 11 road games! The Indians are 7-4 to the over in their last 11 games and they have scored an average of 5 runs per game during this 11-game stretch. Even including yesterday's under, the Yankees are an incredible 20-6 to the over in road games this season. 8* OVER the total in Cleveland

Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #922 Thursday 10* Top Play Cleveland Indians Money Line (-) vs Minnesota Twins @ 7:10 ET - This is one of those situations where many will play the team that is looking to avoid the series sweep. As long-time followers know, I am a contrarian and this is the ideal spot to be contrarian to the masses and back the home team with a quality pitcher on the mound as they go for the sweep. Trevor Bauer is starting to pitch like we're used to seeing him pitch. Jose Berrios is also certainly a quality pitcher but he struggles more on the road than at home and this includes his starts at Cleveland. As a result, getting the Tribe at home at an even money price is an absolute bargain. Bauer allowed just 2 earned runs in 7 innings in his most recent start and was mostly done in by poor defense behind him. That outing also was on the road. In his two previous starts, both at home, Bauer allowed only 9 hits in 12 innings of work. He has dominated the Twins in 3 straight starts. That includes in the last two outings as Bauer has allowed only 1 earned run on just 4 hits while striking out 20 in 13 innings of work! This is in stark contrast to many of Berrios number. The Twins right-hander had a strong start versus the Indians earlier this season but that was at home. In his two prior starts versus the Tribe, including 1 at Cleveland, Berrios allowed 8 earned runs in 10 innings and he had major command issues in his start at Progressive Field. The past 3 seasons combined Berrios is 11-16 on the road with a 5.31 ERA! Minnesota had been hot but they are cooling off now while the Indians are heating up and highly motivated here to continue closing the gap in the AL Central with yet another win over the first-place Twins. 10* CLEVELAND

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #919 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs New York Yankees @ 7:05 ET - Yesterday's game flew over the total and that game included the Blue Jays crushing the Yankees bullpen. Homers were aplenty in yesterday's games and I expect more of the same tonight. Toronto's J.A. Happ faces his former team here and I am well aware of the fact that he held them to 2 earned runs in 5 and 1/3 innings when he most faced them last season but he did allowed 7 hits in that start. The Blue Jays have plenty of confidence at the plate after last night's come from behind victory. The issue for Toronto, after scoring 11 runs last night, will be trying to stop the Yankees lineup from crushing them. That is a concern for certain with journeyman Edwin Jackson on the mound. The veteran right-hander has been a disaster since his first start last month. In 4 starts this season he has compiled a 13.22 ERA and been hit at a .390 clip! These are horrific numbers and unlikely to improve against a Yankees lineup that has scored an average of 6.7 runs per game in the 16 games since mid-May. The Blue Jays have now scored 25 runs in their last 3 home games as they continue to pound the ball at Rogers Centre. The over is an incredible 20-5-2 in Yankees road games this season. The over is 7-1-1 in the Blue Jays last 9 home games. Look for more of the same in this one! 10* OVER the total in Toronto

Total of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #955 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Atlanta Braves @ 7:05 ET - The Braves won 12-5 yesterday at Pittsburgh. That was the 5th straight Atlanta game to go over the total. As for the Pirates, the over is now 14-3-1 in their last 18 games. In home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs Pittsburgh is 7-1 to the over this season. The Pirates, overall, are a fantastic 19-9 to the over in home games on the season. Atlanta is scoring an average of 6 runs per game in their last 11 games. The Pirates have scored an average of 6 runs per game in their last 13 games. Pittsburgh's bullpen ERA ranks them as one of the worst in the majors. The Braves bullpen ERA ranks them only in the middle of the pack. In terms of starting pitching for this match-up, Atlanta is going with Kevin Gausman and the Braves right-hander is off a very poor outing. While one would think he should be in full bounce back mode here, the reality is that Gausman has an 8.31 ERA since late April and so getting back on track, particularly on the road, is not an automatic here. As for the Pirates, they are starting Joe Musgrove. The Pittsburgh right-hander is off a very rough month of May. Musgrove had an 8.10 ERA and was hit at a .302 clip in the month of May. That doesn't bode well for now facing a red hot Braves lineup. Considering all of the above, there should be runs early, often and throughout this contest. Look for the over to improve to 6-0 in Atlanta's last 6 games. 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #953 Wednesday 8* OVER the total in Arizona Diamondbacks vs Los Angeles Dodgers @ 3:40 ET - The first two games of this series have stayed under the total but the Dodgers have remained red hot and yesterday's game just barely missed going over the total. With their 9-0 win Tuesday, Los Angeles is 11-1 their last 12 games. LA has scored an average of 7 runs per game in the 11 victories during this hot streak. The Diamondbacks, prior to this series, had scored an average of 7 runs per game in their previous 10 games. That said, after being shut out yesterday and scoring just one run Monday, Arizona bounces back big Wednesday afternoon. Against the Dodgers Kenta Maeda, the Dbacks crushed 3 homers in his most recent start against them. That was in late March. In Maeda's prior start against Arizona, they got to him for 5 runs in less than 3 innings of work. Also, those two starts were at Dodger Stadium but now they get him at home. The over is 5-1 in Maeda's 6 road starts this season and he has a 5.64 ERA away from home on the year. The Diamondbacks are starting rookie Jon Duplantier in this one. He made his first ever MLB start last week against the Mets and he allowed 3 earned runs on 6 hits in just 5 innings of work. Now Duplantier faces a much tougher test here and I expect the Dodgers to pound him. As a road favorite of -125 to -175, LA games are 10-6 to the over this season. 8* OVER the total in Arizona

