Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play Texas Rangers Money Line (+) @ Baltimore Orioles @ 7:05 ET - This is a contrarian play as many will be looking Baltimore's way since the Orioles are 28-19 at home this season, have won the first 3 games of this series, and the Rangers have lost 4 straight overall. However, the pitching edge for Texas here simply can not be ignored! The Rangers Cole Hamels has allowed 0 earned runs in his last 21 innings on the mound. Also, versus Baltimore the left-hander has a 3.10 ERA in his last 3 starts. He'll be opposed by fellow southpaw Wade Miley in this one. The Orioles lefty has been struggling badly! Not only does Miley have a ridiculous 11.24 ERA in his last 3 starts, he has given up an insane 33 baserunners (24 hits and 9 walks) in the 12 innings spanning these 3 outings. Also, in Miley's last 3 starts versus the Rangers, he has allowed 13 earned runs in only 16 innings of work. Even though the Rangers have been slumping at the plate, Miley will be sure to bring out the best in them Thursday evening. Also, Hamels has the longest current scoreless innings streak in the AL with his run of putting up goose eggs having reached 21 straight! The Rangers are 5-1 in Hamels last 6 starts and the Orioles are 1-4 in Miley's last 5 starts! Texas is 6-2 in Thursday games this season and 25-16 on Thursdays the last 3 seasons combined. The Rangers are also 5-2 this season and 23-13 the past 3 seasons combined when they are off of a game where they allowed 10 runs or more. 10* TEXAS

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 1:35 ET - Hot afternoon weather in Boston with the wind blowing out toward center field or at least right-center in this one. The point is that it will be a hitter-friendly afternoon. I am well aware of the fact that last night's 5-1 Boston win means that the under is now 6-0 in the Red Sox last 6 games. However, this one is all about the pitching match-up and the fact that is a day game should also help our cause. Francisco Liriano gets the start for the Blue Jays and he exited his last start very early due to a sore neck. Whether or not the neck bothers him much today is not that much of a factor but it certainly won't help him. The fact is that Liriano has been consistently struggling whether his neck is sore or not! The Toronto southpaw has an 8.36 ERA in his last 3 starts. Also, on the season, Liriano has particularly struggled on the road! He has an 8.33 ERA in starts away from home and the over has gone 5-2 in those 7 games. The Red Sox hand the ball to Doug Fister for his 4th start of the season. In his first three starts he has compiled a 6.13 ERA and he already has 9 walks in less than 15 innings of work. He just faced the Jays on June 30th and Liriano just faced the Sox on July 1st. The fact these lineups just saw these starting pitchers also should lead to plenty of offense in this one. Also, Toronto has played 13 games as a road dog in a range of +125 to +175 and only 3 of the 13 games resulted in an under! 10* OVER the total in Boston

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Mets vs St Louis Cardinals @ 7:10 ET - The Mets got shutout yesterday but they had previously scored 30 runs in their 4 games since the All Star break. New York should bounce back in a big way tonight against a struggling Mike Leake. Cardinals right-hander hasn't allowed a lot of earned runs lately but this is hiding the fact he truly hasn't pitched well at all. In Leake's last two starts he has given up 10 runs (5 earned) on 16 and 6 walks in less than 9 innings of work spanning these two outings. As you can see from these numbers, Leake has been struggling much worse than his ERA would lead you to believe. Also, the righty has given up 8 earned runs in less than 9 innings of work spanning his last two starts against the Mets. New York will have Jacob deGrom on the mound and, though he's got great overall numbers, the Cardinals have been a bit of a nemesis for him. The Mets right-hander has given up 9 earned runs on 20 hits (including 7 homers!) in the less than 12 innings spanning deGrom's last two starts versus St Louis. The Cardinals are 11-7 to the over this season in road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. The Mets are 18-9 to the over in games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. Also, overall, New York is 28-14 to the over in home games this season, 9-4 to the over in Wednesday games, and 41-15 to the over in night games! More of the same expected tonight as the Mets look to bounce back from a shutout loss. 10* OVER the total in the New York Mets game

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (+) @ Oakland A's @ 3:35 ET - Even though the A's Sonny Gray has great overall numbers on the season, he certainly has not been pitching as well as Jacob Faria of the Rays. Additionally, another important key here is the fact that Gray has struggled against Tampa Bay in recent meetings while Oakland's lineup has never faced Faria. This should also prove to be huge edge for the road pitcher in this match-up. The Rays are 6-1 in all of Faria's starts this season and that includes a perfect 4-0 mark on the road. As for Gray, the last 3 times he has faced the Rays he has allowed a combined 18 runs (12 earned) on 24 hits (including 5 homers) in just 16 and 2/3 innings of work. All 3 of those starts have come within the past 14 months including one just last month! With the success that Tampa Bay has had against Gray and the fact that Oakland is not familiar with Faria (and he has been pitching lights out), this is a great spot to back the road dog. The Rays entered Tuesday's action having gone 38-26 and up $11,300 against right-handed pitchers this season. The A's are 67-91 and down $25,600 in day games the last 3 seasons combined. Also, Oakland entered Tuesday having gone just 7-9 in their last 16 games while TB entered Tuesday's action with a record of 9-5 in their last 14 road games! Look for the Rays to improve to 5-0 in Faria's road starts this season! 10* TAMPA BAY

AL West Total of the Year - Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Seattle Mariners @ 8:10 ET - I am well aware of the fact that the Astros Carlos Correa jammed his thumb and left yesterday's game early. Even if he does not play tonight or ends up on the disabled list, lets not forget that he was 1 for 8 with 3 strikeouts so far since the All Star break. Certainly he is a big stick but Houston has a solid lineup even if Correa sits. The big key here is the Mariners Sam Gaviglio is likely to struggle in his match-up. He has a 6.35 ERA in his last 3 starts overall plus he has a 5.16 ERA in road outings this season. Also, the Astros lineup just faced him in late June so they're getting a quick second look at him. Brad Peacock gets the start for the Mariners here and he is 2-4 with a 5.90 ERA in his starts versus Seattle. He has struggled badly the last two times he has hosted Seattle as Peacock has been rocked for 11 runs (6 earned) on 12 hits in 8 and 2/3 innings. Overall, with 23 walks in his last 30 and 1/3 innings, command has certainly been an issue for Peacock over his last 6 starts. The over is an insane 11-2 this season (and incredible 46-15 the last 3 seasons combined) in Mariners Tuesday games. The over is on a red hot 12-3-1 run in Houston's last 16 games. The Astros have averaged scoring 8.7 runs per game in their 10 games dating back to July 4th! Seattle has averaged scoring 5.1 runs per game in their last 10 games since Independence Day. Hot sticks and two pitchers likely to struggle in this one has me backing the over in a big way here. 10* OVER the total in Houston Tuesday evening

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play St Louis Cardinals Money Line (-) @ New York Mets @ 7:10 ET - With the loss yesterday the slumping Mets have now lost 7 of their last 10 games. Conversely, the Cardinals have won 12 of their last 19 games. The Cards also rank a big starting pitching edge in this one. Michael Wacha is 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in his last 3 starts and he has struck out 23 in the 17 and 2/3 innings spanning those 3 outings. The Mets have Rafael Montero on the mound for this one and he has a 6.27 ERA and 1.88 WHIP in his four starts this season. While St Louis has reached double digits in hits in 5 of its last 7 games, the Mets have been held to 8 hits or less in 5 of their last 6 games. The Cardinals are on a 120-79 run against teams with a losing record. New York is 6-12 this season in home games where their money line is in a range of -125 to +125. Overall, on the season, the Cards rank the bullpen edge over the Mets too. 10* ST LOUIS CARDINALS money line early Tuesday evening

Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Kansas City Royals vs Detroit Tigers @ 8:15 ET - I know this is a big total and it has climbed even higher since the opening number but the line move is absolutely justified. Justin Vargas has great full season numbers but he is coming off of his worst start of the season (at Seattle before the break) and they were some troubling signs for him in that game. The rough outing versus the Mariners absolutely could be a sign of things to come. Also, he now faces a Tigers team that is #1 in the majors (out of all 30 clubs) with a .477 slugging percentage against left-handed pitchers this season! In his last two starts versus Detroit, Vargas has given up 9 earned runs in less than 9 innings of work. The Tigers will certainly need all the runs they can get here as a struggling Jordan Zimmerman takes to the mound for Detroit. Zimmerman has an ugly 9.94 ERA in his last 3 starts. Also, he is 0-4 with a 6.99 ERA on the road this season. Only 1 of his last 5 road starts has resulted in an under. Also, the over is 25-15 in Tigers road games this season and 21-12 in their divisional games this year. Look for the over to improve to 5-2 in the Royals 7 games versus Detroit so far this season with another high-scoring match-up tonight. 10* OVER the total in Kansas City

Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play Texas Rangers Money Line (+) @ Baltimore Orioles @ 7:05 ET - Chris Tillman is returning from paternity leave tonight. As if the Orioles right-hander wasn't already having enough problems on the mound now he has the added extra mental distraction of having just had an addition to the Tillman family. Note that Tillman had given up 23 hits in 13 and 1/3 innings in his last 3 starts before going on paternity leave after his June 30th start. Also, he has a 1-5 record and 7.90 ERA on the season. In his last 3 starts versus the Rangers Tillman has given up 15 runs (14 earned) in only 12 innings of work! Texas counters with Andrew Cashner this evening and the right-hander had a fantastic start at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in his only start versus Baltimore in his career. Also, he comes into his outing off of a strong start in his final outing before the All Star break. Overall, Cashner has a solid 3.54 ERA on the season and he is facing an Orioles team that is in a funk to say the least! Baltimore has lost 10 of its last 13 games! Conversely, the Rangers had won 5 of their last 6 games before a tight loss yesterday. Look for them to bounce right back here with a big pitching edge as Baltimore's struggles continue. 10* TEXAS RANGERS money line

