Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play Philadelphia Phillies Money Line (+) vs Houston Astros @ 7:05 ET - Vincent Velasquez is a fiery competitor and this is his first ever shot at his former team since being traded away as part of the Ken Giles deal in December of 2015. Look for Velasquez to make the most of this opportunity! In his young career he has shown a penchant for coming up big in big games and right now the Phillies are also heating up too. That said, it is truly the perfect situation here for a big play on the underdog Phils as they've won 5 of their last 7 games and have scored an average of 6.4 runs per game during this stretch. The Astros are only 4-4 in their last 8 games and Brad Peacock has allowed 12 hits and walked 7 in the 12 innings spanning his last two road starts. Also, Peacock got crushed for 8 earned runs in only 5 innings of work in his most recent start at Philadelphia. I know it may seem tough to fade the team with the best record in the American League and go with the team with the worst record in the majors. However, this is the spot to do it and grab tremendous home dog value because I fully expect Velasquez to outduel Peacock in this one. Last year the Phillies right-hander had a 2.88 ERA at home and held batters to a .204 batting average when on his home mound. He's healthy again and he and the Phillies are up for the challenge here! 10* PHILADELPHIA

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach Monday MLB 8* OVER the total in Chicago Cubs vs Chicago White Sox @ 2:20 ET - The wind will be blowing in at Wrigley Field and it will be a rather cool afternoon by July standards. However, the result of this is that we're being given a low total to work with here in a game that should see plenty of runs. The Cubs have Kyle Hendricks on the mound and he is making his first MLB start in nearly two months as he returns from the disabled list. Though he was strong in his final rehab start as he prepared for this outing, keep in mind that was in AA minor league ball. In his last 2 MLB starts he has given up 9 earned runs in 9 innings. Also, he has given up 8 earned runs in the 9 innings spanning his last two starts against the White Sox. The ChiSox will have Miguel Gonzalez on the mound for this one. He also just returned from the disabled list recently and he allowed only 1 earned run in his first start back. However, Gonzalez did walk 5 and allowed a total of 10 baserunners in 6 innings in that start. Allowing too many baserunners against the Cubs this afternoon could quickly spell disaster as the Cubs are 8-1 since the All Star break and have averaged 6.2 runs per game during this hot streak. Though the White Sox are enduring a lengthy losing streak, they have scored 4 runs or more in 3 of their last 6 games and I look for facing the crosstown rival Cubs to bring out the best in the ChiSox hitters this afternoon. The over is 8-3 in Cubs interleague games this season and it looks like another one is on tap here! 8* OVER the total in the Chicago Cubs game

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 8* St Louis Cardinals Money Line (+) @ Chicago Cubs @ 8:05 ET - Michael Wacha is 4-0 with a 1.01 ERA in his last 4 starts. During this stretch he has struck out 31 in 26 and 2/3 innings spanning the 4 outings. That is why, even though Jose Quintana had a fantastic debut in his first start in a Cubs uniform, I have no qualms about backing the big dog Cardinals in this match-up. Quintana's prior 8 home starts this season (all on the south side of Chicago as a member of the White Sox) saw him go 1-4 with a 5.11 ERA. Of course this could have something to do with the "distractions" of home and, keep in mind, though he's now with a new club he is still in the same city. Quintana has simply gone from the south side to the north side! That said, don't be surprised if his home struggles in Chicago continue. The Cardinals are a modest 12-10 (but profitable) against left-handed starters this season. As for the Cubs, they are 34-40 against right-handed starters this season and that has put their backers in a $24,500 HOLE at $1,000 per game! Grabbing the underdog value here as these teams are very close to each other in in the NL Central standings, they are significant rivals, and Wacha has been throwing extremely well. 8* ST LOUIS CARDINALS money line

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

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play Baltimore Orioles Money Line (+) vs Houston Astros @ 1:35 ET - Excellent home dog line value being offered here. Even though 2 of his last 3 starts have been at home, Lance McCullers has been struggling for the Astros. Houston has gone winless in the right-hander's last 3 starts and McCullers has compiled a 7.54 ERA and a 1.95 WHIP in these 3 outings! The Orioles Dylan Bundy is coming off of a strong start and, prior to that outing, he totaled 19 strikeouts in the 16 innings spanning his 3 prior starts. He seems to be turning the corner again and I also like the fact that this is his first ever start versus the Astros. The fact that Houston does not have familiarity with his offerings is a big edge for Baltimore right-hander. The Orioles have lost the first two games of this series but previously they had won 4 straight games. The Astros have a fantastic record on the season and today they will be going for their 3rd straight win. However, that hasn't been coming easy for Houston of late! Since June 6th, the Astros have had a winning streak of 3 games or more twice! Look for the Orioles to avoid the sweep here as McCullers struggles continue and Bundy enjoys success against a team that is not familiar with him. 10* BALTIMORE

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 8* OVER the total in Tampa Bay Rays vs Texas Rangers @ 1:10 ET - The Rangers Tyson Ross got rocked again in his most recent start, at Baltimore Tuesday, and he now has a 7.22 ERA on the season. The over is 4-2 in the 6 starts Ross has made for Texas this year. Ross has made two starts at Tropicana Field in his career and the result has been an ugly 11.58 ERA! Jake Odorizzi gets the start for the Rays here and he is off of a fantastic start at Oakland. However, prior to that, the Tampa Bay right-hander had seen each of his 7 previous starts go over the total! Odorizzi compiled a 6.69 ERA during this 7-0 run to the over! Look for the over in Rays games to improve to 6-2 on the season when they are at home in a match-up with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. 8* OVER the total in Tampa Bay

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play Pittsburgh Pirates Money Line (+) @ Colorado Rockies @ 8:10 ET - No team in the majors has a current winning streak longer than 3 games except the Pirates! With their huge 13-5 win yesterday, Pittsburgh has now won 6 straight games and they've also recorded victories in 12 of their last 14 overall. As the hottest team in the majors right now they're certainly not getting much respect from the odds makers here! The Pirates have averaged 5.5 runs per game in their last 10 games and they should have no trouble with the offerings of German Marquez. Even though the Rockies right-hander has a respectable ERA in his last 3 starts, he has allowed a combined 14 earned runs on 29 hits in 23 and 1/3 innings over his last 4 starts. The point is that he has been getting hit hard but he has been fortunate to work out of some jams. Facing a Pirates team that is red hot means that those jams could be a lot tougher to work out of tonight! Also, Marquez got the better of Chad Kuhl in their match-up on June 14th but Kuhl really didn't pitch poorly in that game. Also, the Pirates right-hander comes into this revenge-seeking start having allowed 2 earned runs or less in 7 of his last 9 starts. Overall, in Kuhl's last 4 starts he has allowed just 6 earned runs on only 14 hits in 21 and 2/3 innings of work! Look for the Pirates to improve to 12-4 (75%) in Saturday games this season. As for Colorado, they are 116-160 in night games the last 3 seasons combined! Grab the underdog value in this one! 10* PITTSBURGH money line

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

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 8* OVER the total in San Francisco Giants vs San Diego Padres @ 4:05 ET - With yesterday's 12-9 win, the over is now a stellar 7-0-1 in the Padres last 8 games! It was the 4th time in 5 games that San Diego has allowed 9 runs or more. However, the Padres offense has averaged scoring 6.3 runs per game during this solid stretch. The wind will be blowing out this afternoon at AT & T Park and the ball does carry better in afternoon games in comparison with night games in San Francisco. Couple that with the fact that this is a favorable pitching match-up for an over and you have all the right ingredients for another wild one by the bay. The Giants send Matt Moore to the mound and, though he has been better at home than on the road this season, the San Francisco southpaw has been getting rocked in most of his recent outings. Prior to a solid effort at home against the Indians, Moore had given up a ridiculous 14 earned runs on 26 hits in just 13 and 2/3 innings spanning his 3 prior home starts. As for Padres starter Luis Perdomo, he has been rocked for 22 hits in just 12 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts. Also, this will be the 3rd time this season that the Giants are facing Perdomo and repetition tends to favor the hitters. The over is 7-2-1 in San Francisco's last 10 games. Also, the over is 28-15 in San Diego's divisional games this season. Look for more of the same Saturday afternoon. 8* OVER the total in San Francisco

Rickenbach Friday MLB 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs Miami Marlins @ 7:10 ET - It may seem hard to predict Homer Bailey this season because he's been "hit or miss" so far. However, even in his two recent road starts where he allowed just 1 earned run in each he did give up 15 hits in 12 and 2/3 innings of work over those two outings. Also, one thing is for sure, home starts have been a disaster for Bailey. He has given up 14 earned runs in just 7 innings of work spanning his two outings in Cincinnati this season. Now Bailey will be facing a solid Marlins lineup that is hitting .284 on the road this season which ranks them #1 in the National League! As for Miami's pitcher tonight, Jose Urena gets the call. I am well aware of the fact that Urena has solid overall numbers this season. However, the Marlins right-hander has a 6.92 ERA in his last 3 starts and he has given up 5 homers in just 13 innings spanning those 3 outings. Look for the over to improve to 6-3 in the Marlins last 9 games and 5-2 in the Reds last 7 games as this one has the makings of a slug-fest. Bailey has allowed 5 homers in his 7 innings on his home mound this season. In road games with a posted total of 10 or 10.5 runs, the Marlins are on a perfect 7-0 run to the over. Also, when playing with a day off this season, Miami has gone 5-1 to the over. Cincinnati got crushed yesterday and they are 26-15 to the over when off of a game where they allowed 10 runs or more. Also, the Reds are 31-19 to the over this season when they are off of a loss. Look for these trends to continue Friday.  8* OVER the total in Cincinnati

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

Rickenbach Friday MLB 8* Houston Astros Money Line (-) @ Baltimore Orioles @ 7:05 ET - As long-time followers know, I play a lot of dogs and totals and certainly avoid the big faves. In this case we have a moderately priced favorite that has huge edges and that makes them well worth the mid-range price (-140 at time of this write-up) . The Astros Mike Fiers has been pitching very well. Over his last 9 starts he has compiled a 2.50 ERA and Houston is a solid 7-3 in his last 10 outings. Of course the Astros have one of the best records in baseball and their phenomenal 33-11 record in road games has led the way this season. Houston also is 22-8 this season when off of a loss and they are 48-19 against right-handed starters. Certainly Ubaldo Jimenez is the type of righty they love to see! Jimenez has allowed 4 earned runs or more in 8 of his last 10 starts! He has an ugly 9.88 ERA and 2.12 WHIP in his last 3 starts. The last time he hosted Houston, Jimenez gave up 4 earned runs on 10 hits in 7 innings. In Fiers only start versus the Orioles in his career, he held them to 1 earned run in 7 innings last season. Baltimore is coming off of a sweep of Texas but the Rangers have the lowest road batting average of any team in the league. Now the Orioles face the majors best road team! That said, look for the Os to drop to 2-6 on the season when they are a home dog in a price range of +125 to +175. Lay the price with the Astros in a good spot here as they were off yesterday and are now fully prepared to bounce back from Wednesday's loss. 8* HOUSTON

