Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Philadelphia Phillies vs Washington Nationals @ 7:05 ET - I am well aware of the fact that the Nationals just clinched home field in the NLDS yesterday. However, I am also aware that Bryce Harper is coming back and even if he does not end up being in the lineup tonight, Washington is getting a boost with the good news that Harper is back. Ryan Zimmerman is also expected to be back in the lineup for the Nats Monday. Though they've clinched their playoff position these top hitters need to be in top form as the post-season approaches so don't be surprised if the Nationals are fielding a strong lineup tonight. Although Aaron Nola has been fantastic for the Phillies, he has given up 20 hits in his 16 and 1/3 innings versus Washington this season. Also, the Nationals are starting AJ Cole whom allowed 10 baserunners in 6 innings (6 hits and 4 walks) in his lone start at Philly this season. Also, when Cole faced the Phils last season he gave up 4 earned runs in 5 innings. The right-hander has a 1.74 WHIP in his road starts this season so his ERA away from home could easily be much higher than it is. The Phillies are off of a shutout win and in the 25 times they've been off of a shutout win the past 3 seasons combined, they've had just 9 unders. Odds makers had this total set at a 9 for a reason and the markets have pushed it down. I'll take advantage of the added value now being offered. 10* OVER the total in Philadelphia

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Monday MLB 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Kansas City Royals @ 1:05 ET - Jakob Junis gets the start for the Royals. Though he has pitched very well, his road ERA (4.50) is a full run higher than his home ERA. Also, he has been hit at a .287 clip by left-handed hitters this season. That is significant here because it is likely that more than half of the Yankees lineup today will have guys stepping into the left-hand batters box. Certainly the Yankees also have some dangerous hitters on the right-hand side of the plate as well. Although Junis has a low ERA since the All Star break, he has been getting hit harder this month. He has been hit at a .284 clip in September and, in his first 3 starts this month he allowed 22 hits in 17 innings! The Royals rookie will be opposed by veteran southpaw C.C. Sabathia. The Yankees left-hander has a home ERA (4.55) that is nearly a run and half higher than his road ERA. Also, in the month of September Sabathia has been hit at a .308 clip. The over is 7-3 in the Yankees last 10 games and they've averaged scoring 6.3 runs per game during this stretch. The Royals got throttled 8-1 yesterday but they had averaged scoring 7.5 runs per game in their 4 prior games. Those KC games went 3-1 to the over and I expect the hot hitting to resume here. Warm afternoon in the Bronx means the ball will carry very well here. Won't be surprised to see a slugfest break out in this one. 8* OVER the total in the New York Yankees game

ESPN Smash Pass Top Play - Rickenbach MLB 10* OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Los Angeles Angels @ 8:05 ET - The Astros Lance McCullers has not been healthy for some time now. He has only made one start since late July and it was not "smooth" to say the least. Overall, McCullers has an 8.40 ERA in his last 3 starts and, as he is trying to work out the kinks before the post-season I would not be surprised to see him struggle against a solid Angels lineup. While it is true that McCullers has been solid against the Angels in recent meetings, this situation is different with him "tuning up" for the post-season and truly not 100% healthy. As for the Los Angeles starter, Tyler Skaggs, he recently faced the Astros and enjoyed success. However, that start was at home and now he faces them in Houston and I look for the Astros to enjoy success in what is a quick "second look" at Skaggs. Note that the Angels southpaw is winless in his 7 road starts this season. The over is 17-5 in Astros Sunday games this season and I look for another one here. Even though Skaggs gave up just 2 earned runs in his most recent start he only struck out 1 while allowing 8 hits in just 5 and 1/3 innings. In other words, he was quite hittable and wasn't missing many bats. Look for more of the same here. 10* OVER the total in Houston

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 8* OVER the total in Oakland A's vs Texas Rangers @ 4:05 ET - This play embarrassed me yesterday as the game ended up being a 1-0 final. I'll come right back with it today and you can expect much different results in this one. This is an afternoon game and it will be quite warm this afternoon in Oakland with the wind blowing out to right field as well. As for the pitchers, the Rangers Martin Perez has a 5.40 ERA and has been hit at a .314 clip in day games this season. The A's Jharel Cotton has a 3-2 record since the All-Star break but note that he has a 6.85 ERA in those 9 starts and has been hit at a .293 clip during this stretch. The point is that both these pitchers are likely to struggle in this one. I know the Rangers bats haven't been getting the job done lately but Cotton has allowed 7 homers in his last 14 innings and he'll bring out the best in them today. Also, the A's bats (prior to yesterday) had certainly been red hot at home with averaging 8 runs per game in their 8 home games this month (prior to yesterday's 1-0 win). Look for the over to improve to 16-8 in A's home games this season. 8* OVER the total in Oakland

NOTE: Raul Alcantara now getting the start for Oakland. This is still a play for me and it still a 10* Top Play. Alcantara is 1-4 with an 8.03 ERA in his 11 MLB appearances including 7 starts. MLB hitters have hit .305 against him in his career and this year in the minors (AAA level) Alcantara was hit at a .273 clip and mostly worked out of the bullpen. He certainly fits the bill as an "emergency starter" whom I am happy to fade. Game on! Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Oakland A's vs Texas Rangers @ 9:05 ET - Sean Manaea gets the start for the A's. The Oakland southpaw has given up 10 runs (8 earned) on 17 hits in the 8 and 2/3 innings spanning his last two starts. Also, against the Rangers, Manaea has given up 13 runs (12 earned) in the 16 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts versus Texas. The Rangers will have a pitching "concern" of their own in this one as Miguel Gonzalez gets the start for Texas. The Rangers right-hander has given up 7 earned runs in 10 and 2/3 innings spanning his two starts at Oakland in his career. Also, Gonzalez has a 10.45 ERA and a 1.94 WHIP in his last 3 starts. Yesterday's game easily stayed under the total but the over had been 6-1 in Oakland's last 7 home games. The fact is that the A's have been hitting the ball very well at home. The Athletics have won 6 straight home games and they've averaged scoring 8 runs per game in their 8 home games this month! The over is 44-29 in Oakland's home games this season. Also, when off of a win, the A's are 42-26 to the over this season! 10* OVER the total in Oakland

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 8* OVER the total in Chicago White Sox vs Kansas City Royals @ 7:10 ET - Danny Duffy had a great outing at Cleveland in his first start since coming off of the disabled list. However, he now faces a team that has given him all sorts of trouble this season. Duffy has given up 17 earned runs in his 16 innings versus the White Sox spanning his last 3 starts against them. As for the ChiSox starter tonight, Dylan Covey get the call. He is 0-6 with an 8.23 ERA as a starter this season. In his last two starts against the Royals, Covey has been rocked for 10 earned runs in 12 and 1/3 innings! You can see why I am expecting another wild one tonight after last night's 7-6 Chicago win. Also, temperatures in the 80s (very warm for late September in Chicago) means it will be another very hitter-friendly inning on Saturday. As a road favorite of -125 to -175, Kansas City is 6-1 to the over this season and an incredible 21-7 to the over the last 3 seasons combined! 8* OVER the total in Chicago White Sox

Contrarian Game of the Year - Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs New York Yankees @ 7:05 ET - This is a contrarian play because, on the surface, this would appear to have potential to be a pitchers duel. Of course that is also why this total dropped from a 9 to an 8.5 which is also why there is exceptional line value on the over in this one. The Yankees are sending Masahiro Tanaka to the mound. The over is 10-4 in his road starts this season as Tanaka has compiled a 6.14 ERA away from home. Tanaka's most recent start at Toronto, early last month, saw him walk 5 in just 4 innings of work as his road struggles continued. Tanaka also has given up 3 homers in his last 3 starts against the Blue Jays and he enters this start having allowed 3 homers in his last 2 starts overall. The Jays got shutout yesterday and the over is 3-1 the last 4 times that Toronto has been held to 1 run or less in their prior game. Also, the Blue Jays had averaged 6 runs per game in their last 4 games prior to yesterday's tough day at the plate. The Jays will send Marco Estrada to the mound for this one. The Toronto right-hander had a strong outing when he last faced the Yankees but, in his two prior starts versus the Yanks (also this season), he allowed a total of 13 earned runs in just 8 and 1/3 innings. New York got to him for a pair of homers in each of those starts. Also, Estrada enters this start having allowed 3 homers in his last 3 starts. The Yankees sticks are heating up again as they've won 10 of their last 12 games. The Yanks have averaged scoring 7 runs per game in their last 11 games! Estrada has hit a recent "under" stretch in his last 3 starts but, prior to that, the Blue Jays were 11-4 to the over in his 15 prior starts and now Estrada is facing a lineup that has given him some problems this season! Of course that is why the Yankees are priced significantly as a road favorite here and note that the over is 34-21 the last 55 times the Yanks have been a road fave in the -125 to -175 range. 10* OVER the total in Toronto

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Detroit Tigers vs Minnesota Twins @ 7:10 ET - The Tigers Jordan Zimmerman has given up 30 hits in 15 innings while compiling a 9.00 ERA in his last 3 starts. The Twins Adalberto Mejia has allowed 19 hits in 10 innings while compiling a 9.00 ERA in his last 3 starts. Also, Zimmerman has a 13.11 ERA in his 3 starts versus Minnesota this season. As you would expect, all 3 of those starts went over the total. Also, the over was 4-0 in Detroit's 4 games prior to yesterday's low-scoring match-up with Oakland. The over is 14-3 this season in Tigers Thursday games. Detroit is also 43-23 to the over this season when they enter a game on a losing streak of 3 games or more. The Twins are on a long-term run of 120-83 to the over in their games against teams with a losing record. More of the same expected here. 10* OVER the total in Detroit

Contrarian Crusher Day Game - Rickenbach MLB 10* Top Play Los Angeles Angels Money Line (+) vs Cleveland Indians @ 4:05 ET - The Indians have been so hot that, of course, it may seem "crazy" to go against them but there is a key pitching edge here. Not only do we have home field edge here we've also got an Angels team that has gone 15-2 in Parker Bridwell's starts this season. Another edge here is the fact that Bridwell has never started against the Indians. That said, Cleveland's lineup lacks familiarity with him. The Angels have seen plenty of Danny Salazar, although not this season, and the Indians right-hander comes into this one struggling. Salazar has given up 10 earned runs in 5 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 2 starts! The only loss the Indians have over the last 4 weeks came with Salazar on the mound and I expect another one here. As for Bridwell, the Angels have won 12 of his last 13 starts! LA has lost 3 straight but they are 9-3 this season when they enter a game on a losing streak of 3 games or more and I love the home dog value here. 10* LOS ANGELES ANGELS money line

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 8* OVER the total in Philadelphia Phillies vs Los Angeles Dodgers @ 1:05 ET - The Phillies have won 8 of 11 games and this young team is playing with a ton of confidence as a result. In their last 12 games, Philadelphia has averaged 5.8 runs per game. Though Kenta Maeda gets plenty of respect - well deserved I might add - Philadelphia hasn't cared who they are facing of late. They've been pounding out big hits including the first ever grand slam Clayton Kershaw had allowed in his career. Note that Maeda has allowed 2 homers in a game twice in his last 3 starts overall and also twice in his last 3 starts versus the Phillies. As for the Phils Mark Leiter, he knows all about trouble stemming from the long ball. He has allowed 2 homers in a game in each of his last 3 starts! Overall, Leiter has a 9.39 ERA this month and I expect him to struggle again here as the Dodgers look to avoid the sweep. At the same time, Maeda will find this Phillies lineup to be operating at peak performance once again this afternoon as their power surge continues. The over is 11-5 this season when the Dodgers enter a game on a losing streak of 3 games or more. Also, the over is 13-4 in Thursday games for Los Angeles this season. 8* OVER the total in Philadelphia