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs New York Yankees (Game 2) @ 8:05 ET - Yesterday's game went 16 innings so the bullpens definitely got some extra work. Additionally, these teams are now playing a double header Sunday and that means Game 2 of this day-night double header will mean that at least 34 innings of Red Sox / Yankees baseball will be played within a span of 24 hours. Needless to say the bullpens will be stretched out and couple that with the fact that these starting pitchers are likely to struggle and you have the perfect situation of an over Sunday night. The Red Sox will have David Price on the mound and the Boston southpaw has found the Yankees to be a nemesis of his. Since Price has gone to the Red Sox he has faced the Yanks plenty. The bad news for the Boston lefty is that the constant repetition has helped the Yankees zone in on his offerings. Price is 1-4 with an ugly 8.31 ERA in his 6 starts versus the Yanks. In his last 4 starts versus the Yankees Price has allowed 20 earned runs on 40 hits in just 23 innings of work. He'll be opposed by Masahiro Tanaka. The Yanks right-hander outdueled Chris Sale at Boston earlier this season but then got rocked in the rematch for 5 earned runs in 5 innings and this was a start in which he allowed 3 homers. Tanaka has a 6.24 ERA on the road this season and he comes into this start off of a home outing in which he allowed 5 earned runs in 4 and 1/3 innings. He did give up 2 homers in that start. The over is 6-3 in Tanaka's road starts this season and the over is a perfect 3-0 in Price's last 3 starts versus the Yankees. The over is 15-6 in Yanks road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 this season. Also, the over is 26-13 in Yankees games against teams with a winning record and 25-12 in Yankees divisional games this season. The Red Sox enter Sunday's action with a 10-3 mark to the over in their Sunday games this season. Regardless of the outcome in Game 1 of this double-header, look for the high-scoring trends to continue in the nightcap! 10* OVER the total in Boston in Game 2

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play San Diego Padres Money Line (+) vs San Francisco Giants @ 4:40 ET - With their 5-3 win yesterday the Padres have now won 6 of their last 9 games and they are playing .500 ball at home this season. As for the Giants, the loss yesterday dropped them to an ugly 18-33 on the road this season and it was also San Francisco's 6th loss in their last 8 games! Jeff Samardzija got hit hard in his last start before the break and the loss dropped him to 4-10 on the season. The Giants right-hander is 2-5 with a 4.81 ERA in his road starts this season. Trevor Cahill gets the starts for the Padres in this one and he is 3-0 with a minuscule 0.49 ERA in his 3 home starts this season! He should have a solid edge over a Giants team that he hasn't started against in 3 years. Conversely, this will be Samardzija's 5th start against the Padres in the past 12 months. San Diego did hit him hard in 2 of the 4 outings and, as you can see, they've got plenty of recent experience against him. Samardzija's strikeout numbers have been a little down in recent starts and that certainly could be a sign of things to come. Conversely, Cahill has fanned 12 in his 9 and 1/3 innings since returning from the DL and he continues to be a strikeout machine with 63 in his 50 and 2/3 innings this season. San Francisco is 11-23 in day games this season and only 12-26 in their games against teams with a losing record. Look for the Padres to improve to 4-0 in Cahill's home starts this season. 10* SAN DIEGO on the money line

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play Minnesota Twins Money Line (+) @ Houston Astros @ 7:10 ET - The Astros are one of the best teams in the majors and they just doubled up the Twins 10 to 5 yesterday. That said, it may seem tough to fade Houston here but the fact is that Minnesota has been a strong road team this season and they have a large pitching edge in this match-up. On the season the Twins are 25-16 on the road and that includes a fantastic 9-4 mark as a road dog of +125 to +175. Ervin Santana gets the start in this one for Minny and the veteran right-hander has given up 1 earned run or less in 6 of his 8 road starts this season. His most recent outing away from home was a rare poor one but he responded by pitching a complete game at home in his very next start. Santana also is 3-0 with a 2.02 ERA in his 5 career starts against the Astros. Houston will have a struggling Joe Musgrove on the mound. The Astros are only 2-7 in his 9 home starts this season and he comes into this outing having a helluva time of late. Musgrove's last 3 starts have seen him compile a 10.79 ERA as he's been hit very hard! As good as Houston has been this season Musgrove is a significant weakness in their current starting rotation and I am happy to grab the big dog value and go against him here. Look for Santana to maintain his perfect career record against the Astros and look for Houston to drop to 2-8 at home in Musgrove's starts on the year! Solid contrarian line value available here with the road dog. 10* MINNESOTA

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Detroit Tigers @ 8:05 ET - These teams combined to go 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position and the Indians left 10 men on base in their 4-0 win yesterday. While many will expect another low-scoring game today I am coming right back with the over in this one. After yesterday's futility at the plate in run scoring opportunities, look for the hitters to get it done today. Everyone will look at the recent starts of the Tigers Michael Fullmer and the Indians Corey Kluber and they'll expect a low-scoring game here but match-ups are extremely important when evaluating starting pitching. That said, Fullmer has allowed 9 earned runs on 13 hits and 6 walks in the 8 and 1/3 innings spanning his last two starts versus the Indians and those have both come within the past 10 months. As for the Indians Kluber, he has been crushed for 13 earned runs on 20 hits (including 3 homers) in the 13 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts against the Tigers. Not only have all 3 of those starts come within the past 10 months, 2 of them were outings this season! Look for both of these pitchers to continue to struggle against the same lineups that have been proven to give them trouble in the past. By the way, light winds at Progressive Field tonight but they will be blowing out toward center or right-center on a mild evening in Cleveland that will favor the hitters. Look for the over to improve to 5-0 in Fullmer's career starts against the Indians. Also, the Tigers are 9-3 to the over in Sunday games this season and Detroit is 49-25 to the over in road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs the last 3 seasons combined. 10* OVER the total in Cleveland

1st Half Game of the Year - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Chicago White Sox @ 3:10 ET - Yesterday's game stayed under the total but the White Sox entered that game on a 7-0 run to the over. Though the Rockies have been an "under team" this season, this pitching match-up is conducive to a high-scoring slugfest. Both these teams are among the top teams in the majors for batting average versus left-handed pitching. Also, both teams rank among the best in the majors for slugging percentage against southpaw hurlers. Carlos Rodon is making just his 3rd start of the season and this is his first-ever start at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Though Rodon had a strong start at Oakland, he did walk 6 in just 5 innings in his prior start and now he pitches at the most unfavorable park for pitchers in the majors. As for the Rockies, a struggling Kyle Freeland takes to the hill for this one. The Colorado southpaw has given up 42 hits in the 29 innings spanning his last 5 starts. Freeland is 0-3 with a 7.27 ERA and 1.79 WHIP in his last 3 starts. Though his home starts have had an incredible under trend this season, Freeland is in poor form and now facing the #1 offense in the majors when it comes to facing left-handers. As for the White Sox Rodon, the over is 3-0 in his last 3 starts dating back to September. This will not be a popular play but it will be a winner and I love fading the masses in situations like this. Big total but we get line value as it has already moved downward and both these pitchers get crushed here. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Total of the Week - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Los Angeles Angels @ 9:05 ET - The last time Tyson Ross faced the Angels he gave up 10 hits in 6 innings two years ago. Speaking of getting hit hard, Ross has compiled a 7.71 ERA in his last 3 starts. Coming off of an embarrassing 10-0 loss yesterday, the Angels sticks should respond here against a hurler who has struggled with command of his pitches. Ross walked 5 in 5 innings in his most recent start. The good news for Rangers fans is that the Texas lineup should enjoy another big day at the plate. Texas will take advantage of facing Jesse Chavez. The Angels right-hander has given up 5 earned runs or more in 4 of his last 6 road starts! Chavez is 2-5 on the road this season with an ugly 6.36 ERA. He has allowed 9 earned runs in 10 and 1/3 innings versus the Rangers so far this season and Texas already hit 3 homers off of Chavez in those two starts. The over is 4-1 in the 5 starts Chavez has made versus the Rangers in his career and the over is 3-1 this season in all the starts Ross has made. Rangers games have reached double digits in runs in 7 straight games and I look for another wild one today in Arlington after last night's game stalled out and ended up with 10 runs after a hot start by the Rangers in the early innings. This time both teams will be crushing the ball and scoring plenty. 10* OVER the total in Texas

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (-) vs Boston Red Sox @ 4:10 ET - The Rays Alex Cobb is off of a tough start but that was on the road and he had been throwing very well. In fact, Cobb has a 3.15 ERA on the season in his home starts. He gives Tampa Bay a big pitching edge over Boston in this one as the Red Sox send Rick Porcello to the mound. The veteran right-hander is 4-10 with a 5.01 ERA on the season. Porcello is off of a win in his most recent start but lets not forget that opponents hit .329 against him in May and .323 against him in June! Consistently Porcello has been hit very hard and I look for more of the same Saturday afternoon. The Boston righty has given up 13 runs (11 earned) on 17 hits in 10 and 1/3 innings spanning his two starts versus the Rays this season. Cobb held the Red Sox to just 4 hits in 6 and 1/3 innings when he most recently faced them and that was in Boston. Look for Cobb to be even stronger versus the BoSox here at Tropicana Field. The Red Sox are 58-72 (-$17,000) in road games where their money line is in a range of +125 to -125 the past 3 seasons combined. The Rays are 34-25 (+$8,500) versus right-handed starters this season. 10* TAMPA BAY

