The set-up: The A's snapped a six-game slide on a walk-off HR last night. Oakland owns the AL's worst record (36-48) and Chicago its second-worst mark (37-46), as the two teams meet in the rubber match of this three-games series Wednesday afternoon. The A's are 23-21 at home and the White Sox just 18-28 on the road.

The pitching matchup: Mike Pelfrey (3-6 & 4.13 ERA) gets the nod for Chicago and Sonny Gray (3-4 & 4.09 ERA) for the A's. Pelfrey had a no-decision versus Texas in his last start, despite giving up five runs on eight hits (over five innings) and surrendering a pair of HRs for the second straight start. He has only one win in his last seven outings (six starts), although Chicago is 3-3 in those starts. That stretch includes a 3-0 home loss to the A's on June 23, which leaves him 0-5 in five career starts against Oakland, along with a bloated 7.56 ERA in those contests! Gray got a late start to the 2017 season due to injury but is coming off one of his best performances in his last outing, although he suffered a hard-luck loss. He allowed just one run on two hits over a season-high eight innings against Atlanta on June 30 (Braves won 3-1). Gray also was superb in his previous outing, beating the White Sox 5-3 in Chicago with seven strong innings of two-run ball (one earned). That gives him a 2-0 record (4.13 ERA) in four career starts vs. Chicago, although the A's are just 2-2.

The pick: Two bad teams here but with Chicago's poor 18-28 record and Pelfrey's downright 'ugly' 0-5 (7.56 ERA) career mark against the A's, Oakland has to be the 8* play.

The set-up: Everyone keeps waiting for the Chicago Cubs to recapture the magic from their World Series run last October but after losing the first of a two-game IL series at home to the Tampa Bay Rays on July 4, the Cubs sit 41-42. The Cubs fell to 1-6 in interleague play this season after going 15-5 against AL clubs in 2016. About the only good news for Chicago fans is that despite a sub-.500 record, the Cubs are only 3 1/2 games out of first in the NL Central. The teams wrap up this two-game set this afternoon and while the Cubs have dropped five of their last seven games, the Rays have won three of their last four and check in at 44-41, putting them in a virtual three-way tie for the AL's second wild card spot.

The pitching matchup: Blake Snell (0-5 & 5.36 ERA) starts for Tampa and John Lackey (5-9 & 5.24 ERA) for Chicago. It' been a rough season so far for Snell (I'm being kind here),
as he hasn’t made it through six innings since his season debut April 6. Snell has yet to record a quality start in nine outings this season, with the Rays going 2-7 in his starts. He'll make his first-ever start against the Cubs in this one. Meanwhile, the veteran Lackey has not been much better than Tampa's 24-year-old with just one win in his last seven decisions (he's 1-5 and the Cubs 2-5), while posting only three quality starts in his last nine outings. In fact, he's coming off his worst performance of the season last time out in an 8-4 loss at Washington, allowing eight runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings. Lackey is 14-8 with a 4.09 ERA in 25 starts against the Rays (teams are 16-9).

The pick: Lackey hasn’t faced the Rays since 2014 but I favor the vet over Snell, who is 1-7 with a 4.64 ERA in 14 career road starts and hasn't had a big league victory since September 22, 2016. Snell was recalled from the minors to start this past Friday (his first big league appearance since mid-May) and allowed four hits, five walks and six ERs in five inning at Pittsburgh. Make the Cubs.an 8* play.

The set-up: The Colorado Rockies returned home on Monday after going 1-8 on a nine-game road trip to LA, SF and Arizona. Overall, the Rockies had lost 10 of 11 but Colorado was set to play seven games at home this week prior to the All, Star break and its opponents were two last-place teams, the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago White Sox. Colorado opened the week seven games back in the NL West but this homestand gave them an opportunity to pick up the pieces form a disastrous two-week slide. The Reds were up first and Colorado came through win a 5-3 win. It should be no surprise that the Reds lost on the road, as they are now 12-27 away from home, getting outscored 5.97-to-4.26 RPG.

The pitching matchup: Homer Bailey (0-2 & 27.00 ERA) starts for the Reds and Kyle Freeland (8-6 & 3.84 ERA) for the Rockies. Bailey, the owner of two career no-hitters, has struggled mightily in two starts since returning from elbow surgery, allowing 14 runs on 12 hits over 4 2/3 innings. He is 2-2 with a 4.43 ERA in seven career starts against the Rockies (team is 2-5). Freeland is making a case for being one of 2017's best rookie pitchers. He has completed at least six innings in 11 of his last 13 starts (Rockies are 10-6 in his starts). Freeland won at Cincinnati back on May 21 despite allowing four runs in 5 2/3 innings, his only outing against the Reds.

The pick: I backed the Rockies Monday and do so again here, as Colorado averages 5.,79 RPG at Coors this season and in the case of Bailey, will be facing a pitcher who may not be long for the majors. Make Colorado a 10* play, again.

The set-up: The Boston Red Sox are beginning to show more of a consistent offense. The team's 7-5 win (11 innings) over Texas in Monday’s series opener gives Boston five consecutive victories in which the team has scored at least six runs games. While the Yankees have struggled since mid-June, Boston has surged in that same time frame and Monday's win keeps the first-place Red Sox three games clear of the rival New York Yankees in the AL East (Boston is 48-35 and New York 44-37). The Rangers are stuck in the AL West with the Astros (owners of MLB's best record at 56-27) and have lost five of their last six to fall three games under .500 (40-43) and 16 games back of Houston.

The pitching matchup: David Price (3-2 & 4.61 ERA) takes the mound for Boston and Yu Darvish (6-6 & 3.11 ERA) for Texas. Price got a late start to the 2017 season due to injury and has also been sidetracked by getting into fights with local reporters and broadcasters. However, he is beginning to pitch well, entering this July 4 contest with a string of four straight starts of allowing three or fewer ERs. He matched season highs with seven strikeouts and seven innings pitched against Minnesota on Thursday and did not walk a batter in a 6-3 win. Price has had much success against Texas in his career though, going 3-9 with a 5.42 ERA in 17 starts (teams are better though with an 8-9 record, despite that high ERA). Darvish has pitched well lately, allowing a total of just two ERs over 13 innings in the last two starts. Darvish may be just 6-6 on the season but he has surrendered more than three runs just once in his last 13 outings and is holding opponents to a .205 batting average. Darvish hasn't faced Boston since 2014 and is 1-1 with a 3.63 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings over three starts against the Red Sox in his career (Texas is 2-1).

The pick: Two All-Stars caliber pitchers take the mound in this one and both have pitched well as of late. With that in mind, the Under is a 10* play.

The set-up: The A's swept the three-game series against the White Sox in Chicago from June 23-25 but opened a three-game home series with Chicago by losing 7-2 on Monday night. The defeat marks Oakland's sixth straight overall and the 35-48 A's also fell for the eighth straight time at home (both streaks are season highs!). The 37-45 White Sox are hardly making a surge but they have now won four of their past five games.

The pitching matchup: James Shields (2-1 & 3.98 ERA) will get the nod for Chicago and Daniel Gossett (1-3 & 5.57 ERA) for Oakland. Shields had a nightmare 2016 season pitching first for San Diego and then Chicago, but opened the 2017 season allowing exactly one run in each of his first three starts (he was 1-0 and Chicago 2-1 while posting a 1.62 ERA). However, a strained right lat sidelined him for two months. He is coming off his first win in three starts since returning, a 4-3 triumph over the New York Yankees on Thursday in which he allowed three runs (two earned) and five hits over 6 1/3 innings. Shields was battered for six runs on seven hits and three walks in three innings of a June 24 start in Chicago, losing 10-2. That setback evened Shields' career record against the Athletics at 6-6 and raised his ERA to 4.64 in 18 outings (teams are 10-8). Gossett allowed five runs on seven hits over five innings in a 6-1 loss at Houston on Thursday and will be making just his fifth overall start in the major leagues. Gossett posted his only career win opposite Shields at Chicago on June 24 after giving up two unearned runs and five hits in six innings of that 10-2 rout.

The pick: The A's are in a slump but the White Sox are still just 18-27 on the road and it sure doesn't help that their closer, David Robertson, is on the paternity list and is expected to miss the entire three-game series. Make Oakland an 8* play.

The set-up: The San Francisco Giants are suffering through a 'nightmare' season in 2017 (33-51, 22 games back in the NL West) but will take a season-high six wins in a row into this three-game IL series in Detroit against the Tigers. Like the Giants, the Tigers had Monday off and are also a last-place team at 36-48. Detroit has lost 11 of 15 to find itself saddled with its worst record at the 81-game mark since 2003 but the Tigers are a much more modest eight games out of first in the AL Central plus almost every AL team remains alive in the wild card chase at this stage of the season.

The pitching matchup: Matt Cain (3-7 & 5.46 ERA) takes the mound for San Francisco and Michael Fulmer (7-6 & 3.19 ERA) for Detroit. Cain hasn't won since an 8-4 triumph over the Dodgers back on May 15 and saw his win-less stretch extend to eight starts last Tuesday (he's 0-6 and the Giants 2-6) after receiving a no-decision on the heels of allowing three runs on six hits in six innings versus Colorado (SF won 4-3). That game vs. the Rockies concluded a disastrous June in which Cain posted a 7.77 ERA and 2.14 WHIP. Fulmer snapped a three-start losing skid on Thursday in a 7-3 victory over Kansas City. The 2016 AL rookie of the year allowed just two earned runs and struck out seven and was one out shy of a complete game.

The pick: The Tigers were 19-7 in Fulmer's starts last year and his moneyline mark of plus-$1292 ws 6th-best in all of MLB but Detroit is a more modest 8-7 in his 2017 starts. However, he happens to be the Tigers' lone All-Star representative. As noted, Cain's off an 'ugly' June but all of a sudden, the Giants are playing much better with the team's pitching staff leading the way by allowing just 17 runs in their six consecutive wins (2.83 per). Expect a decent effort out of Cain and Fulmer sure should be able to handle a San Francisco lineup which ranks 28th in runs scored (3.94 per) plus dead-last (30th) in OPS (.679) and HRs (70). Make the under an 8* play.

The set-up: The Mets got set to host the Nats for a four-game series at Citi Field back on June 15. New York entered that series having won five of six, while Washington had lost five of six. New York had 'closed' within 8 1/2 games of the Nats and was optimistic it had a chance to take the series and gain some ground. However, the Nats took the first three games of that series by the combined score of 22-9, before the Mets were able to salvage the finale with a 5-1 victory. The Mets were 31-37 in games played through June 18 and found themselves 10 1/2 games back of the Nats in the NL East. With the all Star break looming this coming Monday through Thursday, not much has changed for these two NL East rivals. On the morning of July 4th, the 38-44 Mets trail the 49-34 Nats by those same 10 1/2 games. The two worst bullpens in the National League (Mets own a 4.93 ERA & the Nats a 5.16 ERA) lived down to their billing last night, as Washington suffered its 14th blown save when Granderson belted a two-out, two-strike pitch for a tying two-run HR in the ninth. However, a trio of Mets relievers then gave it right back in the bottom of the inning on a pair of walks and Ryan Raburn's walk-off single. The Nationals improved to 8-3 this season against the Mets, who have dropped two in a row following a 7-1 run.

The pitching matchup: Seth Lugo (3-1 & 3.55 ERA) will start in this early first-pitch of 11:05 ET for the Mets and Joe Ross (4-3 & 5.12 ERA) gets the nod for the Nats. Lugo didn't make his 2017 debut until June 11 but won for the third time in four starts this past Thursday 6-3 at Milwaukee. He allowed three runs on six hits over six innings, his third quality start in his four outings.Lugo's lone defeat came in the previously mentioned series back in mid-June at Citi Field, when he surrendered four runs (three earned) in 6 2/3 innings in a 7-4 loss up against Washington's Strasburg. He is 1-1 with a 2.30 ERA in three games against Washington in his career. Ross was demoted to the minors after allowing five runs over four innings on April 30 but he's starting to come around. He did lose at the Mets on June 18 (vs. deGrom), giving up four runs (two earned) and nine hits over six innings but he has bounced back with consecutive strong starts versus Cincinnati and the Chicago Cubs. Ross is just 1-2 with a 4.71 ERA in five career starts (team is 2-3) against the Mets.

The pick: Lugo's done a solid job for the Mets since returning in June from a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. That said, Ross has also been solid since the start of June, allowing two ERs or less in four of his five starts. I won't ignore Washington's 8-3 record against the Mets here in 2017 and will make the Nats an 8* play.

The set-up: The Colorado Rockires are happy to be home, after going 1-8 on a nine-game road trip to LA, SF and Arizona. The Rockies will play seven games at home this week prior to the All, Star break and their opponents will be two last-place teams, the 35-46 Cincinnati Reds and the 36-45 Chicago White Sox. Colorado has dropped 10 of 11 overall, to fall seven games back in the National League West but this homestand against a pair of last-place clubs gives them an opportunity to pick up the pieces. The Reds are up first, coming off winning two of three against the Cubs but Cincy owns a 12-26 road record, getting outscored 6.00-to-4.29 RPG.

The pitching matchup: Luis Castillo (0-0 & 3.38 ERA) starts for the Reds and Jeff Hoffman (4-1 & 4.04 ERA) for the Rockies. Castillo is a rookie making just his third ML start. He's pitched in hard luck so far, as he has left with the lead in each of his first two, only to see a pair of blown saves deprive him of a win. He limited Milwaukee to two runs and five hits while striking out nine in 5 2/3 innings on Wednesday. He was 4-4 with a 2.58 ERA at Double-A Pensacola before his recent promotion. Hoffman has seven starts in his eight appearances this season and has allowed two runs or less in five of his last six. This is Castillo's first appearance vs. Colorado and Hoffman's first time seeing Cincinnati.

The pick: The Rockies were outscored 53-26 and batted just .211 on their nine-game road trip but they drew one of MLB's worst road teams in the Reds these next four days. Colorado averages 5.81 RPG at home in Coors Field. Yes, the Rockies have lost 10 of 11 but this team still owns MLB's third-best moenyline mark at plus-$1480. It's time to turn things around. Make Colorado a 10* play.

The set-up: The Cardinals went 3-8 from June 13 through June 24, clinching the team's first sub-.500 month since June of 2016! However, the Cards beat the Pirates 8-4 on June 25 and capped a 5-1 run to end June with Friday night's 8-1 home win over the Nationals. St. Louis ended June 13-16 and the 139 runs the Cards surrendered in June represented the team's highest one month total since May 2012. However, the Cards silenced the National League's most proficient offense on Friday and Saturday, beating the Nats 8-1 and 2-1. The Cardinals were after their fifth straight victory Sunday night on ESPN but the Nats scored seven runs on 10 hits and Scherzer struck out 12 St. Louis batters in seven scoreless innings as the Nats won 7-2. The Cards continue their 10-game homestand when the Marlins come to St. Louis for four games. Miami halted a four-game skid by posting a 10-3 victory at Milwaukee on Sunday. The Marlins are just 36-44 (11 games back of the Nats in the NL East) and finish their 10-game road trip this weekend in San Francisco. Miami is the site of this year's All Star game (Tuesday, July 11).

The pitching matchup: Jeff Locke (0-4 & 5.52 ERA) will start for Miami and Adam Wainwright (8-5 & 5.17 ERA) for St. Louis. Locke has made six starts in 2017 and has yet to find the win column (Marlins are also 0-6). Locke has made 11 career appearances (10 starts / teams are 5-5) against St. Louis, going 2-4 with a 4.98 ERA. Wainwright has had a roller-coaster season but comes in having allowed just two runs in each of his last two starts. Wainwright is 5-2 with two shutouts and a 2.37 ERA in 11 career games (nine starts / team is 7-2) against the Marlins, including a no-decision at Miami on May 9 in which he allowed four runs over 5 1/3 innings.

The pick: Wainwright has been just awful in eight road starts this season, posting an 8.36 ERA. However, he's 5-1 with a 2.64 ERA in eight home outings in 2017! Yes, Locke is win-less in six starts this season but he's pitched better than his record, as he's allowed three ERs or less in five of his six outings. Make the Under a 10* play

The set-up: The 40-41 Orioles begin a four-game, home-and-home IL series with the Brewers, having won five of their past eight. Baltimore beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-1 on Sunday to salvage the finale of a three-game series. Once upon a time, Baltimore was 22-10 and leading the AL East but prior to winning five of its last eight, Baltimore had lost 28 of its previous 41 games. Currently, the Orioles are 6 1/2 games back of the first-place Red Sox. The 44-40 Brewers remain in first place in the NL Central but their lead was cut to two games over the Cubs after Sunday's 10-3 loss to the Marlins.

The pitching matchup: Wade Miley (3-6 & 4.54 ERA) gets the nod for the Orioles and with Chase Anderson going on the 10-day DL last week, the Brewers will give a spot start to lefty Brent Suter (0-1 & 4.20 ERA). Miley continues to struggle, as he has failed to get through six innings in five consecutive starts, allowing 22 ERs in 20 2/3 frames during the slump (he's 1-3 with a 9.58 ERA and the team is 1-4). He owns a 5.17 ERA in five career starts against the Brewers but somehow is 3-1 (team is 4-1). Go figure? With Chase Anderson going on the 10-day DL last week, Milwaukee will give a spot start to Brent Suter (0-1 & 4.20 ERA). Suter makes just his fourth career start and second of the 2017 season. His first was on June 13 at St. Louis, when he gave up three runs in 4 2/3 innings during a 6-0 loss. He has a 3.48 ERA in seven relief appearances in 2017, striking out 10 batters in 10 1/3 innings. Suter was 3-1 with a 4.42 ERA in 10 games (eight starts) for Triple-A Colorado Springs before his recall in late June.

The pick: Miley's struggled all season and comes in with an 8.83 ERA over his last four road outings, serving up six HRs in that span and issuing more walks (13) than strikeouts (10). He also owns an 8.38 ERA in two appearances at Miller Park. His counterpart is a pitcher making just his fourth career start and I expect the Baltimore lineup to be just fine against him. Make the Over a 10*.

The set-up: The Cardinals went 3-8 from June 13 through June 24, clinching the team's first sub-.500 month since June of 2016! However, the Cards beat the Pirates 8-4 on June 25 and capped a 5-1 run to end June with Friday night's 8-1 home win over the Nationals. St. Louis ended June 13-16 and the 139 runs they Cardfs have surrendered represented the team's highest one month total since May 2012. However, all the Cards have done so far this weekend is silence the National League's most proficient offense. The Washington Nationals average 5.53 RPG, although following Friday's 8-1 loss, the Nats were again silenced on Saturday by the Cards' Michael Wacha who had a season-high nine strikeouts over six innings of a 2-1 St. Louis win. The Cardinals now seek their fifth straight victory and a three-game sweep of the NL's best road team Sunday night on ESPN . The Nats are 25-17 away from home and despite scoring just two runs in the first two contests of this series, are averaging 5.45 RPG on the road.

The pitching matchup: Max Scherzer (9-5, 2.06 ERA) takes the mound for the Nats and will face the Cards' Carlos Martinez (6-6 & 2.88 ERA). Scherzer allowed only one run and two hits while fanning six over six innings in a 6-1 win over the Cubs last Tuesday. He's the major-league leader in strikeouts (151) and WHIP (0.78). He has given up only six  ERs on 22 hits over his last seven starts spanning 54 innings (1.00 ERA). Scherzer struck out 10 in six innings during a loss to St. Louis on April 12, falling to 1-4 with a 3.14 ERA in seven career starts versus the Cardinals (teams are 3-4). Martinez is in his third full season as a starter (won 14 and 16 games the last two years) and logged a fourth consecutive quality start this past Tuesday at Arizona. He allowed two runs on four hits and three walks while fanning 10 in six innings but did not factor in the decision (he left with a 5-2 lead but the D'backs won 6-5). Martinez has completed at least six innings in 12 consecutive starts and had registered at least 10 strikeouts four times this season. Martinez's only start in five appearances versus Washington was a head-to-head battle against Scherzer in May 2016 and resulted in a loss after he permitted four runs despite striking out eight in 6 2/3 innings.

The pick: Martinez has allowed a miserly .171 average to right-handed hitters, second in the league. Who is best? Scherzer leads the league at .125. With these two starters, the Under is a 10* play.

The set-up: The New York Mets opened a recent 10-game homestand by getting swept in a four-game series by the Dodgers but the team rebounded to win five of its last six games. New York returned home Friday to open a three-game home series against the MLB-worst Phillies and the team has continued to make a run at .500 with wins Friday (2-1) and Saturday (7-6). Saturday's win makes it four in a row and the Mets will try to make it five in a row and eight of nine when they host the Phillies in the finale of their three-game series on Sunday. As noted, the 26-53 Phillies own the worst record in the majors and are losers of 18 of their last 23 contests, overall.
 
