*action on pitchers* MLB Opening Day Dominator Thursday 10* Top Play New York Mets Money Line -115 @ Washington Nationals @ 7:05 ET - Great line value here as the Mets are on the road so we get a better price. Also, New York is expected to use 2nd-year big leaguer Tyler Megill as their starting pitcher for this one and that is keeping the line down. Patrick Corbin expected to start for the Nationals and he is coming off a rough season that was even rougher in home games and rougher in night games. His ERA was north of 6.00 in both those scenarios and, of course, both are in play tonight. No matter who the starting pitchers are, the Mets are the better overall team with the better lineup and the better bullpen. Yes they struggled on the road last season but I am sure that is going to prove to be an aberration and this quality team bounces back overall with a better road record this season. As for the Nationals, they lost nearly 100 games last season and what have they done to improve for last year? Exactly! Not enough! I love fading line moves and this one has come down from the -135 range to the -115 range. Great value here. 10* NEW YORK METS -115

Total Annihilation - 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Houston Astros vs Atlanta Braves @ 8:09 ET - The Astros are off a 9-5 win Sunday and Houston's games have trended over throughout this post-season. With Luis Garcia struggling in 3 of his 4 playoff outings and Max Fried coming in off back to back sub-par post-season outings (plus being hit quite hard in the one that preceded those two), I am looking for the bats to be the story in this one on Tuesday. 10* OVER 8.5 in Houston

P/O Total of the Year - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #955 Friday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Atlanta Braves vs Houston Astros @ 8:09 ET - I know it will be chilly with some showers around for this one Friday evening in Atlanta but I still the bats are going to rule the night in this match-up. Luis Garcia is off a strong start for the Astros but had been struggling. Ian Anderson has pitched well but now the young pitcher is making his World Series debut and he faces a red hot Astros lineup that continues to pile up runs. Houston has been on a big run to the over throughout this post-season no matter who the pitchers have been on the mound and I look for that trend to continue here. Regardless of the pitching match-up here I am betting the over in game 3 here as the Astros have scored an average of 6.3 runs per game in last dozen games and I don't see Atlanta's bats being held quiet at home in this one either. The Braves had scored an average of 5 runs per game in the 8 games preceding the 7-2 loss Wednesday. Bounce back time here but Houston scores plenty also. 10* OVER 8.5 in Atlanta

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #953 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Houston Astros vs Atlanta Braves @ 8:09 ET - The Braves Max Fried has great numbers on the year but has been quite hittable in his last two appearances. Jose Urquidy has hardly pitched in this post-season for the Astros and his lone appearance was an ugly one against the Red Sox. Yesterday's game totaled 20 hits but stayed just under the total despite the game having 6 runs in very early. I feel this is helping give us some line value with this total in Game 2 of the series. Keep in mind, both teams are now off back to back unders but this was preceded by hot over streaks for each of these teams! Look for the over trending to resume in a big way here in Game 2 of this series on Wednesday night. 10* OVER 8.5 in Houston

MLB Blowout - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 8* Los Angeles Dodgers Money Line -135 @ Atlanta Braves @ 8:08 ET - ACTION on the pitchers. I know that Max Scherzer is NOT going to start Game 6 for the Dodgers due to arm soreness. However, no matter who Los Angeles starts I am going with them here as the better lineup and the more experienced post-season team. The Braves are expected to start Ian Anderson here and he struggled in his first appearance in this series. No matter who Atlanta starts, it is the overall team edge and value (by being on the road) that has me siding with the road team in this one. The Dodgers better lineup and experience edge helps to force a Game 7 here. LOS ANGELES DODGERS -135

Total of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER 9 in Houston Astros vs Boston Red Sox @ 8:08 ET - 8 straight Red Sox games have totaled 9 or more runs. Eovaldi was not overly dominant in his start against the Astros in this series and then he struggled out of the bullpen against them. Garcia has struggled badly for Houston this post-season. Given that factor plus the fact that Boston's last 8 games have averaged 12.5 runs and Houston's last 8 games have averaged 12.6 runs per game, I look for another slugfest here. 10* OVER 9 in Houston 

TBS Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play Atlanta Braves +132 @ Los Angeles Dodgers @ 8:08 - I don't care who the starting pitchers are. The Braves are expected to start Max Fried while the Los Angeles Dodgers are expected to go with a bullpen game. The Dodgers lost Justin Turner to injury yesterday and now are even in bigger trouble than they already were. The Braves have won 6 of 7 games and the average margin of victory has been nearly 3 runs in the 6 victories. Amazingly the Braves have allowed an average of just 2.5 runs per game in their 8 post-season games. The Dodgers, conversely, have allowed 19 runs the last 3 games against Braves and that includes 5 or more in all 3 games. Now going to a bullpen game here and without one of their better bats in the lineup too, the situation is a tough one for the Dodgers. The road dog Braves offer tremendous money line value here as a result. 10* ATLANTA +132

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 runs in Boston Red Sox vs Houston Astros @ 5:08 ET - I know yesterday's game had no business going over the total. Boston was up 2-1 after 1 inning and it stayed that way until Houston tied it at 2 in the top of the 8th and then exploded for 7 runs in the top of the 9th. However, deserved or not, it did go over the total and continued the incredible high-scoring trending for both of these teams. Now, after plenty of bullpen arms have been used and exposed in this series too, I am looking for another high-scoring game Wednesday. I really do not care who the starting pitchers are as I expect the Astros bats to build off yesterday's huge rallying win and I expect the Red Sox bats to bounce back at home after a disappointing effort yesterday. The scheduled starters are Framber Valdez and Chris Sale and both southpaws are having a rough time thus far in this post-season. More of the same expected in Wednesday's Game 5 as well as both lineups pound whoever is on the mound in this one and the high-scoring trending continues. 10* OVER 9.5 in Boston

ACTION on the pitchers - Playoff Game of the Year - Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play Boston Red Sox Money Line -125 vs Houston Astros @ 8:08 ET - I do not care who pitches here. This is a team-based play. The stats below are from the regular season action. The Red Sox finished 17 games over .500 in home games this season. The Astros were only 7 games above .500 in road games this season. Boston was 18 games above .500 versus right-handed starters this season and Zack Greinke expected to start for the Astros in this one. Nick Pivetta expected to start for Boston in this one. Again, not concerned with the pitchers as like the Red Sox no matter what but Pivetta off a strong start versus the Rays at Fenway Park last week. Also, Pivetta is a strikeout machine and absolutely dominated the Astros at Houston when he faced them this season! Greinke is making his first start in a month and he could be rusty here as he has hardly had any game activity over the past month as he has made 2 bullpen appearances and was not impressive in either of those either. The one thing the Astros had going for them recently is their bats but those were quieted yesterday while the Red Sox remain on fire at the plate. In fact, Boston entered yesterday averaging 7.8 runs per game last 5 games and the Red Sox then exploded for a dozen runs in yesterday's blowout home win. The hosts have won 9 of 11 games and remain on absolute fire here after back to back wins by a combined score of 21 to 8 over the fading Astros. Look for the Red Sox to take a stranglehold on this series with another big win here! 10* BOSTON -125

ACTION on the pitchers: TV Blowout - Rickenbach MLB 8* Boston Red Sox Money Line -115 vs Houston Astros @ 8:08 ET - I do not care who pitches here. This is a team-based play. The stats below are from the regular season action. The Red Sox finished 17 games over .500 in home games this season. The Astros were only 7 games above .500 in road games this season. Boston was 18 games above .500 versus right-handed starters this season and Jose Urquidy expected to start for the Astros in this one. Houston only 6 games above .500 versus lefties this season and Eduardo Rodriguez expected to start for Boston in this one. Again, not concerned with the pitchers as like the Red Sox no matter what but Rodriguez was solid in the 2nd half of the season plus off a strong start versus the Rays at Fenway Park last week. Urquidy had his start versus the White Sox last week canceled by rain and he could be rusty here as he finally makes a playoff appearance after two weeks of no game activity. 8* BOSTON -115