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in St Louis Cardinals vs Cincinnati Reds @ 8:15 ET - This total opened up at a 9 but has dropped to an 8.5 in a number of shops as of early Tuesday morning. This is offering excellent line value with the over. The wind will be blowing out toward left-center in this one and there is reason to believe that both starting pitchers will struggle in this one. The Reds Luis Castillo has given up 11 hits and walked 7 in the 8 innings spanning his last two starts. Though he has had recent success against the Cardinals, the right-hander's current form suggests this will be a tough night for him. St Louis is at home and their lineup is very familiar with him. Castillo will be opposed by southpaw Genesis Cabrera of the Cards. The left-hander struggled in his MLB debut last week and that was against a Phillies lineup that has been struggling badly for weeks now! That is not a good sign for Cabrera as now he faces a Reds team that has been red hot. Another sign that points to struggling results being likely here is the fact that Cabrera had a 6.35 ERA at the AAA level this season before being called up. This is a guy that needs a lot more seasoning before he is ready to faced MLB hitters. I look for him to struggle badly in this one. The Reds have averaged 6.3 runs per game in their last 11 games and that is even with struggling at the plate in their 2 most recent games as they faced Fedde and Scherzer of the Nationals. Compared to those guys, Cabrera will look like he is throwing batting practice to the Cincinnati hitters in this one. The over is 4-0 in the Reds last 4 road games. The over is 32-19 when the Cardinals are playing after a day off. 10* OVER the total in St Louis

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #917 Tuesday MLB 8* OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Minnesota Twins @ 7:10 ET - Minnesota's Devin Smeltzer is off a very successful MLB debut but, so often, a rookie hurler will struggle in their 2nd start. That is what I am calling for here as now Smeltzer  is on the road and facing an Indians team that has been swinging the bats a little better of late. Cleveland is off a shutout loss Sunday but, prior to that, the Tribe had scored an average of 6 runs per game in their 6 prior games. The weather is going to be very nice in Cleveland today and the wind is expected to be blowing out toward right-center field for this one as well. Behind Smeltzer is a Twins bullpen that has a 5.49 ERA in road games this season. The good news for Minnesota fans is they should crush Indians pitching in this one. Shane Bieber gets the start for the home team in this one and he gave up 6 earned runs in 5 innings in his most recent start. The right-hander allowed 3 homers in that start and now he faces a Twins team that crushed his offerings last season. Bieber has a decent ERA against Minnesota in his 3 career starts but he has been very lucky as the Twins have hit him at a .342 clip! The Twins enter this game red hot as they have won 15 of their last 18 games and their potent lineup has led the way. Minnesota is scoring an average of 7.6 runs per game during this 18-game stretch. The Twins lineup has plenty of confidence against Bieber and, as a result, this match-up has slug-fest written all over it. The over is 7-3 this season when Minnesota is playing after a day off and the Twins are also 19-9-2 to the over in road games this season! 8* OVER the total in Cleveland

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #951 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Arizona Diamondbacks vs Los Angeles Dodgers @ 9:40 ET - Walker Buehler is off a rough start last week versus the Mets. The Dodgers right-hander allowed 5 earned runs in 5 innings. In his most recent start against the Diamondbacks, earlier this season, he allowed 5 earned runs in only 3 innings. As for Arizona starter Robbie Ray, he is also off a rough start. The Diamonbacks southpaw gave up 5 runs (4 earned) in less than 5 innings of work against the Rockies. Ray has been having issues with command and he also walked 5 against the Dodgers in just 5 innings when he faced the earlier this season. LA demolished the Phillies yesterday to wrap up a sweep of Philadelphia! The Dodgers have won 9 of their last 10 games and scored an average of 7 runs per game during this latest hot streak as they continue to play like the best team in baseball. The over is 10-3 in Dodgers road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs this season. The over is 12-6 in divisional games for Los Angeles this season. As for the Diamondbacks, they are 17-10 to the over in divisional games this season. Arizona is off a 7-1 win yesterday and they have scored an average of 7 runs per game in their last 10 games. So you've got a pair of hot lineups matched up here and they are also familiar with the pitchers they'll be facing in this one. Couple that with a total posted at 8.5 runs and we've got great value. Each team just needs to get to 4 runs and we're guaranteed of a win as then the game has to end with at least a 5-4 final. 10* OVER the total in Arizona

