Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 8* Atlanta Braves Run Line +1.5 runs vs Washington Nationals @ 1:35 ET - The Nationals are trying to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Braves but the Nats simply are not playing well at all right now. Washington has lost 4 straight games and 8 of their last 12. The surging Braves have won 7 of their last 9 games but I do respect the Nationals Stephen Strasburg and that is why I am playing this one on the run line. It would not surprise me to see the Braves win this game behind another respectable outing from left-hander Jaime Garcia but if they do fall short look for it to be a one-run game as the Nats just are not hitting well - average of 6 hits per game during their 0-4 run. Garcia has allowed 12 hits in his last 17 and 1/3 innings on the mound while Strasburg has given up 8 earned runs in his last 12 innings! In their last 12 games at -1.5 runs the Nationals would be 2-12 as 2 of their last 4 wins have come by just a single run. The Nats are averaging just 4.3 runs per game in their games against left-handed starters this season while the Braves have averaged 6.5 runs per game in their last 6 games. 8* ATLANTA Run Line +1.5 runs

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 8* OVER the total in New York Mets vs Los Angeles Angels @ 1:10 ET - Mild afternoon in New York with the wind blowing out to left field. I know these teams scored 12 runs yesterday without getting a lot of hits but there should be more hitting today with a few homers quite possible as well. The Angels Jesse Chavez is 0-3 on the road this season and he has allowed about 1 homer per start this season while the Mets Tom Milone has a 6.00 ERA and ridiculously bad 2.00 WHIP in his home starts this season. Also, on the year, the Mets southpaw has given up 5 homers in his 5 starts. None of Milone's 5 starts this season have resulted in an under and I like the line value here with this O/U moving down to an 8. The Mets have had just 2 unders in their last 11 games while the Angels are on a 3-1 run to the over and have scored 5 runs or more in 4 of their last 5 games. The Mets are 21-7 to the over in their games against right-handed starters this season and they are an incredible 14-2 to the over in their games against teams with a losing record. 8* OVER the total in New York Mets

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

PA Insider - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 8* Philadelphia Phillies Money Line (+) @ Pittsburgh Pirates @ 4:05 ET - The Phillies got a much needed 7-2 win yesterday and they should carry some momentum from that victory right into today's match-up. Even though the Phils hare having a tough start to this season so too are the Pirates. That said, with Phlly rating a pitching edge this afternoon, I'll gladly grab the underdog price being offered here. Vincent Velasquez has a 3.37 ERA on the road so far this season and he's been particularly sharp in his last two road starts with just 7 hits allowed in 10 innings and this was against a pair of solid teams, the Cubs and Nationals. That said, Velasquez rates an edge over Pirates starter Ivan Nova who has been struggling recently. The right-hander has been rocked for 26 hits in the 18 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts. The Pirates are only 4-9 this season against teams with a losing record and Pittsburgh also is an ugly 8-16 this season in games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. This looks like a trap line with the Pirates as such a small home favorite. Don't fall for it. The Phillies, behind a determined Velasquez (tight loss in last outing), will be ready to get another W against their in-state rivals today. 8* PHILADELPHIA

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 8* OVER the total in Oakland A's vs Boston Red Sox @ 4:05 ET - The ball carries a little better in day games on the West Coast. Last night's 3-2 A's win stayed under the total but the over is 11-3 this season in Oakland's games against teams with a winning record. Also, the Red Sox have had 12 road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs and only 33% (4) of those games have resulted in an under so far this season. I am going to take advantage of the low total here because Boston crushed Sean Manaea for 8 earned runs in less than 3 innings of work when they faced him last season. Also, the Oakland southpaw has struggled in his 2 most recent starts. As for the A's facing the BoSox Drew Pomeranz for the first time, I expect Oakland to enjoy sucess here. They are facing a left-handed starter for a 2nd straight day and they have a solid .444 slugging percentage against southpaw pitchers this season. Also, Pomeranz is certainly no Chris Sale - whom the Athletics faced last night. Pomeranz has allowed 8 earned runs in his last two starts and those outings have spanned just 7 innings. Also, the Boston southpaw is 0-2 with a 7.72 ERA in road outings this season. The A's have averaged 5 runs per game in their last 7 games and the Red Sox have averaged 6 runs per game in their last 12 games. 8* OVER the total in Oakland

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

Bulldogs Best - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play Atlanta Braves Money Line (+) vs Washington Nationals @ 7:35 ET - Knuckle baller R.A. Dickey gets the start for the Braves tonight and a light breeze is expected to be at his back tonight at SunTrust Park. It is also expected to be quite humid in Atlanta tonight with the light southeast wind. Dickey likes the way his knuckler reacts in humid conditions and it also has been proven that when the wind is at his back the movement is a little better for him and the hitters struggle even more to make good contact. As you can see, conditions are ripe for Dickey to have a strong start tonight and the veteran hurler allowed just 3 hits to the Nationals in 7 innings when he faced them earlier this season. Also, he has a solid 3.60 ERA in his last 3 starts versus the Nats. Washington will have Gio Gonzalez on the mound tonight and he has been rocked for 15 earned runs on 23 hits in just 13 innings of work spanning his last 3 starts versus the Braves. The Nationals left-hander also comes into this start having allowed 6 earned runs in 6 innings in his most recent road start. The Braves got crushed 9-0 yesterday but had won 5 of 6 games prior to last night's ugly loss. The Nats come into this one having lost 6 of their last 10 games and they are truly over-priced on the road here. I'll gladly take advantage by grabbing the home dog value here as I expect Dickey to pitch a gem as the Braves get revenge for getting swept at home in a 3-game series at SunTrust Park last month. 10* ATLANTA BRAVES

PA Insider - Rickenbach Friday MLB 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Philadelphia Phillies @ 7:05 ET - Pittsburgh is still on the warm side of the late spring cold front that is impacting areas to the west. That means good conditions tonight for the hitters and there is plenty of reason to believe both starting pitchers struggle in this one. The Phillies Jeremy Hellickson has some impressive numbers on the season but he has allowed 7 homers in his last 3 starts! The Pirates Trevor Williams has allowed 5 homers in his last 3 starts at the MLB level and those 3 outings have spanned just 12 innings. Hellickson's 7 homers allowed have come in less than 14 innings of work spanning his last 3 starts. The over is 7-2 in the Phillies last 9 games and 4-2 in the Pirates last 6 games. The over is 15-7 in Phils road games this season, 16-7 in their night games, and 17-7 when they are off of a loss! As for the Pirates, the over is 10-6 in  their home games and 11-5 when they are off of a win. The Phillies have scored 4 runs or more in 7 of their last 9 games. The Pirates have scored at least 4 runs in 6 straight games. Keep in mind, a 4-4 game guarantees us of no worse than a 5-4 final and I look for tonight's game to reach double digits in runs. 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Game of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play Toronto Blue Jays Money Line (-) @ Atlanta Braves @ 7:35 ET - The Braves have won 3 straight in this interleague home and home set as they won both games in Toronto and now have taken the first of the two games in Atlanta. I know the Blue Jays have struggled at times early this season but I don't see them losing 4 straight to the Braves. This is particularly true with the big pitching edge the Jays have here. Marcus Stroman gets the start for the Blue Jays and he has a 1.50 ERA in his last 2 starts and struck out 9 in 6 innings in his most recent start. It was great to see his strikeout numbers elevate in that start and he is also known as an excellent ground ball pitcher which will serve him well at SunTrust Park in Atlanta. Another big help for him is the fact that the Braves have never faced him! The same can not be said for the Atlanta starter tonight as Julio Teheran gets the start for the home team and he has a 6.60 ERA in the 3 starts he has made against the Blue Jays in his career. Additionally, the right-hander has given up  5 homers in the less than 11 innings spanning his last two starts against the Jays. This season, Teheran is 1-3 at home with an ugly 8.14 ERA and 1.86 WHIP! When you're giving up nearly 2 baserunners per inning it doesn't take long to get into a heap of trouble. The Braves did score 8 runs yesterday but it was only on 6 hits and, in fact, that was the 7th time in their last 11 games that Atlanta has been held to 8 hits or less. Toronto is averaging 5.5 runs per game in their last 8 games! Also, the Blue Jays had won 5 straight games (and 11 of 15) before this tough stretch versus the Braves. I look for them to snap out of it tonight as Atlanta is dropped to 7-15 this season in games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. 10* TORONTO

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

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 8* Baltimore Orioles Money Line (-) @ Detroit Tigers @ 1:10 ET - The Orioles fell just short in a 5-4 loss yesterday but should bounce right back against the Tigers today. Baltimore outhit Detroit 11-9 yesterday and, in fact, has averaged 11.7 hits per game in their last 12 games as their sticks remain red hot. Comparing that to the Tigers, note that Detroit has only reached double digits in hits twice in their last ten games! The Orioles have a huge pitching edge Thursday as Dylan Bundy is a 5-1 with a fantastic 2.26 ERA this season. The Tigers are 3-4 in Jordan Zimmerman's starts this season and he has a poor 6.28 ERA on the season. Bundy has not started against Detroit previously so he has an edge in terms of the Tigers hitters lacking familiarity with him. As for Zimmerman and facing the Orioles, he has been absolutely crushed in recent meetings with them. The Tigers right-hander has allowed 17 earned runs in just 12 innings spanning his last 3 starts versus the O's. Though Detroit won yesterday, they had previously lost 6 of their last 9 games. Look for the Tigers to drop to 1-5 in Thursday games this season while the Orioles (one of the top teams in the majors) improve to a perfect 4-0 in Thursday games. 8* BALTIMORE

PA Insider - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Washington Nationals @ 12:35 ET - Wind will be blowing out to left on a warm afternoon at PNC Park. The over is 5-1 in Tyler Glasnow's starts for the Pirates this season and he has a 7.98 ERA on the year. The over is 6-1 in Tanner Roark's starts for the Nationals this season and he has allowed 4 earned runs in 2 of his last 3 starts. With the Pirates 6-1 win yesterday they have averaged 5 runs per game in winning 3 of their last 4 games. For the Nationals, that was a rare 'off performance' at the plate yesterday but they had averaged 5.4 runs per game in their 9 prior games and will bounce right back as they face a struggling hurler in hitter-friendly conditions this afternoon. Glasnow has simply been awful for the Bucs. As for Roark, he's only averaged 5 and 1/3 inning in his last 4 starts and that will expose a struggling Nationals bullpen as Nats relievers have particularly had issues away from home this season. 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

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

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 8* OVER the total in Arizona Diamondbacks vs New York Mets @ 3:40 ET - Matt Harvey recently dealt with a 3-game team suspension and he certainly seems out of sorts. The Mets right-hander is 0-3 with an ugly 10.43 ERA in his last three starts. The Diamondbacks at home are the top hitting team in the majors with a .300 batting average and they've averaged 6.1 runs per game in their home games this season. The Mets on the road are the top slugging team in the majors with a .497 slugging percentage and New Yrok is averaging 6.2 runs per game on the road so far this season. The Mets will be facing the Dbacks struggling Patrick Corbin. The Arizona southpaw has allowed 12 earned runs in just 10 innings spanning his last two starts and his strikeout numbers are way down. The Diamondbacks are 9-4 to the over this season in home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. The Mets are 9-1 to the over in road games where their money line ranges from -125 to +125 this season. Also, the over is 5-1 in Mets games against left-handed starters. The Mets bullpen has been a disaster, particularly on the road, this season and they could be called upon early and often in this one considering Harvey's recent struggles. There is no reason to expect either one of these starting pitchers to enjoy success today and the result should be a high-scoring slugfest. 8* OVER the total in Arizona Wednesday afternoon

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 8* OVER the total in Miami Marlins vs Houston Astros @ 12:10 ET - This total opened up at an 8.5 but has dropped to an 8. I am well aware of the fact that the Astros Lance McCullers has been pitching well (even in recent road starts) but this still a guy that is known for pitching much better at home than he does on the road. His career numbers tell the full story and McCullers entered this season 3-8 on the road with a 4.84 ERA and a .270 BAA. The right-hander has had two good starts and two poor starts in his four road outings this season and I look for one of the latter variety this afternoon in Miami! As for the Marlins, they have the hard-throwing Jose Urena on the mound. Though he has pitched well as a spot starter and, as a result, has now moved into the starting rotation, he is coming off his first outing this season where he threw over 100 pitches. Urena will now be making his 3rd start in 11 days and coming off of his longest outing of the season. He'll also be facing a red hot Astros lineup that has helped lead the way to 8 Houston wins in their last 9 games! The Astros have scored an average of 6.7 runs per game during this hot streak. Look for more of the same early Wednesday. The over is on a 32-16 run (including 4-0 this season) in Houston's games where they are a road favorite of -125 to -175. The over is 9-3 this season in Astros road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. The over is a perfect 6-0 in Marlins Wednesday games this season. Also, the over is 7-3 this season in Miami's games against teams with a winning record and 7-3 in home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. 8* OVER the total in Miami very early Wednesday

