The set-up: Yu Darvish was pretty good (a huge understatement) in his LA Dodgers debut on Friday, striking out 10 over seven scoreless innings of LA's 6-0 victory. It was LA's 11th win in 12 outing and as the Dodgers continue this three-game series in New Yrok against the Mets, they are in the midst of one of the best two-month stretches in major-league history. The Dodgers eye a 43rd victory in their last 50 contests in Saturday afternoon's game at Citi Field when they continue their three-game series Saturday in New York. Los Angeles has won eight of its last nine on the road and owns a 14-game lead in the NL West, plus is 12 games better that the NL's second-best team, the Washington Nats. Meanwhile, New York has dropped five of its last six to fall 12 1/2 games back of Colorado for the second and final NL wild-card spot (can you say good night?).

The pitching matchup: Rich Hill (8-4 & 3.35 ERA) will get the start for LA and Seth Lugo (5-3 & 4.53 ERA) for New York. Hill comes in on a roll, with five consecutive starts in which he has allowed two runs or less. He finished July 4-0 with a 1.45 ERA in five starts (Dodgers are 5-0), while striking out 40 and walking only five. Hill fanned eight and permitted one run on four hits in a win versus the Mets on June 21, improving to 1-2 with a 9.00 ERA in five appearances (three starts / team is 1-2) against them. Lugo is coming off one of his worst efforts of the season in last Sunday's 9-1 loss at Seattle in which he surrendered five runs on eight hits (including two HRs) in five innings. Lugo went 2-2 with a 5.29 ERA in July but overall, is 10-4 with a 3.72 ERA as a starter entering his 18th career start here, as he faces the Dodgers for the first time.

The pick: The Mets own the second-worst ERA in the NL (4.92) but own an 8.78 ERA in getting outscored 42-11 by the Dodgers in five games (all LA wins). The Dodgers have hit 18 HRs in those five games, extending to seven, their winning streak over the Mets dating back to last season. Why should anything change here? Make the Dodgers an 8* play.

The set-up: The Angels come off a three-game sweep of the Phillies, giving them five wins in their last six to come within a game of .500 (54-55). The Angels welcome the Oakland A's to Angel Stadium, where they own a five-game winning streak. Los Angeles has closed to three games of the AL's final wild card spot (currently held by KC) and need to take advantage of the A's, who are just 48-61 overall, including 17-36 on the road (only the Phillies own a worse record away from home).

The pitching matchup: Jharel Cotton (5-8 & 5.49 ERA) goes for the A's and Troy Scribner (1-0 & 4.50 ERA) will be make his third major-league appearance and first career start in this one for the Angels. Cotton was roughed up by Minnesota on Sunday in his first start since spending nearly a month on the disabled list due to blisters. He was lucky to escape with a no-decision, after allowing five runs on five hits (including two HRs) and five walks in 3 2/3 innings. Cotton defeated the Angels in his major-league debut back on Sept. 7 but is 0-2 against them this year after surrendering 12 runs over 9 1/3 frames in two outings for an 11.57 ERA (ouch!). Scribner worked a scoreless inning against Philadelphia on Tuesday, which followed him allowing two runs over three innings at Toronto in his debut three days earlier.

The pick: Cotton has been awful at home in 2017 (7.56 ERA and 1.68 WHIP in eight starts) but in seven road starts, owns a 3.26 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. The Astros gave up on Scribner in 2015 but he has matured quickly in the Angels' organization, going 12-5 with a 3.41 ERA in Double-A and Triple-A last year, before going 10-3 with a 4.16 ERA in Triple A in 2017. The Angels called him up last week and he got the win in his first major league appearance, then pitched an inning of relief Tuesday. I'm optimistic for his first start. Make the Under an 8* play.

The set-up: The 0-5 Hamilton Tiger-Cats will look for their first win of 2017 Friday night when they travel to Commonwealth Stadium to meet the Edmonton Eskimos, who are the CFL's lone unbeaten team at 5-0. Hamilton QB Zach Collaros leads the CFL's weakest offense, completing 62.4 percent for a modest 1,143 yards with only three TDs and five interceptions. Hamilton averages 18.0 PPG on 307.2 YPG with both figures ranking dead-last among the CFL's nine teams. On the other side of the ball, the Tiger-Cats allow 40.2 PPG and 489.8 YPG, with both of those numbers ranking ninth of nine teams. Talk about an unwanted 'daily-double!' Edmonton is led by QB Mike Reilly, who is completing 72.3 percent of his passes for 1,628 yards, with nine TDs and just two interceptions. The Eskimos are scoring 28.4 PPG on 469.2 YPG with both figures ranking fourth in the CFL. Defense has paved the way to Edmonton's 5-0 start, as the Eskimos allow 24.2 PPG (2nd-best) on a league-low 337.4 YPG.

The pick: Surely, Hamilton has nowhere to go but up off the team's humiliating 60-1 loss last week at Calgary and no team is ever as bad as it looks in its worst game. Yes, Edmonton is a perfect 5-0 but the team's largest margin of victory has come by 11 points with the team's other four wins coming by a combined 12 points. That includes a 31-28 July 20 victory in Hamilton over the Tiger-Cats. That 28-point effort represents Hamilton's highest scoring game of the 2017 season. Hamilton can't stop anyone, so if it plans on being competitive at all, the team will need to score. The Tiger-Cats are an impressive 4-0 ATS in their last 4 meetings in Edmonton and four of the last five meetings between the Tiger-Cats and Eskimos in Edmonton have gone over. Make the Over a 10* play.

The set-up: The Rockies were able to take two of three at home over the NY Mets, by winning the rubber match of their series 5-4 last night. Colorado is 62-47 and a half-game back of Arizona for the No. 1 wild card spot in the NL. The Rockies are 5 1/2 games inside the playoff 'cut line,' as they welcome another struggling team from the NL East to Coors Field, the major league-worst Philadelphia Phillies (39-67).

The pitching matchup: Vince Velasquez (2-6 & 4.91 ERA) gets the nod for Philly and Kyle Freeland (11-7 & 3.71 ERA) for Colorado. Velasquez's win-less streak reached eight starts on Sunday, when he settled for a no-decision against Atlanta despite scattering six hits over seven scoreless innings. He has allowed fewer than two ERs in four of his last five outings but has not won since defeating the Cubs in Chicago on May 1, going 0-4 (team is 3-5). However, let's note that he missed the entire month of June and more than half of July with an elbow injury. Velasquez is 1-0 with a 4.60 ERA in three career starts against Colorado (team is 3-0), including a no-decision on May 25 in which he gave up one run over five innings in a Philly win. Freeland has won three straight decisions (3-0 with a 2.01 ERA that four-game stretch / team is 3-1), including a tough outing at Washington on Sunday in which he allowed four runs - three earned - and nine hits over five innings in a 10-6 win. Freeland will be facing Philadelphia for the first time.

The pick: The Phillies not only own MLB's worst overall record but its worst road record (16-38, minus-$1480), as well. Freeland leads all major-league rookies in victories (11) and innings (121 1/3) and comes in having allowed just two runs over 14 1/3 innings in winning his last two starts at home (1.26 ERA). The Rockies average 6.25 RPG at Coors and Freeland looks headed for a 15-win season. Make Colorado a 10* play.

The set-up: The Cards head to Cincinnati for a three-game weekend series with the Reds, off a 2-1 setback at Milwaukee on Thursday. It marked St. Louis' fourth loss in seven games and drops the Cards 4 1/2 games behind first-place Chicago in the NL Central. The cellar-dwelling Reds dropped a 6-0 decision to Pittsburgh on Thursday for their 15th loss in 20 games, leaving them 44-64 on the season, better than only the Giants and the Phillies in the entire NL.

The pitching matchup: Mike Leake (7-9 & 3.29 ERA) takes the mound for St. Louis and Asher Wojciechowski (1-1 & 4.50 ERA) for Cincinnati. Leake had a strong start to the 2017 season (5-2 with a 1.92 ERA thru May 24) but owns a 2-7 mark since May 29 over 12 starts (Cards are 4-8) and is 0-4 with a 4.79 ERA in seven career starts against a Cincinnati (teams are 0-7!), a club with which he spent parts of six seasons. Wojciechowski has assumed a spot in the rotation in place of the struggling Tim Adleman, who has been moved to the bullpen. "Just wanted to get a different look," Reds manager Bryan Price told reporters of the 28-year-old Wojciechowski receiving Friday's start. "... The one thing that we really want to see is some evolution." Wojciechowski has allowed just one run on four hits and struck out 17 over six relief appearances since his return from Triple-A on July 2. Wojciechowski has one career start vs. the Cards (0-1 & 3.00 ERA / team is 1-0).

The pick: Leake's season has crumbled and the fact that he's made seven career starts against the Reds with his teams going 0-7, hardly gives one confidence he can get things turned around here. As for Wojciechowski, his career ERA over 17 major league appearances (seven starts) is 5.36. Make the Over an 8* play.

The set-up: The Cubs finally hit their stride coming out of the All Star break and opened a three-game series against Arizona on Tuesday with a 16-4 rout. That gave Chicago a 14-3 record since the break but after losing on Wednesday, the Cubs followed with a wild 10-8 loss in the rubber match of their series against Arizona on Thursday, marking their first back-to-back losses since the All-Star break. The Cubs now welcome the NL Est-leading Washingtoin  Nationals to Wrigley Field, while holding a modest 1 1/2 game lead over the Brewers in the NL Central. The Nationals have dropped two straight series after losing their last two games at Miami when they were shut out for the third time in their last 13 games in Wednesday's 7-0 defeat. However, the Nationals are running away with the NL East (lead Miami by 12 games) and with the Dodgers almost assured of facing the wild card winner in one of the NLDS matchups, this Nats/Cubs series is starting to look like like a postseason preview of the other NLDS (that's assuming the Cubs can do their part and hold off the Brewers).

The pitching matchup:Tanner Roark (8-7 & 4.93 ERA) steps to the mound for the Nats on Friday afternoon, opposed by the Cubs' Kyle Hendricks (4-3 & 3.80 ERA). Roark won his first two starts after the All-Star break before taking the loss this past Saturday, 4-2 at home against Colorado (he ave up four runs in five innings and struck out eight but was hurt by four walks). Roark takes the mound 3-2 with a 4.31 ERA in six games (five starts / team is 2-3) against the Cubs in his career. Hendricks is still working his way back from a seven-week stint on the DL. He hasn't shown the same form in 2017 that he displayed in 2016, when his 2.13 ERA lead all major league starters. However, he has allowed just one run in each of his first two starts since coming off the DL, going 4 1/3 innings in his return and getting through five innings Saturday at Milwaukee. Hendricks is 2-1 with a 2.31 ERA in four starts against the Nationals (Cubs are 3-1).

The pick: Max Scherzer pulled himself out of his last start with neck spasms and he seems unlikely to be available this weekend. Manager Dusty Baker also told reporters on Wednesday that Stephen Strasburg, who missed his last start while on the disabled list with right elbow nerve impingement, "probably" won't be available this weekend. Adding insult to injury,  Gio Gonzalez may be headed for the paternity list,  as his wife is expected to give birth any day, which would take Gonzalez away from the team for one to three days. Clearly, the Nationals come into this series shorthanded when it comes to pitching but that Washington lineup comes in second in runs (5.48 per game) and OPS (.811) plus third in team BA (.275) and HRs (160). Chicago's Joe Maddon isn't a huge fan of looking ahead and prefers instead to dwell on the day-to-day as much as possible. "We've been playing a lot better, we've been pitching a lot better," Maddon said. "We're getting closer at a lot of different levels. The thing is we just keep pressing forward, one game at a time." Like Hendricks over Roark here. Make the Cubs an 8* play

The set-up: The LA Angels have won the first two of their three-game IL series with the Phillies by a combined 14-1 score. Wednesday's 7-1 win marked LA's 11th consecutive win over Philadelphia. The Angels go for a three-game sweep tonight and will be looking for their fifth victory in six contests. The "mini-surge" has LA within three games of the AL's final wild card spot , although the Angels still have four teams to 'climb over.' The Phillies haven't 'climbed over' anyone in 2017, as they check in with MLB's worst record (39-60) and its third-worst moneyline mark (minus-$1918).

The pitching matchup: Jerad Eickhoff (2-7 & 4.56 ERA) starts for Philly and Parker Bridwell (5-1 & 2.83 ERA) for LA. Eickhoff has won his last two decisions, after losing his first seven of the campaign. However, one can't avoid the fact that the Phillies are 5-13 in his 18 starts in 2017, leaving him minus-$850 against the moneyline, the 8th-worst mark among all starters. In stark contrast, LA rookie Bridwell has seen the Angels go 7-1 in his eight starts this season, giving him MLB's third-best moneyline mark at plus-$917. He's coming of going 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA in four starts (LA was 4-0).

The pick: Neither starter has ever faced tonight's opponent but every aspect of this matchup favors the Angels. Bridwell has been a huge winner and Eickhoff a huge loser in 2017 plus the Phillies' 16-38 road record plus 11 straight losses to the Angels pretty much clinches it. Make the Angels a 10* play.

analysis soon

The set-up: The NFL is back in action for the first time since last February's thrilling Super Bowl, as the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals meet in Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game at Canton, Ohio. After cancelling this game last year due to poor playing conditions, the Pro Football Hall of Fame was determined not to let it happen again. The stadium was overhauled thanks to a $10 million donation from Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and now the namesake of the Canton venue. The time frame for major renovations was limited and Kevin Shiplett, VP of Operations and Facilities at the Hall of Fame, joked: “It will be done, but just don’t brush up against any walls because the paint may be fresh.” There is a chance of scattered thunderstorms for Thursday evening in Canton, so weather could be a factor.

Dallas: The Cowboys were the far superior team last year due to the emergence of rookies Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott. This dynamic duo led the Cowboys to 13 wins, their highest total since 2007, but as been the case for some time now, the Cowboys lost their first playoff game.

Arizona: The Cardinals entered the 2016 season off back-to-back playoff appearances, including coming off a 13-3 regular season in 2015, which ended with an NFC championship game loss. However, at 7-8-1 in 2016, the team ended a run of three consecutive seasons of double-digit wins.

The pick: As is custom in an early preseason game, you can expect to see a ton of unknowns on the field attempting to earn recognition from coaching staffs and carve out a spot on the final roster. Neither coach is expected to really care about the final score and will instead opt to get as many reps from as many guys on the fringe as possible. In particular, Arizona will be without two of three most impactful offensive players, as head coach Bruce Arians is electing to keep QB Carson Palmer and WR Larry Fitzgerald sidelined in order to keep their preseason workload light (don't expect to see too much of RB David Johnson, either). Both Arians and Dallas' Jason Garrett boast losing records during the preseason but Garrett has only a total of four wins in 13 attempts over the past four preseasons. Five of the last six Hall of Fame games have been low-scoring affairs, with only the Cowboys vs. the Miami Dolphins showdown in 2013 going over 40 points. Points will be at a premium in this contest, especially since these players have had extremely little time to prepare together as a team. I'm making Arizona a 10* play.

The set-up: The 4-1-1 Calgary Stampeders visit the 3-3 Toronto Argonauts at BMO Field on Thursday. Bo Levi Mitchell is completing 63.9 percent of his passes for 1,832 yards with 10 TD passes and three interceptions. He leads an offense that ranks No. 1 in total yards (425.5 per) and is the CFL's highest scoring team (35.5 PPG). That goes perfectly with a defense that leads the CFL in allowing a modest 20.2 PPG. Toronto Argonauts averages 421.7 YPG (second) but yards haven't translated into points, as the Argonauts are averaging only 25.3 PPG (ranks 7th of 9 teams). QB Ricky Ray is completing 69.2 percent of his passes for 2,282 yards with nine TD passes and just three interceptions. Toronto is allowing 27.2 points and 361.3 yards per game.

The pick: The Stampeders are coming off a 60-1 victory over Hamilton and are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 meetings in Toronto. The Argonauts have been very inconsistent in 2017 but they have yet to lose back-to-back games this season. That said, Toronto is a 'money-burners' 21-43 ATS in its last 64 home games. Make Calgary an 8* play.

The set-up: Colorado's road woes have been real but this afternoon, the Rockies look to avoid losing their first home series since late June when they host the New York Mets in the rubber match of their three-game set. Colorado has gone 4-0-1 in home series since dropping two of three to Arizona back in late-June (20-22). The Rockies edged the Mets 5-4 on Tuesday but last night, fell 10-5, as the Mets rode a six-run sixth inning to victory. The loss was the fifth in Colorado's last eight, leaving them just a half-game back of the D'backs but also 5 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee for the second wild-card spot. As for the Mets, who have no realistic playoff hopes with two months left in the 2017 season at 49-56, they will be attempting to win their first road series since taking two of three in Miami from June 27-29.

The pitching matchup: Rafael Montero (1-7 & 5.72 ERA) takes the mound for New York and German Marquez (9-4 & 4.08 ERA) for Colorado. Montero makes his fourth consecutive start and eighth overall this season, as he seeks his first victory since June 25 at San Francisco. The Mets are 3-4 in Montero's starts this season and he has won his only career start against Colorado when he walked four but struck out seven and scattered three hits over 5 1/3 scoreless innings back on September 10, 2014,
Marquez has done a solid job for Colorado in 2017 (team is 11-6 in his 17 starts) and he comes in having won four consecutive starts after allowing two runs on three hits while registering a career-high 10 strikeouts in seven innings of 4-2 Saturday win at Washington. Marquez will be facing New York for the first time in his brief career.

The pick: Tough spot for the  Mets here, as they are wrapping up a 10-game road trip (sit 4-5) this afternoon, after visits to San Diego and Seattle. Meanwhile, expect Colorado to get a boost with the recently acquired Jonathan Lucroy expected to make his Rockies debut on Thursday at catcher. Having he 31-year-old behind the plate is expected to provide a veteran's presence for a rotation that has often included four rookies, Marquez, Kyle Freeland, Jeff Hoffman and Antonio Senzatela. Getting back to Marquez, he's been great at Coors Field, since opening the season by losing his first two home starts. He takes the mound today, having gone 5-0 in his six starts (Rockies are 6-0) since losing to Arizona on May 5. Backed by a lineup that averages 5.81 RPG at home, make Marquez and the Rockies an 8* play.

The pick: Yes, the Red are 7-1 against the Pirates in 2017 (outscoring them 49-25) but Cincy remains a poor 18-35 on the road, allowing 5.49 RPG. Meanwhile, while Williams owns just one win and one loss over his last eight starts, he's pitched well, allowing  three ERs or less in seven of them. Make Pittsburgh a 10* play.

The set-up: The Tigers held off the Yankees 4-3 on Tuesday, giving them three wins in their last four, following a four-game skid. Detroit's Shane Greene, who made his major league debut with New York in 2014, received his first save opportunity against his former team at Yankee Stadium and earned it by getting the final five outs. The Yanks lost for only the third time in 12 games but did drop one-half game behind first-place Boston in the AL East, as Boston beat Cleveland Monday and Tuesday. Yankee "super rookie" Aaron Judge was 0-for-4 and is now 10-for-63 since the All-Star break, dropping his batting average below .300 (.299) for the first time since late April.

The pitching matchup: Two disappointing starters square off in today's rubber match of the three-game series, Detroit's Jordan Zimmermann (6-8 & 5.69 ERA) and New York's Masahiro Tanaka (8-9 & 5.09 ERA). Zimmermann is coming off a solid performance against the Houston Astros in his last outing, allowing three runs on six hits over seven innings (took a no-decision in a 6-5 Houston win). However, it did mark the sixth quality start in the last 10 outings for Zimmermann, who has had a wildly inconsistent season. He's 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in three career starts vs. the Yankees. Like Zimmermann, Tanaka has been up and down all season but he was superb in his last outing against Tampa Bay, registering a career-high 14 strikeouts while yielding only a solo HR among two hits over eight innings in last Friday's 6-1 win. However, he was 0-2 in his previous three starts (Yanks were 0-3), allowing 12 ERs on 21 hits over 18 innings (6.00 ERA). Tanaka is 0-2 with a 5.61 ERA in three career starts vs. the Tigers.

The pick: When I say Tanaka's season has been up and down, I'm not exaggerating. He has been charged with five ERs seven times, while in seven other starts he has allowed two ERs or less. Tanaka is the only Yankees starting pitcher with a losing record and his 5.09 ERA is the highest on the team. The Yankees are eagerly anticipating the debuts of new starting pitchers Sonny Gray and Jaime Garcia. Gray will start Thursday in Cleveland and Garcia will oppose the Indians on Friday. Tanaka needs to get back in a groove. A good sign is that he has held opposing batters to a .226 batting average at Yankee Stadium. Zimmermann makes his 21st start of the season today and while his bloated 5.69 ERA and 1.74 WHIP tell one part of the story, he has allowed three ERs or less in almost half (nine) of his previous 20 starts. He's off a solid effort the last time out (see above) and does own a 1.80 ERA in three career outings vs. the Yanks. Make the Under an 8* play.

The set-up: The Toronto Blue Jays haven't given up on making the the postseason just yet but they can't miss out on an opportunity to take the rubber match of their three-game series at Chicago this afternoon. Toronto already lost Monday's game 7-6 to the White Sox, before rebounding with last night's 8-4 victory. I believe the 50-57 Blue Jays are being overly optimistic about their postseason chances, as while they are just six games out of the final wild card spot, they would have to 'climb over' seven teams! Anyway, losing two of three to the sad-sack White Sox, who own the AL's worst record at 41-63, would hardly be a step in the right direction.