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (+) vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:10 ET - The Rays will be facing a left-handed starter for the 3rd straight game and 8th time in 11 games! Before struggling against Montgomery last night, the Rays did have 30 hits total in their 3 prior games against a left-handed starter. The repetition will pay off as repetition generally leads to success. The fact that the Cubs Jon Lester has struggled some recently certainly increased the likelihood that the analogy holds true here. The Chicago southpaw has walked 4 in each of his past two starts as he has struggled with command of his pitches and, overall, has struggled with efficiency. Prior to these two outings, Lester's last 5 starts had seen him compile a 7.71 ERA. Though their chances are certainly slim, the Rays are still mathematically alive in the wild card race and they're not going to stop fighting. I like the fact that they have Blake Snell on the mound for this one. Snell is 3-1 with a 3.75 ERA since the All Star break. He has held hitters to a .233 batting average in those 11 starts. Also, the Rays southpaw has had just one bad start in his last 5 outings. In the other 4 starts Snell allowed a total of only 3 earned runs. TB is 6-2 in his last 8 starts. Even with yesterday's win, the Cubs are still just 9-13 in road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs this season. Grab the home dog with the starting pitcher whom is in better current form. 10* TAMPA BAY

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs St Louis Cardinals @ 7:10 ET - With last night's extra innings 8-7 Cardinals win, St Louis has averaged 7.8 runs per game in their last 5 games versus the Reds. The issue tonight for the Cards won't be their bats though. What will surprise some people is that the Cardinals Luke Weaver is likely to struggle. Don't get me wrong, the young hurler's performance has been solid this season no doubt. However, the key here is a little bit of a hidden nugget. He's facing the Reds for the 2nd time in a week and the significance in that is that when teams get a second look at a young, inexperience pitcher it often goes much differently in round 2 than it did in round 1. For Weaver, the 2nd time he faced Milwaukee this season he gave up 8 hits in 5 and 2/3 innings and the second time he faced Pittsburgh he gave up 7 hits in 5 and 2/3 innings. As you can see, there is plenty of reason to believe that the Reds will have a bit of a "hit parade" versus the Cardinals young pitcher tonight. I know his numbers are great this season but those numbers above don't lie and this is still a guy who went 1-4 with a 5.70 ERA in his rookie season last year. As for Reds starter Rookie Davis, he is 1-2 with a 7.71 ERA in his 5 starts at the MLB level this season. Even at the minor league level he was not impressive as he got hit at a .282 clip. With the Reds he has been hit at a .367 clip. You can see why I am expecting a slugfest in this one. 10* OVER in Cincinnati

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 8* Colorado Rockies Money Line (-) @ San Francisco Giants @ 3:45 ET - The Rockies, still battling to secure a playoff spot, are off of a tight one-run loss yesterday and I look for them to get revenge against the Giants this afternoon. Colorado will have Tyler Chatwood on the mound this afternoon and he has a fantastic 0.66 ERA in his 3 starts since returning to the rotation. The Rockies right-hander has a solid 3.41 ERA on the road this season and remember that last season he went 8-1 with a 1.69 ERA in starts away from home. Chatwood is a solid pitcher whose overall numbers get skewed because he pitches his home games at Coors Field. He has allowed just 7 earned runs in his last 44 innings versus San Francisco. That equates to a 1.43 ERA for Chatwood versus the Giants in his last 7 appearances against them. SF goes with Matt Moore in this one. The southpaw is coming off of another short outing and has had a rough season. The Rockies have actually given Moore a ton of trouble this season as the lefty has a 13.50 ERA versus Colorado on the year as he has been crushed in all 3 starts against them. I look for more of the same here and feel the Rockies are a bargain price here. They are the much better team and also have a huge pitching edge. 8* COLORADO

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 8* OVER the total in Miami Marlins vs New York Mets @ 1:10 ET - Yesterday's game just missed going over the total as the Mets bullpen (very poor on the road this season) caved in once again and blew a late lead. The starters pitched very well in yesterday's game but I don't expect a repeat of that here. The Mets have Rafael Montero on the mound for this one and he is getting hit at a .298 clip this season. Also, in day games this season Montero is 2-5 with a 5.77 ERA and has been hit at a .314 clip. In his last 11 and 2/3 innings versus the Marlins he has given up 21 hits! Miami will have Jose Urena on the mound here and he has lasted 5 and 1/3 innings or less in 5 of his last 7 starts. Overall, walks have been an issue in 3 of his last 4 starts and, in terms of his home starts, he has been hit hard in 3 of his last 4 in Miami. Prior to yesterday's under, the over was 10-1-1 in the Marlins last dozen games and the Mets were 13-5 to the over in their last 18 games. Look for the OVER trend to resume early this afternoon on Wednesday. New York is 46-27 to the over in road games this season. 8* OVER the total in Miami

Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs St Louis Cardinals @ 7:10 ET - The Reds are starting Jackson Stephens in this one. It will be his 2nd big league start and he allowed 3 earned runs in 5 innings against the Cubs in July in his only other MLB start. Though he has been pitching out of the bullpen (3 September appearances) and has had some success, there are a couple of keys as to why he is likely to get pounded here. One is that he just faced the Cardinals for 3 innings out of the bullpen last week. They'll now take advantage of getting a quick second look for him. Another edge for the Cards at the plate here is the simple fact that Stephens minor league numbers tell the full story. This season was his first above the AA level and he got rocked quite often. Stephens ended up with a 7-10 record, 4.92 ERA, and AAA hitters got to him to the tune of a .281 batting average against! The Cardinals are fighting to stay alive in the Wild Card race and they'll give him trouble here. As for the Cards starter, Jack Flaherty gets the call. He is winless with a 6.08 ERA in his 3 MLB starts and the most recent one was against Cincinnati. The Reds got to Flaherty for 3 earned runs in just 4 and 1/3 innings and now they get a quick second look at him. This time its at home where they are very dangerous at the plate. Flaherty has already thrown a lot of innings this season and this is the first year he has pitched above the single A level in the minors. Look for the Reds to jump all over him in this one. The over is 9-5 in Cincinnati's games after a day off. Also, the Reds are 15-4 to the over in Tuesday games this season. St Louis is 13-7 to the over when playing after a day off and the Cards are a solid 28-19 to the over in road games where the money line ranges from -125 to +125 for St Louis. 10* OVER the total in Cincinnati

Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 7:05 ET - This is the only pick I lost with yesterday but I'll come right back with it today. The teams combined for 18 hits in yesterday's game but only 3 runs. Look for a much different outcome today. Even though Chase Anderson has a low ERA on the season he did give up 7 hits in just 5 and 1/3 innings in his most recent start. That was against the Pirates so Pittsburgh is now getting a quick 2nd look at him here. Also, the Brewers right-hander has been hit hard in 2 of his last 3 road starts. Milwaukee is making a push for a playoff spot but the Pirates would love to play the role of spoiler. The Bucs will respond at the plate after getting shutout yesterday. The issue for Pittsburgh will be their starting pitcher, Trevor Williams, in this one. The Pirates right-hander has a 1.56 WHIP in his last 3 starts so he has been fortunate he has not given up more earned runs recently. That string of luck ends here as the Brewers have reached double digits in hits in 4 of their last 5 games and they pound him here. Look for the over to move to 5-1 in Milwaukee's last 6 games. 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 8* Boston Red Sox Money Line (-) @ Baltimore Orioles @ 7:05 ET - The Red Sox rallied from a big early deficit yesterday and won 10-8. That drops the Orioles to 2-10 in their last dozen games while Boston improves to 9-3 in their last 12 games. Not only is this a match-up of two teams going in different directions (Baltimore fading from playoff race and Boston getting closer to winning the division), the pitching match-up also favors the Red Sox in a big way. Drew Pomeranz has gone 13-3 with a 3.08 ERA in his night games this season. The Boston lefty has gone 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in his 3 starts versus the Orioles this season and the O's haven't seen him since early May which gives him a big edge here. As for Baltimore's Kevin Gausman, the Red Sox just saw him in Boston in late August. Though that was a successful outing for the Orioles right-hander, he has actually been worse at home compared to on the road this season. He has allowed 18 homers at home compared to just 9 on the road. Also, Gausman has a losing record at Camden Yards with a 5.03 ERA on the season. The Orioles are 34-46 this season in their games against teams with a winning record. The Red Sox are 40-27 in their games against teams with a losing record this season. In other words, the pick'em price is well worth it here! Also, the BoSox are an incredible 19-2 in Tuesday games this season while the Orioles are 9-13 in Tuesday games this season. That combines for a 32-11 mark faving the road team in this one. 8* BOSTON

Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Miami Marlins vs New York Mets @ 7:10 ET - A game between two teams out of playoff contention and two struggling starting pitchers matched up. I love these types of late season match-ups for overs and this one looks like a beauty. The Mets Matt Harvey has given up 18 hits in less than 10 innings of work spanning his last two starts versus the Marlins. The New York right-hander enters this start with a 12.20 ERA in the month of September and Harvey has been absolutely crushed in his two road starts. As for the Marlins Daniel Straily, he also is having a very rough time. Straily is 2-5 with a 5.74 ERA since the All-Star break. Also, the Miami right-hander has an 8.44 ERA in September and has allowed 29 hits in the 16 innings spanning his 3 starts this month. The over is 19-5 in Mets road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs this season. The over is 7-0 in the Marlins last 8 games (one push in there) and I look for their over streak to reach a perfect 8-0 here! 10* OVER the total in Miami

Rickenbach Monday MLB 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 7:05 ET - The Brewers are on a 4-0 run to the over. The Milwaukee bats are finally heating up again as they've scored an average of 7.4 runs per game in going 4-1 in their last 5 games. The Brewers have collected at least a dozen hits in 4 of their last 8 games. Milwaukee is 7-2 in their last 9 games thanks in part to an offense that has averaged 6.3 runs per game during this hot streak. The Brewers will take advantage of facing the Pirates Jameson Taillon whom gave up 6 earned runs in less than 5 innings in his most recent start. Overall, since the All-Star break, Taillon has a 7.11 ERA in his starts. The Brewers are starting Brent Suter here and the southpaw just faced Pittsburgh in his most recent start so the Pirates get a quick second look at him. Not only that, the left-hander is still working to get his pitch counts back up. Suter is returning from a rotator cuff injury. The Pirates did not hit well in their recent road trip but they're happy to be back home and they've got 10 hits in less than 8 innings spanning two Suter starts this season. Look for the over to improve to 5-0 in Milwaukee's last 5 games. 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Rickenbach Monday MLB 8* OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - The Orioles have gone over the total in 4 straight games. Baltimore starter Dylan Bundy allowed 5 earned runs in 4 innings in his most recent home start. Boston starter Doug Fister gave up 6 earned runs in 4 innings in his most recent start. The Red Sox have scored 6.3 runs per game in their last 10 games. The Orioles are off of a lengthy road trip but their last 3 home games have all gone over the total too. Overall, look for the over to make it 5-0 the L5 Orioles games. 8* OVER the total in Baltimore