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 8* OVER the total in St Louis Cardinals vs Boston Red Sox @ 8:15 ET - The wind will be blowing out at Busch Stadium on a mild evening in St Louis and I look for the Cardinals and Red Sox to both be pounding the ball in this one. The total was an 8.5 and it dropped to an 8 and this opened up some additional line value here. The Cardinals are 8-1 in their last 9 games and have averaged 6.1 runs per game during this hot stretch. The Red Sox are off of a loss but had previously won 4 of their last 7 games and averaged 7.6 runs per game in those 7 games. The last 3 seasons combined, Boston is 28-19 to the over in interleague action and also 17-11 to the over when off of a game where they allowed 10 runs or more. The Cards are 18-12 to the over when off of a shutout win the past 3 seasons combined. Also, this season the Cardinals are 16-9 to the over in games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. The over is 7-3 in St Louis last 10 games and 7-1 in the BoSox last 8 games. Boston has Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound and he has been solid but the Cards have won their last two games against lefties by a combined score of 14-7. The Cardinals will have Lance Lynn on the mound tonight and he had been red hot early this season but came back to reality in his most recent start with 4 earned runs allowed in 4 innings. Walks and homers were an issue and Boston has a stout lineup. 8* OVER the total in St Louis

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

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 8* OVER the total in Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds @ 8:05 ET - You could have two Cy Young candidates on the mound tonight at Wrigley Field and it wouldn't matter. The fact is that it is a very warm weather pattern finally reaching Chicago and the wind is blowing out to left field. The ball is going to carry like crazy in this one and these two teams have plenty of home run pop in their lineups. The Cubs a perfect 6-0 to the over this season in home games where they are a favorite in a range of -175 to -250. After a loss this season Chicago has gone 12-6 to the over. The Reds are 12-4 to the over this season when they are off of a loss. Also, when on a losing streak of 3 games or more, Cincinnati has gone 4-0 to the over this season. Both these pitchers are prone to giving up the long ball and the over is 5-2 in Bronson Arroyo's 7 starts this season and 5-2 to the over in John Lackey's 7 starts. The first 3 games between these teams this season averaged 14.3 runs per game and the weather is conducive to another wild one here. Arroyo is winless with a 7.71 ERA in his 3 road starts this season. Lackey is off of a great effort at Colorado but he allowed 16 earned runs in the 23 innings spanning his 4 prior starts. Look for that type of production here! 8* OVER the total in Chicago Cubs

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (+) @ Cleveland Indians @ 6:10 ET - The Rays outscored the Indians 6-3 from the 2nd inning on yesterday but they had dug too deep of a hole with a bad first inning that included a huge 2-out 3-run bomb for the Tribe. That ugly first inning for Tampa Bay certainly ended up being the difference in a game that ended up being a one run loss for the Rays. Look for Tampa to respond today as they have a huge pitching edge in this one. Yes, Danny Salazar of the Indians has a good reputation but he really hasn't been pitching that well and that means we are getting line value in going against a "big name" pitcher that will be attracting the attention of the market. Salazar has given up 7 earned runs and lasted just 7 and 1/3 innings in his last two starts combined. Conversely, the Rays have a red hot pitcher on the mound as Jake Odorizzi has been great since coming off of the disabled list. The Tampa right-hander has delivered a solid 2-1 with a 1.50 ERA while allowing just nine hits and only three walks over 18 innings spanning his last 3 starts. Overall, in Odorizzi's last 25 innings on the mound, opponents have only 12 hits against him! He should get plenty of run support too as the Rays have averaged 5.3 runs per game in their last 13 games and I expect Salazar's recent struggles to continue. We're getting so much line value with the big dog in this spot that I am going with highest rating here. 10* TAMPA BAY money line

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 8* UNDER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Atlanta Braves @ 4:05 ET - The Braves Jaime Garcia has given up only 19 hits in the 24 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 4 starts. While he occasionally does have some issue with command, the fact is that he has allowed just 2 earned runs in 3 of his last 4 starts. The Blue Jays haven't hit lefties well this season and that certainly has a lot to do with their 2-6 record against southpaw starters this season. Look for the Jays to struggle as Garcia produces another quality start. However, the strength for Toronto today is the fact that they have Marco Estrada on the mound. The Blue Jays right-hander is undefeated in his 3 home starts this season and has compiled a minuscule 0.95 ERA in home outings. Estrada also has shut out the Braves in his last 3 starts against them - a span of 21 and 2/3 scoreless innings! As you would expect, all 3 of those starts stayed under the total. Though yesterday's game flew over the total (one of my plays yesterday), that had a lot to do with the pitching match-up. As for today's game, it has the makings of a pitchers duel. The under is 12-7 in Jays home games this season and 8-4 in Blue Jays day games this year. There has not been a single over in Estrada's home starts this season and I expect that streak to remain intact today as he throws another gem. 8* UNDER the total in Toronto

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach MLB Monday 8* Houston Astros Money Line (-) @ Miami Marlins @ 7:10 ET - The Astros are on an 11-3 run after splitting their double header with the Yankees yesterday. The Marlins have lost 14 of 18 and that's even after winning yesterday's game. I fully realize this is not the best scheduling situation for Houston as the day-night double header yesterday certainly impacts them. However, these two teams are at opposite ends of the spectrum right now and the Marlins Daniel Sraily is off of a solid effort but previously had allowed 7 earned runs in the 10 and 1/3 innings spanning his 2 prior starts. The Astros will have Joe Musgrove on the mound and he has settled in after a rough start to the season. He has allowed 2 earned runs or less in 2 of his last 3 starts and the Marlins have never faced Musgrove so that should be a big edge for the right-hander. Miami is hitting only .240 at home this season while the Astros are hitting a solid .279 on the road this season. Houston is 20-7 against right-handed starters this season and the Astros are 29-13 in inter-league games the past 3 seasons combined. Miami is 11-20 against right-handed starters this season and a long-term 3-8 in home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. In a game where a lot of runs are expected, look for the more powerful lineup to do the most damage. 8* HOUSTON

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Monday 8* OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Atlanta Braves @ 7:05 ET - Bartolo Colon continues to get roughed up and has an 11.66 ERA and 1.98 WHIP in his last 3 starts. The over is a perfect 3-0 in these starts. The Braves right-hander will be opposed by the Blue Jays Mike Bolsinger and he managed to escape trouble in his first start of this season despite walking 4 in less than 6 innings of work. Bolsinger gave up 5 earned runs in less than 4 innings of work in one of his two starts against the Braves in his career. In Colon's most recent start against the Jays he allowed 6 earned runs in 4 and 1/3 innings of work. Colon also has given up 5 homers in his last 2 road starts! The veteran right-hander is facing a Blue Jays lineup that will step to the plate with plenty of confidence as they have averaged 5.8 runs per game during their current 5-game winning streak. The Braves offense has cooled a bit recently but Bolsinger should bring out the best in Atlanta. The Blue Jays right-hander was 1-4 with a 6.83 ERA in his 6 starts last season. Two years prior Bolsinger was 1-6 with a 5.50 ERA and that was his rookie campaign. As you can see from these numbers he has not enjoyed a lot of success at the MLB level and I expect that trend to continue here. The over is 15-9 in Atlanta's night games this season and the over is 13-7 this season when the Braves are off of a loss. 8* OVER the total in Toronto

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Monday 8* Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (+) @ Cleveland Indians @ 6:10 ET - The Indians got a big 8-3 win yesterday as they uncharacteristically hit 4 homers in knocking off the Twins. Don't look for anything close to that type of performance today as the Indians had been held to 3 runs or less in 9 of their first 11 games in May. In fact, on the month, even with yesterday's performance included, Cleveland is averaging just 2.9 runs per game in May! The Rays are off of a huge 11-2 win at Boston yesterday but the fact is Tampa Bay has been the better hitting team this month in comparison with the Indians. The Rays have averaged 4.9 runs per game this month. That was Tampa's 4th road win in their last 5 games away from home. As for the Tribe, they were just 4-7 this month before getting the big win yesterday. I know that Chris Archer does not have a good history against the Indians but he has a solid 3.32 ERA in his last 3 starts against them. Also, he comes into this start in fantastic form with a 1.69 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in his last 3 starts. Archer has struck out 22 in his last 14 innings on the mound! Carlos Carrasco gets the start for the Indians here and he is winless in his 3 home starts this season. He is a solid pitcher no doubt but did give up 3 earned runs in his most recent home start. The last time Carrasco faced the Rays in Cleveland he was rocked for 10 hits in 6 innings and he was fortunate to be charged with only 3 earned runs. The Rays are already 4-2 and +$3,800 as an underdog in the +125 to +175 range this season and I look for them to thrive in this role again today. 8* TAMPA BAY

Game of the Month Shocker - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Phillies Money Line +185 @ Washington Nationals @ 7:05 ET in Game TWO of the double header - Vincent Velasquez is a fiery right-hander that is known for stepping up in big game situations. With the Phillies having had some extra days off recently he has extra rest coming into this start. Conversely, the Nationals Max Scherzer is on regular rest and has thrown a ton of pitches in his last two starts as he's piled up the strikeouts. While it is true that Velasquez just lost to the Nationals last week, he actually pitched quite well in that start and certainly didn't have luck on his side in the way that one played out. Velasquez has allowed just 7 hits in his 11 innings on the road this season and got the win over, coincidentally, Scherzer, in his most recent start at Washington which was in April of last year. Scherzer has allowed 7 homers in his last 4 starts and there is simply way too much value being offered to the Phillies to ignore this spot. Lefties have hit about 100 points higher than righties against Scherzer this season and the Phils lineup will have plenty of left-handed lumber as they have a number of switch-hitters and left-handed bats. The Phillies have won 2 of the last 3 starts made by Velaquez while Scherzer is only 1-2 at home this season. The Nationals have reached double digits in their last 2 games but previously had managed only 8 hits or less in 4 straight games. The Phils only had 8 hits yesterday but previously had 11 hits in each of their three prior games. Look for a shocker Sunday night in Game 2 of this double header. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 8* OVER the total in Washington Nationals vs Philadelphia Phillies @ 1:35 ET in Game ONE of a double header - With yesterday's 6-4 Nats win, the Phillies are now 8-2 to the over in their last 10 games and the Nationals have now gone over the total in 5 straight games. Washington will be seeing the Phillies Jeremy Hellickson for the 4th time already this season and they just saw him last Sunday and the Phils right-hander struggled. Hellickson has now struggled badly in each of his last two outings and given up 5 homers in the process. I expect more of the same on Sunday. The Nationals will have Gio Gonzalez on the mound and he was strong against the Phillies earlier this season but the Nats southpaw has struggled recently. Gonzalez has walked 11 in his last 2 starts and he was reached for 6 earned runs in 6 innings of work in his most recent start. The over is 14-5 this season when the Phillies are off of a loss. Also, Philadelphia is 7-2 to the over this season when they are a road dog of +125 to +175 this season. The over is 4-1 in Nationals Sunday games this season and they are 5-0 to the over in their last 5 games as noted above. Look for the early Sunday match-up to make it 6 in a row. 8* OVER the total in Washington in Game One of the double header

Earliest Cash Side - Rickenbach MLB 8* Minnesota Twins Money Line (+) @ Cleveland Indians @ 1:10 ET - The Twins have Hector Santiago on the mound and the southpaw is 4-1 with a 2.76 ERA and 1.16 WHIP on the season. He's facing an Indians team that has produced just 1 run on only 8 hits in the 13 and 1/3 innings spanning Santiago's last two starts against them. Also, Cleveland has lost 3 straight and 7 of their last 11. The average runs scored per game for the Tribe during this stretch is only 2.5 runs! They will prove to be no match for the Twins as Minny comes in having won 11 of their last 15 games! Minnesota continues to get very little respect from the betting markets but they've averaged 5.3 runs per game in their last 11 games and are a fantastic 11-4 on the road this season. They'll be teeing off against Trevor Bauer this afternoon. The Indians right-hander is 2-4 with an ugly 7.36 ERA this season. Plenty of runs expected here by the odds makers and that's important to note because Cleveland is an ugly 23-40 in games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs the past 3 seasons combined. Grab the tremendous underdog value here. 8* MINNESOTA

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

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 8* OVER 9.5 runs in Texas Rangers vs Oakland Athletics @ 8:05 ET - The Rangers, for the 2nd night in a row, won a game with a 9th inning 3-run bomb last night. Overall, the hitting has not been impressive though and each of the past two games have stayed under the total. Look for that to change tonight. Sonny Gray gets the start for the A's and he only just made his first start of this season earlier this month. He allowed 3 homers in that road outing. He followed it up by allowing 7 hits in less than 5 innings of work in his 2nd start of the season. The point is that Gray is not in great form since returning to the big club and he also has allowed 22 hits (including 5 homers) in 18 innings spanning his last 3 starts against the Rangers! Texas may have a pitching concern of their own tonight too. Taking the mound for the Rangers is Nick Martinez and Texas is winless in his last 3 starts and he has given up 7 homers in the 17 and 1/3 innings spanning those 3 starts. The right-hander also gave up 3 homers in just 4 innings in his lone start versus Oakland last season. As you can see from the stats above, this one could easily turn into a slugfest tonight at the ballpark in Arlington. The Athletics were on an 8-2 run to the over before last night's game stayed under the total. The "over" trending resumes for the A's tonight. 8* OVER 9.5 runs in Texas

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 8* OVER 8.5 runs in San Francisco Giants vs Cincinnati Reds @ 4:05 ET - Needless to say neither team's bullpen situation is very good after last night's 17-inning marathon. Taking a look at the weather for this afternoon's game, the wind will be blowing out to center at a good clip and the ball tends to carry better in day games compared to night games on the west coast. As for the starting pitchers here, Matt Moore has given up 12 earned runs in his last 2 starts even though those outings combined for less than 9 innings! Lisalverto Bonilla gets the start for the Reds and this will be his first start in the majors in 3 years. In his lone appearance for Cincinnati this season he worked in long relief and gave up 4 earned runs in 5 innings. In his 5 starts in the minors this season, opponents have hit him at a .324 clip and he has compiled a 5.61 ERA that easily could be even higher based on how hard Bonilla has been getting hit. The over is 6-3 this season in Reds road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. Also, the over is 7-4 in Cincinnati's day games this year. On the season, look for the over to improve to 5-0 in Reds Saturday games! 8* OVER 8.5 runs in San Francisco