The pitching matchup: J.A. Happ (3-8 & 4.15 ERA) takes the mound for Toronto and Derek Holland (5-10 & 5.42 ERA) for Chicago. Happ's 20-4 season of 2016 has been long forgotten, as the veteran lefty will be trying to snap a four-start win-less streak (he's 0-3 and the team 0-4). He did turn in a quality start against the LA Angels on Friday, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks over six innings but took the loss in LA's 7-2 win. Happ earned a win over the White Sox on June 18, when he yielded three runs and struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings, which evens his career record against Chicago to 2-2 with a 3.96 ERA. Holland comes in win-less in his last seven starts (he's 0-4 and the team 0-7!) He owns just two quality starts in his last 10 outings (team is 1-9!) and enters today's game having failed to complete six innings in any of his last five outings. Making matters worse for Chicago is that Holland owns an 8.22 ERA in nine career starts against the Blue Jays (he's 3-4 and his teams 4-5).

The pick: I'm not ready to accept Toronto as a viable playoff contender but there is no reason for them to struggle against Holland (see above for all one needs to know) plus after all, the White Sox have lost 14 of 17 since the All Star break. Make Toronto a 6* play.

The set-up: The Minnesota Twins have been one of MLB's best road teams in 2017 but that hasn't been the case during the team's current eight-game West Coast road trek Minnesota fell to 1-5 on the trip and lost for the sixth time in its last seven overall, following Sunday's 6-5 loss in 12 innings to Oakland. "(Sunday's) game kind of mirrored some of the other ones on this trip," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "... What we've been doing too much of is letting these teams hang around."haven't been comforting at all. After squandering leads in every contest, the Twins aim to turn around their fortunes on Tuesday as they continue the road trip with the opener of a two-game interleague series at the San Diego Padres. The Twins currently reside 4 1/2 games out of a wild-card spot and take a 3-6 interleague mark into Petco Park to face the Padres, who saw their four-game winning streak halted on Sunday when they were routed 7-1 by Pittsburgh. San Diego (47-58) "can't even see" the Dodgers in the NL West and are also 12 1/2 of a wild card spot (Padres are 7-9 in IL play).

The pitching matchup: Jose Berrios (9-4 & 3.76 ERA) starts for Minnesota and Jhoulys Chacin (10-7 & 4.22 ERA) for San Diego. Berrios sustained his second loss in three outings on Tuesday, after allowing four runs in the fourth inning of a 6-2 setback at the Los Angeles Dodgers. Berrios looks to get back on track and maybe he will, as he has allowed two ERs or less in eight of his 14 starts this season (Twins are 9-5, plus-$466 in his 2017 starts). Chacin comes in 4-0 in his last five starts (Padres are 5-0), after yielding two runs on four hits for the second straight outing in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the New York Mets. Chacin has made just two career starts vs. the Twins, going 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA. However, he owns an impressive 6-2 mark with a 2.05 ERA in 11 starts at Petco Park (SD is 7-4).

The pick: At first blush this could look like an under but Berrios is beginning to show some 'wear and tear' (5.76 ERA over his last six starts) plus the Twins just dealt away their closer to the Nats. As for Chacin, he's pitching way over his head. He entered the 2017 season 46-57 in his eight-year career. Make the Over an 8* play.

The pitching matchup: Steven Matz (2-4 & 5.51 ERA) starts for New York and Jeff Hoffman (6-3 & 5.58 ERA) for Colorado. Matz, whose season has been limited due to injury,  was 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA through his first five starts but he's gone 0-3 with a 14.18 ERA over his last four outings with opponents batting .479 against him (Mets are 1-3). The second of those difficult starts came against Colorado on July 16, when he was shelled for seven runs on nine hits in an inning of work. Matz is 0-2 with an 11.57 ERA in two career starts against Colorado but will pitch at Coors Field for the first time. Hoffman's season has had a similar arc as Matz's, although with more work. He owned 2.25 ERA through mid-June but has given up 35 ERs in 37 1/3 innings (8.44 ERA) over a span of seven starts since (he's and teh team). Among his better outings in the stretch was a win opposite Matz at Citi Field on July 16, as he surrendered four runs in six innings, his lone career outing vs. the Mets.

The pick: It's two struggling pitchers in this one but considering the Rockies have reached Matz for 19 hits in just seven career innings (11.57 ERA) at Citi Field, why would anyone think he'd have any more luck at Coors Field, where the Rockies have averaged 6.32 RPG in 2017? Make Colorado an 8* play.

 

The set-up: The Cubs are 13-3 since the All-Star break and are now 2 1/2 games up in the NL Central, as they get set to host the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-game series at Wrigley. The D'backs have lost touch with the Dodgers (haven't all teams) but remain atop the NL wild card race, a half-game up on the Rockies and six games clear of the NL playoff 'cut line!' Chicago is among the hottest teams in the majors, thanks in large part to a rejuvenated starting rotation that has posted a 2.34 ERA and 11 quality starts in 16 games since the break. Meanwhile, Arizona has been stuck in neutral since the break, going 7-9.

The pitching matchup: Patrick Corbin (8-9 & 4.36 ERA) steps to the mound for Arizona, while Jon Lester (8-6 & 3.88 ERA) looks to follow up on three straight strong post-break starts. Corbin hasn't been bad either as of late, winning his last two starts and allowing two or fewer runs in his last four. Corbin is 3-0 with a 3.32 ERA in three starts against the Cubs. Lester had an outstanding second half in 2016 and has been excellent in three starts since the All-Star break in 2017, winning all three while posting a 2.05 ERA. Lester is 2-0 with a 4.63 ERA in four starts against the Diamondbacks (teams are 2-2).

The pick: I sure don't want to try to fade the Cubs right now, especially with Lester on the hill. Arizona has looked mediocre since the break and on the season, is just 24-27 on the road, compared to 36-18 at home. Make the Cubs an 8* play.

The set-up: Gio Gonzalez took a no-hitter into the ninth inning of Washington's 1-0 victory in Monday's series opener in Miami against the Marlins.There was also more great news on Monday for Washington's beleaguered bullpen, as the Nats made a trade with Minnesota for All-Star closer Brandon Kintzler, who will join recent acquisitions Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle. Could Washington suddenly have a formidable bullpen to go along with its excellent starting pitching and powerful lineup? The NL East-leading Nationals now hold a 14-game edge over second-place Miami, which has dropped two in a row following a four-game winning streak. It's highly unlikely the Nats can catch the Dodgers, so a five-game NLDS matchup with the Cubs seems to be looming.

The pitching matchup: Max Scherzer (12-5 & 2.23 ERA) takes the mound for Washington and Chris O'Grady (2-1 & 3.68 ERA) for Miami. Scherzer is 4-0 in six starts (Nats are 5-1) since a 2-1 setback at Miami back on June 21, a hard-luck loss in which he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, struck out 11 and gave up two unearned runs. Scherzer is 6-3 with a 3.50 ERA in 11  career starts versus Miami (teams are 8-3). O'Grady is a rookie making his fifth career start. He is coming off the finest performance of his brief major-league tenure, blanking Cincinnati on five hits over seven innings in his fourth career start (team is 3-1). This marks his first appearance against the Nats.

The pick: Scherzer will have a tough act to follow after Gonzalez's near a no-hitter but he enters the start as the National League leader in strikeouts (201), batting average allowed (.170), innings pitched (145 1/3) and OPS against (.548). He also can now pitch with added confidence due to the team's greatly improved bullpen (Kintzler is expected to arrive at Marlins Park in time for this game). Also note that Scherzer owns a 2.11 ERA in six career starts at Marlins Park. O'Grady may be making just his fifth career start but I sure like what I've seen so far from the 27-year-old. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: The Cubs have made the biggest move in the NL Central (now lead by 2 1/2 games) but the Pirates also made an initial surge after the break, reaching 49-48 on July 21. However, Pittsburgh has lost six of eight since, as it begins an eight-game homestand with the opener of a three-game series versus the Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates are currently 5 1/2 games behind first-place Chicago in the NL Central, while the cellar-dwelling Reds did snap a six-game skid with a 6-4 victory over Miami on Sunday. However, it marked just the team's third win in 17 outings (Cincy sits 42-63, 14 1/2 games back of the Cubs).

The pitching matchup: Homer Bailey (2-5 & 8.37) gets the nod for the Reds and Jameson Taillon (6-4 & 4.03 ERA) for the Pirates. Bailey comes in off three straight losses (8.47 ERA) but is it possible that PNC Park could be an 'elixir?' Bailey has posted a 5-2 mark with a 2.58 ERA in nine career starts in Pittsburgh, including a no-hitter on Sept. 28, 2012. Taillon is coming off the worst start of his career on Tuesday, surrendering 10 runs on nine hits in three innings of an 11-3 shellacking at San Francisco. He's faced the Reds four times in his career, going 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA (team is 2-2).

The pick: Baily looks like a mess with an 8.37 ERA, 2.01 WHIP and .366 BAA in his seven starts this year. Meanwhile, while Taillon is off an awful start, he had allowed just eight runs over 27 2/3 innings of his previous five starts (2.60 ERA). Make Pittsburgh an 8* play.

As noted in the analysis, this play is still valid despite the pitching change for Oakland.

The set-up: San Francisco continues its five-game road trip after being on the wrong side of a three-game sweep in its weekend series in LA against the Dodgers. The Giants squandered one-run leads in both the ninth and 11th innings Sunday night, en route to a 3-2 setback. That pretty sums up the team's 2017 season, one in which the Giants' 40-66 record is better than (just barely) the Phillies' 38-64 mark and its moneyline mark of minus-$3068 is $1250 worse than MLB's second-worst mark (also Philly)! The Giants play the the A's in Oakland Monday and Tuesday, before crossing the bay for home games against the A's Wednesday and Thursday. Oakland's season isn't all that much better that San Francisco's, as the A's are 46-59 (the AL's second-worst mark), leaving them 22 1/2 games back of the Astros in the AL West (note: Giatst are an inconceivable 34 1/2 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West!).

The pick: Matt Cain (3-9 & 5.45 ERA) will take the mound for the Giants and Sonny Gray (6-5 & 3.43 ERA) is slated to be the starter for the A's. Cain was moved back from an expected Sunday start so Bumgarner could face the Dodgers last night. Typical of how San Francisco's season has been, the Gainst wasted a greta effort by its ace (seven scoreless innings). Cain has gone 2 1/2 months without recording a victory, suffering eight losses in 12 games (11 starts / team is 3-8) since defeating the Dodgers back on May 15. Cain has posted an impressive 2.34 ERA in 12 career appearances (11 starts) against Oakland but sports just a 4-5 record with the Giants going 4-7 in his starts. Oakland pushed Gray's start back a day in order to give the team more time to potentially work out a deal. We may wind up seeing a different pitcher come game-time, as Gray has been the subject of trade rumors over the last several days and still could be moved prior to Monday's non-waiver deadline at 4 p.m. Gray has given up three runs and 11 hits while recording 15 strikeouts and only three walks over 13 innings in winning both of his previous career starts against San Francisco (2-0 & 2.08 ERA). (Note: As I'd anticipated, there has been a pitching change for the A's - to Paul Blackburn. This is even better as he threw seven shutout innings of two-hit ball his last time out. Of his 5 starts so far, 4 have been quality ones.)

The pick: Cain has lost eight straight decisions, which matches a career high. Any reason to think anything will be different in this one? Make Oakland a 10* play.

analysis soon

The set-up: The 38-64 Philadelphia Phillies may own MLB's worst record but don't try to 'sell' that to the Atlanta Braves. The Phillies made it three wins in a row over the Braves in Sunday's 2-1 victory and Philadelphia has now defeated Atlanta eight times in 10 tries in 2017. The Phillies are playing their best baseball of the season, averaging 5.8 RPG in their last 11 contests. Meanwhile, the Braves have lost seven of eight, a stretch in which the team has averaged a meager 3.3 RPG. Atlanta concludes a three-city, 11-game road trip Monday, looking to avoid a four-game sweep but has stranded 29 runners through the first three games of the series. The Phillies are 10-3 in their last 13 home games with the Braves, going back to May of 2016!

The pitching matchup: Mike Foltynewicz (9-5 & 3.82 ERA), who has established himself as Atlanta’s ace in his third season with the Braves, will start for Atlanta up against Philly rookie Nick Pivetta (3-6 & 5.73 ERA). Foltynewicz has not lost since late-May, going 6-0 with a 3.33 ERA in 10 starts since June 2, while surrendering two runs or less seven times (Braves are 9-1 in those outings, after winning NINE in a row!). Foltynewicz is 3-1 with a 3.30 ERA in five career starts vs. the Philies (team is 3-2). Pivetta earned his first major-league victory against Atlanta in his fifth career start (June 5), giving up three runs on six hits over five innings in an 11-4 Philies victory. However, the rookie has pretty much struggled since, going 2-4 with a 6.00 ERA over his last nine outings (team is 3-6). It hasn't helped that he's allowed 11 HRs in 51 innings over that stretch.

The pick: No reason those Philly bats won't stay hot even against Foltynewicz, as remember, the Phils are the averaging almost six runs per over their last 11. As for the Braves, Pivetta should be just what the doctor ordered for the slumping Atlanta bats. After all, in three starts since the All-Star break, Pivetta has given up 17 ERs in 16 1/3 innings (9.37 ERA) with opposing batters hitting .281 against him in that stretch with an .871 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. Make the Over an 8* play.

The set: The Giants/Dodgers is one of MLB's greatest rivalries but the 2017 season is a year in which there is not much to it. The teams are 6-6 in 12 meetings so far but who cares? After all, the Dodgers own MLB's best record (73-31) and lead the last-place 40-65 Giants by 33 1/2 games in the NL West. The Dodgers are a ML-best 46-13 at home, while the Giants are just 18-36 on the road. The Giants average only 3.92 RPG (29th of 30 teams) while LA pitching owns a 3.11 ERA and 1.12 WHIP, with both figures leading all ML teams. The Dodgers take a seven-game winning streak into tonight's ESPN contest, allowing an average of only 3.14 runs during their current streak. Los Angeles is a phenomenal 38-6 since June 7! As for San Francisco, its season is lost. The Giants are 25 games below .500 and they've blown leads 28 times that directly led to a loss. They're 9-48 when scoring three runs or less. They're so far behind the Dodgers in the National League West that they're in danger of being lapped. Never in the historic rivalry have the Giants ever trailed the Dodgers by this many games.

The pitching matchup: Madison Bumgarner (1-4 & 3.38 ERA) will make the start tonight for the Giants, going up against the Dodgers' Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-6 & 4.17 ERA). Bumgarner has had his scheduled start moved from Monday to Sunday, as the Giants try to salvage the finale of the set for San Francisco. The Giants had lost each of Bumgarner's first six starts this year before he helped them roll past Pittsburgh in his previous outing 11-3 on Tuesday, allowing just one run in five innings. The four-time All-Star and former World Series MVP sat out from late-April to mid-July with a shoulder injury. He has 42 strikeouts against just eight walks in 2017 and he's posted a 2.89 ERA through his first four road outings. Bumgarner is 14-9 with a 2.72 ERA in 26 career starts against the Dodgers (Giants are 15-11). Ryu has failed to get through six innings in five straight starts but allowed exactly two runs in each of the last four to help the Dodgers go 3-1. He limited the Giants to a run in six innings at San Francisco earlier this year and is 4-5 with a 3.79 ERA in 10 career matchups (Dodgers are 5-5).

The pick: Bumgarner's been moved up in a an effort to help the Giants avoid a sweep against their long-time hated rival and I expect an excellent effort from him. As for Ryu, he's allowed exactly two runs in each of his last four outings, so the Under is a 10* play.

The set-up: The AL Central-leading Indians have won nine straight after posting a 5-4 victory on Saturday plus picked up a game on the KC Royals (Cleveland now leads by three games), who saw their nine-game winning streak end last night in a 9-8 (10 inn.) loss at Boston. Meanwhile, the White Sox have dropped 14 of their last 15 overall and at 39-62, are "closing in" on the 37-64 Phillies for MLB's worst record. The Indians look to make it 10 wins in a row and a sweep of this three-game series on Sunday, while the White Sox look to snap a five-game slide.

The pitching matchup: Josh Tomlin (7-9 & 5.59 ERA) gets the nod for Cleveland and Carlos Rodon (1-4 & 6.29 ERA) for Chicago. Tomlin has delivered three straight quality starts (all wins), allowing seven runs on 14 hits over 20 1/3 innings  (3.10 ERA) with an 11-1 KW ratio walk. Tomlin has seen opponents bat .304 against him on the season but by allowing just 12 walks in 106 1/3 innings, he's mitigated some of the damage. Tomlin is 0-2 against Chicago this year (ugly 20.77 ERA) and 4-5 with a 4.29 ERA in 11 career starts against the White Sox (teams are 6-5). Rodon didn't make his 2017 debut until June 28 due to injury issues and has posted just one quality start in his first five starts of the season since coming off the disabled list. However, he has recorded 31 strikeouts over 24 1/3 innings. Rodon, who is 4-1 with a 2.22 ERA in eight career starts against the Indians (team is 4-4).

The pick: Tomlin has had two ugly starts in 2017 vs. the White Sox (see above) but off three solid starts in a row, has turned his seaon around. It's just too difficult to make a case for the 'free-falling' White Sox against the defending AL champs (led the Cubs 3-1 in the 2016 World Series), who have won nine in a row and have been a good road team all season (29-21). Make the Indians an 8* play.

The set-up: The 68-35 Houston Astros are running away in the AL West with a 17-game lead in the division. Houston also owns the AL's best overall record (10 1/2 games better than defending AL champs Cleveland) and MLB's best road record at 38-14. However, it was the 46-56 Tigers who erased a three-run deficit and snapped a four-game skid with Saturday's 5-3 victory at Detroit. The Tigers' win leaves them 3-7 in their last 10 and 10 games under . 500 with the whispers that Detroit may be a "seller" by the July 31 trade deadline growing louder. The teams will play the rubber match of this three-game series on Sunday, as the Astros play the final game of their nine-game road trip (are 5-3, so far).

The pitching matchup: Lance McCullers (7-2 & 3.67 ERA) will get the start for Houston and Justin Verlander (5-7 & 4.50 ERA) for Detroit. McCullers won his first start upon coming off the disabled list with five innings of one-run ball at Seattle back on June 24 but is win-less in four subsequent outings while allowing a combined 20 runs (18 ERs) in just 19 innings (8.53 ERA). He's taken just one loss in that span but Houston is 0-4, with McCullers' ERA rising from 2.53 (thru June 24) to 3.67. He has failed to get through five innings in each of his last three outings. McCullers blanked Detroit on one hit over five innings in a May 23 win and is 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA in two career starts vs. Detroit. Verlander has been named among one of several big-name pitchers who could change destinations in the next two days but he may wind up staying put due to a contract that will pay him $28 million in each of the next two seasons. Verlander is coming off a pair of seven-inning no-decisions and has permitted a modest eight ERs in his last four outings (2.77 ERA),  three of them quality starts. He has never lost to Houston in eight career starts (4-0, 2.83 ERA) but the Tigers are a more modest 5-3 in those outings.

The pick: Verlander may own a 2.77 ERA in his last four starts but the Tigers are 0-4 in those games. In fact, the Tigers have lost his last five starts and he owns just one win in his last 12 (team is 3-9). The veteran has posted double-digit victories in 10 of the last 11 seasons but that mark is in real jeopardy due to his latest drought. The Astros let one slip away on Saturday, don't expect MLB's best road team (plus-$2221 vs. the moneyline) to let that happen again. Make Houston a 10* play.

The 0-4 (0-3-1 ATS) Hamilton Tiger-Cats will look for their first win of the 2017 season Saturday night at McMahon Stadium against the 3-1-1 (2-3 ATS) Calgary Stampeders. QB Zach Collaros is completing 61.8 percent of his passes for 1,041 yards with three TD passes and four interceptions. Hamilton ranks 9th in passing yards and 8th in rushing yards, leaving them 9th overall at 310.2 YYPG, as well as being the league's lowest scoring team at 22.3 PPG. If the team's lack of offense weren't enough, Hamilton is allowing 35.2 points (8th) and 488.2 yards per game (9th). Calgary is a solid offensive team, ranking third in both poinst scored (30.6 per) and YPG (411.4). QB Bo Levi Mitchell is completing 63.9 percent of his passes for 1,635 yards with nine TDs and three interceptions. Calgary's defense allows just 24.0 PPG, second-best in the league.

The pick: Hamilton has been non-competitive in its two road games so far but the Tiger-Cats played Edmonton close last week, falling just 31-27. What's more, six of the last seven meetings between Hamilton and Calgary have been decided by 10 points or less. This number is way too high. Make Hamilton a 10* play.

The set-up: The Minnesota Twins have the bad luck to be stuck in the AL Central, as division rivals KC (nine straight wins) and first-place Cleveland (eight straight wins), are currently MLB's hottest teams. The Twins are trying to keep pace and last night's 6-3 win in Oakland snapped a four-game slide but leaves Minnesota just 5-8 since the break and 50-51 overall, six games back of the Indians (Twinheare are four back of the Royals, who own the second wild card spot). The Twins will continue their three-game set against the host Oakland A's on Saturday, a team with teh AL's second-worst record (44-59). Only the 39-61 White Sox are worse.