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #911 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in San Diego Padres vs Miami Marlins @ 6:10 ET - Of course these are not the most impressive lineups in baseball by any stretch of the imagination. However, I like the fact that the Marlins exploded for 9 runs in yesterday's game, the Padres front-end of their lineup is solid, and this total is as low as a 7.5 in big books as of early game day morning. San Diego, prior to yesterday's loss, had won 7 of their last 10 games. In the Padres 7 victories, they averaged 6.4 runs per game. They can bounce back here while I look for the Marlins to build off yesterday's 9-run outburst. Yes, San Diego's Matt Strahm has strong numbers this season but his fastball velocity has decreased since getting moved up into the starting rotation for the Padres this season. Trevor Richards gets the start for Miami here and he is off a great start. However, the right-hander previously allowed 21 hits in the 17 innings spanning his 3 prior starts. Also, Richards has allowed 21 hits in 14 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 3 road starts. He allowed 4 or more earned runs in 2 of those 3 road outings! Look for the over to improve to 7-3 in San Diego's Sunday games this season. Also, this total is likely to move back up to an 8 today and the over is 11-5 this season in Padres games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs this season. The Marlins bullpen has a 5.24 ERA this season and that ranks them 2nd to dead last in the National League so far this season. Petco Park is known as a pitchers park but it is a little more hitter-friendly in day games and this one gets under one at 3 PM local time. 10* OVER the total in San Diego

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #929 Sunday 8* OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 3:10 ET - Yesterday's game stayed well under the total but, based on the pitching match-up for this one Sunday, look for a much different result. Antonio Senzatela gets the call for the Rockies and he is off a solid start but he pitched in cold weather conditions which certainly worked in his favor against the hitters. Now he is pitching on a warm afternoon in Denver with the temperatures possibly reaching the 80 degree mark. The ball will be carrying very well at Coors Field and these are the type of days we often see games top out in the 15 to 18 run range in Colorado. Look for a wild one. Though Senzatela's most recent start stayed under the total, the over was 6-1 in his 7 prior starts. Though he allowed just 2 earned runs in 6 innings in that outing, Senzatela was fortunate as he allowed 9 hits in those six frames! Prior to that outing, Senzatela had compiled an 8.69 ERA in his 4 prior starts! The Blue Jays will have Aaron Sanchez on the mound and the right-hander conditions to have trouble with blister issues on the fingers of his throwing hand. The over is 5-1 in the last 6 road start Sanchez has made. The Toronto righty has allowed 18 hits in the 10 innings spanning his last 3 starts away from home. Sanchez has a 5.29 ERA in his last 6 starts overall. The over is on a 32-17 run in Blue Jays interleague games. The over is 20-9 in Rockies games when they are off a win this season. 8* OVER the total in Colorado

Game of the Week - Rickenbach Rotation #969 Saturday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Angels Money Line (-) @ Seattle Mariners @ 7:15 ET - The Mariners got a tight 4-3 win in yesterday's game but only had 5 hits. Seattle has been struggling for an extended stretch while, prior to yesterday's loss, the Angels have been heating up and also remain hot at the plate. Los Angeles is hitting .291 in their past 7 games while the Mariners are hitting just .242 in their last 7 games. Prior to the defeat yesterday, LA had won 5 of their last 6 games and they had scored an average of 7.8 runs per game in their 5 prior games. The Mariners, prior to yesterday's win, had lost 9 of their past 10 games and had scored an average of only 3.6 runs per game in their last 9 games. The Angels hold a key match-up edge in this battle of southpaws as Seattle starting pitcher Tommy Milone has a rough history against LA. In his last 3 starts against the Angels, Milone has allowed 16 earned runs in just 8 and 2/3 innings! As for Los Angeles starter Andrew Heaney, he has a solid 3.60 ERA in his last 3 starts against Seattle while recording 19 strikeouts in 20 innings. In road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs, the Angels are 43-28 (+$23,000). In home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs, the Mariners are 20-27 (DOWN $12,000). Keep in mind, Seattle started this season 13-2. That means that the Mariners entered yesterday's action on an 11-33 (25%) run! The M's are 1-6 the last 7 times they were off a win. With this line in a "pick'em" price range, huge value is being offered on the road favorite. 10* LOS ANGELES ANGELS

