4*St. Louis Cardinals -114  (Peralta/Flaherty)

3*

4*

3*

4*

3*

4*St. Louis Cardinals -135  (Anderson/Martinez)

4*

4*

3*Chicago Cubs -104  (Corbin/Farrell)

3*

4*

3*

5*St. Louis Cardinals -108  (Martinez/Samardzija)

Carlos Martinez has looked a lot like his pre-injury self with quality starts in his last two games, giving up two runs in each game with 15 total strikeouts in wins facing Cleveland ace Corey Kluber and Arizona's Robbie Ray. Jeff Samardzija has been hampered with injuries and will be on a pitch count. Carlos has been great off a team loss with an ERA under 2.00 during his career. He is holding opposing hitters to a .188 batting average in all day games this season. Take the Red Birds!

4*

3*

4*

3*

5*Minnesota Twins -131  (Gallardo/Odorizzi)

Jake Odorizzi struggled through five innings and surrendered four runs his last time out vs. Cleveland on Sunday. He has struggled mightily vs. the Indians this year, but has held all other opponents to three earned runs or fewer in 11 out of 12 starts. Jake has been stellar in days throughout his career, with an ERA of 2.15 over the past 3+ seasons. On the flip side, Gallardo is still way behind in his preparation, making just his second start since being called up from AAA. His ERA is over 5 in all day games over the past five seasons. Take the Twins to bounce back after allowing 17 runs in their past two games at home. 

4*Pittsburgh Pirates -110   (Peralta/Taillon)

4*Detroit Tigers -104  (Hardy/Shields)

3*Toronto Blue Jays -122 (Cobb/Estrada)

4*Arizona D-backs -132 (Straily/Koch)

3*Seattle Mariners -118

4*LA Angels -121

4*Baltimore Orioles -101 (Gausman/Romo)

5*Philadelphia Phillies -127  (Gaviglio/Eflin)

The Blue Jays have been at home indoors and now must travel to Citizens Bank Park. They are batting just .225 on the road. The Phillies have been great at home and I like them in this spot quite a bit.

4*New York Mets -111  (Smith/Wheeler)

4*Pittsburgh Pirates -125  (Ross/Nova)

4*Toronto Blue Jays -115  (Triggs/Sanchez)

10*Colorado Rockies -101   (Anderson/Lucchesi)

Tyler Anderson couldn't command his pitches in his last start, a home loss to the Angels. Anderson has a 1.50 ERA and 12 strikeouts against two walks in 12 innings against the Padres this year. Colorado batters struck out 15 times in Sunday's home loss against the Brewers. Winning teams bounce back at a 75% clip when facing losing teams after double digit K's. Also, the Rockies are ranked No. 2 in runs scored against left-handed starters. The Padres haven't faced a lefty in five games. Take the road team with confidence!

4*Atlanta Braves -128  (McCarthy/Straily)

4*Atlanta Braves -107  (Foltynewicz/Smith)

4*New York Yankees -130  (Rodriguez/Sabathia)

5*Colorado Rockies -113  (Heaney/Gray)

John Gray is looking for a third consecutive win. He is coming off back-to-back strong starts, having allowed three hits in six scoreless innings against the Padres and following that up by giving up one run on three hits in seven innings vs. the Cubs. The Rockies rank #2 in runs scored against left-handed starters and I really like how they matchup in this one.

4*Baltimore Orioles +137  (Gausman/Cahill)

Kentucky Derby Selections

#16 Magna Moon  (Win, Place and Show)    

#18 Vino Rosso (Win, Place and Show)  

5*Washington Nationals +117  (Corbin/Hellickson)

The Nats have been really good against tough left-handers at home over the years. I think Corbin is due for a bad outing so I will take the home underdog in this one.

4*Baltimore Orioles +110  (Bauer/Bundy)

4*Minnesota Twins +117  (Corrasco/Berrios)

Jose Berrios, who was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, will get the chance to pitch less than 20 minutes away from his hometown. In his last outing against the White Sox on Thursday, he threw seven scoreless innings and struck out 11. He's been real good off a team loss. Take the Twins!

4*NY Mets -115  (Anderson/Harvey)

4*Seattle Mariners -106  (Hernandez/Skoglund)

4*Philadelphia Phillies -125  (Reed/Lively)

4*Chicago White Sox -102  (Fulmer/Giolito)

In six career daytime starts, Lucas Giolito is 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA, holding batters to a .191 average. The White Sox have hit Fulmer hard in the past. Both pitchers have been up and down in cold weather. I like the White Sox to win their first home game of the season.