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play OVER 9 runs in Boston Red Sox vs Houston Astros @ 8:08 ET - The Red Sox and Astros both continue to score runs like crazy. The over trending likely to continue even though it will be a chilly evening at Fenway Park for this one. Boston averaging 7.8 runs per game last 5 games. Houston averaging 6.8 runs per game last 6 games. Expected pitching match-up here is Jose Urquidy versus Eduardo Rodriguez but I am not concerned with who the pitchers are. Both lineups red hot and the runs keep piling up. Going to continue to ride the over trend as long as it keeps going for these teams. I do not see that changing here. 10* OVER 9 in Boston

Run Line Rout - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Dodgers Run Line -1.5 runs -100 @ Atlanta Braves @ 7:35 ET - I am grabbing Dodgers off a 9th inning loss in a game in which they outhit the Braves and deserved better. I am taking the experienced Max Scherzer over a young Ian Anderson lacking in post-season experience. Los Angeles has the better lineup in my opinion and also has been getting fantastic bullpen work too. I see them bouncing back but of course am not laying a big price here with this money line in the -175 range. Instead we can get even money by laying the 1.5 runs on the run line and that is the value way to play this game. 10* LOS ANGELES DODGERS -1.5 +100

ACTION on pitchers. Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #903 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Houston Astros vs Boston Red Sox @ 4:20 ET - Same thing as yesterday and though it took a 9th inning run to push that one over the total it should not have come down to that as both teams reached double digits in hits. As shown in yesterday's write-up: "Would recommend playing this at a sports book that gives you action on totals wagers. I just do not care who the starting pitchers are in this one. This match-up features two very hot lineups. Boston has scored 6.3 runs per game last 7 games. Houston has scored 7.7 runs per game last 7 games. The posted total on this game is 8 runs (8.5 today) and we are talking about American League baseball here so there are designated hitters too instead of the pitchers having to bat. It is simply a high value spot here no matter who the starting pitchers are..." but I will mention that it is expected to be Nathan Eovaldi for Boston and Luis Garcia for Houston. Eovaldi has been great but did get hit hard and rocked by Astros when he faced them this season. Garcia got hammered in his only post-season start thus far. More of the same here. 10* OVER 8.5 runs in Houston

ACTION on pitchers. Total of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #901 Friday 10* Top Play OVER 8 runs in Houston Astros vs Boston Red Sox @ 8:07 ET - Would recommend playing this at a sports book that gives you action on totals wagers. I just do not care who the starting pitchers are in this one. This match-up features two very hot lineups. Boston has scored 6.3 runs per game last 7 games. Houston has scored 7.7 runs per game last 7 games. The posted total on this game is 8 runs and we are talking about American League baseball here so there are designated hitters too instead of the pitchers having to bat. It is simply a high value spot here no matter who the starting pitchers are but I will mention that it is expected to be Chris Sale for Boston and Framber Valdez for Houston. Sale has been enduring a horrible stretch and Valdez has allowed 4 earned runs in each of his last two starts. 10* OVER 8 runs in Houston

NOTE: As always I prefer action with my plays in MLB and this one was no exception. Just mentioning that now Knebel is expected to start for Dodgers rather than Urias but note that Knebel is only being used as an opener and Urias is expected to get the bulk of the work. My bet stands on the Dodgers regardless of the pitching match-up in this one. ORIGINAL write-up: TBS Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #971 Thursday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Dodgers Money Line -105 vs San Francisco Giants @ 9:07 ET - The Giants are a great team. But so too are the Dodgers. As long-time followers know, I am a contrarian. So the fact that San Francisco is 13-0 in Logan Webb's home starts and yet this line is a pick'em speaks volumes to me. The Dodgers are the play. Webb has been rock solid, particularly at home, but Julio Urias has also been fantastic. So lets talk about what these two lineups have been doing as that is likely to be the key in this one. Los Angeles has scored 7 or more runs in 7 of last 10 games. San Francisco has been held to 3 or less runs in 6 of last 9 games. Factoring that in plus the huge post-season experience edge that LA has, I just do not see the Dodgers being denied in this one and look for them to advance to the NLCS with a convincing win here. 10* LOS ANGELES DODGERS -105

NOTE: ACTION on pitchers as mentioned yesterday and this game was rained out yesterday and now is expected to be Lance McCullers rather that Jose Urquidy going at 2:07 ET Tuesday. McCullers already shut down the White Sox once in this series and can do it again here but, as mentioned yesterday, I do not care who the starting pitchers are and this is more about a solid spot to grab a strong team off a loss. ORIGINAL write-up: Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #953 Monday 10* Top Play Houston Astros Money Line +115 @ Chicago White Sox @ 3:37 ET - Action on the pitchers because this play is all about the team edges. I know the White Sox Rodon has great numbers and would rate higher than Urquidy in terms of most analytics relating to starting pitching. However, the Astros are the much better team and I look for them to bounce back off the high-scoring loss yesterday. White Sox reliever Ryan Tepera not helping his team by implying that Houston, already punished for this in past, was again stealing signs in Games 1 and 2 of this series because those games were at Minute Maid Park. Watch the Astros pound the White Sox today to prove that notion false. Tepera can think whatever he wants but should have kept his mouth shut. The last thing you want to do is motivate your opponent right before another elimination game. This one is all Astros. 10* HOUSTON +115

Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #955 Monday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays Money Line +102 @ Boston Red Sox @ 7:07 ET - ACTION on pitchers. The Rays used a lot of bullpen arms last night. I am well aware of that. They do not even know who they will use as the opener in this game. I do not care. Tampa Bay is the better team and I see them forcing a Game 5 by getting the key win in this one tonight. Keep in mind the Rays have the bullpen edge overall and yesterday the Red Sox got the best work on the mound from Eovaldi and Pivetta. Neither one of those guys will be available today and the other pitchers yesterday for Boston combined to allow 4 hits and walk 2 in 4 innings. Certainly decent numbers but not complete domination. The Rays are a perfect 7-0 the last 7 times they have entered a game off back to back losses. Prior to yesterday's win, the Red Sox had lost 3 of last 4 home games. The expected starter for Boston here is Eduardo Rodriguez. He struggled badly in Game 1 of this series and also in his most recent regular season start against the Rays last month he got hammered for 6 earned runs in less than 4 innings at Fenway Park. No matter who pitches here, I look for the Rays to get it done. 10* TAMPA BAY +102

Earliest Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #951 Monday 8* OVER 8 runs in Atlanta Braves vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 1 ET - This is one of those games where it sure looks like someone knows something. Each of the first two games have totaled only 3 runs apiece. This total opened up at a 7.5 but moved to an 8 despite that fact. So, what gives? Well the fact is both Freddy Peralta and Ian Anderson could be a bit rusty here as it has been awhile since either has taken to the mound. Also, Anderson has had more walks than strikeouts in 4 of his last 7 starts so he has been a bit inconsistent. In Anderson's 11 home starts this season only 2 have resulted in unders. As for Peralta, he allowed 7 earned runs in 11 and 1/3 innings in his final two starts of the regular season. Look for this to play out surprisingly different from the first two games in this series. The Brewers have been one of the best road teams in the majors this year and will hit well here but the Braves answer them run for run at home in this one. 8* OVER 8 runs in Atlanta