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #967 Saturday 8* OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Kansas City Royals @ 4:05 ET - The Rangers Lance Lynn is off back to back strong starts against the Mariners including one at home. However, prior to that solid outing against Arlington, Lynn had struggled at home this season. In his first 3 home starts of the season, Lynn was rocked for 14 earned runs on 25 hits in 17 and 1/3 innings. On a warm afternoon at Globe Life Park in Arlington the ball will be carrying very well. The Royals will have Homer Bailey on the mound for this one. The KC right-hander is off a respectable (albeit short) outing against the White Sox in his most recent start. However, prior to that, he had allowed 4 earned runs or more in 4 of his 6 previous starts. That included getting roughed up for 6 runs (5 earned) in just 4 and 1/3 innings recently. That was at Kansas City and Bailey now faces them at Texas where their lineup tends to be even tougher on opposing pitchers. The over, prior to the White Sox game, was on a 4-1 run in Bailey's starts. The over is 26-16 this season in Royals games against right-handed starters. Kansas City is now off back to back unders but they haven't had 3 straight unders in over two weeks. This game belongs to the hitters! 8* OVER the total in Texas

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #901 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 7:05 ET - These teams scored a bunch of runs early yesterday and then also got to the bullpens later. That is not a surprise as the Pirates bullpen has been among the worst in the majors this season while the Brewers rank only in the middle of the pack. With that said, a repeat today (and another high-scoring game) is quite likely. Of course same bullpens involved and Friday also features two struggling starting pitchers. Jhoulys Chacin gets the call for the Brewers and Chris Archer gets the call for the Pirates. The Pittsburgh right-hander has not lasted more than 5 innings in any of his last 5 starts and he has compiled an 8.74 ERA during this stretch. The Milwaukee right-hander has a 6.30 ERA in his last two starts and has allowed 15 hits in the 10 innings spanning those two outings. The over is 11-2-1 in the Pirates last 14 games after last night's game soared over the total. In the month of May, only 6 of Pittsburgh's 28 games have gone over the total. In home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs, the Pirates are 4-0 to the over this season. The Bucs have scored 5 or more runs in 5 of their last 6 games. The Brewers have scored an average of 6.4 runs per game in their last 7 games. Also, the weather conditions are projected to be favorable at PNC Park on Friday evening. All signs point to another game getting to double digits in runs here. 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #955 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 3:10 ET - It has been a very cool May in Denver but temperatures today will rise to near 70 degrees and hitter-friendly Coors Field also sees the ball carry even better in day games! This one starts at 1 PM local time and should involve plenty of fireworks from both lineups. The Diamondbacks Taylor Clarke is a rookie right-hander whom will be making his first ever start at Coors Field. More often than not rookies get pummeled in their first experience here. I feel this is especially likely with Clarke because he has faced the Giants and Rays in his only two MLB starts. Both those teams in the bottom third of the majors for runs scored this season. Now Clarke faces a Rockies team that is #1 in the majors for scoring at home as they average 6.0 runs per game in games played in Denver. The issue for Colorado today is their own starting pitcher is likely to struggle too. Kyle Freeland is having a very rough season. The Rockies southpaw has an 8.65 ERA in home starts this season. Those 5 outings are 4-1 to the over and that included Freeland getting pummeled by these same Diamondbacks for 8 earned runs in 6 innings earlier this month. He allowed 3 homers in that start and also allowed 2 homers in his most recent home start as well. Freeland was pounded by the Orioles in that start and I look for more big hits in this one as his struggles continue against a divisional foe whose lineup is very familiar with his offerings! The over is 13-6-2 in Arizona's games against left-handed starters this season. The over is 11-6-1 in Rockies day games this season. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #952 Thursday 8* Philadelphia Phillies Money Line (-) vs St Louis Cardinals @ 1:05 ET - Getting the Phillies at a pick'em price on their home field is an absolute bargain here. We're getting some value because Jerad Eickhoff has struggled recently on the mound, Odubel Herrera is suspended, and Bryce Harper might get a day of rest today. Lets review each of those factors in reverse order. If Harper does rest today after fouling a ball off his foot in yesterday's game it is not a big deal. He has needed rest and the Phillies are still loaded up and down their lineup with dangerous hitters and many have been saying Harper needs a day off. Herrera is having a sub-par season and, in the opinion of many in Philadelphia, there is a silver lining here as they have needed to get rid of him. Herrera has not impressed this season. As for Eickhoff, though he has struggled recently he absolutely dominated the Cardinals earlier this month and that was his 5th start of the season. At that point he had a 1.50 ERA. Eickhoff, at home and facing a St Louis team he dominated, absolutely can get back in the win column here. The pitcher to be concerned about here is the Cardinals Dakota Hudson. He got rocked by the Phillies earlier this month, he is getting hit at a nearly .300 clip on the season, and Hudson's strikeout numbers are down in recent starts. With the Phillies blowout win yesterday, they have won 5 of their last 6 and 9 of their last 12. The Cardinals have lost 18 of their last 25 games. I fully understand the market move for the reasons noted above. But, for sharps, that simply means even more value on what should prove to be the "right side" in this one. 8* PHILADELPHIA