The pitching matchup: Adalberto Mejia (4-4, 4.10 ERA) steps to the mound for KC, opposed by Chris Smith (0-1, 3.32 ERA) of Oakland. Mejia is win-less in his last three starts, despite allowing just one ER in each of the last two. He will look for his first win since July 3 tonight, making his first road start since June 28. This is Mejia's first start against Oakland. Smith remains in search of his first career win as a starter as he heads to the mound for the fourth start of his major league career (his first 63 career appearances came as a reliever). Smith has made two career relief appearances against Minnesota, allowing two hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts in three scoreless innings.

The pick: Mejia comes in pitching well and while he's struggled at home (4.91 ERA in 10 starts), he owns a 2.31 ERA in his five road starts this season. In Smith's lone home start this year, he allowed just two runs (one earned) against the Rays in seven innings. Make the Under an 8* play

The set-up: The Milwaukee Brewers took a 5 1/2 game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central into the All Star break. However, while the Cubs came out of the break red-hot (won six straight and 11 of 132, the Brewers, after winning their first two games back, would lose their next six and nine of 11. That meant that when the Cubs came to Miller Park to visit the Brewers last night in the opener of a three-game series, Chicago had caught Milwaukee and led the division by 1 1/2 games. However, the Brewers celebrated returning home off a 2-8 road trip by edging the Cubs 2-1. The Brewers have won 10 of their last 12 at home and can now reclaim first place in the NL Central with a second consecutive victory over the defending world champions on Saturday. It would be hadr to criticize the Cubs though, as they are 11-3 since the break, led by a starting staff that has posted a 2.54 ERA with10 quality starts in its 14 games since the break.

The pitching matchup: Kyle Hendricks (4-3 & 3.95 ERA) will take the mound for Chicago and Junior Guerra (1-4 & 5.22 ERA) for Milwaukee. Hendricks came off the disabled list to start Monday against the crosstown White Sox, allowing one run and eight hits over 4 1/3 innings (White Sox would win, 3-1). He was lifted after 92 pitches but he didn’t issue a walk, which is a good sign for a pitcher who relies on command. Hendricks is 6-3 with a 2.80 ERA in 12 career starts against the Brewers (Cubs are 8-4), with a win and a no-decision this season (Cubs are 2-0). Guerra takes the mound looking for his first win since May 31. He's made nine starts since that last win and hasn’t recorded a quality start in any of his last five. Guerra is 0-4 (Brewers are 3-6) in his win-less streak and owns a 6.34 ERA in that stretch. Guerra is 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA in two starts against the Cubs (Brewers are 1-1), with both occurring last season.

The pick: Not sure how one can back Guerra at this point and Hendricks has enjoyed his visits to Miller Park, going 4-1 with a 2.52 ERA in six starts. Hendricks is not quite teh same pitcher who led MLB last season in ERA (2.13) but he's still a quality starter, something Guerra is not! Make the Cubs a 10* play.

The set-up: LA Angels began their six-game road trip earlier this week by getting swept in Cleveland to fall to 22-31 on the road. That's not exactly news, as the Angels haven't posted a winning road record since 2014. However, Rogers Centre in Toronto has been good to them recently. Mike Trout drove in two runs and C.J. Cron homered to back a career-high 7 1/3 innings from rookie Parker Bridwell in Friday's 7-2 LA win. That improved the Angels' record in Toronto to 12-4 over their last 16 games at Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays opened the second-half of their schedule by going 3-7 on a 10-game road trip but then returned  home to sweep the A's in a  four-game series to begin this week. However, last night's loss is just another indication that this isn't going to be Toronto's year. Toronto has played in the last two ALCS matchups but after going 8-17 in April, Toronto has just never recovered and at 48-55, the Jays are in last-place in the AL East (eight games out) and seven games back in the wild card chase. The 50-54 Angels are headed nowhere as well, buried far behind the Astros in the AL west and 5 1/2 games out in the wild card, with seven teams ahead of them.

The pitching matchup: Yusmeiro Petit (2-0, 2.70 ERA) goes for LA and Francisco Liriano (6-5 & 5.99 ERA) for Toronto. Petit will make his first start of 2017 in this one, after having made 36 appearances out of the bullpen this season. Liriano was able to beat Oakland last Monday 5-2 (2 ERs allowed in five innings), his best outing in a while. He had been 2-3 with a 7.52 ERA over his previous six starts (Jays are 3-3). It's been a very disappointing season for Liriano and his record against LA is not a good sign, either. In 11 career starts against the Angels, Liriano is 2-7 with a 5.90 ERA (teams are 4-7).

The pick: As noted, the Jays haven't really put together a real run this season but despite hehir recent success in Toronto, the Angels are not a good road team. Petit not only makes his first start of this season but it's also his first since June 20, 2016, when he pitched six innings of three-run ball in a defeat of the LA Dodgers (while with the Nats), in what was his ONLY start of last season. He is expected to throw between just 40 to 50 pitches. This 32-year-old journeyman's last win as a starter was back on September 9, 2014, when he pitched for the San Francisco Giants against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He is 16-24 with a 4.95 ERA in 58 career starts. Liriano and the Blue Jays win this one. Make Toronto an 8* Play.

The set-up: There's talk the contending Minnesota Twins and floundering Oakland Athletics could be trade partners as the teams begin a three-game series Friday night. The 49-51 Twins have played 14 straight games against fellow playoff hopefuls. They are 4-10 in that stretch after suffering a three-game sweep in Los Angeles at the hands of the Dodgers. No team is in greater need of a break in the schedule and the Twins get one. Their next five games are against two of the worst teams in the West. They follow the Oakland trip (A's are 44-58) with a two-game stopover in San Diego (Padres are 45-57 ) and then return home to host struggling Texas (Rangers are 49-52) to begin a six-game homestand. The Twins have fallen six games out in the AL Central and four games out in the wild card chase. As for the 44-58 Oakland A's.....

The pitching matchup: Garcia will be making his Twins debut after having been acquired along with catcher Anthony Recker from the Atlanta Braves for 19-year-old right-hander Huascar Ynoa. He'll go up against Oakland rookie Daniel Gossett (2-5 & 5,40 ERA). Garcia was 4-7 with a 4.30 ERA in 18 starts for the Braves (team was 9-9). Garcia has faced the A's just once in his career, suffering the loss last season while allowing five runs in seven innings (6.43 ERA). Gossett pitched the A's most recent win, a 3-2 road triumph last Sunday against the New York Mets. He has never faced the Twins in his eight career starts.

The pick:The A's wrapped up a seven-game road trip 1-6, after they were swept in the four-game series in Toronto. They blew two ninth-inning leads and lost consecutive games on walk-offs. The team's late-game meltdowns can't be considered a surprise, as the team dealt two of its top relievers -- left-hander Sean Doolittle and righty Ryan Madson -- to Washington for a three-player package that featured two low-level minor-leaguers. Staff ace Sonny Gray could be the next to go. All that said, I want no part of Garcia or the floundering Twins, who are in a complete "free-fall' which should also not be a surprise. After all, the Twins lost a ML-high 103 games last year. Make Oakland a 10* play.

The 4-1 BC Lions and 4-0 Edmonton Eskimos meet Friday at Commonwealth Stadium lin Edmonton. The Lions opened with a 31-27 home loss to Edmonton in Week 1, then won three straight on the road, before returning home and escaping 45-42 over Winnipeg in a non-cover. BC's QB Jonathon Jennings has completed 67 percent of his passes for 853 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions but was hurt on the Lion’s first offensive series in Week 4. He was replaced by veteran backup Travis Lulay, who threw for 436 yards and three TDs in a 41-26 road win. Lulay then threw for 404 yards (2 TDs / 2 INTs) in last week's win over the Blue Bombers. BC now leads the CFL in YPG (427.2) and is second in scoring at 32.8 PPG. Defensively, BC is allowing 25.8 points and 383.8 yards per game. The Edmonton Eskimos look to stay unbeaten and best BC for the second time this season (remember that Week 1 win at BC). QB Mike Reilly is completing 72.1 percent of his passes for 1,216 yards with seven TDs and zero INTs (over 140 pass attempts!). However, the real key to Edmonton's success so far is a defense allowing league-bests in both PPG (23.8) and YPG (333.5).

The pick: As already noted, Edmonton has already beaten BC on the road this season despite being 4.5-point underdogs. The Eskimos have also won six of their last eight meetings against the Lions, overall. BC backup QB Lulay has completed 72.2 percent of his passes for 840 yards the last two weeks but here faces the CFL's No. 1 pass defense, as Edmonton allows a modest 240.8 YPG through the air. Edmonton just continues to win but also play nip-and-tuck games, with the team's wins coming by three, four, two and three points. Another close one here and a lower scoring one than the over/under number indicates. Make the Under an 8* play.

The set-up: The Houston Astros visit Detroit for a three-game weekend series with the Tigers, beginning Friday night. Houston comes to town with MLB's biggest division lead (17 games), it's second-best overall record at 67-34 (only the Dodgers are better at 71-31) and a ML-best 37-13 road record. More good news comes in that the Astros have their ace back to start the opener of the series. The Tigers, who everyone assumes will be 'selling' come July 31, checks in at 45-55 on the season, better than only the 44-59 A's and 39-60 White Sox in the American League.

The pitching matchup: Dallas Keuchel will make his first start since June 2 for Houston and will take a 9-0 mark with a 1.67 ERA into this contest against Detroit's Jordan Zimmermann (6-8 & 5.81 ERA). Keuchel was enjoying a Cy Young-worthy season before he was sidelined because of a pinched nerve in his neck. "It feels a little weird to actually have my name penciled in for a major league start; I've been looking forward to this for a while," Keuchel told the Houston Chronicle. "The excitement's really building. I didn't want to let myself get too excited, but at the same time I feel great with how I've progressed and what I've done in the two (rehab) starts. It's go time." Keuchel is 3-1 with a 4.30 ERA in five career starts against Detroit (team is 4-1). Zimmermann's season runs parallel to his team's inconsistent ways. He followed up one of his best outings of the year, a win at Kansas City, by allowing five runs on nine hits with four walks in 3 2/3 innings during a loss to Minnesota his last start. To go along with his 5.81 ERA, he owns a 1.56 WHIP and .308 BAA! He's 2-3 with a 2.96 ERA in six career starts against the Astros (teams are 3-3).

The pick: Keuchel is unlikely to go deep into the game (he threw 62 pitches in his last rehab start at Class A Tri-City) but Houston's 37-13 road record plus the Astros' 10-1 record in Keuchel's 2017 starts so far, are tough too ignore. So are Zimmermann's awful numbers this season and Detroit's seemingly 'ho-hum' attitude. Make Houston an 8* play.

The set-up: The 2-3 Montreal Alouettes and 2-2 Winnipeg Blue Bombers meet Thursday at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg. QB Darian Durant is completing 69.6 percent of his passes for 1,392 yards with six TD passes and also six INTs. He's been a disappointment so far in 2017, as the Alouettes' 20.2 PPG average is the worst on any of the CFL's nine teams. However, Montreal's defense, which allows a modest 21.8 PPG (ranked 1st), has kept the team competitive in the early going. QB Matt Nichols leads a Winnipeg offense averaging 32.0 PPG, third-best in the league. Nichols is completing 66.2 percent of his passes for 1,080 yards with eight TDs and four interceptions. The Blue Bombers will need to score, as their defense is allowing 34.8 PPG (last) on 411 YPG.

The pick: Montreal has been held to 19 or less points in four of its first five games but Durant and Co. should break out here vs. a vulnerable Winnipeg defense (see above). Meanwhile, Winnipeg's Nichols is playing some of his best ball of the young season and the Blue Bombers are an accomplished home team. Winnipeg has won seven of the last 10 meetings against Montreal but the better play is the Over. Make it a 10*.

The set-up: After taking two of the first three games of this Cubs/White Sox annual Crosstown Classic, the defending champs are now 10-2 since the All Star break and sit 53-47 on the season, a half-game better than the Brewers in the NL Central. With next week's trade deadline rapidly approaching, the Cubs' South Side neighbors are heading in the opposite direction. Wednesday's 8-3 loss means the White Sox have lost 14 in their last 16 games, giving them the AL's worst record at 39-59. The White Sox are in "full-blown" rebuilding mode!

The pitching matchup: Jon Lester (7-6 & 3.95 ERA) will start for the Cubs, while the White Sox counter with Mike Pelfrey (3-7 & 4.46 ERA). Lester hopes to continue the strong effort the Cubs have gotten from their starters since the All-Star break, as Cubs starters are 9-0 with eight quality starts and have posted a 2.50 ERA. Lester had that nightmare start right before the break (recorded just two outs and allowed 10 runs, although only four were earned, against the Pirates) but has returned from the break to post back-to-back wins (1.80 ERA). Lester is 6-6 with a 4.43 ERA in 14 starts vs. the White Sox in his career (teams are 8-6). I guess one could point to Pelfrey's 2-0 career mark vs. the Cubs with a 1.66 ERA in three outings (teams are 3-0) but that's really a small sample size. Pelfrey last won back on June 17 vs. Toronto, with the team going 1-4 in his five starts since. On the season, the White Sox are 6-10 in his starts.

The pick: The Cubs bats have come alive, as they have averaged 6.0 RPG since the break but while it is a small sample size, Pelfrey has pitched very well against the Cubs. As for Lester, he had a great second-half in 2016 and has begun 2017 the same way (1.80 ERA in B2B wins since the break). Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: Toronto's Justin Smoak hit a two-run HR to tie last night's game at two-all and Kendrys Morales followed with a walk-off solo HR as the Blue Jays beat the A's 3-2. Oakland has now lost seven of its last nine games and at 44-57, can just about kiss its postseason chances goodbye (the A's are 9 1/2 games back of the AL's second wild spot). The 47-54 Blue Jays will need more dramatic wins to thrust themselves back into the postseason picture. After playing in the last two ALCS matchups, Toronto has never recovered from an 8-17 April. The Jays may be 6 1/2 games out of the final AL Wild card spot but seven teams are ahead of them.

The pitching matchup: Sean Manaea (8-5 & 3.82 ERA) will start for Oakland and Marcus Stroman (9-5 & 2.98 ERA) for Toronto. Manaea has been Oakland's most reliable starter in 2017. He is 7-2 with a 3.17 ERA over his past 12 starts (A's are 8-4), after opening 1-3 with a 5.52 ERA in his first six starts this season (A's were 1-5). This marks Manaea's second career start vs. Toronto (1-0 & 3.00 ERA). Stroman has pitched well all season for Toronto but his last two outings (July 17 & 22), kind of sum up Toronto's 2017 season. Stroman has allowed one ER over 14 1/3 innings (0.63 ERA and an opponents' batting average of .196) but has two no-decisions to show for it (Jays are 1-1). Stroman is 0-0 with a 4.63 ERA in two career starts against Oakland (Jays are 0-2).

The pick: Toronto is surely down but not quite out. However, the same can't said about the A's and Oakland is a poor 16-34 on the road YTD. No real reason to think the A's can avoid the four-game sweep here, as Oakland has lost 11 of its last 12 games at Rogers Centre. Make Toronto an 8* play.

The set-up: The Cleveland Indians returned from the All Star break and lost five of six games on the road at Oakland and San Francisco. However, the defending AL champs returned home and have won six straight games, as they enter the final contest of the team's seven-game homestand against the LA Angels.The team's six-game winning streak is a season-high and has come at the perfect time, as AL Central rival Kansas City currently owns MLB's longest-active winning streak at eight games. The Indians are a season-high nine games over .500 at 54-45 but with eight wins in a row, the 53-47 Royals have climbed within 1 1/2 games of Cleveland. Meanwhile, the 49-53 Angels are a distant fourth in the AL West (18 1/2 games back of the Astros) and while they are "only" five games back in the race for the second wild-card spot, there are five teams ahead of them!

The pitching matchup: J.C. Romero (9-8 & 4.38ERA) will get the nod for LA and Cleveland's starter will be Trevor Bauer (8-8 & 5.58 ERA). Romero is 2-2 with a 3.52 ERA in four July starts and while he has made four career appearances against the Indians, all of them have been in relief (no record and a 5.06 ERA). Bauer has struggled in recent starts, lasting just 10 2/3 innings in his three July starts, allowing 17 hits, nine walks and 10 ERs (8.44 ERA).

The pick: Some good news for Cleveland fans is that Bauer is 3-0 with a 3.14 ERA in four career starts vs. the Angels (team is 3-1). Even better news is that the Indians are on a roll, having outscored their opponents 50-18 in their six-game winning streak. One last thing. The Angels enter today's game having lost seven in a row to the Indians dating back to June 12 of last season. They also have lost 11 of their last 12 games against the Indians, including each of their last nine games at Progressive Field. Make Cleveland an 8* play.

The set-up: Kershaw may be sidelined for four-to-six weeks but the Dodgers won Sunday's game (the one in which he left) and have added back-to-back wins Monday (6-4) and Tuesday (6-2) over the Twins. As LA goes for a three-game sweep in tonight's finale, the Dodgers will take the field having won 35 of their last 41 to extend their NL West lead to 12 1/2 games and their leed over the Astros in the race for MLB's best overall record to 2 1/2 games. The Dodgers also own a major-league best 43-13 home record. Minnesota lost for the third straight time last night and Tuesday's defeat dropped them below .500 for the first time since April 24 at 49-50. The Twins, who have lost four of five overall, trail Cleveland by 4 1/2 games in the AL Central and are also three games back in the a wild card chase that includes eight teams separated by no more than five games.

The pitching matchup: Ervin Santana (11-7 & 3.26 ERA) takes the mound for the Twins and Brock Stewart (0-0 & 0.00 ERA) will make his first start of the season for the Dodgers, after throwing a combined 13 scoreless innings over six relief appearances since June 20. Santana ended May with a 7-2 record and 1.75 ERA but has since given up at least five runs five times, while allowing two or fewer runs in his other four outings. He is coming off yet another poor outing Friday against Detroit, surrendering five runs on seven hits (including two HRs), while throwing 95 pitches over only 3 1/3 innings. Santana got the win with six innings of two-run ball the last time he faced Dodgers in 2014, improving to 6-4 with a 2.38 ERA in 13 starts against them (teams are 8-5). Stewart, who battled an illness over the weekend, will make his first start of the season Wednesday. He has permitted only five hits and three walks in 13 innings in his six relief appearances in 2017.

The pick: Minnesota pitchers have allowed 32 runs during their 1-4 stretch and counting on Santana to get that straightened out is "asking for trouble." Yes, Stewart has excellent numbers over his six relief stints since June (opposing hitters are batting only .122 against him) but he struggled mightily in his first five career starts in 2016, going 2-2 with a 6.38 ERA. Make the Over an 8* play.

The set-up: The Rangers hit four HRs in Tuesday's 10-4 win over Miami, making it four wins in the team's last five. Texas remains 3 1/2 games out of the second wild card in the American League, its only chance to play October baseball (the Rangers are 18 games back of the Astros in the AL West). Miami is 45-53 on the season and going nowhere as the two teams play the rubber match of this three-game series Wednesday night.

The pitching matchup: Jose Urena (8-4 & 3.78 ERA) will start for teh Marlins and Yu Darvish (6-8 & 3.44 ERA) for the Rangers. Urena improved to 5-0 in 10 appearances (seven starts) on the road after limiting Cincinnati to one run on three hits over a season high-tying six innings last time out (a 5-1 Miami win). He had struggled in his previous two outings, giving up eight runs in eight innings while surrendering four HRs. Urena owns a slightly lower ERA away from home but the huge difference is that his road WHIP is 0.84 WHIP, compared to 1.62 at home! This marks his first career start against Texas. Darvish could be making his final start in a Texas uniform when the Rangers host the Marlins on Wednesday night. With the trade deadline looming and Darvish set to become a free agent after the season, Texas general manager Jon Daniels was making it known that the Japanese standout is available. Darvish struck out 12 over eight innings last time out at Tampa Bay but surrendered three solo HRs and settled for a no-decision to run his win-less drought to seven starts. He is 0-4 in that span (team is 1-6) and win-less since June 12, despite posting a quality start in five of his last six trips to the mound. In his lone start against the Marlins, Darvish tossed his only career shutout and first complete game in 2014.

The pick: Darvish is off a strong start (12 Ks) but one marred by three solo HRs. However, Texas did win 4-3 and note that Darvish's 3.44 ERA is eighth-best among AL starters. Expect a 'showcase" performance by the four-time All Star. Make Texas a 10* play.

The set-up: Arizona won 10-2 on Monday but those same bats were quiet on Tuesday, as the Braves won 8-3. In fact, Arizona's starting pitcher, Taijuan Walker, had two of the team's eight hits (including a long solo HR) in the loss. With the defeat, Arizona suffered its 12th setback in its last 17 contests, falling 12 1/2 games back of the LA Dodgers in the NL West. The D'backs are in a virtual tie with the Rockies for the two wild card spots in the NL but both teams are now also looking over their shoulders at the Cubs, who are with 4 1/2 games (if not the Cubs, it would be the Brewers). The 48-51 Braves are not threatening the Nats in the NL East nor the top wild card teams but are 4-1 against the Diamondbacks this season and 15-8 against the NL West. The rubber game of this three-game set goes Wednesday afternoon.