The pitching matchup: Rookie Nick Pivetta (1-4 & 5.40 ERA) takes the mound for Philadelphia and Rafael Montero (1-4 & 5.63 ERA) for New York. Pivetta is coming off the worst start of his young career, allowing six runs on seven hits and five walks over 2 2/3 innings in a 6-1 loss at the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday. He had pitched much better in his previous two outings, allowing a total of just three runs in 13 innings (2.08) while striking out 19 and walking only three. Pivetta is taking on the division-rival Mets for the first time. Montero is getting an opportunity to keep a rotation spot and earned a win in a start at San Francisco last Sunday while surrendering one run on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. He did not fare nearly as well in his other two spot starts of 2017, allowing a total of eight runs in 6 2/3 innings (10.80 ERA). However, he thrived as a long reliever in two June appearances before earning another chance in the rotation. Montero suffered a loss in relief against Philadelphia on April 18, managing one out while yielding four runs - three earned - on four hits. Montero is 0-1 with a 12.00 ERA in five career games (one start) against the Phillies.

The pick: Montero is hardly "a stud" but New York is taking advantage a recent schedule that includes sub-.500 foes San Francisco (32-51), Miami (35-44) and the Phillies. The pitching staff has allowed an average of just 2.6 runs in the team's seven victories (over an eight-game span). What's to like about the Phillies, who come in 12-33 on the road, the worst road mark in MLB. The Mets are an 8* play.

The set-up: Both the 40-41 Mariners and 42-42 Angels are looking WAY up on the 54-27 Astros in the AL West. However, almost the entire AL is alive in the wild card chase and that goes for the Mariners (1 1/2 games out of the second wild card spot) and the Angels (one game back), for sure. Seattle halted a four-game slide with Friday's 10-0 win in Anaheim, as the Angels allowed a season-high 17 hits and were blanked for the seventh time this year.

The pitching matchup: Sam Gaviglio (3-2 & 3.38 ERA) will get the start for Seattle and Ricky Nolasco (3-9 & 4.86 ERA) for Los Angeles. Rookie Gaviglio has allowed two or fewer runs in six of his eight major-league starts in 2017, although he lost his most recent outing to Houston (and Lance McCullers), despite giving up just two runs on six hits in six innings. This marks his first appearance against the Angels. Nolasco pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings in defeating the 4-0 Dodgers on Monday, ending 10 straight outings without a victory dating back to April 27 against Oakland! Nolasco owns a 5.23 ERA in two no-decisions against Seattle this season (Angels are ) 1-1and is 1-4 with a 4.76 ERA in seven career starts versus the Mariners (teams are 2-5).

The pick: The Mariners are 6-2 in Gaviglio's starts here in his rookie season while the veteran Nolsaco has struggled all season long. Yes, he was brilliant against the Dodgers but one can't ignore that he owns a 6.08 and 1.49 WHIP in six home starts this season plus the Angels are 4-12 in all of his 2017 starts, giving him a moneyline mark of minus-$712, which ranks 252nd of 256 starting pitchers this season.

The set-up: The CFL's second week concludes Saturday night when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders meet at Mosaic Stadium in Saskatchewan. The Blue Bombers will be making their 2017 debut in this game, after finishing 11-7 last year and losing in the West semifinals. Matt Nichols returns at QB after throwing for a modest 18 TDs last season. The Blue Bombers averaged 27.6 PPG but allowed 25.2 PPG, so it's no surprise the team was 10-8 ATS. The Roughriders are looking to even their 2017 record at 1-1, after losing 17-16 in Week 1 to the Montreal Alouettes. QB Kevin Glenn completed 70.5 percent of his passes against Montreal for 298 yards (one TD and one INT) but the offense produced just 16 points.

The pick: Winnipeg won seven of nine road games last season (also 7-2 ATS) and then lost (but covered) in a 32-31 loss at BC in the playoffs. Does that mean the Blue Bombers are the play? Not so fast. The Roughriders have a game under their belts (it's Winnipeg's first game since November of 2016) and the team's "D" put forth an excellent effort. Montreal was held to just 17 points on 16 FDs at home. In a near pick'em contest, I'll make the home team an 8* play.

The set-up: The Cardinals went 3-8 from June 13 through June 24, clinching the team's first sub-.500 month since June of 2016! However, the Cards beat the Pirates 8-4 on June 25 and capped a 5-1 run to end June with last night's 8-1 home win over the Nationals. Yes, St. Louis ended June 13-16 but three of the team's five victories have come over 50-31 Arizona and 47-33 Washington. A big reason for the team's recent surge is a pitching staff which has allowed four or fewer runs in each of the wins and allowed just one run on six hits Friday to the Nationals, who lead the NL in runs scored (3.39 per). The Nats have injury issues at the top of its lineup with Trea Turner (fractured wrist) Aand dam Eaton (knee) on the disabled list. However, the Nats still own an 8 1/2 game lead in the NL East.

The pitching matchup: Gio Gonzalez (7-2 & 2.87 ERA) takes the mound for the Nats and Michael Wacha (4-3 & 4.50 ERA) for the Cards. Gonzalez is having a very solid season, as he has allowed three or fewer runs in 14 of his 16 starts, including each of the last seven. Gonzalez faced St. Louis back on April 11 and allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits without walking a batter in seven innings to earn an 8-3 win. Wacha has not had much consistency in 2017 but bounced back from two sub-par outings with an 8-2 win over Cincinnati on Monday, scattering one run on five hits over six innings. However, he did not record an out in the fifth inning in either of his two previous starts, surrendering a total of nine runs (six earned) on 16 hits in eight innings (6.75 ERA). That said, Wacha is 2-2 with a 1.57 ERA in four career starts against Washington

Gonzalez owns a splendid 2.87 ERA but yet, Washington is only 9-7 in his 16 starts this season. In keeping with that, although he owns a 2.86 career ERA against the Cards, his teams are just 5-4 in nine starts. Throw in Wacha's 1.57 ERA in four starts against the Nats and it's a 10* on the Under.

The set-up: The Mets salvaged a just-completed 10-game road trip with a 5-5 record with five wins in their final six contests. They kept their positive mojo intact last night as well, behind a strong seven-inning effort by Jacob deGrom. DeGrom struck out 12 and teamed with three relievers to hold the top five hitters in Philadelphia's lineup to a combined 0-for-19 in a 2-1 New York win. The Mets can secure their third straight series win with a victory today (or Sunday) vs Philadelphia, which is 3-4 on its current nine-game road trip. Actually, that's pretty good for the Phillies, who own MLB's worst road record (12-32), its worst overall record (26-52) and its second-worst moneyline mark (minus-$1949).

The pitching matchup: Jeremy Hellickson (5-5 & 4.40 ERA) takes the mound for Philadelphia and Zack Wheeler (3-5 & 5.29) ERA) for the Mets. Hellickson has rebounded from a rough stretch to post back-to-back solid efforts, allowing a total of two runs on nine hits over 13 innings (1.38 ERA). However, Hellickson remains win-less in his last seven outings (he's 0-4 and the team is 1-6). Hellickson has yet to face the Mets this year but struggled against them in 2016, giving up 21 runs in 24 1/3 innings (7.77 ERA) spread over five starts. That leaves him with an 8.21 ERA against the Mets in seven career starts (he's 2-4 and his teams 3-4). Wheeler was on a roll (had allowed just 11 ERs over seven starts) before he gave up 15 runs in only 3 2/3 innings over two starts on June 13 and 19. He was promptly placed on the disabled list after that but is ready to pitch again, here on July 1. He was 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in two outings against the Phillies in April (Mets were 1-1) and is 3-1 with a 3.07 ERA in seven career starts versus Philly (Mets are 4-3).

The pick: The Phillies won eight of Hellickson's first nine starts in 2017 but that's all in the past now, as they've lost six of his last seven, including the last two when he pitched well (see above). The Mets are far from a juggernaut these days (37-42) but they have won 13 of their last 18 meetings with the Phillies and let's not forget Philly's road record of 12-32 in 2017. Make the Mets an 8* play.

The set-up: There can be no doubt that Boston misses David Ortiz but after a less-than-impressive start to the 2017 season (Red Sox were just 21-21 through May 20), Boston has gone 24-14 and caught the slumping Yankees in the AL East. The Red Sox aren't hitting at the same rate they were with David Ortiz in the middle of the lineup last season but they are developing new strengths. Boston's bullpen ERA of 2.88 is the second-best in all of MLB and that unit gave them five scoreless innings to close out Friday's series opener with Toronto, 7-4 in 11 innings. Closer Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect 11th inning on Friday to increase his AL-leading save total to 23. Toronto, a team which has played in the last two ALCS matchups, struggled out of the gate by going 7-18 in April but got things turned around although it has never been able to reach .500. The Blue Jays have gotten to within one game of that mark often but keep falling back. Recently, the team has lost six of eight to fall five games under .500 (37-42) and into the AL East basement, 7 1/2 games back of Boston.

The pitching matchup: Chris Sale (10-3 & 2.77 ERA) gets the start for Boston and Francisco Liriano (4-3 & 5.46 ERA) for Toronto. Sale has come through big time for the Red Sox in 2017. He leads the majors with 155 strikeouts and fanned nine over 6 1/3 innings against Minnesota in a 4-1 win on Monday. He also tops the AL with a total of 113 2/3 innings pitched, owns an 0.91 WHIP and has held opponents to a BA of .200. Boston is 12-4 in his 16 starts in 2017. Sale enjoyed one of his best starts of the season at Toronto back on April 20, when he struck out a season-high 13 and scattered four hits over eight scoreless innings, giving him a 4-1 (1.72 ERA) career mark against the Jays in six starts (teams are 5-1). Liriano snapped a three-start win-less streak at Kansas City last Sunday, allowing two runs on six hits in six innings of an 8-7 win. Liriano owns a poor 1.61 WHIP to go along with a high ERA (5.46) but somehow, Toronto has gone 8-4 in his starts. However, he had his only scoreless outing of the 2017 season against Boston back on April 19, when he struck out six and yielded four hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 3-0 win.

The pick: Sale's been everything Boston had hoped he'd be when signing him in the off-season and I expect another strong effort from him here plus if needed, he'll have Boston's excellent bullpen in reserve. Toronto's lineup is not the feared bunch of the last two seasons, averaging only 4.22 RPG (25th) with a team BA of .244, which ranks 24th. Also, Boston's lineup ranks just 15th in runs scored at 4.71 per game. Make the Under an 8* play.

analysis soon

analysis soon

The set-up: The Montreal Alouettes eked out a 17-16 win in Week 1 at Saskatchewan, while the Edmonton Eskimos edged the BC Lions 30-27 on the road. The two teams meet Friday at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. Montreal QB Darian Durant passed for 233 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Edmonton QB Mike Reilly tortured opposing defenses in 2016 with 5,554 passing yards, as well as finishing second in the league in both TD passes (28) and rushing TDs (9). He passed for 315 yards, two TDs and zero INTs in the three-point win over the Lions.

The pick: Edmonton has won the last six meetings against the Montreal Alouettes but none of those teams were led by a motivated Durant. Durant led Saskatchewan from 2006-2016 but after the Roughriders were unable to agree upon terms with him, his rights were traded to the Montreal Alouettes on January of 2017. He should make Montreal a better team in 2017 and he was sharp in the season opener. The Eskimos are just 3-7 ATS in their last 10 home games and Durant is playing with a "chip on his shoulder." After Week 1's win, the Alouettes are 4-0 ATS in their last four road games. Make that 5-0 and I'll make Montreal an 8* play.

The set-up: The Yankees opened the week in a funk, having lost 10 of their previous 12 games. They took two of the first three of a four-game series in Chicago against the White Sox, Mon-Wed, but missed a chance with a 4-3 loss last night to end a string of four straight series losses (Yanks settled for a 2-2 split), New York now travels to Houston to take on the team with MLB's best record (Astros are 54-26) for a three-game weekend series. The Yankees are 42-35, one game back of the Red Sox in the AL East. The Astros had a slight "mini-slump," going 4-8 from June 9 through June 18, but head into this series with eight wins in their last 10 games, extending their led in the AL West to a whopping 13 1/2 games.

The pitching matchup: Michael Pineda (7-4, 4.12) will take the mound in tonight's opener for New York and he will face Lance McCullers (7-1 & 2.53 ERA). Pineda pitched poorly vs. Texas in his last outing (7 ERs in 4 IP), making it three times in his last five in which he's allowed five-plus ERs in a start. However, prior to that, Pineda had a stretch in which he allowed three ERs or less in nine straight starts (Yanks were 8-1), since losing his 2017 season debut at Tampa Bay. Pineda took the loss against Houston on May 11, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk with seven strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings of a 3-2 setback. He is 2-3 with a 4.62 ERA in six career starts against the Astros (teams are 2-4). Lance McCullers is set to make his second start since returning from the 10-day disabled list last weekend. The Houston staff has been riddled with injuries and fighting through issues of his own, McCullers has been terrific. The team is 12-2 in his starts and his moneyline mark of plus-$984 ranks second  among all starters. What's more, McCullers is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA over two career starts against the Yankees, including a 5-1 victory at Yankee Stadium on May 12.

The pick: The Astros have maintained their grip on the best record in baseball despite their injuries and McCullers has been a beast. Houston comes in having won eight of 10, while the Yanks stumble in having lost 12 of 16. Make Houston an 8* play.

The set-up: I guess one could call the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies NL East rivals, as the two teams get set to square off in the opener of a three-game series at Citi Field Friday night. However, the Mets are going nowhere at 36-42 (10 1/2 games back of the first-place Nats) and the Phillies check in with MLB's worst record, at 26-51. The Mets are back home after a 10-game road trip. New York appeared headed for disaster when the Mets opened the trip by getting outscored 36-11 in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers but they won five of the last six games, sweeping the San Francisco Giants and taking two of three in Miami from the Marlins.The Phillies were off Thursday, a day after they completed a two-game sweep of the Mariners in Seattle with a come-from-behind 5-4 victory. Even with those back-to-back wins, the Phillies still own MLB's worst road record at 12-31. A win Friday would give the Phillies only their third winning streak of longer than two games this season.

The pitching matchup: It's a battle of right-handers, Philadelphia rookie Ben Lively (1-2 & 3.90 ERA) up against New York ace Jacob deGrom (7-3 & 3.71 ERA). Lively won his major league debut 5-3 against the Giants on June 3 (7 IP / 4 hits / 1 ER) but will be looking to snap a four-start win-less streak in this one. He's 0-2 and the team 0-4 in a stretch in which he's posted a 4.62 ERA. This marks his first appearance against the Mets. DeGrom is showing some "All Star form" in winning his last three starts, a stretch in which he has pitched at least eight innings each time and allowed just two ERs over 25 innings (0.72 ERA), which has lowered his seasonal ERA  from 4.75 to 3.71.

The pick: "We're hoping our pitching is starting to fall in place right now," Collins said after Seth Lugo allowed two runs (one earned) over six innings to cap a six-game stretch in which Mets starters posted a 2.55 ERA. "And if it does, we've got an exciting second half ahead of us." DeGrom is only the second pitcher in 2017 to throw at least eight innings in three straight starts, joining Boston's Chris Sale. What's more, he's 4-0 with a 2.49 ERA in eight career starts against the Phillies, with the Mets winning all eight games. Lively's not in deGrom's class but when he gave up five runs (four earned) over 5 1/3 innings as the Phillies fell to the Diamondbacks 9-2 last Saturday, it marked the first time he had lasted fewer than six innings as a big-leaguer. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: The BC Lions and Toronto Argonauts meet Friday at the BMO Field in Toronto. The Lions lost 30-27 at home in Week 1 to Edmonton and look for their first victory of the season, tonight. The Lions scored 27 points last week but QB Jonathon Jennings didn't have a TD pass (no INTs, either), while passing for a modest 264 yards. Toronto opened with an easy 32-15 win over Hamilton and while QB Ricky Ray had just one TD pass, he didn't throw an INT, completed 78 percent of his passes and threw for 506 yards!

The pick: Toronto was just 5-13 last year (2-7 at home) and allowed the most points of any team in the league (568 or 31.6 per). Meanwhile, BC went 12-6 while averaging 30.3 PPG. The Argonauts are a pathetic 10-25 ATS in their last 35 home games, while the Lions are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings in Toronto. I'm making BC a 10* play.

The set-up: The Dodgers and Angels conclude their home-and-home four-game IL series Thursday night in Anaheim. The Angels won last 3-2, after the two LA teams split a pair of 4-0 finals at Dodger Stadium Monday and Tuesday. The Dodgers own the NL's best record at 52-28, while the Angels are stuck in the AL West and at 42-40, have little chance of catching the Astros, who own MLB's best record at 53-26. The Angels trail the Astros by 12 1/2 games but almost every AL team is alive in the wild card chase and the Angels are among a group of seven teams all within four games of each other, vying for two spots.

The pitching matchup: Clayton Kershaw (11-2 & 2.47 ERA) will take the hill for the Dodgers tonight and JC Ramirez (7-5 & 4.38 ERA) for the Angels. Kershaw looks to become MLB's first 12-game winner this season. He has won seven consecutive decisions since losing back on May 1, with the Dodgers going 10-0 in that 10-start stretch. One runs out of superlatives when discussing Kershaw, as he own a 123-18 KW ratio in 2017, has allowed a modest 83 hits in 109 1/3 IP, giving him an 0.92 WHIP while opponents have hit only .207 against him. Other than that, he hasn't done much of anything. He's 5-2 with a 2.68 ERA in nine career starts against the Angels (Dodgers are 6-3). Ramirez defeated Boston in his last outing, allowing one run on four hits over six innings. However, he's struggled at Angels Stadium in 2017, going 1-3 with a 5.10 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts).

The pick: It's just tough to take the Over in any Kershaw start, although there have been eight overs and eight unders in his 16 starts this season. Still, the finals in the first three games of this "Freeway Series" have been 4-0, 4-0 and 3-2. Expect Kershaw to hold the Angels in check and remember that the Dodgers are just 19-17 on the road this season. Ramirez will start against the Dodgers for the first time in his career tonight but he has retired all 11 Dodgers he has faced in two career relief appearances spanning 3 2/3 Innings. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: Ottawa upset Calgary in last year's Grey Cup final, 39-33 in OT, as nine-point underdogs. The two teams met last Friday in Ottawa and the game ended in a 31-31 tie. I guess that's not too surprising as the teams also tied in one of their two regular season meetings last year as well, 256-26 in Week 3. They trre back at each other again tonight, this time in Calgary. Both QBs threw for 300 yards last Friday, as Ottawa's Harris threw for exactly 300 yards  (3 TDs and 1 INT) and Calgary's Mitchell passed for 376 yards (2 TDs & 0 INTs). Bo Levi Mitchell is the more dangerous QB, as he now has 34 TD passes in his last 18 games. Obviously, both teams allowed 31 points last week, with Calgary allowing 416 yards and Ottawa 441.

The pick: This is a quick "re-hook" and it's hard to ignore the fact that the Stampeders went 9-0 at home in 2016 and haven’t lost a home game since October of 2015. In fact, these last five seasons, Calgary is a dominating 39-6 SU on its home field. However, let's not ignore that the RedBlacks are an impressive 12-4 ATS in their last 16 road games. Past matchups would favor a high-scoring contest but I believe the respective defenses will be a little bit more settled after a game under their belts and will make the Under an 8* play.

The set-up: The Cards won 4-3 on Wednesday, after losing 6-5 in Arizona on Tuesday. It's the rubber match of the three-game series this afternoon, as the Diamondbacks seek to bounce back from a loss, just their fourth in the last 20 games! Arizona remained 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, as the Angels edged the Dodgers 3-2 last night in Anaheim. The Cards check in at only 36-41 but with no team playing all that well in the NL Central, sit a modest 3 1/2 games out of first place.

The pitching matchup: Lance Lynn (5-5 & 3.86 ERA) starts for St. Louis and Patrick Corbin (6-7 & 4.89 ERA) for Arizona. Lynn's 2017 season had been solid until his last two starts, in which he's lost to Baltimore and Pittsburgh, giving up seven runs in each contest. It sure hasn't helped that he's allowed six HRs in the two games. Lynn is 3-0 with a 2.72 ERA in nine career appearances (seven starts / team is 5-2) against the Diamondbacks in his career. Corbin lost to Philadelphia in his last outing, despite giving up one run on eight hits over 6 2/3 innings. Like his team, Corbin has fared well at home, going 5-2 with a 3.19 ERA (he's 1-5 with a 7.84 ERA in six road starts). Corbin is 1-1 with a 5.00 ERA in three career starts against the Cardinals (teams are 1-2).