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #933 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 in Chicago White Sox vs Houston Astros @ 8:07 ET - The Astros have won 4 straight games and the over is 4-1 in their last 5 games as Houston has scored at least 6 runs in all five games. That said, we are working with a generously low number here. Dylan Cease starts for the White Sox and he has a 9.00 ERA this season in starts against the Astros. Luis Garcia starts for Houston and he has a 4.24 ERA in road starts this season plus got rocked in his final start of the regular season even though that was at home. The White Sox have lost 3 straight games now but this was preceded by a 6-game winning streak in which they scored at least 5 runs in all six games. Look for the White Sox to bounce back at home where they are scoring much better of late than how they played in first two games of this series at Houston. However, Cease will not be able to slow down this hot Astros offense. The result? High-scoring slug-fest in this one. 10* OVER 8.5 in Chicago White Sox

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #925 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER 7 runs in Milwaukee Brewers vs Atlanta Braves @ 5:07 ET - Yesterday both ALDS match-ups went over the total in their respective Game 2 spots after the Game 1 match-ups each stayed under the total. Do not be surprised if we see something similar with the NLDS match-ups today. However, the only one I am comfortable with playing on Saturday is the earlier match-up in Milwaukee. I know Max Fried has fantastic numbers to close out the season but look for the long layoff to lead to some rust here. That goes for Brandon Woodruff as well. Also, Woodruff allowed 7 hits in 4 innings in his final start of the regular season and allowed 8 hits in 5 and 1/3 innings in his only start against the Braves this season. Again, I know Fried had a very strong finish to the season but I like overs in spots like this as the home team has a pitcher likely to struggle a bit and yet their lineup, comfy at home, should do some damage. This line opened up at a 7.5 for a reason and the drop to a 7 has led to value in this spot. 10* OVER 7 in Milwaukee

Total of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #917 Friday 10* Top Play OVER 7.5 runs in Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:07 ET - The Rays scored 5 runs in yesterday's win. Though the Red Sox were shutout they did have 9 hits in the game. I am expecting Boston to bounce back at the plate today but also expect the Rays to fare well again too! This is regardless of the pitchers. I like playing overs from a "team standpoint" when a good hitting team like the Red Sox is coming off a loss. But lets talk about these pitchers as well. Chris Sale has faced the Rays twice recently and he is lucky the earned run damage was not worse as he did get hit hard. Overall he finished the season a bit "off" as he just was not on his game and had a 4.98 ERA his last 3 starts. As for Shane Baz, the rookie has impressed but this is still a new experience for him here as he pitches now in an MLB playoff setting. Baz has only been in the bigs for a few weeks now! I feel it catches up with him here in a huge playoff game against a tough Red Sox lineup coming off a shutout loss. At the same time though, he should get plenty of run support as Sale has allowed 16 hits in less than 10 innings spanning his two starts against the Rays this season and both were in the month of September too! That means Tampa Bay very familiar with his offerings. 10* OVER 7.5 runs in Tampa Bay

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #915 Friday 10* Top Play Chicago White Sox +115 @ Houston Astros @ 2:07 ET - I like the White Sox here no matter who pitches as I am expecting a big bounce back after they got drilled yesterday. However, lets talk about the expected starting pitchers here. Lucas Giolito went 7-3 with a 3.25 ERA on the road this season for the White Sox. Also, Chicago won each of his last 3 starts this season and he produced a fantastic 1.10 ERA in those 3 outings. Additionally, Giolito has pitched two complete game shutouts and allowed just 1 earned runs only only 7 hits while striking out 17 in his last 2 starts against Houston. The Astros start Framber Valdez here. He has been okay against the White Sox in two starts against them this season but did allow 3 homers in the 2 outings. Also, Valdez has allowed 4 earned runs in each of his last two starts at home and those outings were only 5 innings each as well. Game One of this series notwithstanding, the White Sox were 5-0 last 5 times they were off a loss in which they allowed 5 or more runs. I am expecting a big bounce back here after they got drilled 6-1 yesterday. 10* Chicago White Sox +115

Run Line Rout - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #940 Wednesday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 runs -100 vs St Louis Cardinals @ 8:10 ET - The Dodgers should win this one in a blowout. I know the Cardinals were hot late in the season and that Max Scherzer did struggle in his final two starts of the season. However, he also is 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA in his last 3 starts against the Cardinals. Two of those were this season and in those 3 starts he allowed only 11 hits while striking out 33 in 21 innings! St Louis counters with Adam Wainwright here. He pitched well on the road this season but has had some rough seasons in terms of road struggles throughout his career. I have never been able to trust him as much on the road as a result and I have a strong feeling the Dodgers pound him here. Wainwright will face a Dodgers team that has won 7 straight games and 9 of its last 10. By the way, the combined margin of the 9 victories was 61 to 32. That works out to an average score of about 7 to 3.5 and there is certainly nothing "average" about that. With that said, and with the fact the Cardinals did lose 3 of their last 5 games and scored only 3 runs per game in those 5 games, I like this play no matter who the pitchers are. I expect a home blowout and will lay the -1.5 runs with action on the pitchers for those of you able to play that option at your respective sports book. 10* Los Angeles Dodgers Run Line -1.5 runs -100

AL East Game of the Year - Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play New York Yankees Money Line -120 @ Boston Red Sox @ 8:08 ET - The Yankees have won 9 of 12 to build a lot of momentum heading into the post-season. Give the Red Sox credit too as they got a key 3-game sweep at Washington to wrap up the regular season but prior to that Boston had lost 5 of 6 games. This included a sweep at the hands of the Yankees. Overall, the Red Sox have lost 6 straight games to New York and I look for that trend to continue here. I am simply playing the hotter team here so this bet is action (regardless of the starting pitchers) but I will touch on them here. The Yankees Gerrit Cole is 10-4 with a 3.32 ERA on the road this season. He has been solid against Boston in recent starts this season including piling up big strikeout totals. The same can not be said of Nathan Eovaldi. Yes the Red Sox right-hander had some good earlier successes against the Yankees but he just got destroyed in the most recent outing against them. In Boston a little over a week ago, Eovaldi allowed 7 earned runs in less than 3 innings of work. Overall, he allowed 14 hits in less than 8 innings of work in his last two starts versus New York. In Eovaldi's home start prior to facing the Yankees he also was hit hard by the Orioles. All that said, this one lines up well for a road rout in my opinion. Yankees make it 7 in a row over the Red Sox. 10* New York Yankees -120

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

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

Early Dominator - Rickenbach MLB 8* New York Yankees Money Line -125 vs Tampa Bay Rays @ 1:05 ET - Yankees still trying to lock down a wild card spot. Rays got the better of them 4-3 yesterday but look for New York to respond off the tight loss. Yankees had won 8 of 9 before the loss yesterday. Tampa Bay had lost 2 of 3 prior to yesterday and their playoff position is set. Yankees are 8-4 in Montgomery's home starts this season and he has a 3.10 ERA at home. Rays Shane Baz is a top prospect and has been very strong in his first two starts but now makes his first ever MLB road start! 8* New York Yankees -125

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

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

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

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

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

Game of the Year - Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Phillies Money Line +110 @ Atlanta Braves @ 7:20 ET - This series with the Braves is the Phillies season. They have no shot at a wild card berth now but can still catch Atlanta and win the division. Of course the fact Philadelphia faces practically a must win situation does not guarantee anything. But I do expect them to come out strong and take Game 1 of this series. The Phillies are off a loss to Pittsburgh Sunday but this followed a 9-2 run. Also, Philadelphia had won 7 in a row against right-handed starters before that loss. The Braves are only 11-13 last 24 home games. Charlie Morton starts here and his last home start against the Phillies was a disaster as he could not even make it out of the first inning. Zack Wheeler starts for the Phillies. He has allowed just 1 earned run while striking out 20 in 15 innings in his last two starts against the Braves. Also, Wheeler enters this start in top notch form! The veteran right-hander has led the Phillies to a perfect 5-0 record in his last 5 starts. Also, in his 4 starts in the month of September, Wheeler has a 1.14 ERA while striking out 32 in 23 and 2/3 innings! Look for his dominance to continue here and the Phillies improve to 8-1 last 9 against a right-handed starters while dropping the Braves to a pedestrian 11-14 mark in their last 25 home games. 10* PHILADELPHIA +110