The pitching matchup: Aaron Blair (2016: 2-7, 7.59 ERA) will get the first crack at seizing the rotation spot of Jaime Garcia, who was traded to Minnesota whne he faces off against Arizona's Patrick Corbin (7-9, 4.43 ERA). Blair hardlty impressed last season (see above) and he's gone 6-5 with a 4.97 ERA in 18 starts for the Braves' top minor-league affiliate so far in 2017 (he's allowed 89 hits and 40 walks in 87 innings). Blair faced Arizona in his third career start last season and suffered the loss after giving up three runs (two earned) in five innings.Corbin's last start might have been his best this season. He was moved up in the rotation because Taijuan Walker has pitched effectively at Chase Field in 2017, going 5-3 with a 3.15 ERA in 11 starts (team is 7-4). That's quite a difference from his 2-6 (6.19 ERA) road mark in nine starts (team is 2-7). Over his past three Chase Field starts, he has a 2.41 ERA.

The pick: No reason to expect Blair to be able to handle an Arizona team which is 35-18 at home, outscoring opponents 5.70-to-4.08 RPG. Then there is Corbin's success against the Braves to consider. He is 3-0 with an 0.59 ERA against Atlanta, yielding only two ERs in 30 2/3 innings over six games (four starts). Those two runs came July 15 during a five-inning start in Atlanta, when he didn't figure in the decision as the Braves won 8-5. Make Arizona an 8* play.

The set-up: The Arizona Diamondbacks opened their three-game home series with the Atlanta Braves with a 10-3 win Monday night at Chase Field. J.D. Martinez, who arrived from Detroit in exchange for three prospects last Tuesday, was hit in the hand by a pitch in his debut and missed three games before playing his first full contest with Arizona on Monday. His three-run HR last night was a pleasant reminder of why the D'backs traded for him. The 57-42 D'backs are in a virtual second-place tie with the Rockies (both trail the Dodgers by 11 1/2 games in the NL West) but the two teams hold down the NL's two wild card spots, 5 1/2 games clear of the Cubs. The Braves have now dropped six of eight since reaching the break-even mark at 45-45 on July 16, following a three-game sweep of Arizona in Atlanta (Braves are currently 9 1/2 games out in the wild card chase).

The pitching matchup: Mike Foltynewicz (8-5 & 3.87 ERA) starts for Atlanta and Taijuan Walker (6-4 & 3.61 ERA) for Arizona. Foltynewicz remained unbeaten in his last nine starts with a win on Thursday in Los Angeles, ending the Dodgers' 11-game winning streak. He allowed three runs on six hits across 6 1/3 innings to move to 5-0 in his nine-game unbeaten stretch (Braves are 8-1!). He has been particularly tough on opponents of late, going 4-0 with a 2.93 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 30 2/3 frames over his last five outings. However, Foltynewicz is 0-1 with a 5.96 ERA in five career starts against the D'backs (team is 1-4). Walker came off the paternity list Sunday and hopes to end a four-game win-less streak (he's 0-1 but Arizona is 2-2) against the same team he faced for the first time 11 days ago, settling for a no-decision in Atlanta despite allowing two runs over six innings. That's his only appearance against the Braves.

The pick: Yes, Foltynewicz is "in a groove," but note that the D'backs are 10-5 in Walker's 2017 starts, giving him the 12th-best moneyline mark among starters at plus-$604. Then there is Arizona's 35-17 home record (second-best to only the Dodgers'), where the D'backs are outscoring opponents by almost two runs (5.75-4,00 RPG)! Make Arizona an 8* play

The set-up: The Milwaukee Brewers lost 6-3 on Sunday at Philadelphia, giving them seven losses in their last eight games. That left them in a tie with the surging Cubs in the NL Central. However, Milwaukee not only got a much-needed off day on Monday but while the Brewers were traveling to Washington, the White Sox broke a nine-game slide by beating the Cubs 3-1 Monday afternoon at Wrigley. Now, as the Brewers get set to open a three-games series in Washington against the NL East-leading Nationals, they are clinging to a half-game lead in their own division. Washington also had Monday off and the Nats, 7-2 since the All-Star break, own a commanding 12 1/2 game lead over the Braves at 59-38 in the NL East.

The pitching matchup: Zach Davies (11-4 & 4.76 ERA) gets the call for Milwaukee and Edwin Jackson (1-0 & 4.50 ERA) for Washington. Davies received a no-decision after allowing one run (unearned) and eight hits in seven innings of Milwaukee's 3-2 loss at Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Davies has been Milwaukee's ace in 2017 and all season-long, has pitched way better on the road. He has a 3.18 ERA in 10 road starts this season (he's 5-0 and the Brewers 7-3), compared to a 6.45 home ERA (and a 1.70 WHIP) in 10 starts at Miller Park where's he's 6-4. Davies is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in two starts versus Washington (Brewers are 2-0), winning at Nationals Park last season. Jackson took a big step toward securing the No. 5 spot in the rotation after yielding two runs (both on solo HRs) and just three hits in seven innings of Washington's 4-3 road victory over the LA Angels on July 18. "It felt good coming over here with a fresh start," said Jackson, who was 10-11 with the Nationals back in 2012. Jackson began his career way back in 2003 (with the Dodgers) and is 6-7 with a 3.98 ERA in 17 starts versus Milwaukee (teams are 8-9)..

The pick: Jackson signed a minor league deal with the Orioles prior to the 2017 season and was called up to the Orioles on June 7, 2017. He made just three relief appearances (7.20 ERA) and was designated for assignment on June 11. He elected free agency on June 13 and on June 16, Jackson signed to a minor league deal by the Nationals. He made his first start since September of 2016 while with the Padres last week. For one, I'm not optimistic that what we saw in that one is what we'll see the rest of the season. Yes, Davies has been a strong road pitcher in 2017 but the Washington lineup features three of NL's top batting averages. Murphy ranks second at .341, Harper third at .336 and Zimmerman eighth at .318. That trio has also accounted for 61 HRs. The Nats are MLB's second-highest scoring team averaging 5.57 RPG. Make the Over a 10* play.

The set-up: It's a week until the non-waiver trade deadline (looming July 31) and Mets like Jay Bruce, Lucas Duda, Curtis Granderson and Addison Reed have all been mentioned as possible trade bait. The Mets saw their four-game winning streak come to an end with Sunday’s 3-2 loss to Oakland and New York has now fallen 10 games back in the NL wild-card race, not to mention 13 1/2 games back in the NL East, New York opens a 10-game road trip Monday against the rebuilding San Diego Padres, who took three of four from San Francisco over the weekend. The Padres are three games back of the Mets in the wild card race and at 43-55 overall, are a whopping 24 1/2 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West.

The pitching matchup: Jacob deGrom (11-3 & 3.37 ERA) will start for New York and Clayton Richard (5-10 & 5.35 ERA) for San Diego. DeGrom comes in having won a career-high seven consecutive starts, posting a 1.51 ERA with a 50-10 KW ratio over that stretch. DeGrom is 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA over 20 innings in three career starts against the Padres (Mets are 2-1). Richard will need a bounce back performance here, after surrendering a career-high 11 runs (10 earned) on 14 hits over just 3 2/3 innings in an 18-4 loss at Colorado last Wednesday. “I have to take responsibility,” Richard told reporters. “Unfortunately, it just seemed like mishit balls found the right spots. It was a Coors Field day.” Methinks Richard is passing the buck some to bad luck! Richard is 2-3 with a 4.17 ERA in seven career starts versus the Mets (teams are 3-4)..

The pick: DeGrom is pitching as well as anyone not named Kershaw and no reason to expect the San Diego bats to solve him in this one. As for Richard, I'll buy into the fact that the vet will rebound from that last start and let's not forget that more than a handful of Mets are playing this week expecting a call from the front office. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: It's close to being a first versus worst meeting as the Houston Astros visit the Philadelphia Phillies for a three-game interleague series that begins Monday. Houston owns MLB's second-best record overall (LA Dodgers own the best) but own MLB's best road record (35-12) and its second-best moneyline mark (plus-$1948). Meanwhile, Philadelphia owns MLB's worst overall record (34-62) and its third-worst moneyline mark (minus-$2048). That said, the Astros are just 5-4 since the All-Star break, while the Phillies have captured five of their last seven contests, after taking two of three this past weekend from the Brewers..

The pitching matchup: Brad Peacock (8-1 & 2.49 ERA) takes the mound for the Astros and Vince Velasquez (2-5 & 5.14 ERA) for the Phillies. Peacock looks to continue his breakout season in tonight's opener of the series. He entered 2017 with 11 wins over parts of five ML seasons, having made 60 appearances (including 46 starts). Peacock has made 22 appearances here in 2017 with the last 10 (since May 22) all being starts. He's 6-1 in those 10 starts (Astros are 8-2) and enters this contest on a five-start winning streak while posting a 1.82 ERA. He is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in two career starts against the Phillies. Velasquez was excellent at Miami on Tuesday, holding the Marlins to two runs - one earned - over six innings but settled for a no-decision in Philadelphia's 5-2 victory. It was his first start since May 30, after spending six weeks on the disabled list with a strained flexor in his right elbow. Velasquez will make his first-ever start against Houston in this one.

The pick: Philadelphia is playing better but I expect Houston to have too much for them in this series, starting in tonight's game. Peacock is red-hot and will go to the mound for a team which is 35-12 on the road while averaging a whopping 7.17 RPG. That spells bad news for Velasquez, who unlike in 2016 when he owned a 2.88 home ERA, has struggled at home in 2017, with a 6.26 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in five home starts. Make Houston an 8* play.

The set-up: The Chicago Cubs’ took the rubber match of their three-game series with the Cards 5-3 last night on ESPN and have now won eight of nine since returning from the break. The team's starting pitching has been a big reason for Chicago's surge, with seven quality starts in those nine games, as Chicago starters own a 2.41 ERA. With the help of a Milwaukee slump (Brewers have lost seven of eight), the Cubs have moved into a tie with Brewers atop the NL Central. Anyone not see this coming? The Cubs now get set to play a home-and-home four-game series with their crosstown rivals the Chicago White Sox, who limp in on nine-game losing streak (0-8 since the break). The White Sox own the AL's worst record as the meet the Cubs at Wrigley Field Monday and Tuesday before heading back home to the South Side on Wednesday and Thursday.

The pitching matchup: Miguel Gonzalez (4-9 & 4.89 ERA) bets the nod for the visiting White Sox, while Kyle Hendricks (4-3 & 4.09 ERA) returns from a seven-week stint on the DL to take the mound for the Cubs. Gonzalez made his first start since June 14 last Tuesday and held the LA Dodgers to one run over six innings but took the loss in a 1-0 defeat. Gonzalez has been the victim of poor run support as the White Sox have scored three or fewer runs in seven of his last 10 starts (he's 1-9 with a 6.24 ERA in that span!). He has has faced the Cubs twice in his career, going 0-1 with a 2.77 ERA (teams are 1-1). Hendricks has been nowhere near the same pitcher he was in 2016, when he led all MLB starters with a 2.13 ERA. His ERA is almost two runs higher here in 2017 and after allowing 44 walks in 190 innings last season, he's issued 21 walks in 61 2/3 innings in 2017. Hendricks is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three starts against the White Sox (Cubs are 1-2).

The pick: This marks Hendricks' first start since June 4 (was sidelined for seven weeks due to right hand tendinitis) and the pinpoint command he had last year has been nowhere to be found up until now in 2017. My bet is that Hendricks struggles some and the White Sox have nowhere to go but up. The White Sox and Cubs split four games last year, with each team winning two at home, even in a year in which the Cubs were clearly MLB's best team. All-time, the teams are 27-27 at Wrigley Field. Take the 1 1/2 runs and make the White Sox an 8* play.

The set-up: The Cubs’ six-game winning streak came to a crashing halt on Friday, when the Cardinals scored nine runs with no outs in the eighth, for an 11-4 win at Wrigley. However, Chicago turned the tables on St. Louis Saturday afternoon, rallying for two runs in the eighth inning for a 3-2 victory. Milwaukee also won on Saturday, so the Cubs remain a game back of Milwaukee but they put an extra game between themselves and the Cards plus the Pirates, who lost at Colorado. The two longtime rivals square off tonight on ESPN in the rubber match of this three-game series.

The pitching matchup: Michael Wacha (7-3 & 3.71 ERA) takes teh mound for St. Louis and the newly-acquired Jose Quintana (5-8 & 4.20 ERA) for Chicago. Wacha is starting to regain the form he first showed in the 2013 postseason and the 2015 regular season, when he won 17 games. He has won four straight starts and five consecutive decisions after throwing a three-hit shutout against the New York Mets on Tuesday. He has been dominant during his four-start winning streak, with a 1.01 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings. However, Wacha is 4-5 with a 6.26 ERA in 12 career starts against the Cubs (Cards are 5-7). Quintana will make his first start as a Cub at Wrigley Field, where he is 0-1 with a 2.51 ERA in two previous outings.Quintana was dominant in his Cubs debut last Sunday, racking up 12 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings to win at Baltimore, and he’s eager to pitch in front of his new home crowd. "I'm really excited to be part of this team and throw Sunday against the Cardinals," Quintana told reporters. "I'm excited, man, I'm excited. I don't know what the fans will say to me, but I'll try to do the best." Quintana has won both of his previous starts against the Cardinals, in 2012 and 2015, while allowing two runs over 11 1/3 innings (1.59 ERA).

The pick: Wacha's lack of success vs. the Cubs should be a concern for St. Louis backers (not I), plus the move from the South Side of Chicago to the North Side will prove to be "just what the doctor ordered" for Quintana. Make the Cubs an 8* play.

The set-up: The Washington Nationals are 6-2 heading into the final game of their nine-game road trip. This game marks the rubber match of a three-game series with the D'backs, as the teams have exchanging one run victories. Arizona won 6-5 on Friday and Washington won 4-3 on Saturday. The Nats' 32 road wins is second-best in MLB to the Astros' 35 and are a big reason that the Nats own an 11-game lead in the NL East (only bigger division lead is also held by Houston, which owns a 17-game lead in the AL West). Arizona is 56-41 on the season, in a virtual tie with Colorado for second place in the NL West. However, both teams are a whopping 10 1/2 games back of the Dodgers. Instead of looking up, both the D'backs and Rockies are looking over their shoulders, as there is a 5 1/2 game gap between the two teams and the defending champion Cubs in the wild card race.

The pick: Stephen Strasburg (10-3 & 3.31 ERA) and Robbie Ray (9-4 & 2.97 ERA) square off on Sunday in a matchup of All Star pitchers. Strasburg had an awful start prior to the All-Star break, lasting only three innings and failing to strike out a batter while while allowing six runs (three earned) in a loss to Atlanta. However, he rebounded with a special effort in last Monday's 6-1 win at Cincinnati. He struck out 11 while allowing one run on four hits in seven innings. The win gives Strasburg a 7-1 record in nine road starts with a 2.45 ERA and 1.06 WHIP (Nats are 7-2). Ray continued his surprising season in his first start after the All-Star break, tossing six innings of two-run ball at Cincinnati to establish a career high with his ninth victory. The D'backs are 12-6 in Ray's starts in 2017 (plus-$497). A worry may be Ray's 0-3 record with a 6.48 ERA in three career starts against the Nats.

The pick: The Nats and Strasburg have been terrific on the road all season and note that six of Strasburg's nine road starts have stayed under the total. Ray has pitched better away from home for most of 2017 but does enter this contest 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA in his last four home starts. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: The Tampa Bay Rays took a five-game winning streak into their series' finale at Oakland on Wednesday and had passed the Yanks in the AL East. However, the Rays lost 7-2 to the A's in that one, before returning home for a six-game homestand. Up first were the Rangers for three games and Tampa has lost back-to-back 4-3 decisions and now find themselves tied with the Yankees for the AL's two wild card spots with both teams just one game ahead of the Twins and the Royals (Yanks and Rays trail the Red Sox by 3 1/2 games in the division). The Rangers rallied to win Friday's game and then came back from a three-run deficit Saturday to win by the same 4-3 score. The Rangers can now earn a three-game series sweep on Sunday, after entering the series on a five-game losing streak. Texas has no chance to catch the Astros in the AL West (trail by 18 games!) but are among the half-dozen or more teams still in the wild card chase (currently sit 3 1/2 games out).

The pitching matchup: Tyson Ross (2-2 & 7.22 ERA) heads to the mound Sunday afternoon to face Jake Odorizzi (6-4 & 4.37 ERA). Ross signed a one-year contract with the Rangers in January but didn't made his debut with the team until June 16, 2017. Ross had shoulder problems and began the year on the DL. He posted a 7.71 ERA over 18 2/3 innings in his four rehab starts but earned a victory in a 10-4 Texas win over the Mariners in that season debut (2 ERs allowed in 5 2/3 innings). However, it's been pretty much all downhill from there, as Ross was pounded on Tuesday in his first start after the All-Star break at Baltimore, allowing nine runs (eight earned) on seven hits over 3 1/3 innings. Ross has struggled with control in his first six starts of the season, recording 16 walks in 28 2/3 innings with 22 strikeouts (7.22 ERA!). Odorizzi produced his best start in two months after coming out of the All-Star break Monday at Oakland, permitting just a solo HR in seven strong innings in a 3-2 win. Home runs have been a problem for Odorizzi, as he has also allowed at least one HR in 14 straight appearances, the longest streak in team history.

The pick: Ross enters this game off a really ugly performance and is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in four career appearances (two starts 0-2 with an 11.58 ERA) against the Rays. Meanwhile, Odorizi is off an excellent start,bringing back memories of him going 7-1 with a 2.71 ERA in 14 starts after the All-Star break last season. More good news for Tampa fans is that Odorizzi is 4-0 with a 1.42 ERA in five career starts vs. the Rangers (team is 4-1). No sweep here. Make Tampa Bay a 10* play.

The set-up: The Boston Red Sox won 6-2 last night in Anaheim, giving them four wins in their last six. That's not exactly a hot streak but it's a step in the right direction after having lost six of eight from July 5 through July 16. Chris Sale tossed six scoreless innings in Friday’s victory but Dustin Pedroia saw his nine-game hitting streak come to an end. Still, the win kept Boston 3 1/2 games up on the Yankees and Rays, who are in a virtual tie for second in the AL East. The Angels have now dropped eight of their last 12 games and are now 4 1/2 games out of a wild card spot, with three teams ahead of them and two teams tied with them (talk about a log-jam!).

The pitching matchup: David Price (5-2 & 3.39 ERA) gets the start for Boston and will be opposed by JC Ramirez (8-8 & 4.54 ERA). Price tossed eight scoreless innings against the New York Yankees last Sunday night and now has allowed three ERs or less in his last seven outings (Red Sox are 5-2). Price is 5-6 with a 3.24 ERA in 14 career starts against the Angels (teams are 7-7). Ramirez stumbled in his first start after the break against Tampa Bay last Saturday, allowing four runs in six innings. Ramirez has pitched well away from home (7-3 with a 3.60 ERA) but he's 1-5 with a 5.50 ERA at Angel Stadium. Ramirez will hope to repeat his last effort (only) against Boston back on June 24, when he led the Angels to a 6-3 victory by allowing one run and four hits over six innings.

Thed pick: Price has not seemed like a "happy camper" this season, as not only did he miss the first two months of the season because of an elbow strain but a feud with the Boston media reached a boiling point after a bad performance against the New York Yankees last month. However, Price is beginning to pitch like the five-time All Star he is, going 5-2 with a 3.39 ERA in 10 starts since being activated May 29 (Boston is 6-4). The Angels are in a slump and how does one overlook Ramirez's 5.50 ERA at home? Make Boston a 10* play.

The set-up: The 1-2 Saskatchewan Roughriders will take on the 2-1-1 Calgary Stampeders Saturday at McMahon Stadium. The Roughriders are off their first win of the season (37-20 at home over Hamilton), after opening 0-2. Saskatchewan lost 17-16 at Montreal to start the season but QB Kevin Glenn has thrown for 728 yards and six TDs the last two games, leading the Roughriders to 40 points (lost by three in OT) and 37 (17-point win). The Saskatchewan  defense has allowed 326.0 YPG (first) but 26.7 PPG, which ranks fifth. Calgary is 2-1-1, having played three of their first four away from home. QB Bo Levi Mitchell is completing 65 percent of his passes for 1,382 yards with seven TD passes and just two INTs in 163 pass attempts. Calgary allows more than 90 YPG than Saskatchewan (419 to 326) but about the same amount of points, 27.5 per to 26.7.

The pick: Calgary is glad to be back home, where the Stampeders haven't lost since October of 2015. That's a streak of 14 straight wins (including the playoffs), going 10-4 ATS. Enough said. Make Calgary an 8* play.

The set-up: The Cubs’ six-game winning streak came to a crashing halt on Friday, when the Cardinals scored nine runs with no outs in the eighth, for an 11-4 win at Wrigley. However, the entire NL Central got much tighter, as with Milwaukee's loss at Philly (6th straight), the Cubs remained just one game back of the Brewers while Pittsburgh's sixth straight win (12th in 14 games) saw the Pirates close to withing two games of first place. The Cards' big win over the Cubs moved them within 3 1/2 of the Brewersrs square off here.