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (+) vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:10 ET - Home/road dichotomy is a huge factor here. The Rays Jake Odorizzi entered this season having a 2.99 ERA and holding opponents to a .217 batting average in all of his home starts the past 3 seasons. This season, once again, he's been much tougher at home compared to on the road as Odorizzi has a solid 3.60 ERA at home and has held opponents to a .224 batting average. That said, I love the home dog value here with a Rays team that is 11-5 in its last 16 road games. Note that the Red Sox are a popular team and this tends to impact their money line pricing. Even though Drew Pomeranz has good overall numbers for Boston this season, the Red Sox southpaw has allowed 7 earned runs in the 7 and 1/3 innings spanning his two starts versus the Rays this season. Tampa Bay is 17-11 (+$8,700) against teams with a winning record this season and tonight I look for them to improve to 10-4 (71%) in Friday games this season as Odorizzi once again proves very tough to hit at home. 10* TAMPA BAY RAYS money line

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 7:05 ET - The Brewers won 11-2 at Chicago versus the Cubs yesterday afternoon and that makes them 7-1 in their last 8 games and Milwaukee has averaged 6.8 runs per game those 8 contests. Also, tonight's match-up against Yankees southpaw Jordan Montgomery will be the 3rd straight game (and 4th in last 5) in which the Brewers have faced a left-handed starter. That is a big edge for them and their bats should stay hot here. However, the issue for the Brewers will be their own starting pitcher as a struggling Junior Guerra gets the call here. The right-hander is 0-2 in his last 3 starts with a horrible 9.64 ERA and an unheard of 2.43 WHIP! Guerra gave up 4 homers in his most recent road start and now faces a Yankees team that has scored 6 runs or more in 7 of their last 11 games. The Yanks have averaged 5.7 runs per game during this solid 11-game stretch at the plate. The over is 7-3-1 in those 11 games. Also, the over is on a perfect 5-0 run in Montgomery's last 5 starts for the Yankees. The over is 24-10 in Yanks games against teams with a winning record this season and, also, the over is 7-2 in Yankees games where there a home fave in a range of -175 to -250 this season. 10* OVER the total in New York Yankees

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play San Diego Padres Money Line (+) @ Cleveland Indians @ 7:10 ET - The Padres have won 3 straight games including 2 straight over the Indians. That said, everyone is backing Cleveland here and figuring that there is no way that San Diego could possibly sweep the Tribe in Ohio. However, in typical contrarian fashion I will gladly fade the masses here but it is certainly not without good reason! The Padres are starting Dinelson Lamet and he has been solid in 5 of his 7 starts including 3 straight. In fact, his numbers over his last 3 starts are phenomenal with only 11 hits and 2 walks allowed in 19 innings while striking out 25 batters! Lamet is very likely to outduel the struggling Josh Tomlin here. The Indians right-hander has been awful over his last 5 starts. Tomlin has given up 21 runs (20 earned) on a ridiculous 41 hits in just 22 and 2/3 innings. Look for the "hit parade" versus Tomlin to continue here as Cleveland drops to 2-9 in his last 11 starts. The fact is that the Indians have been a money burner as a big favorite this season. Cleveland, as  home fave of -175 to -250 has destroyed bankrolls this season with a 2-7 record costing their backers $12,800 at $1K per game. By the way, the Indians are an ugly 2-11 in interleague games this season! The Padres are 3-0 their last 3 with Lamet on the mound while Cleveland is 0-3 their last 3 with Tomlin on the mound. Combined 6-0 run tested here with tremendous line value on the underdog Padres. 10* SAN DIEGO on the money line Thursday evening

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Houston Astros @ 7:05 ET - The Astros have gone over the total in 5 straight games and, overall, the over is 9-2-1 in Houston's last 12 games. The Blue Jays certainly have not been hitting like the Astros have but, look for them to build off back to back wins over the Yankees including scoring 7 runs in yesterday's game. Lance McCullers gets the start for the Astros here and he has not been nearly as dominant since coming off of the disabled list. The right-hander gave up 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in a start that only lasted 5 and 1/3 innings versus the Yankees in his most recent outing. He was hit hard in his only career start against Toronto and that was just last season. Speaking of getting hit hard, Francisco Liriano was rocked by the Astros when he most recently faced them and that was also last season. As for this season, the Blue Jays southpaw comes into this one struggling. Liriano has allowed 5 earned runs in 2 of his last 3 starts and ironically each of those two outings where he gave up 5 earned runs were the only two that stayed under the total. The over is 6-2 in Liriano's last 8 starts and I look for more of the same here as he faces a potent Astros lineup. Houston has averaged scoring nearly 8 runs per game in their last dozen games. In road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs the Astros are 29-13 to the over the past 3 seasons combined. 10* OVER the total in Toronto early Thursday evening.

Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play Boston Red Sox Money Line (-) @ Texas Rangers @ 8:05 ET - This is a classic case of "hot versus not" and we're getting line value too because the "play on" team is on the road for this one. With last night's 11-4 blowout win, the Red Sox have now won 6 straight games and 8 of their last 9. Boston has averaged 9 runs and 14 hits per game during their 6-0 run! The Rangers are at the other end of the spectrum right now as Texas has lost 6 of their last 7 games. Also, the Rangers have averaged only 7.6 hits per game in their last 8 games! The Red Sox also have the pitching edge in this match-up. Doug Fister has been solid since moving into the rotation for Boston as he has allowed only 11 hits in 11 innings while also striking out 11 in these two starts. Keep in mind, the veteran sinkerballer was having a fine season for Houston last year before he had a very ugly September. Certainly Fister appears to now "be back" in terms of his current form and most of his starts versus Texas last season were rock solid. Only one bad start skewed his overall numbers versus the Rangers last year. As for Texas starter Andrew Cashner, he certainly appears to be heading the wrong direction right now. The Rangers right-hander has allowed 4 earned runs or more in 4 of his last 6 starts. Also, one of those ugly outings came against these same Red Sox and, as noted above, Boston's sticks are on fire right now. Look for the Red Sox to make it 7 straight wins while dropping Texas to 4-10 in Wednesday games on the season. 10* BOSTON RED SOX money line

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Cincinnati Reds @ 8:10 ET - This is a contrarian play as the total has already moved down from a 13 to a 12.5 as of early Tuesday morning. The fact is that bettors find it tough to play overs when they get up into this range but this big total is definitely warranted! The Reds send Homer Bailey to the mound and you have to really feel bad for the guy. So far in his return to the major league Bailey has been completely crushed for 14 earned runs in less than 5 innings of work spanning his two starts! Now the struggling (to put it mildly!) right-hander has to pitch at the most hitter-friendly venue in all of baseball! Like I said, you have to almost feel bad for the guy and this truly is unlikely to end well for him here considering the way he's getting knocked out around. The only hope for Bailey is to get plenty of run support here and I absolutely do expect that. The Rockies send southpaw Kyle Freeland to the mound for this one and he has a 6.75 ERA in his last two starts and those were on the road. Now he's back home at hitter-friendly Coors Field and though he has a surprisingly low ERA at home this season, he has given up 22 hits in the 18 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 3 home starts. It's going to catch up with him here and the Reds gave Freeland some trouble (including 2 homers) when they faced him in Cincinnati in late May. The over is 11-4 this season in Reds road games where they are a dog in a range of +125 to +175 on the money line. Also, the over is 8-1 in Cincinnati's Tuesday games this season. After a loss this season the Reds are 28-14 to the over and Cincy is 23-11 to the over in their games against teams with a winning record. Bailey's last 4 starts at the MLB level all flew over the total and this one will as well. Yes I am well aware of Freeland being an "under" pitcher this season but there are too many signs pointing to a slugfest here! The odds makers knew what they were doing when they set the big total on this one. Look for it to get there by the middle innings! 10* OVER the total in Colorado

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Philadelphia Phillies vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 4:05 ET - The Pirates got shutout yesterday and truly have not been hitting the ball all that well of late. However, the over is 3-0 this season (and 16-7 the last 3 seasons combined) when Pittsburgh is off of a shutout loss. Couple that with the fact that facing the Phillies Mark Leiter should do wonders for the Pirates lineup, and you have a nice set up for an over in this one. Philadelphia's Leiter gave up 9 hits in 5 innings at Seattle in just his 2nd MLB start earlier this week. He was fortunate he only allowed 4 earned runs as he did give up 3 homers among the 9 hits in just 5 innings. The Pirates will do some damage here. The Phillies are playing a little better of late and its building confidence for this lineup. Philadelphia has won 4 of its last 6 games and they've averaged 5.2 runs per game during this solid stretch. Also, the Phillies have averaged 5 runs per game in their last 3 home games. They'll face Jameson Taillon of the Pirates and they hit him well when they faced him last season and he has allowed 19 hits in the 17 and 1/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts. Though he has limited damage in those outings, the fact is that he's been far from unhittable and the Phillies are stringing together hits quite well over the past week. More of the same right here. By the way, only 7 of the last 21 times that Philly is off of a shutout win did their next game stay under the total! 10* OVER the total in Philadelphia

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Los Angeles @ 8:10 ET - The Twins send Adalberto Mejia to the mound for this one and his ERA is low over his last 3 starts but he's been in plenty of jams during this stretch. Mejia was simply fortunate to work out of a number of those jams but its going to catch up with him soon. In fact, Mejia has a 6.10 ERA and 1.75 WHIP in his 6 home starts this season. He is matched up tonight with an Angels hurler whom has been struggling away from home this year. Alex Meyer gets the start for Los Angeles and he is 1-4 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP in his road starts this season. The Angels right-hander was matched up with Mejia in Anaheim early last month and that was an unexpected pitchers duel. It is unlikely to be repeated here as now both lineups get another look at these starters and plus Meyer is now on the road where he struggles and Mejia is back at home where he's been struggling all season. Look for the over to improve to 5-1 in Meyer's road starts this season. The over is 16-8 in Twins home games where their money line has been in a range of -125 to +125 this season. Look for another one here as both these lineups should be able to "tee off" in this one. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play Texas Rangers Money Line (+) vs Boston Red Sox @ 8:05 ET - The Red Sox are off of a huge win at Toronto yesterday while the Rangers lost a tight one to the White Sox at Chicago Sunday. However, the Rangers have a big pitching edge in this one Monday plus they're back home where they hit the ball much better and, overall, are a much stronger team. Texas will send southpaw Martin Perez to the mound as the southpaw returns from the disabled list. Though his overall numbers are not that impressive this season, Perez has compiled a 4.20 ERA in his night games on the year. Also, the Rangers southpaw has allowed 3 earned runs or less in 10 of his 15 starts this season. Perez also should benefit from plenty of run support here as Boston's Rick Porcello has been very hittable! Since mid-May, the Red Sox right-hander has given up 90 hits in 61 and 2/3 innings! Yes, you read that right, Porcello is allowing about 1.5 hits per inning over his last 10 starts. The righty is 2-9 with a 5.67 ERA in night games this season! Even with yesterday's win included, Boston is 56-71 and down $17,800 in road games with a money line in a range of +125 to -125 the past 3 seasons combined. The Rangers are 66-46 and up $21,000 in home games with a money line in a range of +125 to -125 the past 3 seasons combined. 10* TEXAS RANGERS money line