5*Milwaukee Brewers +105  (Lester/Suter)

Brent Suter has held opponents to a .683 OPS (on base + slugging) in 20 appearances at Miller Park. The Cubs haven't seen live pitching since Monday. Milwaukee was completely shutdown on Wednesday. I like the Brewers in this one!

4*St. Louis Cardinals -115  (Weaver/Matz)

4*Philadelphia Phillies -120  (Nola/Teheran)

Aaron Nola is a rising star and the Phillies' bullpen should be much improved. I am big on the Phillies this season. I have them making the playoffs with a 91-71 record. I also love playing home teams on opening day (projected to win at least 80 games) with a new manager in the dugout. Take the Phillies season win total OVER 75.5 as well. 

10*LA Dodgers -112  (Verlander/Hill)

You know closeout games are really hard in championship series across the board. Also, MLB teams that score 10 or more runs and than have to play on the road, have been a great play against in my lifetime. It's a favorite of many wise guys. That's because it has cashed about 65% since 1998. I think the Dodgers will step up and force a deciding game 7, which the Dodgers will win. The past 11 teams that were returning home down 3-2 in the series, 9 of them have comeback to win the World Series. Take the hungry host!

4*LA Dodgers -121  (Greinke/Ryu)

4*Miami Marlins +105  (Worley/Montero)

3*Tampa Bay Rays +129  (Faria/Strowman)

5*Arizona Diamonbacks +110 (Maeda/Godley)

Seems like a good spot for the host as they remember getting swept by these Dodgers last month. Kenta Maeda has never really pitched well in Arizona with a career ERA close to 5. Zack Godley has really good "stuff" evident by striking out 96 in 94.1 innings this season. If Godley can hit his spots, I think he will be able to hold the Dodgers to 3 runs or less. I think that should be good enough on this night. Take the D-backs!

4*Miami Marlins -102  (Castillo/Straily)

4*Baltimore Orioles +128  (Miley/Faria)

The Rays haven't faced a left-handed starter for the past 10 games. That's tough. Tampa Bay is just 12-17 against lefties and have an OPS which ranks No. 21 in all of baseball against southpaws. Wilson Ramos is one of the best catchers at framing pitches and he's OUT for this game. His bat will be missed as he's batting over .400 against Miley. Wade has had a lot of success against the Rays in the past. More of the same!

5*NY Yankees -123  (Cessa/Colon)

The Twins have never seen Cessa. Bartolo Colon is 44 years old and his two-seamer and changeup are about the same speed. Not a good combo going against a Yankees' team ranked No. 3 in OPS against right-handed starters. His pitch to contact strategy (42 K in 62 IP) won't work against the Yankees. Over the pass three years, July has been Colon's worst ERA month. The Yankees bullpen is better than Minnesota by over a full run. New York has been golden this season in games after Aaron Judge goes hitless. Take the road team!

3*LA Dodgers -119  (McCarthy/Straily)

4*Houston Astros +107  (Peacock/Happ)

4*Minnesota Twins -130  (Bundy/Berrios)

4*Arizona Diamondbacks -128  (Marquez/Walker)

4*Arizona Diamondbacks -123  (Lynn/Corbin)

5*Detroit Tigers -103  (Zimmermann/Richards)

Jordan Zimmermann returns to his National League days with a visit to Petco Park, where he gave up just two earned runs over 36 innings in five starts with the Washington Nationals. He has a 15-inning scoreless streak in San Diego since 2014. The Tigers are ranked 8th in OPS in day games and above the OPS league average against lefties. I think the Tigers matchup quite well against Clayton Richard as several players have lofty batting averages against him. Take Detroit!

4*Detroit Tigers -113  (Fulmer/Perdomo)

4*Kansas City Royals -105  (Velazquez/Hammel)

4*Houston Astros -116  (Pomeranz/Fiers)

4*Arizona Diamondbacks -130  (Davies/Delgado)

4*Miami Marlins -117  (Nola/Straily)

3*Chicago Cubs +158 (Lester/Kershaw)

4*Houston Astros -111  (Salazar/Musgrove)

4*Washington Nationals -122  (Roark/Glasnow)

4*Arizona Diamondbacks -102  (Verlander/Ray)

The Tigers are ranked 23rd in OPS (on base + slugging) against left-handed starters this season and have never faced Robbie Ray. Justin Verlander has been really good in his career against the NL, except the past two years. His road ERA is over 8 this season and the Tigers have one of the worst bullpens in all of baseball. Take the host!