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 8* Washington Nationals Money Line (-) vs Los Angeles Dodgers @ 8:05 ET - The Nationals are looking to avoid the sweep at the hands of the Dodgers and with ace Stephen Strasburg on the mound I look for them to do just that. The Nationals right-hander has pitched phenomenally well since coming off of the disabled list. He has allowed 0 earned runs while striking out 26 batters over 23 innings spanning his 3 most recent starts. Also, Strasburg held the Dodgers to just 1 earned run on only 3 hits in 6 innings at Los Angeles earlier this season. However, he took the tough loss as he was outdueled by Clayton Kershaw in that game. The good news for him here is that he faces a struggling Hyun-Jin Ryu instead of Dodgers staff ace Kershaw. Ryu has walked 8 in his last 10 innings. He also allowed 3 homers in his most recent road start. Also, the LA lefty gave up 4 earned runs and took the loss in his lone start versus the Nats this season. Long-time followers know that I play a lot of dogs and totals in MLB. Although this is a moderately priced favorite, this one is well worth the price as we have a huge pitching edge here. Keep in mind too that the Dodgers had lost 16 of their last 17 games prior to now finally catching a mini-run again with 4 straight wins. The Nationals are 22-8 in home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs this season. They are 19-6 in games started by Strasburg this season while the Dodgers are 4-7 in Ryu's 11 road starts this season. 8* WASHINGTON

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 8* OVER the total in Los Angeles Angels vs Texas Rangers @ 3:35 ET - Last night's game ended up being a pitchers duel and the Rangers were shutout for only the 5th time this season. So far this year Texas has gone 3-1 to the over when they are off of a shutout loss. Look for them to respond here against Garrett Richards. Though the Angels right-hander has good numbers he has seen limited action this season. Richards has made only 3 starts and, by the way, in his last 3 starts versus the Rangers he has given up 20 hits in less than 17 innings of work. The Rangers will do some damage with their bats here on a mild afternoon at Anaheim (ball carries better in day games than at night out west). However, the issue for Texas is that Miguel Gonzalez gets the start and he is 3-7 with a 5.49 ERA on the road this season. Also, he is winless in his last 3 starts and has compiled an 11.12 ERA in those outings. Gonzalez also has allowed 12 earned runs in 16 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts at Los Angeles. The over is 13-5-2 in the Rangers last 20 games and the Texas sticks respond this afternoon but the struggles of Gonzalez continue. 8* OVER the total in the Los Angeles Angels game

Ugly Beauty Top Play - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Philadelphia Phillies Money Line (-) vs Oakland A's @ 7:05 ET - What is an ugly beauty? Well the fact is that this is a beautiful situation but the game appears so ugly on the surface that no one will be paying attention to it. This is especially true on a football Saturday. An MLB match-up involving the worst road team against the worst home team is simply not going to get attention today and yet the value is there in a big way. The Phillies Ben Lively has a 2.57 ERA in his last 3 starts as he is making a case for next year's rotation. His low ERA is certainly no fluke as all 3 outings were away from home and yet he allowed only 16 hits in 21 innings of work while recording a solid 16 strikeouts. Lively should certainly outduel a struggling Kendall Graveman here. The A's right-hander has a 5.62 ERA in his last 3 starts. Also, Oakland has gone 1-6 in his road starts this season as Graveman has compiled a 6.75 ERA in his 7 starts away from home. Oakland got a rare road win yesterday but the Phillies had won 3 straight and 4 of their last 5 before being shutout yesterday. The A's are still just 23-49 in road games this season and the Phillies are 4 games above .500 the past 3 seasons combined when they are at home with a money line ranging from -125 to +125. Look for another big W here as Lively stays hot and the Phils bats get right back on track (had averaged 7.3 runs per game in their 6 games prior to the shutout). 10* PHILADELPHIA

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 8* OVER the total in Chicago Cubs vs St Louis Cardinals @ 4:05 ET - Day game at Wrigley Field. Mild temperatures. Wind blowing out. Look for another over in this one. With yesterday's over in the books, the over is now 4-0 in the Cubs last 4 games. The Cardinals Michael Wacha has allowed 11 earned runs in just 10 and 1/3 innings in his two starts at Wrigley Field this season. Chicago's Kyle Hendricks gave up 4 earned runs in only 4 innings in his lone start versus St Louis this season. The over is 6-3 in Hendricks' starts versus the Cards in his career. The over is 11-1 in Wacha's starts versus the Cubs in his career. I am happy to test that combined 17-4 (81%) mark today on another hitter-friendly afternoon at Wrigley Field. The Cubs have scored 47 runs in their last 4 games! The Cards have averaged 6 runs per game in their last 9 wins. This one has the makings of a slugfest. 8* OVER the total in the Chicago Cubs game in afternoon action Saturday

Total of the Month - Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Philadelphia Phillies vs Oakland A's @ 7:05 ET - The Phillies, led by slugger Rhys Hoskins, have been knocking the cover off of the ball of late. With their 10-0 win last night, there have been just 3 unders in the Phillies last 12 games. Philadelphia has reached double digits in hits in 8 of those 12 games and they've averaged scoring 6.5 runs per game during this solid stretch of work at the plate. The A's have gone 9-2-1 to the over in their last 12 games. Oakland has scored 7 runs or more in 7 of its last 10 games. The A's are starting Daniel Mengden here and he has a 7.07 ERA in his 3 starts this season. The Phillies are starting Mark Leiter and he has given up 24 hits in his last 16 innings. Also he has allowed a total of 4 homers in his last two starts. The over is 34-17 in Phillies inter-league games the past 3 seasons combined. The over is 40-23 in Oakland's September games the past 2+ seasons. Look for more of the same here as both these teams are just playing for pride at this point and that means a very relaxed approach at the plate and that has led to big success for both of these lineups of late. That continues Friday. 10* OVER the total in Philadelphia

Network Top Play - Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* OVER the total in Chicago Cubs vs St Louis Cardinals @ 2:20 ET - The wind will be blowing out at Wrigley Field this afternoon and temperatures will be very warm for mid-September in Chicago. The fact that two respectable pitchers (John Lackey and Carlos Martinez) take the mound for this one helped to keep the opening total lower than it should be. This line opened up at an 8.5 but many signs point to a slugfest here. The Cardinals are 10-3 this month and have averaged scoring 6.4 runs per game in those 10 wins. The Cubs are heating up again and have been on fire at the plate which helped lead the way to a 3-game sweep of the Mets which wrapped up yesterday. The Cubs have averaged 9.1 runs per game in their 7 wins this month. The Cards Martinez gave up 10 hits in 6 innings in his most recent start at Wrigley Field. The Cubs Lackey is off of back to back solid starts but prior to that had back to back rough outings that saw him allow 10 earned runs in 10 innings spanning two starts! The over is 3-0 in the Cubs last 3 games and I expect another slugfest at Wrigley this afternoon. 10* OVER the total in the Chicago Cubs game

Thursday Thrasher - Rickenbach MLB 10* Top Play St Louis Cardinals Run Line -1.5 runs (-115) vs Cincinnati Reds @ 1:45 ET - The Cardinals got embarrassed 6-0 yesterday at home but had previously won 10 of their 12 prior games. Also, the average margin of victory in those 10 wins was 4 runs! 9 of the 10 W's came by at least 2 runs and that is why I am totally comfortable in laying the 1.5 runs here in a game the Cards should win easily as they have a decided pitching edge with Luke Weaver over Amir Garrett. The Cardinals right-hander is 5-1 with a 2.45 ERA in his 6 starts. The Reds left-hander is 3-7 with a 7.39 ERA in his 13 starts this season. Of the Reds last 8 losses, all have come by 2 runs or more and will Cincy lose here? Well, they're 2-10 this season as a road dog of +175 to +250 so I would say a loss is quite likely! As for the Cardinals, they are 11-5 this season as a home fave of -175 to -250. Also, the Cards are 4-1 this season when off of a shutout loss. They'll respond HUGE here and I am happy to lay the -1.5 runs and look for a blowout win here. 10* ST LOUIS CARDINALS Run Line

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 8* OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Oakland A's @ 1:35 ET - Even when Oakland doesn't get a lot of hits they've still piled up a good amount of runs. The A's put up 7 runs on 9 hits last night. They've now scored at least 7 runs in 7 of their last 9 games. It is hard to fade a team that is that hot at the plate and this is especially true on a warm afternoon with the wind blowing out at Fenway Park. For early players yesterday's over was a winner at over 9.5 and that makes the over 10-1 in Oakland's last 11 games. Drew Pomeranz gets the start for Boston and he is off of a solid start but had been hit hard in each of his two prior outings. The A's will have Daniel Gossett on the mound and he is 3-5 with a 5.17 ERA on the road this season. Also, Oakland is 40-22 to the over this season when off of a win and 36-20 to the over in day games this season. 8* OVER the total in Boston

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 8* OVER the total in Detroit Tigers vs Chicago White Sox @ 1:10 ET - James Shields is off of a solid start but he allowed 4 earned runs in each of his 2 prior starts. Also, in his last two starts at Detroit, Shields has given up 8 earned runs in 11 innings of work. The Tigers Chad Bell has had a rough go of it so far with 7 earned runs in 8 and 2/3 innings in his first two starts. The over is 21-11 in Detroit's home games where their money line ranges from -125 to +125. The over is 13-3 in their Thursday games this season. Also, the Tigers are 16-6 to the over this season when they enter a game on a losing streak of 3 or more games. The White Sox are 33-22 to the over when they face a team with a losing record this season. 8* OVER the total in Detroit

Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Oakland Athletics @ 7:10 ET - Doug Fister is only 3-5 with a 4.17 ERA in his home starts this season. Also, he has been hit 84 points higher at home compared to on the road this season. Lefties have hit 108 points higher than righties against Fister and the A's will certainly have a few lefties and/or switch-hitters in their lineup ready to do some damage here. Oakland's starter Jharel Cotton is likely to see his struggles continue. He is 1-7 with a 8.00 ERA in his night games this season with opponents hitting an insane .341 against him in those outings. Boston scored 11 runs in yesterday's win and they've now scored 6 runs or more in 4 of their last 5 games. Though Oakland was shutdown at the plate yesterday, they previously had scored 7 runs or more in 6 of their last 7 games. 10* OVER the total in Boston

Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 8* OVER the total in Philadelphia Phillies vs Miami Marlins @ 7:05 ET - Not only were 17 runs scored in last night's game but it went 15 innings which certainly doesn't do the bullpen any favors. That said, the fact that both these starting pitchers are likely to struggle and that they are supported by depleted bullpens means that there is great value with this over. Aaron Nola gets the start for the Phillies and he is 0-3 with a 10.85 ERA against Miami this season! Daniel Straily gets the start for the Marlins here and the Phils have already seen him 3 times since the All Star break and Straily has a 6.19 ERA versus Philadelphia in those 3 starts. The over is 3-0 in Nola's starts versus Miami this season and the over is 5-0 in Straily's 5 career starts versus the Phillies. 8* OVER the total in Philadelphia

Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 8* Washington Nationals Run Line -1.5 runs (-140) vs Atlanta Braves @ 7:05 ET - Even on the run line there is a bit of a price to lay here but it should prove to be well worth it. After getting thoroughly embarrassed 8-0 yesterday, Washington bounces back in a big way on Wednesday! The Nationals have a huge pitching edge here with veteran Max Scherzer over rookie Luiz Gohara. The Nats Scherzer has been simply fantastic this season and is 11-1 in his night games this year. Scherzer has made 27 starts this season and he has held opponents to a minuscule .175 batting average. The Braves Gohara struggled with command in his MLB debut but, also, when he did find the plate he was hit hard. The southpaw had never pitched above the Single A level of the minors until the 2017 season so, keep in mind, this is a big jump for Gohara. Now he faces one of the top hitting teams in the majors and he faces them off of an 8-0 beatdown yesterday. In other words, this is unlikely to go well for him! 8* WASHINGTON Run Line -1.5 runs

Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play Chicago White Sox Money Line (+) @ Kansas City @ 2:15 ET - The White Sox are hitting .281 against left-handed pitching on the season. That is good for the #2 spot out of all 30 MLB teams! They should pound Eric Skoglund here. The Royals southpaw is 1-2 with a 10.29 ERA in his 5 appearances (4 starts) this season and opponents have hit .377 against him. The ChiSox did have 13 hits yesterday but only scored 3 runs. They'll make up for that today. As for the Royals they had 4 runs but only 4 hits yesterday and all 4 runs came in the first. It was an ugly day for KC and one in which they were fortunate to hang on for the win considering how poor their day was at the plate after putting up a crooked number in the first inning. The Royals are likely to struggle again here as Chicago Lucas Giolito has a 2.84 ERA and has held hitters to minuscule .169 batting average in his 6 appearances (4 starts) this season. The right-hander has been particular sharp in day games where he has allowed just 1 earned run only 6 hits in 14 stellar innings of work. More of the same here as the competitive Giolito and his White Sox teammates look to play the role of "spoiler" here and dampen the Royals playoff chances. Great underdog price in this one. 10* CHICAGO WHITE SOX money line

Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 8* OVER the total in Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees @ 1:10 ET - Even though this is a "home game" for the Rays, it is not truly at home. This series has been played at Citi Field in New York due to the effects of Hurricane Irma in Florida. The significance in that is that Chris Archer is a much better pitcher at home compared to on the road and, again, though this will be consider a home start it is not his home mound. Archer has a 4.68 ERA on the road this season and had a 5.44 ERA away from home last season. The Yankees are starting Jaime Garcia and the southpaw has a 5.11 ERA and has been hit at a .286 clip in his 5 starts as a Yankee. He also hasn't pitched yet this month and, of course, it's already mid-September. Trying to shake the rust off on a mild afternoon with the wind blowing out is unlikely to go well for Garcia. After low-scoring games began this series look for it to finish off with a lot of offense in the finale this afternoon. The over was 6-1 in the Yankees 7 games prior to this series. 8* OVER the total in Tampa Bay 

Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 8* OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Detroit Tigers @ 12:10 ET - Warm in Cleveland this afternoon with the wind blowing out. Perfect weather for an over. Of course the Indians have been red hot at the plate as part of their 20-0 winning streak. They're averaging 6.5 runs per game in September. The over was 7-1 in the Tigers last 8 games prior to last night's loss. After getting shutout (2-0 yesterday) for the 2nd time in two nights, look for the Detroit sticks to respond here. I know Clevinger has been pitching well but his ERA at home is 1.58 runs higher than on the road this season. Also, lefties are hitting 73 points higher than righties against him and the Tigers lineup last night included 3 lefties and 2 switch-hitters. Detroit starts Buck Farmer here and he has a 6.32 ERA in his 7 starts this season. He had an awful start versus Cleveland that began the month. 8* OVER the total in Cleveland

Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 8* Tampa Bay Rays Run Line +1.5 runs (-120) vs New York Yankees @ 7:10 ET - The Rays Blake Snell is off of a tough start but previously had allowed just 2 earned runs in 20 and 2/3 innings spanning his 3 prior starts. Also, he has a stellar 2.89 ERA in his 6 starts versus the Yankees in his career. The Yanks Sonny Gray has given up 25 hits in his last 17 and 1/3 innings versus the Rays. Gray has allowed 14 runs (11 earned) in those 3 starts and the Rays should be in this one all the way. That is why I am grabbing the run line in this one. Although we could have Tampa at +130 on the money line I feel there is great value to only have to lay about -120 and yet have the Rays at +1.5 runs. In Gray's last 8 starts only 2 have resulted in a victory by more than 1 run. In Snell's last 8 starts only 2 have resulted in a loss by more than 2 runs. 8* TAMPA BAY RAYS run line +1.5 runs

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Oakland A's @ 7:10 ET - The over is on a 12-3 run in Oakland's last 15 games. The A's have averaged scoring 8.6 runs per game in their last 9 games as their lineup has been red hot. The Red Sox are off of a 4-1 loss but previously had won 3 straight games and scored an average of 8 runs per game. Both these teams were off yesterday and the over is 10-3 this season in Boston games when they're playing after a day off. The A's are 39-22 to the over when playing after a win, 39-24 to the over when facing a team with a winning record, and 14-6 to the over in Tuesday games. The Red Sox are 13-7 to the over in Tuesday games this season. Boston will have Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound and he has a 6.11 ERA in his last 3 starts. Oakland will have Sean Manaea on the mound and he has an 11.73 ERA in his 2 starts versus the Red Sox in his career and that includes getting crushed at Fenway Park. More of the same expected here. 10* OVER the total in Boston

Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 8* OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Baltimore Orioles @ 7:05 ET - With premium picks in all sports yesterday this was my lone loss. I won't hesitate to come right back with the over in this match-up. The Blue Jays Joe Biagini has an 8.62 ERA in his last 7 starts overall. Also, he has gone 1-6 at home this season. The Orioles Dylan Bundy had been pitching very well but he is coming off of a rough start versus the Yankees and, on the season, he has not pitched as well on the road as he has at home. Look for the over to improve to 8-4 in Bundy's 12 road starts this season. 8* OVER the total in Toronto

Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Washington Nationals vs Atlanta Braves @ 7:05 ET - Not many will want the over here because Gio Gonzalez has been pitching very well. However, he's off of a big win against his hometown team (Miami) and has been known for success against the Marlins. However, the same can not be said about the Braves. Look for a letdown here from Gonzalez and the fact is that Atlanta has got to him for 13 earned runs in the 16 innings spanning his last 3 starts versus the Braves. Also, Atlanta comes into this one swinging the bats quite well as they've averaged scoring 6 runs per game in their last 9 games and the over has gone 6-2-1 in these 9 games. As for the Nationals, they are one of the top hitting teams in the majors and the Braves Julio Teheran has a 4.50 ERA versus the Nats this season. Washington is 6-1 their last 7 games and they've averaged scoring 5.6 runs per game during this solid stretch. The over is a long-term 42-25 when the Nationals are a home favorite in a price range of -175 to -250. The over is 27-12 this season when the Braves are a road dog of +125 or more. 10* OVER the total in Washington

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 8* OVER the total in Kansas City Royals vs Chicago White Sox @ 1:15 ET - With yesterday's 11-3 win flying over the total, the White Sox are now on a 4-0-1 run to the over their last 5 games. The ChiSox have averaged scoring 10.7 runs per game their last 3 games as they've been red hot at the plate. Chicago's Dylan Covey though is 0-4 with an 8.13 ERA in his 8 starts this season. The Royals are likely to pound him as they're on an 8-3 run to the over and have averaged scoring 6.5 runs per game their last 6 games. Sam Gaviglio gets the start for KC here and he is winless with a 7.47 ERA in his last 3 starts. The over is on a 44-21 run in Royals September games the past 2+ seasons and I expect that trend to continue here. 8* OVER the total in Kansas City

Rickenbach Monday MLB 8* New York Yankees Money Line (-) vs Tampa Bay Rays @ 7:10 ET @ CitiField in New York - This game has been moved to the Mets home field in New York due to the impact of Hurricane Irma in Tampa Bay. To be honest, not only does the location of this game make this match-up more of a home game for the Yankees than the Rays, the fact is that Tampa's players can't help but be distracted by concerns about what is happening at home in Tampa Bay. The distractions aren't going to help a Rays team that is already struggling badly at the plate. Tampa has averaged only 7.4 hits per game in their last 11 games. In stark contrast to that, the Yankees are on a 7-3 run and have averaged 10.6 hits per game during this solid stretch of winning. CC Sabathia is 7-3 with a 3.25 ERA away from Yankee Stadium this season. Jake Odorizzi has been pitching better of late but still has a 4.58 ERA on the season and admitted being distracted (who can blame him?) as he prepares for this Monday evening start. Also, Odorizzi has given up a pair of homers in each of his last two starts versus the Yanks. The Rays are on an 18-34 run in Monday games and also are 16-24 against lefties this season. The Yankees are 10-4 in Monday games this season. 8* NEW YORK YANKEES money line 

Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Detroit Tigers @ 7:10 ET - The Tigers are starting Myles Jaye. He has limited MLB experience and it's been out of the bullpen. This season he has mostly pitched at AA and AAA in the minors. Now he takes a major step up in competition to make his first ever start at the MLB level. He got hit at a .270 clip at the AA level this season and a .298 clip at the AAA level so I don't expect him to enjoy success against the hottest team in the majors. The Indians have won 18 straight and should pound Jaye in this one. However, don't be surprised if Carlos Carrasco gets a little "touched up" here too! He has been phenomenal of late but has thrown a lot of pitches in his last two starts. This season, the games where Carrasco has ended up getting hit harder than usual have come after he has thrown a lot of pitches in his two prior starts. That is the case here and I expect the Tigers to do some damage in this one while the Tribe certainly should rough up Jaye early and often. The over is a long-term 52-26 in Detroit's road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. The over is also a perfect 6-0 in Carrasco's last 6 home starts. I am happy to test that 6-0, 100% mark with a Top Play in this one! 10* OVER the total in Cleveland

Rickenbach Monday MLB 8* OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Baltimore Orioles @ 7:05 ET - The Orioles Ubaldo Jimenez is 0-2 with a 12.75 ERA in his last 3 starts. The Blue Jays Marco Estrada gave up 6 earned runs on 10 hits in only 5 innings of work when he most recently faced the Orioles and that was less than 2 weeks ago. Baltimore had 47 hits in their recent 4-game set with Toronto. The Blue Jays have tallied 12 hits or more in 4 of their last 6 games. Estrada's most recent start stayed under the total but prior to that the over was a perfect 4-0 in his last 4 starts. 8* OVER the total in Toronto

Run Line Game of the Month - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play Cleveland Indians Run Line -1.5 runs -110 vs Baltimore Orioles @ 8:05 ET - The Indians are on an insane run and have won 17 in a row. Of course I am never comfortable laying big money lines and they are nearly a 2 to 1 favorite on the money line in this one. However, on the run line we get them at basically a pick'em price by simply laying the 1.5 runs. Is that a good value? You bet (literally!) because the Indians 17 game winning streak has featured 15 of the 17 wins coming by 2 runs or more! As for Baltimore, each of their last 7 losses have come by 2 runs or more. The Orioles send Jeremy Hellickson to the mound and he has allowed 12 runs (10 earned) in just 7 innings of work spanning his last two starts. As for the Indians, they'll have Trevor Bauer on the mound and he is 8-3 at home this season. Also, he enters this start with a spectacular 2.22 ERA in his last 8 starts! Not only should the Indians make it 18 in a row here, the run line success rate is likely to reach 16-2 (89%) in this streak with another win by 2 runs or more. 10* Top Play CLEVELAND INDIANS Run Line -1.5 runs