The pick: Lynn had allowed two or fewer ERs in 10 of his first 13 starts before his recent troubles (see above) but I'm not ready to buy that those troubles are behind him just yet. Wednesday's loss was just Arizona's third in its last 18 home games and in going 30-11 at home in 2017, the D'backs are averaging 6.20 RPG at Chase Field. Corbin has been solid at home (especially compared to his awful road record) but he's hardly a "shut down" starter. Make the Over a 10* play.

The set-up: The Kansas City Royals dropped Tuesday's series opener 5-3 at Detroit but won last night, 8-2. The Royals and Tigers will play the rubber match of this three-game series Thursday afternoon, as the Royals look to capture their sixth straight series. KC is 12-5 in that span and at 38-38, has climbed with 2 1/2 games of the Indians in the AL Central. The Tigers continue to flounder, having lost nine of 11 overall and seven of their last 11 at home. They are 34-43 overall, seven games back of Cleveland.

The pitching matchup: Jakob Junis (2-1 & 4.97 ERA) starts for KC and Michael Fulmer (6-6 & 3.29 ERA) for Detroit. Junis is a 24-year-old who is making a sixth straight start, after appearing out of the bullpen in his first two major league appearances. He has two quality starts in his last three outings, after allowing two runs over 6 1/3 innings in a no-decision against Toronto on Friday (KC won 5-4). This marks his first appearance against the Tigers. Fulmer, who was ROY in the AL last season, has recorded a quality start 12 times in 14 outings in 2017 but is just 6-6 and the team 7-7 in his starts. That's a far cry from the Tigers going 19-7 in his 2016 starts, when his moneyline mark of plus-$1292 was sixth-best among all starters. In fact, he has dropped five of six decisions since the middle of May. Fulmer does owns a 2.36 ERA in four career starts versus Kansas City (he's 1-2 and Detroit 2-2).

The pick: I wouldn't give up on Fulmer too soon, as he's pitched better than his record. In fact, he's off an excellent performance in his last outing, giving up one run on two hits with eight strikeouts in seven innings but received no run support in a 1-0 loss to the Padres. Junis has proven little so far and I'll stick with Fulmer and make Detroit an 8* play.

The set-up: The Indians have won two of the first three in this four-game home series with the Rangers, after Wednesday's 5-2 victory. After getting swept in a three-game series by the Twins last weekend, the Indians now wrap up a seven-game homestand with a chance to finish 3-4. The Rangers were 32-32 back on June 13 and with last night's loss, find themselves 7-7 over their last 14 and at 39-39 on the season, a whopping 13 1/2 games out of first in the AL West. Meanwhile, the 41-36 Indians are back on top of the AL Central at 41-36, by a half-game over the Twins.

The pitching matchup: Andrew Cashner (3-6 & 3.50 ERA) takes the mound for Texas and Corey Kluber (6-2 & 3.24 ERA) for Cleveland. Cashner will be activated off the disabled list to make the start on Thursday. He has been on the DL since June 15 with a left oblique strain. In his last three starts prior to going on the DL, Cashner was 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA and going back further, was 3-3 with 4.50 ERA in his previous six. Cashner's made just one career start against the Indians and it didn't go well, allowing six runs on six hits along with six walks in a 6-2 loss while pitching for Miami last season. Corey Kluber is unbeaten in five starts (he's 3-0 but the team just 3-2) since spending nearly a month on the disabled list. He was overpowering in his last start against Minnesota, registering a season-high 13 strikeouts while permitting two unearned runs and three hits over seven innings. It was the third consecutive start with a double-digit strikeout total. Kuber is 2-1 with a 4.36 ERA in five career starts vs. Texas (teams are 4-1).

The pick: We can't be sure about Cashner in his first start since June 14 but he does own a respectable 3.79 ERA in seven road starts this season. As for Kluber, he's in excellent form (1.29 ERA over his last five starts), so the Under is a 10* play.

The set-up: The Astros may own MLB's best overall record (52-26) but their play at home in Minute Maid Park has been sub-par. Tuesday night was another example as Houston fell 6-4 to the Oakland A's, who even with the win own just a 13-25 road record. The Astros' three-run, ninth-inning rally fell short last night and Houston is now a modest 23-17 at home, compared to a MLB-best 29-9 on the road! Houston has five more games at Minute Maid in this homestand, two with the A's and then three with the Yankees. After going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position while stranding 10, Houston must do better. One would think, the struggling A's give them an opportunity to get better..

The pitching matchup: Jesse Hahn (3-5 & 4.66 ERA) will start for the Athletics and David Paulino (2-0 & 5.04 ERA) for the Astros. Hahn is 2-1 with a 7.00 ERA in four starts since being reinstated from the 10-day disabled list (strained right triceps) on June 6 and he's 1-4 with a 9.28 ERA over five career starts against the Astros, including a 12-9 setback last Thursday when he allowed 10 runs (nine earned) on six hits and three walks over just two innings..Paulino started opposite Hahn this past Thursday in Oakland, allowing three ERs in 5 1/3 innings to earn the win (it's his only career starts vs. the A's). It also marked just the second win of Paulino's career (note: the Astros are 3-2 in his five starts this season).

The pick: It's true that the A's have yet to win any of Hahns road starts in 2017 (he's 0-3 and the team 0-6) but it's also true that he's pitched fairly well away from home, with a 3.14 ERA in seven appearances (includes one relief stint). As for Paulino, he'll face an Oakland lineup which has averaged only 3.89 RPG in its 38 road games this season. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: The Phillies and Mariners will wrap up their two-game IL series Wednesday afternoon in Seattle, following Tuesday night's game in which the MLB-worst Phillies scored four times in the ninth inning on their way to an 8-2 victory. The Phillies are going nowhere again in 2017 (at 25-51, they are 20 1/2 games back in the NL East) but while the 39-40 Mariners are 13 1/2games behind Houston in the AL West, almost the entire AL is within striking distance of a wild card spot (Seattle is just two games out of the final spot).

The pitching matchup: Mark Leiter (1-0 & 3.60 ERA) takes the mound for Philly and Felix Hernandez (3-2 & 4.68 ERA) for the Mariners. Mark Leiter, Sr. pitched 11 seasons in the major leagues, including two seasons with the Phillies. He was in attendance when Mark Leiter Jr. made his first major league start last Friday at Arizona. He pitched six scoreless innings, allowing three hits with one walk and five strikeouts to earn his first victory. "I was just trying to go out there and do my best, trying to keep the team in there," said Leiter, whose uncle Al also pitched 19 seasons in the big leagues. If nothing else, the young Leiter has good genes. "King Felix" will be making his second start since coming back from the disabled list. Hernandez was out from April 26 to June 22 with bursitis in his right shoulder, the first time he landed been on the DL with an arm problem in a decade. Hernandez is unfamiliar with Philadelphia, with just one career starts against them (0-1 & 3.86 ERA).

The pick: The Phillies surprised last night but this is not a good baseball team and even after Tuesday's win, the Phillies check in at 11-31 on the road. Meanwhile, Seattle has put themselves back in the wild card chase with an 18-11 run in which the team has averaged more than six runs per game and batted nearly .300 as a team in that span. Lastly, taking "King Felix" (Seattle is 9-2 in Hernandez’s last 11 home starts) over Leiter (he had pitched 19 innings and posted a 4.74 ERA in 12 relief appearances prior to his first start) is a "no-brainer.' Make Seattle a 6* play.

The set-up: The Los Angeles Angels Dodgers opened their home-and-home four game IL series with the LA Angels Monday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers came in on a 10-game winning streak, as well as an 11-game winning streak at Dodger Stadium, where they were a major league-best 32-10. They also entered Monday's contest having homered in 17 straight games to match the Los Angeles club record set back in 1960. However, all streaks were ended last night as the Angels came away with a 4-0 victory. It's highly unlikely that the Angels will catch the 52-25 Houston Astros in the AL West (currently trail by 12 1/2 games!) but they are starting to resemble a legitimate wild-card contender. The Angels extended their winning streak to three games on Monday and at 41-39, have moved within one game of Minnesota for the second wild card spot. Getting back to the Dodgers, they still own the best record in the National League (51-27) and lead the West by one game over Arizona.

The pitching matchup: Jesse Chavez (5-7 & 5.15 ERA) takes the mound for the Angels and Kenta Maeda (5-3 & 4.62 ERA) for the Dodgers. Chavez escaped with a no-decision after allowing five runs on seven hits in four innings of the Angels' 10-5 victory at Yankee Stadium on Thursday and that leaves him 1-2 with a 6.10 ERA in his last six starts, allowing 40 hits over 31 innings. Surprisingly, the Angels are 4-2 in that span. Chavez posted a 4.21 ERA in 23 relief appearances with the Dodgers last season after being acquired at the trade deadline from Toronto and is 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA in 11 games (two starts / teams are 1-1) against them. Maeda last started a game at Cincinnati on June 18, when he allowed one run, three hits and one walk while striking out five in five innings of an 8-7 victory. His only appearance since that start was when he pitched a scoreless seventh inning in the Dodgers' 6-1 win against Colorado on Friday. Maeda allowed four runs on five hits in four innings of a 7-6 loss to the Angels back on May 16, 2016 (0-1 & 9.00 ERA) in his only appearance against them.

The pick: Don't expect the Dodgers to be shut out again by the Angels but do expect another low-scoring contest. Make the Under a 10* play.

full analysis soon

The pitching matchup: Robert Gsellman (5-5 & 6.04 ERA) starts for New York and Dan Straily (5-4 & 3.43 ERA) for Miami. Gsellman has struggled badly in his last two starts, losing both while allowing 14 ERs on 20 hits (including six HRs) in 9 1/3 innings (13.50 ERA).. Gsellman is already facing the Marlins for the fourth time this season and is 1-1 with a 6.14 ERA through the first three (Mets are 2-1). While Gsellman has struggled in his last two, Straily has allowed just one run on seven hits over 12 1/3 innings while striking out 14 and walking one in his last two outings (1-0 with an 0.73 ERA / team is 2-0). He's had 86 strikeouts in 84 total innings this season and over his last five starts, has walked just three batters. Straily threw 5 1/3 no-hit innings against New York on April 16 but walked five and was lifted after 93 pitches. He's 0-1 with a 4.71 ERA in two career starts (teams are 1-1).

The pick: The Mets are coming off a three-game sweep in San Francisco but these days that's filed under "what's the big deal?" The Marlins earned a split of their four-game weekend series with the Cubs with a 4-2 Sunday win but had taken their previous five home series prior to that. That fact plus Strailly over Gsellman make the Marlins an 8* play.

The set-up: It's been a year of inconsistencies for the defending champs and life won't get an easier this week, as Chicago visits Washington to take on the 45-30 Nats, who lead the NL East by nine games and are seven games better on the season than the 38-37 Cubs. The good news foe Chicago fans is that no one in the NL Central has done much in 2017, so the Cubs open the new week just 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Brewers. The Cubs head north from Miami for this series, after splitting a four-games series with the Marlins, leaving the Cubs just 8-17 in their last 25 on the road. The Nats were 37-20 in games played through June 6 but over the last few weeks, are a modest 8-10.

The set-up: Eddie Butler (3-2 & 4.19 ERA) gets the ball in this first game for the Cubs and will be opposed by the Nationals' Gio Gonzalez (7-1 & 2.96 ERA). Butler is win-less in his last three starts (he's 0-1 and the team 1-2) and hasn’t made it through six innings since tossing six scoreless innings in his Cubs debut back on May 12. He allowed only one run and five hits Wednesday against San Diego but he ran up a high pitch count (92) and left without recording an out in the fifth. Butler has faced the Nationals only once, allowing four runs over six innings in a loss in 2015 (0-1 & 6.00 ERA). Gonzalez is well on his way to an eighth straight season with double-digit wins, entering 7-1 after 15 starts in 2017 (Nats are 9-6). He has won four straight decisions, with his last loss coming back on May 8 at Baltimore. He has posted five straight quality starts and is coming off a win at Miami in which he allowed three runs and six hits over seven innings with eight strikeouts. Gonzalez is 3-2 with a 3.23 ERA in nine starts in his career against the Cubs (teams are 4-5).

The pick: The Cubs continue to struggle, so I'm making the Nats a 10* play in this first of four games.

The set-up: The Phillies took the opener of this four-game series in Arizona but the D'backs won on both Saturday and Sunday, with yesterday's win taking 11 innings. Arizona's 2-1 victory gives the D'backs a 28-10 record at home (only the Dodgers own a better home-field mark) and 11 wins in their last 13 games, overall. The D'backs trail the Dodgers by 2 1/2 games in the NL West but do own MLB's top moneyline mark (plus-$1964). First baseman Paul Goldschmidt had two hits and a RBI on Sunday and is hitting .423 with five HRs and 18 RBI over his last 12 games. He leads the team with a .332 BA and leads all of MLB with 65 RBI. As for the Phillies, they head into Monday's series finale with MLB's worst overall record (24-50), its worst road record (10-30) and its second-worst moneyline mark (minus-$2123).

The pitching matchup: Nick Pivetta (1-3 & 4.46 ERA) gets the start for Philadelphia and Zack Greinke (8-4 & 3.14 ERA) for Arizona. Pivetta may have just one win in his eight starts of 2017 but he has struck out 46 batters over 42 1/3 innings. He has registered 19 strikeouts over his last two outings and has shown improved control of late with a total of just three walks in those last two, as well. Pivetta will be facing Arizona for the first time. Greinke pitched well for seven innings last Tuesday against Colorado but ran into trouble in the eighth and took the loss after being charged with four runs over 7 1/3 innings. He's having a solid year and as has been typical for him, he's been outstanding in his home park. Greinke is 6-0 in eight home starts (D'backs are 7-1), posting a 2.77 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. His career numbers vs. the Phillies are strong, as he's 7-1 with a 2.54 ERA in 10 career games (nine starts / teams are 6-3).

The pick: The Diamondbacks have won 14 of their past 17 overall and 13 of their last 15 at home. Meanwhile, the Phillies continue in go in the opposite direction, having lost 15 of their last 18 games, overall. As noted above, they own MLB's worst road record (averaging only 3.55 RPG) and after winning the series opener Friday have scored only three runs in 20 innings! Monday night Philadelphia faces Greinke, who is once again dominating visiting teams in his home park. Make the Under a 10* play.

The pick: Kuhl has not pitched well in 2017 but did have one of his best starts of the season on April 18 at St. Louis, giving up two runs on three hits over six innings. As for Leake, he's looked good in his last outing, after that awful four-game losing stretch. However, prior to that mini-slump, Leake owned a 1.91 ERA over his first nine starts of 2017. Pittsburgh/St. Louis games have been tight in 2017, as Saturday's 7-3 Pittsburgh win marked the first time in five meetings this season the outcome was decided by more than one run. Expect another close and low-scoring one tonight, making the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts meet Sunday in CFL action at the BMO Field in Toronto. The Tiger-Cats are hoping for a better season in 2017, after finishing 7-11 last year and then losing 24-21 to Edmonton in the East Semifinal. Hamilton has possibly the best 1-2 QB punch in the league with Zach Collaros and Jeremiah Masoli both playing well last season and proving they can lead the team. However, it looks as if Collaros will be the go-to guy this year now that he's finally healthy. Toronto has nowhere to go but up after finishing with a CFL-worst 5-13 record (Saskatchewan was also 5-13). The Argonauts scored only 383 points last year (21.3), with only Saskatchewan scoring less (350 points). On defense, no team allowed more points than Toronto's 568 (31.6 per). If Ricky Ray stays healthy, Toronto's offense will be in good hands. However, while Ray has more than 54,000 career passing yards, he has played just 12 games the last two years. The fact that the Argonauts lost their top-two receivers from a year ago is also a concern, even though Ray is healthy to open the 2017 season.

The pick: Even with Ray healthy, there is too so much turnover on the offensive side of the ball for Toronto and then let's not forget, the team's defense was the worst in the CFL in 2016. The Tiger-Cats have won six of their last seven meetings against the Argonauts and are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 meetings in Toronto. Make Hamilton an 8* play.

The set-up: The Minnesota Twins have steadied the ship by winning four of their last five contests, including the first two of this three-game series in Cleveland. Minnesota shut out the Indians 5-0 on Friday night and then won 4-2 Saturday afternoon, to improve to 22-9 on the road. The Twins now look to 'return the favor' and complete a three-game sweep of the Indians this afternoon, as Cleveland swept a four-game series at Minnesota last weekend. Cleveland came into this series having won eight of nine to take over first place in the AL Central but has gone 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position the last two games and now lead the Twins by just a half-game, meaning a Minnesota win will see the Twins regain the top spot in the division.

The pitching matchup: Ervin Santana (9-4 & 2.97 ERA) takes the mound for the Twins and will be opposed by the Indians' Josh Tomlin (4-8 & 6.07 ERA). Santana was one of the AL's best pitchers through the season's first two months, earning seven wins and owning a 1.75 through the end of May. However, he's struggled badly in three of his four June starts. He did win a 4-0 shut out at San Francisco on June 9, but he's lasted a total of just 14 innings in the other three outings, allowing 18 ERs (that's a 11.57 ERA in those three starts!). Santana is 6-11 with a 4.00 ERA in 23 starts against Cleveland in his career (teams are 8-15). Tomlin has had a rough June as well, going 1-2 (team is 1-3) in four starts, allowing 15 ERs over 19 1/3 innings (6.98 ERA). The Indians are just 5-9 in Tomlin's 14 starts in 2017 and in his career, he's 5-5 with a 5.07 ERA against the Twins (team is 7-6).

The pick: The Twins' 22-9 road record is MLB's second-best (only Houston's 27-9 mark is better) and the Indians are just 15-19 at home. The visiting team has won 11 of the 12 games played in this series in 2017 but that seems unlikely to continue. Santana has really struggled this month, while Tomlin (a 13-game winner in 2016) is a better pitcher than he's shown in 2017. In fact, he owns a 2.57 ERA in two starts against the Twins this season. "They've outplayed us. We've got to come out (Sunday) and get after it," Indians manager Terry Francona said. I'm with Terry. Make Cleveland a 10* play.

The set-up: The Dodgers opened their three-game series with the Rockies last night, winning 6-1. The victory gives LA eight wins in a row, as well as 14 in the team's last 15 games. The Dodgers have surged to the top of the NL West at 49-25 (the team's 30-10 home record is a MLB-best) and LA's run differential of plus-128 is 18 runs better than that of Houston, which owns MLB's best record (50-25). The Rockies have now lost three straight and are 47-29, leaving them in a virtual tie with the D'backs, 2 1/2 games back of the Dodgers.

The pitching matchup: Tyler Chatwood (6-7 & 4.08 ERA) will get the call for Colorado and he draws LA's Clayton Kershaw (10-2 & 2.61 ERA). Chatwood has had his troubles at home in 2017 (6.39 ERA in seven starts) but he has been decidedly better away from Coors Field this season, going 4-3 with a 2.41 ERA in eight road starts. Chatwood is 4-7 with a 3.95 ERA in 12 career starts versus the Dodgers (teams are 4-8). Kershaw was able to get a win this past Monday at home against the New York Mets, despite surrendering six runs and a career-high four HRs over 6 1/3 innings. The three-time Cy Young Award winner has allowed a career-high 17 HRs but he alos owns a 115-17 KW ratio over 103 1/3 frames. Kershaw has gone 20-6 with a 3.13 ERA in 35 career starts against Colorado (Dodgers are 26-9).

The pick: In Kershaw's 35 career starts against the Rockies, he's held them to a 222 opponents BA. He faces a Colorado lineup which was outscored 26-8 in back-to-back losses to Arizona before opening its nine-game road trip with a thud on Friday, scoring a single run on three hits. Throw in Chatwood's 2.41 ERA in eight road starts in 2017 and we have a 10* play on the under.

The set-up: The Edmonton Eskimos and BC Lions meet Saturday in CFL action at the BC Place. The Eskimos went 10-8 last season and the Lions, 12-6. Both teams won their first playoff game but then fell in their second try, Edmonton lost 35-23 at Ottawa in the East Final and BC lost 42-15 at Calgary in the West Final. The teams split two regular season games last year, with each winning at home (Edmonton 27-23 and then BC, 32-25). Mike Reilly returns at QB for the Eskimos, after throwing for 5,554 yards and 28 TDs (completed 70.3 %), easily his best season of his CFL career. The Lions also return their starting QB in Jonathon Jennings, who is is back after throwing for more than 5,200 yards and 27 TDs while completing 67 percent of his passes in his first real season as a starter. Of the two teams, Edmonton returns enough talent to be considered a serious Grey Cup title contender.