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

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play Detroit Tigers Money Line +142 vs Chicago White Sox @ 1:10 ET - ACTION on pitchers. No matter who pitches here this play is all about the value. The White Sox have already locked up the division and Chicago's road record is a slight losing record while the Tigers home record is a slight winning record. The point is that there is value on the home dog even just looking at this game from that perspective. The White Sox are off a win yesterday but have lost 9 times the last 10 when coming off a win! The Tigers are off a loss yesterday but this was preceded by a 10-4 run as they have been a scrappy team during this stretch run of the season. In fact, Detroit is 7-2 last 9 games when coming off a loss. Nice set up here regardless of the pitchers but I will mention that Keuchel has allowed 25 hits in 16 and 2/3 innings his last 3 starts overall and the White Sox are 4-11 in his starts this season! As for Manning, he has allowed only 10 hits in 14 innings spanning his last 3 starts and the Tigers went 3-0 in those starts and are 6-3 in his home starts this season! 10* DETROIT +142

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

Early Dominator - MLB Sunday 10* Top Play Baltimore Orioles -122 vs Texas Rangers @ 1:05 ET - I know it might seem tough to trust the Orioles but keep in mind we are fading the Rangers. That is the key and that is also why I am making this bet with action (pitchers NOT listed). Baltimore got the win yesterday and Texas is now 23-57 in road games this season. The Orioles are one of the better slugging teams in the majors when at home and I look for them to get the job done here in this one. Now I will touch on the pitchers here but, again, this play is action on the pitchers. Dane Dunning is 0-7 with a 6.80 ERA in his 11 road starts this season and the Rangers have lost 10 of those 11 games. The Orioles John Means has been back in top form for quite some time now! Means has allowed 2 earned runs or less in 5 straight starts and he has averaged 6 innings per start during this stretch. The home team rolls to a blowout win here. 10* BALTIMORE -122

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

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

MLB Saturday 10* Top Play Chicago Cubs Money Line +145 - Cardinals 14-game winning streak has been amazing. It ends here. Cubs get payback after getting swept in yesterday's double-header. I do not care who pitches here. Taking the home team to get back into the win column. However, I will mention that Jon Lester got hammered by the Cubs here earlier this season at Wrigley Field in his lone start against them since leaving Chicago (when was he with Washington earlier this season). Also, the Cubs Adrian Sampson has been respectable in his 3 starts and this will be his first start against St Louis which certainly could be an edge for him against the Cardinals hitters. Contrarian play but this is the right spot for it as the St Louis winning streak reaching 14 means it tied a club record that stood for 86 years - since July of 1935. That is how improbable all this is and I look for it come to an end here and will grab the big home dog. 10* CHICAGO CUBS +145

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

MLB Friday 10* Top Play Chicago Cubs Money Line +157 vs St Louis Cardinals @ 2:20 ET (Game 1 of double-header) - Tough spot for the red hot Cardinals. I know that St Louis has been on fire but they had to battle back at Milwaukee last night for a big win as they rallied from an early 5-0 hole in that one. Now they take on a Cubs team in an afternoon game because this is the first of two games at Wrigley Field today. Conversely the Cubs scheduling situation is a good one as they were off yesterday plus already at home from having faced the Twins in a 2-game set earlier this week. I do not care who pitches here as this is a situational play for me and I know the Cubs will bring their A game against the rival Cardinals. So though we are talking about action on the pitchers I will quickly touch on the expected starters. Happ is 4-5 with a 7.32 ERA in road starts this season and opponents have hit .319 against him away from home. Steele does not have good numbers on the season but he truly has been much better in the month of September outside of one bad start. In the other 3 starts this month Steele has allowed only 7 hits in 14 innings. Look for a big upset here in Game 1 no matter who is on the mound in this day game Friday. 10* CHICAGO CUBS Money Line +157

MLB Thursday 8* LA Dodgers Run Line -1.5 -155 @ Colorado Rockies @ 3:10 ET - Dodgers lost yesterday's game. Now ace Scherzer takes the mound. Freeland got rocked in most recent home start for Rockies. The Dodgers Scherzer has been incredible in display of his top form. Also he is 10-2 with a 2.23 ERA in road starts this season. Scherzer has allowed 0 runs on 9 hits while striking out 29 in this last 23 innings on the mound spanning his last 3 starts. LA had won 9 of 10 before yesterday's loss. Rockies have been playing well of late but had lost back to back games before yesterday's win. Also, Colorado is 14 games below .500 when facing a team with a winning record this season. The Dodgers are 35 games over .500 when facing a team with a losing record this season. Look for a big bounce back for the road team. I am not crazy about the price here but is reasonable given the likelihood of a blowout road rout in this one. Lay it! 8* LA DODGERS -1.5 -155

MLB 10* Thursday Top Play Milwaukee Brewers Money Line -117 vs St Louis Cardinals @ 2:10 ET - The Cardinals have won 11 straight games. The Brewers are favored here. Big mistake by odds makers, right? No. Long-time followers know how I feel about that and I am expecting a huge home win here. Wainwright certainly has been solid for the Cardinals this season including when facing the Brewers. However, Houser has been dominant against St Louis this season with 0 earned runs allowed in 14 innings. Regardless of the pitching match-up here, I do not see the Brewers getting swept at home in a 4-game series. Milwaukee bounce backs here no matter who is on the mound. The Brewers have had a great season because they have avoided long losing streaks and have only had 2 go past 4 games. Odds are this losing streak ends this afternoon! 10* MILWAUKEE -117

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

MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play Chicago Cubs Money Line +105 vs Minnesota Twins @ 7:40 ET - I know Joe Ryan has great numbers in his limited action so far. However, he did allow 3 earned runs in 5 innings when he faced the Cubs 3 weeks ago. Now Chicago sees him again at Wrigley Field where they are a tougher club than on the road for sure. The Cubs fell short 9-5 yesterday but have scored at least 4 runs in 9 straight games. Yes the Twins exploded for 9 runs yesterday but Minnesota had scored 3 or less runs in 5 of 8 games that preceded that rare outburst at the plate. Now they face Kyle Hendricks. I know he does not have the greatest of numbers overall but the fact is Hendricks is 14-6 as a starter this season and is known for coming up with some big starts at home. His most recent outing at home was a solid 6-inning effort versus a tough Giants team. The last time he started against the Twins he shut them out over 8 innings and dominated by allowing just 3 hits and striking out 10. That outing was last September and I look for him to come up with another strong effort here against this Minnesota team. I know Joe Ryan has pitched well so far but this is just his 4th MLB start. Look for the Cubs to do some damage here in their home park. Even with yesterday's win, the Twins still just 32-45 in road games this season and I am looking for Hendricks to improve his record to 15-6 on the season! 10* CHICAGO CUBS +105

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

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

MLB 10* Top Play Cleveland Indians Money Line -140 @ 6:10 ET - ACTION on pitchers. Will touch on the pitching match-up here but the team edges are the key for me with this play. Indians better at home than Royals are on the road. Also, Cleveland is 47-28 against teams with losing record this season. Royals only 34-38 against teams with a losing record this season. Kansas City is 10 games below .500 in road games this season. In terms of the pitching match-up Daniel Lynch has a 9.28 ERA last 3 starts and Cal Quantrill is 4-0 with a 2.35 ERA in his dozen home starts this season. Royals are 43-60 against right-handed starters this season. 10* CLEVELAND -140