The pitching matchup: Adam Wainwright (11-5 & 5.08 ERA) takes the hill for the Cards and Jon Lester (6-6 & 4.07 ERA) for the Cubs. Wainwright got off to a terrible start in 2017 (0-3 with a 7.24 ERA) but is 11-2 over his last 16 starts (Cards are 12-4). Wainwright has won his last four starts and has mostly been dominant since mid-May. He's allowed two ERs or less in nine of his last 12 starts but in those other three, has been downright awful. Wainwright has allowed 24 ERs over just 10 1/3 innings in those three outings, the reason his ERA is still plus-5.00 on the season. Wainwright has seen plenty of the Cards in his career, going is 14-9 with a 4.09 ERA in 42 games (33 starts / Cards are 21-12) against them. Lester allowed 10 runs (four earned) while failing to get out of the first inning in his final start before the All-Star break but in his first start after the break, held Atlanta to one run on three hits over seven innings on Monday to snap a two-start losing streak with a 4-3 win. Lester is just 5-5 in 15 starts against the Cards (teams are 8-7 ) and is win-less in three meetings against them this season (he's 0-1 with a 3.78 ERA and the Cubs 1-2).

The pick: The Cubs held a 3-2 lead into the eighth yesterday, before that nine-run inning by the Cards ruined their six-game winning streak. These are two bitter rivals and teh Cubs know that if they had held on, they would have woken up Saturday morning tied for first in the division. Two quality pitchers square off hereand I'm on the home team behind Lester, who I believe, will have another excellent second half just like in 2016. Note that in his 15 career starts against St. Louis, Lester owns a 2.19 ERA! Make the Cubs an 8* play.

The set-up: The Red Sox started winning while the Yanks began to struggle and Boston took over the AL East lead. However, while the Red Sox still own first-place in the division (Boston leads Tampa Bay by 2 1/2 games and New York by 3 1/2), they are just 5-8 since the team's six-game winning streak was snapped on July 5. Boston continued to just "spin its wheels" completing an eight-game homestand coming out of the break at just 4-4. The Red Sox open a three-game series Friday in Anaheim against the Angels, who had dropped seven of nine before winning two of their last three. Mike Trout has homered in back-to-back contests to highlight his five-game hitting streak, which has helped the Angels stay in that tightly-bunched group of teams fighting for the AL's two wild card sport (Angels are currently 3 1/2 games out of the final spot).

The pitching matchup: Chris Sale (11-4 & 2.59 ERA) will go tonight for Boston and Ricky Nolasco (4-10 & 4.82 ERA) for LA. Sale recorded his 13th double-digit strikeout performance on Saturday when he fanned a season high-tying 13 in 7 2/3 scoreless innings but settled for a no-decision versus the New York Yankees (NY won 4-1 in 16 inn.). All of a sudden, Sale has suffered from a lack of run support, as Saturday's outing marked the third in the last six that Boston has scored either one or no runs for him. Nolasco allowed just one run on two hits in seven innings of a no-decision versus Tampa Bay in his last outing but his 2017 season has been ugly, as the Angels are 5-14 in all of his starts, giving him MLB's seventh-worst moneyline mark (minus-$819). Nolasco owns a 3-2 mark with a 5.68 ERA in seven career starts versus Boston (teams are 5-2?).

The pick: Sale should get support here as his teammates draw the struggling Nolasco plus Sale is 5-0 with a 1.45 ERA in six career starts against the Angels. Make the Red Sox a 6* play.

The set-up: The 2-1 Winnipeg Blue Bombers will meet the 3-1 BC Lions Friday at the BC Place. The Blue Bombers have two excellent offensive efforts (a 43-point effort in a win at Saskatchewan plus a 33-point effort in a win at home over Toronto), sandwiched around a 29-10 home loss to Calgary. QB Matt Nichols is completing 62.5 percent of his passes for 826 yards with five TD passes and three interceptions (fairly modest numbers). Winnipeg is allowing 31.3 PPG, ranking eighth of nine teams. Speaking of modest numbers, BC's QB Jonathon Jennings has completed 67 percent of his passes for 853 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Jennings was hurt on the Lion’s first offensive series last week, when he was driven into the turf by a Hamilton DL. He was replaced by veteran backup Travis Lulay, who threw for 436 yards and three TDs in a 41-26 road win. BC is 3-1 to start the 2017, losing only 31-27 against Edmonton, which is now 4-0 after last night's win.

The pick: BC has been the better team so far in 2017 but Winnipeg has won four of the last five meetings between the two teams. The QB situation at BC is muddled plus Winnipeg's Nichols has not played well, either. The BC defense allows 21.8 PPG, best in the CFL and I say the Under is a 10* play.

The set-up: Everyone is talking about the Cubs in the NL Central, after the defending champs have won all six games since the break to close withing a game of the Brewers. However, the red-hot Pirates have also surged into contention in that division, after completing a four-game sweep of the first-place Milwaukee Brewers with Thursday's 4-2 victory. Pittsburgh was eight games behind Milwaukee when it woke up last Sunday morning but now finds itself only three back, as Thursday's 4-2 victory moved them to 48-48 (Pirates have won 11 of 13). Colorado (56-41) endured a 5-15 stretch before righting the ship by scoring 49 runs during a four-game winning streak, including a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres to open this week. The 56-41 Rockies now share the NL wild card lead with the Arizona Diamondbacks and are 5 1/2 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs and 7 1/2 in front of Pittsburgh. These two hot teams square off for three games this weekend at Coors Field.

The pitching matchup: Trevor Williams (3-4 & 4.69 ERA) gets the nod for Pittsburgh and Jeff Hoffman (6-1 & 4.33 ERA) for Colorado. Williams began the season in the bullpen but is now 2-3 with a 4.43 ERA in 13 starts in 2017 (Pirates are 6-7). He has never faced Colorado or any of its players. Hoffman was acquired from Toronto in the 2015 in Troy Tulowitzki trade and like Williams, has never faced Pittsburgh or any of its players. The Rockies are 7-3 in Hoffman's 10 starts this season but his ERA at Coors is a problem (6.44), considering it's just 2.45 on the road.

The pick: Something has to give here but I won't buck Colorado here at home. Colorado is averaging 12.25 RPG in its four-game winning streak with the last three coming at Coors, where they are now averaging 6.19 RPG on the season. Colorado is a 10* play.

The set-up: The Milwaukee Brewers were one of MLB's surprise teams in the first half, taking a 5 1/2 game lead in the NL Central over the defending champion Cubs into the All star break. Let's remember, this team won just 73 games in 2016 and 68 in 2015. That said, most felt the Cubs would eventually "get their act together" and I imagine most observers felt that Brewers would at some time in 2017's second half, be faced with a "regression to the mean." Well, the Cubs have gone 6-0 since the break, while the Brewers, after winning their first two contests after the break, have gone on to lose five in a row. Milwaukee continues itt 10-game road trip with three against the Philadelphia Phillies beginning Friday, with its lead in the NL Central having dwindled to just one game over the Chicago Cubs. More bad news for Milwaukee comes in the fact that after Pittsburgh completed a four-game sweep of Milwaukee with a 4-2 victory on Thursday, the Pirates closed to within three of the Brewers. Hard to have anything nice to say about the Phillies though, as Philadelphia opens this series with MLB's worst record (32-61) and its third-worst moneyline mark (minus-$2148).

The pitching matchup: Matt Garza (4-4 & 3.84 ERA) takes the mound for Milwaukee and Aaron Nola (6-6 & 3.54 ERA) for Philadelphia. Garza has made 14 starts in 2017 and the Brewers have gone 7-7. Garza allowed one run, three hits and three walks while striking out one in five innings of Milwaukee's 5-2 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday, leaving him 2-2 with a 2.62 ERA in 10 career starts vs. the Phillies (teams are 4-6). Nola permitted two runs, seven hits and two walks while striking out seven in six innings of the Phillies' 3-2 loss at Milwaukee on Saturday and is now 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA in three starts versus the Brewers (team is 2-1). Nola has become Philly's best pitcher of late, going 4-3 with a 2.65 ERA in his last eight starts, lowering his ERA by 1.52 during that span.

The pick: The Brewers desperately need to "take care of business" in this three-game series at Philly, as the team wraps up the month with a three-game series in Washington against the Nats and then has a three-game home series with the Cubs. However, I want no part of a this floundering Milwaukee team which has scored just 11 runs in losing five in a row and faces Nola, who owns a 1.78 ERA in his last five starts. Make the Philles a 10* play.

The set-up: The Cubs entered the All Star break at 43-45, 5 1/2 games back of the first-place Brewers in the NL Central. However, Chicago has won all six games since returning to the field (three-game sweeps at Baltimore and Atlanta) and now return to the "Friendly Confines" for a three-games series with the Cards before playing a home-and-home IL series with the crosstown White Sox, beginning with two games at Wrigley on Monday and Tuesday. Is this finally the hot streak the Cubs (and most baseball observers) expected would eventually come? St. Louis has lost two straight but is 13-9 its last 22 and is not out of things in the division just yet, sitting 4 1/2 games behind Milwaukee.

The pick: Carlos Martinez (6-8 & 3.36 ERA) takes the mound this afternoon at Wrigley and will be opposed by Jake Arrieta (9-7 & 4.17 ERA). Martinez has posted quality starts in five of his last seven outings, including last Sunday at Pittsburgh where he allowed two runs over seven innings in a no-decision. However, Martinez comes into this contest 0-3 with the Cards going 0-5 over his most recent five outing. He is 4-3 with a 4.16 ERA in 21 games (11 starts / Cards are 7-4) against the Cubs. Arrieta opened the second half with a strong outing at Baltimore on Saturday, holding his former team to two runs (one earned) over 6 2/3 innings. He has won three of his last five starts, posting a 2.97 ERA over that span. Like his team, Arrieta seems to be finding a groove. Arrieta is 8-3 with a 2.26 ERA in 16 career starts vs. the Cubs (teams are 10-6).

The pick: Martinez's season seems to be falling apart, while the exact opposite is true for Arrieta. Arrieta makes his 20th start of the season but only his seventh at home (he's 3-1 and the Cubs 4-2). However, Arrieta owns a 2.37 ERA all-time at Wrigley and that includes him going 6-1 with a 0.95 at Wrigley against the Cards in the regular season. Make the Cubs an 8* play.

The set-up: The Seattle Mariners open a four-game home series with the NY Yankees having won six of their last seven games to reach the .500 mark (48-48). Seattle now sits just 1 1/2 games behind the 48-45 Yankees, who currently hold down the second wild-card spot. The Mariners completed a 5-1 road trip with a 4-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday and now have their next 10 contests scheduled for Safeco Field. New York lost to Minnesota 6-1 on Wednesday, one day after acquiring third baseman Todd Frazier (0-for-1, hit by pitch) and relievers David Robertson (didn't pitch) and Tommy Kahnle (one scoreless inning) from the Chicago White Sox. The Yankees are counting on this trade to kick-start a winning streak, as since mid-June, the Yankees have been in a funk (10-22 their last 32 games).

The pitching matchup: Luis Severino (5-4 & 3.40 ERA) opens for the Yankees while the Mariners send Felix Hernandez (5-3 & 4.20 ERA) to the mound. Severino was an AL All Star but enters this contest win-less in his last six starts (he's 0-2 and the Yanks are 2-4). Severino allowed four runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings in a loss to Seattle back on April 15, 2016, his lone appearance against the Mariners. "King Felix" has won his last two outings and is 3-1 with a 3.72 ERA in five starts (team is 3-2) since returning from the disabled list. He's made 20 career starts against New York, going 10-6 with a 3.13 ERA (Mariners are 11-9).

The pick: The Mariners are playing with confidence right now and this contest opens a 10-game homestand. Confidence is not a word associated with the Yankees right now and I'll take this rare opportunity to get "King Felix" plus 1 1/2 runs (at home!), making Seattle a 10* play.

The set-up: The 3-0 Edmonton Eskimos visit the 0-3 Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Thursday at Tim Hortons Field. The Edmonton Eskimos look for their second road victory to build on their quick 3-0 start to the season. QB Mike Reilly is completing 71.8 percent of his passes for 866 yards with four TD passes without an interception in 103 pass attempts. However, it's the Edmonton defense which is the main reason the Eskimos are unbeaten, ranking first in points allowed (22.3 PPG) and second in total yards allowed (336.3 YPG). Checking the stats, it's not hard to see why the Tiger-Cats are still searching for their first victory of the year. Hamilton ranks 9th (of nine teams) in scoring (20.3 PPG) and in total yards (305.3 YPG). Defensively, Hamilton also ranks last in the CFL in both points allowed (36.7 PPG) and total yards (512.0 YPG).

The pick: Hamilton hasn’t won a home game since September 16, entering this contest on a six-game home losing streak (including the postseason). The Tiger-Cats have shown little progress this season from game to game, as the offense has a hard time moving the ball with any consistency and the defense can't seem get off the field. How about that for a daily double? Yes, Edmonton is 3-0 but the Eskimos have come to expect close games (wins have been by three, four and two points). Edmonton's excellent defense is the reason all three of the Eskimos' games have gone under in 2017 and that's the play again, here. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: The Red Sox got hot about the same time the Yankees went into a slump and Boston took over first-place in the AL East prior to the break. However, Boston began to 'cool off' before the break and heading into last night's game with Toronto was just 4-7 in its previous 11 games and had played 58 innings in a four-day span after Tuesday's 5-4 win in 15 innings. Boston manager John Farrell was grateful for a stress-free 5-1 win Wednesday night saying, "The fact that we played that game in under three hours, it felt like we were only at halftime," Farrell told reporters. With the Rays and Yankees both losing on Wednesday, the Red Sox lead Tampa Bay by three games and the Yankees by 4 1/2 games as they get set for Thursday afternoon's finale of this four-game series with Toronto. The 43-51 Blue Jays reside in the AL East basement, 10 games back of the Red Sox, as the team just hasn't been able to overcome a 2-11 start that led to an 8-17 record by the end of April.

The pitching matchup: Francisco Liriano (5-5 & 6.04 ERA) takes the mound for Toronto and Doug Fister (0-3 & 6.75 ERA) for Boston. Liriano lasted just two-plus innings in his last start, allowing five runs on three hits and four walks against the Tigers in an 11-1 loss on July 15. 2017 has been a struggle for Liriano with his 6.00-plus ERA, 1.67 WHIP and .283 BAA. He held Boston scoreless on four hits over 5 1/3 innings on April 19 but was ripped for five runs on seven hits in six innings by the Red Sox on July 1. That leaves him 4-4 with a 5.44 ERA in eight career starts against Boston. Fister was claimed off waivers from the LA Angels and made a decent season debut against his former club, taking the loss with six innings of three-run ball. He did not factor in the decision in his following start, allowing a three-run HR among four hits over five innings. He then allowed six runs at Texas in 3 2/3 innings before giving up three runs in relief during.a 16-inning loss to the Yankees last Saturday,

The pick: That 16-inning game has forced the Red Sox to shuffle their pitcher rotation. Overall, the Red Sox have played 67 innings in six games over five days! That said, the Blue Jays just can't seem to 'catch fire' and Liriano has been a 'nightmare' on the road this season, allowing 35 hits and 21 walks in just 27 innings. His away ERA is 8.33 and his road WHIP is 2.07! Fister has made eight career starts against Toronto and owns a respectable 3.69 ERA. Make Boston a 10* play.

The set-up: The 2-2 Montreal Alouettes will play the 0-3-1 Ottawa Redblacks Wednesday night at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa. Montreal has played three of its first four at home, losing its lone road game 23-19 at Edmonton (note: Eskimos are 3-0 to start the 2017 season). QB Darian Durant is completing 66.4 percent of his passes for 940 yards with four TD passes and four INTs but is somewhat helped by the league's top rushing attack (109.2 YPG). The bigger help is a Montreal defense allowing a league-best 21.2 PPG. The Redblacks are still looking for their first win of the season after a 0-3-1 start. QB Trevor Harris is completing 71.5 percent of his passes for 1,379 yards with eight TD passes and just two INTs. He leads an offense which has played well, averaging 29.0 PPG (4th-best). However, Ottawa's defense has allowed the most points (123) in the league and its 30.8 PPG average ranks 7th of nine teams, ahead of two teams that have played just three games.

The pick: The Alouettes are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 road games but Ottawa has won five of the last six meetings against Montreal. Yes, Ottawa is win-less but along with a 31-31 tie, the three losses have come by 4, 1 and 2 points! The Redblacks aren't nearly as bad as their record and are, as the saying goes, "due!" Maybe, overdue? Make Ottawa an 8* play.

The set-up: Everyone is talking about the the Cubs, as the defending champs have returned from the break to win five in a row, closing within 2 1/2 games of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central, However, the Brewers also need to be worried about the Cardinals, who have rebounded from a disastrous stretch by playing their best baseball of the season over the last 2 1/2 weeks. The Cards have won 13 of 20 and at 46-47, have a chance to reach .500 by sweeping the Mets in this three-game series. Cards are now just 4 1/2 games back of Milwaukee. With Tuesday's 5-0 loss, the Mets have dropped three in a row and eight of 11 to plummet into fourth place in the National League East at 41-50.

The pitching matchup: Mike Leake (6-7 & 3.14 ERA) takes the mound for the Cards and Jacob deGrom (10-3 & 3.48 ERA) for the Mets. Leake's 3.14 ERA is solid but he is mired in a 1-5 slump in his last nine starts (Cards are 3-6). Leake owns a solid 2.74 ERA against the Mets but is just 2-3 in seven starts (teams are 4-3). DeGrom won his sixth consecutive start Friday, when he allowed two runs (one earned) over eight innings as the Mets beat the Colorado Rockies 14-2. He struck out 11 and walked one. He has lasted at least seven innings in each of his past six wins, a stretch that began with a complete game against the Chicago Cubs back on June 12. He has a 1.53 ERA during the winning streak and has allowed just 27 hits and nine walks while striking out 47 in 47 innings.

The pick: DeGrom is 2-2 with a 5.63 ERA in four career starts against the Cardinals but he comes in pitching as well as any pitcher in MLB not named Clayton Kershaw. Meanwhile, his opposite number (Leake), is slumping. The Cards are playing better right now but deGrom will be the difference. No sweep here! Make the Mets a 10* play.

The set-up: Everyone is talking about the the Cubs, as the defending champs have returned from the break to win five in a row, closing within 2 1/2 games of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. However, right now, the Brewers are tasked with worrying about the Pirates, who after last night's 4-3 win over Milwaukee have won nine of 11 to draw within five games of the Brewers.

The pitching matchup: Zach Davies (11-4 & 5.08 ERA) will get the nod for Milwaukee in this third game of a four-game set. He'll be opposed by the Pirates' Gerrit Cole (7-7 & 4.35 ERA). Despite his plus-5.00 ERA, the Brewers are 13-6 in Davies' starts, giving him the third-best moneyline mark among starters in 2017 (plus-$887). He's a perfect 5-0 on the road, with Milwaukee going 7-2 in his nine road starts. Cole did not factor in the decision last time out versus St. Louis but he recorded his fifth quality start in six outings with six innings of two-run ball. He is 4-1 over that six-start stretch with the Pirates going 5-1.

The pick: The Brewers have been winning behind Davies but his 5.08 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and .291 BAA tell a different story. He last faced the Pirates on June 20, giving up six runs (five earned) and five walks over 5 1/3 innings of a 7-3 loss. That leaves him with a 10.29 ERA in five career starts vs. the Pirates. As noted above, Cole has delivered five quality starts in his last six (Pittsburgh is 5-1). He was awful in the one loss (allowed seven ERs vs. SF) but in the five wins, he's allowed just seven ERs over 32 innings (1.97 ERA). Pitching in front of  team which has won nine of 11, make Cole and the Pirates a 10* play.

The set-up: The Rockies struggled before the break (lost 13 of 18 games) and when they returned to play, promptly lost 14-2 and 9-3 to the Mets. That gave them 15 losses in their previous 20 games but Colorado "stopped the bleeding" with a 13-4 rout of the Mets on Sunday. Colorado returned home Monday to open a three-game series with the Padres, who were just 16-28 on the road to open this week. The Rockies were hoping they could build some mojo against the Padres. That's exactly what has happened, as Colorado followed its 13-run Sunday effort at Citi Field by scoring nine runs on both Monday and Tuesday in winning both games. That three-game winning streak has them within a half-game of Arizona in race for the NL's top wild card spot and has allowed the Rockies to keep the red-hot Cubs at bay, who trail them by 5 1/2 games for that final wild card spot. San Diego has fallen to 40-53 overall (the Padres can't even see the Dodgers in the NL West), which includes a 16-30 road mark.

The pitching matchup: Clayton Richard (5-9 & 4.75 ERA) takes the mound as the Padres try to avoid the sweep and will be opposed by Jon Gray (2-1 & 6.23 ERA) of the Rockies. Richard is win-less in his last five starts, going 0-2 with a 6.18 ERA (team is 1-4). Padres manager Andy Green told reporters, "He's the unquestioned leader of the team and his preparation is second to none for his own craft. He's ready to pitch every five days. He's a tremendous leader, tremendous teammate. He means more to this organization than I think anybody outside could really know." I'm not sure just what to make of that statement. Richard defeated the Rockies back on June 2 (gave up four runs - three earned - on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings) and is 4-4 with a 4.79 ERA in 16 career appearances (15 starts / teams are 7-8). Gray was rocked by the New York Mets in his last outing, giving up eight runs on nine hits in two-plus innings of a 14-2 loss. However, he had pitched well in his first two starts since returning from a foot injury that caused him to miss two-plus months to begin the season. Gray posted a 3.09 ERA in two wins, while striking out 15 in 11 2/3 innings. He is 2-2 with a 2.30 ERA in seven career starts vs. San Diego (team is 2-5).