The pick: As noted, the home team won both meetings last season and in fact, the home team has won the last six meetings between Edmonton and BC (the road team hasn't won a game since June of 2014 in this series). Edmonton finished last season as the CFL's second-highest scoring team (30.5 PPG) and BC as its third-highest scoring one (30.3). However, it took BC a few games to find its way, as after three 2016 contests, BC final scores had averaged only 36.0 PPG last season. Also note that in Edmonton's first two road games of 2016, those contests averaged a modest 39.5 PPG. By year's end, these should again be high-scoring teams. However, here in Week 1, when these teams have seen their last five meetings decided by seven points or less, the Under is a 10* play.

The set-up: No one, surely not the Cubs themselves, thought repeating would be a walk in the park. However, few if any, believed the Cubs would be so inconsistent as the 2017 season approaches its mid-point. The Cubs and Marlins opened a four-game series in Miami on Thursday with Chicago banging out 16 hits in an 11-1 rout. Then, one night later, the Cubs fell 2-0, marking the sixth time they’ve been shut out this season. That matches their total from all of last season! The teams square off in the third game of the series late this afternoon at Marlins Park with Chicago just a single game over .500 (37-36), while Miami is 33-39. The Marlins have won five straight home series and are 3-2 on their current 10-game homestand.

The pitching matchup: Jon Lester (4-4 & 3.83 ERA) vs will take the mound for Chicago and Justin Nicolino (0-1 & 5.06 ERA) for Miami. Lester had a great second half for Chicago in 2016 but his 2017 season so far has been a disappointment. He did post his second straight quality start Monday against San Diego, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings with seven strikeouts, but he didn’t factor in the decision. His struggles on the road this season are real, as he's 1-3 with a 5.85 ERA and 1.76 WHIP in six road starts (team is 2-4). Lester has just four LT starts against the Marlins, going 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA (teams are 1-3). Nicolino came off the disabled list Monday to make his first start in nearly three weeks and now makes just his fifth start of 2017 in this one. He was not sharp against Washington this past Monday, allowing six runs (three earned) in three innings, including a pair of HRs. Nicolino has three no-decisions and a loss in his four outings of 2017 but while he owns a 5.06 ERA and 1.69 WHIP plus opponents are batting .299 against him, the Marlins have won his three no-decisions.

The pick: Lester has had his issues in 2017 (especially on the road) but he's a "big-time" pitcher and the bottom line with Nicolino is this, his numbers per nine innings this season are poor across the board. He's allowing too many hits (11.3), too many HRs (2.3), too many walks (3.9) and striking out too few batters (5.6). Make the Cubs an 8* play.

The set-up: The Kansas City Royals won the first of this three-game series 5-4 over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. It was a dramatic win, as Whit Merrifield delivered a walk-off, two-run double to cap a four-run ninth inning. The victory gives Kansas City 10 wins in its last 12 and the Royals are now at .500 (36-35) for the first time since they were 7-7 back on April 19. The Blue Jays opened the season 2-9 and have not been able to reach that .500 plateau and last night's crushing loss drops them another game further away from the break-even mark at 35-38. The Blue Jays began their seven-game road trip with wins in two of the first three at Texas but dropped an 11-4 decision on Thursday, failing in yet another opportunity to move to .500 (team is 0-9 in nine such tries in 2017, getting outscored 73-24!).

The pitching matchup: Marco Estrada (4-5 & 4.98 ERA) gets the start for Toronto and will be opposed by KC's best pitcher here in 2017, Jason Vargas (10-3 & 2.27 ERA).
Estrada takes the mound in a four-game funk, having gone win-less in his previous four outings. He lost the first three in that stretch and then escaped this past Monday with a no-decision, despite allowing six runs on seven hits and four walks in just 3 2/3 innings at Texas (Toronto did win the game, 7-6). Estrada's ERA in his recent four-game stretch is a woeful 12.68. Estrada is seeing for the Royals for the first time since the 2015 ALCS, when he went 1-1 in a pair of starts, including a win in Game 5 that kept the series alive for Toronto. Including the postseason, he's 2-2 with a 2.84 ERA against the Royals in four starts. In stark contrast to Estrada, Vargas takes the mound on a five-game winning streak (2.20 ERA). He is tied with Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw for the major-league lead in wins at 10. Vargas missed the 2015 ALCS following elbow surgery and has not faced Toronto since a win on May 30, 2014 but enters this game with a 2-3 (5.36 ERA) record in eight career starts against the Jays (teams are 4-4).

The pick: Vargas is pitching great but there should be some concern regarding his poor career numbers vs. Toronto. As for Estrada, he's clearly "off his game" and with a career ERA of 6.13 in June, the Over is a 10* play.

The set-up: The Yankees have had a rough 10 days, losing seven in a row from June 13-20 and then after an 8-4 Wednesday win snapped the team's slid, New York was unable to protect a four-run lead in a 10-5 loss to the Angels on Thursday. The Yanks open a three-game home series Friday against the Texas Rangers, having lost eight of nine to fall into virtual tie with the 40-32 Red Sox at 39-31 on the season. Meanwhile, Texas (36-36) has won nine of 13 and while the Rangers remain 13 games back of Houston in the AL West, the team's current streak has them within 1 1/2 games of the second AL wild card spot.

The pitching matchup: Yu Darvish (6-5 & 3.35 ERA) of Texas and Masahiro Tanaka (5-7 & 6.34 ERA) of New York will oppose each other on American soil for the first time. This marks the first time they have faced each other since they were in Japan's Pacific League in 2011, when Darvish out-dueled Tanaka as the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters edged the Tohuku Rakuten Golden Eagles 3-1. Darvish was hit hard last time out against Seattle, giving up five runs on eight hits over five innings to fall to 1-3 over his past five starts (Texas is 1-4). Darvish is 3-1 lifetime in five starts against the Yankees (Rangers are 3-2). As for Tanaka, the Yankees clearly have to be worried. He ripped off five straight wins from April 14 through May 8 but he's 0-6 over his last seven starts (Yanks are 1-6), while posting a, 8.91 ERA in that span and allowing 15 HRs in just 33 1/3 innings of work. Tanaka has made only two career starts against the Rangers, going 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA (Yanks are 1-1).

The pick: Strictly on current form the play would be over but expect these two former rivals to rise to the occasion. Darvish owns a 2.65 ERA in six road starts in 2017 plus Tanaka is overdue for a turnaround. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: The Toronto Blue Jays and the Kansas City Royals open a three-game series Friday night at Kauffman Stadium. The 35-36 Royals have won nine of 11 contests to move within one game of .500 while the 35-37 Blue Jays never seem to to able to get their record to the break-even mark in 2017 (more on that later). KC opened the week by taking two of three from the Red Sox and now close a six-game homestand with this three-game series with the Jays, who settled for a split of their four-game series in Texas following Thursday's 11-4 setback

The pitching matchup: J.A. Happ (2-4 & 4.26 ERA) takes the mound for Toronto up against Jake Junis (2-1 & 5.56 ERA) of KC. Happ is coming off a career season in 2016 (20-4) and now, after a slow start in 2017 (slowed by a stay on the DL due to elbow inflammation), has won back-to-back outings. The 34-year-old lefty first scattered six hits and struck out eight over six innings in a 4-0 victory at Seattle on June 11 and then struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings of a 7-2 triumph versus the Chicago White Sox this past Sunday. "I feel like the last two have been a lot better," Happ said. "I feel like I'm staying in my lanes a little better on each side of the plate, more consistently. That's a good sign for me and there's been a little bit more life to my fastball as well." Happ is 2-2 with a 5.96 ERA in four starts against the Royals in his career but has not faced them since 2014. Junis is a rookie and he'll be making his seventh career appearance and fifth start on Friday since being called up in early June. He sustained his first loss of the season last Saturday, after allowing five runs on eight hits (including two HRs) in 5 1/3 innings against the Los Angeles Angels.

The pick: The Royals are hot (see above) but the Jays have won nine of their last 11, have not lost a series this month and are 13-6 in June. Happ seems to have found his groove and one has to like him over the rookie Junis who owns a 1.76 WHIP and .304 opponents BA to go along with his 5.56 ERA. Yes, the Blue Jays are 0-9 when trying to reach .500 in 2017 (getting outscored 73-24 in those nine losses) but at two games under .500 entering tonight's game, that doesn't apply. Make Toronto a 10* play.

The set-up: The Saskatchewan Roughriders (West Division) ended last year with losses in their last three games and finished 5-13. However, they were a much more respectable 9-9 ATS. That said, the Roughriders pretty much have nowhere to go but up. They allowed 530 points (only the East's Toronto allowed more in giving up 568) and no team in the CFL scored fewer points than Saskatchewan's 350. QB Darian Durant, who is a two-time Grey Cup champion, is gone and finding a new starting QB among Kevin Glenn, Brandon Bridge or Marquise Williams will be a priority. The Roughriders open their season in Montreal tonight, against the Alouettes. Montreal plays in the East and despite winning their final three games finished 7-11 last year, a season in which none of the four teams in the East were able to finish with a winning record. Durant, who threw for more than 3,800 yards last season, is now Montreal's starting QB. I'm sure he'd love to have a big game against the ex-teammates.

The pick: It's no surprise that the West is the much tougher division (four of the West's five teams topped .500, with only Saskatchewan under. 500) and Saskatchewan went 7-3 ATS over its last 10 games, overall (4-1 ATS in their last five road games). Having a consistent and reliable QB such as Durant makes Montreal a better team in 2017 but I have no interest in laying points (about a TD) with a team which is 3-9 ATS in its last 12 home games. Make Saskatchewan a 10* play.

The set-up: The Cubs had a three-game winning streak snapped with a 3-2 home loss to San Diego on Wednesday in which they tied a season-low with only two hits. Chicago begins an 11-game trip with four against the Marlins in Miami on Thursday. The Cubs did win their last road series (took two of three at Pittsburgh June 16-18) but prior to that, had gone 4-14 their previous 18 on the road. Miami was being no-hit by Washington’s Max Scherzer entering the eighth inning Wednesday but rallied for a 2-1 win, giving the Marlins their fifth straight series victory at home (Marlins are 12-3 in that span) as they prepare to host the Cubs on Thursday.

The pitching matchup: Jake Arrieta (6-5 & 4.64 ERA) will start for Chicago and Jeff Locke (0-2 & 4.58 ERA) for Miami. Arrieta continues to struggle in 2017, after going a combined 40-14 the previous two years. He takes the mound tonight having failed to get out of the fifth inning in his last two starts, lasting a total of just nine innings. Like his team, he's struggled big time on the road, with a 5.09 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in nine away starts. Miami's Locke is win-less in four starts since coming off the disabled list June 1 but he's pitched reasonably well, allowing three ERs or less in all four outings. Locke lost to Arrieta and the Cubs on June 6, when he allowed four runs (three earned) in 4 2/3 innings and that's not exactly new. Locke is 1-4 with a 6.23 ERA in 11 career starts against the Cubs (teams are 3-8).

The pick: Locke hasn’t beaten the Cubs since 2013 but as noted above, he has not allowed more than three ERs in any of his four starts in 2017 since getting off the DL. Locke faces a Chicago team which is just 6-15 over its last 21 road contests, averaging only 3.71 RPG. Sure, Arrieta has struggled in 2017 but he limited the Marlins to two runs on just two hits over six innings in a 10-2 win June 6 in Chicago, improving to 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA in three meetings with Miami. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: It's hardly been smooth sailing for the 33-37 Cardinals in 2017 but St. Louis outscored Philadelphia 16-7 in sweeping a three-game series at Busch Stadium June 9-11 and has now opened this week by winning back-to-back extra inning games at Citizens Bank Park. The Cards won 8-1 (in 11 innings) on Tuesday and last night overcame a 5-0 deficit to win 7-6 in 10 innings. St. Louis improved to 3-2 on its six-game road trip while Philadelphia suffered its fifth straight loss, as well as its 13th in the last 14 games. The Phillies continue to fall deeper and deeper into a hole, as the team's 22-48 record remains MLB's worst as the Cards look for a second straight three-game sweep Thursday afternoon.

The pick: Carlos Martinez (6-5 & 2.86 ERA) takes the mound for St. Louis and Aaron Nola (3-5 & 4.76 ERA) for Philadelphia. Martinez, another reliever turned starter for the Cards, opened the 2017 season struggling. He came out of nowhere to win 14 games in 2015 and then 16 games in 2016. However, he went 0-3 with a 4.71 ERA in five April starts in 2017. That's all changed since the start of May though, as he's gone 6-2 in his last nine outings, with his ERA on the season dropping to 2.86. Martinez is coming off back-to-back outstanding efforts, striking out 11 and scattering four hits in a 7-0 win over Philadelphia on June 10 before allowing one run in six innings in an 11-2 rout at Baltimore last Friday. Nola takes the mound for the Phillies having gone 1-5 in his last six outings, after allowing five runs on nine hits in six-plus innings against Arizona last Friday. "I'm not getting ahead of hitters like I need to, which makes me battle more, which puts a little more stress on you," he told reporters.

The pick: It's been a struggle for Nola this year but has pitched well in two career outings versus St. Louis, allowing just two hits over seven shutout innings in an game last season, before taking a 6-5 loss on June 11 despite allowing just three runs on four hits in five innings. However, Nola has had all sorts of trouble at home in 2017, posting a 6.50 ERA and 1.56 WHIP. Martinez is 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA in three career starts vs. Philadelphia, including allowing four hits and one walk while striking out 11 batters in a 109-pitch complete game on June 10. Martinez now has nine quality starts in his past 10 outings, including posting a 1.77 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings of his last six, while holding batters to a .159 batting average and .450 OPS. St. Louis makes it 6-0 against Philadelphia in 2017 with a second straight sweep. Make the Cards an 8* play.

The set-up: Kyle Seager's game-winning RBI double in the 10th gave Seattle a 5-4 over Detroit last night, following Monday's 6-2 triumph. It was the Mariners' third straight win and the team which opened the 2017 at 2-8 is now 36-37. However, playing in the AL West with Houston, Seattle finds itself 12 1/2 games out of first. There is good news though, as Seattle is part of a log-jam for the No. 2 wild card spot, as eight teams are within two games of that final playoff spot. Detroit is sinking with four straight defeats and nine in 12 games, falling to 32-38. There are two games left in this series and word is, Detroit manager Brad Ausmus' seat is getting pretty 'hot.'

The pitching matchup: Justin Verlander (4-4 & 4.50 ERA) gets the start for Detroit and James Paxton (5-2 & 3.23 ERA) for Seattle. One of Verlander's top outings of the 2017 season was a no-decision against the Mariners on April 27, when he allowed an unearned run and five hits over seven innings. However, Verlander is win-less in five starts since defeating Texas back on May 20, going 0-1 (team is 2-3). Verlander is 10-8 with a 3.09 ERA in 21 career starts against Seattle (Tigers are 11-10). Paxton posted a 1.69 ERA through his first eight starts (he was 5-0 but Seattle 5-3) but he's allowed 11 runs on 15 hits over just 7 2/3 innings in the consecutive poor starts, posting a 12.91 ERA. Paxton struck out nine and gave up four hits in seven scoreless innings to defeat Detroit 8-0 back on April 26 and is now 2-1 with a 2.80 ERA in four career starts against the Tigers (team is 2-2).

The pick: Seattle has been waiting for Paxton to deliver on his potential and a strong start to 2017 suggested, this would be the year. However, one has to show some concern after two brutal outings. As for Veralnder, he may be win-less his last five starts but over his last four starts, he owns a respectable 3.43 ERA. I'm taking the 1 1/2 runs and making the Tigers a 6* play.

The set-up: The Minnesota Twins lost their lead in the AL Central when they dropped four straight over the weekend to the Cleveland Indians. The Twins will get another shot at the Indians next weekend (three-game series in Cleveland) but first they host the Chicago White Sox for three games, a series which began last night. The White Sox had won of five of their last seven games heading into the series but were still mired in last place in the AL Central division at 31-37. The Twins came away with a 9-7 win, despite Santana allowing six runs on 10 hits (including two HRs) in just five innings. Minnesota still owns the worst home record in the majors (15-24) but it was huge to its their skid on a night when the team's ace pitcher labored. Chicago's loss dropped them to 16-26 on the road in 2017.

The pitching matchup: Lefty David Holmberg (1-0 & 2.63 ERA) gets the start for Chicago and will be opposed by José Berríos (6-1 & 2.74 ERA), who has been a nice surprise for the Twins. Holmberg is in his first season with Chicago, after making 14 appearances (12 starts) the last three seasons. He will be making his fifth start since being shifted from the bullpen to the rotation but has made it through five innings only once. However, he's surely shown great improvement this season, overall. He came into 2017 with a 6.45 career ERA but his ERA is just 2.63 this season plus he owns an 0.88 WHIP with opponents batting only .160 against him. He may be just 1-0 in his previous four starts but Chicago has won three times. Berrios pitched a season-high eight innings in a 6-2 win over Seattle last Thursday. He allowed two runs on five hits to win his third start in a row. He has yet to yield more than six hits in any of his seven starts this season (owns a decision in each one). While the Twins have struggled at home, Berrios has been an exception, going is 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA and 0.87 WHIP at Target Field.

The pick: Holmberg has shown excellent improvement in 2017 but the turnaround by Berrios is "off the charts." He was 3-7 in 14 starts last year for Minnesota (team was 3-11), posting an 8.02 ERA, 1.87 WHIP and opponents batted .310 against him. Here in 2017 after seven starts, his ERA is 2.74, his WHIP is 0.96 and hitters are batting only .186 against him. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: The Indians surged into first place in the AL Central with a four-game sweep of the Twins in Minnesota Thursday through Sunday, where they outscored them 28-8. The Indians then opened a four-game road series at Baltimore with a 12-0 Monday pasting of the Orioles. That gave Cleveland six consecutive victories while scoring a total of 52 runs (8.67 per), as the Indians moved a season-high six games over .500 at 37-31. Meanwhile, the Orioles entered Tuesday at 34-35, after losing 25 of their previous 37 games. Baltimore did slow the Cleveland offense a bi on Tuesday, winning 6-5. However,  the Orioles have plenty of pitching concerns after giving up at least five runs for the 17th consecutive game, which is just three shy of the major league mark set by Philadelphia, way back in 1924! In the short term, the Orioles will go for their fourth win in five games as the teams continue a four-game set at Baltimore's Camden Yards, tonight.

The pitching matchup: Carlos Carrasco (7-3 & 3.21 ERA) steps to the mound for the Indians and will be opposed by the Orioles' Kevin Gausman (3-6 & 6.60 ERA). Carrasco held Minnesota to one run on four hits over 6 1/3 innings of last Friday's 8-1 victory. He's now 5-1 over his last eight starts (team is 6-1). He likes it on the road here in 2017, going 5-1 with a 2.89 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in seven starts (Cleveland is 6-1), Carrasco has made four career appearances (three starts / 1-2) versus the Orioles, going 1-2 with a 3.79 ERA. Gausman continues to give up hits in alarming numbers (107 in 75 innings) and his WHIP of 1.92 is easily the worst in the major leagues. The 26-year-old has allowed at least eight hits in seven consecutive starts, including last time out when he was tagged for five runs in 5 2/3 innings versus St. Louis in Friday's 11-2 Baltimore loss. However, Gausman is 2-0 with an 0.69 ERA in two career starts against the Indians.

The pick: Baltimore has allowed five or more runs in 17 straight games (an alarming stretch) and what makes anyone think Gausman can reverse that trend? His 2-0 mark in two starts against the Indians is hardly a sample size worthy of consideration. Gausman, like most of the Orioles' starters this season, has struggled to go late in the game. That has put added stress on an already short-handed bullpen, as setup man Darren O'Day and closer Zach Britton are on the disabled list. Meanwhile, Carrasco comes in on a roll and has been dominant all season on the road (see above). Make Cleveland a 10* play.

The set-up: The Minnesota Twins' lead in the AL Central evaporated when they dropped four straight over the weekend to the Cleveland Indians. The Twins get another shot at the Indians next weekend (three-game series in Cleveland) but first they will host the Chicago White Sox in the opener of a three-game series tonight. Minnesota was outscored 28-8 in dropping four straight to the Indians over the weekend and is 2-just 6 on its 11-game homestand, continuing a season-long problem at Target Field. Minnesota is only 14-24 at home in 2017, getting outscored, 6.13-to-4.58 RPG. However, the Twins have kept themselves in the AL Central hunt with a 20-9 road record. The White Sox have won of five of their last seven games but are mired in last place in the division at 31-37. The good news is, Chicago is just six games out of first.