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #901 Wednesday 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 12:35 ET - There are thunderstorms rolling through the Cincinnati area this morning but they should get this game in today even if the start time is a little delayed. The situation, in my opinion, is too strong to pass up on even with the potential risk of rain. With yesterday's 11-6 Reds win, the over is now 6-0-1 in Cincinnati's last 7 games and 10-1-1 in the Pirates last 12 games. Both teams have been hitting the ball very well over the past week and two struggling starting pitchers are slated to take the mound for this one. Pittsburgh southpaw Steven Brault has a 9.39 ERA and 3 homers allowed in his two starts this season. Cincinnati right-hander Anthony DeSclafani has a 9.25 ERA in his last 3 starts and has allowed 3 homers in EACH of his last two starts! Also, DeSclafani has struggled against the Pirates going 0-3 and allowing a total of 5 homers in his last 3 starts against Pittsburgh. He did not get past the 5th inning in any of those 3 starts. The Reds bullpen has been strong this season but has had some sub-par efforts recently. As for the Pirates bullpen they rank as one of the worst in the National League with a 4.92 ERA thus far on the year. Only 5 of Pittsburgh's 26 games so far this month have resulted in an under! Temperatures are expected to get into the 80s in Cincy today with the wind blowing out toward left at a rather strong clip. Great American Ball Park plays out very well for hitters in conditions like these and this is particularly true in day games here. 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati 

Total of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #977 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Chicago Cubs @ 8:10 ET - Yesterday's series opener went over the total and that snapped a stretch for the Astros that had seen them trending under in a big way. I wouldn't be surprised to now see Houston trending toward the over for a bit. Based on the pitching match-up today it looks great for another over. The Cubs are starting Jon Lester and he is struggling badly. The veteran southpaw has allowed 12 runs (9 earned) in just 8 and 1/3 innings spanning his last two starts. Also, the Chicago lefty has been hit very hard and has allowed 34 hits in the 21 innings spanning his last 4 starts. In the first two starts of this 4-game stretch Lester managed to escape damage but, as expected, the fact he has become very hittable has caught up to him as he has been rocked in his last two starts. As for Astros starter Corbin Martin, he had a great MLB debut but has struggled ever since. In his last two starts Martin has been fortunate he has not allowed even more earned runs than he has because he has struggled badly. The young right-hander has given up 11 hits plus walked 5 in just 7 and 1/3 innings spanning his last two starts. The Cubs have gone over the total in 6 straight games and 9 of their last 11 games! Chicago has averaged scoring 6 runs per game during this strong stretch at the plate. Even though Kris Bryant is likely out again today, Jason Heyward is expected to be back in the lineup today. Keep in mind both missed yesterday's game and it still flew over the total. As for the Astros sticks, they should enjoy facing Lester as lets not forget he got hit at a .303 clip after the All Star break last year and he is showing signs those struggles have carried into this year. He has been hit at well over a .300 clip in his last 4 starts. Also, though the Astros pen has been a strength this season, the Cubs pen has blown 11 of 21 save opportunities! 10* OVER the total in Houston

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #957 Tuesday 8* OVER the total in Atlanta Braves vs Washington Nationals @ 7:20 ET - Many will look for a pitchers duel here but, in typical contrarian fashion, I am on the other side of this one and will take advantage of the low total posted on this game. While it is true that Stephen Strasburg has great numbers in his recent starts this month, it is also true that the Braves have given him trouble. He is 0-2 in his last two starts against Atlanta and both were last summer. In those two outings against the Braves, Strasburg gave up 10 runs (9 earned) in 11 and 1/3 innings of work. Now as for the other side of this pitching match-up, it is also true that Max Fried has been pitching well not only this month but truly this entire season. However, the southpaw now faces the team that is leading the National League in team batting average (.292) against left-handed pitching this season. Now lets talk about the bullpens. The Nationals bullpen has the worst ERA in all of baseball this season as they have an EAR north of 7 on the year which is scary bad of course! As for the Braves bullpen, they haven't been much better and this is particularly true at home where Atlanta's bullpen has a 5.11 ERA this season. It will be a hot and steamy day in Atlanta today and the ball should be jumping off the bats this evening! The Nationals had a rare under yesterday after going 8-3 to the over in their 11 prior games. The Braves were off yesterday and they are 7-0-1 to the over this season when playing after a day off. More of the same expected here. 8* OVER the total in Atlanta