The pick: Here's the rub. The Rockies come in having scored 31 runs in three straight wins (have 30 hits) and on the season, average 5.93 RPG at Coors. In contrast, SD is 18-30 on the road, getting outscored 5.28-to-3.59 RPG. Richard has made seven career starts at Coors Field and owns a 7.78 ERA, while Gray owns an 0.86 ERA in three career starts at Coors Field against the Padres. Make Colorado a 10* play.

The set-up: The Phillies lost 6-5 (10 inn.) on Monday but Nick Williams' two-run HR led the way to a 5-2 win in Miami last night. The MLB-worst Phillies (31-61) now have a chance to take this three-game series with a win this afternoon against the Marlins in teh rubber match of the series. Miami has dropped four of its last five to fall to 42-50, 14 1/2 games back of the first-place Nats in the NL East. The Marlins' wild card hopes aren't much brighter, as they are 11 games out of the final wild card spot with four teams ahead of them.

The pitching matchup: Rookie Nick Pivetta (2-5 & 5.63 ERA) gets the start for Philly and Dan Straily (7-4 & 3.32 ERA) for Miami. Pivetta surrendered a season-high nine runs on seven hits in five innings of a 9-6 setback at Milwaukee on July 14, in his last outing. "This is his first go-round in the big leagues," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin told reporters. "He's shown us a lot of promise and I like what he's been doing. (That performance) wasn't his best." I'm not sure just what "promise" Mackanins is referring to, as the Phillies are 3-9 in Pivetta's 2017 starts. This marks his first career encounter versus Miami. Straily has dominated Philadelphia to the tune of a 2-0 mark with an 0.77 ERA in two career starts against them. Straily struck out 10 and allowed one earned run in 6 2/3 innings of a 10-2 rout versus the Phillies back on May 31. Straily hasn't lost since June 5 and is 3-0 with five no-decisions over his last seven starts (Marlins are 5-2 in that stretch).

The pick: Straily has been Miami's most consistent starter this year, as the Marlins are 11-8 in his 19 starts. That may not seem like a big deal at first glance but that's a winning percentage of .579 and when someone else gets the start for Miami in 2017, the team is playing .425 baseball (31-42)! As noted above, the Phillies are 3-9 when Pivetta starts and that includes a 2-6 on the road where Pivetta owns a 6.92 ERA and 1.79 WHIP. Make the Marlins an 8* play .

The pick: This is Lamet's first time in Coors Field and it hardly bodes well that in four road starts in 2017, he owns an 8.00 ERA and 1.61 WHIP (welcome to Coors!). As for Senzatela, he's had great success at Coors, going 7-2 in his nine starts there. He'll face a San Diego team which ranks 30th (dead-last) in both runs scored (3.63 per) and team BA (.231) plus is only 16-29 on the road, getting outscored 5.20-to-3.51 RPG. Meanwhile, he'll be backed by a Colorado team averaging 5.87 RPG at home in 2017. Make Colorado an 8* play.

The set-up: The Baltimore Orioles were once 22-10 on the 2017 season but the team has imploded. Baltimore returned from the break with a 10-game homestand and promptly got swept by the Cubs, losing three games by the combined scores of 27-11. The Orioles entered their series against Texas with their starters having posted an American League-worst 6.02 ERA. However, Chris Tillman delivered six strong innings (two hits and one run) in a 3-1 Orioles win. The Rangers have a 10-game road trip to open the second half and with Monday's loss, have collected only 22 hits in splitting the first four games. Neither team is a threat in their respective divisions (especially Texas, playing in the AL West with Houston) but like almost the entire AL, remain in wild card contention. Texas is 2 1/2 and Baltimore 4 1/2 games out of the final wild card spot.

The pitching matchup: Tyson Ross (2-1 & 5.33 ERA) starts for the Rangers and Dylan Bundy (8-8 & 4.33 ERA) for the Orioles. Ross did not make his season debut until June 16 following surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome and has made it through six innings in only one of his first five starts (Texas is 3-2). It's encouraging that he has limited opponents to a .211 batting average in those five starts but then again, Ross is 0-2 with an ugly 17.10 ERA in seven career appearances (just one start) against Baltimore, allowing 19 runs in 10 innings! Bundy opened the season by winning five of his first six decisions but his ERA has climbed nearly 1 1/2 runs over his last six starts (from 2.93 to 4.33). He has not allowed a run in three appearances (one start) versus Texas, winning that lone start.

The pick: The Baltimore Orioles needed to play 34 innings before taking their first lead following the All-Star break, when Seth Smith hit a tie-breaking HR in the seventh-inning of Monday's 3-1 win. I'm not ready to say the Orioles "are back" but the Texas bats have been very quiet since returning from the break, accumulating only 22 hits while scoring a modest 10 runs in four games, five of which came last Friday (that's five runs the last three games!). Make Baltimore a 10* play.

The set-up: The Pirates won 4-2 on Monday in the opener of this four-game  home series with the Brewers. It marked Pittsburgh's eighth win in its last 10 games and moved the Pirates to within six games of the first-place Brewers in the NL Central. More good news comes Pittsburgh's way in that Starling Marte returns to the lineup Tuesday night after serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance Nandrolone. Marte was suspended on April 18 but will be in left field when the Pirates host the Milwaukee Brewers in the second of this four-game series. The loss represented the second in a row for Milwaukee, which had has now dropped back-to-back games for the first time since June 27-28. The Brewers are still atop the division but the Cubs have won four straight and are just 3 1/2 back (Cards are 5 1/2 back and the Pirates six back).

The pitching matchup: Junior Guerra (1-3 & 4.78 ERA) takes the mound for Milwaukee and Ivan Nova (9-6 & 3.21) for Pittsburgh. Guerra missed almost two months (from early April to late-May) with a right calf strain and has made only 10 starts (he has just one win and the Brewers are 4-6 in those starts). He had a third straight abbreviated start last time out when he took a come-backer off the shin and was knocked out of the game after 3 1/3 innings against the New York Yankees on July 7 (Brewers would win 9-4). He had pitched just four innings in each of his previous two starts, allowing a combined 12 runs on 16 hits in a pair of losses. Guerra faced the Pirates on June 21, giving up three runs and seven hits along with a season-high five walks in a 4-3 Milwaukee win (he had a no-decision). Guerra is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in four career starts against Pittsburgh (team is 3-1). Nova improved to 4-2 over his last six starts after limiting the Chicago Cubs to two runs on three hits over 6 2/3 innings on July 8, He was touched for four runs and a season-worst 11 hits over seven innings in a loss at Milwaukee on June 22, leaving him 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA in three career starts vs. the Brewers (teams are 1-2).

The pick: The Brewers may be a first-place team but that's not due to any real contributions from Guerra (again, one win in 10 starts!). This marks his first start since the break, after stumbling through an injury-plagued first half of the season. Meanwhile, Nova had nine wins at the break and will continue his best season since going 16-4 with the Yankees in 2011. Pittsburgh is playing much better and gets Marte back for this one and after all, aren't we all waiting for Milwaukee to crash? Let's not forget that his team went 73-89 in 2016 and 68-94 in 2015. Make Pittsburgh a 10* play.

The set-up: The Rockies lost 13 of 18 games prior to the break and returned to play this past weekend at Citi Field against the Mets. They promptly lost 14-2 and 9-3, giving them 15 losses in their previous 20 games. Colorado is hoping it has stopped the bleeding after Sunday’s 13-4 rout of the Mets, as the Rockies open a three-game series against the visiting San Diego Padres on Monday. The Padres beat the Giants 7-1 on Sunday and all of a sudden own three straight series wins (6-3 during that run but still just 40-51 on the season).

The pitching matchup: Luis Perdomo (4-4 & 4.54 ERA) gets the nod for San Diego and German Marquez (6-4 & 4.36 ERA) for Colorado. Perdomo won his third consecutive start on July 5, holding Cleveland to two runs (one earned) over five innings in a 6-2 victory. He has allowed three or fewer runs in 11 of his 15 outings this season but the Padres are only a modest 7-8 in his starts. He is 0-2 with a 5.32 ERA in five career games (three starts / team is 0-3) against Colorado. Marquez is pitching for the first time since July 7, when he allowed three runs over seven frames in 12-4 victory against the Chicago White Sox. The rookie is facing San Diego for the second time this season after allowing six runs on eight hits with nine strikeouts over five innings in an 8-5 loss at Petco Park on June 2.

The pick: The Padres have won four of their last six on the road but are still only 16-28 away from home on the season, getting outscored 5.11-to-3.45 RPG. Perdomo has seen his team lose all three of his starts against the Rockies (5.82 ERA) and faces a Colorado team long overdue to break out of its current slump. Why not here for the Rockies, where they've averaged 5.80 RPG at Coors in 2017. Make Colorado an 8* play.

The set-up: St. Louis opened a 10-game road trip by losing two of three at Pittsburgh over the weekend. The Cards fell to 18-23 on the road in 2017 and to 44-47 on the season, leaving them 6 1/2 back of the Brewers in the NL Central. The Mets began the second half by winning 14-2 and 9-3 over the visiting Rockies but were then routed 13-4 in Sunday’s series finale. The Mets welcome the Cards to Citi Field for a four-game series beginning tonight at 41-48, leaving them 13 games back of the Nats in the NL East.

The pitching matchup: Adam Wainwright (10-5 & 5.20 ERA) will get the start for the Cards and Zack Wheeler (3-6 & 4.86 ERA) for the Mets. Wainwright bested Wheeler and the Mets 4-1 right before the break in St. Louis on July 8, allowing one run and recording seven strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. That gives him three straight wins, recording at least seven strikeouts in each outing. Wainwright is 4-5 with a 4.66 ERA in 12 career appearances (10 starts  / Cards are 5-5) against New York. Wheeler's last win came all the way back on May 20. He is win-less in his last seven starts since (he's 0-4 and the team 2-5) and had a stretch of three straight starts in which he didn’t make it past the fourth inning before he had a strong outing on July 8 at St. Louis, allowing two runs over six innings (that marked his first career appearance against the Cards).

The pick: Wainwright has pitched well since mid-May, although he has thrown in a few clunkers. Still, he has allowed two ERs or less in eight of his 11 starts since May 14 and that's not bad. Wheeler pitched as well as Wainwright when these two met on July 8 right before the break (4-1 St. Louis win) and I expect another low-scoring game in this one. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: Washington addressed its biggest problem area (bullpen) over the weekend by acquiring a pair of solid relievers from Oakland. The Nationals lead the NL in batting average (.279) and runs scored (515) while ranking third in starters' ERA (3.57) but 14 blown saves and a major-league worst 5.31 ERA from their relievers have kept them a "tick below" the Dodgers and Astros. Washington just acquired right-hander Ryan Madson and left-hander Sean Doolittle from Oakland in hopes of solving its bullpen woes. So far in this series at Cincy, relief has not been needed. The Nats have hit 10 HRs en route to outscoring the Reds 29-11 in winning the first three of this four-game series. Washington now owns a four-game winning streak and at 55-36, a 9 1/2 game lead in the NL East. The Reds have fallen to 39-52, 11 1/2 games out in the NL Central.

The pitching matchup: Stephen Strasburg (9-3 & 3.43 ERA) takes the mound for Washington and Scott Feldman (7-6 & 3.94 ERA) for Cincinnati. Strasburg did not pitch well in his last start prior to the break, allowing  a season-high tying six runs (three earned) over a season-low three innings before leaving the game after getting hit in the hip by a come-backer. The Nats lost that July 8 game 13-1 but have not lost since. Strasburg is 2-1 with a 5.00 ERA in seven starts versus the Reds (Nats are 3-4). Feldman lost in his last outing (July 5 at Colorado) , allowing a pair of HRs among the four runs and five hits he allowed over five innings in a 5-3 Colorado win. However, he had gone 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA over his previous three outings (teams was 3-0), including a win in Washington on June 25 in which he permitted two runs and seven hits across seven innings. Feldman is 1-0 with a 2.50 ERA in three starts versus Washington (teams are 2-1).

The pick: Feldman has been solid at Great American Ball Park this season, going 4-2 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in nine starts but the Reds are just 4-5. Avoiding a sweep at the hands of the Nats will be a difficult chore. Starsburg has to be looking to get back on track after his very poor July 8 start and note that the Nats have won four in a row since that game, outscoring opponents 39-16. As for Strasburg, he's 6-1 (2.61 ERA) on the road in 2017 over eight starts (Nats are 6-2). Make the Nats an 8* play.

The setup: The NY Yankees and Boston Red Sox played a 16-inning marathon on Satuday (Yanks won 4-1) and now play a Sunday day/night doubleheader. Saturday's game lasted nearly six hours but New York pulled within 3 1/2 games of the first-place Red Sox with the win. However, the contest left both teams with uncertainty heading into Sunday's twin-bill Sunday, as each team used seven relievers in the longest game between the rivals at Fenway Park since 1966. New York turns to fill-in starter Bryan Mitchell in the matinee against Boston's Rick Porcello

The pitching matchup (Game 2): Masahiro Tanaka (7-8 & 5.47 ERA) for the Yanks and David Price (4-2 & 3.91 ERA) for the Red Sox. Tanaka has had a wildly inconsistent season and went into the break off a rough outing against Milwaukee last Sunday, allowing five runs in 4 1/3 innings while serving up two HRs. He's now allowed 23 HRs, the second-most in the AL. Tanaka is 6-3 with a 3.89 ERA in 12 career starts vs. Boston (NYY are 6-6). Price didn't come off the disabled list until May but has allowed three ERs or fewer in all but one of his nine starts, since. He owns a 4.76 ERA in his 36 career starts against the Yankees (he's 14-11 and his teams 21-15).

The pick: Tanaka posted his second career shutout with a three-hit gem at Fenway Park back on April 27 but was reached for five runs on five hits (including three HRs) in five innings of a rematch at Yankee Stadium last month. He is not to be trusted. Price may be unhappy (particularly with the media) but he's been very consistent since getting a late start to the 2017 season. Make Boston a 10* play.

The set-up: The Rangers followed Friday's 5-3 win in Kansas City with a 1-0 shutout win on Saturday, giving them five wins in their last six game and getting themselves back to .500 at 45-45. Almost all AL teams are alive in the wild card chase at this stage and Texas has clearly climbed back into contention as the Rangers are currently just two back of the final wild card spot. In contrast, the Royals are heading in the opposite direction. After going 6-1 from June 30 through July 5, KC has now lost five straight to fall to 44-45 (note: team is still just 2 1/2 out of that final wild card spot!).

The pitching matchup:. Yu Darvish (6-8, 3.49 ERA) takes the mound for Texas and Ian Kennedy (3-6 & 4.45 ERA) for Kansas City. Darvish has dropped four straight decisions, although twice in that span he allowed just two ERs, including last Sunday in a 3-0 defeat against the LA Angels. Darvish is 2-1 (2.25 ERA) in four career starts vs. KC (Texas is 3-1). Kennedy gets his first start since the break coming off going unbeaten in his last six starts with a 3.22 ERA. He's gone at least six innings in five of those outings. posting a 3-0 record (KC is 5-1).

The pick: Texas goes for the sweep here but Kennedy has a nice run going (see above). As for Darvish, he is a way better pitcher than his current record and I expect that he'll continue the fine pitching the Texas staff has shown lately, when the Rangers have allowed a total of just 10 runs in winning five of six. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: The Blue Jays entered the season off back-to-back appearances in the ALCS in 2015 and 2016 but Toronto just can't seem to find a groove, after opening 2-11 (team was 8-17 at the close of April). The Jays returned from the All Star break to win 7-2 in Detroit on Friday but then got clobbered on Saturday, as the Tigers bounced back with their highest offensive output in a month in an 11-1 victory. J.D. Martinez and Miguel Cabrera each had three hits and a HR (Martinez had five RBI) but Detroit is still just 40-49 on the season. The Blue Jays failed to build on Friday's 7-2 series opening win, as they managed just two hits in the entire game plus needed their bullpen for six innings after Francisco Liriano exited early with neck stiffness. Toronto sits at 42-48 and is tied for last-place in the AL East with Baltimore. The Jays and Tigers play the rubber match of this three-game series early Sunday afternoon in Detroit.

The pitching matchup: Marco Estrada (4-6 & 5.17 ERA) takes the hill for the Jays and Anibal Sanchez (1-0 & 5.89 ERA) for the Tigers. Estrada won his last two starts in May, striking out 20 and giving up two runs over 13 2/3 innings, leaving him 4-2 with a 3.15 ERA. However, his season has fallen apart since. He gave up six runs and four walks over 4 2/3 innings versus the New York Yankees right before the break, marking the fifth time in his last seven starts in which he has failed to get through five innings. Estrada is 0-4 with a bloated 9.46 ERA during a seven-start win-less drought (team is 2-5). Sanchez had a 9.00 ERA in mid-May when he was sent to the minors after making 11 appearances, all in relief. However, since joining the rotation upon his recall, he has been a changed pitcher. He owns a 3.09 ERA over four starts and has put together a string of three consecutive quality starts heading into this one. Sanchez is 3-3 with a 5.28 ERA in eight career starts against the Blue Jays (teams are 4-4).

The pick: Estrada will make his second career start against Detroit (1-0 & 3.60 ERA) when he opposes Anibal Sanchez. Note that Sanchez led the AL with a 2.57 ERA in 2013, which is the reason the Tigers gave him "one last shot" in the rotation. However, 2013 is a long time ago. Meanwhile, it's true that Estrada is win-less since May 27 but he was an American League All-Star selection in 2016. Make Toronto a 10* play.

The set-up: Mike Trout is back in the Los Angeles Angels' lineup but his much-ballyhooed return didn't result in a victory. Trout returned to the field after missing 39 contests with a torn ligament in his left thumb but went 1-for-5 in Friday's 10-inning, 2-1 loss to the visiting Rays. The loss was the Angels' eighth in 11 games, as LA fell three game back of the AL's final wild card spot in a very crowded field. As for Tampa Bay, its win coupled with New York's loss, give the Rays a one-game lead over the Yankees for the AL's No. 1 wild card spot.

The pitching matchup: Alex Cobb (7-6 & 3.75 ERA) takes the mound for the Rays and JC Ramirez (8-7 & 4.46 ERA) for the Angels. Cobb has delivered scoreless two-hit efforts in two of his last three starts, an eight-inning no-decision against Pittsburgh on June 27 and a 7 2/3-inning 1-0 victory over Boston on July 8. He is 3-1 with a 2.38 ERA over his last six starts (Rays are 4-2) and has given up fewer than three ERs in five of the six. Cobb is 1-2 with a 6.51 ERA in five career starts against the Angels (Rays are 2-3), including a 4-0 loss on May 23 in which he gave up four runs on seven hits over 7 1/3 innings. Ramirez came into the 2017 having never started a major-league game but he is the team's leader in victories (eight) after making 17 starts prior to the All-Star break (Angels are 10-7). He beat Texas 3-0 in his last start before the break, allowing just two hits in six scoreless innings. Ramirez defeated Tampa Bay on May 22, when he allowed two runs and six hits over 6 2/3 innings (2.70 ERA).

The pick: Cobb has been mentioned as someone the Rays could trade before the non-waiver trading deadline July 31 but Cobb's recent efforts have put the Rays in serious wild card contention and Tampa Bay would surely need both Archer and Cobb in the rotation if the team wants to compete for a playoff spot. This Cobb/Ramirez matchup has the markings of a pitchers duel. Make the Under an 8* play.

The set-up: The 2-1 BC Lions will play at the 0-2 Hamilton Tiger-Cats Saturday at Tim Hortons Field. The Lions opened the season with a 30-27 home loss to Edmonton but comes into this game playing a third in a row on the road, after winning 28-15 at Toronto and 23-16 at Montreal.he Lions opened the season with a 30-27 home loss to Edmonton. QB Jonathon Jennings is completing 67.6 percent of his passes for 853 yards but has just two TD passes (also has thrown just one INT). BC's defense allowed 30 points in the team's season opener but has since allowed just 15 and 16 points in back-to-back road wins. BC was 12-6 last year and was one of the CFL's better defensive teams (allowed 25.2 PPG) but after three games in 2017, BC is allowing just 20.3 points to rank first among all teams. The Tiger-Cats could use a victory after opening with road losses at Toronto and Saskatchewant. Hamilton is allowing 34.5 points and 509.5 yards per game after two contests and is hoping a return home (first home contest of 2017) will help. Zach Collaros won the starting QB job but he's completing 61.6 percent for a modest 431 yards with one TD and one INT.

The pick: A check of the record book reveals that a return home may not be a formula for success regarding the Tiger-Cats. Hamilton hasn’t won a home game since September 16 of last season, which is a stretch of five games, including a home playoff loss. As for BC, the Lions are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 road games, including 2-0 SU & ATS to open the 2017 season on the road. That BC defense has been impressive and Hamilton's offense leaves much to be desired, averaging a CFL-low 18.5 PPG. The Lions will be on the road for a third straight game, so I see a much safer play being on the total. Make the Under a 10*.