The pitching matchup: Derek Holland (5-6 & 3.79 ERA) takes the ball for Chicago and Ervin Santana (8-4 & 2.56 ERA) gets it for Minnesota. Holland snapped a three-start losing streak last Tuesday by holding the Baltimore Orioles to one run on eight hits and two walks in six innings of a 6-1 Chicago win. However, he had allowed 14 runs on 17 hits in a combined seven innings over his first two June outings! Holland was not at his best against Minnesota on May 11, when he was charged with seven runs - three earned - on six hits and four walks in five innings to absorb the loss. That leaves him 2-5 with a 4.33 ERA over 10 career starst against Minnesota (teams are 4-6). Santana was arguably the AL's best pitcher in April and May. However, he's lacked consistency in three June starts, sandwiching two poor starts around a shutout in his last three. He had a complete game shutout at San Francisco on June 9 (4-0) but in his prior start and the one after the shutout, allowed 12 ERs on 16 hits in just nine innings! He's faced the White Sox plenty in his long career, going 10-9 with a 3.71 ERA over 24 starts (teams are 13-11).

The pick: Minnesota owns an ugly home record but the White Sox are just 16-25 on the road. I expect Monday's off day helped and note that Santana breezed through two starts against the White Sox in April, surrendering a total of only three hits in 15 scoreless innings en route to two wins. Make Minnesota an 8* play.

The set-up: Pittsburgh rolled to an 8-1 victory in the opener of its four-game series with the Brewers in Milwaukee last night. The Pirates have won six of nine and are now, five games back of the first-place Brewers in the NL Central. The Brewers lost for just teh second time in seven games but has scored just three runs in their last two games. The four-game series continues tonight and Milwaukee should be concerned with the fact that the Pirates have won seven the last eight meetings at Miller Park.

The pitching matchup: Chad Kuhl (1-6 & 5.61 ERA) starts for Pittsburgh and Zach Davies (7-3 & 4.91 ERA) for Milwaukee. These are two pitchers headed in opposite directions. Kuhl won his 2017 debut against Atlanta (April 8) but is win-less in 12 starts since (Pirates are 2-10). He has pitched five or fewer innings in each of his last 10 starts, including a three-inning scoreless outing against Milwaukee on May 5 in which he didn't return after a rain delay. Kuhl is 1-0 with a 1.76 ERA in three career starts against the Brewers (Pittsburgh is 3-0), so maybe that's something to "hang his hat on!" Meanwhile, Davies lost his first two outings of the season but has won seven of his last eight decisions over 12 starts (Milwaukee is 9-3). The negative is that unlike Kuhl, Davies has had no success against tonight's opponent, going 1-2 with a 9.56 ERA in four career starts against Pittsburgh (Brewers are 2-2).

The pick: I will not attribute much weight to Kuhl's limited success against Milwaukee and will add that Davies' lone career win over Pittsburgh did come this season when he allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings on May 7. Pittsburgh has lost 10 of Kuhl's last 12 starts, while the Brewers are 9-3 over Davies' last 12. Good enough for me to make Milwaukee a 10* play.

The set-up: The Reds opened the new week on an overall nine-game losing streak, as well as a nine-game road losing streak. They put an end to both streaks with Monday's 7-3 win at Tampa Bay. Scooter Gennett homered for the second day in a row, driving in five runs in that span to give him 19 RBIs over the last 11 games. Joey Votto had an 11-game hitting streak halted Sunday but rebounded with a three-hit game in the series opener to boost his batting average to a season-high .310. The 37-36 Rays fell to 3-10 all-time against the Reds (their worst record against any team) and a loss on Tuesday would leave them back at .500, which has been a familiar place for Tampa Bay in 2017. The Rays have had a .500 record, 19 times so far this season.

The pitching matchup: Amir Garrett (3-5 & 6.91 ERA) takes the mound for the Reds and Alex Cobb (5-5 & 4.17 ERA) for the Rays. Garrett is a rookie left-hander who started well, posting a 1.83 ERA over his first three starts of 2017. He came through with a much-needed solid performance at San Diego last Wednesday, striking out eight in six innings while allowing just two runs (he settled for a no-decision as the Dodgers won 4-2). Still, Garrett, owns a 9.77 ERA over his last eight starts (with just one win). He had a short stint on the DL and in his three starts since returning, has allowed 12 ERs on 16 hits over just 9 2/3 innings (11.17 ERA!). Cobb got pounded in Seattle back on June 3 (allowed a career-worst nine hits and 14 runs) but has rebounded with back-to-back quality starts.

The pick. Garrett is a mess, although the good news for the Reds is that he's a lefty and the Rays are just 8-16 against left-handers this season, the second worst in the American League. That said, I don't want any part of Garrett. As for Cobb, eliminate his drubbing at Seattle (see above) and his ERA is 3.43 on the season. It's a solid 3.27 at Tropicana Field, where he also owns a 1.09 WHIP and is holding opponents to a .230 batting average. He pitched well in his only career start against Cincinnati, winning a 1-0 duel in 2014, holding the Reds to four hits and no walks. Make the Rays a 10* play.

The set-up: The Royals saw their six-game winning streak end Saturday in Anaheim but made it seven wins in their last eight contests with Sunday's 7-3 win over the Angels. KC concluded the team's road trip at 7-2 and has closed within 3 ½ games of first-place Cleveland in the AL Central at 33-35. The Royals return home to open the new week by meeting Boston for the first time this season, after taking four of six in 2016. The Red Sox took two of three at major league-best Houston over the weekend, including Sunday's 6-5 victory. Boston (39-30) has won seven of its last 10 games, moving into a virtual tie with the rival New York Yankees for first place in the AL East (Yanks have lost six in a row to fall to 38-29).

The pitching matchup: Hector Velazquez (1-1 & 6.48 ERA) gets the nod for Boston and Jason Hammel (3-6 & 5.05 ERA) for Kansas City. Velazquez will make just his second major-league start after holding Philadelphia scoreless on one hit and one walk over 3 1/3 innings on Wednesday to record the victory in relief. His first career start didn't go well, as he gave up six runs on nine hits (including three HRs) over five innings against Oakland back on May 18. Jason Hammel signed with KC as a free agent in the off season and a quick look at his record tells a sad story. The Royals have lost 10 of his 13 starts and his moneyline mark of minus-$584 ranks 240th of 249 starters in 2017. Hammel is 1-3 with a 4.61 ERA in 13 career appearances (six starts / teams are 2-4) versus the Red Sox.

The pick: However, looking a little closer at Hammel gives one a slightly different perspective. After a dreadful two months, he's opened June with three consecutive quality starts. which includes a pair of wins and a 2.21 ERA in that stretch. He has a 15-1 KW ratio in 20 1/3 innings during June. As for Velazquez, one has to look past his only previous big league start (a May 18 disaster) and note that he's off a 3 1/3-inning scoreless relief effort in his last outing plus owned a 1.29 ERA in nine outings in Triple-A Pawtucket this season before being called up. I'll make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: The Reds stood in third place in the NL Central in games played through June 8 (just two games out of first) but went 0-6 on a West Coat swing through LA and SD. Cincy made a quick 'pit stop' at homs this weekend (again, against the Dodgers) but fared no better, getting swept. The Reds are now 29-39 (7 1/2 games out of first) and have lost nine in a row overall. They also find themselves back on the road for the next seven games, where they will try to avoid the team's first 10-game road losing streak since 1998 on Monday when they play the first of three against the Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa's five HRs on Sunday led the way to a 9-1 victory over Detroit, as the Rays earned a split of their four-game road series with the Tigers. Taht leaves them 37-35 and just 3 1/2 games back in the AL East (it's helped that the Yanks have lost six in a row!). The Rays have won seven of their last nine at home to reach 21-15 at Tropicana Field on 2017.

The pitching matchup: Scott Feldman (5-5 & 4.29 ERA) gets the start for the Reds and Jake Odorizzi (4-3 & 3.77 ERA) for the Rays. Feldman lost 6-2 in San Diego last Tuesday (four ERs over innings), which ended his three-game winning streak. He has been markedly worse on the road (2-3, 5.58 ERA) than in Cincinnati (3-2, 3.45) and is 4-3 with a 3.05 ERA in 17 career games (seven starts / teams are 4-3) versus the Rays. In contrast, Odorizzi squares off against Cincinnati for the first time. Odorizzi has pitched well at home in 2017, going with a 3.11 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in starts (Rays are), while allowing hitters to bat only .213 against him. Odorizzi carries a 6-3 record with a 3.12 ERA in 15 interleague starts into this game.

The pick: Cincinnati starting pitchers are 0-6 with an 8.29 ERA during the Reds' nine-game losing streak and Feldman's road owes (5.58 ERA and 1.60 WHIP) hardly give us any reason to think Cincy's pitching will improve. Let's also note that the right-handed Feldman faces a Tampa Bay lineup which owns the second-best record in the AL against right-handed starters (29-19) and the second-worst mark in the AL against lefties (8-16). Make Tampa Bay an 8* play.

The set-up: The Red Sox edged the Astros 2-1 on Friday but Houston bounced back last night, roughing up the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner (Rick Porcello) in a 7-1 victory. Porcello was charged with all seven runs (six innings), allowing 10 hits, including two HRs.The rubber match of this three-game series is set for tonight on ESPN. Houston moved to 42-16 on June 5 on the strength of an 11-game winning streak but had lost seven of 10 prior to Saturday's victory. Boston fell to 9-5 its last 14 but has closed to within just one game of the Yankees in the AL East, as New York has suddenly lost five in a row.

The pitching matchup: David Price (1-1 & 5.09 ERA) starts for Boston and Joe Musgrove (4-5 & 4.81 ERA) for Houston. Injury kept Price from making his 2017 debut until May 29 and in his fourth start of the season, finally earned his first win. It was hardly a great effort, as he allowed three runs on four hits and four walks across six innings to defeat the ML-worst Phillies 4-3 last Tuesday. Price is 4-2 with a 2.68 ERA over seven career starts against Houston (teams are 5-2). Musgrove returned from a stint on the disabled list this past Monday and surrendered two runs on five hits and a walk in 4 2/3 inings. He took the loss in a 6-1 Texas win in Houston. Monday's outing was a disappointment, as his previous start (May 26) had been his best of 2017, as he completed seven scoreless innings in a win versus Baltimore. This marks Musgrove's first start against Boston.

The pick: Sure, Houston owns MLB's best record at 46-23 but the Astros haven't won back-to-back games since their 11-game game winning ended on June 6. Musgrove was hardly sharp his last time out (first start in two-plus weeks) and in 2017, he's struggled at home with a 5.05 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP (team is 2-6 in his starts!). As for Price, his ERA may be high at 5.09 but he's allowed just 17 hits in 23 innings (21 Ks) and opponents are batting only .200 against him after four starts. In his seven career starts against Houston, Price has 61 strikeouts over 50 1/3 innings with an 0.93 WHIP. Make Boston a HUGE 10* play.

The set-up: Matt Davidson homered for the fifth time in the past six games in Chicago's 5-2 Saturday win over Toronto.That's three straight wins for Chicago, as well as five wins in its last six. The 31-36 White Sox still find themselves in last place but they are now just 4 1/2 games out of first in the AL Central. Toronto is also a last place team (AL East) and continues to spin its wheels as it is now 32-35 after going 9-9 in its last 18 games (Blue Jays are 6 1/2 games out of first).

The pitching matchup: James Shields (1-0 & 1.62 ERA) steps to the mound for Chicago and J.A. Happ (1-4, 4.31 ERA) for Toronto. Shields makes his first start in more than two months on Sunday. He was in the process of erasing the memory of a disastrous 2016 season (6-19 and a 5.85 ERA combined with Chicago and San Diego) when he began 2017 by allowing one run in each of his three starts over a combined 16 2/3 innings but he sustained a strained right lat on April 16. It sent him to the disabled list for the first time in his 12-year career. Shields is 12-6 with a 3.28 ERA in 24 starts versus Toronto (teams are 17-7). Happ takes the mound for the Blue Jays after winning his first game of the season last time out, when he allowed six hits and one walk while striking out eight in six innings of a 4-0 victory at Seattle on June 11. That was his third start since returning from the disabled list after an elbow injury sidelined him the same day Shields sustained his ailment. Happ is 1-2 with a 3.93 ERA in three starts versus Chicago.

The pick: Hard to figure how Shields will pitch in this one (last start came back on April 16) plus Happ finally returned to the form that saw him go 20-4 in 2016, last Sunday at Seattle. Let's make Toronto am 8* play.

The set-up; This three-game IL series continues Saturday night in Houston, with the Astros hosting the Red Sox. Boston won 2-1 last night and has now won six of its last eight to reach 38-29 on the season, just one game back of the Yankees in the AL East. Houston's 45-23 record remains MLB's best and while the Astros still own a commanding 11-game lead in the AL West, the team has now dropped seven of 10 since its 11-game winning streak

The pitching matchup: Rick Porcello (3-8 & 4.67 ERA) takes the mound for Boston and David Paulino (0-0 & 6.59 ERA) for Houston. The reigning Cy Young Award winner has lost three straight decisions and looks like a mess. Porcello has surrendered 66 hits in 43 1/3 innings over his last seven starts and opponents are hitting .310 against him, 80 points higher than during his 2016 season. He's only faced Houston twice in his career, going 1-0 with a 3.29 ERA (teams are 2-0). Paulino has recently een brecalled from Triple-A (May 31) and will make his fourth start of 2017. He has failed to get beyond four innings in two of his three major-league starts in 2017, including giving up five runs in four innings of a no-decision against the Los Angeles Angels this past Sunday. Opponents have 19 hits - including six doubles and three HRs - in just 13 2/3 innings against Paulino since he was recalled last month. He has never faced Boston.

The pick: While Porcello has had his struggles in 2017, it should also be pointed out that he has worked at least six innings in each of his last 19 road starts, the longest active streak in the majors, with a 3.30 ERA during that stretch. The Astros won't expect much (or too many innings) from Paulino and while I don't expect another 2-1 game, I don't expect a slug-fest, either. Adding fuel to my pick on the under is the fact that Boston's bullpen has not allowed a run in 24 innings, the team's longest such run since 2009 (25 1/3). Make the Under an 8* play.

The set-up: Texas has been an inconsistent team in 2017. The Rangers posted a 10-game winning streak (May 9-19) but followed it with a 4-12 stretch before they went 5-1 during a six-game road trip against division leaders Washington and Houston leading into this series. Texas (now 33-33) made it six wins in its last seven games with Friday's 10-4 series-opening rout. As for Seattle, the Mariners won nine of 10 to get back to the break-even mark on June 7 after falling a season-low eight games under .500, but they are only 3-6 since, checking in at 33-36.

The pitching matchup: Yovani Gallardo (3-6 & 6.11 ERA) starts for Seattle and Martin Perez (2-6 & 4.56 ERA) for Texas. Gallardo pitched well this past Monday in Minnesota, earning his first win in nearly a month after yielding three runs over six innings in a 14-3 win. That effort ended a two-start stretch in which he had surrendered 10 runs, 12 hits (including three HRs) and five walks over 10 innings. The vet has only four quality starts in 13 outings in 2017, with Seattle going 5-8. Gallardo allowed just one run on four hits in six innings but settled for a no-decision versus the Rangers on May 5 (Texas won 3-1) He's now 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three career starts vs. Texas (teams are 0-3). Perez allowed only two runs on seven hits over five innings last Saturday's in Washington but settled for a no-decision (Rangers won 6-3), as his win-less streak extended to four outings. Perez is 5-3 with a 3.29 ERA over 12 career starts against Seattle (Rangers are 7-5).

The pick: Seattle's a poor road team (just 13-23 in 2017) and Perez 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA in six starts against Seattle since the beginning of last year. Also, he's 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA in his five career home starts against Seattle. The trouble with taking Texas here is that the team's bats have been quiet, scoring only 10 runs over the last three games. Make the Under.

The set-up: The Nats came to New York on Thursday to open a four-game series with the Mets at Citi Field. The timing seemed perfect for the Mets, who came in 8 1/2 games back of the Nats in the NL East but had won five of their last six games, while the Nats had lost five of six. However, the visiting Nationals have widened the gap over the Mets with two comfortable wins, 8-3 on Thursday and 7-2 last night. Washington hit three HRs in Friday's win and has 12 over its last five games. The Nats' total of 103 HRs on the year rank them 4th among all teams. Washington ranks second in runs scored (5.52 per) and OPS (.814) plus third in team BA (.275).

The pitching matchup: Stephen Strasburg (7-2 & 3.27 ERA) will take the mound for Washington and Seth Lugo (1-0 & 1.29 ERA) for the Mets. Strasburg allowed six runs on seven hits in five innings in a no-decision against Atlanta on Monday (Braves won 11-10). That ended a streak of five straight quality starts in which he had gone 4-1. Strasburg is 7-4 with a 2.64 ERA in 13 starts against the Mets, all-time (Nats are 9-4). Lugo landed on the disabled list in the opening week of the season with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament but he looked fully recovered in his season debut Sunday at Atlanta. He struck out six and limited the Braves to one run and six hits over seven innings in a 2-1 win. Lugo made one start and one relief appearance against the Nationals last season, allowing one run and six hits over nine innings and earning a win in the start.

The pick: Lugo made 17 appearances (eight starts) in 2016 for the Mets (his first season in the bigs) and will now make just his second start of 2017. It's a tough spot going against the powerful Washington lineup (see stats above) and facing Starsburg, who has seen the Nats go 9-4 in his 2017 starts. Strasburg has pitched better on the road in 2017, with a 2.52 ERA (compared to a 4.15 home ERA), going 5-1 in seven road outings (Nats are 5-2). Washington has outscored the Mets 15-5 in the first two games of the series and it doesn't get better for New York on Saturday, either, Make the Nats a 10* play.

The set-up: The first two games of this four-game series between the Rockies and Giants have seen Colorado win both high-scoring contests, 10-9 (Thursday) and then 10-9 last night! Colorado has dominated San Francisco this season by winning eight of nine meetings, among the reasons why the Rockies are 44-26 (lead NL West by one game over Arizona and LA) and the Giants are 26-43, a whopping 17 1/2 games out with the All Star break just under a month away. The Giants come to Coors Field this afternoon having lost 13 of their last 17 contests.

The pitching matchup: Matt Cain (3-5 & 5.22 ERA) gets the nod for the Giants and Kyle Freeland (7-4 & 3.57 ERA) for the Rockies. Cain lasted just 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision against Minnesota in his last start, allowing five runs on seven hits (Giants won 13-8). It's been a struggle for the 32-year-old vet in 2017, as he's 0-4 over his last five starts, having given up five or more runs in three of the outings. Cain has seen the Rockies a ton in his career, with a 17-10 record and 3.56 ERA in 38 starts (Giants are 22-16). Freeland is a rookie, who lost 7-2 at Pittsburgh in his last start, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. However, he had won four of his previous five outings and on the season, has seen the Rockies go 9-4 in his 13 starts. His only career start against the Giants came on April 23 when he gave up six hits during seven scoreless innings of an 8-0 win.

The pick: Cain ranks 13th among active players with 2,030 1/3 innings pitched and is changing his style as he gets older and his velocity dips. However, the fact (truth) is, Cain hasn't pitched as many as 100 innings in any of his last three season. He had ERAs of 5.57 and 5.64 these last two years (plus WHIPs of 1.50 & 1.51), allowing more hits than IP in each year. He owns a 1.65 WHIP and .303 BAA in 2017, to go along with his 5.22 ERA. Make the Rockies an 8* play.

Rogers' complete analysis by 12 pm et (10*)The set-up: The KC Royals have caught fire with a season-high five-game winning streak after they opened a four-game series in Anaheim against the Angels with a 7-2 victory. Kansas City pounded out 15 hits and have now scored 42 runs (8.40 per) during the winning streak, after opening the season averaging 3.62 runs through its first 60 games. The loss dropped the Angels to 35-35 on the season (9-8 without Trout), as well as 0-4 on the year vs. the Royals, while scoring just five runs.

The pitching matchup: Ian Kennedy (0-6 & 5.40 ERA) gets the ball for KC and Jesse Chavez (5-6 & 5.06 ERA) for LA. Kennedy is having a miserable season and is still searching for his first win of 2017 in his 12th start of the year (Royals are 3-8). He has allowed four or more runs in each of his last six starts and despite allowing opponents to hit just .209 against him, is 0-2 with a 6.12 ERA in five road starts (KC is 2-3). Kennedy's best outing of the season came against the Angels as he struck out 10 and allowed two hits over eight innings in a no-decision back on April 16, but he's 0-4 with a 4.97 ERA in five career starts against them (teams are 1-4). Chavez gave up a season-high six runs against Houston in his last start but escaped with a no-decision after lasting only 3 2/3 innings. He has served up at least one homer in 11 consecutive appearances to set a dubious franchise record. Chavez lost his one career start against KC (4.76 ERA) but in six overall career appearances against him (includes five relief stints), he owns a 1.65 ERA.

The pick: Chavez has pitched as poorly as Kennedy in 2017 but while Kennedy has yet to win after 11 starts (again, KC is just 3-8), Chavez has managed five wins in his 14 starts (LA is 7-7). KC's win streak ends here. Make the Angels a 10* play.