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 8* OVER 7.5 runs in St Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs @ 4:05 ET - I know this is a bit of a "contrarian play" as two big-name pitchers are on the mound but long-time followers know that being a contrarian is a big part of long-term success in this industry. This total was an 8 and has dropped to a 7.5 and I like the value here on what will be a warm, sunny afternoon with a light breeze in St Louis. The ball tends to carry well in day games at Busch Stadium and there is reason to believe that each of these two hurlers could get a little roughed up here. Jon Lester's first road start this season saw him allow just 1 earned run to these same Cardinals but he did give up 7 hits in 5 innings of work. Giving up all those hits was foretelling of what was to come as he has since been rocked for 11 runs (10 earned) on 19 hits in just 11 and 1/3 innings of work spanning his other 2 road starts this season. The Cardinals will have Carlos Martinez on the mound and the over is 3-1 in his last 4 starts as he has allowed at least 3 earned runs in 3 of his last 4 outings. By the way, the over is a perfect 4-0 in Lester's last 4 starts. The over is 9-5 in Cubs day games this season and a perfect 5-0 in their Saturday games. The over is 6-3 in Cardinals day games this year. 8* OVER 7.5 runs in St Louis

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

Rickenbach MLB Friday 8* San Diego Padres Money Line (+) @ Chicago White Sox @ 8:10 ET - The Padres lost a tough one at Texas last night as they dropped it in the bottom of the 9th. The defeat was punctuated by a 3-run blast to end the game and San Diego will be ready to bounce back tonight. The Padres are now 6-14 on the road this season and only one team in the majors has more road defeats. That said, many are looking at this game and saying to themselves "how can the White Sox be such a small home favorite?" and I do have one answer for that. The odds makers are NOT stupid! In other words this line is set this way for a reason and one of those reasons is because the ChiSox have lost 5 straight games! Overall it has been a 2-8 run for the White Sox in their last 10 games and the Padres (though only 2-2 in their last 4 road games) have averaged 11 hits per game in their last 4 games away from home. Don't be surprised if San Diego gets the job done on the road tonight. The ChiSox have averaged just 7 hits per game in their last 4 games. Jhoulys Chacin has horrible numbers on the road this season for the Padres but he was much better in his most recent road start and, overall, has allowed just 20 hits in his last 24 and 1/3 innings on the mound and that stretch includes two road outings. As for Miguel Gonzalez, the White Sox right-hander has given up 20 hits in the less than 13 innings spanning his last two starts. The ChiSox are only 7-13 against right-handed starters. The Padres are 32-27 (+$10,300) the last 3 seasons combined when they enter a game on a losing streak of 3 games or more. As you can see from the profit level on that record, San Diego has been a good play on team as an underdog in that role. That is the case again tonight and the Padres respond after that tough loss last night. 8* SAN DIEGO PADRES money line

Rickenbach MLB Friday 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Houston Astros @ 7:05 ET - Lance McCullers is off of a great start in Anaheim but the Angels have struggled to score runs this season. Never make the mistake of putting too much weight into one start. In his other two road starts this season McCullers was rocked each time for 5 earned runs in each even though each start was 5 innings or less. Look for more of the same here as the Yankees had a man thrown out at the plate for the final out last night in a 3-2 loss. This season the Yanks are 7-3 to the over when off of a loss. Also, the Yankees are 12-3 to the over when the posted total is 8 or 8.5 runs. The Astros are 31-16 to the over the last 2+ seasons (including 3-0 this year) when they are a road favorite in a range of -125 to -175. Also, Houston is 7-2 to the over this season when they are on the road and the posted total is 8 or 8.5 runs. The Astros will be teeing off against a young southpaw who has some good numbers so far this season but he has walked 8 batters in his last 2 starts and those outings spanned less than 12 innings. Houston has won their last two starts against lefties by a combined score of 12 to 9. The Astros have averaged 6.4 runs per game in their last 9 wins - part of a huge 9-2 run. Houston is one of the top scoring road teams in the majors this season with 5.2 runs per game while the Yankees are one of the top scoring home teams with 6.5 runs per game. 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees

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

Rickenbach MLB Thursday 8* OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Seattle Mariners @ 7:05 ET - I know this total seems a little high considering that Marco Estrada is on the mound for the Blue Jays. However, the Mariners are hitting a ridiculous .343 over the past week! The M's possess one of the hottest lineups in the league. Seattle has gone 6-1 in their last 7 games and they averaged nearly 9 runs per game in those 6 wins. In the 7 games the Mariners averaged 13 hits per game! Estrada gave up 5 earned runs in his most recent start and Seattle's lineup will present a huge challenge. The M's issue tonight is going to be their own starting pitcher. Chase DeJong gets the start and I know he is off of a solid start against Texas but the Rangers lineup has really been struggling this season. Prior to that outing, DeJong gave up 6 earned runs in a start where he couldn't even make it out of the 3rd inning. He'll have his hands full again on the road here (just like that ugly road start at Cleveland) as the right-hander faces a solid Blue Jays lineup. I know Toronto hasn't been impressive at the plate this season but they'll take advantage of facing an inexperienced hurler and the Jays are off of a big 8-7 win yesterday. The over is a respectable 60% in the Blue Jays last 15 games while the Mariners are 7-2 (78%) to the over in their last 9 games. More "fireworks" expected north of the border tonight. 8* OVER the total in Toronto

Rickenbach MLB Thursday 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Houston Astros @ 7:05 ET - Two solid pitches here but Dallas Keuchel has allowed 2 homers in EACH of his last two road starts and he's known for dominating at home but certainly being less dominant on the road. Keuchel gave up 5 earned runs at Los Angeles when he faced the Angels this past weekend. Michael Pineda gets the start for the Yankees and the last time he faced the Astros in the Bronx he was rocked last season for 3 homers in 5 innings. In fact, in his last two home starts versus Houston, Pineda has given up 11 earned runs in just 9 and 1/3 innings. This match-up features two of the hottest lineups in baseball. Of course all the hot hitting has played a big role in Houston having had just 2 unders in their last 8 games. As for the Yanks, the over is 9-2 in their last 11 games. Take advantage of the low posted total here. The over is 9-4 in Astros road games this season and 11-4 in Yankees home games. Also, the Yanks are 7-2 to the over when off of a loss this season and 6-1 to the over in games against left-handed starters. 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 8* Boston Red Sox Money Line (-) @ Milwaukee Brewers @ 1:10 ET - The Red Sox have now lost back to back games but we're already into the 6th week of this season and Boston has yet to lose 3 in a row. I don't expect that to change here either. The BoSox have a strong pitching edge here. Southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez has a 2.00 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP in his last 3 starts. The Brewers will have Jimmy Nelson on the mound. The right-hander is off of a rain-shortened outing where he did pitch well at Pittsburgh but the Pirates didn't get a 2nd shot at him after he exited after the 2 hour plus rain delay. Nelson's prior two starts had seen him allow 9 runs (8 earned) on 16 hits in just 10 and 1/3 innings and the right-hander is likely to struggle again here. Nelson, in home starts this season, is winless with a 4.96 ERA that easily could be even worse as he has a 1.78 WHIP thus far on the young season. The Brewers, as a home dog of +125 to +175, have gone 16-31 the last 3 seasons combined. Also, Milwaukee is only 4-6 in day games this season while the Red Sox are a solid 10-4 in day games this season. Also, the BoSox are 32-16 in interleague games the past 3 seasons combined. Look for the Red Sox to avoid the sweep as they once again avoid dropping a 3rd straight game. When off of back to back losses this season Boston has gone 4-0 with the 4 wins combined by a combined 17 runs. Look for a road rout here. 8* BOSTON

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

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday MLB 8* OVER the total in Washington Nationals vs Baltimore Orioles @ 7:05 ET - This total has dropped from an 8 to a 7.5 and this is a low total considering the potency of these two lineups. The Orioles are averaging 5 runs per game on the road so far this season. The Nationals are averaging 6.2 runs per game on the season and hitting a ridiculous .297 at home this season. Of course the reason we're getting a low total is because of the pitching match-up. However, Wade Miley was hit by two line drives in his last start and has now allowed 11 hits and walked 5 in his last 5 and 2/3 innings on the mound! Stephen Strasburg had to work through a calf cramp in his last start and did walk 4 batters in a start where he was unable to complete the 6th inning. The point is that I don't expect either hurler to be absolutely on top of their game here and, with any slip up for either and how strong these lineups are, we should easily get over the low total here. Miley has walked 11 in his last 12 and 2/3 innings. The Nationals are 12-5 to the over in night games this season. When off of a loss, the Nats have gone 7-3 to the over. In games against teams with a winning record, the Naitonals have gone 6-2 to the over this season. More of the same early Wednesday evening. 8* OVER the total in Washington 

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 8* OVER the total in Oakland A's vs Los Angeles Angels @ 3:35 ET - After opening up at an 8.5 this total has dropped to a 7.5 as of gameday morning and this is offering fantastic line value on the over. Yesterday's game totaled 10 runs and I expect more of the same today. The A's are starting Andrew Triggs and he has been rocked for 11 runs (9 earned) in his last 2 starts at home and those outings totaled only 10 innings! The Angels are starting Jesse Chavez and he gave up 4 earned runs on 8 hits in 6 innings in his last road start. He's 0-2 on the road this season and facing an A's team that has averaged 5 runs per game in going 4-2 in their last 6 games. The Angels have averaged 4.8 runs per game in their last 5 road games and will look to continue the momentum from yesterday's 7-run outburst. The Halos, when off of a win this season, have had just 5 unders in 16 games! The Athletics are 8-1 to the over in their last 9 games and are 39-24 to the over in games played in the month of May the last 2+ seasons. Good weather for an over in Oakland this afternoon with the wind blowing out, rather mild temperatures, and the ball carries better in day games (compared to night games) on the West Coast. 8* OVER the total in Oakland

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

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 8* Boston Red Sox Money Line (-) @ Milwaukee Brewers @ 7:40 ET - The Red Sox have scored 28 runs in winning their last 2 games and the Brewers Wily Peralta will struggle to stop them. He has allowed 10 earned runs in the 9 innings spanning his last two home starts and Peralta gave up 5 homers in those 2 starts. That spells trouble for tonight as Boston's powerful lineup comes into this one on fire. The Red Sox are the play here as they also hold a decided pitching edge. Southpaw Drew Pomeranz gets the start for Boston in this one and the lefty has given up 2 earned runs in 3 straight starts and 4 of his 5 starts on the season. Pomeranz has also struck out 34 in his 27 innings of work. The Brewers are known for being a free-swinging team and Milwaukee, prior to a 6-2 win Sunday, had lost 3 of 4 games and averaged just 1.8 runs per game during this stretch. The Brewers have not faced a left-handed starter in over a week and this will present a special challenge since Pomeranz hasn't started against Milwaukee in 5 years so the Brewers lineup certainly does not have familiarity with him. The Brewers are on a 74-102 run against teams with a winning record. The Red Sox are 5-1 in inter-league action already this season and 32-14 against the National League the last 3 seasons combined. The rather small road price makes the BoSox well worth the investment here. 8* BOSTON RED SOX money line

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 8* OVER 8 runs in Miami Marlins vs St Louis Cardinals @ 7:10 ET - The Cards Adam Wainwright is struggling badly this season. He has given up 8 earned runs on 19 hits in just 11 and 1/3 innings spanning his last two starts and those were at home. Wainwright, on the road this season, has a 7.24 ERA so far. Now he faces a Marlins team that is starting to swing the bats better after a slow start this season. Miami, despite still losing, has been scoring a fair number of runs with an average of 5 runs per game in their last 9 games. The issue for the Marlins tonight is going to be in trying to turn off a red hot Cardinals lineup. St Louis is 8-3 in their last 11 games thanks to a lineup producing an average of 6 runs per game during this solid stretch. Miami will have Daniel Straily and he certainly has cooled off of after a hot start earlier this season. Straily has allowed 7 earned runs in the 10 and 1/3 innings spanning his last two starts. The right-hander has as many walks as strikeouts in those two outings and the 8 walks in roughly 10 innings of work is certainly a concern. The red hot Cardinals will make him pay. St Louis is 9-3 to the over this season in their games against teams with a losing record. Also, the Cards are 5-1 to the over in Wainwright's starts this season. The Marlins are 14-7 to the over in night games this season. More of the same on Tuesday evening. 8* OVER 8 runs in Miami

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 8* OVER 8.5 runs in San Diego Padres vs Texas Rangers @ 3:40 ET - The wind will be blowing out at Petco Park on a mild afternoon in San Diego. These are two of the weaker hitting teams in the majors so far this season. No one can really argue that. However, the ball carries better in day games on the West Coast and Jered Weaver gets the start for the Padres here. He has allowed 12 homers in his 6 starts this season! He's allowed 7 long balls in his last 3 starts including 2 in each of his home starts so far this year. Weaver also has allowed 4 homers in his last 3 starts against Texas and he gave up 4 earned runs in 6 innings in his most recent start versus the Rangers. Weaver will be opposed by AJ Griffin. The Texas right-hander has certainly been a pleasant surprise with his early season results this year. However, the Padres have averaged 5 runs per game in their last 8 games facing a right-handed starter. I see each team getting to at least 4 runs here and, of course, that guarantees us of no less than a 5-4 final here and that gets us the cash! The over is 3-1 in Griffin's 4 starts this season and a perfect 2-0 in Weaver's 2 home starts this year. The Rangers have lost 3 straight games and the over is 3-1 this season when they enter a game on a losing streak of 3 games or more. Texas is also 8-3 to the over this season when they are on the road and the posted total is 8 or 8.5 runs. San Diego has had just 14 unders in their last 41 inter-league games. The Padres also are 5-1 to the over this season in home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. 8* OVER 8.5 runs in San Diego