MLB Tuesday 8* OVER 9.5 in Detroit @ 1:10 ET - Over is 5-1 in Tyler Alexander's home starts this season. Over is 2-0 in Dallas Keuchel's starts versus Tigers this season. Keuchel got rocked in his lone start at Detroit this season. Alexander has allowed 21 hits in 13 innings over his last 3 starts against the White Sox and compiled a 6.92 ERA in those outings. Yesterday's game stayed under and I know these teams have trended under of late. However, this pitching match-up is conducive to an over plus it is a day game. Look for bats to rule the day in this one. 8* OVER 9.5 in Detroit

MLB Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia -1.5 +110 - I respect John Means for the Orioles. He is a very solid pitcher. However, Ranger Suarez has been dominant for the Phillies so Baltimore has no edge in the pitching department here. That said, Baltimore is really in trouble when you compare everything else too. The Phillies have the bullpen edge, lineup edge, and home field edge in this one. Of course this is why they are a big favorite of nearly 2 to 1 on the money line. Where we get our value is on the run line. Phillies actually are available at a plus money price by laying the 1.5 runs and I am looking for a dominating win in this one. Baltimore is 47-102 on the season and 82 of their 102 losses have been by 2 or more runs! The Orioles are slumping again too with losses in 7 of their last 9 games. 6 of those 7 defeats by 2+ runs. The Phillies are off a tight loss to the Mets last night but this followed 4 straight wins. Also, Philadelphia is 4-2 in home starts for Suarez and he has a 1.85 ERA in his 9 starts this season and has dominated out of the pen too. The lefty having a phenomenal season. Again, respect to Means but Suarez has been even better and all the other edges are with the Phillies in this one too and that makes this an easy anti-Baltimore call as we fade one of the worst teams in the majors. 10* PHILADELPHIA -1.5 +110

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

MLB 10* Top Play Philadelphia Phillies +110 - DO NOT CARE WHO PITCHES. The Phillies have won 4 straight games. Conversely, the Mets have been on the fade for awhile now. New York has lost 5 straight games and 8 of last 11. I will touch on the pitchers here but, again, I am recommending ACTION on the pitchers and feel strongly that the hotter lineup and better overall team gets it done again in this one. Kyle Gibson has struggled recently but he held the Mets to just 1 earned run in 6 innings last month and New York is simply a team lacking confidence at this point. That starts to show up in how the hitters approach their at-bats too and I look for the Phillies to get a big early lead here which will further help Gibson in that regard. Rich Hill gets the start for New York here. Mets are 0-2 in his last two starts and he struggled in most recent one against Cardinals. Hill has decent numbers last 3 starts but 2 of those were against a bad Marlins team and a slumping Nationals team. Look for the road team to roll in this one. 10* PHILADELPHIA

MLB 10* Top Play Philadelphia Phillies -110 - DO NOT CARE WHO PITCHES. The Phillies have won 3 straight games. Also, Philadelphia has won 3 of last 4 road games when facing a right-handed starter. Conversely, the Mets have been on the fade for awhile now. New York has lost 4 straight games and 7 of last 10. I will touch on the pitchers here but, again, I am recommending ACTION on the pitchers and feel strongly that the hotter lineup and better overall team gets it done again in this one. Aaron Nola has a 2.51 ERA last 3 starts versus Mets and has struck out 24 in 14 and 1/3 innings in those outings. He is 8-3 in his career when starting against the Mets. Carlos Carrasco gets the start for New York here. He has a 6.66 ERA this season in home starts. Carrasco has decent numbers last 3 starts but 2 of those were against a bad Marlins team and Miami did hit him hard in one of the two outings. Look for the road team to roll in this one. 10* PHILADELPHIA

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

MLB Friday 9* Top Play Philadelphia -138 - No matter who pitches here I like the Phillies to get the road win. Philadelphia is riding the momentum of a huge win yesterday. They were down 7-0 early and yet not only rallied for the win, they crushed the Cubs 17 to 8! The Phillies have the better lineup and swept the Mets by a combined score of 12 to 5 when these teams met last month in Philly. New York enters this game struggling on a 3-game losing streak and having lost 6 of 8 overall. The expected pitchers (again I do not care who pitches, go with action on the pitchers) are Wheeler and Walker. Note that Wheeler has dominated the Mets this season including 2-0 with 16 scoreless innings while striking out 18 in last two match-ups against them. Wheeler also enters this start on fire overall with 1 runs allowed in 13 innings while striking out 17 over his last two starts. Walker is struggling bad with 11 runs allowed in less than 11 innings of work over his past two starts. 9* PHILADELPHIA -138

MLB Friday 8* OVER 9 in New York Yankees - This total opened up at a 10 and the betting masses have said no no no that is all wrong and the total has moved down to a 9. Long-time followers know I love taking advantage of the added value in spots like this. Just as noted in my other write-ups in MLB I do not care who pitches here. Looking at a couple of keys here. The over is 5-0 in the Yankees last 5 games played in New York whether they were at home or facing the cross-town Mets. After a surprisingly low-scoring series with the Orioles at Baltimore, look for normalcy to resume here. Also, the over is 4-2 in the Indians last 6 road games. Now I will touch on the pitchers though I do not care who starts here. Plesac has pitched better of late but Cleveland is 13-7 to the over in his starts this season and he has a 4.74 ERA in road starts this year. The over is 3-0 in Kluber's last 3 starts and he has an 8.48 ERA in those outings. Now he starts against his former team for the first time and he'll try to overthrow and he is already in poor form. You know what happens then! As for Plesac he got rocked in his only career start in the Bronx. This turns into a slugfest. Grab the value with this line move really benefiting us too. 8* OVER 9 in NY Yankees

MLB 8* OVER 8 in Chicago White Sox - Alex Cobb expected back off injured list for this one to get the start for the Angels. The over is 10-5 in his starts this season and he has a 5.71 ERA on the road this season. Also, Cobb is 0-3 with a 10.70 ERA in his 4 career starts versus Chicago. The White Sox are expected to start Reynaldo Lopez here. The right-hander has good season numbers in his limited action but he has been a little off of late for sure as he has a 4.85 ERA his last 3 starts. Also, Lopez has been charged with at least 4 earned runs in 2 of his last 3 starts versus the Angels. Regardless of the pitching match-up here, I like the over in this match-up as there had been just 3 unders in the last dozen games between these teams heading into yesterday's game. 8* OVER 8 in Chicago White Sox

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

8* Cincinnati -150 - If you played against the Pirates each of the last 7 times they entered a game off B2B wins you are a perfect 7-0. I know the Reds have been struggling but Tyler Mahle is 7-2 with a 1.87 ERA in his road starts this season. As for the Pirates, Connor Overton is an MLB rookie making his first ever start in the bigs. I like my chances here for a big road win and note that I want action on the pitchers here. No matter who the starters are, I am looking for Pittsburgh to drop to 0-8 the last 8 times they have been in this situation. 8* CINCINNATI -150

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

9* Top Play Milwaukee Brewers -1.5 -130 - The Brewers lost yesterday in an unexpected 1-0 extra-innings battle. That made no sense based on the pitching match-up and the way those two starters had been pitching. That said, look for reality to return this afternoon. Brandon Woodruff has a 2.48 ERA in his 27 starts this season. Matt Manning has a 6.13 ERA in his 14 starts this season. In the last road start Woodruff made, he allowed 1 earned run in 6 innings. In the last home start Manning made, he allowed 8 earned runs in less than 4 innings of work. Brewers 49-25 on the road this season. Tigers have been a decent team this season but this one set up to be a complete mismatch and a road rout should result. 9* Milwaukee Brewers -1.5 -130