4*Milwaukee Brewers -115  (Colon/Anderson)

5*Texas Rangers +101  (Santana/Cashner)

The Rangers have seen a lot of Santana when he pitched for the Angels. Texas has six starters in their lineup batting over .330 against Santana in his career. Minnesota has never faced Cashner and the Rangers have yet to score a run when he's in the game. Left-handed batters are hitting just .095 against Andrew this season. Take the host!

4*Baltimore Orioles -102 (Pomeranz/Bundy)

This is the same pitching matchup when the Red Sox defeated the Orioles 8-1 exactly 10 days ago. Dylan Bundy is off to a terrific start. He’s made a quality start in all three of his tilts, including six shutout innings in an 11-4 victory over the Blue Jays the last time out. Bundy has 17 strikeouts against three walks which is a great sign. The Red Sox just played a series in a dome and now must play outdoors. MLB teams tend to struggle the very next day. Take the Orioles in this one!

5*Kansas City Royals -120  (Cain/Hammel)

The Giants will be playing their first game outside the Pacific Time Zone this season when they travel 1,800 miles to Kansas City Missouri. San Francisco's longest road trip so far was 500 miles south to San Diego. The Royals are 7-2 in their last nine meeting against the Giants at home. American League interleague home favorites are cashing nearly 70% in game one of a series over the past 10 seasons. I think Jason Hammel will bounce back after two sub-par starts to begin his Royals' career. He has been awesome in April (2.14 ERA) over the three past seasons, holding hitters to a .195 batting average. Jason Hammel is 9-2 in April since 2014, and 3-1 in four starts against the Giants in his career. Matt Cain has a 5.59 ERA in April of late and hitters are batting .289 against him. I think the Royals winning streak continues so lets take the host! 

4*Cincinnati Reds -108 (Davies/Finnegan)

Zach Davies has started very slow in his career (8.04 April ERA) and will face a Reds' team off a blowout loss. Brandon Finnegan is holding hitters to a .224 batting average in all days games in his career. I like the Reds in this spot!

5*Houston Astros -120 (Musgrove/Miranda)

This is a rematch from last Thursday when the Mariners won 4-2 in Houston. It's very difficult for a starting pitcher to defeat a team twice in 5 days. Take the Astros!

4*Detroit Tigers +123 (Porcello/Norris)

The Tigers are looking for big things from Norris after posting a 3.04 ERA in 10 games down the stretch as a starter last season. The Red Sox are ravaged with injuries, the flu bug and other personal issues. This will be the first left-handed starter they have faced all season. Daniel Norris has pitched well in day games. He's gone 5-1 with a 3.61 ERA, while holding foes to a .241 batting average in his career under the sun. Over the past three seasons, Porcello is 12-9 with a 4.40 ERA in all day games. Batters are hitting .287 against him. Take Detroit! 

3*Cincinnati Reds +163

Listed Pitchers: Garrett/Leake

10*Chicago Cubs -127  (Kluber/Lackey)

It's very difficult for a pitcher (Kluber) to defeat the same team twice in less than 5 days. Especially on short rest. Most of the Indians haven't seen Lackey, and the ones that have are batting under .200 collectively against him. The Cubs have been great at home and after a shut-out loss all season long. The Cubs will find a way to win this game and even up the series. Take the host!

4*Boston Red Sox -101  (Price/Kluber)

10*Detroit Tigers -126 (Duffy/Fulmer)

The Tigers have won four in a row and are battling for the last Wild Card spot, which they currently hold. Detroit is 20-7 in their last 27 during game one of a series. They have hit left-handed pitching hard at home this season. I think Duffy is running out of gas as he has pitched a career-high 169.2 innings this season. Duffy has a season-high 4.10 ERA in September and 5.06 ERA against the Tigers this season. Fulmer has pitched well against the Royals this season with a 2.75 ERA, allowing 18 hits in 19 2/3 innings. He is holding hitters to a .223 batting average this season which is 11 points lower than Duffy. Kansas City has been eliminated from the postseason and will be facing a fired-up Tigers squad with their most consistent starter on the bump. Ian Kinsler returns which should provide a boost. Love Detroit in this one!