Rickenbach MLB Monday 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs New York Yankees @ 7:10 ET - The Reds are one of the hotter teams in the league with 5 straight wins and a 7-1 run their last 8. The key has been a lineup that has produced 8.4 runs in their last 5 victories. I look for more of the same on Monday as the Reds catch the Yankees Masahiro Tanaka off of a start where he allowed 4 earned runs in 6 innings and gave up a pair of homers. The Reds just aren't going to be shut down at home. As for the Yankees sticks, spurred on by a sweep of the Cubs, look for them to pound Cincinnati's Rookie Davis. The right-hander has a 7.36 ERA on the season and is allowing 2 baserunners per inning so far on the year. Davis is facing a Yankees team that has won 5 straight games and averaged 7.6 runs per game during this hot streak. The over is 8-1 in the Yankees last 9 games and the over is 12-3 in the Reds last 15 games. Both lineups remain red hot Monday. 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati

Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play San Francisco Giants Money Line (+) @ New York Mets @ 7:10 ET - While the Giants have certainly had their own issues this season, the Mets are a big mess and don't merit this price range. With yesterday's home shutout loss (and the distraction of the Matt Harvey suspension) the Mets are now 6-11 at home this season. While the Giants Matt Moore has only 2 good starts in his last 5 starts, those 2 outings were truly stellar and he had a respectable outing in his lone career start against New York. The Mets come into this one having put up some impressive run totals in recent games but their hit totals, for the most part, were not impressive. In fact, looking at their last 11 games, had 3 solid games at the plate but averaged only 7 hits per game in the other 8 games. With Jacob deGrom on the mound that could be an issue because he'll need plenty of run support. He allowed 5 earned runs in just 5 innings while giving up 8 hits and walking 5 in his most recent start. The last time deGrom faced the Giants he gave up 8 earned runs on 13 hits in just 5 innings of work. The line value here on San Francisco as a sizable dog is simply too big to ignore. Look for the Giants to improve to 4-0 on Mondays this season while the Mets home struggles continue and they drop to 2-5 this season against southpaw starters. Though the Mets have revenge from last year's Wild Card game, they are off of the shutout loss yesterday and have gone just 10-16 the past two seasons when off of a shutout loss. 10* SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

Rickenbach MLB Monday 8* Toronto Blue Jays Money Line (-) vs Cleveland Indians @ 7:05 ET - We are getting line value here because the Blue Jays got off to slow start this season and have one of the worst records in the majors. This is a revenge game for Toronto as the Indians knocked them out of the playoffs in the ALCS last fall with a 4-1 series victory. Keep in mind, even the Cleveland has a better record on the season, they certainly haven't been knocking the cover off of the ball. In fact, the Indians have averaged only 1.8 runs and 6.5 hits in their last 6 games. The Blue Jays have been hitting a little bit better after a slow start to the season and they've averaged 4.5 runs per game in their last 12 games. Also, the Jays have won 5 of their last 8 games and Marcus Stroman is off of a rough start but that was against the red hot Yankees and he had previously allowed 2 earned runs or less in 4 of his first 5 starts this season. Stroman certainly rates a big edge over Trevor Bauer as the Indians right-hander is struggling this season. Bauer has a 7.67 ERA on the season and struggled again in his most recent start. Also, Baeur has an 8.16 ERA in starts against the Jays in his career while Stroman has a 2.79 ERA in starts against the Tribe in his career. 8* TORONTO

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 8* Chicago Cubs Money Line (-) vs New York Yankees @ 8:05 ET - After getting drilled 11-6 yesterday, look for the Cubs to respond in a big way Sunday Night. Chicago will have Jon Lester on the mound and he is 13-6 in his career outings against the Yankees. An edge for him here is the fact that he hasn't faced the Yanks since 2014 so there is a lack of familiarity for the hitters in terms of facing Lester's offerings. The Cubs southpaw is known for being tough at Wrigley Field. He is undefeated with a 1.50 ERA at home this season and went 10-2 with a 1.74 ERA at home last season! Also, Lester is 14-1 in night games the past two seasons combined! As for the Yankees Luis Severino, he got hit hard by the Blue Jays in his most recent start. Last season he went 3-8 with a 5.83 ERA so he's truly hard to trust here against a potent Cubs lineup. With his poor outing versus Toronto to begin this month, Severino is now 0-4 with an ERA over 8 in May outings in his career! In addition to the pitching edge, even though the Yankees have been hot, I just don't see the Cubs getting swept at Wrigley Field. Not with Lester's long-term success at home. The Cubs are 46-25 as a home fave of -125 to -175 the last 3 seasons combined. The Yankees are 14-19 as a road dog of +125 to +175 the last 3 seasons combined. There have only been two times this season that the Cubs allowed 7 runs or more PLUS lost the game by a multiple run margin. They've responded with a win both times and those two wins were blowouts by a combined score off 22-6. Look for another big response here from the Cubs. 8* CHICAGO CUBS money line in Sunday Night MLB action.

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

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 1:35 ET - The wind will be blowing out at PNC Park for this early afternoon match-up and, after the bats have gone quiet for the first two games of this series, there is reason to believe we'll see plenty of offense in the finale of the 3-game set. The Brewers are 11-3 to the over in games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs this season. The Pirates are 7-2 to the over in home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs this season. Zach Davies shows the betting markets a low ERA in his last 3 starts but he's been quite fortunate in those games. Hence the value here as Davies has actually been knocked around for 21 hits in the 15 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts. Tyler Glasnow gets the start for the Pirates and the young hurler is still struggling. He has made 3 home starts this season and has gone winless with an 8.38 ERA in those outings. Glasnow has been hit hard plus has issued far too many walks. The over is 4-1 in his starts this season and the over is 6-0 in Davies starts this season. Look for more of the same in this match-up! 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh EARLY Sunday afternoon.

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

Rickenbach MLB Saturday 8* OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Chicago White Sox @ 7:05 ET - Yesterday's game stayed under the total as the O's prevailed 4-2. However, the White Sox had previously won 8 of their last 11 and the ChiSox averaged 7.5 runs per game in those 8 victories. Though Dylan Bundy of the Orioles certainly has some impressive numbers early this season, he has more walks than strikeouts over his last 2 starts combined and his strikeout numbers have been trending downward. That is a sign of what is to come and I expect him to surprise many by struggling against the White Sox today. As for Dylan Covey and facing the high-powered Orioles, this could get ugly in a hurry! Covey is winless in his 4 starts this season and he has compiled a 7.29 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP on the season. Covey has been completely crushed in his last 2 road starts and I look for more of the same on a hitter-friendly evening at Baltimore. The White Sox are 15-8 to the over in recent seasons in road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Look for more of the same on Saturday! 8* OVER the total in Baltimore

Rickenbach MLB Saturday 8* OVER 8.5 runs in Philadelphia Phillies vs Washington Nationals @ 7:05 ET - The Phillies Vincent Velasquez is one of those guys that sometimes can pitch extremely well but other times struggles with command and location of his pitches and he pays for it. Considering he's facing one of the top hitting teams in the majors today I look for him to struggle again in this outing. Velasquez has a 5.47 ERA on the season and in his three home starts this season he has gone 1-2 with a 7.05 ERA. He has a 6.30 ERA against the Nationals in his career and the Nats saw him earliers this season so that favors the hitters here as they get a quick second look. The Phillies should enjoy success at the plate after being held to just 2 runs yesterday against Stephen Strasburg. They go from facing an ace to facing a pitcher called up from the minors. The Nats will have A.J. Cole on the mound and the right-hander was struggling in the minors this season. Also, he has struggled at the MLB level so far in his career with a 5.29 ERA in 11 appearances (9 starts). Even with yesterday's under, Washington is 10-4 to the over in night games this season and the Phillies are 12-6 to the over this season in their games against teams with a winning record. 8* OVER the total in Philadelphia

Total Crusher - Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play OVER 11 runs in Colorado Rockies vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 8:40 ET - Light winds, mild temperatures, thin air will all combine to make for a very hitter-friendly night at Coors Field Friday. Zach Greinke gets the start for the Diamondbacks and he allowed 3 homers versus the Rockies in Arizona last week. In his last start at Colorado he also also was hit quite hard but managed to allow "only" three earned runs in an outing where he was knocked out in the 6th inning. This will be a tough outing for him as the Rockies bats have been heating up at home after a slow start earlier this season. As the weather has warmed so too have the Colorado sticks. The Rockies are averaging 8 runs per game in their last 7 home games! However, Colorado has also allowed 14 earned runs per game in their last 3 home games and German Marquez is likely to struggle tonight. The Rockies starter used a fantastic curveball to get some key strikeouts against the Dbacks last week in Arizona. However, in the thin air of Colorado the ball doesn't always break as well. Of course this was clearly evident in the most recent home start Marquez made. The Rockies righty was rocked for 8 earned runs in just 4 innings of work and tonight he faces a Dbacks team that had won 7 of 11 games and averaged 6 runs per game before back to back low-scoring games at Washington. In other words, a bounce back can be expected here in a hitter-friendly situation. The Diamondbacks are 14-8 to the over in night games this season. The Rockies are 6-1 to the over this season in home games where their line is an a range of -125 to +125 and I look for another slugfest in this one. 10* OVER the total in Colorado Friday night.

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Friday 8* UNDER the total in Chicago Cubs vs New York Yankees @ 2:20 ET - Don't let the low total scare you here. The fact is that it is going to be a raw blustery afternoon at Wrigley Field. Temps will struggled to get above the 50 degree mark and a north wind at 20 miles per hour will be blowing in from left field. This game is set up well to be a low scoring pitchers duel. The Cubs Kyle Hendricks has allowed only 11 hits in his last 17 innings of work and only 2 earned runs in his last 12 innings. Hendricks has never made a start against the Yankees in his career so that is a big edge for him too. As for the Yanks Michael Pineda, he has compiled a fantastic 3.14 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in his 5 starts this season. He only has one career start against the Cubs and he shut them out over 6 innings in that one! That start was 3 years ago so, just like Hendricks, Pineda has the "lack of familiarity" angle working in his favor here in terms of keeping the hitters off-balance. Look for the under to improve to 3-0 in Hendricks last 3 starts. Though both of these teams have been trending over of late, the weather conditions and the solid current form of both of these starting pitchers dictate that this one should stay under the total. The under is 101-81 in Yankees games the past 3 seasons when they are off of a win. In the Cubs last 50 inter-league games there have only been 18 overs - that's an over rate of only 36%! Also, Cubs home games are on a 102-78 run to the under. This match-up also features two of the best bullpens in the majors. 8* UNDER the total in the Chicago Cubs game in afternoon action Friday.

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in St Louis Cardinals vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 7:15 ET - Chase Anderson has been strong early this season for the Brewers but I feel he has truly pitched "over his head" and there have been signs that a "reality check" is on the way. Anderson had more walks than strikeouts in his most recent start and he allowed 4 earned runs in that outing. In his most recent road start, Anderson allowed 7 hits in 5 innings and was fortunate to only be charged with 2 earned runs. The game between these clubs yesterday was rained out and they had a 2-1 game in the prior game. However, the Cardinals had been red hot at the plate with an average of 5.7 runs per game in their 9 prior games. The Brewers also had been red hot at the plate with an average of 7.3 runs per game in their 7 prior games. Look for the hot hitting to resume here as Anderson is unlikely to be the only pitcher struggling in this one. The Cardinals will have Adam Wainwright on the mound and he has been rocked for 10 earned runs on 25 hits in just 16 innings of work spanning his last 3 starts. Each of these guys had a solid start against the opposing club about two weeks ago but look for the quick 2nd look to bring out the best in both lineups. The over is 14-5 in Brewers divisional games this season and 5-2 in Cardinals games when they are playing with a day off. After yesterday's rain out, even though it will be a cool night at Busch with the wind blowing in from left, the value is with the over in this one with the weather helping to push this total lower than it should be. 10* OVER the total in St Louis

Rickenbach MLB Thursday 8* OVER the total in San Diego Padres vs Colorado Rockies @ 3:40 ET - Colorado rolled to an 11-3 win yesterday but the Padres had previously averaged nearly 8 runs per game in winning 3 straight games. This afternoon I look for both teams to score early and often and will take advantage of a low posted total here. Part of the reason this total is low is because it's being played at San Diego but the ball does carry better in day games compared to night games on the west coast. Another reason this total has been set low is because of the low ERA of each of these two pitchers. However, the issue for these hurlers today is they've each had trouble with the lineups their facing today. Adding to the concern for the pitchers today is the fact that each of these teams step into the batters box with plenty of confidence today as the Rockies are off of a game where they scored 11 runs yesterday and the Padres have averaged 6.5 runs per game in their last 4 games. With yesterday's result, the over is now 8-3 in San Diego's last 11 games. The over is also 6-3 in the Rockies last 9 games. Luis Perdomo gets the start for the Padres and he is 0-2 with an 8.18 ERA against Colorado (both starts last season). Kyle Freeland gets the start for the Rockies and he faced San Diego three weeks ago and got rocked for 6 earned runs in less than 5 innings of work. The over is 6-2 in Padres day games this season and a perfect 5-0 in home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs this season. The Rockies are a perfect 4-0 to the over in road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs this season. 8* OVER the total in San Diego