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play Texas Rangers Money Line (+) @ Baltimore Orioles @ 7:05 ET - This is a contrarian play as many will be looking Baltimore's way since the Orioles are 28-19 at home this season, have won the first 3 games of this series, and the Rangers have lost 4 straight overall. However, the pitching edge for Texas here simply can not be ignored! The Rangers Cole Hamels has allowed 0 earned runs in his last 21 innings on the mound. Also, versus Baltimore the left-hander has a 3.10 ERA in his last 3 starts. He'll be opposed by fellow southpaw Wade Miley in this one. The Orioles lefty has been struggling badly! Not only does Miley have a ridiculous 11.24 ERA in his last 3 starts, he has given up an insane 33 baserunners (24 hits and 9 walks) in the 12 innings spanning these 3 outings. Also, in Miley's last 3 starts versus the Rangers, he has allowed 13 earned runs in only 16 innings of work. Even though the Rangers have been slumping at the plate, Miley will be sure to bring out the best in them Thursday evening. Also, Hamels has the longest current scoreless innings streak in the AL with his run of putting up goose eggs having reached 21 straight! The Rangers are 5-1 in Hamels last 6 starts and the Orioles are 1-4 in Miley's last 5 starts! Texas is 6-2 in Thursday games this season and 25-16 on Thursdays the last 3 seasons combined. The Rangers are also 5-2 this season and 23-13 the past 3 seasons combined when they are off of a game where they allowed 10 runs or more. 10* TEXAS

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

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

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (+) @ Oakland A's @ 3:35 ET - Even though the A's Sonny Gray has great overall numbers on the season, he certainly has not been pitching as well as Jacob Faria of the Rays. Additionally, another important key here is the fact that Gray has struggled against Tampa Bay in recent meetings while Oakland's lineup has never faced Faria. This should also prove to be huge edge for the road pitcher in this match-up. The Rays are 6-1 in all of Faria's starts this season and that includes a perfect 4-0 mark on the road. As for Gray, the last 3 times he has faced the Rays he has allowed a combined 18 runs (12 earned) on 24 hits (including 5 homers) in just 16 and 2/3 innings of work. All 3 of those starts have come within the past 14 months including one just last month! With the success that Tampa Bay has had against Gray and the fact that Oakland is not familiar with Faria (and he has been pitching lights out), this is a great spot to back the road dog. The Rays entered Tuesday's action having gone 38-26 and up $11,300 against right-handed pitchers this season. The A's are 67-91 and down $25,600 in day games the last 3 seasons combined. Also, Oakland entered Tuesday having gone just 7-9 in their last 16 games while TB entered Tuesday's action with a record of 9-5 in their last 14 road games! Look for the Rays to improve to 5-0 in Faria's road starts this season! 10* TAMPA BAY

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 8* Atlanta Braves Money Line (+) vs Chicago Cubs @ 12:10 ET - With Tuesday's game getting a very late night start (due to rain in the Atlanta area) it is is going to be a short night for the players with this early Wednesday game on getaway day. The situation truly favors the Braves since they're at home and since their next series is against a non-divisional foe while the Cubs have a huge series on deck with their biggest rival, the Cardinals! Chicago, off of a short night rest, isn't going to have much luck hitting R.A. Dickey's knuckler the way he has been throwing. The Braves knuckle-baller has allowed only 4 earned runs on just 25 hits in the 32 innings spanning his last 5 starts! Conversely, the Cubs Mike Montgomery has been in an awful funk. The Chicago southpaw has a 10.13 ERA and 1.95 WHIP in his last 3 starts! The Cubs are 1-3 in Montgomery's road starts while the Braves are 8-2 in Dickey's home starts this season. That said, there is tremendous home dog line value here. That is especially true when you consider that the Cubs are just 32-39 and down $25,200 on the money line in their games against right-handed starters this season. The Braves entered Tuesday's action 25-14 and up $15,300 this season in their games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. The underdog value here is fantastic with the home dog having a huge edge on the mound. The Braves entered Tuesday having won 16 of their last 25 games while the Cubs have certainly been battling a letdown season after finally winning the World Series last year. 8* ATLANTA

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 8* OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs San Diego Padres @ 8:40 ET - When you think of the Padres you don't think of offense but they've been doing a great job at the plate lately. San Diego has averaged 5.5 runs per game on 10.5 hits per game as each of their last 4 contests have gone over the total. Look for the Padres to make it 5-0 to the over since the All Star break with another wild one tonight at Coors Field. The Rockies also are on a perfect 4-0 run to the over since the All Star break and Colorado has pounded out 29 hits in their last two contests as they've averaged scoring 11 runs per game. Look for more of the same tonight based on this pitching match-up. The Padres Dinelson Lamet is 1-2 with an 8.00 ERA on the road this season and the over is 3-1 in his 4 starts away from home. The young hurler makes his first ever start at hitter-friendly Coors Field and that is generally not a fun experience for a rookie pitcher! Antonio Senzatela is also a rookie and he has had his share of struggles for the Rockies this season. He has a 10.80 ERA in his last 3 starts and was demoted to the bullpen so this will now be his first MLB start in 4 weeks. Senzatela has already made 2 starts versus the Padres this season so San Diego's lineup is very familiar with him. That said, the way San Diego has been hitting, the "third time is the charm" for the Padres hitters as they pound him in this start. The over is 7-2 in Senzatela's home starts this season and I expect more of the same tonight. 8* OVER the total in Colorado Tuesday night

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

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play St Louis Cardinals Money Line (-) @ New York Mets @ 7:10 ET - With the loss yesterday the slumping Mets have now lost 7 of their last 10 games. Conversely, the Cardinals have won 12 of their last 19 games. The Cards also rank a big starting pitching edge in this one. Michael Wacha is 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in his last 3 starts and he has struck out 23 in the 17 and 2/3 innings spanning those 3 outings. The Mets have Rafael Montero on the mound for this one and he has a 6.27 ERA and 1.88 WHIP in his four starts this season. While St Louis has reached double digits in hits in 5 of its last 7 games, the Mets have been held to 8 hits or less in 5 of their last 6 games. The Cardinals are on a 120-79 run against teams with a losing record. New York is 6-12 this season in home games where their money line is in a range of -125 to +125. Overall, on the season, the Cards rank the bullpen edge over the Mets too. 10* ST LOUIS CARDINALS money line early Tuesday evening

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

Rickenbach Monday MLB 8* OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 7:10 ET - Mild evening in Boston with the wind blowing out to left at Fenway Park. I know the Red Sox and Yankees just wrapped up a low-scoring series but this pitching match-up is conducive to an over and so too is the weather. The Red Sox are starting Eduardo Rodriguez and he is coming off of the disabled list. The southpaw is 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA in his career against the Blue Jays and this will be a tough spot for him in his first MLB start in nearly 7 weeks. The Blue Jays counter with Marcus Storman and only 2 of his 8 road starts this season have resulted in unders. Also, the Red Sox have been a nemesis for him. In his last 3 starts versus Boston, Stroman has given up 20 earned runs on 31 hits in less than 16 innings of work. That includes Stroman getting rocked by the Red Sox in Toronto earlier this season. Look for more of the same tonight as the over improves to 4-0 in Stroman's last 4 starts versus Boston. The over is 6-1-1 in Toronto's last 8 games and I look for their recent high-scoring trending to continue here as both starters are likely to get tagged early and often. 8* OVER the total in Boston

Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play Texas Rangers Money Line (+) @ Baltimore Orioles @ 7:05 ET - Chris Tillman is returning from paternity leave tonight. As if the Orioles right-hander wasn't already having enough problems on the mound now he has the added extra mental distraction of having just had an addition to the Tillman family. Note that Tillman had given up 23 hits in 13 and 1/3 innings in his last 3 starts before going on paternity leave after his June 30th start. Also, he has a 1-5 record and 7.90 ERA on the season. In his last 3 starts versus the Rangers Tillman has given up 15 runs (14 earned) in only 12 innings of work! Texas counters with Andrew Cashner this evening and the right-hander had a fantastic start at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in his only start versus Baltimore in his career. Also, he comes into his outing off of a strong start in his final outing before the All Star break. Overall, Cashner has a solid 3.54 ERA on the season and he is facing an Orioles team that is in a funk to say the least! Baltimore has lost 10 of its last 13 games! Conversely, the Rangers had won 5 of their last 6 games before a tight loss yesterday. Look for them to bounce right back here with a big pitching edge as Baltimore's struggles continue. 10* TEXAS RANGERS money line

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Monday MLB 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs Washington Nationals @ 12:35 ET - Not only did Stephen Strasburg allow 6 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits and 2 walks in just 3 innings of work in his most recent start, he did not record a single strikeout! He now has just 6 strikeouts in his last 10 innings and he took a come-backer off his hip in his final start before the All Star break. Strasburg last faced the Reds less than 4 weeks ago and they got to him for 5 earned runs in just 5 innings of work. He also allowed 2 homers in just just 5 and 1/3 innings in his last start at Cincinnati. Scott Feldman gets the start for the Reds here and he has been pitching surprising well this season but now gives the Nationals a quick "second look" at him as they just faced him less than 4 weeks ago. Lets not forget the Nats have won 8 of their last 10 games and have averaged scoring 6.7 runs per game during this red hot stretch. They are one of the top offenses in all of baseball but they also have a bullpen that has a 6.15 ERA on the road this season and is arguably the worst pen in baseball so far this season. The Reds pen ranks in the middle of the pack this season so neither teams bullpen is likely to be "lights out" in this early afternoon affair as Cincinnati has already given up 29 runs in this series. The Nationals bats are "feeling it" right now but I also look for Strasburg to struggle again here and that is why my play is on the over in this early afternoon affair. 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati

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

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play San Diego Padres Money Line (+) vs San Francisco Giants @ 4:40 ET - With their 5-3 win yesterday the Padres have now won 6 of their last 9 games and they are playing .500 ball at home this season. As for the Giants, the loss yesterday dropped them to an ugly 18-33 on the road this season and it was also San Francisco's 6th loss in their last 8 games! Jeff Samardzija got hit hard in his last start before the break and the loss dropped him to 4-10 on the season. The Giants right-hander is 2-5 with a 4.81 ERA in his road starts this season. Trevor Cahill gets the starts for the Padres in this one and he is 3-0 with a minuscule 0.49 ERA in his 3 home starts this season! He should have a solid edge over a Giants team that he hasn't started against in 3 years. Conversely, this will be Samardzija's 5th start against the Padres in the past 12 months. San Diego did hit him hard in 2 of the 4 outings and, as you can see, they've got plenty of recent experience against him. Samardzija's strikeout numbers have been a little down in recent starts and that certainly could be a sign of things to come. Conversely, Cahill has fanned 12 in his 9 and 1/3 innings since returning from the DL and he continues to be a strikeout machine with 63 in his 50 and 2/3 innings this season. San Francisco is 11-23 in day games this season and only 12-26 in their games against teams with a losing record. Look for the Padres to improve to 4-0 in Cahill's home starts this season. 10* SAN DIEGO on the money line