The set-up: The 38-26 New York Yankees lead the AL East by two games over Boston, while the Oakland A's have sole possession of last place in the AL West at 28-38. However, in the first of this four-game series between the two teams, Khris Davis' two-run, walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning gave Oakland an 8-7 victory. All of a sudden, the Yankees have lost three straight and could be without catcher Gary Sanchez (he left the game Thursday night in the top of the ninth inning after stealing a base and hurting his groin) and CF Aaron Hicks, who left in the bottom of the ninth with tightness in his Achilles tendon. Manager Joe Girardi doesn't expect Sanchez or Hicks to miss more than a game or two but New York would sure like "all hands on deck" in trying to stop the team's current "mini-slide." Oakland's Davis leads the A's with 17 HRs and said he hopes momentum from the walk-off win carries over to the second game Friday night. "Just a win like that gives us some momentum for tomorrow and maybe for the whole series," Davis said.

The pitching matchup: Luis Severino (5-2 & 2.75 ERA) will get the ball for New York and Sean Manaea (6-3 & 3.67 ERA) for Oakland. Severino hasn't lost any of his last seven outings after he beat Baltimore 16-3 last Saturday, allowing just one run on two hits in seven innings. He has given up more than two runs only once during his unbeaten streak and fewer than two on five occasions. Severino is 3-0 during his last seven starts (Yanks are 5-2). In his lone career start vs. Oakland, he gave up two runs over six innings of a no-decision back on April 21, 2016 (NYY lost / 3.00 ERA). Like Severino, Manaea is riding a winning streak as well. The lefty enters on a five-start winning streak during which he has allowed two ERs or fewer in each outing while registering 32 strikeouts and seven walks over 32 innings (1.97 ERA and .193 opponent batting average). His latest win came on Saturday when he gave up two runs over seven innings at Tampa Bay. He's made two career starts vs. the Yankees, going 1-1 with a 3.28 ERA.

The pick: These two starters give us a very low total here and note that the Yankees average more runs than any team in MLB (5.81 per), with MLB's 2nd-best team BA (.277) and its No. 1 OPS (.826). Manaea comes in red-hot but the A's allow 5.42 RPG on the season and own an 'ugly' 5.13 bullpen ERA. Make the Over an 8* play.

The set-up: The 34-29 Minnesota Twins own a two-game lead over the 32-31 Cleveland Indians in the AL Central and will play the Indians in seven of their next 10 games. The first four games (there will be a Saturday twin-bill) will take place this weekend at Target Field, where Minnesota has gone only 14-20 in 2017. The AL Central has sent Kansas City to the World Series in 2014 and 2015 and Cleveland last year, when the Twins owned MLB's worst record (59-103). However, Minnesota has spent more than half of the 2017 season atop the division and has owned at least a share of the division lead since May 11. The Indians outscored Minnesota 20-7 en route to a three-game sweep at Target Field in mid-April but the Twins took two of three when the teams last met at Progressive Field from May 12-14 (Minnesota is in first because of its 20-9 road mark!).

The pitching matchup: Carlos Carrasco (6-3 & 3.36 ERA) gets the starting assignment for the Indians, opposed by the Twins' Nik Turley (0-0 & 9.00 ERA). Carrasco has lost just once since April 28 and is off a solid start the last time out, allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk across 5 1/3 innings in beating the White Sox 4-2 on Sunday. However, Carrasco has not pitched well in his career vs. the Twins, going 2-6 with a 4.74 ERA in 14 games (11 starts / team is 3-8). Turley made his big-league debut against San Francisco on Sunday, settling for a no-decision after giving up four runs on eight hits in four innings. He's a former 50th-round draft pick of the New York Yankees and had toiled for nearly 10 years in the minors before earning his long-awaited promotion after posting a 2.05 ERA and striking out 84 over 52 2/3 innings at two minor-league stops this season.

The pick-up: Carrasco's 4-1 (Indians 6-1) in his last seven starts and I expect a good outing. As for Turley, it's "now or never" after his long wait to reach the majors. The results of this weekend and next weekend at Cleveland could set the tone for the rest of the season. Expect a low-scoring game in the first of these seven 'battles.' Make the Under an 8* play.

The set-up: The Marlins struggled throughout most of May (6-18 after 24 games) but closed the month by winning their final four games. They've carried that success over into June and will open a three-game series in Atlanta against the Braves with 12 victories in their last 17 games (now 8-5 in June and 29-35 overall). Miami's turnaround has been sparked by the team batting .292 and averaging six runs per game in its recent stretch and the pitching staff has also improved significantly, posting a 3.62 ERA. The 29-36 Braves return home to open a 10-game homestand after winning two of three at NL East-leader Washington, improving to 14-15 since losing first baseman Freddie Freeman to a fractured wrist. The Braves have won three of the first five matchups against the Marlins this season and are 14-9 versus Miami since the start of 2016.

The pitching matchup: Dan Straily (4-4 & 3.89 ERA) takes the mound for Miami and Sean Newcomb (0-1 & 0.00 ERA) for Atlanta. Straily has posted a 3.32 ERA while going 3-1 over his last seven starts (team is just 3-4, though), allowing more than three runs just once in that span. That occurred in his last start Saturday at Pittsburgh, when he gave up four runs on nine hits in four innings of a no-decision. Straily earned his first victory for Miami against the Braves on April 11, surrendering two earned runs in five innings with two walks and five strikeouts. However, it was ripped in his other career outing vs the Braves, leving him 1-1 with 7.72 ERA. Newcomb was promoted to replace Bartolo Colon, who is on the disabled list with a strained oblique. He impressed in his major-league debut Saturday against the New York Mets, surrendering just an unearned run on four hits over 6 1/3 innings with two walks (one intentional) and seven strikeouts.

The pick: Newcomb earned an "A' in his MLB debut but often, pitchers regress in their second start. I like what I see these days from the Marlins and I'll go against Newcomb in his "second go-around!" Make the Marlins an 8* play.

The set-up: The Cincinnati Reds return to Great American Ball Park after stumbling through an 0-6 road trip but will only stay at home for the weekend, as it's back on the road Monday for seven in a row away from home. The Reds opened their 0-6 road trip by losing three games at Dodger Stadium and maybe it's fitting that they get another shot against the Dodgers here at home this weekend. Los Angeles scored 21 runs in sweeping three from Cincinnati last weekend and had ripped off six consecutive victories before a 12-5 loss yesterday afternoon at Cleveland. Rookie Cody Bellinger homered for the fifth time in six games to give him 18 in 47 contests and only Gary Sanchez (19) of the New York Yankees has hit more in his first 47 career games. The 41-26 Dodgers are tied with the D'backs in the NL West, as both teams trail the Rockies by one game for the division lead. In contrast, the 29-36 Reds reside in last place in the NL Central, although they are only 5 1/2 games out of first.

The pitching matchup: Alex Wood (6-0 & 2.01 ERA) gets the nod for LA and Tim Adleman (4-2 & 4.34 ERA) for Cincy. Wood came off the 10-day disabled list to face the Reds last Saturday and did not factor in the decision, allowing three runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings. He was riding a streak of 25 1/3 scoreless innings spanning four starts and had won his last five outings before he went on the DL. Wood owns a career record of 2-0 in four appearances (three starts / teams are 3-0) against the Reds. Adleman faced the Dodgers last Sunday but also did not factor in the decision, permitting three runs (two earned) on five hits (including two HRs) over five innings. He had posted quality starts in each of his previous three outing, allowing just four runs on 10 hits in 21 innings (1.74 ERA). Adleman beat the Dodgers in his only other start against them with five scoreless innings in August of 2016 (he's 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA (team is 1-1).

The pick: the Dodgers are 25-10 at home but a much more modest 16-16 on the road in 2017. However, they've won each of the last six times that Wood has started and the Reds limp in on a six-game slide, having averaged just 2,17 RPG in five of those six losses (exception was a 9-7 loss to LA last Sunday). Make the Dodgers an 8* play.

The set-up: The 30-34 Kansas City Royals open a four-game series against the 35-34 Angels in Anaheim on Thursday. The Royals have scored the fewest runs (253 / 3.94 per) in the American League but have pushed 35 runs across the plate in winning four in a row. The Angels have won five of their last seven games and continue to stay competitive without reigning American League MVP Mike Trout. LA is 9-7 in his absence and is currently in second place in the AL West. The problem being, the Astros own an 11-game lead with MLB's best record (45-22).

The pitching matchup: Matt Strahm (1-3 & 4.50 ERA) starts for KC and Ricky Nolasco (2-7 & 4.81 ERA) for LA. Strahm will be making his first major-league start, after 41 relief appearances over the past two seasons. He is is holding opponents to a .178 batting average this season but has issued 18 walks in just 22 innings. Strahm has never has faced the Angels but note that he has recorded 56 strikeouts in 44 big-league innings. Nolasco enters this contest having lost five consecutive starts, which matches the longest skid of his career. His last win came back on April 27 (2-1 over Oakland), with him now going win-less in his last eight starts (team 0-8!). Nolasco is 2-4 with a 4.80 ERA in eight career starts against the Royals (teams are 2-6).

The pick: Yes, Nolasco has dropped five straight starts but he allowed three runs or fewer in three of them, including giving up just two runs on eight hits over seven innings in his last outing vs. Houston. The Royals are only 13-18 on the road and pitch a first-time starter against an LA team which has played well at home (20-13). Make the Angels a 10* play.

The set-up: Not much is going right for the Tigers these days, as they've lost five of their last six after a 2-1 home loss to Arizona on Wednesday night. Detroit is 30-34 on the season (four back in the AL Central) as it opens a four-game series at home against the 35-33 Tampa Rays, who despite a better record than the Tigers, are 5 1/2 games out in the AL East. The Tigers won six of seven over the Rays in 2016 but the Rays swept a three-game series from the Tigers in Tampa back on April 18-20.

The pitching matchup: Alex Cobb (5-5 & 4.29 ERA) starts for the Rays and Justin Verlander (4-4 & 4.68 ERA) for the Tigers. Cobb had a terrible start at Seattle on June 3 (allowed nine runs in just five innings) but bounced back in his last outing by holding Oakland to one run over six innings in a 13-4 victory on Friday. Cobb is 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA in five career starts against the Tigers (Rays are 3-2). Verlander hasn't won in his last four starts (0-3 / team is 1-3), allowing 12 runs on 26 hits over 19 2/3 innings (5.49 ERA). He is struggling with his control in 2017, walking 37 in 75 innings. However, Verlander is an impressive 8-3 with a 3.34 ERA in 15 starts versus Tampa Bay (Tigers are 11-4)..

The pick: Cobb will be making the 100th start of his career, while for Verlander, it's his 366th. The Rays allow 5.03 RPG on the road this year and the Tigers are averaging 5.43 at home. I'll back the vet and make Detroit a 10* play.

The set-up: The Mariners have scored a total of 27 runs in winning two of the first three games of this four-game series against the Twins. Seattle's offense has been consistently good for awhile now, as the team has scored five or more runs in 11 of its last 12 victories and caps this series Thursday afternoon in Minnesota having won 12 of its last 17. The team's 2-8 start to 2017 seems behind them and a win here gets them to .500 (Seattle sits 33-34). The Twins also have scored 27 runs in the first three games of this series but 20 of them came in Tuesday's victory, when they recorded a franchise-record 28 hits. Minnesota scored just three and four runs in the two losses and now are only 13-20 at Target Field in 2017. However, Minnesota's 20-9 road record leaves them 33-29 on te season, good enough for a two-game lead over the Indians in the AL Central race for first place.

The pitching matchup: Two surprising pitchers square off today, as Ariel Miranda (6-2 & 3.67 ERA) goes for Seattle and Jose Berrios (5-1 & 2.84 ERA) for Minnesota. Miranda has won five consecutive decisions and has allowed just nine ERs over his last six starts. He did not factor in the decision against Toronto this past Saturday, when he gave up two runs on two hits over 6 1/3 innings (Blue Jays won 4-2). Miranda lost his lone career start against the Twins, allowing three runs and three hits in four innings while serving up two HRs last season (6.75 ERA). Berrios comes in off back-to-back wins and has given up fewer than three runs in four of his six starts this year. He struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings while defeating San Francisco in his last outing, allowing only two runs on six hits.Berrios was 3-7 with an 8.02 ERA in 14 starts last year but is 5-1 in his six starts here in 2017 with an excellent 1.00 WHIP to go along with that 2.84 ERA. This marks his first start against Seattle.

The pick: Both pitchers have performed well in 2017  but unlike Berrios, who struggled badly last season, Miranda showed signs of promise by fashioning a 3.54 ERA in 11 appearances (10 starts) in 2016. The Twins' ugly home record of 13-20 (minus-$901 vs. the moneyline) makes them vulnerable again here, as does Berrios' 7.43 ERA in eight career starts at Target Field. Take the 1 1/2 runs and make Seattle a 6* play.

The set-up: The Rangers backed up their 6-1 Monday victory in Houston with a 4-2 win on Tuesday. That gives the Rangers a five-game winning streak overall, a stretch in which the team's staring pitchers having allowed only seven runs on 22 hits over 32 innings. The 44-22 Astros still own MLB's best record but the Astros have now followed an 11-game winning streak with losses in six of their last eight. Texas has climbed back to .500 (32-32) and will look to complete a three-game sweep tonight but the reality is that the Rangers remain 11 games back of the Astros (steep climb).

The pitching matchup: Andrew Cashner (3-5 & 3.17 ERA) takes the mound for Texas and Francis Martes (0-0 & 9.82 ERA) for Houston. Cashner allowed just one in seven innings on June 9 to shut down Washington 5-1. However, he has dropped both decisions versus Houston this season (June 3 and May 1), allowing eight runs (seven earned) on 14 hits for a 5.25 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP in 12 innings. The leaves him 0-3 with a 3.91 ERA in four career starts against Houston (teams are 1-3). Houston's rotation has been besieged by injuries and Martes will make his first career start on Wednesday. He was far from sharp while allowing four ERs in just 3 2/3 innings of relief against the Los Angeles Angels last Friday. “With a young pitcher like Martes, it’s a battle within himself," manager A.J. Hinch said. “Just repeating his delivery and using his pitches and getting his first outing out of the way was nice. ... It was a low-pressure game and he could see that his stuff in the strike zone plays pretty well. But he's got some work to do mechanically to be consistent."

The pick: I'm no fan of Cashner and Martes is Houston's top pitching prospect. Even with back-to-back wins, Texas is a modest 14-18 on the road in 2017. Houston is clearly in a "mini-slump" but I'll back them to avoid the home sweep here. Make the Astros a 10* play.

The set-up:The Royals and Giants wrap-up a two-game IL series this afternoon in San Francisco. Kansas City improved to 3-1 on its nine-game California trip with an 8-1 triumph on Tuesday as every starter in the batting order recorded a hit. The Giants managed only five hits in Tuesday's loss and continue to seem hopelessly lost, falling to 26-40, which leaves them tied for last place in the NL West with the Padres (both are 14 1/2 games back of Colorado). The Royals, World Series champs in 2015, are just 29-34, coming off an 81-81 season in 2016.

The pitching matchup: Jason Hammel (2-6 & 5.43 ERA) gets the nod for KC and Johnny Cueto (5-5 & 4.33 ERA) for SF. Hammel settled for a no-decision against Houston on Thursday despite allowing only one run and four hits over seven innings. Hammel has been a huge disappointment in his first season with the Royals, as KC has gone 2-10 in his 12 starts in 2017, giving him a minus-$738 moneyline mark. That ranks 238th among 242 starters this season!. He has yet to defeat San Francisco in his career, going 0-3 with a 3.02 ERA in 12 appearances (11 starts / teams are 4-7). Cueto did not factor in the decision at Milwaukee on Thursday after allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits and a season-high four walks in five innings. He has worked at least six innings in each of his previous eight outings but has gone just 2-4 in that span (team is 3-5). The Giants are 8-5 (plus-$336) in Cueto's starts this season but that's a far cry from when they were 23-9 (plus-$1056) in his 2016 outings (ranked 12th in the moneyline standings among starters). Of course, most will remember that Cueto spent part of the 2015 season with the Royals and helped them to the World Series title. He is 1-2 with a 3.79 ERA in three career starts against his former team.

The pick: Note that Cueto's three starts against KC all came when he was with the Reds, so this is his first meeting with them since leaving the team to sign a six-year, $130 million contract with the Giants. Cueto has not pitched as well as last year but does own a 2.64 ERA in 30 career interleague starts (14-6 record). Meanwhile, Hammel has been a complete bust (see above) and also note that he hasn't beaten anyone on the road since last July, a stretch of eight starts during which he has gone 0-7. He owns a 6.43 ERA and 1.86 WHIP in four road starts in 2017 (Royals are 0-4). Make the Giants a 10* play.

The pitching matchup: Daniel Gossett (NR) will make his major league debut for the Oakland A's and is opposed by Miami's Edinson Volquez (3-7 & 3.41 ERA). Gossett was a second-round pick of the Athletics in 2014 and struck out 151 in 153 2/3 innings with three different teams last season in the minors. He takes the spot of Andrew Triggs (hip) in the rotation after permitting four runs over 21 innings combined in his last three starts with Triple-A Nashville. He is 3-3 with a 3.41 ERA in 11 starts with the Sounds this year and is 19-22 in 77 games overall in the minors. Volquez began the season 0-7 but enters this game on a streak of 16 straight scoreless innings that included a no-hitter against Arizona in his last home start back on June 3. Volquez followed up his first career no-hitter with seven scoreless innings and three hits allowed at Pittsburgh to earn his third consecutive victory.hopes to make it four straight wins, here. He has allowed just one run on six hits and six walks over 22 innings in his last three starts, giving him an 0.41 ERA.. Volquez is 3-4 with a 4.82 ERA in seven career starts against the Athletics, including allowing  three runs over six innings in a 4-1 loss at Oakland on May 24.

The pick: Oakland's road woes are real and the Marlins have won nine of their last 11 at home plus send out a veteran pitcher who is certainly "in the zone!" Make the Marlins an 8* play.

The set-up: The Giants and Royals met in the 2014 World Series with the Giants winning Game 7 in KC, 3-2 (remember Bumgarner's classic performance in that Fall Classic?). That now seems like a lifetime ago, as the Royals are just 28-34 and the Giants 26-39 in 2017, as the two teams open a two-game interleague series on Tuesday in San Francisco. The Royals are 6-4 so far in June (have scored at least seven runs in their five wins) but on the season, are last in the AL in runs scored (237 / 3.82 per). The Giants (239) rank 28th in the majors in runs scored at 3.68 per, despite busting out of a slump by drubbing the Minnesota Twins 13-8 on Sunday.

The pitching matchup: Jason Vargas (8-3 & 2.18 ERA) takes the mound for KC and Ty Blach (4-3 & 3.64) for SF. Vargas has won his last three, despite not making it out of the sixth inning in two of them. He's sandwiched those two so-so starts around a seven-hit shutout of Cleveland on June 2. Vargas struck out nine in seven scoreless frames against the Giants at home on April 19 and is 1-1 with a 2.90 ERA in five career starts against them (teams are 3-2). Blach had a string of four straight wins come to an end when he allowed five runs on nine hits in six innings at Milwaukee last Wednesday.He also had a string of five straight starts of at least seven innings and three or fewer runs allowed come to an end in that contest. Blach has never faced the Royals and his lone previous interleague experience was a stint out of the bullpen at Kansas City on April 18, when he worked a scoreless two-thirds of an inning.

The pick: Vargas has had a nice season but the Royals have played poorly on the road, going 11-18 while allowing 5.10 RPG. Meanwhile, since replacing the injured Bumgarner in the rotation, Blach has done his best pitching at home, where he has allowed 19 hits and just seven ERs over 33 2/3 innings, posting a 1.87 ERA. In eight appearances this year at AT&T Park (five starts / three relief), Blach owns a 1.75 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. Make the Giants an 8* play.

The Minnesota Twins were happy to go 6-4 on their latest road trip, despite losing 13-8 at San Francisco on Sunday. However, a return to Target Field on Monday brought more misery. The Twins and Mariners have a four-game series scheduled to open this week in Minnesota and the Mariners crushed the Twins last night in the first game, 14-3. Minnesota has now lost five in a row and home, while incredibly getting outscord 62-25! Including Sunday's game at San Francisco and last night's home game vs. the Mariners, Minnesota pitchers have been ravaged for 27 runs on 36 hits these last two games. Seattle had scored a combined seven runs in its previous four games before breaking loose against Minnesota. However, the Mariners have played fairly well after opening the 2017 just 2-8, going 30-25 to get withing a game of .500 (32-33). The Twins may be an awful 12-19 at home but the team's 20-9 record leaves them 32-28 overall, one game up on the Indians for the AL Central lead.