The set-up: The Brewers went just 73-89 in 2016, finishing 30 1/2 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central. However, Milwaukee has been one of 2017's biggest surprises in the first half of the season, coming out of the All Star break with a 5 1/2 game lead over the Cubs and finding themselves atop the division. The All-Star break did nothing to slow down the Brewers' mojo, as they maintained their lead over the Cubs (Chicago won 9-8 on Friday) by winning 9-6 at home last night over MLB-worst Philadelphia Phillies. An eight-run second inning (powered by Ryan Braun's sixth career grand slam), was all Milwaukee needed to make it seven wins in its last eight games. Philadelphia remains mired in the NL East basement, as well as owning MLB's worst overall record (29-59), its worst road record (13-34) and its second-worst moneyline mark (minus-$2383).

The pitching matchup: Aaron Nola (6-6 & 3.59 ERA) starts for the Phillies and Jimmy Nelson (8-4 & 3.30 ERA) for the Brewers. Nola has been Philly's best pitcher since the beginning of June but had his three-start winning streak snapped last time out as he suffered a hard-luck loss to San Diego on July 8, after allowing two runs on four hits in eight innings. He has given up a total of only five runs and recorded 34 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings (1.53 ERA) over his last four starts and has yielded more than three runs just once in his last seven outings! Nola was superb in his two previous career starts against Milwaukee, allowing one run and striking out 16 over 13 innings while notching a pair of victories (0.69 ERA). Nelson comes into this contest having won each of his last three starts, including a road outing against the New York Yankees on Sunday in which he gave up three runs over five innings. Nelson has posted a 1-1 record and 6.89 ERA in three career outings against Philadelphia (team is 1-2).

The pick: The Brewers are playing with supreme confidence (at least for now) and in Nelson, Milwaukee has a pitcher who has gone 4-0 with a 0.97 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 37 innings) over his last five Miller Park starts. His lone no-decision in that span came in a game in which Nelson tossed eight scoreless innings (11-0 KW ratio) but Milwaukee would lose 2-1 in 12 innings (Nelson's mound opponent was some guy named Kershaw). At first blush this looks like an under but is either pitcher really as good as he has looked lately? I think not. Nola's career ERA is 4.08, Nelson's is 4.16 plus Philly's bullpen ERA is 4.54 and Milwaukee's 4.04. Make the Over an 8* play.

The set-up: The Nats, owners of MLB's second-largest division lead, returned from the break and right out of the gate got a four-game series at Cincinnati against the last-place (NL Central) Reds. Bryce Harper hit a pair of HRs in Friday's 5-0 victory, as the Nationals improved to 6-2 in their last eight contests overall and upped their road record to an impressive 27-17. The Reds fell to 23-21 at home and 39-50 overall, 10 1/2 games out of first in their division.

The pitching matchup: Max Scherzer (10-5 & 2.10 ERA) gets the nod for Washington and Luis Castillo (1-1 & 3.13 ERA) for Cincinnati. Scherzer settled for a no-decision in his final start before the All-Star break, allowing four runs on six hits over 7 2/3 innings but the Nationals went on to beat Atlanta 5-4. The NL's All Star game starter had permitted two or fewer ERs in his previous eight starts, going 6-2 in that stretch. Scherzer is 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in three career starts against the Reds (teams are 1-2). Castillo is a rookie who has given up two or fewer runs in three of his first four major-league starts. He earned his first victory last time out with 6 2/3 scoreless innings at Arizona, as the Reds won 7-0. He owns a 30-10 KW ratio over 23 innings in his four starts. Castillo allowed five hits and two runs on solo homers by Brian Goodwin and Anthony Rendon in five innings and was in line for the win before a blown save led to a 6-5 Washington win back on June 23 in his MLB debut.

The pick: Scherzer over Castillo (fifth career start) is a "no-brainer," as he takes major league-best 2.10 ERA and NL-leading 173 strikeouts into Saturday's start. Scherzer also has the added bonus in that the Nationals feature a lineup that includes the National League's top three hitters, Murphy (.342), Harper (.327) and Zimmerman (.327). You don't see that too often! Make the Nats an 8* play.

The set-up: New York/Boston is one of the best rivalries in any sport. The Red Sox took the first of this three-game series Friday night 5-4 with a two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth off Yankee closer Aroldis Chapman. The Yankees have now dropped 19 of 26 and have fallen 4 1/2-games back of Boston in the AL East (that division deficit matches a season high). The loss also represents just the latest bullpen disaster for New York, which has now lost five straight one-run games! It took a while for Boston to getting going in 2017, as the Red Sox were only 21-21 through games played May 20 but they began a six-game winning streak on May 21 and Boston has gone 30-18 since being 21-21, surging to the top of the division.

The pitching matchup: It's a battle of All Stars on Saturday, with Luis Severino (5-4 & 3.54 ERA) facing Chris Sale (11-4 & 2.75 ERA). Severino entered the break on a high note after fanning 10 in seven solid innings against Milwaukee last Saturday. He has 29 strikeouts against just three walks over his last three starts and is fourth in the AL (Sale is first) with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.59. He pitched seven scoreless innings in a win at Fenway Park on April 26 but is 1-3 with a 4.07 ERA in five career games (four starts) versus Boston. Sale dropped his first-half finale after giving up four runs in seven innings at Tampa Bay on July 6 but he did finish with 12 strikeouts and no walks in the 4-1 loss. Sale's been great at Fenway in 2017, going 6-1 with a 2.34 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in eight starts (Sox are 7-1).

The pick: Four days after starting the All-Star Game for the AL, Sale will make his first start of the second half of the season Saturday afternoon. Sale has lived up to all of Boston's expectations so far, entering the break leading the majors in strikeouts (178) while ranking near the top of any number of other major statistical categories. In eight career starts vs. New York, he owns a 1.54 ERA. What's not to like about Sale over a struggling New York team? Make Boston a 10* play.

The set-up:The defending AL champion Indians have struggled at home in 2017, going 21-24. However, the team's 26-16 road record is good enough to give them a 21/2 game lead in the AL Central as the second half begins. The A's are just 39-50 (a whopping 21 games back of the Astros in the AL West), while they battle the 38-49 White Sox and 39-49 Tigers for the AL's worst record. The Cleveland Indians visit the Oakland Athletics on Friday for the opener of their three-game series, as the team begins the second half with a six-game trip to the Bay Area (three games at San Francisco will be next). It's a good opportunity to stretch the team's AL Central lead, drawing two last-place teams as all teams return to play after the All Star break:

The pitching matchup: Carlos Carrasco (10-3 & 3.44 ERA) will start for the Indians and Sonny Gray (4-4 & 4.00 ERA) for the A's Carrasco has won five consecutive decisions, as well as seeing the Indians win 12 of his last 13 starts, overall. Cleveland is 14-3 in all of his starts in 2017, giving him MLB's fourth-best moneyline mark at plus-$818. Carrasco improved to 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five career appearances (four starts / teams are 3-1) against Oakland on May 29, when he gave up two runs on four hits in seven innings. Gray has produced three straight strong starts, going 2-1 while allowing five runs - four earned - over 21 innings during that span (1.71 ERA). Gray fell to 2-2 and saw his ERA rise to 4.00 in six career starts ((A's are 3-3) versus the Indians on May 30, when he was tagged for seven runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings at Cleveland.

The pick: I wouldn't want to buck the Indians here but I also like the way Gray is beginning to find his form, after a late start to the season due to injury. That said, expecting the A's to reach Carrasco would be a stretch, considering he has a 7-1 record and 2.38 ERA in nine road starts (team is 8-1) while limiting opponents to a .197 batting average. Make the Under a 10*.

The set-up: The Ottawa Redblacks are looking for their first win of 2017 (0-2-1) when they visit the Edmonton Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium. QB Trevor Harris is completing 73.2 percent of his passes for 1,095 yards with seven TDs and only two INTs while leading Ottawa to an average of 31.7 PPG. However, Ottawa is allowing 33.3 points and 425 YPG on defense. The Edmonton Eskimos are off to a nice 2-0 start to the season with QB Mike Reilly completing 73.4 percent of his passes for 601 yards with three TD passes and not a single interception in 64 attempts. In going 10-8 last season, Edmonton allowed 27.6 PPG but after two games in 2017, Edmonton is allowing 23 points (third-best) on 333 yards per game (second-best).

The pick:The RedBlacks are 10-3 ATS in their last 13 road games, while the Eskimos are just 3-8 ATS in their last 11 home games. It should also be noted that Ottawa has won the last three meetings against Edmonton. Takes the points with the RedBlacks and make them an 8* play.

The set-up: The Brewers went 73-89 in 22016, finishing 30 1/2 games back of the eventual World Series-winning Cubs. However, the Brewers open the second half of the 2017 season at ,50-41, giving them a 5 1/2 game lead on the Cubs in the NL Central. The Phillies finished just two games worse than the Brewers last season (71--91) but unlike Milwaukee, Philadelphia gets back on the field owning MLB's worst record (29-58), which puts them on pace to win only 54 games. Philadelphia also owns the second-worst moneyline mark (minus-$2287), besting only the hard-to-explain SF Giants.

The pitching matchup: Nick Pivetta (2-4 & 4.73 ERA) will get the nod for the Phillies and Zach Davies (10-4 & 4.90 ERA) for the Brewers. Pivetta continues to struggle allowing HRs, giving up 12 in his 11 starts to begin his MLB career. The Phiilies are 3-8 in all of his starsts, including 2-5 on the road where his ERA is 5.56 and his WHIP is 1.76. This marks his first career start against the Brewers. Davies won his third straight start and improved to 5-1 in his last seven outings on July 6, allowing just two runs on five hits in six innings of an 11-2 rout of the Chicago Cubs. "Personally, (10 wins is) something that kind of makes you happy," the 24-year-old told reporters. "There are personal goals that you want to hit, but at the same time, we want to play in October." Davies struggled in his lone encounter versus Philadelphia, taking the loss after permitting four runs on nine hits in six innings of a 5-2 setback on April 22, 2016.

The pick: The Brewers aren't just leading the NL Central, they are also one of MLB's best money-making teams in 2017, checking in at plus-$1762 (third-best among all teams). Davies has been a HUGE surprise, with Milwaukee going 12-6 in his starts, giving him a moneyline mark of plus-$787, which ranks fifth among all starters in 2017. The Phillies are 13-33 on the road and open the second half averaging 3.82 RPG, ranking 29th of 30 teams. Make the Brewers an 8*.

The set-up: The Mets opened the 2017 season off a World Series appearance in 2015 and an 87-win 2016 season (NL wild card) while the Rockies last had a winning record in 2010 and came into this season having averaged a modest 70 wins per, over that six-year drought. However, as all teams return from the four-day All Star break, it's the Rockies who are 'smelling' the 2017 playoffs, not the Mets. Yes, Colorado lost has 13 of 18 heading into the break but while they are 9 1/2 games back of the NL West-leading Dodgers, the team's 52-39 record gives them a 7 1/2 game cushion over the Cubs for the NL's second wild card spot. In stark contrast, the 39-47 Mets are 12 games back of the Nats in the NL East and almost as far back in the wild card standings (10 1/2 back).

The pitching matchups; Jon Gray (2-0 & 3.75 ERA) will start for Colorado and Jacob deGrom (9-3 & 3.65 ERA) for New York in a matchup of ace right-handers. Gray has been limited to just five starts in 2017 but has won both his starts since returning from an 11-week absence due to a stress fracture in his left foot. He earned the victory in his most recent outing on July 5, giving up three runs (two earned) over 5 2/3 innings as the Rockies defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3. Gray allowed five ERs in his 2017 debut (4/3) but in his other four, owns a 2.25 ERA. DeGrom has been the only Mets starter to remain on the field and meet expectations this season. Opening Day starter Noah Syndergaard (lat) and former ace Matt Harvey (shoulder) remain on the shelf. DeGrom won his fifth straight start in his most recent appearance last Friday, when he allowed four runs over seven innings as the Mets beat the Cardinals, 6-5. He has a 1.62 ERA in the five consecutive wins.

The pick: Colorado's recent woes remain a concern and the jury is still out on Gray (is he 100% healthy?), as the second half opens. It's a small sample size but Gray does own a 6.13 ERA in three career starts vs. the Mets. In contrast, deGrom owns an 0.95 ERA in four career starts against the Rockies and does come in off five straight wins, pitching seven-plus inning in each one. Make the Mets a 10* play.

The set-up: The 2-1 Toronto Argonauts and 1-1 Winnipeg Blue Bombers meet Thursday at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg. Toronto QB Ricky Ray has completed 70.1 percent of his passes for 1,199 yards with four TDs and just one interception. He may have had just one TD pass in last week's home win over Hamilton but he threw for 506 yards and did not throw an INT in 41 pass attempts, while leading the Argos to 32 points. The defense was excellent, holding the Tiger-Cats to 15 points on 258 yards with just 12 FDs. Toronto is allowing 22.7 points and 361 YPG after three games (more on that later). Winnipeg opened with a 43-40 OT win at Saskatchewan but then returned home to lose 29-10 to Calgary. QB Matt Nichols threw for 331 yards with four TDs and just one INT in beating the Roughriders but was not nearly as good against Calgary, with two INTs and one TD pass, while leading the Blue Bombers to just 10 points!

The pick: Winnipeg was the much better team last year at 11-7 (Toronto was just 5-13) but the defense has allowed 34.5 PPG, almost 10 point higher than last year's 25.2 PPG allowed. Meanwhile, Toronto allowed a league-high 568 points (31.6 per) in going 5-13 last season but checks in after three games in 2017 in allowing 22.7 PPG. The Argonauts have looked sharp to open the season but back-to-back road games on short rest is always a worry. Yes. Toronto was no match for Winnipeg last season (Blue Bombers won 46-29 and 34-17) but it's a new season. Also, don't ignore the fact that the Blue Bombers are just 3-8 ATS in their last 11 home games. Make Toronto a 10* play.

The set-up: The Tigers will attempt not to get swept in this three-game series at Cleveland tonight on ESPN. Detroit lost 11-2 on Friday and 4-0 on Saturday, falling 10 games below .500 (38-48) and nine games behind the AL Central-leading Indians, who are 47-39. The Tigers are 9-19 since June 8, while the defending AL champs are 16-8 since June 15. Cleveland leads the AL with a 3.77 team ERA, and their starting pitchers own a 1.96 ERA in their last seven games. Getting back to Detroit, manager Brad Ausmus is emphasizing that there is still the second half of the season to play. "It's a 162-game season and this team is built for 162 games," he said. "I'm confident the guys will bounce back." Methinks that Ausmus is 'whistling past the graveyard!'

The pitching matchup: Detroit's Michatel Fulmer (8-6, 3.20 ERA) was the AL rookie-of-the-year in 2016 (11-7, 3.06 ERA with Detroit going 19-7 in his starts for a plus-$1292 moneyline mark which ranked sixth-best) and will square off against 2014 Cy Young winner Corey Kluber (7-3, 2.85 ERA), who was a postseason pitching star for the Indians in 2016. Fulmer has not matched last season's success but he will be representing Detroit in Tuesday's All Star game. The same can be said of Kluber, who has been brilliant in his seven starts since coming off the DL. Kluber has gone 4-1 (the score in the one loss was 1-0), while posting a 1.24 ERA and holding opposing hitters to a .155 BA since June 1. He's struck out 10-plus batters in six of those seven starts, with a KW ratio in that span of 74-8!

The pick: While Kluber has been close to un-hittable lately, the Indians are just 4-3 in his dominating seven-start span. Yes, Cleveland's won the first two of this series but the Indians are still only 21-23 at home, easily giving them MLB's worst home moneyline mark of minus-$2046 (SF is next-worst at minus-$1053). The Indians are way too high of a favorite to play in the game but with two All Star pitchers squaring off, the Under earns a 10* rating.

The set-up: The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Saskatchewan Roughriders meet Saturday in CFL action at Mosaic Stadium in Saskatchewan. Both teams are looking for their first win of 2017, as Hamilton has opened 0-1 and Saskatchewan 0-2. The Tiger-Cats lost 32-15 at Toronto in Week 1 and took last week off. Zach Collaros won the starting QB job but threw for a modest 242 yards in Week 1, without a TD pass and one INT. Running games are not the most important aspect of any CFL team but Hamilton will need to improve on its 16 yard rushing effort against the Argonauts! It's been "close but no cigar" for the Roughriders to open the 2017 season. They lost 17-16 at Montreal in Week 1, then lost 43-40 (in OT) at home to Winnipeg in Week 2. QB Kevin Glenn is completing 72 percent of his passes for 675 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. The running game has averaged 61.5 yards per contest. The defense played well in Week 1 but then allowed 43 points on 430 yards in Week 2 (team also allowed 261 return yards).

The pick: Hamilton looked pretty awful in its season opener (scored 15 points on yards while allowing 32 points on 545 yards) but the Tiger-Cats do come off a bye. Hamilton was only 7-11 last season but Saskatchewan was 5-13 (tied with Toronto for 2016's worst record) and have found a way to start 0-2 in 2017, despite having a chance to win each of its first two. I'm making Hamilton an 8* play.

The set-up: Seattle finally halted an eight-game home losing streak with Friday's 7-2 victory over Oakland. Nelson Cruz drove in five runs and hit the 300th HR of his career to lead the way. Both teams are far behind the Astros in the AL West but as I often note, at this point of the season, the AL wild card race remains reasonably open. Either team could sure use a two-game sweep over the weekend, with 42-46 Seattle trailing the second wild card spot by four games and 38-49 Oakland finding itself 7 1/2 games back.

The pitching matchup: Chris Smith (NR) of Oakland Athletics will be making one of the more unlikely starting debuts in major-league historv in tonight's contest, opposed by Seattle's Andrew Moore (1-1 & 3.60 ERA). Smith owns a 4.58 career ERA while seeing time with the Boston Red Sox (2008), Milwaukee Brewers (2009-10) and Athletics. He was released by the Seattle Mariners in 2011 and became a coach at UC Riverside (his alma mater), before later giving the sport another try and catching Oakland's attention during an independent league stint. Smith becomes the oldest starter in Athletics' franchise history at 36 years, 90 days. Moore is a rookie, making his third career start. He pitched eight innings while beating the Detroit Tigers 9-6 in his debut (June 22), then pitched seven innings while losing to the Kansas City Royals 3-1 in his second outing (July 3). Moore has allowed three ERs in each of his previous two starts.

The pick: Moore may be holding opponenst to a .204 BA but he's also given up three HRs in his 15 innings. As for Smith, it's quite a storybook adventure but Seattle has averaged 5.09 RPG at home and has had 11 hits in each of the first two games of this series. Neither bullpen is much of a help (Seattle's ERA is 4.28 and Oakland's 5.08!), so the Over is a 10* play.

The set-up: The Rockies got a much-needed 12-4 win last night in the first of a three-game home IL series with the White Sox. Colorado had hoped to make a move this week while the last-place Reds (NL Central) and last-place White Sox (AL Central) came to Coors Field. However, the Rockies were able to do no better than a 2-2 split against the Reds and last night's win over the White Sox was just the team's fourth in its last 16 games. One of the main reasons Chicago is a last-place team is that the White Sox are now 18-30 road, after allowed 26 runs in losing three straight away games.

The pitching matchup: Jose Quintana (4-8 & 4.45 ERA) will start for Chicago and Jeff Hoffman (5-1 & 4.01 ERA) for Colorado. It has not been a good season for the Chicago lefty, whose ERA is about one run higher than his career average of 3.51. Quintana defeated the Rockies in his lone career start against them when he gave up two runs on five hits over seven innings on April 8, 2014. Hoffman is serving up an excellent rookie season, with the Rockies having won six of his eight starts in 2017. He faces Chicago for the first time in this one.

The pick: I expected the Rockies to handle the Reds (they didn't) but I'll back then here as an 8* play.

The set-up: The Dodgers beat the Royals 4-1 in Friday's opener of this three-game IL series and have won 24 of their last 28 games heading into Saturday’s contest (Dodgers are a MLB-best 37-11 at home). The Kansas City Royals saw their four-game winning streak come to an end on Friday’s series opener but they've won 22 of their last 33 games to get within two games of the first-place Indians in the AL Central.

The pitching matchup: Ian Kennedy (3-6 & 4.44 ERA) gets the call for KC and Brandon McCarthy (6-3 & 3.25 ERA) for LA. Kennedy earned his third straight win last Monday, 3-1 at Seattle against Seattle. He has now gone 3-0 with a 2.22 ERA in his last four starts (Royals are 4-0), after going 0-6 with a 5.40 ERA in his first 11 outings of 2017. Kennedy has sure had his troubles with LA, going 5-9 with a 4.31 ERA in 20 career starts against the Dodgers (teams are 9-11), including 0-7 since his last win on September 11, 2012 while with Arizona. McCarthy will be activated off he disabled list to start Saturday night for the first time since June 25, when he allowed five runs (four earned) in three innings against Colorado. He has battled knee soreness throughout the season but was cleared to start after throwing a four-inning simulated game last Monday. McCarthy is 3-2 with a 4.05 ERA in 14 career games (six starts / teams are 4-2) against Kansas City.

The pick: Kennedy started the season 0-6, which was one of the more misleading records in baseball. He has allowed six hits or fewer in all 15 starts this season. However, the Royals scored just 28 runs in his first 10 starts. As noted above, the Royals have won Kennedy's last four starts, in which he has gone six innings or more in three of them, allowing just 14 hits and six ERs in 24 1/3 innings. The Dodgers are 6-2 in McCarthy's home starts (he's allowed two ERs or less six of the eight), while posting an impressive 1.02 WHIP at home. Make the Under an 8* play.