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 8* OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Chicago Cubs @ 1:35 ET - 30 runs have been scored so far in the first two games of this series and both match-ups flew over the total. The Orioles are 5-1 to the over in their last 6 games and the Cubs are 6-2 to the over in their last 8 games. Based on the pitching match-up for Sunday, I see these trends continuing. Jose Quintana, recently acquired from the crosstown White Sox, gets the start for the Cubs in this one. Unfortunately for him, his first start is against an AL foe so that means these hitters have plenty of familiarity with him. Quintana got rocked at Baltimore 2 months ago and he has a 6.55 ERA in his last two starts versus the Orioles. In his career, the Cubs southpaw is 1-3 with a 5.16 ERA at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Baltimore counters with Ubaldo Jimenez in this one. The right-hander is 1-3 with a 5.62 ERA in his career against the Cubs. Though it has been many years since Jimenez has started against the Cubs, the fact is that he is coming into this start in poor current form. He has an 8.10 ERA in his last 2 starts. Also, on the season, Jimenez has a 7.25 ERA and that includes a 6.84 ERA in home starts where the over is a perfect 5-0 this season in his outings. The over is 8-2 in Cubs inter-league games this season and 11-6 in Orioles inter-league games on the year. Also, Baltimore is 10-3 to the over in Sunday games this year and 4-1 to the over as a home dog of +125 to +175 this season. More of the same on Sunday. 8* OVER the total in Baltimore

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play Minnesota Twins Money Line (+) @ Houston Astros @ 7:10 ET - The Astros are one of the best teams in the majors and they just doubled up the Twins 10 to 5 yesterday. That said, it may seem tough to fade Houston here but the fact is that Minnesota has been a strong road team this season and they have a large pitching edge in this match-up. On the season the Twins are 25-16 on the road and that includes a fantastic 9-4 mark as a road dog of +125 to +175. Ervin Santana gets the start in this one for Minny and the veteran right-hander has given up 1 earned run or less in 6 of his 8 road starts this season. His most recent outing away from home was a rare poor one but he responded by pitching a complete game at home in his very next start. Santana also is 3-0 with a 2.02 ERA in his 5 career starts against the Astros. Houston will have a struggling Joe Musgrove on the mound. The Astros are only 2-7 in his 9 home starts this season and he comes into this outing having a helluva time of late. Musgrove's last 3 starts have seen him compile a 10.79 ERA as he's been hit very hard! As good as Houston has been this season Musgrove is a significant weakness in their current starting rotation and I am happy to grab the big dog value and go against him here. Look for Santana to maintain his perfect career record against the Astros and look for Houston to drop to 2-8 at home in Musgrove's starts on the year! Solid contrarian line value available here with the road dog. 10* MINNESOTA

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 8* Detroit Tigers Money Line (-) vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 6:10 ET - The Tigers got crushed by the Jays 7-2 last night but I look for a bounce back here behind a large pitching edge in the Saturday match-up. Michael Fullmer gets the start for Detroit and he is a perfect 3-0 in his last 3 starts and has compiled a sparkling 2.43 ERA in his last 4 starts with only 21 hits allowed in 29 and 2/3 innings spanning those 4 starts! Fullmer threw 6 innings of shutout ball in his lone career start against the Blue Jays. While Toronto's Francisco Liriano has pitched well in recent outings versus the Tigers, the most recent was two years ago. That is significant here because he's really not the same pitcher now. The Jays southpaw has struggled with a 5.56 ERA overall this season and a 7.20 ERA and ugly 1.96 WHIP in his road starts this season. As a road dog in a price range of +125 to +175, the Blue Jays are only 11-25 the last 3 seasons combined. I see strong line value here with the Tigers in a moderate price range and off of a home loss and having a significant pitching edge in this one. Even with yesterday's win Toronto is still only 4-8 this season in road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Also, the Tigers are 51-34 as a home fave in a range of -125 to -175 the last 3 seasons combined. Look for Fullmer to stay hot and make it 4 WINS in a row while Liriano's recent struggles (5.96 ERA last 4 starts) continue here. 8* DETROIT

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 8* UNDER the total in Boston Red Sox vs New York Yankees @ 4:05 ET - Yesterday's game snuck over the total thanks to a Boston rally from a 4-3 deficit to pull out the win in the bottom of the 9th 5-4. I don't expect another bullpen meltdown here on Saturday afternoon and certainly two very capable starters take to the mound for this one. Chris Sale has been phenomenal for the Red Sox and he is 11-4 with a 2.75 ERA on the season. Also, the BoSox southpaw has allowed just 23 hits while striking out 52 batters in the 36 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 5 starts. The under went 4-1 in those 5 outings and I expect ore of the same here as the Yankees Luis Severino has struck out 29 in 19 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts. Though he did give up some big hits at Houston in his most recent road start, Severino has mostly dominated away from home this season and that includes a dominating performance at Boston in his only start at Fenway Park this season. Look for another one here while Sale's long-term dominance continues as well and that spells "under" in this one. There have only been 4 unders this season in the 12 Boston home games thus far that have had a money line between -175 and -250. Look for the under to improve to 10-5 in Saturday Red Sox games this season. 8* UNDER the total in Boston

Rickenbach MLB Friday 8* UNDER the total in Atlanta Braves vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 7:35 ET - The Braves are starting R.A. Dickey and the knuckle-baller has been throwing extremely well. He has a 1.00 ERA in his last 4 starts. Also, he has allowed just 2 earned runs in his last 21 innings at home! The Diamondbacks hitters will be rusty after the All Star Break which will add to the challenge of facing the fluttering knuckler of Dickey. Also, the Dbacks haven't faced him in a long time and the veteran right-hander has a minuscule 1.64 ERA in his 3 career starts versus Arizona. This season he has gone 5-1 with a 2.98 ERA at home and he'll be opposed by the Diamondbacks Taijuan Walker who has gone 4-2 with a 2.65 ERA on the road this season. Also, this is Walker's first ever career starts against the Braves and that gives him an edge over hitters whom are not familiar with him and whom will also be trying to get their timing back after the All Star Break. Keep in mind, Arizona is averaging only 4 runs per game on the road this season and the Braves were held to 4 runs or less in 12 of their last 15 games before the All Star Break. The Diamondbacks have averaged only 5.9 hits per game in their last 6 games and have not reached double digits in hits in a single game this month. That said, the big total posted on this game is offering solid line value for under players. The under is 19-7 this season in Arizona's road games where their line ranges from +125 to -125. Also, there has not been a single over in any of Dickey's last 3 home starts. 8* UNDER the total in Atlanta early Friday evening

Rickenbach MLB Friday 8* Miami Marlins Money Line (+) vs Los Angeles Dodgers @ 7:10 ET - Fading the team with the best record in the majors so there is a home dog factor here along with a tremendous pitching edge. That is a combination that has led to exceptional line value in this spot. Quietly the Marlins won 6 of their last 8 games before the All Star Break and they recorded double digits in hits in every single game. The Dodgers won 6 straight games entering the All Star Break but they averaged only 7.5 hits per game. That is a significant factor here because teams tend to struggle a bit at the plate after the All Star Break and that means the pitching edge is likely to be an even more pronounced factor. Daniel Straily of the Marlins has a 2.31 ERA at home this season and has averaged nearly 1 strikeout per inning in his home starts. As for Brandon McCarthy of the Dodgers, he truly labored in his final start before the All Star Break (versus Kansas City) and he has more walks than strikeouts in his last two starts. The Marlins are 5-0 in Straily's last 5 starts while the Dodgers have lost 2 of McCarthy's last 3 road starts. On the road in games with a money line in a range of -125 to +125, the Dodgers are 28-46 the last 3 seasons combined and they have a losing record this season as well. Look for the Marlins to improve to 6-0 in Straily's last 6 starts. 8* MIAMI MARLINS money line early Friday evening

NOTE: The Yankees are now going with Jordan Montgomery rather than Michael Pineda. This is still a play for me. Unlike run line plays or totals plays where you generally must list the pitchers, you can take "action" with money line plays and that is what I would always suggest doing. "Action" is the norm with money line plays and that means you have action no matter who is pitching. Montgomery has been rocked for 12 hits (including 3 homers) in just 9 and 2/3 innings spanning his last two starts. The Yankees have lost 9 of his last 14 starts and I look for that trend to continue here. Rickenbach Friday MLB 8* Boston Red Sox Money Line (-) vs New York Yankees @ 7:10 ET - Drew Pomeranz of the Red Sox has been red hot. The Boston southpaw is 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA in his last 5 starts overall. In terms of how he matches up here, Pomeranz is 2-1 with a 2.40 ERA in his 6 games (5 starts) versus the Yankees in his career. He'll be opposed by the Yanks Michael Pineda and the right-hander has struggled recently. The Yankees are 1-2 in his last 3 starts and he has compiled a 9.69 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP during this rough stretch. Pineda has allowed 5 earned runs or more in 4 of his last 7 starts. The Red Sox have won 7 of the last 9 starts Pomeranz has made while the Yankees have lost 4 of the last 5 starts Pinedas has made. Overall, the Yankees are 9-19 this season in road games where their money line is in a range of -125 to +125. Also, the Red Sox are a stellar 25-13 this season when off of a loss and also 10-4 this season in their home games with posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. The Yankees have held the upper hand so far in their season series with Boston this year but the Red Sox have revenge (and a significant pitching edge) working in their favor here. 8* BOSTON RED SOX money line early Friday evening.

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

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

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 8* OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Los Angeles Angels @ 3:05 ET - The Rangers and Angels combined to go 0 for 14 with runners in scoring position in yesterday's game. All in all 17 men were left on base in the 5-2 Texas win that stayed under the total. I won't hesitate to come right back with the same play I lost with yesterday. The Rangers Yu Darvish has given up 12 earned runs on 19 hits in just 9 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 2 home starts! Though he has had success against the Angels this season, this is the 3rd time already that they'll be seeing him this season and Darvish is not pitching nearly as well now as he was earlier this season. Los Angeles is starting JC Ramirez in this one and the right-hander has been rocked for 10 runs (9 earned) on 14 hits (including 3 homers) in his last 2 starts spanning 10 and 2/3 innings. Ramirez has been rocked in 5 of his last 7 starts! He is 2-4 in these 7 starts with an ERA over 7.00 and opponents are hitting over .300 against him since June 1st! Though yesterday's game stayed under the total it was just the 2nd under for the Rangers in their last 8 games and I look for a return to hot hitting in this one based on the pitching match-up and hot afternoon weather in Arlington. 8* OVER the total in Texas

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 1:05 ET - This is a contrarian play for sure based on this pitching match-up but the Brewers had scored an average of 7 runs per game during their 8-1 run prior to yesterday's 5-3 loss on a 3 run bomb in the bottom of the 9th. As for the Yankees, although they are only 4-6 in their last 10 games, the Bronx Bombers have averaged 5.7 runs per game during this 10-game stretch. Also, the over was on an 11-5-1 run in the Yanks 16 games prior to yesterday's under. Masahiro Tanaka is 0-4 with a 15.98 ERA in his 5 day game starts this season! Opponents have hit an insane .442 against him in afternoon action this year! I know Jimmy Nelson has improved stats this season but he entered this season with a 21-38 record in his career. He was 8-16 last season and batters hit .268 against him and he is 7-4 this season and batters have hit .258 against him. The point is that Nelson may not have come as far as you would think and I expect the Yankees potent lineup to do damage against him in the Bronx. Nelson has a 4.62 ERA on the road this season and that higher ERA away from home is no fluke as he had a 6.00 ERA last season on the road and a 4.76 ERA the prior season on the road. The over is 25-11 in Yankees games versus teams with a winning record this season and also 11-4 in Yanks Sunday games this year. 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees

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

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 8* OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Detroit Tigers @ 7:15 ET - The Indians Mike Clevinger and Detroit's Justin Verlander just met Sunday in Detroit and the result was an 11-8 win for the Tribe. Now they meet again in Cleveland and, with the lineups having just seen these hurlers, I look for another wild one. Clevinger has a 6.75 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP in the two starts he has made against the Tigers in his career. Detroit's Verlander is struggling this season and this has been particularly true on the road. The Tigers are only 2-7 in his road starts this season and Verlander has a 6.22 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP in those outings. The over is 7-2 in Verlander's road starts this season and he has an 11.30 ERA in his last 3 starts versus Cleveland. All of those outings took place in 2017 and I expect another rough outing for him at Progressive Field this evening. The Indians were a big home fave yesterday versus the Tigers and they won 11-2. As a home favorite of -125 to -175, the over is 14-9 this season (and 63-42 the last 3 seasons combined) in Indians games. The over is 21-11 this season in Detroit's divisional games and the over is 11-5 in Tigers road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs this season. 8* OVER the total in Cleveland

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (-) vs Boston Red Sox @ 4:10 ET - The Rays Alex Cobb is off of a tough start but that was on the road and he had been throwing very well. In fact, Cobb has a 3.15 ERA on the season in his home starts. He gives Tampa Bay a big pitching edge over Boston in this one as the Red Sox send Rick Porcello to the mound. The veteran right-hander is 4-10 with a 5.01 ERA on the season. Porcello is off of a win in his most recent start but lets not forget that opponents hit .329 against him in May and .323 against him in June! Consistently Porcello has been hit very hard and I look for more of the same Saturday afternoon. The Boston righty has given up 13 runs (11 earned) on 17 hits in 10 and 1/3 innings spanning his two starts versus the Rays this season. Cobb held the Red Sox to just 4 hits in 6 and 1/3 innings when he most recently faced them and that was in Boston. Look for Cobb to be even stronger versus the BoSox here at Tropicana Field. The Red Sox are 58-72 (-$17,000) in road games where their money line is in a range of +125 to -125 the past 3 seasons combined. The Rays are 34-25 (+$8,500) versus right-handed starters this season. 10* TAMPA BAY

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 8* Toronto Blue Jays Money Line (-) vs Houston Astros @ 1:05 ET - After getting embarrassed 12-2 last night, look for the Blue Jays to respond early Saturday. Marcus Stroman gets the start for Toronto and he has a solid 2.87 ERA at home this season while the Astros Michael Fiers has a 4.83 ERA on the road this year. Also, the last time Fiers pitched at Toronto he was outdueled by Stroman in a 9-2 Jays victory. In fact, Stroman faced Houston twice last season and he dominated the Astros the tune of 2 earned runs on just 8 hits and 1 walk while striking out 21 in 13 and 1/3 innings. I expect more domination from him today at home where he has pitched very well this season while Fiers inconsistencies continue on the road. I know the Astros have the best record in baseball but there is a reason the Jays opened up as a favorite in this one! The pitching edge for the Blue Jays is significant in this early match-up Saturday. 8* TORONTO

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (+) vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:10 ET - Home/road dichotomy is a huge factor here. The Rays Jake Odorizzi entered this season having a 2.99 ERA and holding opponents to a .217 batting average in all of his home starts the past 3 seasons. This season, once again, he's been much tougher at home compared to on the road as Odorizzi has a solid 3.60 ERA at home and has held opponents to a .224 batting average. That said, I love the home dog value here with a Rays team that is 11-5 in its last 16 road games. Note that the Red Sox are a popular team and this tends to impact their money line pricing. Even though Drew Pomeranz has good overall numbers for Boston this season, the Red Sox southpaw has allowed 7 earned runs in the 7 and 1/3 innings spanning his two starts versus the Rays this season. Tampa Bay is 17-11 (+$8,700) against teams with a winning record this season and tonight I look for them to improve to 10-4 (71%) in Friday games this season as Odorizzi once again proves very tough to hit at home. 10* TAMPA BAY RAYS money line

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

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Friday 8* Philadelphia Phillies Money Line (-) vs San Diego Padres @ 6:35 ET - Certainly it has been another very rough season so far for the Phillies but San Diego has definitely had their fair share of struggles on the road this year. In fact, after their 11-2 loss at Cleveland yesterday, the Padres are now 14-27 on the road so far this season. The Phillies have won 2 of their last 3 games against left-handed starters and San Diego's Clayton Richard is certainly struggling. The Padres southpaw has given up 12 earned runs on 18 hits in the 9 and 2/3 innings spanning his last two starts! Richard has as many walks as strikeouts in his last 3 starts combined. Nick Pivetta of the Phillies is in much better current form than Richard. Pivetta has produced 3 quality starts in his last 4 outings. One ugly game is bringing down Pivetta's recent stats because his other 3 starts were fantastic. In those 3 outings the young right-hander has given up only 4 earned runs on just 9 hits while striking out 23 in 20 innings of work. That included a home start versus the Red Sox where he out-dueled Chris Sale. Grab the value here with the Phillies as a small home favorite as they truly have a big edge in starting pitching in this one. The Phils are +$17,300 versus left-handed starters the last 3 seasons combined. The Padres are 3-8 in Richard's last 11 starts including 0-3 in his last 3. There is a reason the Phils are attracting some bets here and are favored! 8* PHILADELPHIA on the money line

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Friday MLB 8* OVER the total in Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 2:20 ET - The Cubs have Eddie Butler on the mound and it is rather amazing that the under is 8-2 in his 10 starts this season because he really hasn't pitched impressively. This has been particularly true of late as Butler has given up 24 hits in his last 23 and 1/3 innings and has walked 3 batters in 3 of his last 4 starts even though he's only averaged 5 innings per start. The Pirates have Trevor Williams on the mound for this one and he has pitched well recently but each of his last two starts have been at home. That is noteworthy because he has a 4.85 ERA on the road. I like the fact that the wind is blowing in today at Wrigley Field because that is keeping the number low on this total. Neither one of these pitchers is a top-flight starter by any stretch of the imagination. That said, we're getting great line value here with this total. The over is 3-0 in the Cubs last 3 games and the over is 21-14 in Chicago's divisional games this season. The over is also 9-3 in Pittsburgh's Friday games this season. After patiently waiting for the total to come out on this one (normal for Wrigley Field O/U's) it is now "go time" with this one. 8* OVER the total in Chicago Cubs

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play San Diego Padres Money Line (+) @ Cleveland Indians @ 7:10 ET - The Padres have won 3 straight games including 2 straight over the Indians. That said, everyone is backing Cleveland here and figuring that there is no way that San Diego could possibly sweep the Tribe in Ohio. However, in typical contrarian fashion I will gladly fade the masses here but it is certainly not without good reason! The Padres are starting Dinelson Lamet and he has been solid in 5 of his 7 starts including 3 straight. In fact, his numbers over his last 3 starts are phenomenal with only 11 hits and 2 walks allowed in 19 innings while striking out 25 batters! Lamet is very likely to outduel the struggling Josh Tomlin here. The Indians right-hander has been awful over his last 5 starts. Tomlin has given up 21 runs (20 earned) on a ridiculous 41 hits in just 22 and 2/3 innings. Look for the "hit parade" versus Tomlin to continue here as Cleveland drops to 2-9 in his last 11 starts. The fact is that the Indians have been a money burner as a big favorite this season. Cleveland, as  home fave of -175 to -250 has destroyed bankrolls this season with a 2-7 record costing their backers $12,800 at $1K per game. By the way, the Indians are an ugly 2-11 in interleague games this season! The Padres are 3-0 their last 3 with Lamet on the mound while Cleveland is 0-3 their last 3 with Tomlin on the mound. Combined 6-0 run tested here with tremendous line value on the underdog Padres. 10* SAN DIEGO on the money line Thursday evening

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

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 8* OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Cincinnati Reds @ 3:10 ET - The Reds are starting Sal Romano here. Not only did he struggle in his lone MLB start on April 16th, he has been hit at a .279 clip in his MINOR league career. In other words, he has trouble missing bats and, in fact, he has only 28 strikeouts in his 47 innings at the AAA level. He struggled badly with command (plus got hit hard when he did find the plate) versus Milwaukee in mid-April. Now he makes his first-ever road start in the most hitter-friendly venue in the majors. Coors Field is where Romano will be matched up with Tyler Chatwood of the Rockies. Chatwood certainly knows all about how tough it is to pitch in Colorado. The Rockies right-hander has a 3.19 ERA on the road this season but is 2-4 with a 6.39 ERA. Last season was no different for Chatwood as he had a stellar 1.69 ERA on the road but went 4-8 with a 6.12 ERA at home! Both these teams are on under streaks and each of the first three games have stayed under the total in this series. However, it will be a very hot afternoon in Colorado with super dry air and the ball is going to carry like crazy in this one and you have two starting pitchers that are very likely to struggle badly here. The over is 23-13 in Reds games against teams with a winning record this season and I look for another one here. 8* OVER the total in Colorado Thursday afternoon

Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play Boston Red Sox Money Line (-) @ Texas Rangers @ 8:05 ET - This is a classic case of "hot versus not" and we're getting line value too because the "play on" team is on the road for this one. With last night's 11-4 blowout win, the Red Sox have now won 6 straight games and 8 of their last 9. Boston has averaged 9 runs and 14 hits per game during their 6-0 run! The Rangers are at the other end of the spectrum right now as Texas has lost 6 of their last 7 games. Also, the Rangers have averaged only 7.6 hits per game in their last 8 games! The Red Sox also have the pitching edge in this match-up. Doug Fister has been solid since moving into the rotation for Boston as he has allowed only 11 hits in 11 innings while also striking out 11 in these two starts. Keep in mind, the veteran sinkerballer was having a fine season for Houston last year before he had a very ugly September. Certainly Fister appears to now "be back" in terms of his current form and most of his starts versus Texas last season were rock solid. Only one bad start skewed his overall numbers versus the Rangers last year. As for Texas starter Andrew Cashner, he certainly appears to be heading the wrong direction right now. The Rangers right-hander has allowed 4 earned runs or more in 4 of his last 6 starts. Also, one of those ugly outings came against these same Red Sox and, as noted above, Boston's sticks are on fire right now. Look for the Red Sox to make it 7 straight wins while dropping Texas to 4-10 in Wednesday games on the season. 10* BOSTON RED SOX money line