The pitching matchup: Christian Bergman (3-3 & 4.03 ERA) gets the nod for Seattle and Kyle Gibson (3-4 & 6.52 ERA) for Minnesota. Bergman has bounced back in strong fashion since being hammered for 10 runs and 14 hits at Washington on May 23, as over his next two starts he beat the Red Sox and Rays, while allowing just two runs over 13 innings. However, he lost at home to the Twins last Thursday, despite permitting just one earned run in five innings (that's his lone career starts against Minnesota). Berman owns a 2.00 ERA since that awful start at Washington. Gibson suffered a disastrous April, going 0-4 with a 8.20 ERA in six starts (Twins were 2-4). He then landed on the DL but won his first start after returning from injury, albeit in shaky fashion (allowed six ERs over five innings of a 14-7 May 22 win at Baltimore), but followed that with three strong outings (2.65 ERA / team is 2-1). That includes six innings of one-run ball at Seattle last week. Gibson is 3-2 with a 2.72 ERA against the Mariners in seven career starts (team is 5-2)..

The pick: Gibson is pitching better but how can one trust the Twins the way they've played at home these last last five games? Meanwhile, after opening the 2017 season 1-9 on the road, the Mariners are a respectable 11-11 away from Seattle their last 22 road games! Make Seattle an 8* play

The set-up: The 39-25 LA Dodgers are tied for the third-most wins in MLB while the Cleveland Indians, the defending AL champs, are a much more modest 31-29. However, as the two teams get set to open a three-game IL series Tuesday night in Cleveland, they find themselves in similar positions. Both are second-place teams, one game back of their respective division leaders, Colorado in the NL West and Minnesota in the AL Central. The Dodgers enter on a four-game winning streak but while they are 25-10 at home, LA is just 14-15 on the road. As for Cleveland, the Indians own a winning road record (17-14) but are one of MLB's biggest disappointments in 2017 at home, going just 14-15 (more on that, later).

The pitching matchup; Clayton Kershaw (8-2, 2.20 ERA) steps to the mound for LA and will be opposed by Cleveland's Trevor Bauer (5-5 & 6.10 ERA). Kershaw is having another typical "Kershaw season," as he's among the major league leaders in ERA (2.20), WHIP (0.90) and strikeouts (101). He has allowed two or fewer runs in 10 of his 13 starts this season and the Dodgers are 11-2 in his starts (plus-$660, which ranks 5th-best). Kershaw took a no-decision in only start versus Cleveland but that 7.20 ERA should be of little concern, as it came during his rookie season of 2008. Bauer comes off his second-shortest outing of the season, allowing four runs, five hits and five walks in 3 1/3 innings of an 8-1 loss in Colorado on Wednesday. However, he had gone 3-0 with a 3.86 ERA in his previous five starts (Indians were 4-1), which included a start that was cut short at 1 2/3 innings because of a rain delay in a game the Indians eventually won 8-0 in Kansas City on June 4. Bauer is 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA in two career starts against the Dodgers (team is 2-0). He is 7-4 with a 3.03 ERA in 18 interleague games (17 starts).

This marks the Dodger's first IL game of 2017, something the Indians can't say but wish they could. Cleveland is 1-7 in interleague games this season, including 0-5 versus NL West teams Arizona and Colorado. Kershaw has that awful start against Cleveland back in his rookie season on his IL resume but considering he's 12-4 with a 2.22 ERA in 28 interleague starts. no one should be concerned. Yes, the Dodgers are a modest 14-15 on the road but they are 5-1 when Kershaw starts on the road (talk about a "difference-maker"). I noted earlier that Cleveland was a poor 14-15 at home but will add here that the team's home moneyline mark is the worst in all of MLB at minus-$1204. Make LA an 8* play.

full analysis soon

The pick: Yes, Lackey has struggled lately but he's pitched well against the Mets recently. DeGrom is also struggling but he'll face a Chicago team which has scored only 12 runs during its eight-game road slide. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set:up: After being stifled by the Predators and goalie Pekka Rinne In Games 3 and 4 in Nashville (by scores of 5-1 nd 4-1), the Penguins returned home for Game 5 and won 6-0, as six different players scored goals (Crosby had three assists). Pittsburgh is now poised to make history, bidding to become the first team to win back-to-back Stanley Cups since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-98. The Penguins go for the clincher Sunday night in Game 6 at Nashville. However, this best-of-seven series has been defined by home-ice dominance, with the home team going a perfect 5-0, so far.

Pittsburgh: "Still a lot of work to be done," captain Sidney Crosby acknowledged. "We know we're going to face a desperate team. We've already played two games there and know the atmosphere and know how much they feed off their fans. We've still got a lot of work to do there." Crosby won the Conn Smythe Trophy a year ago and his three assists in Game 5 gives him seven points in the series and 27 in the postseason, one behind teammate Evgeni Malkin. Rookie Jake Guentzel leads all playoff scorers with 13 goals.

Nashville: "What happened in Game 5 is gone. We know what we need to do in Game 6," Nashville head coach Peter Laviolette said. "We know how we're capable of playing, especially in our building here and look to get ourselves a big win." Veteran netminder Pekka Rinne was yanked for the second time in the series after allowing three goals on nine shots in Game 5 but, like his team, has been superb at Bridgestone Arena. Predators captain Mike Fisher said of Rinne, “We gotta be better for our goaltender, no question. You look at the shots, and they’re even, but it’s scoring chances, quality chances. That’s not our goaltender’s fault.”

The pick: The Penguins have won all four of their Stanley Cups on the road, including Game 6 at San Jose a year ago. However, after winning three of their first four games away from home in the 2017 playoffs, the Penguins are just 2-5, since (outscored 22-11). Murray 'pitched a shutout' in Game 5 at home (24 saves) but in Games 3 and 4 at Nashville, allowed eight goals on 58 shots (.862 SP). Meanwhile, Nashville is 9-1 at home this postseason (has won 13 of its last 14 home playoff games!), with Rinne allowing just 15 goals. We are headed for a Game 7. Make Nashville a 10* play.

The set-up: The Mariners won 4-2 in the opener of their three-game home series with the Blue Jays but Toronto bounced back with a similar 4-2 win last night. The teams play the rubber game of the series on Sunday, as the Mariners cap an 11-game homestand (are 7-3 so far). Seattle opened the season 2-8 but has rebounded lately, winning 10 of 13 to sit just one game under .500 (31-32). The bad news is, Seattle resides in the AL West with the 44-19 Astros, so the Mariners are 13 games out of first place. Toronto knows all about slow starts, as the Blue Jays opened 2-11 in 2017. They had gotten to within one game of .500 on June 4 (28-29) but have now lost three of five since. However, despite finding themselves in last place at 30-32, Toronto is 'only' 7 1/2 games out of first in the AL East.

The pitching matchup: J.A. Happ (0-4 & 5.33 ERA) toes the rubber for Toronto and James Paxton (5-0 & 1.69 ERA) gets the nod for Seattle. Coming off a 20-4 season in 2016, Happ has been limited to just five starts in 2017 because of injury and is still looking for his first win of the season. He allowed five runs on four hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings of a 5-3 loss at Oakland on Monday but it was the second-longest outing of the year. Happ spent part of 2015 with Seattle and is 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA in five career starts against his former team (teams are 3-2). While Happ seeks his first win of 2017, Paxton has yet to suffer a defeat this season in eight starts (he's 5-0 but the team has lost his three no-decisions). Incredibly, Paxton has only allowed runs in three of his eight starts in 2017 and in five home starts this season, is 4-0 (team is 4-1) with a 1.17 ERA and 0.98 WHIP.

The pick: Happ earned his milestone 20th victory of the season at Safeco Field last September, so maybe this start will be his "lucky day" (first win of 2017)? Paxton has been "lights out" at home in 2017 and neither team has shown much offense this weekend, scoring six runs apiece after two games. Make the Under an 8* play.

The set-up: The Cards are glad to be back home (ended an 0-7 road trip on Thursday) and it hasn't hurt that they drew the Phillies in this weekend series, a team with MLB's worst record. St. Louis has won the first two games of the series (giving them four wins in a row at home) and the team looks to complete a three-game sweep on Sunday. After eking out a 3-2 win on Friday, it was a 'cake walk' on Saturday, as Carlos Martinez twirled a four-hit shutout to lead St. Louis to a 7-0 win. The Phillies have now dropped four straight following a four-game winning streak that was preceded by a five-game skid. One could say Philadelphia is streaky but then again, the Phillies are mostly just bad, entering Sunday with MLB's worst record (21-39) and its third-worst moneyline mark (minus-$1522).

The pitching matchup: Aaron Nola (3-3 & 4.28 ERA) starts for Philadelphia and Adam Wainwright (6-4 & 4.82 ERA) for St. Louis. Nola had his best outing of the season last Tuesday in Atlanta, striking out six while holding the Braves to one run on five hits over eight innings of a 3-1 win. It was only the third quality start in seven outings this season and snapped a three-game losing streak in which he had posted a 5.63 ERA. Nola did beat the Cardinals in his only previous meeting them, tossing seven scoreless innings back on May 3, 2016. The veteran Wainwright started slowly in 2017 but entered his last start off a dominant stretch in which he had allowed just one run in 26 1/3 innings over four straight wins (0.56 ERA). However, he fell apart last time out, getting ripped for nine runs on seven hits in just 3 2/3 innings of a 13-1 setback at Cincinnati last Tuesday. Wainwright is 6-2 with a 2.85 ERA in 14 games (12 starts / Cards are 8-4) against the Phillies.

The pick: The Phillies are a woeful 9-25 on the road and with back-to-back losses Friday and Saturday, have now lost 10 of their last 12 games at St. Louis (Cards have taken five straight series against the Phillies, overall). Yes, Wainwright was abysmal last Tuesday but note that was his first loss since April 16 and the Cards had won seven of his previous eight starts! Make St. Louis an 8* play.

The set-up: The White Sox lost 7-3 Friday night in Cleveland but rebounded to win 5-3 last night, pounding out 14 hits. The victory still leaves Chicago in last place in the AL Central, seven games back of the Brewers at 26-34. The Indians, last year's AL champs, fell to 30-29 with the loss and sit in second place, 2 1/2 games back of Milwaukee. The rubber match of the three-game series goes Sunday afternoon and the White Sox last won a road series back in mid-May, when they took three of four in Seattle.

The pitching matchup: Jose Quintana (2-7 & 5.30 ERA) goes for Chicago and Carlos Carrasco (5-3 & 3.36 ERA) for Cleveland. It's been struggle this year for Quintana with just two wins in his 12 starts (White Sox are 5-7). He gave up just one run on four hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings last time out but settled for a no-decision at Tampa Bay. However, that was a major improvement from his previous two starts, when he allowed 15 runs on 18 hits over just seven total innings (19.29 ERA!). Quintana is 7-4 with a 2.63 ERA in 20 career games (18 starts / White Sox are 8-10) against Cleveland. Carrasco has allowed at least four runs in three of his last four starts but the Indians have won three of the four and are 8-3 in his 11 starts in 2017. He has dominated the White Sox in two outings earlier this season, yielding just one run and seven hits with 15 strikeouts over 15 innings. Lifetime, Carrasco is 4-9 with a 4.89 ERA in 19 career appearances versus Chicago (18 starts / Indians are 7-11).

The pick: Quintana's struggles are real in 2017, as in his previous five seasons (all with Chicago), his ERA has ranged from a high of 3.76 (in his first season of 2012) to a low of 3.20 (last year). However, it sits at 5.30 in 2017, basically TWO runs higher than that five-year average. The White Sox are a poor 14-23 on the road and as noted, Carrasco has dominated Chicago in two previous starts this season. The Indians dominated the AL Central ins 2016, going 49-26 against division rivals. That hasn't been the case so far this year (Indians are only 14-15) but I expect that to change. Why not start here? Make the Indians a 6* play.

The set-up: The Red Sox lost two of three to the hated Yankees to open the current week but beat the Tigers 5-3 last night to stay three games back of New York in the AL East. Friday's loss was Detroit's second in a row, dropping them to 29-31. The teams continue their three-game series on Saturday, as two former American League Central Division pitching rivals face each other for the sixth time.

The pitching matchup: Justin Verlander (4-4 & 4.63 ERA) takes the mound for Detroit and Chris Sale (7-2 & 2.89 ERA) for Boston. The Tigers have won all five previous meetings when Verlander and Sale have squared off, four of them when Sale was with the Chicago White Sox and the other was April 10 of this season with Boston. Verlander was forced out of his last start after two innings due to groin tightness but testing came back negative and he will start with an extra day of rest. Verlander breezed through seven innings against Boston back on April 10, allowing an unearned run on three hits without factoring in the decision. Sale has not lost since April 27 and recovered from a rough first inning at Baltimore on Sunday to strike out nine in six innings while allowing three runs in the win. He leads the majors with 119 strikeouts (has allowed just 17 walks) and is limiting opponents to a .201 batting average (has allowed 61 hits in 84 innings and owns an 0.93 WHIP). Sale struck out 10 in 7 2/3 innings at Detroit back on April 10 but surrendered two runs on five hits to suffer the loss.

The pick: Veralnder has faced Boston 17 times in his career and he's just 5-6 (team is 7-8). However, he owns a 2.65 ERA against the Red Sox, including an 0.82 ERA in his last five starts against Boston! Sale has been one of 2017's most dominating pitchers (see above stats) and this one has Under written all over it (10*).

The set-up: The Astros own MLB's best record (43-19) but they've lost three of four, as injuries are wreaking havoc on their starting rotation. Houston has been forced to manage a revolving door of relievers in recent games with lefties Ashur Tolliver (1st appearance) and Reymin Guduan (third) plus righties Jordan Jankowski (two) and Dayan Diaz (two) all making 2017 debuts as of late. In Friday night's 9-4 loss to the Angels, the Astros welcomed their top pitching prospect to the show, as Francis Martes allowing four runs on four hits and two walks with two strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings of relief. The win was LA's second in a row, as they climbed back to .500 (32-32). However, while the Angels may be in second-place in the AL West, they are 12 games back of Houston.

The pitching matchup: Ricky Nolasco (2-6 & 5.05 ERA) takes the mound for LA and Mike Fiers (3-2 & 4.84 ERA) for Houston. Nolasco comes in having lost four consecutive starts, posting a 6.64 ERA during the slide. However, he's had excellent success against the Astros in his career, going 7-1 with a 3.75 ERA in 10 career appearances (nine starts / teams are 8-1). Fiers has won his last two starts (allowed just two runs in each) and while he owns a modest three wins in 11 starts this season, the Astros are 7-4 in his starts. Fiers is 2-2 with a 5.30 ERA in six career starts against the Angels (teams are 3-3).

The pick: The Astros are scrambling a bit right now but the Angels are a modest 14-20 on the road, where they are averaging just 3.76 RPG. Mike Trout remains sidelined and Fiers is an underrated pitcher. Make the Astros an 8* play.

The set-up: The St. Louis Cards lost three games last weekend at Wrigley and then lost a four-game set at Cincinnati to open this week. They returned home from their 0-7 road trip to open a seven-game homestand on Friday, beginning with the MLB-worst, Philadelphia Phillies. Five of the Cardinals' first six batters in the lineup recorded two hits last night but even so, the Cards barely eked out a 3-2 win over the Phillies, who are now 21-38 and on a three-game slide (Phils are just 9-24 on the road). The win gives the Cards a 27-32 record and with no one playing all that well in the NL Central, find themselves a modest 4 1/2 games out of first (the first-place Brewers visit St. Louis for four games beginning Monday).

The pitching matchup: Nick Pivetta (1-2 & 5.18 ERA) gets the start for the Phillies, up against the Cards' Carlos Martinez (4-5 & 3.29 ERA). Pivetta is a rookie who is coming off his first ML victory, winning 11-4 in Atlanta on Monday. He gave up three runs over five innings in his win but note that he has yet to work more than five innings in any of his five 2017 starts. Pivetta will be facing St. Louis for the first time. Martinez has lost two of his last three outings, including Monday's 4-2 setback at Cincinnati in which he allowed four runs in 6 1/3 innings. Martinez has proven to a quality starter these last two seasons, winning 14 and 16 games, respectively. Martinez has made five appearances against the Phillies in his career (3.21 ERA) but just two starts, winning both.

The pitching matchup: The Phillies are just 9-24 on the road, where they are averaging only 3.64 RPG (Phils have scored just four runs during their current three-game slide!). Martinez has pitched well at home, winning three straight decisions and going unbeaten in five outings since losing to the Reds on April 9. In seven home starts in 2017, he owns a 2.19 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. The jury is still out on Pivetta but he'll face a St. Louis team which has averaged a modest 3.70 ERA in 30 home games so far in 2017 and a team struggling at the plate recently, having scored only 11 runs over its last five games, overall (that's 2.2 per). Make the Under an 8* play.

The set-up: The Reds have won four in a row and at 29-30, are just two games out of first place in the tightly-bunched NL Central. Cincinnati completed a four-game sweep of St. Louis with a 5-2 victory Thursday but come to LA to open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium where the Reds have lost six straight contests and five series in a row. The 36-25 Los Angeles Dodgers own the second-most home victories (22) in MLB, despite kicking off a six-game homestand Monday-Wednesday by losing two of three to Washington. Good news is on the way though, as third baseman Justin Turner (.379) could return Friday after missing 19 games because of a hamstring injury

The pitching matchup: Amir Garrett (3-4 & 7.17 ERA) will start for the Reds and Rich Hill (2-2 & 4.15 ERA) gets the call for the Dodgers. Garrett all was crushed his last time out, allowing nine runs (eight earned) on seven hits (three HRs)) and three walks in 2 2/3 innings of a 13-8 loss to Atlanta on Sunday. "I was trying to do too much with the changeup," he told reporters. "It is easy to fix. I need to get in the bullpen and work on it." It's nice to know that he is confident but since winning his first two career starts, the rookie is 1-4 with a 9.27 ERA in his last seven outings (Reds are 2-5). Hill has been limited to sis starts in 2017, mostly because of lingering blister issues (that plagued him last year, as well). He received a no-decision after yielding three runs (two earned), three hits and four walks while striking out five in four innings of Los Angeles' 10-8 victory in Milwaukee last Saturday. He was 3-2 with a 1.83 ERA in six outings with the Dodgers in 2016 but has not pitched into the sixth inning this season. Hill is 3-2 with a 4.05 ERA in nine games (seven starts / teams are 4-3) versus Cincinnati.

The pick: With Garrett's recent woes, the initial thought would be over. However, the Dodgers have managed just five runs in their last four games. Also, note that when healthy (Hill says he's in good shape), he's pitched well (note his 1.83 ERA in six starts for LA in 2016). Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: How did we get here? K.D. left OKC to sign with the Warriors during the off-season and Golden State opened the 2016-17 season as prohibitive favorites with many calling them "the best team ever assembled." However, in the team's season opener, the Spurs visited Oakland and spanked the Warriors, 129-100! That was only a minor blip, as the Warriors entered the 60th game of their season back on Feb. 28th, 50-9. However, in that game at Washington, K.D. was hurt (hyperextended his knee). Golden State lost that game and four of its next six, including three in a row. The team's fifth loss in seven games came at San Antonio,107-85, as Kerr rested Curry, Thompson and Green. Was the "super team" in trouble?

Well, not so much! K.D. did not return until three games were left in the regular season but the Warriors ended the year winning 15 of 16 games, entering the postseason. While Durant had another minor injury scare in the playoffs (he missed two games), Golden State has won 15 straight playoff contests, going 11-4 ATS and leaving waste to the defending champs in The Finals, so far. The Cavaliers took their best shot and still fell short in Game 3 and now need to win four games in a row to pull off a historic comeback. The Warriors aren't just looking for revenge from last year's come-from-ahead loss to the Cavs (Golden St. led 3-1 before Cleveland took the last three games) or a second championship in three years, but they can become the first team in NBA history to navigate the playoffs without a loss (16-0, adding an extra Fo' to Moses Malone's famous Fo', Fo' Fo' prediction back in 1983).

Golden State: Durant scored 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter in Game 3 and is averaging 34.0-10.0-6.0 against the Cavs. "He took over," Golden State head coach Steve Kerr told reporters of Durant's Game 3 performance. "You can tell he knows this is his moment. He's been an amazing player in this league for a long time. He senses this is his time, his moment, his team." Durant is the clear favorite for Finals MVP but he isn't the only Warriors player enjoying a superb Finals. Curry, less than 100 percent healthy last year, has put the pain of last year's Finals loss in the rear-view mirror by averaging 28.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.0 assists against the Cavs.