8* OVER 8.5 in Washington - Trevor Rogers has solid full season numbers but a 5.84 ERA in his last 3 starts as he is fading here late in the season. He faces the Nationals for the 3rd time this season and Washington is off an 8-2 win in yesterday's game and keeps the sticks going today. The thing is I don't trust the Nats Josh Rogers here now a sub-par Washington bullpen here so the play is the over. Josh Rogers is off a start in which he allowed 8 hits while striking out only 1. He only gave up 2 earned runs so some credit given to him for that but he was not missing a whole lot of bats and it catches up with him here in this day game. 8*OVER 8.5 in Washington

MLB 10* Top Play Philadelphia Run Line -1.5 +100 - The Phillies offering great line value here. I know Kyle Gibson has struggled last two starts but both were on the road. Between his time with both the Rangers and Phillies this season, Texas and Philadelphia went 10-1 in his 11 home starts. Gibson has a 7-1 record this season pitching has a host with a fantastic 1.59 ERA. He has pitched very well at Citizens Ball Park since coming to Philly. As for the Cubs, they have lost 3 straight and 4 of last 5 and those games were at home. On the road this season Chicago has a 26-43 record and I am expecting another blowout road loss here. The Cubs are 32-52 this season against teams with a winning record. Adrian Sampson has good numbers this season but in limited action. This is a guy who is 6-14 with a 5.37 ERA in his 47 career MLB games (22 starts). Phillies still very much alive in the playoff race and yesterday's off-day will prove to serve them well here as Gibson and his teammates bounce back big at home. 10* PHILADELPHIA -1.5 runs +100

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

MLB 8* OVER 6.5 in Minnesota (Gm 1 of DH) - This is a contrarian play all the way. I know McKenzie just shut down the Twins. I know Ryan just shut down the Indians. But now these lineups get a quick second look. Also, in McKenzie's two prior starts against the Twins he allowed 11 earned runs in less than 8 innings of work combined! Ryan is a rookie and this will be first time a team gets to see him a 2nd time and it is in consecutive starts. I have seen this be a big factor before and am expecting that to be the case here. Plus McKenzie gets rocked like he did in his last start in Minneapolis. 8* OVER 6.5 in Minnesota (Game 1)

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

8* OVER 10 in New York Yankees - No matter who pitches here I like the over. The over is a perfect 4-0 in the Yankees last 4 games. The Yankees are expected to start Luis Gil. He has walked 11 in 8 innings spanning his last two starts. The Twins start John Gant. He has walked 7 in 9 innings spanning his last two road starts. When pitchers can't find the plate it can lead to trouble in no time. But no matter who is on the mound, note that the over is 12-2-1 in the last 15 meetings between these teams and there has been just 1 under in the last 8 games played in the Bronx with these teams matched up. Look for those trends to continue here. 8* OVER 10 in New York Yankees

MLB 10* Philadelphia Phillies Run Line -1.5 runs -120 vs Colorado Rockies @ 1:05 ET - Momentum is huge in any sport and the clubhouse spirit will finally be much better in Philly than it has been. Not only did they get a much needed win yesterday to snap their losing skid, the Phillies also saw all the teams they are chasing each lose. The Braves, Reds, Padres all lost yesterday and so Philly picked up a game in both the divisional race and the race for the final wild card spot. Snapping their losing skid yesterday look for the Phillies to come up with another big win here. Wil grab the run line of course because Philadelphia is priced very high in this game so the money line is out of the question. But the run line should prove well worth it as the Rockies have been dreadful on the road this season and the Phillies have a huge pitching edge here. Colorado is 20-51 in road games this season and Feltner got destroyed in his first start of the season last Sunday against the Braves. As for Nola, though he has been up and down this season, he has been more consistent again at home this season. Solid 3.33 ERA at Citizens Bank Park plus a very impressive 0.99 WHIP at home. The Phillies are 5-0 in Nola starts versus Rockies and he has a 3.06 ERA in those 5 outings in his career. Keep in mind that includes outings at hitter-friendly Coors Field too. 10* PHILADELPHIA -1.5 -120

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

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

10* CINCINNATI -125 - The Reds are 3-0 in Tyler Mahle's starts against St Louis this season. Mahle is 7-2 with a sparkling 1.79 ERA in road games this season. I know that Jon Lester also has good recent numbers and seems to be back in the zone again but I do not trust the southpaw here. Lester still has a losing record on the season and a 4.89 ERA on the year and I feel he is being over-valued by the markets now because of some surprising recent success. The Cardinals do enter this game off back to back wins. However, St Louis only has one long recent winning streak. Usually the streaks end after just two wins. The Cardinals are 1-5 the last 6 times they entered a game off exactly two consecutive wins. Good value with the road team here because Mahle has been piling up the strikeouts and can lead them to another win here but either way, no matter who starts, I like the Reds to bounce back here. If Lester goes, which is likely, look for the road team to pound him. 10* CINCINNATI -125

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

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

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #959 Thursday 8* OVER the total in Oakland A's vs Chicago White Sox @ 3:37 ET - The A's Manaea has allowed 5 homers last 3 starts including 3 homers in most recent home start. Chicago's Lopez has a 6.75 ERA last two starts, both on road. Before that he was successful against the A's at home but now the rematch is in Oakland and I look for his road woes to continue. Also, the over was on a 5-1-1 run in A's games before yesterday's match-up stayed under the total. Yesterday's game did have 18 hits and these teams combined for 21 hits in Tuesday's opener. The hot hitting continues today and this time we have the runs to show for it. 8* OVER the total in Oakland

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #951 Thursday 8* OVER the total in St Louis Cardinals vs Los Angeles Dodgers @ 1:15 ET - I do not expect Gonsolin to come off the injury list and be in top form right away. Also, he struggled badly with walks his last 3 starts before going on the injured list and he was far from sharp. The Cardinals also have concerns at starting pitcher for this one. This is a play for me regardless of the starters but is expected to be Gonsolin versus Woodford. Note that Woodford had an ERA of 9.00 over his last two starts. He is only getting this start because Kwang Hyun Kim has been so bad in the starters role and now Kim will be available out of the bullpen but he has allowed 12 runs in 15 innings in his last 3 starts. You can see why I do not care who starts here. This one should see runs early and often. Cardinals just 2 unders last 8 games. 8* OVER in St Louis

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

Run Line Rout - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #926 Wednesday 10* Top Play Arizona Diamondbacks Run Line -1.5 runs +130 vs Texas Rangers @ 3:40 ET - The Diamondbacks have lost 9 of 10 while the Rangers have won 6 of 9 and yet Arizona is favored as high as -165 on the money line as of very early gameday morning. Big mistake, right? Not at all but rather than laying that kind of price range, I am turning this around to a +130 payback by taking the Diamondbacks on the run line. Note that no team in MLB has fewer one-run wins than Arizona. In other words, if you like them to win, you generally come out much better laying the 1.5 runs with this team. 37 of their 45 wins have been by 2+ runs! As for the Rangers, 69 of their 88 losses have been by 2+ runs this season. The key in this one is the pitching match-up as Kohei Arihara has a 6.19 ERA this season while Luke Weaver, another starter who just came back to the rotation (like Arihara), is 3-0 with a 1.32 ERA in his home starts this season. Also, Weaver looked great in his first start back. The home team dominates after yesterday's putrid performance. 10* ARIZONA -1.5 runs +130

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #913 Wednesday 8* OVER 8.5 runs in Houston Astros vs Seattle Mariners @ 2:10 ET - Though it took extra innings yesterday the Astros got the win and the game went over the total thanks to the extra innings. The over is now 5-0 last 5 Mariners games. Also, the O/U is 2-0 in Tyler Anderson's last 2 road starts. The over is also 3-0 in Anderson's last 3 starts at Houston and he allowed 15 earned runs in less than 15 innings in those 3 outings. The Astros start Jose Urquidy in this one and he just came back to the rotation and does not appear to be 100% just yet. Also, the over is 6-1 in his home starts this season. 8* OVER 8.5 runs in Houston