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 8* OVER the total in Oakland A's vs Chicago White Sox @ 3:35 ET - The ball was carrying very well in yesterday's afternoon game here between these clubs as the 7-6 A's walk-off win featured 6 home runs! That is a good sign of what to expect today as it will be another mild afternoon game at Oakland with the wind blowing out toward right-center at a decent clip. Although Sonny Gray has been sharp recently for the A's, he is giving the White Sox a quick, second look at him as he just faced them on June 25th. That started a back to back stretch of two consecutive unders in Gray starts but, prior to that, the over was 9-1 in his first 10 starts this season. The over trend should resume here as Gray faces a White Sox team that has averaged scoring 6.2 runs per game in their last 5 games. The ChiSox have had a dozen hits or more in 3 of those 5 games. The A's have not been as strong as the White Sox at the plate recently but facing Mike Pelfrey should certainly bring out the best in them. The veteran right-hander just faced the A's on June 23rd and he struggled. Pelfrey has now given up 8 earned runs and walked 7 and allowed 12 hits (including 4 homers) in his last two starts spanning just 10 innings of work. Also, in Pelfrey's 5 starts against Oakland in his career, he is 0-5 with a 7.56 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP. The over is 5-0 in the White Sox last 5 games and I see no reason that streak shouldn't make it 6 in a row today. The over is 25-13 in Chicago's games against teams with a losing record this season. 8* OVER the total in Oakland

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 1:05 ET - The Jays Marco Estrada went 0-4 with a 9.11 ERA and 2.17 WHIP in his 6 June starts. The over went 4-2 in those 6 starts and command has been a big issue for the Toronto right-hander as he has walked 15 in his last 15 innings. Estrada got crushed for 7 earned runs in less than 4 innings of work in early June when he most recently faced the Yankees. The Blue Jays also have good odds on having a huge day at the plate today. The Yanks are starting Michael Pineda and he got rocked for 5 earned runs on 10 hits (including 2 homers) in early June when he most recently faced the Jays. The Yankees right-hander has given up 10 runs (9 earned) in the 10 innings spanning his two most recent starts. In his last 4 starts, Pineda has been hammered for 30 hits in 21 and 2/3 innings of work. The over is a perfect 7-0 in Pineda's last 7 starts! Overall, the over is 12-3 in Pineda's last 15 starts and, on the season, the over is 7-2 in his 9 home starts. The over is 6-2 this season in Toronto's road games where they are a dog in a price range of +125 to +175 on the money line. Even with yesterday's under, the over is 23-11 in Yankees divisional games this season and there is every reason to believe the hot hitting resumes today as both starting pitchers are likely to struggle here. 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees

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

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

Early Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 8* OVER the total in Detroit Tigers vs San Francisco Giants @ 1:10 ET - Even though Michael Fulmer has great numbers again for Detroit this season, his ERA in day games is about a run higher than night games and his ERA in home games is 2 full runs higher than road games this season. That said, Fulmer shouldn't have to give up too much here to ensure that this one goes over the total. That's because the Giants send Matt Cain to the mound for this one and Detroit should enjoy a slugfest at the plate. Cain has given up 50 hits in his last 29 and 1/3 innings of work! Also, the right-hander has been awful on the road this season with an 0-5 record, 8.31 ERA and 2.10 WHIP. The over is 7-3-1 in the Tigers last 11 games. The over in Detroit's day games is 19-9 this season (and 86-55 the last 3 seasons combined). Also, the over is a perfect 3-0 this season in games where the Tigers are a home fave of -175 to -250. San Francisco is 7-1 to the over this season when playing after a day off. 8* OVER the total in Detroit

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

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play Texas Rangers Money Line (+) vs Boston Red Sox @ 8:05 ET - The Red Sox are off of a huge win at Toronto yesterday while the Rangers lost a tight one to the White Sox at Chicago Sunday. However, the Rangers have a big pitching edge in this one Monday plus they're back home where they hit the ball much better and, overall, are a much stronger team. Texas will send southpaw Martin Perez to the mound as the southpaw returns from the disabled list. Though his overall numbers are not that impressive this season, Perez has compiled a 4.20 ERA in his night games on the year. Also, the Rangers southpaw has allowed 3 earned runs or less in 10 of his 15 starts this season. Perez also should benefit from plenty of run support here as Boston's Rick Porcello has been very hittable! Since mid-May, the Red Sox right-hander has given up 90 hits in 61 and 2/3 innings! Yes, you read that right, Porcello is allowing about 1.5 hits per inning over his last 10 starts. The righty is 2-9 with a 5.67 ERA in night games this season! Even with yesterday's win included, Boston is 56-71 and down $17,800 in road games with a money line in a range of +125 to -125 the past 3 seasons combined. The Rangers are 66-46 and up $21,000 in home games with a money line in a range of +125 to -125 the past 3 seasons combined. 10* TEXAS RANGERS money line

Early Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Monday 8* St Louis Cardinals Money Line (-) vs Miami Marlins @ 7:15 ET - St Louis lost last night versus Washington but they had previously won 6 of their last 7 games and averaged 6.4 runs per game during this hot streak. The Marlins did get a big win yesterday at Milwaukee but they had previously lost 4 straight games and averaged just 2.2 runs per game during their rough stretch. Miami now sends a struggling Jeff Locke to the mound. The Marlins southpaw has made 6 starts since coming to Miami and he remains winless! Look for Miami to drop to 0-7 in his starts this season as he has a 6.47 ERA in his last 5 starts. The Cardinals have Adam Wainwright on the mound for this one and, although his overall numbers are not that impressive, the Cards right-hander has been very impressive at home this season! Wainwright is 5-1 with a 2.64 ERA in his home starts this season. Look for the Cardinals to improve to 8-4 in home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs this season as the Marlins drop to an ugly 3-10 this season in road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. 8* ST LOUIS CARDINALS money line

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Monday 8* OVER the total in Milwaukee Brewers vs Baltimore Orioles @ 2;10 ET - The Brewers are 6-1 to the over in Monday games this season and also 11-5 to the over against left-handed starters. Look for Milwaukee to take advantage of struggling southpaw Wade Miley of the Orioles. The Baltimore lefty has a 6.89 ERA and 1.91 WHIP in his last 3 starts. The Brewers are using Brent Suter as a spot starter here. In his young MLB career he has pitched in 22 games (3 starts) and opponents are hitting .287 against him. The Orioles scored 7 runs in their big win yesterday and should have no trouble with the offerings of Suter. Even in the minors the Milwaukee southpaw has been getting rocked. He got hit at a .301 clip last season at the AAA level and has been hit at a .292 clip this season! The Orioles are 14-8 to the over in day games this season and 9-3 to the over in inter-league action. This one has slugfest written all over it. 8* OVER the total in Milwaukee

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 8* Washington Nationals Money Line (-) @ St Louis Cardinals @ 8:05 ET - Max Scherzer has been one of the most dominant hurlers in baseball and he is undervalued here. The Nats are on the road so that is helping to keep this line lower than it should be and I look for them to bounce back after a very tight loss last night at St Louis. Scherzer has a 2.06 ERA on the season and though he "only" struck out 6 in his most recent start he had previously reached double digits in strikeouts in each of his last 6 starts! The Nats right-hander has given up just 6 earned runs in his last 7 starts. Also, in his last 8 starts he has given up only 26 hits in 59 innings. That is simply INSANE folks...26 hits in 59 innings...absolutely incredible dominance. Also, he has struck out 75 batters in his last 54 innings. While I certainly respect the Cardinals Carlos Martinez, no one has been as dominant as Scherzer as of late. Also, the Nationals have the far superior lineup and also the Cards have lost 5 of the last 8 starts Martinez has made. The Nats have won 5 of Scherzer's last 7 starts. Even with yesterday's win, St Louis is still just 14-18 (-6.0 net units) against teams with a winning record this season. As for the Nationals, even with yesterday's loss, they are still 33-14 (+14.7 net units) in night games this season. 8* WASHINGTON NATIONALS money line Sunday evening

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 8* OVER the total in Arizona Diamondbacks vs Colorado Rockies @ 4:10 ET - The Dbacks are 3-0 in Taijuan Walker's last 3 starts and he has a decent ERA but that is helping to paint a "false picture" of where Walker is really at right now. The Arizona right-hander walked 5 plus had ZERO strikeouts in his most recent start. Overall he has walked 9 in his last 2 starts. Additionally, Walker has allowed 12 hits in his last 2 starts so its been 21 baserunners in just 12 and 1/3 innings of work. Eventually that is going to lead to trouble and I believe that trouble starts today as Walker faces the Rockies for the 3rd time in just the last 8 weeks! As for Colorado, German Marquez gets the start and he allowed 5 earned runs in just 4 innings in his most recent start. The Rockies right-hander had a solid start versus Arizona when he last faced them but, in his prior start versus the Diamondbacks, Marquez was rocked for 5 earned runs in 6 innings. He's giving the Dbacks a 3rd look at him within the past 8 weeks and that also helps a powerful Arizona lineup that is averaging 6.1 runs per game at home this season. The over is a long-term 61-35 in Diamondbacks home games where their money line ranges from -125 to +125. Look for more of the same Sunday afternoon. 8* OVER the total in Arizona

Rickenbach MLB Sunday 8* OVER the total in Kansas City Royals vs Minnesota Twins @ 2:15 ET - These teams played a double header yesterday and both games went over the total as an average of 16 runs per game were scored. The fact that two "questionable" pitchers are on the mound for this one, there are plenty of hot sticks in both lineups, and it is a warm afternoon at Kauffman Stadium all combines to have me backing the over in a big way early Sunday. The over is now 5-0 in the Royals last 5 games and southpaw Travis Wood (6.25 ERA in 25 relief appearances this season) is getting the start this afternoon. It will be his first start since the 2015 season and, as you can see, he hasn't exactly been dominant out of the bullpen! The good news for KC fans is that they should see plenty of offense in this one as Minnesota sends a struggling Hector Santiago to the mound. The Twins southpaw is 0-3 with a 10.97 ERA in his last 3 starts. The over is 3-0 in his last 3 starts and combining that with the Royals 5-0 over mark their last 5 games and you have a perfect combined 8-0 over mark being tested in this one. Also, Santiago has given up 23 hits in the less than 15 innings of work spanning his last three starts versus Kansas City. Look for the over to improve to 10-4 in Royals Sunday games this season. 8* OVER the total in Kansas City

Rickenbach MLB Sunday 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs Chicago Cubs @ 1:10 ET - The Reds send Tim Adleman to the mound for this one. The right-hander allowed 3 homers in his most recent start and has a 5.62 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP in his last 3 starts overall. He has given up a pair of homers in two of his last three starts versus the Cubs and they'll be seeing Adleman for the 4th time already since mid-September! Jake Arrieta gets the start for Chicago here and he has given up 10 runs (9 earned) in the 10 innings spanning his last two starts at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati! The over is 6-1-1 in Arrieta's 8 career starts against the Reds and I expect the over to improve to 3-0 in Adleman's last 3 starts against the Cubs with a wild one this afternoon. The wind will be blowing out on a warm afternoon in Cincinnati so it is a great set-up for the hitters here. Arrieta walked 6 and allowed 6 hits for a 3.00 WHIP in his short 4-inning start at Washington earlier this week. He now has a 5.04 ERA on the road this season and his struggles should continue against a nemesis here. Look for the over to improve to 9-3 in Reds Sunday games this season. 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati

Rickenbach MLB Sunday 8* OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Boston Red Sox @ 1:05 ET - Joe Biagini gets the start for the Blue Jays here and he has a 9.75 ERA and 2.17 WHIP in his last 3 starts. Drew Pomeranz gets the start for the Red Sox and he is winless in 2 career starts against Toronto and has compiled a 6.35 ERA and 2.12 WHIP in those outings. The over is 4-1 in the last 5 starts Pomeranz has made and 7-3 in his last 10. Biagini walked 4 in his most recent start and was hit hard in each of his 2 prior starts and definitely appears to be on a fade right now! Look for the over to improve to 9-3 in Boston's Sunday games this season. 8* OVER the total in Toronto

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

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play Washington Nationals Money Line (+) @ St Louis Cardinals @ 7:15 ET - The Nationals got embarrassed 8-1 last night but there is a nice set up here for them to bounce right back tonight. The Cardinals have right-hander Michael Wacha facing Washington southpaw Gio Gonzalez in this one. That is significant not only because of the fact that Gonzalez has been pitching much better than Wacha. A big key that some will overlook (and part of the reason this line is in the pick'em range) is the fact that the Cardinals are only hitting .228 against left-handed pitching this season. Note that the Nationals are hitting .278 this season against right-handed pitching - a full 50 points higher than St Louis against lefties. As you can see, Gonzalez should have a huge edge over Wacha in this one. Note that Gonzalez is 6-1 on the road this season and he has a 2.87 ERA overall in all of his starts this season. As for Wacha, he is off of a rare strong start versus Cincinnati but previously he gave up 27 runs (23 earned) on 39 hits in the 25 and 1/3 innings spanning his 6 prior starts! As you can see, Wacha has been getting crushed in most of his outings! Even with yesterday's win, the Cardinals are still only 13-18 in their games against teams with a winning record this season. The Nationals, even with yesterday's loss, are still a fantastic 33-13 this season in night games. Look for the Nats to bounce back large in this one. 10* WASHINGTON on the money line in early evening action Saturday

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs San Francisco Giants @ 4:05 ET - Warm afternoon in Pittsburgh with the wind blowing out to left field and both teams were swinging the bats very well in last night's 13-5 Giants win. Matt Moore gets the start for the Giants and he has a 10.05 ERA in his last 3 starts plus has an 8.39 ERA on the road this season! His lone career start against the Pirates came less than a year ago and he allowed 5 earned runs in 6 innings and took the loss. As you can see, per the stats above, all signs point to another rough outing here. Pittsburgh turns to Chad Kuhl for this one and he is another struggling hurler. Kuhl has a 1.80 WHIP in his last two starts and those were both on the road. Now he's back at home where he is 1-4 with an ugly 7.36 ERA on the season. The over is 5-1 in Kuh's last 6 starts and the over is 7-1 in Moore's road starts this season. Also, the Giants are 10-3 to the over this season in road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. San Francisco is on a 4 game winning streak and has averaged scoring 7.8 runs per game during this hot streak. Also, the Giants - though only 2-2 in the 4 games - have averaged 8.3 runs per game in their last 4 contests away from home. 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh in afternoon action Saturday

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 8* Toronto Blue Jays Run Line +1.5 runs (-105) vs Boston Red Sox @ 1:05 ET - The Blue Jays lost a tough one in extra innings yesterday and I look for them to bounce back today even though they're facing Chris Sale of the Red Sox. This could certainly end up being a pitchers duel though and that is why I am grabbing the extra line value being offered with the run line here. There is tremendous value with the Blue Jays at +1.5 runs in this one as Toronto is 5-1 in Francisco Liriano's 6 home starts this season and the the lone loss came by just a single run. Overall, in all Liriano starts, the Jays are on an 8-3 run in his last 11 starts and 2 of the 3 losses came by only 1 run! Sale and Liriano have both been good about limiting the long ball this season but note that the Blue Jays, versus left-handed pitching, have hit nearly twice as many homers this season as have the Red Sox. In this battle of southpaws that could certainly prove to be a difference. As strong as Sale has been this season, Boston is only 5-3 in his 8 road starts. Also, in Sale's last 3 road starts against American League foes he has compiled an unimpressive 5.12 ERA. Grab the value with the home dog in this one. 8* TORONTO BLUE JAYS on the run line at +1.5 runs early Saturday afternoon

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play Colorado Rockies Money Line (+) @ Arizona Diamondbacks @ 9:40 ET - Just a little over a week ago the Rockies were still rolling and had taken the first game of a 3-game set with these same Diamondbacks. However, Colorado proceeded to lose the next two games of that 3-game series by an ugly combined score of 26-8. This sent the Rockies plummeting into what is now an 8-game tailspin. What is the best way to get out of something like that? How about having your opening day starter back healthy (finally!) for a rematch with the same divisional fore that started your skid? That is the situation here for the Rockies as Jonathan Gray is back after missing 2 and a half months. Gray had a tough start in the bigs with Colorado in 2015 but he has now allowed hitters to hit just .243 against him in his 32 starts since the start of the 2016 campaign.  I know Robbie Ray of the Dbacks has put up some surprisingly solid numbers but Colorado will be seeing him for the 4th time since early September and Ray has an ugly 6.75 ERA in his last 3 starts versus the Rockies. Conversely Arizona has only seen Gray once since the 2015 season ended. Colorado is 11-4 this season in games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Also, the Rockies are 7-3 when playing after a day off. As for the Dbacks, they were in action yesterday and lost their 2nd straight. This will be Arizona's 11th straight game without a day off and they are 72-109 (-$20,800) the past 3 seasons combined in games against teams with a winning record. 10* COLORADO ROCKIES money line late Friday night

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

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (-) @ Pittsburgh Pirates @ 7:05 ET - Even though the Pirates are attracting more of the early bets on this one the bigger money is going toward the Rays as this line has moved toward Tampa Bay. I like fading the masses and being right alongside the other sharp money and that is what I am suggesting with this selection on the road favorite Tampa in this one. The Rays lost 6-2 yesterday but outhit the Pirates 10 to 6. The problem for Tampa Bay was that they left 11 men on base in that game. However, on a positive note it did mark the 4th time in the last 6 games that the Rays have reached double digits in hits. This is in stark contrast to what the Pirates have been doing at the plate as Pittsburgh has not reached double digits in hits in any of their last six games. The Pirates are averaging only 5.3 HITS per game in their last 6 games. The Rays, prior to yesterday's loss, had averaged 6.8 RUNS per game in going 4-2 in their last 6 games. You can plainly see who the hotter team has been at the plate. As far as the pitching match-up tonight, I look for the Rays Chris Archer to bounce back after a rare subpar effort. He had a season low in strikeouts in his most recent start but previously had struck out 85 in the 59 innings spanning his last 9 starts! As for Jameson Taillon, he had a solid first start in his first outing after returning from testicular cancer. However, he then allowed 6 earned runs in 11 innings in his next two starts and the Pirates are only 1-3 in his home starts this season. The Rays are 5-1 in Archer's last 6 starts including 3-0 in his road outings! Even with yesterday's loss the Rays are 6-3 in inter-league action this season and 30-19 in inter-league action the last 3 seasons combined. The Pirates are still only 3-7 in inter-league games this season and they're 21-32 in night games while the Rays are 32-22 against right-handed starters this season. 10* TAMPA BAY money line

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

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 8* OVER the total in Detroit Tigers vs Kansas City Royals @ 1:10 ET - Jake Junis gets the start for the Royals and he is 1-1 with a 5.64 ERA in his June starts and have been hit at a .304 clip for the month. Michael Fullmer gets the start for the Tigers and he his off of a fantastic outing at San Diego. However, in his three prior starts (all at home) the Detroit right-hander got roughed up for 13 earned runs on 22 hits in 18 innings of work. Also, Fullmer has walked 4 batters in each of his last two starts (including the strong effort versus the Padres). Junis has definitely had some command issues as he has hit 4 batters in his last 2 starts. On the season, as a starter, Junis has a 5.33 ERA and has been hit at a .300 clip. With yesterday's 8-2 Royals win going over the total, the over is now 14-6-1 (70%) in Kansas City's last 21 games. The over is 8-2 in Tigers Thursday games this season and also 17-9 in their day games! With yesterday's game going over the total, Detroit is now 18-10 to the over in divisional games this season. Look for the over to improve to 4-1-1 in the 6 starts that Junis has made this season while Fullmer's recent penchant for giving up big hits at home continues against a Royals lineup that has a slugging percentage of .468 in June. The Tigers are just above them with a .472 slugging percentage in June. That has these teams ranked 6th and 7th in the majors for the month and the "slugging" continues on Thursday. 8* OVER the total in Detroit

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

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play Minnesota Twins Money Line (+) @ Boston Red Sox @ 7:10 ET - Boston's Rick Porcello is extremely overpriced here. He just might be the most hittable starting pitcher in MLB right now. Though he won his most recent start, that was his first win in a month! Porcello got hit quite hard even though he got the win and now check out this ridiculous stat I was alluding to. Porcello has given up 84 hits in his last 55 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 9 starts. In other words, the Red Sox right-hander has been given up an average of 1.5 hits per inning in his last 9 starts! During this stretch his ERA has gone from a 3.95 to a 5.00 but Porcello has truly been fortunate his ERA has not ballooned even higher. The Twins hold a pitching edge here as the Red Sox hitters have zero experience against Adalberto Mejia. The Minnesota southpaw has a 3.06 ERA in his 4 road starts this season and he has held hitters to just a .175 batting average in those outings! The lefty has led the Twins to victory in 2 of his last 3 road outings. Though he doesn't pitch deep into game he has gone at least 5 innings in each of his last 3 road starts and he also had a 7-inning outing at home this season. Even with yesterday's loss the Twins are a solid 23-11 on the road this season and they are 7-3 (+6,700) as a road dog of +125 to +175. Also, the Red Sox are only 19-23 (-$10,400) when off of a win this season. Even though Boston has a good batting average at home this season their .414 slugging percentage at Fenway ranks them #12 out of the 15 American League teams. With the way Porcello has been getting hit, this match-up and has upset written all over it! 10* MINNESOTA

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 8* OVER the total in San Francisco Giants vs Colorado Rockies @ 3:45 ET - With last night's game going 14 innings, both teams used up plenty of bullpen. That certainly could prove to be an issue for this afternoon's game because there is a decent probability that each of these starters will get roughed up. The Rockies send Kyle Freeland to the mound and he has allowed 10 runs (9 earned) on 19 hits in the 11 and 2/3 innings spanning his last two road starts. The Giants will have Ty Blach on the bump and he has allowed 14 earned runs on 21 hits in the 8 and 2/3 innings spanning his last two home starts. In Blach's last 7 starts overall there has not been a single under! Prior to yesterday's under, the over was 7-4 in Colorado's last 11 games. Also, the Giants were on a 10-4-1 run to the over their last 15 games prior to last night's extra inning marathon staying under the total. In afternoon games on the west coast the ball tends to carry better and the wind will be blowing out at a good clip for this one too. 8* OVER the total in San Francisco