Cleveland: LBJ has averaged 32.0 PPG (on 55.4 percent shooting) against the Warriors, as well as 12.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists. After a 38-point Game 3, Kyrie is averaging 27.0 PPG in the series and despite an awful shooting performance on Wednesday (1 of 9), Love has averaged 17.0 & 13.7 in the series. However, the rest of Cleveland's players have been woefully inept. Tristan Thompson, in particular, has been brutal, failing to score a single point in Games 1 and 3, while pulling down a total of just 11 rebounds in three games (in comparison, the 6-3 Curry has 29 rebounds!).

The pick: Golden State's domination has inflated this line to where the Warriors are approaching being a 'TD' favorite at Cleveland (note: books put lines on all individual games prior to the series and had Cleveland at minus-two in Game 4!). I'm a perfect 3-0 in this series so far (Warriors in Game 1, Over in Game 2 and Warriors in the first-half of Game 4) and will play the Under as a 10* play here. The over/under number is headed towards 230, which I believe may be 'two TDs' higher than the final in this contest.

The set-up: The Nats returned home off a 7-2 road trip but instead a Thursday "off-day," had to play a make-up game with the Orioles. The Mats won 6-1 and at 39-21, own the NL's best record, as well as an 11 1/2 game lead in the NL East. Washington continues what will now be a seven-game homestand with a three-game series against the Texas Rangers. Texas has dropped 11 of 14 and its 10-game winning steak (May 9-19), seems further removed than just a month. The Rangers find themselves in the midst of a brutal schedule to start the month of June with nine of their first 11 games against teh Astros and the Nationals, teams with the two best records in baseball.

The pitching matchup: Andrew Cashner (2-5 & 3.39 ERA) gets the nod for Texas and Tanner Roark (6-2 & 3.95 ERA). Casher got an elephant off his back in his last start of May, ending an 18-start road win-less streak dating to September 2015. However, there was no carry over from his streak-busting win on the road, as he allowed five runs on a season-worst 11 hits over six innings in his first start of June, losing 6-5 at home to Houston last Saturday. Cashner is 2-4 with a 4.50 ERA in 12 career appearances (seven starts / 3-4 witha 5.20 ERA) versus Washington. Roark endured a four-start win-less drought (from May 2-18 (Nats were 1-3) but has won his last three outings, pitching at least seven innings in each while allowing just a combined five ERs (2.18 ERA). Roark has made one start against Texas, allowing only one run in seven innings but took the loss back on June 1, 2014.

The pick: Speaking of 2014, Roark won 15 games that year, pitched out of the bullpen most of 2015 and then won a career-high 16 games last season. Tonight, he looks to become the third seven-game winner for the Washington Nationals in 2017. As for Cashner, he's back out on the road and remember, he won his most recent road start on May 28 but that ended an 18-start road win-less streak dating to September 2015. Make the Nats an 8* play.

analysis soon

Nashville: Goaltender Pekka Rinne silenced critics by stopping 50 of 52 shots in his last two games to improve to 9-1 at home in the postseason, but his play in Pittsburgh leaves plenty to be desired. He allowed eight goal on just 36 shots in the first two games (.778 save percentage) and has lost all five of his career decisions in Pittsburgh. 24-year-old rookie Frederick Gaudreau had one assist in nine regular-season NHL games in his career. but continued his brilliant series by scoring the winning goal in both Games 3 and 4.

Pittsburgh: The Penguins retooled their top line in practice on Wednesday, with Conor Sheary rejoining rookie Jake Guentzel, who leads the postseason with 13 goals, and regular-season goals leader Sidney Crosby. By the way, Crosby ended his Stanley Cup Final drought of 12 games without a goal by tallying in Monday's 4-1 setback but it was a meaningless goal. All of a sudden, Pittsburgh now has goaltender issues. Matt Murray allowed eiight goals on 58 shots in the last two contests (.862 SP) and in a move that mirrors that of Nashville's Peter Laviolette prior to Game 3, Sullivan refused to reveal the identity of his starting netminder.

The pick: Rinne regained his mojo with a return home and I expect the same from Murray. Getting back to Rinne, he has plenty to prove after his poor play at Pittsburgh in Games 1 and 2 and I expect him to rise to the challenge, as well. It helps that Pittsburgh sputtering power play is just 1-for-16 in the first four contests of the Stanley Cup Final, with its lone goal coming on a 5-on-3 advantage in Game 1. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: The Battle of the Beltway gets set for a one-game showdown on Thursday, as the Orioles and Nats meet in Washington, making up a May 11th game which was rained out. The Orioles won both games in Baltimore back on May 8 and 9, before the Nats won May 10th in Washington, before getting rained out. The Nats are returning home off a very successful 7-2 nine-game road trip and at 37-21, own the NL's best record and an 11 1/2 game lead in the NL East. The Orioles are 31-26 and sit in third place in the AL East, 2 1/2 games back of the first-place Yankees. Baltimore is 21-10 at home but just 10-16 on the road.

The pitching matchup: Alec Asher (2-3 & 3.62 ERA) will start for Baltimore, opposed by Washington's Joe Ross (2-2 & 7.34 ERA). Asher made his fourth start and 13th appearance of the season on Friday against Boston and breezed through 6 1/3 innings while allowing two runs and three hits without issuing a walk. That was a a HUGE improvement from his previous start, when he allowed six runs on six hits in just two innings at Houston on May 28th. Asher spent 2015 and 2016 in the NL East with the Phillies and is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA in two career starts against Washington. Ross is in danger of losing his rotation spot after getting lit up for a total of 12 runs (11 earned) on 19 hits in seven innings over his last two starts. He had returned to the rotation on May 23 and beat Seattle 10-1, allowing just and one run in eight innings but he's been brutal in his last two outings. Ross has never started against Baltimore, making a lone relief appearance against the Orioles in his career (1 /3 hitless innings).

The pick: The Nats haven't bested the Orioles in a Beltway Series since going 4-2 back in 2007. The 2017 edition stands at 2-1 Baltimore, heading into this game. Washington had to fly back from LA last night, after a day game with the Dodgers, and were scheduled to have a day off. However, they must make up that May 11 rain out. Neither pitcher is a front of the rotation starter but this game still 'smells' like an Under (10*s).

full analysis soon

The set-up: The Diamondbacks returned home off a 5-6 road trip which ended with three straight losses. However, a return to Chase Field was just what the doctor ordered, as Arizona won 10-2 last night over the Padres, led by Jake Lamb's four RBI. He extended his hitting streak at Chase Field to 10 games, where the D'backs have won seven in a row to give them MLB's best home mark at 22-8. The Padres managed only five hits in Tuesday's loss, as San Diego lost its third straight after winning five in a row (sweep of the Cubs is now a distant memory).

The pitching matchup: Luis Perdomo (0-2 & 5.01 ERA) gets the nod for the Padres and Zack Greinke (7-3 & 3.06 ERA) for teh D'backs. Perdomo has yet to win in nine starts this season (team is 3-6) but he is coming off his best outing of the season, a seven-inning performance against the Chicago Cubs last Wednesday in which he settled for a no-decision despite allowing just one run on three hits. It marked the seventh no-decision in nine starts this season. Perdomo fell to 3-2 with a 4.76 ERA in eight career appearances (four starts / he's 2-2 with a 5.09 ERA) against Arizona on May 20 after surrendering eight runs on 11 hits in just three-plus innings. Greinke has won six of his last seven decisions, including last Thursday at Miami in which he allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits over seven innings. It marked the fifth time in 12 outings he has worked at least seven innings. Greinke is 9-2 with a 1.93 ERA in 18 career starts against San Diego (teams are 13-5).

The pick: The sad-sack Padres are 23-36 overall, including 10-20 on the road where they've allowed 5.23 RPG. Arizona is 22-8 at home (averaging 6.17 RPG) and send out Greinke, who is 5-0 in seven home starts (team is 6-1) in 2017, posting a 2.49 ERA and 0.85 WHIP. Make Arizona an 8* play.

The set-up: The Orioles won 6-5 (10 innings) last night at home over the Pirates. Baltimore led all of MLB with 253 home runs last season but opened this series with a more modest total of 76 HRs, which ranked ninth. However, the Orioles cranked four HRs last night, including a two-run shot in the ninth that sent the game into extra innings. The 30-26 Orioles (2 1/2 games out of first in the AL East) are somewhat stuck in neutral lately (5-5 last 10) but are 20-10 at home. The Pirates look to earn a split in this two-game IL series tonight and have been languishing near the bottom of the NL Central all season but with no team playing all that well, the 26-32 Pirates may be in last place but they are just 4 1/2 games out of first.

The pitching matchup: Chad Kuhl (1-5 & 6.02 ERA) gets the ball for Pittsburgh and Wade Miley (2-3 & 2.82 ERA) for Baltimore. Kuhl won his 2017 debut (back on April 8) but is winless, since. He's 0-5 over 10 starts (team is 2-8) and has has not pitched more than five innings since a six-inning stint at St. Louis back on April 18. Kuhl is seeing the Orioles for the first time but owns a 2.19 ERA in two interleague starts (think that matters?). Miley's had a solid season for Baltimore and is coming off a strong effort against one of his former teams, as he held the Red Sox to one run on five hits in seven innings to earn a win last Thursday. He has allowed two or fewer ERs in seven of his last nine outings in 2017, although the Orioles are just 6-5 in his starts. Miley is 2-2 with a 3.11 ERA in six career starts against the Pirates (teams are 3-3).

The pick: No reason to believe that Kuhl will gets things turned around here (6.02 ERA, 1.58 WHIP & .293 BAA) and as noted, Miley's given the Orioles a chance to win in almost all of his 2017 starts. He deserves a win here and gets it against a Pittsburgh team just 12-19 on the road. Make Baltimore a 10* play.

The set-up: The Washington Nationals beat the Dodgers 2-1 last night behind Scherzer's dominating pitching (7 IP/ 3 hits / 1 unearned run / 14Ks) and have now gone 7-1 on their current road trip. That trip concludes with an afternoon game at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, as the Nats look to sweep the Dodgers (won 4-2 on Monday). The Dodgers were shut out 3-0 at Milwaukee on Sunday and have now been held to just three runs by the Nats these last two games. LA had been 21-8 at home as the new week began but are now 21-10 on their home field and look to not only avoid a three-game home sweep but break out a a slide which has seen them lose five of their last seven.

The pitching matchup: Stephen Strasburg (7-1 & 2.91 ERA) will oppose Clayton Kershaw (7-2 & 2.28 ERA), as the two stars square off head-to-head for the first time-ever. Strasburg struck out seven and walked three while allowing two runs on four hits in seven innings of a 13-3 romp over the Oakland A's in his last outing this past Friday. He has gone at least six innings in all but one of his 11 starts this season and hasn't lost a start since April 29 in a 5-3 setback to the New York Mets (Nats are 9-2, plus-$560 in his starts). Strasburg is 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA in five career starts against the Dodgers (Nats are just 1-4, though ). Kershaw struck out a season-high 14 batters with one walk and limited the Milwaukee Brewers to a single run on two hits in seven innings on Friday, not figuring in the decision of a 2-1 (12 innings) LA win. Kershaw is having another dominating season, allowing just 64 hits over 83 innings with a KW ratio of 92-11. That gives him an 0.90 WHIP and opposing batters are hitting just .210 against him. LA is 10-2 in Kershaw's startst (plus-$560). He's has few problems with the Nats in his career so far, going 11-2 with a 2.55 ERA in 15 career starts against Washington (Dodgers are 13-2)..

The pick: No reason to expect anything but another outstanding effort from Kershaw and as for Starsburg, he faces an LA lineup which has now scored a total of just four runs in its last five losses, getting shut out twice. The Under is a 10* play.

The set-up: The Arizona Diamondbacks welcome the San Diego Padres to Chase Field, looking to avoid a fourth straight defeat. As for the Padres, after ripping off a five-game winning streak (including a three-game sweep of the Cubs!), they lost Saturday and Sunday at home to the Rockies. San Diego is 4-6 against Arizona this season, including losing three of four in Arizona from April 24-27. The D'backs are a surprising 34-25 (just two games back of the first-place Rockies), while the Padres are unfortunately, right where most expected them to be (23-35).

The pitching matchup: Dinelson Lamet (2-0 & 2.70 ERA) gets the call for San Diego and Robbie Ray (5-3 & 3.00 ERA) for Arizona. Lamet has won both of his first two major league starts, going five innings in each and allowing a combined three runs on eight hits to beat the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs. He has also struck out eight in each outing and can join Stephen Strasburg and Masahiro Tanaka as the only pitchers to strike out eight in each of their first three starts. Ray is coming off his first career shutout, and first complete game, blanking Pittsburgh on four hits while reaching 10 strikeouts for the third time this season. Ray has won three straight starts for the first time in his career and has not permitted a single a run in 23 2/3 innings during that span. However, all three wins have come on the road, where Ray has posted a superb 4-1 record and 0.64 ERA, as compared to a 1-2 mark with a bloated 6.75 ERA at home in five starts (Arizona is). Ray is 2-4 with a 3.79 ERA in six career starts against San Diego

The pick: Not sure I'm sold yet on Lamet (sample size of two games) plus the Padres are just 10-19 on the road, allowing 5.07 RPG. Sure, Ray has struggled at home so far, but he's pitched so well in his last three. No reason he shouldn't be confident of turning things around at Chase Field, where the D'backs are 21-8, while averaging 6.03 RPG. Arizona is an 8* play.

The set-up: The Rangers had a 10-game winning streak from May 9 through May 19 but that's been long forgotten. The Rangers spent their weekend by losing a three-game series to the major league-leading Astros and open the new week as losers of four straight and 10 of their last 12, leaving them 15 1/2 games behind Houston at 26-31. The New York Mets visit the Rangers for the start of a two-game interleague series on Tuesday and are just 24-31 themselves, after losing four of their last five. However, the Mets do find themselves a little closer to first place in the NL East, 11 1/2 games back of the Nationals.

The pitching matchup: Jacob deGrom (4-2 & 3.97 ERA) gets the ball for New York and will be opposed by former Met Dillon Gee (0-0 & 0.00 ERA). DeGrom was coming off excellent back-to-back outings, limiting the Pirates and Angels to one run on 10 hits in 15 1/3 innings (0.59 ERA) while striking out 19, before getting lit up by Milwaukee last Wednesday. He gave up seven runs on eight hits and five walks in four innings of that 7-1 Brewers win. DeGrom will be making his first career start against the Rangers. Gee spent his first six seasons with New York, before pitching for Kansas City last year. Gee has just recently been called up by Texas and has made two appearances out of the bullpen, totaling 6 2/3 innings. He allowed four runs on two hits (one HR) in four innings against Houston on Friday but all runs were unearned. Gee has made 124 of his 149 career appearances as a starter and gets his first start of 2017, here.

The pick: Expect deGrom to bounce back from last Wednesday's poor outing, as he's allowed three ERs or less in nine of 11 starts this year. While this is his first-ever start against Texas, deGrom does own an impressive 1.95 ERA in 11 interleague starts. As for Gee, expect hm to give his ex-teammates more than a little trouble. The Under is an 8* play.

The set-up: The Rays ended a nine-game road trip by getting swept in a three-game series at Seattle (outscored 28-7!) and return home with a 4-5 record on the trip (had won four of six to open the trip). Tamp Bay (29-30 and 5 1/2 games out in the AL East) will be home for seven games this week, beginning with this three-game series with the 24-31 White Sox, who limp into Tampa on a five-game losing skid in which they've allowed 43 runs (8.6 per).

The pitching matchup: Jose Quintana (2-7 & 5.60 ERA) takes the mound for Chicago against Tampa's Chris Archer (4-3 & 3.74 ERA). Quintana opened the month of May with three quality starts in his first four outings but was lit up for 15 runs on 18 hits over just seven total innings to lose his last two games of the month. He made the All-Star game last season but with two wins, a 5.60 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP, he won't be joining the July festivities in Miami this season. He gave up three HRs against Boston in his last outing, after allowing a total of three HRs in his previous eight starts. Quintana is 1-3 with a 3.27 ERA in six career starts against the Rays (team is 2-4). Archer suffered through a miserable 2016 season (9-19, 4.02 ERA / 10-23 in starts, minus-$1553, MLB's worst moneyline mark among starters) but broke David Price’s franchise record for strikeouts in a month when he fanned 58 in May. He has totaled 95 in 79 1/3 innings overall this season while recording seven quality starts in 12 outings in 2017, Archer is 3-0 with a 3.27 ERA in five career starts versus the White Sox (Rays are 4-1).

The pick: Archer hasn't returned to the All-Star form he had in the 2014-15 seasons but he's leaps and bounds better than he was in 2016. The White have lost five in a row overall (allowing 8.60 RPG) plus have gone just 12-20 on the road. Meanwhile, Quintana has fallen off dramatically from his last few seasons, ones in which he produced ERAs of 3.32, 3.36 and 3.20 in 32 starts each year. Make Tampa Bay a 10* play.

The set-up: The Toronto Blue Jays opened the season 2-11 and were only 8-17 by the end of April. However, Sunday's 3-2 win over the New York Yankees gave the Blue Jays a split of the four-game set and left them 10-3 over their last 13 contests. Toronto is now 28-29 (that's 26-18 since that 2-11 start) and will open a three-game series tonight in Oakland with a chance to reach .500 for the first time this season. Oakland lost 11-10 to Washington on Sunday and has dropped six of eight which leaves them at 24-32 on the season. The A's have now allowed an average of 10.3 runs in their last four losses!

The pitching matchup:.A pair of lefties square off tonight, with J.A. Happ (0-3 & 4.50 ERA) taking the mound for Toronto and Sean Manaea (4-3 & 3.91 ERA) for Oakland..Happ was one of baseball's three 20-game winners a year ago (20-4) but he's still seeking his first victory in 2017, a season that's been limited to just four starts so far due to a 1 1/2-month stint on the DL.He allowed two runs in four innings in his return from the DL on Tuesday against the Reds, settling for a no-decision in a 6-4 Toronto win. He has failed to get through five innings in three consecutive starts. There's some good news though, as Happ is 4-0 with a 2.66 ERA in seven career starts versus Oakland (teams are 6-1). Manaea retired the first 10 men he faced while dominating Cleveland on Wednesday, finishing with nine strikeouts while allowing one run on three hits in seven innings. He is 4-2 with a 2.92 ERA over his last seven starts (A's are 4-3) and has allowed five hits or less in all nine outings on the year (A's are just 4-5 in his starts). He allowed two runs on three hits in five innings in his one prior start against Toronto, which came last year.

The pick: Hard to argue with the way Manaea has pitched but the Blue Jays are surging (10-3 L13) and the A's open this series having lost seven of their last 11 games. The A's are batting just .236 as a team (ranks 26th), while allowing 5.27 RPG (5.39 at home). The team's 5.02 bullpen ERA is a major factor in that. Make Toronto a 10* play.

analysis soon

The set-up: The 30-27 Milwaukee Brewers still hold down the top spot in the NL Central but are now just one game up on the Cubs, who swept a three-game home series against the Cards over the weekend. Eric Thames was mired in a 4-for-33 slump and with just one HR since May 9 and was out of the starting lineup in Saturday's loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers but he hit his 15th homer to help the Brewers salvage the finale of the three-game set with a 3-0 Sunday win. The Milwaukee Brewers wrap up a seven-game homestand this week, beginning with the first of four games with the Giants on Monday. San Francisco lost 9-7 at Philadelphia on Sunday, the team's ninth loss in its last 12 games, leaving the Giants a woeful 23-35 here in 2017.

The pitching matchup: Jeff Samardzija (1-7 & 4.63 ERA) gets the ball for the Giants and Junior Guerra (1-0 & 1.84 ERA) for the Brewers. In what's been an awful season so far, Samardzija is coming off his shortest start of 2017 with a four-inning effort Tuesday in which he allowed three runs and nine hits while striking out five against Washington. Samardzija has only one win in his 11 starts but the Giants are 3-0 in his no-decisions for a 4-7 overall record (minus-$292). However, a troubling note here is that he's 0-5 with a 4.87 ERA over 10 starts against Milwaukee, with his teams going 1-9. Guerra pitched six scoreless innings at the New York Mets on Wednesday in just his third start of the season, due to injury. He has yielded just eight hits in 14 2/3 innings on the season, giving him a 0.95 WHIP to go along with his 1.84 ERA. He has never faced the Giants but is 5-2 with a 2.34 ERA in 11 career starts at home.

The pick: I noted Samardzija's 2017 woes at the top but let's note that he just completed May with a 3.32 ERA in six starts while striking out 49 and walking only one (read that again, slowly!). Meanwhile, Milwaukee's pitching staff has held opponent to two runs or fewer in four of the last five games.Guerra is now 10-3 in his short career (had 20 starts for Milwaukee in 2016) and has held opponents to a .206 BAA since the beginning of last year. Make the Under a 10* play.