Rickenbach MLB Thursday 8* Texas Rangers Money Line (+) @ Houston Astros @ 2:10 ET - Great underdog value spot for the Rangers here. I know the Astros have been hot and the Rangers certainly have not. However, Texas has a big pitching edge as they look to avoid the 4-game sweep here. A.J. Griffin is 5-0 with a 4.22 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in his 7 career starts against Houston and his team has gone 7-0 in those starts. Also, he comes into this outing with a fantastic 2.25 ERA and minuscule 0.58 WHIP in going 2-0 in his two road starts so far this season. Joe Musgrove gets the start for the Astros and Houston is only 1-2 in his 3 career starts versus Texas. The Astros right-hander has allowed 8 earned runs in less than 11 innings of work spanning his two most recent starts against the Rangers. The Astros are 0-3 in Musgrove's 3 home starts this season and he has allowed 4 homers in those 3 starts. Also, in his last 2 starts against the Rangers he has allowed 3 homers. Thursday is often "getaway day" in the majors and the Astros have a west coast road trip on deck. This is a situation that Houston has struggled with at times and, interestingly, they are 1-2 in Thursday games this season and 13-21 in Thursday games the last 3 seasons combined. The Rangers are 2-0 this season and 21-14 the last 3 seasons combined in Thursday games. After getting drilled yesterday, the road team bounces back in this one and I love the underdog value being offered here as Griffin rates a big edge over Musgrove and the Rangers are hungry and focused on avoiding the sweep. 8* TEXAS

Rickenbach MLB Thursday 8* OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Oakland A's @ 1:10 ET - I don't see how either starting pitcher can be trusted in this one and I expect this one to fly over the total. With yesterday's 7-4 Twins win going over the total, the over has now cashed in 5 straight Minnesota games. The Twins are now 36-18 to the over in May games the past 3 seasons combined and are 6-2 to the over this season in home games where the line is between -125 and +125 for Minny. The A's are now 6-2 to the over this season in their games against teams with a winning record. Jharel Cotton gets the start for the Athletics and he is 1-2 with a 5.75 ERA in his last 3 starts. That included his most recent road start where he was pounded for 10 hits in only 4 and 1/3 innings of work. Kyle Gibson gets the start for the Twins and he's having an awful start to the season with an 0-3 record and 8.06 ERA in his 5 starts thusfar. Look for the over in Minny games to improve to 6-0 their last 6 as both these hurlers struggle again this afternoon. 8* OVER the total in Minnesota

Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Kansas City Royals vs Chicago White Sox @ 8:15 ET - Weather is an important factor in MLB Totals but sometimes it can actually help lead to line value when the weather factors are actually going against the play that we want to make. That is precisely the situation here. The wind is expecting to be blowing in tonight at Kauffman Stadium and the temps will be in the upper 40s on a rather chilly evening. As a result, this total has been dropping this morning and we can now take the over at 8 runs and not even have to lay juice. This is offering great line value considering this pitching match-up absolutely spells O-V-E-R! Mike Pelfrey gets the start for the White Sox and, amazingly, he is in his 12th MLB season even though he's never been that damn good! Seriously guys, this is a pitcher that has been hit at a .293 clip by major league hitters in his career. Pelfrey just doesn't fool many hitters and we're getting some line value here because of the pitcher-friendly weather and the fact Pelfrey hasn't pitched much yet this season. The fact is he is not a strong hurler. 5 walks and 10 hits in 9 innings this season while only striking out 3 batters. Against the Royals, Pelfrey is 1-4 with a 6.37 ERA and a 1.98 WHIP in his career. He won't be the only hurler getting pounded tonight either. Nate Karns gets the start for KC and he's facing a ChiSox lineup that has helped lead the way to a 7-2 run for the White Sox as they've averaged 6.2 runs per game their last 9 games! Karns has allowed 10 earned runs in the less than 11 innings spanning his last two starts and one of those outings was against Chicago. Karns is winless in his 4 career starts against the White Sox. The ChiSox had just 1 under in their last 7 games before the first two games of this series stayed under the total. The overs resume for the White Sox tonight. Look for the over to improve to 9-5 this season when the ChiSox are off of a win. As for the Royals, their 10 divisional games have resulted in only 3 unders this season. 10* OVER the total in Kansas City

Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 8* OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Baltimore Orioles @ 7:10 ET - A cool night at Fenway Park but the wind will be blowing out toward right and, of course, this is known as a hitter-friendly ball park. The first two games of this series stayed under the total but the Orioles came into this series having just 1 under in their prior 7 games. As for the Red Sox, they have been trending under this season but this pitching match up is deal to bring out the best in both lineups. The BoSox will be teeing off against Kevin Gausman of the Orioles. The Baltimore right-hander has an 11.57 ERA in his last 3 starts and has given up 6 homers in those 3 outings. That included allowing 3 homers when he faced the Red Sox in Baltimore on the 23rd of April. As for the Boston hurler in this one, Drew Pomeranz has a 5.17 ERA in his last 3 starts and, like Gausman, he has also been having problems with the long ball. Pomeranz has given up 5 homers in his last 3 starts and the O's dangerous lineup will be getting a quick second look at him as they just faced him on the 21st at Camden Yards! Pomeranz has allowed 6 earned runs in 8 innings the last two times he's hosted the Orioles. Gausman has allowed 5 earned runs in EACH of his last two starts against the Red Sox. The over is 6-2 this season when Baltimore is off of a loss. Look for another one here! 8* OVER the total in Boston

Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 8* Toronto Blue Jays Money Line (-) @ New York Yankees @ 7:05 ET- Solid line value here since the Blue Jays are on the road. The fact is that Toronto has a decided pitching edge in this match-up and the Jays are off of a bad loss but had previously won three straight games. Even though Toronto is only 6-6 in their last 12 games they have averaged 9.4 hits in those dozen games. The Blue Jays bats are heating up after a slow start to the season and the Yankees C.C. Sabathia comes into this start having allowed 11 earned runs on 16 hits (including 4 homers) in less than 11 innings of work spanning his last two starts. The Blue Jays Marcus Stroman comes into this game having allowed only 3 earned runs on just 12 hits in over 16 innings of work spanning his last two starts. The Yanks had been outscored 14 to 5 in losing their past two games before coming up with the big win yesterday. Stroman is 5-2 with a 2.17 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in starts against the Yankees in his career. Sabathia got hammered for 7 earned runs in 6 innings of work the last time the Yanks hosted the Jays and that was not that long ago, August. The Yanks are 16-9 on the season while the Blue Jays are 9-18 on the season but don't be fooled by this "pick 'em" line! It is set this way with good reason! 8* TORONTO

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER 7.5 runs in Kansas City Royals vs Chicago White Sox @ 8:15 ET - Danny Duffy of the Royals just got rocked by the White Sox in Chicago last week and that doesn't bode well for a quick turnaround match-up. Having just seen him (and pounded him!) the ChiSox will step to the plate with plenty of confidence in this one. Although Jose Quintana of the White Sox had a solid start versus the Royals last week, his only road start this season was ugly. Overall, Quintana had allowed 8 earned runs on 14 hits and 8 walks in his last 11 and 2/3 innings of work prior to success at Kansas City last week. By the way, the last time the ChiSox southpaw pitched at Kauffman Stadium he was rocked for 6 earned runs on 10 hits in just 4 innings of work in September. The over is 2-0 in Duffy's last 2 starts versus the White Sox and the games totaled 28 runs! Tonight's game will mark the 10th divisional game for the Royals this season and so far only 2 of their divisional match-ups have stayed under the total! The White Sox are hitting .279 this season against southpaws and that's #1 in the American League. Even though the Royals have been at the other end of the spectrum I like the fact that they are at home and Quintana has a history of struggling on the road. In other words, the low total here is offering exceptional line value on the over! 10* OVER the total in Kansas City

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 8* OVER 8.5 runs in Cincinnati Reds vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 7:10 ET - Tyler Glasnow gets the start for the Pirates and he has struggled badly this season. The Pittsburgh right-hander is winless in his 4 starts this season with a 7.98 ERA that clearly could be even WORSE as he has a horrible 2.45 WHIP on the season! He had a nightmare outing versus the Reds earlier this season and I wouldn't be surprised to see another one here on a very hitter-friendly night at Cincinnati. The Red starter tonight is Scott Feldman and, though he has pitched well early this season, I just don't see it lasting. Sure enough he has walked 5 batters in 2 of his last 3 starts and he did allow 4 earned runs in his most recent start which spanned only 5 innings of work. Yesterday's game stayed under the total but the over is still 12-5 in Reds divisional games this season and each of Glasnow's last 3 starts have gone over the total for the Bucs. Look for more of the same here as both starters are likely to get pummeled. 8* OVER 8.5 runs in Cincinnati

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 8* Boston Red Sox Run Line -1.5 runs vs Baltimore Orioles @ 7:10 ET - Look for the Red Sox to pound the Orioles here. Chris Sale has been absolutely dominant and has been piling up the strikeouts. His biggest problem this season has been run support but he should get plenty of that tonight as Boston does a number on the Orioles Alec Asher. Even though Asher had a good first start this season. His recent bullpen performance shows this young pitcher still has plenty of adjusting to do at the big league level. That said, a start at Fenway Park on a night when the weather conditions are likely to help the hitters could be absolute disaster for you the inexperienced hurler. As for Boston's Sale, he has 52 strikeouts in less than 38 innings this season and the Orioles hitters have long been known for their "free swinging" ways as they pile up strikeouts while swinging for the fences. Speaking of home runs, Sales has allowed just 1 this entire season. Of course, as long-time followers know, I don't lay big juice. That said, I'll gladly lay the -1.5 runs here in a situation that should be a huge mismatch. The Orioles are off of back to back wins but previously had lost 4 of their last 6 games and all 4 defeats (average margin of 4 runs) came by at least 2 runs apiece. The Red Sox had averaged 5 runs per game in their 3 games prior to yesterday's loss and I expect the bats to get right back on track here against Asher. The O's have 8 losses this season and 7 of the 8 have come by 2 runs or more. The Red Sox have seen 8 of their 13 wins come by at least 2 runs. Look for the BoSox to improve to 9-3 this season when off of a loss while the Orioles drop to 0-4 this season in Tuesday games. 8* BOSTON RED SOX Run Line -1.5 runs

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 7:10 ET - The wind is going to be blowing out to left field at a good clip for this one and of course Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati is known for being a hitter-friendly venue. That said, we are getting great line value here with this total being held lower than it should be due to the pitching match-up. As solid as Gerrit Cole is for the Pirates, he does have a 4.76 ERA in road starts this season. He's opposed by the Reds Amir Garrett who was off to a great start this season before getting completely rocked by the Brewers in his most recent start. That poor outing versus Milwaukee showed that the 24 year old is still adjusting to the big leagues and he now faces a Pirates team that had a .350 on base percentage versus southpaws last season and that was tied for 2nd in the league out of all 30 teams in the majors. Pittsburgh's game went over the total yesterday for the 6th time in their last 9 games. The Reds game went over the total yesterday for the 8th straight game! Sometimes, due to pitching match-ups, the odds makers feel forced to over-adjust totals downward to appease the betting markets based on pitching match-ups. In Cincy, more often than not, that just does not work! The over is 45-25 in Reds home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs the past 3 seasons. The over is 12-4 this season in Cincy's divisional games. Also, the Pirates are seeking revenge for a 3-game home sweep at the hands of the Reds in early April. While I expect the Bucs bats to respond, don't be surprised if Cole gets a little touched up here. He is 0-6 with a 5.44 ERA in his 8 career starts against the Reds. 10* OVER the total in Cincinnati

Game of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 10* Top Play Chicago Cubs Money Line (+) @ Boston Red Sox @ 8:05 ET - The Cubs Kyle Hendricks was much sharper in his most recent start while the Red Sox Eduardo Rodrigiuez walked 5 and he's now issued 12 free passes in just 16 innings of work! The southpaw is facing a Cubs team that is 5-1 (83%) against southpaw starters this season. The BoSox are only 4-7 (36%) in night games this season. Also, with yesterday's win, Chicago has now gone 7-2 (78%) against teams with a winning record this season while Boston has lost 8 of 13 games against teams with a winning record this season. The Cubs have won 80 of 122 games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs while the Red Sox are -$10,400 and surprisingly 32-39 the L3 seasons in home games the last 3 seasons with a line of +125 to -125. On a chilly night in Boston where the line is in the pick'em range and runs will be at a premium, you can see from the numbers above that this is the type of game the Cubs thrive in and the Red Sox struggle in! Also, when the Cubs are off of a win, they have been streak-builders this season. Only one time since this season got underway have the Cubs had a 1 game winning "streak". In other words, off of a win yesterday, odds are in our favor that the Cubs to make it 2 in a row today! 10* CHICAGO CUBS