IMPORTANT (this total IS AN 8.5 at the time of this posting but line feed is not working properly) Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 8* OVER the total in Seattle Mariners vs Philadelphia Phillies @ 3:40 ET - With last night's game going over the total, the over is now a perfect 3-0 in games between these clubs this season. Not only that, the 3 games have averaged 15 runs per game! This total has dropped to an 8.5 this morning because Mark Leiter had a surprisingly solid start for the Phillies in his first ever MLB start and because Felix Hernandez is on the mound for the Mariners. Of course Hernandez has a helluva strong reputation but let's not forget that he does not have the same velocity he once did. That's a big part of the reason that Hernandez has a 4.68 ERA on the season. Also, he's not yet necessarily 100% healthy either and he has a 6.91 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP in his last 3 starts. As for Leiter, he had 14 walks against his 12 strikeouts in his 19 innings out of the bullpen this season. As a reliever he has compiled a 4.74 ERA this season. Leiter faces a tough Mariners lineup here and they are hungry to bounce back after a rare 3-game losing streak. That said, I don't expect this start to go very well at all for a still unproven Leiter. The over is 11-6 this season (and 51-33 the last 3 seasons combined) when the Phillies are a road dog of +125 to +175. The over is also an incredible 9-1 (90%) in Philadelphia's Wednesday games. Seattle is 16-9 to the over the past 3 seasons when they are a home favorite of -175 to -250. Also, the Mariners are 30-18 to the over in inter-league games the past 3 seasons combined. 8* OVER the total in Seattle

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 7:10 ET - With their 8-2 loss at St Louis yesterday, Cincinnati is now 8-1 to the over in their last 9 games. On the season, the Reds are 20-8 to the over in divisional games. Now Cincy is back home where they are known for higher-scoring games. The over is 112-76 in Reds home games the past 3 seasons combined. Today will be Cincinnati's 12th Tuesday games this season and so far only 1 of 11 have stayed under the total! Milwaukee was off yesterday but the Brewers enter Tuesday's action with an over mark of 21-10 in divisional games this season. Also, the over is 23-13 this season when the Brewers are off of a win. Junior Guerra gets the start for Milwaukee and he has a 1.50 WHIP in his last 3 starts as walks have been an issue. Guerra also has been giving up the home run ball. The Reds will have Tim Adleman on the mound and he has been giving up too many hits and has a 1.69 WHIP in his last 3 starts. Like Guerra, Adleman has also given up 4 homers in his last 3 starts. Guerra has walked 4 or more in each of his last 3 starts and Adleman has walked 4 baters in each of his last 2 starts. At hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park, this one is destined to be a slugfest. 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 8* OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Texas Rangers @ 7:10 ET - Unfortunately I was on the wrong end of a wild game yesterday as the Rangers jumped ahead to a 9-2 lead but then allowed the Indians to score 13 unanswered. You would think we were talking about a Cowboys/Browns game in the NFL the way the scoring went yesterday. Anyway, it was a brutal loss for me to take but it cemented the fact that the Rangers bullpen (6.43 ERA on the road) is an absolute train-wreck away from home. Didn't expect that to be an issue yesterday with a 9-2 lead and Cole Hamels on the mound but, painfully, it was. The fact is that today it absolutely should be an issue as Tyson Ross gets the start. He is making just his 3rd start of the season (and his first on the road) and he has given up 9 earned runs in less than 9 innings of work in his first two starts. Pitching well and pitching deep are both highly unlikely for Ross in this one. As for the Indians, they starts Mike Clevinger and Cleveland is 0-3 in his home starts this season. Clevinger has a 5.62 ERA at Progressive Field this season and the Rangers have averaged 7 runs per game in their last 11 games. As for the Indians, they had slumped in their series with the Twins but the bats definitely woke up yesterday and the Tribe is now averaging 6.6 runs per game in their last 13 games. The Indians are 9-4 during this stretch and the Rangers were 6-4 their last 10 games before yesterday's ridiculous loss. The point is you have two confident, hot lineups at the plate and two sub-par starting pitchers. The over is 14-8 in Indians home games where they are priced as a money line favorite of -125 to -175. Texas is 6-2 to the over the last 3 seasons combined in road games with a posted total of 10 or 10.5 runs. The Rangers are also a perfect 4-0 to the over this season when they are off of a game where they allowed 10 runs or more. 8* OVER the total in Cleveland

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 8* OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Baltimore Orioles @ 7:05 ET - The Blue Jays have averaged 10.3 hits per game in their last 8 games. The over is 8-4 in the Jays last 12 games. The Orioles come into this one having gone 7-2-1 to the over in their last 10 games. Baltimore sends Kevin Gausman to the mound for this one and the over is 10-5 in his starts this season. He has a 9.00 ERA in his 7 road starts this season! Gausman is certainly not showing any signs of improvement as he has a 9.20 ERA in his last 3 starts even though 2 of those have been at home! His WHIP is a ridiculous 2.32 in these last three outings. He'll be opposed by the Blue Jays Joe Biagini and he is coming down to earth in a hurry after a surprisingly out of this world start to the season. As expected, reality is setting in and Biagini has allowed 11 runs (10 earned) in his last two starts spanning less than 7 innings of work! This will be his first start versus the Orioles and he's catching them at the wrong time as they've been surging at the plate. The O's have averaged 6 runs per game in their last 9 games. As for Gausman, he's facing the Blue Jays for the 4th time already this season and the constant repetition is not helping him! In his last start versus Toronto they got to him for 10 hits in just 6 innings of work. I am looking for more of the same today as Gausman's trending toward the over continues. As for Biagini, look for this one to make it 3 straight overs in his starts as his recent struggles continue. Look for the over to improve to 8-4 on the season when Toronto is playing after an off day. As for Baltimore, the over is 31-18 this season in their games against right-handed starters. 8* OVER the total in Toronto

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Monday 8* Texas Rangers Money Line (+) @ Cleveland Indians @ 7:10 ET - The Rangers continue to be under-valued. Texas had a bad start to the season and this has resulted in them being underestimated by the markets even though they appear to be turning the corner on their season. Texas is 8-2 in their last 10 road games and they were an underdog in all 10 of those games! Overall, the Rangers are 11-5 in their last 16 games and they have Cole Hamels back on the mound for this one. He's been on the disabled list for two months but looked very strong in his rehabilitation assignment in the minors and he appears to be catching Cleveland at the perfect time. The Indians are only 1-5 in their last 6 home games. The Tribe just got swept by the Twins and the worst part about it was the putrid offensive production as Cleveland scored only 2 runs in the 3-game series and they averaged only 7 hits per game. The Rangers head into this series with Cleveland having averaged 6.7 runs per game in their last 10 contests. Although Carlos Carrasco has great numbers on the season, he has been hit hard in 2 of his last 3 home starts. Also, the Indians right-hander has allowed 9 runs (5 earned) 12 hits in the less than 10 innings spanning his last two starts against the Rangers. Texas is heating up just like the weather and is now 46-30 in June games the past 2+ seasons. The Indians are a surprising 15-20 (-$19,500!) in home games this season. Once again the road dog value is way too strong to pass up on in this one. 8* TEXAS

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

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Monday 8* OVER the total in Washington Nationals vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:05 ET - The Cubs stranded 11 men on base yesterday and that led to a 4-2 loss at Miami. The Nationals had a rare poor day at the plate and suffered a 6-2 home loss at the hands of the Reds. The Nats had previously won 7 of their last 11 games. Washington, even with you yesterday's poor hitting day, have averaged 7 runs per game in their last 13 games! The Cubs, prior to yesterday's loss had also won 7 of their last 11 games and they had averaged 5.6 runs per game during this solid stretch. In other words, you've got two teams coming into this one off of a loss but that had been on a decent run and had been putting up some solid run totals. The Cubs are 12-6 in their games against left-handed starters and they have a .361 on base percentage versus southpaws. That mark is good for the #1 spot in the National League. Though Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez has been solid this season, he did compile a 6.00 ERA in his two starts versus the Cubs last season! Chicago will have Eddie Butler on the mound this evening. He has made one starts against the Nationals in his career and it did not go well with 8 hits and 4 walks leading to 4 earned runs in 6 innings. The damage could have easily been worse too. Also, Butler has an ugly 5.62 ERA in his road starts this season. The over is 17-10 in Washington's games this season when they are off of a loss. Also, the over is 27-13 in Nationals night games this year! As a road dog in a price range of +125 to +175, the Cubs are 15-8 to the over the past 3 seasons combined. 8* OVER the total in Washington 

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Monday 8* Cincinnati Reds Money Line (+) @ St Louis Cardinals @ 4:15 ET - I know it may seem tough to invest in an overall poor team like the Reds, this is the perfect spot to do it. St Louis has a slugging percentage of just .369 against left-handed pitching this season and that ranks them 28th out of 30 teams in the majors. The Cardinals are off of an emotional win last night over Pittsburgh as they rallied from a 4-2 deficit and won the game courtesy of a rare offensive explosion in the bottom of the 7th. The Cardinals had previously been held to just 2.3 runs and 6 hits per game in their 3 prior games. Facing southpaw Brandon Finnegan of the Reds is likely to return the Cards to those type of numbers. In his 3 rehab starts (he is returning from the DL), Finnegan allowed only 6 hits in 12 innings while striking out 10. Finnegan has allowed just 13 hits in the 19 innings spanning his last 3 starts against the Cardinals. He should plenty of run support today too. Michael Wacha gets the ball for STL in this one and he has been getting roughed up. Wacha has an 8.17 ERA in his last 6 stats and has lasted less than 4 and 2/3 innings in 5 of those 6 starts! The Cardinals are an ugly 1-5 in his last 6 home starts! Also, in day games this season, Cincinnati is #1 in the majors in both batting averaged (.282) and slugging percentage (.506) on the year! The Reds are 15-14 (+$5,900) in divisional games this season while the Cardinals are 14-21 (-$12,300) in divisional games. Grab the underdog value in this one. 8* CINCINNATI

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 8* Pittsburgh Pirates Money Line (+) @ St Louis Cardinals @ 8:05 ET - The Pirates are heating up. With yesterday's win, Pittsburgh is now 9-5 their last 14 games. As for the Cardinals, yesterday's loss drops them to 12-25 their last 37 games! Over the past 6 weeks, St Louis has been one of the worst teams in baseball. The Cardinals will have Mike Leake on the bump for this one. Leake is off of a strong start but that was at Philadelphia and the Phillies are one of the worst teams in the majors. Prior to that win, the Cardinals had lost each of Leake's last 4 starts and he had been rocked for 18 runs (17 earned) in the 24 and 2/3 innings spanning those 4 outings. Looking at the 2 starts immediately prior to beating the Phils, Leake had given up 19 hits in 11 innings. The Pirates have pounded Leake for 25 hits in 16 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts against him so he is likely to have another rough go of it tonight. As for the Pirates Chad Kuhl, he has allowed just 2 earned runs in each of his career starts at St Louis and he went 5 innings in one of the starts and 6 innings in the other. The Cardinals have averaged just 2.3 runs and 6 hits per game in their last 3 games so Kuhl is likely to come up with another solid outing at Busch tonight. Kuhl has a 3.45 ERA on the road this season but has been victimized by a lack of run support. That all changes here. Look for the Bucs to improve to 8-4 in Sunday games this season as the Cardinals June swoon continues and they drop to 13-22 in divisional games on the year. This is a classic case of "hot versus not" and I'll gladly grab the underdog line value in this one.  8* PITTSBURGH PIRATES money line Sunday evening