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #915 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Cleveland Indians @ 4:05 ET - Rick Porcello has been pitching surprisingly well for Boston. However, the Red Sox right-hander faces a tough match-up here as the Indians gave him some trouble last season. Also, it will be a warm afternoon at Fenway Park this afternoon and the wind direction is a little uncertain as of early this morning but there are some forecast models showing it could be blowing out toward left field at a decent clip. With mild temperatures an afternoon game at Fenway Park can get quite crazy and, long-term, Porcello is known for giving up the long ball. The Indians, overall, have struggled at the plate for much of this season but this is a favorable match-up for them. Porcello has struggled more against lefties this season and he also has been roughed up in day games this year. Of course this is an afternoon game and, also, the Indians lineup is loaded with left-handed bats and switch-hitters. As for the Cleveland pitcher in this one, Jefry Rodriguez will be facing the Red Sox for the first time in his career. I don't expect it to go well at all. The right-hander is 0-2 in his last two starts and he allowed 3 homers in these outings plus gave up 4 earned runs in each outing. He's facing a Boston lineup that is known for pounding the ball when at home. Look for the over to improve to 5-1 this season in Cleveland's Monday games. I am well aware that Rodriguez starts have trended under all season long but there is a reason this total will get steamed today by the sharps. Its all about the match-ups! Look for the over to improve to 9-2 in Porcello's starts this season. 10* OVER the total in Boston

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #909 Monday 8* OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Detroit Tigers @ 1:05 ET - The Orioles are 7-0 to the over in their last 7 games. The Tigers are off an under yesterday in which they were held to just 3 runs but they entered that game having averaged a dozen hits per game over their 4 prior games. In all 4 of those games Detroit reached double digits in hits. The fact is that the two starting pitchers in this game are unlikely to pitch deep into this one and this match-up also features the two worst bullpens in the American League. The Tigers pen has a 5.48 ERA and the Orioles pen has a 6.09 ERA so far this season. Detroit starter Daniel Norris was knocked out in the 3rd inning in his lone start at Camden Yards last year. Baltimore starter Gabriel Ynoa will be making his first start since 2017 when he takes the mound to get this one underway today. Ynoa has pitched in 28 games (7 starts) at the MLB level and he has compiled a 5.09 ERA and been hit at a .303 clip. In other words, it is unlikely he is going to come up big in this start! The over is 16-8-1 in Orioles home games this season. As for Norris' outings, there have only been 2 unders in his last 6 starts. The Tigers southpaw averages only 5 and 1/3 innings per starts. Ynoa is not use to starting either. That means plenty of the two worst bullpens in the AL should be seen in this game also. 8* OVER the total in Baltimore

Total of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #979 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Baltimore Orioles @ 3:10 ET - The Rockies are starting German Marquez here and, like most Colorado pitchers, he is much better on the road than we he is at home. In his starts at Coors Field, Marquez got hit at .284 clip last season while compiling a 4.74 ERA. This season the numbers are even uglier as the Rockies right-hander has been hit at a .339 clip and compiled a 5.34 ERA in his starts at Coors Field. The over is a perfect 6-0 in the Orioles last 6 games and they have scored an average of 6 runs per game during this stretch. The over is 5-1 in the Rockies last 6 games and they have scored an average of 6.5 runs per game during this stretch. Coming off a 9-6 loss yesterday, look for the Colorado sticks to jump all over David Hess. The Baltimore right-hander leads the majors in home runs allowed and now makes his first ever start at Coors Field. This is not a good scenario for Hess! This is particularly true on a warm afternoon in Denver with low humidity as the ball is likely to be jumping off the bats. Hess is 1-6 with a 6.75 ERA this season and he has allowed 17 homers in 10 games (9 starts). Last year Hess went 1-7 with a 5.20 ERA on the road. Hess had a 6.06 ERA pre-all star break last year and is struggling even more in the first half of this season. A trip to Coors Field certainly is unlikely to result in improvement for him. Last but certainly not least, the Orioles bullpen ranks as the worst in the American League. The Rockies bullpen, as you would expect, struggles more at home where they have an ugly 5.47 ERA on the season. In other words, runs early often and throughout this matinee affair at Coors Field. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #956 Sunday 8* UNDER the total in Milwaukee Brewers vs Philadelphia Phillies @ 2:10 ET - This one has the makings of a pitchers duel. The Phillies Zach Eflin has allowed 1 earned run or less in 4 of his last 5 starts. The Brewers Brandon Woodruff has allowed a total of just 5 earned runs in his last 5 starts and that has spanned 30 innings of work! This included shutting Philadelphia for 6 innings of shutout work at Citizens Bank Park earlier this month. As for Eflin, the only tough start he has had in his last 5 outings did come against Milwaukee but he pitched better than 4 earned runs in 5 innings would lead you to believe. He struck out 7 in 5 innings and will be on top of his game for the rematch. Keep in mind, the Brewers have been held to 4 runs or less in 5 of their last 6 games. In fact, in those 5 games Milwaukee has averaged only 2.4 runs per game. Look for this battle to result in the 5th under in the Brewers last 7 games. The Phillies bullpen ranks among the best in the majors on the season and I don't expect the Brewers bullpen to be needed much in this one with the way Woodruff has been pitching recently. Pitchers duel at Miller Park. 8* UNDER the total in Milwaukee