ACTION on the pitchers: Perfection Play - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #955 Tuesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Phillies Money Line -110 @ Milwaukee Brewers @ 7:40 ET - Aaron Nola has had an up and down season for the Phillies but he is a real gamer and I expect to do what he has shown a knack for and that is to bounce back off a bad outing. He was done in by a couple of two-out homers in his most recent start but take a look at what he done recently when off a start in which he allowed at least 4 earned runs. The last 3 times it happened Nola has responded in his next start every single time. The combined stats from those 3 starts: just 3 earned runs allowed on only 7 hits while striking out 27 in the 21 and 1/3 innings spanning those 3 outings. Look for Nola to again come up big here as he is 4-0 with a 2.75 ERA in his 7 career starts against the Brewers. The Phillies have gone 6-1 in those 7 Nola starts versus Milwaukee. No matter who pitches in this game for either team I am suggesting to make this play because the Phillies offense has been lethal of late. Philadelphia is 8-2 last 10 games and have scored an average of 7 runs per game last 11 games. The Brewers have been winning overall of late as well but Milwaukee a mediocre 6-6 last 12 games and averaging only 3.3 runs per game last dozen games. Brewers starter Eric Lauer has low ERA versus Phillies but he gave up 6 runs (but only 2 earned) on 8 hits (including 3 homers!) in 6 innings when these teams met in early May. The way the Phillies are hitting, look for more struggles in this match-up for Lauer and the Brewers bullpen too. 10* PHILADELPHIA -110

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

Perfection Play - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #909 Monday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Dodgers Run Line -1.5 -120 @ St Louis Cardinals @ 4:15 ET - The Dodgers are off a loss last night as Walker Buehler had a rare bad start at San Francisco. Look for a dominating effort from Max Scherzer to put them right back into the win column. The only thing I do not like about this play is it a day game in a back to back spot and the Dodgers had to travel east for it after playing on Sunday Night baseball last night. However, their game was a 4 PM local time start yesterday in San Francisco and so the travel situation really not all that bad. As for Scherzer, he is 4-0 with a dominating 1.29 ERA i his 6 starts since coming to the Dodgers! He also has held the Cardinals scoreless over 13 innings while striking out 20 in his last two starts against them including one this season! He'll be opposed by Miles Mikolas for St Louis. The Cardinals right-hander is off back to back starts in which he has allowed a total of 7 earned runs in a total of only 7 and 1/3 innings on the mound. Now facing a Dodgers lineup in bounce back mode, I do not expect this start to go well at all for Mikolas. Also, the Cardinals have to be feeling very "defeated" mentally after blowing a 5-1 ninth inning lead at Milwaukee yesterday. That is a crushing loss for a team chasing a playoff spot. The Dodgers, supported by the brilliance of Scherzer, take full advantage. 10* LOS ANGELES DODGERS Run Line -1.5 -120

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

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

AL RL Game of the Year - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #966 Sunday 10* Top Play Toronto Blue Jays Run Line -1.5 runs +100 vs Oakland A's @ 1:07 ET - Robbie Ray is on incredible run right now while Cole Irvin is struggling badly. Of course that is a big part of the reason the Blue Jays are a 2 to 1 money line favorite here. Where we get the value is by playing the run line as Toronto is available as low as even money by laying the 1.5 runs! This should certainly be a home blowout and note that 59 of the Blue Jays 72 wins this season have been by two or more runs! Ray has allowed just 9 earned runs in his last 7 starts spanning 47 innings! Also, he has struck out 35 batters in 22 innings in his last 3 starts! Ray is in top current form. As for Irvin, he is definitely at the other end of the spectrum. The Athletics left-hander has a 5.93 ERA his last 3 starts and he is fortunate that is not even higher! Irvin has a 2.12 WHIP in his last 3 starts. That means 2 baserunners per inning on average and he has 8 walks against only 3 strikeouts in his last 3 starts! This looks like a complete pitching mismatch plus Oakland has just 6 wins last 19 games while the Jays have won 6 of their last 7 games! 10* TORONTO -1.5 runs +100 

ACTION on the pitchers here as this is simply all about taking the better team in a strong situation: Blowout Rout - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #907 Saturday 8* Philadelphia Phillies Money Line -110 @ Miami Marlins @ 6:10 ET - The Phillies looked poised to maintain their winning streak when they tied the Marlins up at 3 apiece in the top of the 6th. However, the Marlins proceeded to put up an incredible 7-spot in the bottom of the 6th and went on to the huge 10-3 win. Look for the Phillies, whose streak of 7 straight games scoring at least 7 runs, to bounce right back here. This season Philadelphia is a fantastic 17-5 when off a loss in which they allowed more than 7 runs. The Phillies will get payback and I'll quickly touch on the pitchers expected to start but, again, NO listed pitchers here. Play it ACTION. Ranger Suarez has pitched very well and is working deeper into games and averaging 6 innings last two starts. Trevor Rogers is coming back from time away due to family medical leave. He looked solid in rehab outing but it was against single-A level competition. I just do not think that, mentally or physically, he is immediately ready to come up and start mowing down MLB level hitters. Look for the Phillies to get right back on track here as they had averaged 8 runs scored in 7 games preceding last night's ugly loss. The Marlins had averaged 2.8 runs last 9 games before yesterday's rare offensive explosion. 8* PHILADELPHIA -110

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #915 Saturday 8* OVER 9.5 runs in New York Yankees vs Baltimore Orioles @ 1:05 ET - Yesterday was a low-scoring 4-3 extra innings Yankees win. Today Jordan Montgomery will be making his fourth start against the Orioles this season. Each successive start against Baltimore he has been hit a little harder each time including 5 earned runs in 3 innings in his most recent start against them. Look for this pattern to continue. The over is 2-0 in the two starts Chris Ellis has made for the Orioles. I look for that pattern to continue here as he has not been able to work too deep and the bullpen behind him is generally very bad. 8* OVER 9.5 run in New York Yankees

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

ACTION on the pitchers, this game a case of HOT team versus COLD team: Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #952 Friday 8* Chicago Cubs Money Line -130 vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 2:20 ET - The Pirates Steven Brault had pitched well until his most recent start. However, even with pitching well, Pittsburgh was already 0-4 in his starts and is now 0-5 after he got blasted by the Cardinals in his most recent outing. The Cubs certainly have their own issues as well but, with yesterday's win, Chicago has won 6 of last 9 games. Also, the Cubs outhit the Pirates 12 to 7 yesterday. As for Pittsburgh, they have lost 5 of last 6 games and are 17-36 in day games and 17-44 in divisional games and 20-48 on the road this season. Cubs are respectable 34-32 at home this season and certainly have been the hotter team recently. No matter who pitches here, this one should be a solid victory for the home team. 8* CHICAGO CUBS -130

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #909 Thursday 10* Top Play Oakland A's Run Line -1.5 runs +100 @ Detroit Tigers @ 1:10 ET - The A's have moved up Frankie Montas to start today's game and that is bad news for the Tigers. Montas has been in phenomenal form since the All Star break with a 2.16 ERA and holding opponents to a .203 BAA. Montas also is 4-2 with a 2.52 ERA in day game starts this season. He'll be opposed by Matt Manning of the Tigers in this one. The Detroit right-hander does have a lower ERA in the 2nd half of the season than he did in the 1st half but he has been quite fortunate. Manning got hit at a .330 clip in August and yet had a 5.23 ERA. As a result of some good fortune, he enters this start with a 3.24 ERA his last 3 starts. This is helping to give us some line value here with Oakland because Manning's stuff is still very hittable and the A's have averaged 5 runs per game last 6 games and had won 3 in a row before yesterday's 8-6 loss. That Tigers win was a rare offensive explosion as Detroit entered Wednesday's game averaging just 2 runs scored per game their last half dozen contests. Look for normalcy to return today and the Tigers resume their losing ways. Detroit had lost 4 straight prior to yesterday's win. Also, the Tigers are 38-50 against right-handers this season and the Athletics are 18-8 against AL Central division opponents this season. 53 of 71 Tigers losses by 2+ runs and 54 of 73 Oakland wins by 2+ runs this season. Those season-long trends continue with a road rout today! 10* OAKLAND Run Line -1.5 runs +100