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 8* Seattle Mariners Money Line (-) vs Los Angeles Angels @ 4:10 ET - The Mariners have won back to back games in this series as the Angels have seen their losing streak now reach 3 games. Huge series for staying alive in the playoff race and the M's have certainly held the upper hand. Now Erasmo Ramirez gets the start for Seattle in the finale and he is 3-0 with a 2.77 ERA at home this season. Also he has a 1.50 ERA in his two starts versus the Angels this season. Los Angeles will have Parker Bridwell on the mound and he has a 4.50 ERA in his two starts versus the Mariners this season. Also, he enters this start struggling badly with 13 earned runs allowed in his last 6 innings on the mound. 8* SEATTLE

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Kansas City Royals vs Minnesota Twins @ 7:15 ET - Yesterday's game went over the total and the over is now 7-4 in the Twins last 11 games. Also, the over is 6-2 in the Royals last 8 games. Jake Junis gets the start for Kansas City here and he did face the Twins earlier this season and he couldn't make it out of the 5th inning. Even though Junis has some decent numbers, he has been hit hard in 2 of his last 3 starts. The Twins will have Jose Berrios on the mound and they are 0-4 in his starts versus KC in his career as the Royals have been a bit of a nemesis for Berrios: 8.19 ERA in his career versus Kansas City. Berrios also has not been the same pitcher on the road as he has at home this season. Minny is 4-8 in his road starts and he has compiled a 5.43 ERA away from home. The over is 117-78 in Twins games versus teams with a losing record. The over is 42-20 in Royals September games. More of the same expected here on a hitter-friendly evening at Kauffman Stadium. 10* OVER the total in Kansas City early Saturday evening

8* OVER in Cleveland - The big story here is the Indians 15 game winning streak but I don't totally trust Mike Clevinger. He gave up 6 hits and 4 walks in just 5 innings in his most recent start versus the Orioles. The Indians should stay red hot at the plate though. With yesterday's 11-2 win they've averaged 7.3 runs per game in their last dozen games. The Orioles will have Wade Miley on the mound and he gave up 8 hits and 2 walks in just 5 innings when he opposed Clevinger in that June 22nd meeting. Miley also gave up a ridiculous 9 hits plus walked 4 in less than 4 innings of work in his most recent start at Cleveland. 

10* Top OVER in Boston - Drew Pomeranz has looked "off" in his last two starts. The Red Sox southpaw has given up 7 earned runs on 15 and 7 walks in just 11 and 1/3 innings of work. He also has a 6.08 ERA versus Tampa Bay this season with way too many walks allowed. That said, this is one of those rare gems that looks like a pitchers duel on the surface but should prove to be anything but that. Chris Archer gets the start for the Rays and he exited very early in his most recent start after allowing 2 homers and not recording an out. He said he had tightness in the back of his right arm but he has been proclaimed as "okay" for this start. No doubt concerns about his arm are in the back of Archer's mind right now. He's given up 21 hits (including 3 homers) in 18 and 1/3 spanning his last 3 starts versus Boston. Each of Archer's last 2 starts versus Boston have gone over the total and each of the last 3 starts Pomeranz has made versus the Rays have resulted in an over. 

8* WASHINGTON Run Line -1.5 runs - The Phillies Jake Thompson is off of a surprisingly strong start at Miami. However, in his two prior starts at the MLB level he allowed a combined 5 homers. Also, in the minors this season at AAA Lehigh Valley he went 5-14 with a 5.25 ERA. In other words, one shouldn't over-react to one good start and now he faces the ace of the Nationals as Max Scherzer gets the call for Washington here. The right-hander is 8-1 with a 2.04 ERA in his 13 career starts versus the Phillies. Scherzer is also 13-5 with a 2.18 ERA this season and has piled up strikeouts at home where the Nats have gone 9-3 in his 12 starts. Of course I am not laying the huge price on the money line but I am very comfortable being in the -135 range by taking the Nationals at -1.5 runs on the run line. Though Washington only won by a single run last night, this one has blowout written all over it. The average margin of victory in the Nationals last 10 wins is 3.9 runs. The Phillies last 7 losses have come by an average margin of 5 runs. Keep in mind Philadelphia is only 25-50 on the road this season and the Nationals do have some familiarity with Jake Thompson and that's bad news for him with the way 2017 has gone for him at the MLB and minor league levels. 

Rickenbach Thursday MLB 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:05 ET - After yesterday's 1-0 pitchers duel this one flies over the total. Though it will be a little cool in Pittsburgh this evening the wind will be blowing out to left. Also, Jameson Taillon has a 4.92 ERA at home and a 5.23 ERA in night games. Jon Lester had a 7.85 ERA in August and then started September by allowing 4 earned runs in 5 innings. Also, he has given up 9 earned runs in 6 and 1/3 innings in his last two starts versus the Pirates. 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh 

Contrarian Crusher Top Play - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* OVER the total in New York Mets vs Cincinnati Reds @ 7:10 ET - In my opinion, neither one of these pitchers can be trusted. The Mets Matt Harvey recently returned from the disabled list and he picked up right where he left off before going on the DL. Indeed it was another ugly outing for Harvey as he got rocked by the Astros in a very short outing. As for the Reds, they hand the ball to rookie Tyler Mahle whom has decent numbers in his first two starts at the MLB level. However, this is still a 22 year old hurler that has already hit 3 batters in just 11 innings of work spanning his two starts. Also, his pitch counts have been rather high and he did walk 4 in just 5 innings in his MLB debut. The Mets have scored 6 runs or more in 4 of their 6 games this month. The Reds are averaging 5.6 runs per game in their last 9 games. More of the same expected here as both teams should get to 5 or 6 runs in this one. 10* OVER the total in New York Mets

Rickenbach Thursday MLB 8* OVER the total in Washington Nationals vs Philadelphia Phillies @ 7:05 ET - Aaron Nola's great run of stellar starts from mid-June to mid-August now seems like a distant memory. The Phillies right-hander has been roughed up in 3 of his last 4 starts and now faces one of the top teams in the league. Nola, in those 3 starts, gave up 18 earned runs in 16 and 1/3 innings. As for Tanner Roark, the Nationals right-hander has been hit at a .283 clip by left-handers and that is significant here as the Phillies lineup has a number of solid left-handed sticks and switch-hitters. They are seeing him for the 4th time this season and the repetition has helped them as they hit him quite well in the 3rd start and that one also was at Washington. Roark in only 4-6 with a 5.07 ERA in home starts this season. Look for both pitchers to get roughed up here on a pleasant evening in DC. 8* OVER the total in Washington

Contrarian Crusher Top Play - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* OVER the total in Detroit Tigers vs Kansas City Royals @ 7:10 ET - Even though the weather is cooling off in Detroit it certainly is not yet "cold" and the fact is that these teams have been trending over. Yesterday's game featured plenty of Tigers homers and the over is now 4-1 in the last 5 games for each of these clubs. Also, Detroit entered yesterday's game having allowed 14.4 hits per game in their 5 prior games. As you can see the Tigers hurlers have struggled overall and now Matt Boyd takes the mound for Detroit. The southpaw is off of a rare solid start as he had compiled a 9.67 ERA in his 5 starts prior to a decent outing versus Cleveland. Now Boyd faces a Royals team that has got to him for 11 earned runs in less than 10 innings of work spanning his last 3 starts versus KC. The Royals are also likely to have some pitching problems tonight as Jason Hammel takes the mound. The Kansas City right-hander has a 6.91 ERA in his 9 career starts versus the Tigers. Also, has given up 4 homers in his last 2 run starts and the Tigers were knocking the ball out of the park with regularity last night. As a road fave of -125 to -175, the over is on a 19-7 run in Royals games. Also, Kansas City is on a 40-19 run to the over in September games. KC is 14-7 to the over in Wednesday games this season. The Tigers are 19-10 to the over as a home dog of +125 to +175. Look for another wild one at Comerica Park tonight. 10* OVER the total in Detroit early Wednesday evening.

Earliest Cash Top Play - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* OVER the total in Oakland A's vs Los Angeles Angels @ 3:35 ET - The A's and Angels combined for 15 runs yesterday as the hot hitting continued. The over is now 8-1-1 in the Angels last 10 games. Los Angeles has averaged scoring 7.4 runs per game during this hot streak. The A's and Angels have gone over the total in each of their last 4 match-ups and the A's have now scored 6 runs or more in 8 of their last 13 games. The ball carries better in West Coast day games compared to night games. Also, the wind will be blowing out toward right-center field for this one. The A's Sean Manaea is winless with a 6.38 ERA in his 5 career starts versus the Angels. Los Angeles will have Tyler Skaggs on the mound for this one and he is winless with a 6.75 ERA in his 4 career starts versus Oakland. The over is 8-3 in Manaea's home starts this season. Skaggs has a 9.49 ERA in his last 3 starts overall so he comes into this one in poor current form. The Angels are 4-0 to the over as a road fave in a range of -125 to -175 this season. The A's are 33-19 to the over in day games this season. More of the same here. 10* OVER the total in Oakland in afternoon action Wednesday.

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 12:35 ET - Even though Luis Castillo has some impressive stats on the season one can't ignore his 2-7 record. Also, he has only lasted 4 innings on the mound in 2 of his last 3 starts. Prior to a strong home start versus Pittsburgh, he had allowed 3 earned runs or more in 4 straight home starts. The Reds aren't exactly known for a stellar bullpen either. With that said, I expect the Brewers to score their fair share here on a hitter-friendly afternoon in a hitter-friendly ballpark. The wind will be blowing out for this one and that spells trouble for the Brewers Matt Garza. The Milwaukee right-hander has a 7.82 ERA in his last 3 starts and, included in that stretch, he allowed 3 homers in an ugly effort at Coors Field. In his most recent start Garza walked 5 and gave up 6 runs (3 earned) in only 3 and 1/3 innings of work. Garza is 1-5 in road starts this season and Castillo is 0-4 in home starts this season. Looks like a great day for the hitters at Great American Ball Park in Cincy. The Reds are 11-4 to the over this season when they are a home favorite in a range of -125 to -175. Yesterday's game totaled 12 runs and I expected a similar total to be reached today! 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati very early Wednesday afternoon

Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 8* OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 7:10 ET - Cooler air will be spilling into New England as the week goes on but it's not there yet. That said, Tuesday evening is set up to be a mild evening in Boston with the wind blowing out to left field at Fenway Park. These teams combined for 14 runs yesterday and I look for another wild one on Tuesday. The Blue Jays are 14-5 to the over this season when they are a road dog in a money line range of +125 to +175. The Red Sox are 13-6 to the over in Tuesday games this season. Boston sends Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound and they are 0-3 in his last 3 starts. The Red Sox southpaw has given up 17 earned runs in the 22 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 4 starts. Marco Estrada gets the start for Toronto here. The Blue Jays right-hander has allowed 18 earned runs in the 21 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 4 starts. The over is a perfect 4-0 in this stretch and I look for 5 in a row by the time tonight's game is in the books! 8* OVER the total in Boston

Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 8* Washington Nationals Run Line (-1.5) @ Miami Marlins @ 7:10 ET - Stephen Strasburg gets the start for the Nationals and the right-hander is in fantastic current form with just 3 earned runs allowed in his last 30 innings of work. As strong as Strasburg has been for the Nationals I do not like to lay big prices on the money line. That said, my play here is on the run line and I don't mind laying the 1.5 runs with the Nationals last 10 wins with Strasburg on the mound coming by a margin of 3.4 runs per victory. The Marlins have lost 7 of their last 8 games and the 7 defeats have come by an average margin of 4 runs per loss. Miami will have Odrisamer Despaigne on the mound and the right-hander has given up 12 runs (7 earned) in the less than 15 innings of work spanning his 3 starts this season. He also had as many walks as strikeouts in those starts and, of course, that's never a good sign for a starting pitcher. 8* WASHINGTON on the run line

Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Tampa Bay Rays vs Minnesota Twins @ 7:10 ET - The Rays are 11-3 to the over in the last 14 starts that Jake Odorizzi has made. The Tampa Bay right-hander has a 9.48 ERA in his last 3 starts including getting absolutely crushed in the lone home start he made during this stretch. The Twins will have Bartolo Colon on the mound and he has given up 24 hits (including 5 homers) in the 17 innings spanning his last 3 starts at Tropicana Field. Colon also has seen his form regress recently after a surprisingly rare, strong stretch of starts for him. The right-hander has given up 33 hits in the 23 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 4 starts. Colon has been fortunate he hasn't allowed many earned runs in this stretch and that is helping to offer line value here as it has kept this total low despite the fact both hurlers should struggle badly. With yesterday's 11-4 Twins loss, Minnesota is now 116-77 to the over the past 3 seasons in their games against teams with a losing record. The Rays have gone over the total in 4 of their last 5 home games versus a right-handed starter. 10* OVER the total in Tampa Bay

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs @ 4:05 ET - Warm temperatures and wind blowing out to left field will help our cause here. The total is on the move from 8 to 8.5 but this is still a great value on the over on what should be a very hitter-friendly afternoon game in Pittsburgh. Even though Jake Arrieta had success against the Pirates just last week, look for the immediate "second look" opportunity to pay dividends for Pittsburgh at home. Having just seen him will help the Pirates lineup and Arrieta's prior two starts against Pittsburgh did see him allow 7 runs (5 earned) in just 10 and 1/3 innings spanning those two outings. Chad Kuhl gets the start for the Pirates here and he did not look sharp against the Cubs last week. He allowed 7 hits in just 5 and 1/3 innings and is now 0-4 with an 11.07 ERA in his career starts versus Chicago. The right-hander has a 4.86 ERA at home this season and the Cubs were averaging nearly 8 runs per game their last dozen games before being held to just 1 run in yesterday's loss. In other words, don't be surprise when the bats quickly come back to life for Chicago. The over is a long-term 25-13 in Cubs games where they are a road favorite of -175 or more. Also, the Pirates are 12-6 to the over when they are a road dog in a range of +125 to +175. Look for a wild one in very hitter-friendly afternoon conditions here. 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play Baltimore Orioles Money Line (-) vs New York Yankees @ 2:05 ET - The Orioles are red hot and certainly very much alive in the playoff chase. The catch the Yankees at the perfect time too. The Yanks just wrapped up their big series with rival Boston last night by defeating staff ace Chris Sale. Don't be surprised if the Yankees end up a little flat this afternoon following that big win last night. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the Orioles and he is in fantastic current form with a 2.00 ERA over his last 5 starts while also piling up an average of 10 strikeouts per start his last 4 outings! He should easily outduel Jordan Montgomery as the Yankees southpaw has allowed 7 earned runs in just 9 innings spanning his last two starts. Also, in his last visit to Baltimore he was very lucky to allow only 1 earned run as he was rocked for 8 hits in just 4 and 1/3 innings in his outing about 3 months ago at Oriole Park in Camden Yards. The Yankees are just 2-8 in Montgomery's last 10 starts while the Orioles are 7-0 in Bundy's last 7 starts. That means we're testing a combined run of 15-2 (88%) in this one! 10* BALTIMORE

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Monday MLB 8* OVER the total in New York Mets vs Philadelphia Phillies @ 1:10 ET - Wind blowing out, warm afternoon, low total. Look for an easy over here. With the Mets losing 8-6 yesterday at Houston, their bats are coming back to life and their last two games have totaled 34 runs. They should have no trouble with the offerings of Mark Leiter. He has been hit hard in 2 of his 3 starts since returning to the rotation with a combined 16 hits allowed in the 11 and 2/3 innings spanning those two outings. As for the Mets Rafael Montero, he has gone 1-6 with a 5.58 ERA in his home starts this season. He also has a 6.30 ERA in his two career starts against the Phils including one outing less than 2 months ago. The Mets are 26-12 to the over in games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs this season. New York is also 18-9 to the over as a home favorite of -125 to -175 this season. Prior to yesterday's under, the Phillies were on a 6-3-1 run to the over in games against a right-handed starter and averaged scoring 5 runs per game in those 10 games. Look for that type of production to resume here on a hitter-friendly afternoon at Citi Field. 8* OVER the total in New York Mets

Sunday Night Game of the Year - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play Boston Red Sox Money Line (-) @ New York Yankees @ 7:35 ET - Chris Sale does not yet have a win to show for it but he has pitched very well against the Yankees this season. The Red Sox southpaw has a 2.12 ERA in his 4 starts versus the Bronx Bombers in 2017. Sale has struck out 44 in his 4 starts against the Yanks this season - a stellar average of 11 per game. After a rare subpar pair of outings, Sale bounced back huge against the Blue Jays in his most recent start. It marked the 9th time in his last 12 starts that he has allowed 1 earned run or less! As for Luis Severino of the Yankees, he can't be too happy about facing the Red Sox. The last time the right-hander faced Boston - 3 weeks ago - he allowed 8 earned runs in 4 and 1/3 innings! He has allowed 5 homers in his last 2 starts at home and has given up 11 earned runs in 11 innings of work spanning those two outings. Severino has lost each of his last two home starts and the Yankees entered yesterday's action having gone 3-6 in their last 9 games. After notching the win yesterday I expect the Yankees to see Severino outdueled by Sale in this one. Boston is 38-21 when off of a loss this season. Also, the Red Sox are 37-19 in September games the past 2+ seasons. 10* BOSTON

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in San Diego Padres vs Los Angeles Dodgers @ 4:40 ET - Both games of yesterday's double header went over the total. On the surface, today's match-up looks like it has the potential for a pitchers duel but once you dig a little deeper you see the reality. Alex Wood is not 100% right now. He's returning from a trip to the disabled list and he did allow 3 homers in his most recent start. Also, an interesting item of note is that, amazingly, all 20 of his starts this season have been night games. Now he's pitching in a day game and he struggled badly in both 2016 and 2015 in day game action as Wood got hit hard. The Padres have confidence from yesterday's sweep and are likely to enjoy surprising success against Wood. As for San Diego starter Jhoulys Chacin, he has struggled with being inefficient with pitches lately. The result is far too many walks and having to consistently pitch out of jams. That could prove problematic against a Dodgers team looking to respond after being swept yesterday! Note that the over is 5-1 in the Dodgers last 6 games. Also, the over is a solid 60% (39-26) this season in Los Angeles' games against teams with a losing record. The over is 34-20 in Padres divisional games this season. 10* OVER the total in San Diego

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 8* OVER the total in Detroit Tigers vs Cleveland Indians @ 1:10 ET - Day Game. Wind blowing out. Two starting pitchers with question marks. Should be an easy over. The Indians Josh Tomlin is returning from the disabled list. Also, Cleveland has lost each of Tomlin's last two starts versus the Tigers as Detroit has hammered him for 12 runs (9 earned) in just 9 and 1/3 innings spanning those two outings. The Tigers Chad Bell is only getting this start because of Michael Fulmer being injured. The Detroit southpaw has been working out of the bullpen and certainly has not impressed. Bell has a 5.48 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, and opponents have hit .287 against him. After yesterday's 5-2 game, look for the bats to come back to life in a big way here. The Indians are 6-3 to the over this season as a road fave of -175 or more. The Tigers are 14-5 to the over in Sunday games this season. 8* OVER the total in Detroit

10* OVER the total in Texas - The Rangers and Angels were involved in a slugfest last night and I would not be surprised to see another one today. Ricky Nolasco has had some dreadful starts against the Rangers in his career (including his lone start at Arlington this season) and has a 7.33 ERA in his career versus Texas. AJ Griffin has allowed 11 earned runs in just 12 and 2/3 innings against the Angels spanning his last 3 starts versus Los Angeles. 3 of the last 4 games between these teams have resulted in an over. Overall, each of these teams is on a 5-1 run to the over their last 6 games. The Angels lineup has been boosted with the acquisition of Justin Upton and this should fly over the total. Yes it is a big number but yesterday's 19 runs scored also showed that both bullpens are vulnerable here as well. 

8* MIAMI - Daniel Straily has already matched up with Aaron Nola twice this season and the Marlins beat the Phillies each time. I see no reason for that to change here. Nola has given up 11 earned runs on 14 hits in just 9 and 1/3 innings versus the Marlins in his 2 starts against Miami this season. Straily has struck out 27 in 17 and 2/3 innings in his 3 starts versus the Phillies this season. Though the Phils did do a fair job of notching hits in the first two games against him he held them to just a pair of hits in his most recent start versus Philadelphia. The fact that Nola is on the mound is what is keeping this line very manageable even though the Phillies rare upset road win last night still leaves them at just 24-46 in road games this season. Miami is still 24-14 in their last 38 games against teams with a losing record and they get right back on track here. 

8* TORONTO - Marcus Stroman 11-6 this season including 6-2 in road starts. Blue Jays have won each of his last two starts versus the Orioles and he allowed a total of only 2 earned runs in 13 and 2/3 innings of work. The Jays should bounce back after yesterday's frustrating 13-inning 1-run loss. Look for Toronto to hit Wade Miley well. The Orioles southpaw has lost each of his last two starts versus the Jays and he really struggled against the Jays in his most recent outing against them. I know the O's have been winning and the Jays have not but the pitching edge is huge in this one.

Rickenbach Friday MLB 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Cincinnati Reds @ 7:05 ET - With these pitchers having just faced off last week in Cincinnati (a 1-0 pitchers duel) many will expect the same type of match-up here. That is why this total opened up at an 8 and already dropped to a 7.5 in most spots. In typical contrarian fashion I will back the over here. When teams get a 2nd quick look at a pitcher it often favors the hitters. Also, Gerrit Cole had allowed 9 earned runs in 12 and 1/3 innings before that strong outing versus the Reds last week. The over was on a 3-0 run in his 3 prior starts. As for the Reds Luis Castillo, he lasted just 4 innings in his most recent road start and he has been unable to complete 6 innings in the majority of his starts away from home this season. That is a significant factor because Cincy has had bullpen issues this season. This total opened up at an 8 and the over is 13-5 this season in Reds games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. Also, the Pirates are 13-7 to the over in Friday games and 8-4 to the over when playing with a day off. 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Rickenbach Friday MLB 8* Toronto Blue Jays Money Line (+) @ Baltimore Orioles @ 7:05 ET - The Orioles winning streak was snapped by the Blue Jays in a huge 11-8 win yesterday. While many will expect Baltimore to bounce back here, the reality is that Toronto could very well build off of yesterday's win with another big W here. The Jays Joe Biagini has been better on the road than at home this season and he has a solid 1.20 WHIP in his road starts on the year. The Blue Jays have won 3 of his 5 road starts this season and also, in his lone start versus the Orioles, Biagini allowed only 5 hits in 5 and 1/3 innings. The O's will have Kevin Gausman on the mound here and he allowed 10 hits in 6 innings in his most recent home start versus the Jays. Gausman has a 6.75 ERA in his four home starts since the All Star break and, after breaking through yesterday, the Blue Jays send Baltimore to its 4th loss in Gausman's last 6 starts. 8* TORONTO BLUE JAYS money line

Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - I got burned with this total last night as I had a big play on the over and the teams came up just short of the number because they combined to leave a ridiculous 23 men on base. I won't hesitate to come right back with this play tonight as another top play. Boston sends Doug Fister to the mound and he gave up 6 earned runs on 9 hits in less than 5 innings of work when he most recently faced the Yankees. New York's Sonny Gray gave up 7 hits while recording 0 strikeouts in 5 innings when he most recently faced the Red Sox. Gray's home starts this season (started the year with Oakland) have gone 8-4 to the over. More of the same here. 10* OVER the total in the New York Yankees game

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Friday MLB 8* OVER the total in Detroit Tigers vs Cleveland Indians @ 1:10 ET (Game 1 of DH) - The Tigers Matt Boyd is winless with a 10.29 ERA in his last 3 starts. The Indians Carlos Carrasco gave up 9 hits in his most recent start versus Detroit. The over is 7-1 in Carrasco's last 8 starts since mid-July. As a road fave of -175 or more, the over is 6-2 in Cleveland's games this season. The over is 30-18 in Tigers divisional games this season and 10-5 when they are playing after a day off. 8* OVER the total in Detroit in Game 1 of DH

Rivalry Rout - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - Boston's Eduardo Rodriguez is struggling badly with a 6.11 ERA in his last 3 starts. Though the Yankees CC Sabathia has had success versus the Red Sox this season, they will be getting their 4th look at him since early June! Look for Boston to break through here as they're facing a southpaw starter for the 3rd straight game and 4th time in their last 5 games! These types of repetition help hitters. The Red Sox enter this series with plenty of confidence after sweeping the Blue Jays and scoring at least 6 runs in 2 of the 3 games plus averaging 10.3 hits per game in the series. The Yankees got swept versus Cleveland but the Yanks have averaged 5.9 runs per game in their 9 games. The over is 6-3 in those 9 games. Sabathia has a 5.08 ERA in home starts this season and Rodriguez is likely to see his recent struggles continue here as he has produced only 2 quality starts in his last 9 starts! 10* OVER the total in the New York Yankees game

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 8* OVER the total in Arizona Diamondbacks vs Los Angeles Dodgers @ 3:40 ET - Two solid starting pitchers has combined to keep this total low. The fact is that there is a match-up issue here for each hurler and that means plenty of runs can be expected. The Dodgers Kenta Maeda has a 7.07 ERA in his 3 starts versus the Diamondbacks this season. The Dbacks Zack Greinke has a 6.17 ERA in his 2 starts versus the Dodgers this season. With yesterday's game going over the total as the Dodgers rallied some in the later inning, there has been just 1 under in the last 5 meetings between these teams. The over is also 6-2-1 in Maeda's 9 career starts versus Arizona. The over is 11-4 in Thursday games involving the Dodgers this season. 8* OVER the total in Arizona

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB 8* Chicago White Sox Money Line (+) @ Minnesota Twins @ 1:10 ET - I know Bartolo Colon has recently strung together some impressive starts but for him to be favored in this price range is simply too much. In his last start Colon only allowed 1 earned run in 6 and 2/3 innings but he didn't record a single strikeout and he allowed 9 hits. In other words, he was quite fortunate in that start. Look for him to be out-pitched by Miguel Gonzalez here. The White Sox right-hander has allowed just 3 earned runs in the 13 innings spanning his last two starts versus the Twins. Also, he enters this start in fantastic current form as he has allowed just 4 earned runs in the 28 innings spanning his last 4 starts. The White Sox are looking to avoid the sweep and they had won 7 of 11 games coming into this series. Also, the ChiSox are 3-1 in the last 4 starts Gonzalez has made. Lets not forget Colon still has an ugly 6-10 record and 6.35 ERA as a starter this year! 8* CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Game of the Month Run Line - Rickenbach MLB 10* Top Play Minnesota Twins Run Line -1.5 runs vs Chicago White Sox @ 8:10 ET - The Twins got the 6-4 win yesterday and Minnesota is now 9-4 in their last 13 games with all 9 wins coming by a margin of 2 runs or more. That said, though Minny on the money line is a prohibitive favorite here, there is good value with the Twins on the run line laying the 1.5 runs while also laying a very small price. The fact that the White Sox Derek Holland bested the Twins Jose Berrios in last week's match-up in Chicago simply adds even more value here. Both Holland and Berrios allowed 7 baserunners apiece in that start but Holland only struck out 5 in 6 innings while Berrios struck out 9 in just 5 and 1/3 innings. Look for payback here as Berrios is 7-1 with a 2.87 ERA in his home starts this season. Conversely, Holland is 3-6 with a 7.82 ERA in his road starts this season. Also, Berrios still has a solid 2.95 ERA in his 3 starts versus the ChiSox in his career while Holland, prior to last week's start, allowed 14 runs (10 earned) in less than 8 innings of work spanning his two previous starts versus the Twins. Each of the White Sox last 5 wins have come by 2 runs or more. The ChiSox were on a 3-15 run in Holland's starts before he got a rare win last week. Berrios has won 6 straight home starts and only 1 victory came by less than 2 runs. That said, grab the value with the Twins on the run line in this one as they stay hot at the plate while the ChiSox (averaging 7.2 hits per game their last 9 games) see their struggles resume this evening. 10* MINNESOTA -1.5 runs

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Detroit Tigers @ 3:10 ET - Yesterday's game fell just short of going over the total as it got to 10 by the 7th inning but ended that way. Justin Verlander gets the start for the Tigers today and, though he is off of a solid road start it came against a White Sox team that has been struggling at the plate in recent weeks. That said, I like the fact that Detroit is 3-11 in Verlander's road starts this season and I expect his struggles away from home to continue as he faces a Rockies team that has averaged 6.6 runs per game in its last 7 home games. On the season Colorado is hitting .301 at home and averaging 6.1 runs per game. Detroit has a great shot of matching the Rockies run for run in this one as the face Colorado's Chad Bettis. He has only made 3 starts since returning to the rotation but each one has gotten progressively worse and he has allowed 8 earned runs in 12 innings spanning his last two starts. He gave up 3 homers in those 2 starts and note that Verlander has allowed 4 homers in his last 2 road starts. Detroit's day games are 26-15 to the over this season and 93-61 to the over the last 3 seasons combined. The Tigers bullpen has a 6.33 ERA in road games this season while the Rockies pen has a 5.36 ERA in home games on the year. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB 8* St Louis Cardinals Money Line (-) @ Milwaukee Brewers @ 2:10 ET - With yesterday's 10-2 Cardinals win, the Brewers have been held to an average of just 2.1 runs per game their last 7 games! Things won't get any easier against Carlos Martinez. St Louis has won 5 of his last 7 starts and he has a stellar 2.89 ERA over his last four outings. Even though the Cardinals are only 5-6 in their last 11 games, they have averaged 5.7 runs per game during this stretch. The Brewers will have Chase Anderson on the mound in this one. The Milwaukee right-hander was hit hard by the Cards on May 4th and I expect more of the same here. Wednesday is traditionally a getaway day and the Cardinals are heading to San Francisco after this game. In Wednesday games, the Cards are 11-6 this season and 43-26 the last 3 seasons combined! The total on this one opened up at an 8.5 and the Brewers are 40-58 (-$22,600) in home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs the last 3 seasons combined. Take the hotter hitting road team at a bargain price in this one. 8* ST LOUIS

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

Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 8* Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (+) @ Kansas City Royals @ 8:15 ET - The Royals have not only lost 4 straight games, they haven't scored a single run in any of the 4 games as they are approaching an all-time record for consecutive scoreless innings in MLB history. After back to back 4-0 losses, Kansas City has now suffered back to back 12-0 losses. Outscored by a combined 32-0 in their last 4 games, KC is unlikely to turn it around today. The Royals are certainly "pressing" at the plate right now and tonight they face a tough pitcher, Alex Cobb of the Rays. The Tampa Bay right-hander has struck out 11 while allowing just 1 earned run on only 9 hits in 10 and 1/3 innings spanning his last two starts. The Royals have lost 5 straight and 7 of their last 10 and they've been held to 3 runs or less in 8 of those 10 games. That spells trouble here as Cobb should benefit from plenty of run support in this one. Tampa's offense is back on track as they've averaged 5.4 runs per game in their last 9 games. The Rays have won 6 of their last 8 games. KC hasn't faced Cobb in 3 years and he has given up just 2 earned runs in each of his last 2 starts against him. TB should get to Jake Junis early and often in this one. Though he gave up just 1 earned run in his most recent start he was fortunate as he did allow 7 hits in only 5 and 1/3 innings. The Rays are 13-6 in Tuesday games this season while Kansas City is in an overall 10-19 slump their last 29 games! 8* TAMPA BAY money line

Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 8* OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Chicago White Sox @ 8:10 ET - Although the White Sox have not been hitting that well overall of late, they did put up 7 runs in a big win Sunday. Also, the ChiSox have averaged 5.2 runs per game in their last 5 road games and 3 of the 5 went over the total. With this total dropping from a 10 to a 9 and with the Twins likely to pound Chicago's James Shields, I see great value with the over in this one. Shields is winless in his 7 road starts this season and he has compiled a 5.63 ERA on the season. The White Sox right-hander is facing a Twins team that has won 8 of its last 12 games and averaged 6.4 runs per game in doing so. In other words Minnesota will have plenty of confidence at the plate and should hit Shields hard. The Twins send Ervin Santana to the mound and though he pitched very well in his last start at Chicago, he did get roughed up for 6 earned runs in 5 innings the last time he hosted the White Sox. The over is 9-5 this season (and 30-18 the past 3 seasons) when the ChiSox are playing after a day off. The over is 34-25 this season (and 111-75 the last 3 seasons) when the Twins are playing against a team with a losing record. 8* OVER the total in Minnesota

Rickenbach Monday MLB 8* OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Seattle Mariners @ 7:05 ET - Very big total posted on this game but it is absolutely justified and is still not big enough! Marco Gonzales gets the start for the Mariners and the southpaw has a 7.40 ERA and has been hit at a .352 clip this season. Also, he has made 5 starts this season and has never completed 5 innings. One of his starts was against the Orioles and he allowed 4 earned runs on 9 hits in 4 and 1/3 innings in that outing. The fact that Baltimore has already faced, and had success against, Gonzales certainly doesn't bode well for the left-hander as he now matches up with them in their home at Camden Yards. The Orioles will have Chris Tillman on the mound this evening and he is having a very tough year. Baltimore hope that a bullpen stint would help him but when he returned from a couple appearances in relief duty his struggles as a starter quickly resumed. Tillman, in 18 games (16 starts) this season has been hit at a .342 clip and has gone 1-7 with a 7.75 ERA. The over is 4-1 in the 5 starts Gonzales has made this season. Also, in road games with a posted total of 11 or 11.5 runs, the Mariners are 5-0 to the over the past 3 seasons combined. 8* OVER the total in Baltimore

Rickenbach Monday MLB 8* Miami Marlins Run Line (+1.5 runs) @ Washington Nationals @ 7:05 ET - The Nats Max Scherzer is certainly a fantastic pitcher. However, the veteran right-hander is coming off of the disabled list and may not be 100% here. Also, the Marlins have seen plenty of him this season. As for Miami starter Jose Urena, he is a phenomenal 8-0 on the road this season! Also, he shut down the Nationals in his only start against them in late July. Urena was a tough-luck loser when he took the 1-run loss versus Washington in that start. Speaking of 1-run losses, the Marlins are 9-1 in Urena's road starts this season and the lone loss came by a single run. That means that at +1.5 runs on the road this season in Urena's starts the Marlins are a perfect 10-0. That said, one has to like the line value here of having Miami at +1.5 in this game and not having to lay any juice as they go for 11-0 in this situation. The fact Scherzer may not be his dominant self here means there is even more value in this spot. Both of Washington's games yesterday (they had a double header) were one run games. The Nationals split the double-header and though they are 7-5 their last 12 games, 4 of the 7 wins have come by just a single run. That means that the Nats, on the run line at -1.5 runs, are only 3-9 their last 12 games. Grab the value here! 8* MIAMI on the run line