Run Line Rout - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 8* Philadelphia Phillies Run Line +1.5 runs @ Los Angeles Dodgers @ 4:10 ET - The Phillies lost a heartbreaker yesterday as they gave up 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th but this is not the kind of team that hangs their head. They'll be ready to bounce back here and they had won 6 straight games before the two losses to the Dodgers in this series. Los Angeles has won 3 straight games but previously lost 7 of their last 10. I am grabbing the run line here in case the Phillies fall short in another tight loss here. 6 of the Phillies last 9 losses have come by just a single run. With that said, having Philly at +1.5 their last 19 games would have resulted in a 16-3 record! The Phillies just don't get blown out often and I certainly don't see that happening here! The Phils have Nick Pivetta on the mound and he's been dominant at the AAA level early this season and he should get plenty of run support here. The Dodgers Hyun-Jin Ryu has not been the same since his injury. He's getting hit at a .289 clip this season and gave up 3 homers in his only home start so far. 2 of the Dodgers last 4 wins have come by a single run and there is value here with the Phillies available at small juice with the +1.5 runs in this one. The Dodgers have lost 8 of 12 when off of a win this season and I expect that trend to continue here. 8* PHILADELPHIA +1.5 runs

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 8* OVER the total in Cleveland vs Seattle @ 1:10 ET - Unbelievable warmth in Cleveland today for late April as warm air is pushing in from the south in advance of the next cool-down. With winds out of the south or south-southwest (which means it will be carrying the ball out) and temperatures warming into the low 80's, a slugfest can be expected here. Of course the Indians Josh Tomlin is a big-name pitcher but he's 1-3 with a 9.32 ERA so far this season and, even though he's been a little better in his last 2 starts, he did get hit hard by the Mariners when he faced them last season. Seattle's bats have cooled some the last couple days but they still are averaging 6 runs per game in their last 6 games and nearly 10 hits per games in their last 7 games. The Indians have won 8 of their last 11 games and have averaged nearly 6 runs per game in those 8 wins. They'll be facing Chase De Jong who is only getting this start because of the injury to Felix Hernandez. This will be De Jong's first ever MLB start and he also only has made 3 starts at the AAA level in his minor league career. In other words, most of his success has been at the AA level or below in the minors and I'll gladly "test him" here on a very hitter-friendly afternoon in warm conditions. 8* OVER the total in Cleveland

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Los Angeles Angels @ 7:15 ET - Both of these clubs have trended heavily to the under this season but that is simply serving to give us line value on what will be a very hitter-friendly night at the ballpark in Arlington. The wind is going to be blowing out to center at a good clip and some drier air is moving in behind a cool front. Look for the ball to be carrying very well in this one. The Angels are starting Jesse Chavez and he got roughed up by the Rangers for 5 earned runs in less than 5 innings of work earlier this month. Chavez has a 5.24 ERA versus Texas in his career. The Rangers will have Yu Darvish on the mound. He has had great success against the Angels in his career. However I do like the fact that he just faced them a few weeks ago and the Angels now get a quick second look. Since that strong start against Los Angeles, Darvish has given up 3 homers in his last 2 starts. The Angels bats are starting to heat up with 16 runs on 31 hits in their last 3 games. Surprisingly the over is 10-3 in the career starts Darvish has made against the Angels. Also, the over is 3-1 in the 4 career starts Chavez has made against the Rangers. Texas is 3-0 to the over in their games against teams with a winning record this season. The Rangers have pounded out 21 hits in their last 2 games and should pound Chavez here. 10* Top Play OVER the total in Texas

Run Line Rout - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 8* Seattle Mariners Run Line +1.5 runs @ Cleveland Indians @ 4:10 ET - Look for Nelson Cruz to be back in the lineup for the Mariners this afternoon. However, even without Cruz last night the M's got the 3-1 win over the Indians. I had Seattle as a big dog yesterday but today I am going to back them on the run line. This could be a tight low-scoring game again where the +1.5  could certainly come in handy and the -120 price on it is certainly worth it! The Mariners will have Yovani Gallardo on the mound and he is coming off of a fantastic road start at Oakland and has a 3.18 ERA away from home this season. It also helps that the Indians aren't very familiar with him as the Seattle right-hander hasn't made a start against them since 2009. Danny Salazar gets this start for the Indians and he allowed 4 earned runs on 7 hits in just 5 innings of work against the White Sox in his most recent start. The righty has started twice against the Mariners in the past 2 seasons so they have some familiarity with him. On a chilly damp afternoon in Cleveland with the wind blowing in from right center, I expect a tight low-scoring game which gives extra line value to the +1.5 runs for sure. If Cleveland had laid 1.5 runs in each of their past 5 games they'd be 0-5 as they've lost 3 of their last 5 games and the two wins each came by just a single run. The Indians are averaging 7 hits per game in their last 7 games. The Mariners have averaged 11 hits per game in going 4-1 in their last 5 games. The Indians are 0-3 and -$6,400 as a home fave in a range of -175 to -225 this season! The Mariners are 5-2 +$3,500 in day games this season. 8* SEATTLE Run Line +1.5 runs Saturday afternoon

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Baltimore Orioles @ 1:05 ET - I had the over in Game 1 of this series yesterday and the teams combined for 25 runs. Oftentimes I'll look to come right back with an under after an insanely high-scoring game like that occurs. However, the fact is that another slugfest should erupt this afternoon. Mild and dry air at Yankee Stadium with the wind blowing out toward right-center. Even though Michael Pineda has pitched well for the Yankees early this season he has given up 5 earned runs in the 12 innings spanning his last two starts. This has included allowing 3 homers so it's not as if he's pitching "lights out" right now. As for the Orioles, they'll have Ubaldo Jimenez on the mound and he's been rocked in 3 of his 4 starts this season. Also, Jimenez has a 6.35 ERA in his career starts against the Yanks and he allowed 5 earned runs against them in less than 5 innings of work in his start versus New York earlier this season. Pineda most recently faced the Orioles in September and he was rocked for 5 earned runs in less than 5 innings of work as well. Just like Jimenez, he allowed 2 homers in that start. The over is a perfect 4-0 in games between the Yanks and O's this season. Also, the over is 6-2 in Yankees day games and 7-3 in their games against teams with a winning record this season. 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees early Saturday

Payday Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play Milwaukee Brewers Money Line (-) vs Atlanta Braves @ 8:10 ET - Fantastic line value here with the Brewers as a small home favorite. The Braves are 1-6 this season on the road with a money line of -125 to +125. Also, Atlanta is 1-6 this season in road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. I am expecting the Braves to drop to 1-4 this season in their games against teams with a winning record as Milwaukee has big edges here. The Brewers are 10-5 in night games this season and have a huge edge in starting pitching tonight. Milwaukee has Chase Anderson on the mound and he is 2-0 in his 4 starts this season with a 1.12 ERA and he's averaged about a strikeout per inning. The Braves have the aging Bartolo Colon on the mound and he's been absolutely crushed in his last two road starts with 10 earned runs allowed on 18 hits in 11 innings! Colon has given up 25 hits in his last 18 innings of work against the Brewers and he gave up 4 earned runs or more in 2 of the 3 outings. Milwaukee's Anderson is 2-0 against the Braves and he allowed just 2 earned runs in each start. Even though Atlanta is off of back to back wins they previously had lost 6 straight games and averaged just 2.5 runs per game in those 6 games. The Brewers are averaging 6.2 runs per game in their last 13 games. Milwaukee has a .474 slugging percentage this season which is good for the #2 spot in the majors. Their bullpen ERA is 3.30 so far this season while the Braves pen is at a 4.91 ERA. 10 MILWAUKEE

Rickenbach MLB Friday 8* OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:10 ET - The Red Sox bats were quiet in their series with the Yankees but the first game got rained out and that was after already having an off day in front of the originally scheduled first game of the 3-game set. That said, the Red Sox had been hitting well at home (at least in terms of batting average) before struggling against the Yanks hurlers. Now, playing their third straight day after having had 2 straight days off, look for the Boston sticks to get back on track here. Jake Arrieta is a big name pitcher and that is helping to keep this total low. The fact is that the Cubs right-hander has been hit hard and has given up 4 homers in his last 2 starts. He'll be opposed by the Red Sox Drew Pomeranz whom also has been hit quite hard and has given up 3 homers in his last 2 starts. The 12 hits the Cubs had Wednesday was the 8th time in 9 games that Chicago has tallied at least 9 hits. The Cubs have scored 5 runs or more in 7 of their last 8 games. On an 8-1 run to the over, the Cubs surge at the plate is likely to continue at hitter-friendly Fenway Park. The over is a perfect 5-0 in Cubs road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs so far this season. Look for that perfect record to remain intact after this one goes final Friday night. 8* OVER the total in Boston

Rickenbach MLB Friday 8* UNDER the total in Miami Marlins vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 7:10 ET - Jameson Taillon gets the start for the Pirates and he has not allowed a single earned run in his 14 innings of work on the road this season. Adam Conley gets the start for the Marlins and he has allowed only 11 hits in his 17 innings of work while compiling a 2.65 ERA early this season! Only 1 of Taillon's starts has resulted in an over this season. Also, on the road this season, Pittsburgh is a stellar 8-1 to the under thusfar. The Pirates bullpen has a 2.45 ERA in road games this season and the Marlins pen has a solid 2.32 ERA in home games so far this season. Conley handcuffed Pittsburgh the only time he's faced them (June of last year) and Miami has never faced Taillon which is generally a big edge for the hurler - especially when that hurler has allowed 0 earned runs in his 14 innings on the road this season! 8* UNDER the total in Miami Friday

Rickenbach MLB Friday 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Baltimore Orioles @ 7:05 ET - Kevin Gausman gets the start for the Orioles and he got rocked by the Yankees three weeks ago. Overall, the Baltimore right-hander comes into this start struggling with 13 earned runs allowed in the 9 innings spanning his last two starts. He'll be opposed by C.C. Sabathia who also is likely to struggle tonight. The Yankees southpaw has allowed 3 homers in his last 2 starts and got roughed up at Pittsburgh in his most recent outing. Sabathia gave up 6 hits and walked 4 in his 6-inning stint versus Baltimore earlier this season and he certainly was fortunate the damage wasn't worse than the 3 runs (2 earned) that he allowed in that start. The over is 6-3 in Yankees games against teams with a winning record this season. Also, only 1 of Gausman's last 4 starts has resulted in an under. The Yankees had averaged scoring 5.2 runs per game in their last 9 games before getting shutout yesterday. Baltimore and the Yanks combined to go over the total in all 3 games of their most recent series, back in early April. 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees

MLB Network Blowout Rout - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER 7 runs in Boston Red Sox vs New York Yankees @ 7:10 ET - This is a contrarian play of course considering that Chris Sale has been phenomenal for the Red Sox early this season. I am expecting the Yankees to do a little damage against him. The Yanks have averaged 7.8 runs per game in their last 5 wins and before being held a little quiet in their last two games, the Yankees had reached double digits in hits in 5 of their last 7 games. As for Masahiro Tanaka getting the start for the Yanks, look for him to get pounded here. The Red Sox are hitting nearly .300 at home this season and Tanaka is winless with a 11.73 ERA and 2.61 WHIP in his two road starts this season. The Yankees right-hander has been hit at a .294 clip this season and also has been having more issues with command of his pitches. This has led to 10 walks in his 21 innings this season. Also, he has hit two batters and allowed 2 homers in his road starts this season. Making those numbers even uglier is the fact that he didn't even total 8 innings in the two starts. With this total dropping to a 7 and with my contrarian nature, I love backing the over in this spot. The last 16 times a Red Sox game had a total of 7 runs or less only 6 of the 16 stayed under the total. The Yankees are 6-2 to the over this season in their games against teams with a winning record and also the Yanks are a perfect 3-0 to the over against left-handed starters. 10* Top Play OVER 7 runs in Boston

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 8* Los Angeles Dodgers Money Line (-) @ San Francisco Giants @ 3:45 ET - The Dodgers are going with Julio Urias this afternoon and the southpaw has been fantastic at the AAA level early this season and also had a great spring training. The only reason the lefty is just now making his first MLB start of this season is because Dodgers managment wants to be careful with his innings. Last season, after the All Star break Urias went 4-0 with a 1.99 ERA in 10 appearances (7 starts) and the way he has been throwing early this season indicates he is likely to carry that momentum right into this season. The Dodgers are off of a one-run loss yesterday and they are 3-0 the last 3 times they've come off of a one-run loss. LA should pound the Giants Matt Moore as the southpaw is struggling early this season. Moore has been rocked for 11 earned runs on 19 hits (4 homers) in less than 10 innings of work spanning his last two starts and one of those outings was at home. Before yesterday's San Francisco win, the Giants had lost 7 of their last 9 games. SF is averaging just 2 runs per game their last 10 games! The Dodgers haven't exactly been knocking the cover off of the ball early this season but they've certainly been outhitting the Giants as they've averaged 4 runs per game in their last dozen games! The Giants are 1-6 this season when off of a win and the Dodgers are 7-4 this season when off of a loss. Also, San Francisco is an ugly 2-5 in day games this season while LA is 58-37 in day games the last 2+ seasons. The Dodgers .451 slugging percentage in day games ranks them near the top of the majors while the Giants rank near the bottom with a .368 slugging percentage! 8* LOS ANGELES DODGERS money line