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

ACTION on the pitchers: Earliest Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #975 Wednesday 8* Colorado Rockies -130 @ Texas Rangers @ 2:05 ET - I know the Rockies have been very bad on the road this season but the Rangers are 16-31 in day games this season. No matter who pitches here I like the Rockies to bounce back after back to back one-run losses in this series. Colorado entered this series having won 3 of last 4 on the road. The expected pitchers, my recommendation is action on the pitchers rather than listed, are Kyle Freeland and Kohei Arihara. The Rockies Freeland has been red hot with a 2.37 ERA last 3 starts and piling up the strikeouts. The Rangers Arihara is coming back from injury and his numbers at the MLB level have been cause for concern. The Texas right-hander has a 6.59 ERA on the season and an even worse 11.32 ERA in his 3 home starts this year. 8* COLORADO -130

8* OVER 9.5 runs in Toronto - The Orioles just continue to get pummeled and give up a ton of runs. With Keegan Akin on the mound Tuesday that is unlikely to change. The Orioles southpaw is 0-5 with a ridiculous 9.73 ERA in road starts this season. Baltimore is also likely to do some damage at the plate in this one. Hyun-Jin Ryu has some decent numbers on the season but he just got hammered by the White Sox at home including allowing 3 homers. The last time he faced the Orioles as a host, Ryu allowed 4 earned runs. The over is 5-0 (and one push) in Ryu's 6 career starts against Baltimore. The over is 2-0 in Akin's last 2 starts against the Blue Jays. Also, the over is 5-2 in the Orioles last 7 games overall. As bad as the Orioles have been they have averaged scoring 7 runs their last 7 games but they simply can not prevent opponents from scoring. The Blue Jays have not been scoring well but facing the Orioles of course helps matters as shown yesterday! Toronto has scored 29 runs in Ryu's last 3 starts versus Baltimore and the Blue Jays deliver another huge game at the plate in this one. 8* OVER 9.5 runs

ACTION on pitchers - 10* Top Play PHILADELPHIA +101 - Hopefully they can get this one in before the rain hits DC area. They should have time to do so but then the weather from that hurricane that hit Louisiana is moving into the Northeast starting tonight. The Phillies are a red hot and that is why I do not care who pitches as the Nationals are ice cold. It has been a case of Lucky 7 for the Phillies as they have now scored exactly 7 runs in 5 straight games and in each of their last 2 road games. The Nationals will again be unable to match their offensive output. Philadelphia has also won 7 of 8 games at DC this season. Matt Moore may be tough to trust but he certainly is still capable of bettering Patrick Corbin. Note that Corbin has a 6.09 ERA as a starter on the season and an 8.36 ERA last 3 starts. The Nationals have now lost 7 of last 9 games and the road team gets it done again as they continue to narrow the gap with the Braves in the NL East. The Phillies are starting to believe as the Braves are starting to falter and now on a tough west coast road trip. 10* PHILADELPHIA +101

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

NL East Game of the Year - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #953 Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Phillies Run Line -1.5 runs -100 @ Washington Nationals @ 7:05 ET - When you look at Zach Wheeler's ERA last 3 starts and then Josiah Gray's ERA last 3 starts, the money line in the -170 range posted on this game would not make sense to you. However, Wheeler was left in his last start too long and has been fantastic this season. This looks like the perfect spot for him to bounce right back. The Phillies are 6-1 at Washington this season. Also, Philadelphia has some momentum heading into this game after taking 3 straight from the Diamondbacks. As for the Nationals, they have been heading the wrong direction for quite some time now. Yesterday's loss dropped Washington to 2-6 last 8 games. Also, the Nats have lost 18 of 24 games. 7 of Washington's last 9 losses have been by a margin of 2 or more runs. The Phillies have scored 7 runs in 4 straight games and also scored 7 runs in most recent road games. The Nationals only had 3 hits yesterday and have scored an average of just 3.6 runs per game last 7 games. The Phillies in a road rout in this one as Wheeler comes up big and Gray gets hit hard as the road team is getting a 2nd look at the young hurler - 1st start against them 4 weeks ago. 10* Philadelphia Run Line -1.5 +100

Earliest Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #961 Monday 8* OVER 9 runs in Detroit Tigers vs Minnesota Twins @ 2:10 ET - I know each of these pitchers have some decent stats but this is a match-up issue. The Twins Bailey Ober struggled when he faced the Tigers last month. Detroit's Casey Mize has allowed 10 earned runs in less than 13 innings in his last 3 starts versus Minnesota. The over went 2- 1 in those 3 starts for Mize versus the Twins. Also, Ober's only career start against the Tigers, last month, flew over the total. There has only been 1 under in Ober's 7 road starts this season. Mize has been hit hard in his last two starts versus AL teams and both games went over the total. All these over trends continue here after both clubs are off games that stayed under the total yesterday. Good value with the low total on this day game Monday. There have only been 19 unders in 64 Minnesota road games this season! 8* OVER 9 runs in Detroit

Earliest Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #915 Sunday 8* OVER 9.5 runs in Cleveland Indians vs Boston Red Sox @ 1:10 ET - Lost with this play yesterday. Was not a good play as only an extra inning made it close. However, I am coming right back with it today after I was simply wrong about the starting pitchers yesterday. I will not be today. The Indians start Eli Morgan and he is 1-5 with a 7.67 ERA at home this season. He has been rocked for 9 earned runs in less than 9 innings in his last two home starts and with as many walks as strikeouts. The Red Sox counter with Tanner Houck. The right-hander has a solid ERA on the season but his recent form is cause for concern. Houck has a 5.27 ERA in his last 3 starts but that could easier be even higher as he has been hit hard! Look for the Indians to pound him here. This one plays out entirely differently from yesterday's game and should get over the total by the middle innings. 8* OVER 9.5 in Cleveland

NOTE: I do not care who pitches here. If you have access to books that take all MLB plays as action on the pitchers that would be my best advice here. If you can not bet this play with action, I would recommend to re-bet it prior to game time (if sufficient time allows) if there would happen to be a pitching change in the hours leading up to game time. I will explain why in my write-up here: AL Run Line Game of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #913 Sunday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays Run Line -1.5 -140 @ Baltimore Orioles @ 1:05 ET - This play is based on the teams not the pitchers. Certainly Archer rates a massive edge over Watkins and I will talk about that here. However, here you have a Rays team with the much better overall pitching staff so who cares if Archer does not start here or is limited by his hip? Who cares if Watkins does not start either? Who else do the Orioles have available that would strike fear into the Rays hitters? Exactly! This is one is all about a Rays team that is now 17-1 this season against the Orioles including 8-0 at Baltimore. Yesterday's win was by just a single run margin but I am expecting a road blowout here as Means gave a surprisingly good start yesterday. Watkins has a 16.20 ERA in his last 3 starts and has allowed 4 earned runs in each of his last two starts versus TB. Archer just coming back from injury and now dealing with a hip ailment but has looked strong on the mound and piled up strikeouts in his limited action. Prior to yesterday's 1-run win, the Rays last 15 wins ALL were by 2+ runs! Look for this one to resume that trend as the Orioles season of misery continues. 10* TAMPA BAY RAYS Run Line -1.5 runs -140

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