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Los Angeles Angels vs Seattle Mariners @ 10:05 ET - The Angels won Ricky Nolasco's last start and he had a rare strong outing but LA had previously lost each of his 10 prior outings! Also, in Nolasco's 6 prior starts he had given up 26 runs (22 earned) on 45 hits in only 32 and 2/3 innings of work. Now he faces a Seattle team that's lineup is rolling as the 10-0 win last night brings their scoring average up to 6 runs per game over their last 11 games. Although the Angels lineup has slumped their last 4 games, they previously had scored at least 4 runs per game in 7 straight games. Keep in mind, each team getting to just 4 runs guarantees us of no worse than a 5-4 final here and that final score would put this one into the win column. The Angels should enjoy success against Sam Gaviglio. The Mariners right-hander has 7 walks compared to just 4 strikeouts in his last two starts and those outings were at home. Note that on the road this season Gaviglio has a 5.51 ERA in his 3 starts! The over is 6-1 this season in the 7 match-ups between these divisional rivals so far this season. Also, the Mariners have had just 1 under in their last 9 games. The Angels have had just 2 unders in their last 8 home games. Look for more of the same tonight. 10* OVER the total in the Los Angeles Angels game late Saturday night. 

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play Washington Nationals Money Line (+) @ St Louis Cardinals @ 7:15 ET - The Nationals got embarrassed 8-1 last night but there is a nice set up here for them to bounce right back tonight. The Cardinals have right-hander Michael Wacha facing Washington southpaw Gio Gonzalez in this one. That is significant not only because of the fact that Gonzalez has been pitching much better than Wacha. A big key that some will overlook (and part of the reason this line is in the pick'em range) is the fact that the Cardinals are only hitting .228 against left-handed pitching this season. Note that the Nationals are hitting .278 this season against right-handed pitching - a full 50 points higher than St Louis against lefties. As you can see, Gonzalez should have a huge edge over Wacha in this one. Note that Gonzalez is 6-1 on the road this season and he has a 2.87 ERA overall in all of his starts this season. As for Wacha, he is off of a rare strong start versus Cincinnati but previously he gave up 27 runs (23 earned) on 39 hits in the 25 and 1/3 innings spanning his 6 prior starts! As you can see, Wacha has been getting crushed in most of his outings! Even with yesterday's win, the Cardinals are still only 13-18 in their games against teams with a winning record this season. The Nationals, even with yesterday's loss, are still a fantastic 33-13 this season in night games. Look for the Nats to bounce back large in this one. 10* WASHINGTON on the money line in early evening action Saturday

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play Colorado Rockies Money Line (+) @ Arizona Diamondbacks @ 9:40 ET - Just a little over a week ago the Rockies were still rolling and had taken the first game of a 3-game set with these same Diamondbacks. However, Colorado proceeded to lose the next two games of that 3-game series by an ugly combined score of 26-8. This sent the Rockies plummeting into what is now an 8-game tailspin. What is the best way to get out of something like that? How about having your opening day starter back healthy (finally!) for a rematch with the same divisional fore that started your skid? That is the situation here for the Rockies as Jonathan Gray is back after missing 2 and a half months. Gray had a tough start in the bigs with Colorado in 2015 but he has now allowed hitters to hit just .243 against him in his 32 starts since the start of the 2016 campaign.  I know Robbie Ray of the Dbacks has put up some surprisingly solid numbers but Colorado will be seeing him for the 4th time since early September and Ray has an ugly 6.75 ERA in his last 3 starts versus the Rockies. Conversely Arizona has only seen Gray once since the 2015 season ended. Colorado is 11-4 this season in games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Also, the Rockies are 7-3 when playing after a day off. As for the Dbacks, they were in action yesterday and lost their 2nd straight. This will be Arizona's 11th straight game without a day off and they are 72-109 (-$20,800) the past 3 seasons combined in games against teams with a winning record. 10* COLORADO ROCKIES money line late Friday night

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Blue Jays vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - Marco Estrada is off of a strong start for the Blue Jays but he previously allowed 23 earned runs in the 16 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 4 starts. 2 of those 4 starts were at home and, in fact, he has allowed 5 earned runs or more in 3 of his last 4 starts. With that said, the over is offering great value here because Estrada is matched up with another hurler tonight who is also likely to struggle. Boston sends Doug Fister to the mound and though his first start as a member of the Red Sox fell into the category of a "quality start" he did give up 7 hits and walk 3 in his 6 innings of work. Keep in mind, post-All Star break last season with the Astros, Fister went 4-7 with a 6.20 ERA and a .322 batting average against! In the minors this season as he prepared for his first start with the BoSox, Fister did get hit at a .281 clip. He'll now be on the mound in Toronto tonight where, the last time he pitched here he got rocked for 6 earned runs in 6 innings of work. Look for the Blue Jays lineup to bounce back off of a rare, home shutout yesterday. As for the Red Sox, they've scored an average of 7 runs per game in their last 6 victories and are coming off of scoring 6 runs in last night's win versus Minnesota. The over is 8-4 in Toronto's Friday games this season and there has been just 1 under in Estrada's last 5 home starts! Look for these trends to continue here. 10* OVER the total in Toronto

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (-) @ Pittsburgh Pirates @ 7:05 ET - Even though the Pirates are attracting more of the early bets on this one the bigger money is going toward the Rays as this line has moved toward Tampa Bay. I like fading the masses and being right alongside the other sharp money and that is what I am suggesting with this selection on the road favorite Tampa in this one. The Rays lost 6-2 yesterday but outhit the Pirates 10 to 6. The problem for Tampa Bay was that they left 11 men on base in that game. However, on a positive note it did mark the 4th time in the last 6 games that the Rays have reached double digits in hits. This is in stark contrast to what the Pirates have been doing at the plate as Pittsburgh has not reached double digits in hits in any of their last six games. The Pirates are averaging only 5.3 HITS per game in their last 6 games. The Rays, prior to yesterday's loss, had averaged 6.8 RUNS per game in going 4-2 in their last 6 games. You can plainly see who the hotter team has been at the plate. As far as the pitching match-up tonight, I look for the Rays Chris Archer to bounce back after a rare subpar effort. He had a season low in strikeouts in his most recent start but previously had struck out 85 in the 59 innings spanning his last 9 starts! As for Jameson Taillon, he had a solid first start in his first outing after returning from testicular cancer. However, he then allowed 6 earned runs in 11 innings in his next two starts and the Pirates are only 1-3 in his home starts this season. The Rays are 5-1 in Archer's last 6 starts including 3-0 in his road outings! Even with yesterday's loss the Rays are 6-3 in inter-league action this season and 30-19 in inter-league action the last 3 seasons combined. The Pirates are still only 3-7 in inter-league games this season and they're 21-32 in night games while the Rays are 32-22 against right-handed starters this season. 10* TAMPA BAY money line

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Arizona Diamondbacks vs St Louis Cardinals @ 3:40 ET - Yesterday's game (4-3 Cardinals win) stayed under the total but it continued the Cards recent surge as they've now won 3 of their last 4 games and average 6 runs per game in the process! As for Arizona, even with yesterday's loss, they've won 6 of their last 8 games and have averaged 6.6 runs per game during this hot stretch. Look for the over to improve to 8-3 in Cards Thursday games as a struggling Lance Lynn takes to the mound for St Louis. He has given up 7 earned runs in each of his last two starts. 6 of the 15 hits he has allowed in just 10 and 1/3 innings have been homers! Even though Lynn has a solid ERA versus the Diamondbacks in his career, he has allowed 18 hits in the 12 innings spanning his last two starts at Arizona. The Dbacks will have Patrick Corbin on the mound. The southpaw allowed 7 earned runs in less than 6 innings of work in his last home start versus the Cardinals. Corbin comes into this outing have been hit rather hard of late. Even though his ERA has been much better in June compared to his disastrous May, note that Corbin has been hit at a .300 clip this month. He was also hit at a .359 clip in May. That is why his ERA has climbed from a 2.29 in April to now a 4.99 ERA overall on the season. Corbin has been fortunate he has limited damage in June but, the way the Cards have been going, look for the southpaw to come unraveled in this one. Even with yesterday's under, the over is 12-5 St Louis' last 17 games. The over is 10-5 in Lynn's starts this season and 4-1 in Corbin's last 5 starts. 10* OVER the total in Arizona

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics @ 8:10 ET - Jesse Hahn just got rocked by the Astros in Oakland on Thursday and now has to face them again. The results are unlikely to be good considering Houston had no problem with his offerings last week as Hahn gave up 10 runs (9 earned) in just 2 innings of work. The situation is similar for David Paulino as he opposed Hahn on that day and was roughed up for 3 earned runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in just 5 and 1/3 innings. Paulino was fortunate the damage wasn't worse in a rather unimpressive outing. In fact, Paulino has a 5.04 ERA in his 5 starts this season and the over is 4-1 in those 5 games. He's dealing with a very confident A's team here as they've won 4 straight games and have averaged 7 runs and 12 hits per game in their last 3 games. As for the Astros lineup, they've certainly had plenty of confidence at the plate of late as well. Houston has averaged 6.1 runs and 10.9 hits per game in going 7-3 in their last 10 games. The over is 24-12 in A's games against teams with a winning record this season. The over is 7-4 in Houston's Wednesday games this season. The over is 7-3 this season in Astros games versus the A's and that includes 3-1 when they are the host. Look for another slugfest in this match-up tonight! 10* OVER the total in Houston