The pick: This is the best Nova has pitched since he went 10-3 in 17 starts in 2012 with the New York Yankees, prior to that year's All Star break. Still, I'm not quite sold. Yes,  it's been a tough first half for Arrieta, but he's pitched solidly at Wrigley in 2017, going 3-0 (team is 4-1) in a modest five starts in the "Friendly Confines." Make the Cubs an 8* play.

The set: The 37-49 Padres and the 28-57 Phillies continue their three-game set tonight in Philadelphia. San Diego Padres catcher Austin Hedges, who leads NL catchers with 13 HRs, went deep in each of his first two at-bats in his first career start at Citizens Bank Park and after a long rain delay before delivered a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the ninth to give San Diego a 4-3 victory. It marked the Padres' fourth win in five games, while the Phillies dropped their fourth straight contest. Neither team is going anywhere in 2017, as San Diego is 21 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West and Phildelphia sits 22 1/2 games back of the Nats in the NL East.

The pitching matchup: Jhoulys Chacin (7-7 & 4.52 ERA) will take the mound for the Padres and Aaron Nola (6-5 & 3.73 ERA) for the Phillies. Chacin bested the Dodgers 5-3 last Sunday in San Diego, continuing his home dominance in 2017. He's 5-2 with a 1.68 ERA in nine home starts but away from pitching-friendly Petco, he has been among the worst starting pitchers in MLB this season. He owns an abysmal 9.08 ERA in eight road starts. He hasn't faced the Phillies since 2014 but is 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA in seven appearances (five starts / teams are 2-3) versus Philadelphia. Nola won his third consecutive start Monday against Pittsburgh, firing seven scoreless innings while allowing four hits and striking out eight in a 4-0 Philly win. He has posted a 1.27 ERA during his win streak, striking out at least eight each time. Nola is 4-2 in six starts with a 2.68 ERA since the beginning of June, He has three career starts against San Diego, going 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA (team is 2-1).

The pick: Chacin home/away dichotomy is real, evidenced also by his 0.92 WHIP in San Diego, compared to a 1.99 WHIP on the road. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies' pitching staff has lacked a true ace since trading Cole Hamels midway through the 2015 season. I don't want to carried away but Nola, a 24-year-old who was the club's first-round pick in 2014, looks like a budding ace. He's won three straight, going at least seven innings in each, while posting a 1.27 ERA (three ERs allowed  in 21 1/3 innings pitched). With Chacin's road woes, make the Phillies an 8* play.

The set-up: The Houston Astros own MLB's best overall record on the strength of the team's outstanding road record. Houston pounded out 14 hits in Friday's a 12-2 victory at Toronto, improving to 21-4 away from home since the middle of May (Astros are 32-10 away from home on the season, owning MLB's best moneyline mark of plus-$). George Springer had four hits (including two HRs) to go along with five RBI. Jose Altuve added three hits for the Astros to raise his major league-leading average to .342, and Carlos Correa hit his 18th HR to extend his hitting streak to 15 games, giving him the longest active run in the majors. The Blue Jays dropped to 40-46 with the loss Friday, leaving them tied with Baltimore in the AL East basement, 9 1/2 games back of the Red Sox. The Blue Jays, who have played in the last two ALCS matchups, just can't seem to get "back in the race," after opening 2017 by going 7-18 in April (started the season 2-11).

The pitching matchup: Mike Fiers (5-3 & 3.80 ERA) will start for Houston and Marcus Stroman (8-5 & 3.42 ERA) for Toronto. Fiers didn't have his "A game" in his last outing against the Yankees. He needed 105 pitches to get through four innings but he struck out seven (did allow four walks) and was pulled after four scoreless innings in a game the Astros won 8-1. Opponents have managed 16 hits in 30 innings over Fiers' last five outing, part of an eight-start stretch in which the Astros are 6-2 when he takes the mound (1.93 ERA). Fiers is 1-2 with a 4.07 ERA in three career starts against the Blue Jays and that includes him allowing five runs (four earned) in 4 2/3 innings in his only prior start at the Rogers Centre. Stroman allowed two runs in five innings last Monday at Yankee Stadium (Yanks won 6-3). It marked the 13th time in 17 starts in 2017 in which he has allowed three ERs or less. Stroman has faced the Astros just three times in his career, going 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA (team is 1-2).

The pick: Always a little dangerous going against the Astros, especially on the road (see above) but Stroman owns a strong 2.87 ERA in nine home starts this season for the Blue Jays and I'm not ready to quit just yet on this Toronto team. Make the Blue Jays a 10* play.

The set-up: Almost all AL teams remain within shouting distance of the two wild card spots available, as the 2017 season gets set for its four-day All Star break come Monday. The 41-46 Mariners may be 17 1/2 games back of the Astros in the AL West and the 38-48 A's find themselves 20 games back but Seattle is much more modest 4 1/2 games out of the final AL wild card spot, while the A's are seven-back (granted, it's a VERY crowed field!). The teams opened a four-game series Thursday night with the A's winning 7-4, which drops Seattle to 0-4 on its current homestand, as well as making it eight straight home losses for the Mariners. No way Seattle has any chance at a wild card spot if it doesn't turn around its fortunes at home. As for the A's, they've been an awful road team all season, as Thursday's win leaves them just 13-27 away from home on the season.

The pitching staff: Sean Manaea (7-4 & 3.75 ERA) gets the nod for Oakland and James Paxton (6-3 & 3.27 ERA) for Seattle. Manaea settled for a no-decision against Atlanta on Sunday but continued his good pitching, allowing just two runs on six hits in a season-high 7 1/3 innings. He is now 6-2 since coming off the DL in mid-May, a span of 10 starts (A's are 7-3). He's given up more than three runs only twice in those 10 outings, although his first start back from the DL came on May 15 against the Mariners, when he allowed four runs on two hits and five walks in five innings in a 6-5 loss. He's 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA in five career starts (team is 3-2) against Seattle. Paxton halted a four-start win-less drought (he was 0-3 and the team 1-3) when he limited the Angels to one run on two hits over 6 1/3 innings at Los Angeles in a 5-3 win. Paxton is 2-0 with a 4.13 ERA in four career starts against the Athletics (team is 3-1), including a no-decision at Oakland on April 20 in which he surrendered five runs on nine hits over 4 1/3 Innings.

The pick: Last night's game finished with 11 runs and 21 hits. Seattle pitching has now allowed 24 runs in its last three games and note that Paxton struggled in his lone appearance against the A's this season. Yes, Manaea is in a nice groove but he's no Kershaw. Oakland is allowing 5.38 RPG on the road in 2017 and the Mariners, despite their struggles at home, are averaging 5.07 RPG at Safeco. With neither bullpen offering much relief (Seattle's bullpen ERA is 4.31 and Oakland's is 4.97), the Over is a 10* play.

The set-up: The Calgary Stampeders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers meet Friday in CFL action at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg. The Stampeders have opened the 2017 season with back-to-back games against Ottawa, winning 43-39 at home in Week 1 and then playing to a 31-31 tie in Week 2 at Ottawa. QB Bo Levi Mitchell is completing 63.3 percent of his passes for 671 yards and is off to a great start with seven TD passes without an INT (he has 37 TD passes over his last 19 games). However, Calgary's defense is not off to a good start, allowing 35 points and 461 yards per game. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers didn't play in Week 1 but were able to outlast the Saskatchewan Roughriders 43-40 in double overtime last week on the road. QB Matt Nichols is off to a strong start, completing 63.9 percent of his passes last week for 331 yards with four TDs and just one interception.

The pick: Calgary was the CFL's best team during the 2016 regular season, going 15-2-1 (13-5 ATS), while leading the CFL in scoring (32.6 PPG) and also allowing the fewest points (20.5 PPG). However, Calgary lost the Grey Cup final in OT to Ottawa, the same team it has played the first two weeks of the 2017 season. Calgary had little trouble scoring against Winnipeg in winning both meetings last season (scored 36 and 33 points) and in fact, has won the last six games against the Blue Bombers. Winnipeg hasn't beaten Calgary since November of 2014. It's hard to argue against Calgary not being the CFL's best team but Calgary has struggled in its first two games of 2017 (1-0-1 and could easily be 0-2) and that means I expect a big effort from them here, against a team it has handled with ease recently. The Stampeders are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 road games, while the Blue Bombers are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 home games. Make Calgary a 10* play.

The set-up: The 38-46 Detroit Tigers and the 45-39 Cleveland Indians open a three-game series at Progressive Field tonight, as MLB teams get ready for a four-day All Star break, beginning Monday. The Tigers capped a 5-4 homestand with a 6-2 win over the Giants on Thursday and enter this series seven games back of Cleveland. The Indians, the defending AL Champs, are clinging to first in the AL Central, leading the Royals by just one game and the Twins by 1 1/2. The team's home woes were not in evidence in Thursday's 11-2 rout of San Diego but that victory gives the Indians a poor 19-23 home mark. What a difference a year makes. The Indians went 53-28 at Progressive Field in 2016 (only the Cubs won more home games) and finished plus-$1230 against the moneyline. In stark contrast, the team's home moneyline mark in 2017 is minus-$22456, more than $1000 worse than MLB's second-worst home team's mark!

The pitching matchup: Jordan Zimmermann (5-6 & 5.58 ERA) starts for Detroit and Carlos Carrasco (9-3 & 3.50 ERA) for Cleveland. Zimmermann allowed a four-run sixth against the Indians just this past Saturday, losing to Carrasco and the Indians 4-1. That makes him 0-2 in his last five outings (Tigers are 1-4). He has been plagued by the home run ball all season, surrendering four in his last three outings and 21 in 16 starts on the season. Zimmermann is 0-2 with a 10.67 ERA over three career starts against Cleveland (teams are 1-2). Carrasco allowed just one run on four hits with seven strikeouts on Saturday against the Tigers, improving to 4-0 in his last five starts overall (Indians are 5-0). He's 2-1 with a 2.29 ERA in three outings versus Detroit this season but just 7-7 with a 4.69 ERA against them in 17 career starts (teams are 9-8).

The pick: In this quick pitching "re-hook" from Saturday, expect a similar effort from the starters. Zimmermann had thrown five scoreless inning until the sixth and as already noted, Carrasco yielded just one run on four hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings. So what else is new? Carrasco has allowed two runs or fewer in 11 of his 16 starts this season. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: Oakland has endured slides of six, four and six contests since June 7, with a pair of four-game winning streaks in between, a model of inconsistency. The A's visit Seattle tonight to open a four-game series with the Mariners off back-to-back home wins over the White Sox, giving them a 38-45 record overall, leaving them in last-place in the AL West (21 games back of Houston). Seattle welcomes Oakland to town but the Mariners are on a seven-game home losing streak. Seattle allowed four runs in the first inning last night to Kansas City but was able to take a 6-4 lead, before losing 9-6 in 10 innings. Seattle sits just 41-45 on the season (17 1/2 games back of Houston) but can hold out a sliver of hope, as the Mariners are just four games out of the final wild card spot in the AL. However, to say the least, it's a crowded field.

The pitching matchup: A pair of rookie hurlers take the mound tonight, Paul Blackburn (0-0 & 0.00 ERA) for Oakland and Sam Gaviglio (3-3 & 3.48 ERA) for Seattle. Blackburn was impressive in his major-league debut on Saturday, allowing just one unearned run on three hits over six innings of a no-decision against Atlanta (Braves won 4-3). Before getting called up, he posted a 5-6 record and 3.05 ERA in 15 appearances (14 starts) for Triple-A Nashville. Blackburn will be starting against his former organization, as he was acquired from Seattle in November for Danny Valencia. Gaviglio will be making his 10th start of 2017 in this one but comes in win-less in his last three, despite allowing three runs or fewer each time. He suffered a second straight loss Saturday, when he gave up three runs on five hits over a career-high 6 1/3 innings in a 4-0 road loss against the Los Angeles Angels. Gaviglio will be facing Oakland for the first time.

The pick: Blackburn sure looked good in his debut and let's note that Gaviglio has worked at least five innings in each of his nine starts in his rookie season. Gaviglio should have little trouble with the A's, who are 13-27 on the road, averaging just 3.92 RPG. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: The BC Lions and Montreal Alouettes meet Thursday in CFL action at Molson Stadium in Montreal. Both teams have opened the 2017 season 1-1. The Lions opened with a 30-27 home loss to Edmonton but then rebounded with an impressive 28-15 road win at Toronto over the Argonauts. BC has scored 27 and 28 points in the season's first two games but QB Jonathon Jennings has just one TD pass (also just one INT), after throwing for 27 last season, against a modest 15 INTs. The BC defense is coming off an excellent effort, allowing just 15 points at Toronto on yards 349 yards. The Lions allowed 25.2 PPG in 2016 while going 12-6 and after two contests, have allowed just 22.5 PPG . The Alouettes edged Saskatchewan 17-16 at home to open the season but then lost 23-19 last week at Edmonton. QB Darian Durant is completing 61.8 percent of his passes for a modest 399 yards with three TDs and one INT, as Montreal's offense is averaging a league-low 18.0 PPG among teams to have played each of the first two weeks. Defensively, Montreal is allowing 19.5 points and 383.5 YPG.

The pick: Montreal was no match for BC in 2016, as the Lions scored 38 points in both meetings, winning by 11 points in BC and 20 points in Montreal. The Lions are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 road games, while the Alouettes are only 3-10 ATS in their last 13 home games. I expect BC to have little trouble scoring again in this one. As for Montreal, the Alouettes traded for Duarnt prior to the 2017 season, getting him from Saskatchewan where he had been a fixture. He was expected to give Montreal's offense a significant boost but that has yet to be the case. How about a break out game here? History tells us seven of the last nine meetings between these two teams in Montreal have gone over, so why not? Make the Over a 10* play.

The set-up: The Boston Red Sox sat at 21-21 in games played through May 20. However, despite seeing their six-game winnings streak snapped last night in an 8-2 loss at Texas, the Red Sox open a four-game series at Tampa Bay tonight against the Rays, having won 28 of their last 43 games. The 49-36 Red Sox come into the final four days before the break four games better than the Yankees in the AL East and 5 1/2 games better than the third-place Rays, who are 44-42. Tampa Bay reached a season-high four games above .500 on June 27 but enter this series having lost six of its last 10.

The pitching matchup: Chris Sale (11-3 & 2.61 ERA) gets the start for Boston and rookie Jacob Faria (3-0 & 2.23 ERA) for Tampa Bay. Sale is a strong candidate to get the start for the AL in Tuesday's All-Star Game and leads the majors with 166 strikeouts, while Boston has gone 13-4 in his starts (plus-$580 ranks 15th among all starters). Sale comes in with seven wins in his last eight starts and has made two starts against Tampa Bay earlier in this season, winning each one while allowing four runs on five hits with 24 strikeouts in 14 innings (2.57 ERA). He's now 6-4 with a 3.51 ERA against Tampa Bay in his career. Faria has yet to lose in five big league starts and has recorded a quality start in each one. He won his first three but has had back-to-back no-decisions in his most recent two (Rays are 1-1). Faria owns an 0.90 WHIP and .202 BAA to go along with his excellent 2.23 ERA in 2017.

The pick; Have to like what Faria has done so far but Sale is rolling and while the Red Sox were limited to three hits and didn't collect one until the sixth inning in last night's 8-2 loss, Boston had averaged 8.8 runs during its six-game winning streak. Make Sale and Boston an 8* play.

The set-up: The St. Louis Cardinals earned series wins over two of MLB's best teams, Arizona and Washington, before heading into the final week before the All-Star break with series at home against the Marlins and the Mets. Both of those teams are below .500 and the Cards hoped that a "big week" could get them to .500 (Cards opened the week three games under) by the break. However, after winning 14-6 on Monday to reach 40-42, St. Louis has dropped back-to-back games to fall to 40-44 with four games reamaining this week. Now, only four wins in a row will get St. Louis to the .500 mark by the break. Miami hit four HRs in Wednesday's 9-6 win, after Yelich hit a three-run HR to lead Tuesday's 5-2 victory. The back-to-back wins has temporarily put an end to a stretch in which the now 38-45 Marlins had lost five of seven.

The pitching matchup: Tom Koehler (1-3 & 8.33 ERA) takes the mound for Miami and Michael Wacha (5-3 & 4.16 ERA) for St. Louis. Koehler had arm troubles and was put on the DL shortly after getting ripped for eight ERs in just three innings by Houston on May 16. He made his first appearance since that time on July 1 and again was lit up for seven runs on six hits and a pair of walks in just 1 2/3 innings at Milwaukee. Koehler started against St. Louis back on May 10 but did not factor in the decision after allowing four runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. It surely not good news for Miami that he's 1-3 with 7.62 ERA in five career starts against St. Louis (teams are 1-4) . Could Wacha be coming around? He's dominated in his last two starts, recording a pair of wins while allowing a total of just one run on nine hits in 12 innings (0.75 ERA). He struck out a season-high nine over six innings against Washington on Saturday while issuing one walk. Wacha has just two career starts against Miami, going 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA (Cards are 1-1).

The pick: Koehler has not completed six innings in any of his last five major-league appearances (Miami is 1-4 in that stretch) and on the season, he owns a 1.78 WHIP and .311 BAA to go along with his ugly 8.33 ERA. He has also surrendered 11 HRs in 40 overall innings. Then, there's his awful lifetime mark against St. Louis. With Wacha coming off back-to-back strong outings plus his 2.91 ERA in 10 home starts in 2017, what' not to like about St. Louis? Make the Cards a 10* play.

The set-up: The Arizona Diamondbacks were hoping to close the gap on the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West with a three-game series that began July 4th at Dodger Stadium. Things didn't go as planned Tuesday night, as a 4-3 loss to the Dodgers dropped the D'backs 3 1/2 games back of LA. Catching LA will not be easy, as the 56-29 Dodgers have won 21 of their past 25 games and own a major-league-best 34-11 home record, including 13-1 in the past 14 games at Dodger Stadium. LA owns a plus-154 run differential, which would tie the 1976 Cincinnati Reds for second best among NL teams heading into the All-Star break. Getting back to Arizona, it's been a remarkable turn around from 2016, when the team finished 69-93, 18 games out of a wild card spot. Arizona comes into tonight's game 52-32 (No. 1 wild card spot), which gives them a 10 1/2-game cushion in the wild card chase!

The pitching matchup: Zack Godley (3-2 & 2.67 ERA) takes the mound for Arizona and Alex Wood (9-0 & 1.83 ERA) for Los Angeles. Godley lost for only the second time in his 10 starts last Wednesday, despite holding St. Louis to three runs on two hits over seven innings. Arizona is 7-3 in his 2017 starts this season and he's posted a 2.45 ERA and 11 strikeouts in five career appearances (one start) covering 11 innings against the Dodgers. Godley may be doing a nice job but it pales in comparison to what Wood has accomplished in 2017 for LA. Wood became the first Dodgers pitcher to begin a season 9-0 since Rick Rhoden in 1976, after holding San Diego to one run over six innings last Friday. The National League’s ERA leader was denied a spot on the All-Star roster despite going 6-0 with a 1.83 ERA in six starts at home this season. Wood is 3-3 with a 3.60 ERA in 10 career games (six starts / teams are 2-4) against Arizona.

The pick: Both of tonight's starters have been terrific in 2017 but I'm leery that both are pitching "over their heads." Shutting down LA at home doesn't happen often (the Dodgers are averaging 5.60  RPG at Chavez Ravine this season) plus Wood will face an Arizona lineup averaging 5.18 RPG on the season (5th-best in MLB). Make the Over a 10* play.

The set-up: Boston rookie Andrew Benintendi knocked in the go-ahead runs in Monday's 7-5 Red Sox win in 11 innings, then went 5-for-5 with two HRs, six RBI and four runs scored in July 4th's 11-4 rout of the Rangers (Aaron Judge, who?). Boston has now won six straight (eight of nine) and will go for a three-game sweep of the Rangers in Texas on Wednesday night. The Rangers have now lost three straight and six of their last seven, with the team's pitching staff allowing at least five runs in each of those six setbacks. At 40-44, Texas now trails Houston by 17 games in the AL West. Meanwhile, after some early struggles, 49-35 Boston now leads the Yankees by four full games in the AL East

The pitching matchup: Doug Fister (0-1 & 4.91 ERA) takes the mound for Boston and Andrew Cashner (3-7 & 3.87 ERA) for Texas. Fister was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox on June 25 and has been solid in each of his first two starts, allowing three ERs in each outing. He does not yet own a decision (Red Sox are 1-1) and with Fister spending last season with Houston in the AL West, he made five starts against Texas, posting a 1-2 record with a 4.73 ERA. He's 6-6 (4.98 ERA) in 16 career starts vs. Texas (teams are 6-10). Cashner spent two weeks on the disabled list with an oblique injury only to return on Thursday at Cleveland and get hit on the right elbow by a broken bat. He was charged with five runs on six hits in five-plus innings to suffer a 5-1 loss. He was diagnosed with just a bruise and steps to the mound again tonight. Cashner's ERA of 3.87 is better than his 3-7 record or Texas' 5-8 record in his 13 starts.

The pick: Fister has to be thrilled to join Boston and this guy has proven he can pitch in the majors. Again, Cashner has pitched better than his record shows and I'll make the Under a 10* play.