NOTE: Pitching change expected with Robbie Erlin now likely to go for the Padres instead of Chris Paddack. I still like San Diego in this match-up for a Top Play. This will likely turn this one into a "bullpen game" for San Diego and, as noted below, San Diego has the bullpen edge as well as the hitting edge in this match-up and I look for the hotter team to prevail here as Marcus Stroman's tough month of May resumes! ORIGINAL ANALYSIS: Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Rotation #975 Sunday 10* Top Play San Diego Padres Money Line (-) @ Toronto Blue Jays @ 1:05 ET - The Padres are the hotter team overall, have been the hotter team at the plate, have the hotter starting pitcher, and the better bullpen. That said, I won't hesitate to lay the manageable price here on the road and elevate this one to my highest rating. San Diego is in the -125 money line range here and that is a bargain considering the Padres slugging percentage of .515 over the past 7 days lays shame to the Blue Jays paltry .190 batting average over the same time span. The fact is that San Diego is hot and Toronto is not and it certainly goes beyond the hitters as well. The Padres are starting rookie phenom Chris Paddack and he has been a model of consistency so far this season. His Padres are 14-10 away from home this season and the Blue Jays are now 9-18 at home on the season and yet there is automatically home shading in in this money line because that is simply how baseball is priced. In other words, if this game was at San Diego the Padres would likely be at least a -175 favorite and yet they are in the -125 range even though they have been better on the road than at home and despite the fact that the Blue Jays have been worse at home than on the road! That is the ultimate definition of value and Paddack has a 1.93 ERA through his first nine starts with San Diego and that is the lowest ERA ever in Padres history for a starting pitcher through his first 9 starts! Marcus Stroman gets the call for the Blue Jays and though he deserves better than his 2-6 record, the fact is that he has struggled badly in the month of May. He was pitching much better earlier this season but has a 4.78 ERA this month which could easily be worse as Stroman has been knocked around at a .315 clip by opposing hitters! The Padres have won 5 straight and Toronto has lost 4 straight and all signs point to those trends continuing here. 10* SAN DIEGO

Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #919 Saturday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (+) @ Cleveland Indians @ 4:10 ET - The Rays gave up two runs in the bottom of the 8th to lose last night's game. I fully expect them to bounce right back today. Tampa Bay is still 16-8 on the road this season and that gives them the 2nd best road record in the majors this season. The Indians are one of the worst hitting teams in the majors and I expect Charlie Morton to enjoy plenty of success here. Yes, Morton is off a rare sub-par outing but the Rays right-hander simply made a few mistake pitches. He only allowed 4 hits in that start against the Yankees. In fact, Morton has allowed only 21 hits in his last 27 and 2/3 innings on the mound. On the season, Morton has held opponents to a .203 batting average! He'll be opposed by Carlos Carrasco and he has been roughed up in 3 of his last 5 starts. In those 3 outings (including 2 at home!), Carrasco has been rocked for 11 earned runs in 19 and 1/3 innings. Yes that equates to an ERA north of 5.00 and we're getting excellent line value with the road dog here. The Indians, even including yesterday's win, are still just 1-4 this season at home when the money line is +125 to -125. As for the Rays, they are 6-2 this season on the road when the money line is +125 to -125. Also, TB is a fantastic 12-5 this season when off a loss. Carrasco deserves respect but so does Morton and the latter is the more consistent of the two pitches. Couple that with the situational edge off a loss, the favorable money line as an underdog, and having the better hitting team on our side and this one is a top play situation. 10* TAMPA BAY