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER 8 runs in St Louis Cardinals vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 1:45 ET (Game 1 of double header) - The wind will be blowing out and there is reason to believe both pitchers will struggle here. Mat Latos gets the start for the Blue Jays and he got roughed up by an Angels lineup that has been struggling this season. That was Latos first start of the season and the fact that the Angels got to him a bit plus he walked 3 and struck out only 1 in 5 innings is not a good sign for the right-hander. Thursday he faces a Cardinals team that has averaged 5.2 runs per game in their last 5 games and 4 of the 5 went over the total. The Cards will have Carlos Martinez on the mound and he's off to a bit of a rough start early this season. He's 0-3 with a 7.05 ERA and 1.83 WHIP in his last 3 starts. Martinez will be facing a Blue Jays lineup that is starting to swing the bats better as they've reached double digits in hits in 6 of their last 11 games. The Jays have averaged 5 runs per game in their last 5 games and this will be their 4th game this season as a road dog of +125 to +175 and, so far, none of these games have resulted in an under! As for the Cardinals, look for their Thursday games to go to 3-0 to the over with a wild one in the first game of their day night double header. 10* OVER 8 runs in St Louis

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Minnesota Twins @ 8:05 ET - The wind will be blowing out to center field at a pretty good clip early on in this game. That is bad news for both of these hurlers as, despite good numbers early this season, each has found tonight's opposition to be a bit of a nemesis. The Rangers Cole Hamels allowed 5 earned runs in each of his two starts against the Twins last season and he didn't even last 5 innings in either start! The Twins Hector Santiago allowed 12 earned runs in 13 innings in his 3 starts versus Texas last season. The Rangers offense has certainly been a little "up and down" this season but they had scored at least 5 runs in 6 of their first 10 home games this season before being shutdown in the first two games of this series. Now, after getting drilled 8-1 yesterday, look for the Rangers bats to respond versus a pitcher they've certainly enjoyed success against. As for the Twins, they've won 3 straight road games and averaged 7.3 runs per game in those 3 victories. The over is 30-19 in Minnesota's Wednesday games in recent seasons and 36-17 in Rangers Wednesday games in recent seasons - including a perfect 3-0 this season. Look for the over to improve to 5-1 in Hamels starts against the Twins in his career. 10* OVER the total in Texas

Situational Slaughter - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play Cleveland Indians Money Line (+) vs Houston Astros @ 6:10 ET - Look for the Indians to bounce right back after yesterday's loss. Trevor Bauer gets the start for the Tribe and he has struck out 20 in 17 innings this season. Bauer appears to be rounding into form again as he held the Twins to 2 runs on just 3 hits in 6 and 1/3 innings in his most recent start. Also Bauer has a great history versus the Astros as a he's 5-0 with a 1.97 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in his 5 career starts versus Houston. The Indians should give him plenty of run support today too because they'll be facing a starting pitcher known for struggling on the road. Lance McCullers gets the start for Houston and he is 3-8 with a 5.11 ERA in road starts in his career. This season McCullers got rocked at Oakland in his only road start so far this year. Even with yesterday's win the Astros still have a losing record on the road (83-92) the last 2+ seasons. The Indians, even with yesterday's loss, are still 44-24 in home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs the past 2+ seasons. After struggling with a lefty, Dallas Keuchel, yesterday look for the Indians to get back on track versus McCullers today and improve to 8-3 this season in their games against right-handed starters this season. 10* CLEVELAND

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play Detroit Tigers Money Line (+) vs Seattle Mariners @ 7:10 ET - The early line movement has shown a strong push toward the Mariners and that is understandable as Felix Hernandez is a 'big name' pitcher. That said, oftentimes situations like this open up great line value on the other side and that is precisely the case here. Hernandez has actually been hit hard in 2 of his last 3 starts and he was simply fortunate more runs weren't scored. In those 2 outings he allowed 22 hits (including 3 homers) in 12 and 1/3 innings of work! The fact Hernandez allowed a total of only 7 earned runs in those 2 games was truly a miracle. As a result, line value is truly off the charts here as Hernandez also gave up 7 hits in just 5 innings in his most recent start at Detroit. The Tigers are off of back to back wins where they scored 18 runs on 24 hits in just 2 games. They'll step into the batters box with confidence tonight. The Mariners are off of a win but had previously lost 4 of their last 5 games. Jordan Zimmerman gets the start for the Tigers and though he was roughed up a bit in his most recent start, that outing was on the road. In his two home starts this season he has allowed only 8 hits in 10 and 2/3 innings of work. Even with Seattle's big win at Oakland Sunday, the Mariners are still only 2-9 on the road this season and only hitting .205 away from home this season! The Tigers are 5-2 at home this season. This is simply a classic case of the starting pitching expected impact having too big of an influence on the betting markets. It has created value on the other side because honestly I wouldn't be surprised to see Zimmerman outpitch Hernandez and, at the same time, let's not forget we're able to back a 5-2 home team over a 2-9 road team and we get the underdog price too. I'll take it. 10* DETROIT TIGERS money line

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:05 ET - With yesterday's 14-3 blowout win, the Cubs are averaging 6.7 runs per game on the road this season. As you would expect with those types of numbers, Chicago has gone 7-2-1 to the over away from home so far this year. I don't expect that to change here. This is a rematch of the pitching match-up between these division rivals on the 14th at Wrigley Field when Gerrit Cole and Kyle Hendricks squared off. That game did stay under the total but neither pitcher was dominant in that start and having just faced these lineups, I expect the batters to hold the upper hand in the rematch. Cole was rocked for 5 earned runs in less than 5 innings of work the last time he hosted the Cubs. Also, the over is now 7-2-1 in Pirates home games this season. The Bucs should pound Hendricks as he has a 6.19 ERA so far this season and has given up 13 hits in his last 11 innings versus Pittsburgh. Also, Hendricks ERA on the road last season was more than 1.6 runs higher than at home and this has been a trend throughout his young career as he's dominated at Wrigley Field but not so away from home. The over is 6-2 in Hendricks starts versus the Pirates in his career. More of the same on a mild evening in western PA this evening and we can take advantage of the low total posted on this game. 8* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 8* OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Houston Astros @ 6:10 ET - The wind is going to be blowing out to left field on a mild evening in Cleveland and this is a classic case of an ideal situation I like when grabbing an over. Here you have a struggling pitcher, Josh Tomlin, at home and you have the hotter pitcher, Dallas Keuchel, on the road. I like overs in these situations because the home team usually has the edge at the plate so don't be surprised when the Indians do their fair share of damage at the plate but, at the same time, Tomlin's early season struggles mean that the Astros should have no trouble piling up runs here. The Indians right-hander has a 11.94 ERA in his first 3 starts this season. The Astros are 7-1 to the over in road game this year and that includes a perfect 5-0 when the posted total is 8 or 8.5 runs. Taking at look at Houston's Keuchel, he did allow 8 hits in 7 innings in his most recent start and he's well known for being a much stronger pitcher at home compared to on the road. The last time he pitched at Cleveland he allowed 9 hits in 6 innings. The Indians are 42-23 to the over in home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs the last 3 seasons combined. The Astros have scored 6 runs or more in 6 of their last 7 road games while the Indians are averaging 6 runs per game in their last 4 home games. Look for a slugfest in this match-up. 8* OVER the total in Cleveland EARLY Tuesday evening

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Minnesota Twins @ 8:05 ET - Martin Perez gets the start for the Rangers and his 3.60 ERA is deceiving as he has a 1.80 WHIP so he's truly been flirting with disaster in his outings this season. In his last 3 starts the Texas southpaw has allowed 20 hits and walked 8 batters in 14 innings. Of course that works out to a WHIP of 2.00 and if you're allowing an average of 2 baserunners per inning it's going to eventually catch up with you. Look for the Twins to 'make him pay' on Monday evening. The ball carries very well in Texas and it will be a mild evening at the ballpark. The Twins counter with Phil Hughes and he's been roughed up for 13 hits (including 3 homers) in his last 2 starts. This has led to 10 runs (8 earned) in just 9 innings spanning his last two outings. Also, the Minnesota right-hander has been rocked for 8 earned runs on 20 hits in his last 2 starts at Texas. The Rangers haven't been overly hot at the plate early this season but they have scored 5 runs or more in 2 of their last 3 games and a struggling Hughes should certainly bring out the best in them. As for the Twins sticks, they have scored at least 4 runs in 4 of their last 5 games and they did erupt for 11 runs in their most recent road game. When the Rangers have a big posted total at home it proves to be justified more often than not. The last 104 times they are at home with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs they have stayed under the total just 44 times! The over is a solid 78-52 the last 3 seasons combined in Twins games against teams with a losing record. 10* OVER the total in Texas

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Monday 8* Milwaukee Brewers Money Line (+) vs Cincinnati Reds @ 7:40 ET - The Reds are favored on the road? Seriously? All kidding aside, the fact is that the Reds are 5-1 on the season on the road and the Brewers are only 3-8 at home. However, that is simply not going to continue and, even though many are likely to back Cincinnati here, I have a completely different viewpoint on this game. The Reds are off of a big home win over the defending champs yesterday but, overall, have been struggling. Cincinnati had previously lost 4 straight games and 7 of their last 9. Also, let's not forget this is a Reds team that went 60-102 on the road the past two seasons. Their hot start away from home is simply a "flash in the pan". Amir Garrett gets the start and he's off of a fantastic start at home and an overall great start to the season. But lets not forget he was 2-5 at the AAA level in the minors last season. He's not going to pitch "lights out" all season. He'll be opposed by the Brewers Matt Garza and he's making his first appearance in 2017 but did go 4-2 with a 3.38 ERA in his home starts last season. Though he struggled some with the Reds last season those two starts came on the road and he's been a different pitcher when he's in Milwaukee. The Brewers are off of a rough stretch but faced the Cardinals and Cubs. Look for them to now take advantage of facing a Reds team that they already took 3 of 4 from in Cincy earlier this month. The Brewers are 8-5 and +$6,100 in night games this season and 51-42 and +18,600 against left-handed starters the last 3 seasons combined. 8* MILWAUKEE

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach MLB Monday 8* Chicago Cubs Money Line (-) @ Pittsburgh Pirates @ 7:05 ET - This series is a big revenge spot for the Cubs. They got swept at home by the Pirates a little over a week ago and, of course, they'd love nothing more than to return the favor in this series. The Cubs are 10-5 this season against everyone but Pittsburgh and then 0-3 against the Pirates. As for the Bucs, they are 5-10 against everyone but Chicago and then 3-0 against the Cubs. As you can see, there is some value here with Chicago as a small road favorite in this one. The Cubs are a perfect 3-0 this season (and 42-22 the last 3 seasons) in road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. The Cubs, as noted above, are hungry for revenge and want to get this series (and this week) off to a good start after losing Sunday. The Cubs have done a good job of starting the week right in recent seasons as they are 29-11 their last 40 Monday games! Interestingly, Pittsburgh is 0-3 in Monday games this season. Also, the Pirates are just 2-6 in night games this season. Even with yesterday's win versus the Yankees, the Bucs still have a losing record versus left-handed starters this season. The Cubs will start Brett Anderson and he had enjoyed success early this season before a tough start versus Milwaukee in his most recent start. Also, he had success against Pittsburgh in his career before one bad start last season. The Pirates will have Chad Kuhl on the mound and, though he's been solid early this season, he is yet to face his nemesis (the Cubs!) as he faced them 3 times last season and compiled an ugly 10.45 ERA and 2.32 WHIP in those 3 outings. The Cubs had won 4 straight before Sunday's loss. The Pirates had lost 4 of 5 before Sunday's win. That sets up a great situation here with solid line value on the small road fave. 8* CHICAGO CUBS

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB 10* Top Play New York Mets Money Line (+) vs Washington Nationals @ 8 ET - The Nationals have won 6 straight games and the Mets have lost 7 of their last 8 games. Couple that with the fact that Max Scherzer has been pitching very well and has good history against the Mets and this one looks like it should be "automatic" for the Nats. However, it is tough to sweep a division rival on the road and the Mets Zach Wheeler has a great repertoire of pitches and has been throwing very well early this season. Wheeler's problem has bean an inability to go deep into games but look for him to be more efficient in this outing as he's only walked 4 in his 3 starts and he struck out 7 in 5 innings of work in his most recent start. Washington hasn't seen Wheeler since the 2014 season while the Mets lineup faced Scherzer numerous times last season. Familiarity tends to help the hitters and, as strong as Scherzer has been early this season, don't be surprised if Wheeler matches his effort in this outing. That said, I certainly like having the home dog value here with a team looking to avoid a sweep at the hands of a hated division rival. The Mets have won 35 of 57 Sunday games the L3 seasons combined and look for the lights to bring out the best in them tonight. New York is also 3-1 as a home dog of +125 to +175 the L3 seasons combined. Coming into this season, the past 2 years combined, the Nationals went 28-30 (and -$16,400) when they entered a game on a winning streak of 3 games or more. Look for an upset on Sunday night. 10* Top Play NEW YORK METS money line

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs San Francisco Giants @ 3:10 ET - Mild afternoon in Colorado and both of the first two games in this series have gone over the total with 26 runs scored in the first two games. Although I respect the Giants Jeff Samardzija, there is no denying he is having some trouble keeping the ball down in the zone this season and he allowed 3 homers in his only road start this season. He is 0-3 with a 6.16 ERA so far this season and the Rockies are a dangerous lineup at home that is very familiar with him. The issue for Colorado today will be their own starting pitching. The Rockies have southpaw Kyle Freeland on the mound and the lefty is really struggling after his surprising success in his debut effort. In his two home starts he has a 5.91 ERA and has been hit at a .300 clip. The Giants are likely to tee off on him in "hitter friendly" conditions this afternoon. The over is 8-3 in Giants road games this season and San Francisco is also 8-3 to the over when they are off of a game where they allowed 10 runs or more. The over is 3-0 in Rockies home games this season where their line ranges from +125 to -125. Look for another one to fly over the total here as the Rockies and Giants hot hitting continues on an afternoon where the ball should be carrying very well in the dry air conditions at Coors Field. 10* OVER the total in Colorado Sunday afternoon