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play Minnesota Twins Money Line (+) @ Boston Red Sox @ 7:10 ET - Boston's Rick Porcello is extremely overpriced here. He just might be the most hittable starting pitcher in MLB right now. Though he won his most recent start, that was his first win in a month! Porcello got hit quite hard even though he got the win and now check out this ridiculous stat I was alluding to. Porcello has given up 84 hits in his last 55 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 9 starts. In other words, the Red Sox right-hander has been given up an average of 1.5 hits per inning in his last 9 starts! During this stretch his ERA has gone from a 3.95 to a 5.00 but Porcello has truly been fortunate his ERA has not ballooned even higher. The Twins hold a pitching edge here as the Red Sox hitters have zero experience against Adalberto Mejia. The Minnesota southpaw has a 3.06 ERA in his 4 road starts this season and he has held hitters to just a .175 batting average in those outings! The lefty has led the Twins to victory in 2 of his last 3 road outings. Though he doesn't pitch deep into game he has gone at least 5 innings in each of his last 3 road starts and he also had a 7-inning outing at home this season. Even with yesterday's loss the Twins are a solid 23-11 on the road this season and they are 7-3 (+6,700) as a road dog of +125 to +175. Also, the Red Sox are only 19-23 (-$10,400) when off of a win this season. Even though Boston has a good batting average at home this season their .414 slugging percentage at Fenway ranks them #12 out of the 15 American League teams. With the way Porcello has been getting hit, this match-up and has upset written all over it! 10* MINNESOTA

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Minnesota Twins @ 7:10 ET - This is a contrarian play as, on the surface, it looks like a pitchers duel. The fact is that Chris Sale has allowed at least 3 earned runs in 7 of his last 9 starts. Also, he allowed 9 hits in 7 innings in his most recent start. The Twins could enjoy some surprising success at the plate here as Minnesota has gotten to Sale for 9 earned runs in 11 innings the last two times they have faced him. Also, Minny comes into this game having won 5 of their last 6 games and averaging 5.2 runs per game in those 5 victories. Jose Berrios gets the start for the Twins here and he has great numbers on the season but he has been hit a little harder in recent starts away from home. After back to back strong starts at home, look for Berrios to get "touched up" here. Boston is off of back to back home losses but they're hitting .281 at Fenway Park this season (#1 in the American League) and they've provided some huge run support in recent Sale starts. Look for them to back the ace southpaw with another strong effort tonight. Berrios has made 8 starts so far this season and not a single one has gone over the total. Sale is one of the best pitchers in the game today. Yet oddsmakers hung an 8.5 on this one for the opening total. Of course the total has since dropped to an 8 and I am happy to fade the move here based on the reasoning above. Look for the over to improve to 18-10 this season in Red Sox games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. 10* OVER the total in Boston

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Los Angeles Dodgers vs Colorado Rockies @ 4:10 ET - The very first numbers to come out on this game showed an opener of 9 on the total and then it dropped to as low as an 8 before now settling in at an 8.5 across the board. The fact is that 9 certainly may seem high for a game at Dodger Stadium but in typical contrarian fashion, that is part of the reason I am happily backing the over here. Don't be fooled by the big number on this one. the fact is that the Rockies Tyler Anderson got rocked by Seattle in his most recent start for 6 earned runs on 11 hits in 5 innings of work. Though his two prior outings were both solid road starts, he faced two of the worst teams in MLB - Cincinnati and Philadelphia. Now he faces a tough Dodgers lineup and, even with the strong starts versus the Reds and Phillies, Anderson has a 5.51 ERA on the road this season. The over is 4-2 in his 6 road starts this year. Although the Dodgers Brandon McCarthy has put up strong numbers this season, he has a 5.40 ERA in his last two starts versus the Rockies. Also, his strikeout numbers are down recently and he is facing a Colorado team that is averaging 5.5 runs per game in their games against right-handed starters this season. After struggling with southpaws Wood and Kershaw the past two games, the Rockies will be happy to face a right-hander today. Look for the over to improve to 5-2 in Anderson's road starts this season and 11-4 in Dodgers home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs on the year! 10* OVER the total in LA Dodgers Sunday afternoon

Total of the Month - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Los Angeles Angels @ 7:15 ET - With yesterday's 9-4 Red Sox win cruising over the total, Boston has now recorded 3 straight overs and the Angels have recorded 5 straight overs. On a mild evening at Fenway Park and with two struggling pitchers on the mound, I don't expect these trends to come to an end. JC Ramirez gets the start for the Angels and the right-hander has given up 18 earned runs on 28 hits in his last 18 innings of work. That equates to a 9.00 ERA in the last 4 starts Ramirez has made and he now faces a Boston team that is averaging 6.6 runs per game in its last 5 home games. The Red Sox will be starting David Price. The Boston southpaw got a late start to this season and he really has not been as impressive as we're use to seeing from Price. The bad news for the left-hander is that things appear to be getting worse, not better, as he has a 6.75 ERA and 1.94 WHIP in his last 3 starts. Price allowed 5 homers in the 16 innings spanning those 3 starts. He now faces an Angels team that has averaged 6.3 runs and 11 hits per game in it's last 6 games. In road games with a posted total of 10 or 10.5 runs, the over is 3-1 in Angels games this season. The Red Sox have gone 4-1 to the over in their last 5 games overall and they've had just 1 under in their last 5 home games. Look for another wild one at Fenway Park tonight. 10* OVER the total in Boston early Saturday evening.

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Miami Marlins vs Chicago Cubs @ 4:10 ET - After yesterday's pitchers duel, today's afternoon match-up has all the right ingredients to play out in completely opposite fashion. Look for a slugfest here! The Marlins Justin Nicolino returned from the disabled list and promptly got rocked at home versus Washington. The Miami southpaw gave up 6 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits (including 2 homers) in just 3 innings of work! Niccolino is facing a Cubs lineup that will be fired up after getting shutout yesterday and the Cubs have a .457 slugging percentage against southpaws this season. That ranks them 4th out of all 30 teams in the majors. As for the Marlins, they have an on base percentage of .342 against left-handed pitching this season and that ranks them 4th out of all 30 teams. Miami will be facing southpaw Jon Lester whom has not fared nearly as well on the road as he has at home. Away from home this season, Lester is 1-3 with a 5.84 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. The over is 17-9 this season in Miami's games against teams with a winning record and the over is also a solid 9-4 this year in Marlins games against left-handed starters. The Cubs, as a road favorite of -175 or more, are 4-2 to the over this season and 22-11 to the over the past 3 seasons combined. Also, Chicago is 10-6 to the over this year in games against left-handed starters. 10* OVER the total in Miami Saturday afternoon 

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play St Louis Cardinals Money Line (-) vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 8:15 ET - Even though Adam Wainwright has poor numbers when you look at his last 3 starts combined, that included two awful road outings. At home this season, Wainwright is a fantastic 5-1 with a 2.88 ERA in his 7 starts. Look for him to come up big again here at home as the Pirates come into this game having lost 5 of their last 8 games. Pittsburgh has averaged only 7.4 hits in those 8 games. As for St Louis, the Cardinals are off of a 5-1 loss yesterday but previously averaged 6.6 runs per game in their 11 prior games! They'll be facing Jameson Taillon and the Pirates right-hander has allowed 4 earned runs or more in 3 of his last 5 starts. He was unable to go deeper than 5 and 1/3 innings in any of the 5 starts. That is significant because Pittsburgh's bullpen has had some shakiness in recent losses. Look for the Bucs to drop to 3-6 in Taillon's starts this season while Wainwright improves to 6-1 in his home outings! There is fantastic line value here with the Cards as a short home favorite. St Louis is already 3-0 this season versus the Pirates and Pittsburgh comes into this one having gone 8-14 this season in road games where their money line ranges from -125 to +125. That is the case again here and I look for the Pirates to again struggle on the road while the Cardinals improve to 15-8 in their last 23 home games versus Pittsburgh. 10* ST LOUIS CARDINALS money line Friday

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Chicago White Sox vs Oakland A's @ 8:10 ET - Mike Pelfrey has pitched surprisingly well this season but, prior to a strong start in his most recent outing, he has been showing signs of coming back to 'reality' recently. Pelfrey, previous to a solid outing versus Toronto, had given up 12 hits and 8 walks for a total of 20 baserunners in the 9 innings spanning his two prior starts! We could see more results like that today as he is 0-4 with a 7.96 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP in the 4 starts he has made against the A's in his career. As for Oakland, Jharel Cotton gets the start in this one. The right-hander has gone 4-7 with a 5.40 ERA on the season. Also, he is not really showing any signs of improvement as he has a 6.23 ERA in his last 3 starts and he allowed 2 homers in EACH of those three outings! Facing the hot hitters of the White Sox is unlikely to help matters for Cotton. The ChiSox are 6-4 in their last 10 games and they've scored an average of 6.4 runs per game during this hot streak. The White Sox have averaged 11 hits per game in their last 13 games! As for the Athletics, the over is 13-5-2 in their last 20 games. Oakland is also 26-14 to the over this season when off of a loss. The White Sox are 19-11 to the over this season in their games against teams with a winning record. 10* OVER the total in Chicago White Sox