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #902 Saturday MLB 6* Chicago Cubs Money Line (-) vs Cincinnati Reds @ 2:20 ET - As long-time followers know, I rarely lay much juice in money line sports. Generally I play mostly totals, small favorites, and underdogs. Certainly you will never see me laying crazy 2 to 1 odds and planning to win long-term in doing so. That said, this one is in a very reasonable price range (-145) and I am reducing my rating to a 6* here so I can take advantage of this situation. The Cubs blew a 4-0 lead yesterday. Then, after allowing the game to get tied up at 4 they took the lead in the bottom of the 8th only to relinquish the lead (and eventually the game) in the top of the 9th as they lost 6-5. That puts the Cubs in bounce back mode here and I like a couple of key factors here in addition to the bounce back spot. The wind is expecting to be blowing out today and the Cubs have the much more potent lineup in comparison with the Reds. Also, the Reds Tyler Mahle has been doing a decent job of piling up strikeouts but the Cubs Yu Darvish has strikeout numbers of late that are "off the charts" good! The fact is that the ball can't be driven out of the yard if contact is not made. That said, advantage Cubs in this one! Darvish has struck out 25 in his last 15 and 1/3 innings overall and that included dominating the Reds on the 15th of this month. Cincinnati's Mahle struck out a modest 5 in 6 innings in his start last week. Also, he struck out only 4 in 6 and 2/3 innings in his most recent start against the Cubs. Chicago is off back to back losses and they have not lost three straight games since early April! Even including yesterday's win, Cincinnati is only 6-14 in day games this season and only 7-13 in divisional games this season. Also, the Reds are 0-7 in Mahle's road starts this season! Look for the Cubs to improve to 10-3 this season when they are a home favorite in a range of -125 to -175 on the money line. 6* CHICAGO CUBS

Game of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #966 Friday 10* Top Play Minnesota Twins Run Line -1.5 runs vs Chicago White Sox @ 8:10 ET - The White Sox are very popular in the market place right now because everyone just witnessed them winning back to back games over the might Astros in Houston. Chicago wrapped up the 4-game series split with a 4-0 win last night. However, the White Sox and Reynaldo Lopez are being vastly overvalued here. Now, of course, I am not laying the money line on this game (-200 range) but we can get the Twins in the -105 or -110 range here simply by being willing to lay the 1.5 runs on the run line. I won't hesitate as I sense a home blowout in this game. Chicago's Lopez has struggled on the road all season. The White Sox right-hander has been hit at a .328 clip in his 3 road starts this season! It is not a fluke as last season he went 4-7 with a 4.20 ERA away from home. The prior season, in limited action, he had a 6.75 ERA in his 3 road starts. As for the Twins Jose Berrios, he is known for dominating at home. He is 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his home start this season. The prior two seasons he went 18-5 with a 2.79 ERA in home starts! Yes indeed he is 22-6 in his last 28 decisions at home. The White Sox have been strong the past two games but, prior to this, they scored an average of only 1.9 runs per game in going 2-5 their previous 7 games! As for the Twins, they are one of the hottest teams in MLB as they are 8-1 their last 9 games and have scored an average of 8.8 runs per game in those 9 games. The White Sox are 3-8 when off a shutout win. Minnesota is 20-4 as a home favorite in a money line range of -175 to -250.  The Twins also are 29-11 against right-handed starters this season. Note that 21 of the 26 losses Chicago has this season have come by 2 or more runs. For the Twins, 25 of their 33 wins this season have come by 2 or more runs. Lay the -1.5 runs! 10* MINNESOTA RUN LINE

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #975 Friday 8* OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs San Diego Padres @ 7:05 ET - The Blue Jays are coming off a 4 game set against the Red Sox in which there was not a single under. The high-scoring trend should continue here as Toronto hands the ball to Trent Thornton for this start. The right-hander has struggled in his starts at Rogers Centre and has a 9.00 ERA in his last four starts in Toronto. The Blue Jays have scored an average of 5 runs per game their last 7 games. They'll be facing the Padres Joey Lucchesi. The San Diego southpaw has struggled on the road this season. Lucchesi has given up 13 runs (12 earned) in his 13 and 1/3 innings away from home on the year. San Diego's most recent road game stayed under the total but, prior to that, the over over was on a 4-1 run in Padres road games. San Diego was off yesterday and the over is 4-1-1 this season when the Padres are playing after an off day. 8* OVER the total in Toronto

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #953 Friday 8* OVER the total in Washington Nationals vs Miami Marlins @ 7:05 ET - Miami is really hot right now and rallied for a 5-2 win at Detroit yesterday. The Marlins have won 6 straight games and have scored an average of 5 runs per game during this hot streak. They should have no trouble with the offerings of Kyle McGowin as the Nationals right-hander has very little MLB experience and is only making this start because the pitching-thin Nationals are dealing with injuries. Speaking of pitching-thin, the Washington bullpen blew yet another game yesterday and their bullpen ERA ranks them dead last in the majors. Of course those bullpen struggles should also help this game get over the total as McGowin is unlikely to work deep into this game. The Nationals are 6-2 to the over in their last 8 games. The Nats did score 4 runs in yesterday's loss and Washington is now back home where they have scored 5 or more runs in 5 straight games! The struggling pitching has led to the Nationals allowed 5 or more runs in 9 of their last 11 games and in 8 of those 9 games the Nats allowed 6 or more runs. The Marlins Pablo Lopez is unlikely to slow down the Nationals as he has allowed at least 4 earned runs in 4 of his 5 road starts this season. 8* OVER the total in Washington