4*San Francisco Giants +157  (Bumgarner/Kershaw)

Yes, Kershaw is a future Hall of Famer but Bumgarner could be right there with him. The Giants need this game in a big way and will be facing a Dodgers' team that is ranked dead last in OPS against left-handed starters. Should be a close game so lets ride with the big underdog.

Detroit Tigers -109  (Gausman/Fulmer)

4*St. Louis Cardinals -125  (Garcia/Straily)

4*Baltimore Orioles -125  (Green/Bundy)

5*San Francisco Giants -103  (Bumgarner/Maeda)

The Dodgers scored 18 runs and now travel back home to play their arch rival. With 14 career homers, tied for third among pitchers in Giants history, Madison Bumgarner is attracting almost as much attention with his hitting as he is with his pitching. His Dodger Stadium success (8-5, 2.40 ERA) is worth noticing, too. Kenta Maeda will pitch on six days' rest for the third time this season. In three previous outings of six or more days' rest, excluding his first start of the season, Maeda has a 4.96 ERA, compared to a 3.75 ERA on normal rest. Note, the Dodgers are ranked 29th in runs scored against left-handed pitching. Take the Giants in this spot!

4*Baltimore Orioles -112  (McHugh/Miley)

3*Cincinnati Reds +164  (Fernandez/Straily)

Both teams are 14-8 when these two respected starters take the bump this season. Dan Straily has held batters to a .215 batting average this season, which is three points lower than his counterpart. Jose Fernandez hasn't pitched very well at Great American Ballpark, with a 11.25 ERA (4 innings) in his career. Light play on the Reds here at home!

3*Baltimore Orioles -119  (Bundy/Cain)

4*Washington Nationals +109  (Bumgarner/Roark)

4*Detroit Tigers -118  (Syndergaard/Verlander)

5*Texas Rangers +107  (Hamels/Gausman)

Cole Hamels is 3-0 with a 0.84 ERA in his last three starts. He has lasted eight innings in two of those three outings and set a season high with 12 strikeouts in his last start against the Royals. He is 8-1 with a 1.71 ERA in 11 starts on the road and has been stellar after a team loss in his career. The Orioles are ranked 25th in OPS (.699) against left-handed starters while the Rangers have hit Kevin Gausman hard in the past. I love taking teams in first place after allowing 5 runs or more after the non-waver trade deadline. This has cashed nearly 68% of the time over the past decade. I like Texas in this spot!

4*Chicago Cubs -105 (Fernandez/Hammel)

4*Boston Red Sox -125  (Pomeranz/Santiago)

4*San Francisco Giants -123 (Reed/Cain)

5*Washington Nationals -110  (Norris/Gonzalez)

Bud Norris will make his fourth start as a Dodger after allowing seven runs in 16 innings over his first three. He faced the Nationals twice in April with the Braves, giving up eight runs in 12 innings and taking the loss in both outings. Gio Gonzalez will make his first second-half start against a team he has had success against during the course of his career. In four starts against the Dodgers, Gonzalez owns a 1.73 ERA and opposing batters are hitting .185 against him. The Dodgers are ranked 28th in OPS and 28th in runs scored against left-handed starters this season. Take the Nats in this one!

5*Chicago Cubs -147 (Matz/Lester)

The Cubs were swept in a four game series at Citi Field between June 30 and July 3. The Mets also eliminated the Cubs in the 2015 NL Championship series. Jon Lester gave up a season-high eight runs in a career-low 1.2 innings in his outing on July 3. He's been very good after a team loss as the Cubs dropped a 4-1 decision on Sunday. The Cubs are ranked 5th in OPS against left-handed pitching while scoring the second most runs in all of baseball against southpaws. The Mets are ranked 17th in OPS while scoring the second fewest runs when facing a lefty. Look for the Cubs improve to 22-10 when facing a left-handed starter this season.

4*Seattle Mariners +109  (McCullers/Iwakuma)

4*Detroit Tigers +157  (Pelfrey/Happ)

The Tigers are ranked 8th in runs scored against left-handed pitching. Detroit played a listless game on Thursday. Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez went a combined 0-for-8. Mike Pelfrey is unbeaten his last four outings while J.A. Happ is coming off a blowout win. Happ tossed seven innings and struck out a season-high 11 batters while allowing just one run in the Blue Jays' 17-1 victory. I will fade him against a solid left-handed hitting lineup, at a very nice price.

4*Boston Red Sox -102  (Shoemaker/O'Sullivan)

4*Detroit Tigers -118  (Verlander/Snell)