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Miami Marlins vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:10 ET - The Cubs lost 3-2 yesterday and truly haven't been overly impressive at the plate of late. However, facing Jeff Locke should bring out the best in them. They just faced him at Wrigley Field earlier this month and they really forced him to labor in that outing. Overall, Locke has been unimpressive with a 5.79 ERA and 1.64 WHIP in his last 3 starts. Now the Cubs get a quick second look at him and they'll be ready to crush the ball today after a disappointing home loss to the Padres yesterday. As for the Marlins, they were no-hit late into yesterday's match-up against Max Scherzer of the Nationals but then they managed to rally late for the 2-1 win. There is reason to believe the Marlins will fare much better against the Cubs Jake Arrieta. The right-hander did enjoy success against Miami earlier this month but that outing was at Wrigley Field. On the road this season, the Cubs are 3-6 in Arrieta's starts and he has a 5.07 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in those outings. Arrieta has allowed 4 earned runs or more in 5 of his last 7 road outings. His most recent start stayed under the total but, prior to that, 9 of Arrieta's last 12 starts went over the total. The Marlins are 29-13 to the over in night games this season and I expect another one here as both lineups respond after poor performances at the plate yesterday. The pitching match-up today is very conducive to an over. The Cubs lead the National League in homers (28) versus left-handed pitchers. Miami is hitting .263 in night games which ranks 5th in the NL this season. Their high-scoring trending under the lights continues in this one Thursday. 10* OVER the total in Miami

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play Colorado Rockies Money Line (-) vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 3:10 ET - The first line that came out on this game had the Rockies as a -145 favorite. As of early gameday morning, this line is all the way down to a pick'em price range! I will gladly grab the Rockies in this price range as they look to bounce back off of last night's ugly 16-5 loss where the Diamondbacks had a ridiculous 10-spot in the top of the 4th. Yes, Coors Field can be 'crazy good' for the hitters at times but that was an insane inning. Needless to say, the Rockies will be looking for payback this afternoon. Lets not forget that Colorado had won 6 straight games before yesterday's loss. The big edge they have here is that Antonio Senzatela is used to starting at Coors Field and is a stellar 7-1 this season with a 3.68 ERA in home games! As for the Diamondbacks Zack Godley, he will be making his first ever start at Coors Field. He has made relief appearances here and the Rockies gave him trouble each time. As for the Dbacks facing Senzatela, this will be the first time ever as a starter or out of the bullpen. That said, Arizona's lineup is likely to struggle with his offerings. The Diamondbacks are only 11-11 in day games this season while the Rockies are 22-8 in day games. Look for a big response form the home team this afternoon after last night's ugly debacle. In my opinion, for the reasons note above, the Rockies have a huge pitching edge in this one and I love the extra value afforded by the line move here. 10* COLORADO

AL Central Total of the Year - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Chicago White Sox @ 8:10 ET - Jose Berrios has put up surprisingly strong numbers this season. However, he still has made only 7 starts this season and this is a guy who went 3-7 with an 8.02 ERA in twice as many starts as that last year. Also, although Berrios is off of a strong start, he had previously been showing signs of "coming back down to earth" after his "out of this world" start to the season. Berrios, in his 4 prior outings, allowed 11 earned runs on 21 hits and 11 walks in the 22 and 2/3 innings spanning those 4 starts. That works out to a 4.37 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Certainly those are respectable numbers but it shows that a Berrios "correction" of his insanely strong numbers from earlier this season is quite likely. The White Sox did face Berrios last October so thiey are not without some experience against the young right-hander. As for the ChiSox starting David Holmberg here, the southpaw has produced decent numbers but has only last 17 innings in his 4 starts. That means another long day for a White Sox bullpen that again saw plenty of action yesterday is quite likely tonight! These teams combined for 16 runs on 28 hits and I am expecting another wild one tonight. The ChiSox have averaged 11 hits per game in their last 12 games! The Twins bullpen has a 5.25 ERA this season which ranks them dead last in the majors. The over is 18-10 this season in Twins games against teams with a losing record and the over is 95-60 the last 3 seasons combined when Minny is facing a team with a sub-.500 record. With the low ERA numbers these two starters have this season the O/U in the 10 range may look high but, as you can see above, there is plenty of justification for the odds makers setting this total where they did. I'll gladly take advantage of the line move that has it a 9.5 in many books this morning. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play Kansas City Royals Money Line (+) vs Boston Red Sox @ 2:15 ET - Boston rolled Kansas City yesterday 8-3 but the Red Sox had lost 3 of their prior 5 games and the BoSox were held to 2 runs or less in 4 of their 5 prior games. As for the Royals, they had won 8 of their last 9 games prior to yesterday's loss. Also, Kansas City had averaged 6.2 runs per game in their 9 prior games. Even though Drew Pomeranz has a much better record and lower ERA on the season in comparison with Ian Kennedy, the Red Sox southpaw has been hit at a .263 clip. Kennedy has only been hit at .205 clip this season and opponents only hit .236 against him last year. The point is that Kennedy has certainly been the victim of some bad breaks this season and, overall, has frequently proven tough to hit. There is significant home underdog value for the Royals in this spot. The Red Sox are only 5-9 this season in road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Prior to yesterday's win, Boston had averaged just 6.6 hits per game in their last 5 games. Prior to yesterday's loss, KC had averaged 11 hits per game in their last 9 games. Grab the big dog value here as the Royals won both Kennedy starts against the Red Sox last season and they make it 3 straight Wednesday afternoon. 10* KANSAS CITY money line

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Los Angeles Dodgers vs New York Mets @ 10:10 ET - Robert Gsellman gets the start for the Mets here and he has a 6.26 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP on the season. He was rocked for 7 earned runs on 11 hits in just 5 innings of work in his most recent start. That start was at home too! On the road this season Gsellman has a 7.96 ERA. The over is 9-3 in his 12 starts this season! As for the Dodgers, they'll have Brandon McCarthy on the mound for this one. Even though he has some strong numbers on the season he has as many walks as strikeouts in his last two starts. He's averaged less than 5 innings per start in his last 3 starts and the Mets, entering Monday's action, are averaging 5.9 runs per game on the road this season. As for the Dodgers they entered Monday night's action having averaged 6.2 runs per game while going 9-1 in their last 10 games. They should have no trouble with the offerings of a struggling Gsellman here while the Mets season-long trend of "overs" continues. New York entered Monday having gone 33-10 to the over in night games this season. Also, the over is a perfect 6-0 this season in Mets Tuesday games. The Dodgers entered Monday's action having gone 17-9 to the over this season in their games against teams with a winning record. Also, the Dodgers are 9-3 to the over this season in home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Entering Monday, LA was on an 8-1 run to the over in their last 9 games and the Mets were on a 5-1 run to the over. More of the same expected here on Tuesday. 10* OVER the total in LA Dodgers

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play Los Angeles Angels +1.5 runs +115 @ New York Yankees @ 7:05 ET - The Yankees just got swept in a 4-game set at Oakland and they ended up losing 6 straight games overall to finish their West Coast road trip. Even though they were off yesterday, the Yankees are still likely to struggle Tuesday night as it is usually the first game back that it toughest on a East Coast team after returning from out west. The Angels were also off yesterday and, though they lost their game Sunday, they've only lost back to back games once since June 3rd. In other words, expect a bounce back and a win from the Angels here. However, should they fall short in a tight, low-scoring game, look for the run line to be all the insurance we need there. Even at +1.5 runs the Angels are getting some plus money odds here and I'll gladly take it. Michael Pineda gets the start for the Yankees and he has allowed 5 earned runs on 10 hits in two of his last three starts. That's made for two ugly outings for Pineda recently and I look for another one here as one of those tough starts was against these Angels in Anaheim. Pineda now has a 7.50 ERA in the 3 starts he has made against the Angels in his career. As for Parker Bridwell of the Angels, he has only had limited action at the MLB level but his lone start this season was a quality start and I expect another one here. At AAA in the Pacific Coast League this season he has held hitters to just a .248 batting average. Though Bridwell struggled out of the bullpen recently against the Yankees, look for him to get some payback here as the Yanks come out with a bit of a West Coast "hang-over" as they bring the 6-game losing streak into tonight's action. 10* LOS ANGELES ANGELS Run Line +1.5 runs

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Boston Red Sox @ 8:05 ET - David Price is slated for the start for the Red Sox in tonight's game even though he is dealing with a blister on his throwing hand. Joe Musgrove gets the start for the Astros here even though he struggled through a short outing (couldn't complete 5 innings) versus the Rangers on Monday. Musgrove had just returned from a trip to the disabled list due to shoulder pain. The point is that both of these hurlers have some issues right now and I expect them both to struggle here. After a red hot 6-game tear, the Red Sox lineup has suddenly struggled in their last 3 games. Look for the opportunity for the Boston lineup to "get healthy" versus Musgrove to pay immediate dividends here. Opponents are hitting .290 against Musgrove on the season. As for Boston's Price, the southpaw wasn't exactly spectacular in his most recent start and that was against the lowly Phils. In his last road start he gave up 6 earned runs in 5 innings of work. Considering the blister issue as well as the fact that the Astros have a .463 slugging percentage at home this season (good for 4th in the National League this season), look for Price to again struggle on the road here just like he did in the Bronx earlier this month. The over is 7-2 in Boston's Sunday games this season and the over is 7-2 in Astros games played on Sundays this year. Look for more Sunday fireworks after yesterday's game stalled out and fell short of going over the total even though 6 runs were scored in the first three innings! 10* OVER the total in Houston