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

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

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

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 8* OVER the total in Chicago White Sox vs Detroit Tigers @ 2:10 ET - Certainly the White Sox have not been pounding the ball of late but their bats should have plenty of life against the Tigers Matt Boyd today. The Detroit southpaw has found the ChiSox to be a bit of a match-up issue for him. They've gotten to Boyd for 11 earned runs on 21 hits (including 3 homers) in 14 innings spanning his 3 starts versus them this season. In his two starts at Chicago, Boyd has more walks than strikeouts. Lucas Giolito gets the start for the White Sox here and he gave up 3 homers in his start versus the Twins Tuesday. In his prior start at the MLB level he gave up 2 homers versus the Rockies last August. Giolito has allowed 8 earned runs in 11 innings spanning his last 2 MLB starts and the damage could have easily been even worse as he has been homer-prone! The over is 8-1 in Boyd's last 9 starts overall and also 3-0 in his 3 starts versus the White Sox this season and the over is 6-0 in his last 6 road starts! More of the same expected in this one. 8* OVER the total in the Chicago White Sox early Sunday

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Sunday MLB 8* OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Minnesota Twins @ 1:05 ET - The Twins Kyle Gibson is off of a strong start but it came against a struggling White Sox lineup. Prior to that outing Gibson had given up 9 earned runs in 14 innings spanning his last 3 starts and I expect more struggles early today. The Blue Jays will have Joe Biagini on the mound and he has given up 20 earned runs in the 17 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 4 starts. In other words, he's been awful of late. Yesterday's game totaled 19 runs and another wild one can be expected here. The over is 14-7 in Minnesota's Sunday games this season and 3-1 in Biagini's last 4 starts. I'll test the combined 17-8, 68% run here. 8* OVER the total in Toronto early Sunday

Rickenbach Saturday MLB 8* San Diego Padres Money Line (+) @ Miami Marlins @ 7:10 ET - It may seem "off" to see the Padres in a pick'em price range on the road considering their poor record away from home and the fact that the Marlins are certainly still very much alive in the playoff race. However, the key here is the pitching match-up. The Padres Dinelson Lamet is off of a rare tough outing where he struggled with his command but he still has a 2.83 ERA in his last 6 starts combined. He should prove to easily outduel the Marlins  Odrisamer Despaigne whom is normally a reliever. The Miami right-hander is only getting this start because the Marlins rotation has been stretched out a bit recently due to a double-header. The result is that Despaigne is making just his 2nd start since the 2015 season. By the way, he was with the Padres that season and so now he's getting a shot against his former team. Don't be surprised if he tries to "do too much" here and ends up over-throwing. San Diego will take advantage and Despaigne is likely to drop to 9-20 in his career with another loss here. Keep in mind he's compiled a 4.85 ERA at the big league level and really has not impressed since his rookie campaign in 2014 showed some flashes of potential. 8* SAN DIEGO

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

Rickenbach Saturday MLB 8* OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Baltimore Orioles @ 4:05 ET - The Orioles Kevin Gausman gave up 4 homers in his most recent start and has a 6.06 ERA in his last 3 starts combined. He also has not fared well at Fenway Park in his career. Boston sends Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound for this one and he has struggled since he came back from the disabled list as he has a 4.78 ERA in his last 7 starts. He got rocked for 7 earned runs in his most recent start versus the Orioles. By the way, Gausman has allowed 11 earned runs in his last 12 and 2/3 innings versus the BoSox. This should be another slugfest just like yesterday's game. 8* OVER the total in Boston

Rickenbach Friday MLB 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 7:10 ET - The Pirates and Dodgers combined to leave 24 men on base in yesterday's game and I got burned. I'll get a little back today with this one as Pittsburgh now travels to Cincinnati and this one should fly over the total. The Reds send Robert Stephenson to the mound and even though he has a decent ERA in his limited action as a starter he has 12 walks against just 9 strikeouts in his 3 most recent starts and he got hit hard in his lone home start this season. Add in the fact that the Pirates just recently faced him and this one sets up well for Pittsburgh to have a big day at the plate. The issue for the Pirates will be their own starting pitcher as Ivan Nova has a 5.00 ERA (and has been hit hard) in his 3 most recent starts. Also, Nova has given up 9 runs (8 earned) on 20 hits in the 9 innings spanning his two career starts at Cincinnati. The Reds game versus the Cubs stayed under the total yesterday but previously Cincy was on a 14-3 run to the over. Also, the Pirates game stayed under the total but Pittsburgh previously was on a 6-2 run to the over. The hot hitting resumes this evening in a hitter-friendly venue with two starting pitchers likely to struggle. 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati

Rickenbach Friday MLB 8* OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Baltimore Orioles @ 7:10 ET - The Red Sox Rick Porcello comes up with some strong outings from time to time but this is still a guy whom is getting hit at a .298 clip at Fenway Park this season with a 6-8 record and a 4.89 ERA. Also concerning for Porcello is the fact that the Orioles lineup has been proven to give him trouble. The Boston right-hander is 0-2 versus the Orioles this season and they've hit 3 homers against him in those 2 starts plus the O's got to him for 8 hits in just 6 innings of work in the most recent match-up. The only good news for Porcello here is that he should get plenty of run support in this one as Jeremy Hellickson is likely to get pounded. The Baltimore right-hander is 0-2 with a 9.19 ERA in his last 3 starts. Also, Hellickson has allowed 12 runs (11 earned) on 17 hits in his last 7 and 1/3 innings against the Red Sox. That includes a start earlier this season as well as his most recent start at Fenway Park which was a few years ago. The Red Sox are averaging 6.3 runs per game in their last 9 games and the Orioles are averaging 6 runs per game in their last 11 games. Yes this is a big total posted on this game but it is absolutely justified! 8* OVER the total in Boston

Rickenbach Friday MLB 8* OVER the total in Philadelphia Phillies vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:05 ET - As Phillies rookie Rhys Hoskins has been heating up (3rd MLB player in history to hit 8 homers in first 15 games of career) so too has the Phils offense. Though Philadelphia fell short on the scoreboard yesterday, they are averaging 7.5 runs per game in their last 6 games as they pushed 8 across the plate yesterday. The over is now 8-3 in the Phils last 11 games. As for the Cubs, they are off of a rare loss and a rare low-scoring game so I look for them to bounce back at the plate tonight. Chicago had gone over the total in 6 of their last 7 games and had averaged 7.9 runs per game in their last 10 games prior to yesterday's tough performance at Cincinnati. Jerad Eickhoff gets the start for the Phillies and he has walked 5 in less than 10 innings in his last 2 starts plus he has allowed 22 hits in his last 16 and 1/3 innings. The Cubs counter with Jose Quintana whom is off of a strong home start versus Toronto but had allowed 12 runs (10 earned) in just 16 innings of work spanning his 3 prior starts. The over is 24-12 in Cubs road games where they are a favorite of -175 or more. Also, the over is on a 43-28 run in Phillies August games. 8* OVER the total in Philadelphia

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

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

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 8* Colorado Rockies Money Line (+) @ Kansas City Royals @ 2:15 ET - The Rockies are 29-17 in day games this season. They have performed well as an underdog under the sun too as they are 87-67 (+$29,000) in day games the last 3 seasons combined. You can tell by those numbers there has been plenty of plus money payback for Colorado in afternoon action in recent seasons. The Rockies send German Marquez to the mound for this one. He is off of back to back tough starts but he really didn't pitch all that poorly in either outings. Also, prior to these two outings, Marquez had compiled a 2.95 ERA in his 6 prior starts. The Rockies went 5-1 in those outings and I look for more of the same here. Jake Junis is off of back to back strong starts for the Royals but he did face the light-hitting A's in his most recent outing. Also, he struck out only 2 in 6 innings in that start at pitcher-friendly Oakland. Even though KC got the win yesterday they are still just 9-13 in their last 22 games. The Rockies rarely get swept and I look for them to avoid the sweep here. 8* COLORADO ROCKIES money line

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 8* New York Mets Money Line (+) vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 12:10 ET - The Mets Rafael Montero has given up only 3 earned runs on just 11 hits in the 12 innings spanning his last two starts and this was against the tough lineups of the Marlins and Yankees. Now he starts against the Diamondbacks for the first time in 3 years. That is certainly an edge for Montero as Arizona lacks familiarity with him. Also, the Dbacks are hitting only .233 on the road this season and that ranks them dead last in the National League! Arizona will send Robbie Ray to the mound for this one and he gave up 8 hits in just 5 innings in his most recent start versus the Mets (last August). Also, Ray's last start at St Louis was cut short (less than 2 innings) but came into that game having allowed 4 earned runs or more in 3 of his last 6 starts. Also, his strikeout numbers have fallen off recently. The Diamondbacks have lost 4 of his last 5 starts! Arizona has a long-term mark of 58-75 in day games while the Mets are 72-60 long-term in day games. 8* NEW YORK METS money line

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

Contrarian Shocker - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays (+) vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 7:10 ET - The Blue Jays now have the longest losing streak in the majors with 4 straight defeats. Marcus Stroman gets the call here looking to stop the bleeding but the Rays just saw him last week and are now seeing him for the 4th time already this season. Tampa Bay has averaged 5 runs per game in their last 3 games and, overall, they've finally started to hit the ball better over the past week. The Rays send Austin Pruitt to the mound for this one. This is Pruitt's first ever start against the Blue Jays and the Toronto hitters that do have experience against him (relief appearances for Pruitt) have gone just 4 for 20 (.200) against him. Pruitt is off of a rough start versus the Mariners but previously allowed just 4 earned runs on 16 hits in 18 and 1/3 innings spanning his 3 prior starts. That equates to a 1.96 ERA and I look for Pruitt to come up big again here as the slump continues for Toronto. The Blue Jays are 25-37 on the road this season! The home team has won 5 of the last 6 games between these clubs. 10* TAMPA BAY on the money line early Wednesday evening.

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 8* OVER the total in San Francisco Giants vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 3:45 ET - Yesterday's game stayed just under the total but each team had 10 hits. That's a good sign of what to expect this afternoon at AT & T Park in terms of plenty of hits. Yes it will be cool, as is typical of San Francisco this time of year, but the wind will be blowing out and the ball does carry better in day games than at night. That said, note that the Brewers Matt Garza has been rocked for 7 homers in his last 2 road starts. Overall he has more walks than strikeouts in his last 3 starts combined and he has compiled an ugly 12.47 ERA in these 3 outings. Matt Moore gets the call for the Giants here and he is off of a strong start but that came versus the league-worst Phillies. The San Francisco southpaw previously allowed 49 hits in the 40 and 2/3 innings spanning his 7 prior starts. Though yesterday's under was the 3rd in a row in a Giants game, San Francisco had gone 7 straight games without an under prior to this 3-game run of unders. The over is 15-10 this season (and 61-46 the last 3 seasons combined) in Milwaukee's games versus left-handed starters. 8* OVER the total in San Francisco Wednesday afternoon.