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs Chicago Cubs @ 1:10 ET - Even though the wind is blowing in from left field for this game, temperatures will be rather mild and there is also plenty of reason to expect both of these starting pitchers to get hammered. The Cubs John Lackey allowed 3 homers while striking out just 2 batters versus Milwaukee in his most recent start. That strikeout number is very concerning for Lackey considering he had struck out 17 in his two prior starts and then struggled to strike out the free-swinging Brewers. The point is that this could be a sign of things to come for Lackey and he faces a Reds team that got to him for 5 earned runs or more in 2 of his 3 starts against them last season. As for Bronson Arroyo, he allowed 5 earned runs the last time he faced the Cubs and he comes into this outing off of a choppy start to the season. Arroyo has already allowed 5 homers in his first three starts this season. The veteran right-hander has an 8.40 ERA so far this season and the Cubs finally have their sticks going as they've averaged 8.5 runs per game in their last 4 games. The Reds also have gotten their bats going in this series as they've scored 13 runs on 24 hits in the first two games of this 3-game set. The over is a perfect 5-0 in the Cubs last 5 games and also 9-4 in their divisional games this season. The over is 5-2 when the Reds are off of a loss this season and 4-2 in Cincy's day games and 3-0 as a home dog of +125 to +175 this season. Amazingly, the over is on a 16-2 run in games between these two teams and I look for more of the same on Sunday where we're getting some line value because of the weather and because of Lackey's overall reputation. 8* OVER the total in Cincinnati goes early Sunday afternoon

Total Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in San Diego Padres vs Miami Marlins @ 8:40 ET - The Padres got a big inning yesterday to get their bats going in a 5-3 win over the Marlins. Even though San Diego hasn't hit well overall this season, the Padres have now scored at least 4 runs in 3 of their last 5 games and I expect them to enjoy success against Dan Strailly. The right-hander was a fantastic 8-1 at home last season but went 6-7 with a 4.70 ERA on the road last year. He's having some issues with command of his pitches (walked 5 in 5 innings in his most recent start) and, true to last season's performance, Strailly struggled in his only road start so far this season. As for the Padres starter in this one, Jered Weaver gets the call. Though his overall numbers are decent early this season, the veteran righty has allowed 5 homers in his 3 starts. Also, behind him is a Padres bullpen that has a 5.61 ERA (one of the worst in majors) so far this season. Weaver got hit at a .297 clip last season and he's likely in trouble tonight as he faces a tough Marlins lineup. Miami is hitting .264 in road games this season and that's good for 3rd in the majors out of all 30 teams. Before being held to 3 runs yesterday, the Marlins had scored 4 runs or more in 7 of their last 9 games. Keep in mind a 4-4 game guarantees of no worse than a 5-4 final and that get this over the total. The over is 5-1 this season in Padres games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. The over is 7-3 in Miami's night games so far this season. Look for both lineups to do plenty of damage in this one given the pitching match-up. 10* OVER the total in San Diego

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play Pittsburgh Pirates Money Line (+) vs New York Yankees @ 4:05 ET - The Pirates won 6-3 yesterday and already the early action here indicates many are backing the Yankees and looking for the Bronx Bombers to bounce right back. Of course the Yankees had been hot but, in addition to a starting pitching edge for Pittsburgh (more on that in a moment) it is also interesting that the Pirates have been an "all or nothing" team this season. What I mean by that is that the Bucs have either swept their opponent or been swept in every single series so far this season. Don't be surprised if that trend continues in this series! The Pirates have Jameson Taillon on the mound this afternoon and he had a 2.86 ERA in his 11 home starts last season while holding opponents to a .228 batting average! Overall, Taillon has been fantastic early this season with a 0.90 ERA in his first 3 starts. The Yankees will have Michael Pineda on the mound and he has pitched great at home but got roughed up in his lone road start and, truth be told, this is nothing new for Pineda. The Yanks right-hander went 2-7 on the road last season and got hit at a .275 clip. In 2015 he was hit at a .293 clip in road games! Look for Pineda to again struggle on the road here as the Yankees drop to 2-6 in road games this season while the Pirates improve to 6-3 in day games on the year. 10* PITTSBURGH

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 8* OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Detroit Tigers @ 2:10 ET - A match-up of southpaws here with Adalberto Mejia going up against Matthew Boyd. The Tigers are the #1 team in the American League for slugging percentage versus lefties as they have a .454 slugging percentage against southpaws so far this season. Detroit should pound Mejia as he has walked 5 and given up 6 hits for a total of 11 baserunners in less than 7 innings of work in his 2 starts this season. The Twins got the win yesterday by a 6-3 count and that was the 3rd straight over for Detroit and their 6th over in their last 8 games. Their bullpen continues to be an issue and the Tigers pen currently ranks last in the league with a 6.79 ERA on the season. Each of these teams is 4-1 this season in their games against left-handed starters so they'll have plenty of confidence at the plate. It will be a rather mild afternoon in Minnesota with the wind blowing out and I look for another one to fly over the total today as the over improves to 7-2 in Tigers road games this season. The past 3 seasons combined the Twins are 30-20 to the over in home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. 8* OVER the total in Minnesota early Saturday afternoon

Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 runs in Colorado Rockies vs San Francisco Giants @ 8:40 ET - This total has dropped down from a 10.5 to a 9.5 and I am well aware of the Carlos Gonzalez injury for the Rockies as well as the fact that both the Giants and Rockies have been on huge 'under' streaks. However, the Rockies are back home and the games at Coors Field will start getting 'crazy' again despite a slow start this season. In this case we're getting exceptional line value because Johnny Cueto has great recent numbers versus the Rockies and Tyler Chatwood has great recent numbers versus the Giants but the key is all the most recent match-ups were in pitcher-friendly San Francisco. That is significant because Chatwood got hit hard in his lone home start this season and, last season at Coors Field he got hit at .303 clip in home starts with a 6.12 ERA in 14 outings there! With these lineups getting a quick second look at these starters (both of them pitched in San Fran within the past week), look for the hitters to enjoy a lot more success than they did in the most recent match-ups. Cueto has had some success even in starts at Coors Field but this quick "second look" does him in here while Chatwood continues to find home starts to be a nightmare. Look for the over to improve to 7-3 in Giants road games this season and 23-14 in Rockies games the L3 seasons combined when they are playing with a day off between games. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Rickenbach MLB Friday 8* OVER 7 runs in Chicago White Sox vs Cleveland Indians @ 8:10 ET - I am well aware of the fact it will be chilly in Chicago this evening but, keep in mind, sometimes that effects the pitchers ability to grip the ball well. That said, with two struggling hurlers on the mound and with this total dropping down to a 7, there is great value with the over in this one. The White Sox Jose Quintana is 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA this season while the Indians Corey Kluber has a 6.38 ERA this season. Kluber has allowed 4 homers in his 2 road starts this season and Quintana has given up 4 homers in his 2 home starts this season. The over is 22-14 in ChiSox games the past 3 seasons when they're playing with a day off. The over is 6-3 in Indians night games this season. We're getting line value here because of the weather and the fact that these starters have some good long-term numbers against the lineups they're facing here. The fact is that neither one of these hurlers is in good current form early this season and I look for this one to fly over the total. 8* OVER the total in the Chicago White Sox game Friday

Rickenbach MLB Friday 8* Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (+) vs Houston Astros @ 7:10 ET - The Rays have Alex Cobb on the mound and he's always been more comfortable on his home mound. He's coming off of a rough outing at Boston but, keep in mind, the Red Sox have a strong lineup and are particularly tough at Fenway Park. Cobb's last significant MLB action was 2014 and he had a 2.59 ERA and held opponents to a .214 batting average at home. In 2013, Cobb was 7-0 at home with a 2.81 ERA and held opponents to a .225 batting average. His first start at home this season was rock solid and I look for another strong outing here. He'll be opposed by the Astros Michael Fiers and he got crushed in his only road start this season and had a 4.99 ERA and got rocked at a .289 clip in his road starts last season. The Rays are starting to get their lineup going and have won 3 straight games and scored an average of 7 runs per game in those games. More of the same Friday. I know the Astros have also been hot but they've averaged just 8 hits per game their last 5 games while the Rays have averaged 11 hits per game their last 4 games. Look for the Rays to make it 7 straight home wins with another W here. I'll gladly fade the line move that has made the Astros the fave here. 8* TAMPA BAY RAYS

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Kansas City Royals @ 8:05 ET - Danny Duffy is off to a strong start this season for the Royals but he did allow 8 hits in his most recent road start. Now he gets a start at Texas where he has allowed 9 earned runs in less than 10 innings of work spanning his last two starts. In fact, in his most recent visit to Arlington he walked 6 in less than 4 innings of work. I would not be surprised to see him struggle here as the Rangers are a dangerous hitting team when at home and are already averaging 5.5 runs per game here this season. After a lengthy road trip, Texas is happy to be back home and should hit well tonight. The issue for the Rangers tonight will be their own starting pitching as Andrew Cashner gets the start. He wasn't sharp at all in his first start this season after returning from injury as he had a tough outing at Seattle that certainly could have resulted in a lot more runs. Also, he wrapped up last season struggling so there are some concerns with Cashner right now. The Royals are coming off of a low-scoring series with San Francisco but did notch 10 hits in each of the last two games versus the Giants. Also, on the road this season Kansas City took 2 of 3 at Houston and averaged 5.3 runs per game. In the Royals 6 road games this season only 1 has resulted in under. Also, in 25 road games the past 2 seasons with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs, only 9 (36%) have resulted in an under. The big total here is justified as the ball will carry very well tonight and there is plenty of reasoning to support both of these starters struggling. 10* OVER the total in Texas

Value Smash - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 8* Philadelphia Phillies Money Line (+) @ New York Mets @ 7:10 ET - While it may seem "scary" to fade Noah Syndergaard, the Mets right-hander continues to have issues with splitting fingernails on his throwing hand. He thinks the solution will be some type of fake nail application and I wouldn't be surprised if this negatively impacts him in this start as he adjusts to a new "feel" with his pitches. The fact is that this is opening up the door to big dog line value with the Phillies in this spot. Aaron Nola has been pitching extremely well and has come a long way from the last time he faced the Mets which was late in the 2015 season. That is the only time he's ever faced the Mets and I wouldn't put too much "stock" into that start as he's come a long way since then. Nola enters this start having allowed only 4 earned runs in 11 innings while striking out 13 and he faced the Nationals in each start and their .484 slugging percentage this season ranks #1 in the majors! The last 3 seasons combined, in games with a posted total of 7 or less, the Phillies are +$6,900 while the Mets are -$15,300. In a game likely to be tight and low-scoring, the Phils are well worth and investment here as this big dog offers huge line value. Keep in mind, the Mets had lost 4 straight before yesterday's win. 8* PHILADELPHIA

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 8* OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Los Angeles Angels @ 2:10 ET - I know some of the trends, particularly recent trending, won't support the over here but I like a lot of what I see here. The Astros will be starting Lance McCullers and he allowed 5 earned runs in 4 and 1/3 innings on 8 hits (including 2 homers) in his most recent start. This was the 2nd straight start he allowed 2 homers. The Angels will have Matt Shoemaker on the mound and he has allowed 8 earned runs in just 9 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 2 starts. On the season he has already allowed 4 homers in his 3 starts. The over is 2-1 in 3 starts for each of these hurlers so far this season. The Astros, after yesterday's 5-1 win, have averaged 6.3 runs per game in their last 7 games. Also, because these teams are division rivals, their lineups are very familiar with the opposing starting pitchers they are facing today. Look for the over to improve to 3-1 in Astros day games with a slugfest today and I like the fact this total has dropped to as low as a 7.5 from an opener of 8.5 in most books. 8* OVER the total in Houston

Total Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - Francisco Liriano is off of a fantastic start for the Blue Jays but he previously had an awful start at Tampa Bay. Even though he is back at home like he was in his dominating effort versus the Orioles last week, he faces a red hot Boston team. The Red Sox are 7-3 in their last 10 games and have averaged 5.1 runs per game during this stretch. The BoSox have averaged 11.8 hits per game in their last 8 games. I don't see Liriano shutting down this Boston lineup with how hot they've been. The Red Sox will need all the runs they can get tonight because I expect Rick Porcello to get pounded. The Blue Jays lineup is finally heating up as Toronto has averaged 10 hits per game in their last 4 games and the over was 3-1 in those 4 games. Porcello has been extremely hittable this season as he's allowed 19 hits (including 5 homers) in his two starts even though these outings have spanned just 10 and 1/3 innings. Also he has had some struggles at Toronto throughout his career and, last season, Porcello went 13-1 at home but on the road he is only a combined 13-11 the past two seasons and that included a 5.56 ERA on the road in 2015. The Jays have scored 4 runs or more in 3 of their last 4 games and the Red Sox have scored 4 runs or more in 7 of their last 8 games. Of course a 4-4 game ensures no worse than a 5-4 final and also like the trending of the home plate umpire in this one as he's been trending over in recent games behind home plate. A tight strike zone could frustrate Liriano as he has walked 6 in 7 innings this season and he's walked 12 in the 12 innings spanning his last two starts against the BoSox. The Blue Jays bullpen has a 5.11 ERA on the season and the Red Sox pen was a little shaky last night. Look for more of the same Wednesday evening. 10* OVER the total in Toronto