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play Texas Rangers Run Line (-1.5 runs) vs Seattle Mariners @ 3:05 ET - This is a bit of a "contrarian" play for me because, as long-time followers know, I like to play underdogs or small faves in MLB. However, even though the Rangers are a big favorite here, line value is available by grabbing them at a great price on the run line in a game they should easily win by 2 or more runs. Simply put, the Rangers are hot and the Mariners are not! With yesterday's 10-4 win, Texas is now 8-2 in their last 10 games and all 8 victories have come by at least 2 runs. Seattle is now 2-6 in their last 8 games and all 6 losses have come by 2 runs or more. The Mariners are sending Christian Bergman to the mound and he is now 1-3 in his 4 road starts this season with a ridiculous 10.61 ERA and 2.14 WHIP! He should prove to be no match for the Rangers Yu Darvish. The fire-balling Texas right-hander has led Texas to an 8-4 mark in his last 12 starts. Only 1 of the 8 wins came by less than 2 runs. Darvish has a stellar 2.93 ERA and 1.09 WHIP on the season. The Mariners are now 13-24 on the road this season after back to back 10-4 losses. The Rangers are 17-3 (85%) the last 3 seasons combined as a home fave in a range of -175 to -250. That's a high percentage chance of victory here and, as noted above, there is a high percentage chance that any Rangers win does come by 2 runs or more. 10* TEXAS Run Line -1.5 runs Sunday afternoon

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs @ 8:15 ET - Jake Arrieta of the Cubs is coming off of a tough start so many will be looking for the "bounce back" here. After all, Arrieta is still a big "name" that guys look to for strong starts. The problem with that theory is he is just not producing this season and this is particularly true on the road. Arrieta gave up 4 runs at home in his most recent start and that was at home. On the road, Arrieta is coming off of a strong start but it was against the light-hitting Padres. Was San Diego's lineup a factor? You bet! In Arrieta's 5 prior road starts he gave up 4 earned runs or more in all 5 starts! Look for another tough outing here for him as Pitsburgh has scored 5 runs or more in 8 of their last 11 games. The Cubs have also been heating up at the plate again after a rare dry spell. Chicago has won 3 of its past 5 games and averaged 7 runs per game during this hot streak. Ivan Nova gets the start for the Pirates. He does have good overall numbers on the season and is off of a strong start. However, prior to shutting down the Marlins in a solid 6-inning outing, Nova had been getting a little "touched up" over his 7 prior starts (including 5 straight where he allowed at least 3 earned runs in every single outing). Nova's ERA in these 7 starts was a respectable 4.40 but he did allow 56 hits in the 45 innings! He now faces a dangerous Cubs lineup and, also helping our cause here is the unsettled Pirates bullpen. Remember those games where they recently blew back to back big leads versus Baltimore in interleague action? Their bullpen had another implosion in last night's 9-5 loss. The Bucs pen can't be trusted, Arrieta can't be trusted for the Cubs, and this one has the makings of another easy over. The over is 4-2 in Nova's last 6 starts and 9-3 in Arrieta's last 12 starts. Cubs divisional games are 20-9 to the over this season. The Pirates are 42-28 to the over in home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs the past 3 seasons combined. Another wild one expected here! 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh Saturday evening 

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play Baltimore Orioles Money Line (+) vs St Louis Cardinals @ 4:05 ET - The Cardinals rolled the Orioles 11-2 yesterday and appear to be the popular choice again today. However, long-time followers know I love to fade the masses and I believe the home/road dichotomy of these starting pitchers will prove to be the key. The Orioles Wade Miley has a 2.15 ERA in his 6 home starts this season. In fact, his home ERA was 1.01 on the season before he struggled versus Pittsburgh in his most recent start in Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The southpaw will take advantage of facing a Cardinals team that had lost 10 of 14 prior to yesterday's rare offensive explosion on the road. The Cards are still just 3-6 in interleague games this season while Baltimore is still 6-4 this season and 32-18 the past 3 seasons combined when facing an NL club. Also, the Orioles are still 21-11 at home this season even after yesterday's ugly loss. They'll be facing Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals right-hander has a 7.28 ERA and 1.75 WHIP in his road starts this season! He's made 6 starts away from home this season and Wainwright has been roughed up in 4 of them. That said, odds favor another tough road outing for the St Louis right-hander while I look for the O's southpaw to bounce back at home where he has been much more effective on the mound this season and where, in his career since coming to the Orioles, he has held hitters to about a .250 batting average! 10* BALTIMORE ORIOLES money line Saturday afternoon

NL West Total of the Year - Rickenbach Friday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs San Francisco Giants @ 8:40 ET - Yes this is an important top pick for me (as you can see from the play title I am using) and yes I am aware that Eduardo Nunez and Buster Posey left last night's game in the latter innings with injuries. However, Nunez only had 1 of the Giants 17 hits yesterday! As for Posey, certainly he is a fantastic hitter but consider his importance behind the plate as well. If Posey isn't behind the dish for San Francisco it could absolutely be impacting to Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija. Regardless of who ends up behind the plate tonight, Samardzija is likely to struggle. The right-hander got rocked for 7 runs in 5 and 1/3 innings in his last start at Colorado and that was in late April. The weather will be very warm tonight and the hitters for both clubs should again have a huge night at the plate after the 19 run outburst last night. As for the Rockies Antonio Senzatela, he fared well when he faced the Giants earlier this season but he certainly is in poor current form now compared to how he was throwing in the early stages of this season. Senzatela has been hit quite hard in 5 of his last 6 outings. The one exception was an 8-inning gem against St Louis. In the other 5 outings Senzatela allowed 19 earned runs on 30 hits in 25 and 1/3 innings of work. That works out to a 6.75 ERA in those 5 starts and, right now, the Giants have been heating up at the plate. San Francisco has recorded double digits in hits in 4 of their last 7 games. The Giants have averaged 12.3 hits per game in their last 4 games! SF is on a 4-0 run to the over. The over is 8-2 in Senzatela's last 10 starts. Also, the over is 21-11 in San Francisco's road games this season! 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play Boston Red Sox Money Line (+) @ Houston Astros @ 8:10 ET - The Red Sox are off of a 1-0 shutout loss yesterday. I know Boston doesn't have good numbers when off of a shutout loss but I certainly like backing them in this spot given the overall situation. The Red Sox had won 3 straight games and 8 of their last 11 before the surprising loss at Philadelphia last night. Also, in those 8 wins the BoSox have averaged 6.3 runs per game and I look for their lineup to get right back on track here against Michael Fiers. The Astros right-hander is off of a RARE strong home start. In his 3 prior home starts Fiers had allowed 11 runs (10 earned) on 23 hits in less than 17 innings of work. The Red Sox will start Drew Pomeranz and though the southpaw is off of a poor start in his most recent outing, that certainly has been the exception rather than the norm. In fact, Pomeranz had allowed 2 earned runs or less in 8 of his 9 prior starts! Granted he has not pitched deep in many games BUT the Red Sox also have one of the best bullpens in baseball. Boston's relievers have combined to go 12-5 with a 2.83 ERA this season. The Red Sox are 18-9 the last 27 times they were off of a loss this season. The Astros are off of a big 13-2 win over Texas Wednesday but they had lost 6 of their prior 8 games! Also, prior to that offensive explosion, Houston had averaged just 3.2 runs per game in their 5 prior games. In home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs the Astros have gone 14-16 and -$9,000 the past 3 seasons combined! 10* BOSTON

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs San Francisco Giants @ 8:40 ET - The Giants lost 7-2 yesterday but they did have 10 hits. It was the third time in six games that San Francisco has reached double digits in hits. However, those games were at home and the Giants have actually been swinging the bats better on the road and now head to hitter-friendly Coors Field for this series. San Francisco has averaged 6 runs per game and 10.4 hits per game in their last 7 road games. I am well aware of the fact that Colorado's Jefff Hoffman has put up some phenomenal numbers in his last 3 starts but all those were on the road. Though he does have great strikeout numbers, Hoffman's lone home start did see him allow 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in just 5 and 1/3 innings of work. The Rockies are off of a 5-1 win yesterday and are now 9-4 in the month of June. Colorado has averaged 6 runs per game this month and this will be just their 3rd home game so far this month. It is getting to the time of year now when the ball carries exceptionally well at Coors Field and the Rockies scored a combined 19 runs in their other 2 home games this month. They should have no problem with the offerings of Matt Moore. The Giants left-hander has allowed 11 earned runs in less than 10 innings of work spanning his last two starts against the Rockies and one of those outings was in pitcher-friendly San Francisco. Moore is 0-4 on the road this season with a 7.94 ERA and 1.91 WHIP in his 7 starts away from home. The over is 6-0, one push, in his road starts this season. The over is 5-2 this season in Giants road games where they are a dog in a range of +125 to +175. Look for another one here as Moore's over record goes to 7-0 in road games this season! 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Thursday MLB 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays Money Line (+) @ Detroit Tigers @ 7:10 ET - The Rays are off of a 7-6 loss last night but had previously won 6 of their last 7 games. Also, Tampa Bay has averaged scoring nearly 7 runs per game in their last 7 games. As for the Tigers, they are off of a 2-1 loss last night and they have now lost 6 of their last 8 games. Yesterday's low-scoring defeat marked the 6th time in their last 8 games that Detroit has been held to 4 runs or less. The Rays have been the hotter team and have been the better hitting team recently as you can see. With that said, there is great line value here with the underdog Tampa Bay. Justin Verlander gets the start for Detroit and, of course, he has a great long-term reputation. The problem for Verlander right now is that he is simply not in good current form. The veteran right-hander has allowed 5 earned runs on 11 hits and 7 walks in the 7 innings spanning his last two starts. Look for another short outing from Verlander here as the Rays sticks stay hot. Tampa will have Alex Cobb on the mound for this one. He had one bad start in early June at Seattle that totally has skewed his numbers. Other than that one bad outing, in the other 7 starts he has made dating back to early May, Cobb has allowed a combined 14 earned runs on 35 hits in 45 and 2/3 innings of work. Those rock solid numbers have produced a 2.76 ERA and that makes Cobb and the Rays a true "live dog" in this spot! The Rays are 7-3 this season in games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Also, Tampa Bay is 27-18 this season in games against right-handed starters. Detroit is 3-6 this season in home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs and the Tigers are an ugly 2-6 in Thursday games this season. 10* TAMPA BAY