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

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 8* OVER the total in Miami Marlins vs Chicago Cubs @ 1:10 ET - I got burned in this one yesterday as the over died after a great early start. I won't hesitate to come right back with it here. The Marlins send Edinson Volquez to the mound and he has certainly cooled down after a great start to the month including his no-hitter a few weeks ago. In his last two starts Volquez has given up 11 runs (10 earned) on 18 baserunners in less than 9 innings of work. The Cubs will have Mike Montgomery on the mound and the southpaw is off of a strong start but that was against a Padres team that is hitting .214 against lefties this season. That ranks San Diego last in the majors. As for the Marlins, they're one of the top hitting teams in the National League against lefties as they are hitting .265 against southpaws on the season. Montgomery's only road start this season went over the total and each of the last two starts Volquez has made have gone over the total. The over is 7-4 in Cubs Sunday games this season. The over is 15-7 in Marlins home games where their money line ranges from -125 to +125. Also, the over is 9-5 in Miami's games against left-handed starters. Overall, the over is 17-10 in Marlins games against teams with a winning record this season. 8* OVER the total in Miami

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

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

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 8* Texas Rangers Money Line (+) @ New York Yankees @ 1:05 ET - The Yankees got the 2-1 win in extra innings last night but New York previously had lost 8 of their last 9 games. That said, they truly are over-priced here against a Rangers team that had won 9 of their last 13 games prior to yesterday's tight loss in a pitchers duel. Not only has Texas been the hotter team, they have the pitching edge in this match-up too. Luis Cessa gets the start for the Yankees and he gave up 4 earned runs in 4 innings in his first start of this season which was on Sunday at Oakland. Cessa took the loss in that game and is now 2-5 as a starter at the MLB level. He'll be opposed by Austin Bibens-Dirkx who threw a beauty in his lone day game start this season. He's also been solid on the road with a 2.60 ERA and holding hitters to a .167 batting when he is away from home. The Rangers are 12-7 and +$7,000 in day games this season and they're offering great line value here against a Yankees team that has been in quite a slump. Grab the big dog value in this one. 8* TEXAS RANGERS money line early Saturday

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play St Louis Cardinals Money Line (-) vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 8:15 ET - Even though Adam Wainwright has poor numbers when you look at his last 3 starts combined, that included two awful road outings. At home this season, Wainwright is a fantastic 5-1 with a 2.88 ERA in his 7 starts. Look for him to come up big again here at home as the Pirates come into this game having lost 5 of their last 8 games. Pittsburgh has averaged only 7.4 hits in those 8 games. As for St Louis, the Cardinals are off of a 5-1 loss yesterday but previously averaged 6.6 runs per game in their 11 prior games! They'll be facing Jameson Taillon and the Pirates right-hander has allowed 4 earned runs or more in 3 of his last 5 starts. He was unable to go deeper than 5 and 1/3 innings in any of the 5 starts. That is significant because Pittsburgh's bullpen has had some shakiness in recent losses. Look for the Bucs to drop to 3-6 in Taillon's starts this season while Wainwright improves to 6-1 in his home outings! There is fantastic line value here with the Cards as a short home favorite. St Louis is already 3-0 this season versus the Pirates and Pittsburgh comes into this one having gone 8-14 this season in road games where their money line ranges from -125 to +125. That is the case again here and I look for the Pirates to again struggle on the road while the Cardinals improve to 15-8 in their last 23 home games versus Pittsburgh. 10* ST LOUIS CARDINALS money line Friday

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

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Friday MLB 8* OVER the total in Tampa Bay Rays vs Baltimore Orioles @ 7:10 ET - Ubaldo Jimenez is off of a strong start but that was in interleague action against an opponent that was not too familiar with him. Now Jimenez faces a divisional foe that certainly has seen plenty of him. The Orioles right-hander, even after a rare quality start versus St Louis, has a 6.94 ERA and 1.65 WHIP as a starter this season. He'll be opposed by Chris Archer. Though his numbers are good (as usual) this season, Archer has found the Orioles to be a bit of a nemesis for him. The Rays right-hander is 3-6 with a 4.79 ERA in his career against Baltimore. The Orioles will be facing him for the 4th time already since last year's All Star break and Archer has a 5.31 ERA in his last 3 starts versus the O's. The Orioles have pounded him for 7 homers in those 20 and 1/3 innings. The over is 12-5-1 in the Orioles last 18 games. The Rays have also been an "over machine" of late as the over is 11-2-1 in Tampa Bay's last 14 games! The over is 26-12 this season when the Rays are off of a win, the over is 11-4 in TB games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs and Tampa is 10-1 to the over in Friday games this season! Look for more Friday "fireworks" in this one. 8* OVER the total in Tampa Bay

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

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 8* OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Chicago White Sox - The only thing that can stop us here is the weather. There is a chance of thunderstorms in Minneapolis today but this situation is too strong to pass up on. First off I did lose with the over in this match-up yesterday as the game died out after being 4-2 through 3 innings. Needless to say I am not too happy about it but I won't hesitate to come right back with the same play here. Jose Quintana is on the mound for the White Sox and he's been struggling in day games again this season. This is nothing new as he went 0-5 with a 5.49 ERA in day games in 2015. Then, last year he did have a good overall year but had a losing record in day games. This season he is an awful 1-6 with a 6.45 ERA in day games! Also, Quintana has allowed 12 earned runs in less than 11 innings of work spanning his last two starts at Minnesota. He'll be opposed by Nic Turley for the Twins. The fellow southpaw has been rocked in both his starts since moving into the rotation. Turley has given up 12 earned runs in less than 9 innings of work spanning his two starts. The over is 6-1 in Chicago's Thursday games this season and Minny is 16-7 to the over in home games with a money line between +125 and -125 this season. Look for a slugfest early Thursday in this one. 8* OVER the total in Minnesota

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play Colorado Rockies Money Line (-) vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 3:10 ET - The first line that came out on this game had the Rockies as a -145 favorite. As of early gameday morning, this line is all the way down to a pick'em price range! I will gladly grab the Rockies in this price range as they look to bounce back off of last night's ugly 16-5 loss where the Diamondbacks had a ridiculous 10-spot in the top of the 4th. Yes, Coors Field can be 'crazy good' for the hitters at times but that was an insane inning. Needless to say, the Rockies will be looking for payback this afternoon. Lets not forget that Colorado had won 6 straight games before yesterday's loss. The big edge they have here is that Antonio Senzatela is used to starting at Coors Field and is a stellar 7-1 this season with a 3.68 ERA in home games! As for the Diamondbacks Zack Godley, he will be making his first ever start at Coors Field. He has made relief appearances here and the Rockies gave him trouble each time. As for the Dbacks facing Senzatela, this will be the first time ever as a starter or out of the bullpen. That said, Arizona's lineup is likely to struggle with his offerings. The Diamondbacks are only 11-11 in day games this season while the Rockies are 22-8 in day games. Look for a big response form the home team this afternoon after last night's ugly debacle. In my opinion, for the reasons note above, the Rockies have a huge pitching edge in this one and I love the extra value afforded by the line move here. 10* COLORADO

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

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play Kansas City Royals Money Line (+) vs Boston Red Sox @ 2:15 ET - Boston rolled Kansas City yesterday 8-3 but the Red Sox had lost 3 of their prior 5 games and the BoSox were held to 2 runs or less in 4 of their 5 prior games. As for the Royals, they had won 8 of their last 9 games prior to yesterday's loss. Also, Kansas City had averaged 6.2 runs per game in their 9 prior games. Even though Drew Pomeranz has a much better record and lower ERA on the season in comparison with Ian Kennedy, the Red Sox southpaw has been hit at a .263 clip. Kennedy has only been hit at .205 clip this season and opponents only hit .236 against him last year. The point is that Kennedy has certainly been the victim of some bad breaks this season and, overall, has frequently proven tough to hit. There is significant home underdog value for the Royals in this spot. The Red Sox are only 5-9 this season in road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Prior to yesterday's win, Boston had averaged just 6.6 hits per game in their last 5 games. Prior to yesterday's loss, KC had averaged 11 hits per game in their last 9 games. Grab the big dog value here as the Royals won both Kennedy starts against the Red Sox last season and they make it 3 straight Wednesday afternoon. 10* KANSAS CITY money line

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 8* OVER the total in Miami Marlins vs Washington Nationals @ 12:10 ET - Washington rolled Miami 12-3 yesterday. Each of the first two games in this series have gone over the total and the Nationals are now 8-1 to the over in their last 9 games. Prior to yesterday's loss, the Marlins had reached double digits in hits in 8 of their last 10 games. For the Nats, yesterday's big win marked the 9th time in their last 13 games that they've reached double digits in hits. No team in the majors has scored more runs on the road than Washington this season and team in the National League has hit more homers on the road than the Nats. As for the Marlins, their .269 batting average on the season ranks them 3rd in the National League. While Max Scherzer and Daniel Straily are both solid pitchers, that doesn't change the fact that they're both facing very potent lineups today. The last time Scherzer faced Miami he allowed 5 earned runs on 9 hits in just 5 innings of work. He has allowed 2 homers in each of his last two starts versus the Marlins. The last time Straily faced Washington he gave up 5 earned runs on 6 hits and 2 walks with no strikeouts in an ugly 3 and 1/3 innings outing. Each of Scherzer's last 3 starts against the Marlins have gone over the total and all 3 of Straily's starts against the Nationals in his career have gone over the total. More of the same Wednesday early and we can take advantage of the downward move on this O/U that has taken place this morning. 8* OVER the total in Miami 

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

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 8* OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 8:40 ET - With the long-term reputation of Zack Greinke and the fact that German Marquez has had some impressive starts early this season, this total is being held lower than it should be on another hitter-friendly night at Coors Field. Greinke has allowed 5 homers in his last 3 starts against the Rockies and he has been fortunate that the damage (in terms of earned runs) has not been worse. As for Marquez, he allowed 5 earned runs (including 2 homers) in his most recent start against Arizona. The Diamondbacks will be getting what is already their third look at Marquez this season. The Rockies are seeing Greinke for the 3rd time already this season. Both of these teams are red hot so the lineups will have plenty of confidence at the plate for this one. Arizona has averaged scoring 7 runs per game in going 10-1 in their last 11 games. Colorado has averaged scoring 6.4 runs per game in going 12-3 in their last 15 games. Both teams were off yesterday on Monday and the Diamondbacks are 8-0 to the over this season when playing after a day off. The Dbacks are also 7-3 to the over in Tuesday games and the Rockies are 8-4 to the over in Tuesday games this season. The past 3 seasons combined Colorado has gone 27-17 to the over when playing after a day off. Look for another one here as the Rockies and Arizona duke it out for the top spot in the division. 8* OVER the total in Colorado