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Texas Rangers @ 8:10 ET - The Astros are starting Francis Martes. He is only 21 years old and this will be his first ever MLB start. In his only other appearance (Friday) he allowed 4 earned runs in 3 and 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. This season has been his first season in the minors above the AA level and it has NOT gone well. Martes has gone winless in 8 starts with a 5.29 ERA and opponents have hit .299 against him! In other words, with a lack of success above the AA level in the minors now Martes makes his first ever MLB start. Now, making the situation even tougher on him is the fact that he faces a red hot Rangers lineup. Texas has won 5 straight games and 6 of their last 7. The Rangers have averaged 5.6 runs per game during this 7-game stretch. As for the Astros, though they've been slumping, they will take advantage of facing the Rangers Andrew Cashner for  the 3rd time in the past 6 weeks! In fact, Houston just saw him in Arlington less than 2 weeks ago and they pounded him for 5 earned runs on 11 hits in 6 innings of work. Cashner's strikeout numbers are down this season and the Astros are loaded with sluggers so when they make contact, look out! By the way, the Rangers bullpen (5.57 ERA and 1.68 WHIP on the road) should also help our cause here. On Wednesdays, the over is 6-3 in Astros games and 8-2 in Rangers games this season. Going further back, Texas is 41-19 to the over in Wednesday games the past 3 seasons combined. 10* OVER the total in Houston

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play Seattle Mariners Money Line (+) @ Minnesota Twins @ 8:10 ET - The Mariners got crushed 20-7 last night. Over the past 3 weeks, Seattle is a perfect 3-0 when off of a loss by a margin of 4 runs or more. Keep in mind, Seattle was on a 11-4 run before last night's loss. Conversely, the Twins have been "scuffling" a bit in recent weeks as they were on a 6-9 run in their last 15 games before getting the win last night. We are getting excellent line value here because Ervin Santana is on the mound for the Twins. Though the Minnesota right-hander has great full-season numbers and is off of a strong start, Santana allowed 7 earned runs in 4 innings in his prior start. Even though that ugly outing was on the road, 2 of his 3 prior home starts have seen him allow 5 and 6 earned runs, respectively. As for the Mariners Sam Gaviglio, he is settling in nicely. He has allowed 1 earned run or less in 4 of his 5 starts this season and he has gone at least 5 innings in all 5 starts. The Twins have never faced him so that is also an edge for Gaviglio. The Mariners are already 7-3 in Wednesday games this season and have won 3 straight starts made by Gaviglio. The Twins are only 1-4 this season as a home fave of -125 to -175 and I expect more struggles here for Minny with this sweet "play against" angle. Overall, the Twins are only 13-19 at home this season and the M's had won 4 straight road games prior to getting crushed yesterday. 10* SEATTLE on the money line Wednesday

Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play Cleveland Indians Money Line (+) vs Los Angeles Dodgers @ 7:10 ET - This is a typical contrarian play for me and what that means is that we're going against the grain but certainly not without good reason. One of the keys here is Trevor Bauer is off of a poor start but it was to be expected. He was trying to start on 2 days rest after his prior start saw him have to exit during the 2nd inning after a weather delay. As a result, he struggled badly in his most recent start which was at hitter-friendly Colorado on Wednesday. However, in his most recent "normal" start he was at home on May 30th and he allowed just 3 earned runs in 7 innings while striking out 14. Look for Bauer, happy to be home and on normal rest for this one, to again dominate in Cleveland this evening. The Indians are 52-28 the last 3 seasons combined in home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. The Dodgers are 18-29 the last 3 seasons combined in road games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. Why the big line on LA here? Of course that's because Los Angeles has Clayton Kershaw on the hill for this one. However, remember his recent start against last year's other World Series participant (the world champion Cubs)? Kershaw allowed 4 earned runs on 11 hits in just 4 and 1/3 innings of work. The Dodgers southpaw gave up 3 homers in that start too. Don't be surprised if this one is another tough outing for the big lefty. The Indians are 6-2 in their last 8 home games and have averaged 6 runs per game during this stretch. The Dodgers are off of a 3-game sweep where they hit well but that was against a bad Reds team. Prior to that Los Angeles had scored 2 runs or less in 7 of their last 8 games. This one truly has all the right ingredients for a big upset. In fact, the Dodgers bullpen has a 3.39 ERA on the road and the Indians bullpen has a 1.59 ERA at home and this is yet another edge for the Tribe in this one. 10* CLEVELAND INDIANS money line early Tuesday evening. 

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Texas Rangers @ 8:10 ET - Happy to go contrarian here as the early move pushed this total from a 9 down to an 8.5 and I understand the move based on Yu Darvish being on the mound for the Rangers and Joe Musgrove having thrown 7 scoreless innings in his most recent start. However, here are the keys to value for this total. Darvish is 0-4 with a 5.81 ERA in his last 6 starts versus the Astros. These teams face each other a lot so there is plenty of familiarity for the Houston hitters with Darvish. Also, the Rangers right-hander has particularly struggled versus the Astros of late with 8 earned runs allowed on 14 hits in just 9 innings of work spanning his last two starts against Houston. As for Musgrove, though he's off of a strong start, that outing took place two weeks ago as he's just now coming back from a trip to the disabled list with a shoulder injury. I do not expect him to be 100% here and he has given up 13 runs (12 earned) in only 14 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts versus the Rangers. Those 3 outings included 2 September starts and then another start versus Texas last month so the Rangers have seen plenty of him recently. Again, that familiarity often leads to success for the hitters. The over is a perfect 3-0 in Musgrove's last 3 starts against the Rangers and none of Darvish's last 3 starts have stayed under the total! The Rangers have scored 5 runs or more in 8 of their last 11 games. The Astros have averaged 7 runs per game in going 13-4 in their last 17 games! Plenty of potency expected from both of these lineups today! The over is 9-3-2 in the Astros last 14 games and the over is 13-8 in Texas' games against teams with a winning record this season. 10* OVER the total in Houston Monday evening.

No Doubt Blowout Rout - Rickenbach Monday MLB 10* Top Play Chicago Cubs Money Line (+) @ New York Mets @ 7:10 ET - The Cubs John Lackey has been charged with some significant earned runs in a few of his recent starts but he has allowed only 35 hits in his last 35 and 1/3 innings. The point is that he certainly has not been getting hit as hard as Jacob deGrom has been for the Mets.  The New York right-hander has allowed 15 earned runs on 18 hits (and 6 walks) in just 8 innings of work spanning his last two starts. By the way, as you can see with the 18 hits and 6 walks that means he has a 3.00 WHIP in his last two outings. Allowing an average of 3 baserunners per inning gets any pitcher into trouble early and often and I look for more of the same here for deGrom. The Cubs got their sticks going again yesterday with 7 runs on 12 hits in a win over the Rockies. Even though the Cubs bats have certainly not been "on fire" of late that could be a turning point for them and they're certainly catching deGrom at the right time to enjoy success. The Cubs are 6-4 in their last 10 games and they've averaged 4.5 runs per game in those 10 games. As for the Mets, they are 5-6 in their last 11 games and they've been held to 2 runs or less in 4 of the 6 losses. They also only scored 2 runs in yesterday's win. Look for the Mets to drop to 3-7 this season in home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. As for the Cubs, they are on a long-term 83-49 run in all games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. 10* CHICAGO CUBS money line early Monday evening.

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 10* Top Play Toronto Blue Jays Money Line (+) @ Seattle Mariners @ 4:10 ET - The Mariners with James Paxton on the mound will certainly be the popular choice here but I see tremendous underdog line value here with J.A. Happ and the Blue Jays. Toronto got the 4-2 win yesterday and I look for them to carry momentum right into this game. Look for Happ to be at his best today as he'll now be making his 3rd start since coming off of the disabled list. That means he has had a couple outings to work the kinks out and Happ has allowed only 7 hits in 9 and 1/3 innings since coming off of the disabled list. The trouble for the Jays southpaw has been that he has allowed a pair of dingers in each start. However, in his last 3 starts against the Mariners he has a 2.00 ERA and has only allowed 1 homer in 18 innings. The M's Paxton is 5-0 this season while Toronto's Happ is 0-4 this season. Of course this makes Seattle look like a "must play" in this spot but Paxton is coming of his 3rd unimpressive start in his last 5 outings. In these 3 subpar starts, Paxton has combined to allow 10 runs (9 earned) on 19 hits and 9 walks in just 14 and 2/3 innings of work. As you can see, Paxton has allowed nearly 2 baserunners per inning in those starts and his 5.52 ERA in those 3 outings and that ERA could easily be worse. The last time Happ started at Seattle was late last season and the Jays won 10-2 and he struck out 8 in 5 innings. I see tremendous line value here and Paxton has a 6.32 ERA in his career against the Jays. Seattle has just 27 hits in their last 4 games and the Blue Jays are 12-6 in their last 18 games and are building up more and more confidence with each win. Look for them to be aggressive at the plate and enjoy success against Paxton whom did go 1-3 and got hit at a .320 clip last June. He's fortunate to be 5-0 this season. That good fortune turns today as the Jays hand him his first loss of 2017. Seattle is 55-74 against left-handed starters the past 2+ seasons while the Blue Jays are 39-25 in Sunday games the past 2+ seasons. 10* TORONTO

Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Arizona Diamondbacks vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 4:10 ET - The first number that popped up on this total was a 9.5 but it was immediately bet down to an 8.5 before big bets were even able to come in. The point is that knowing where the odds makers heads were when setting a line is always helpful and I understand this will be a contrarian play with the public but this total has a great shot at surprising many. Even though the Brewers Chase Anderson and the Diamondbacks Ricky Ray have thrown extremely well of late, there are a number of key variables favoring the over. 2 of Anderson's last 3 starts have been at home and note that on the road this season he has a 4.36 ERA and the over is 4-2 in those 6 outings. 2 of Ray's last 3 starts have been on the road and note that at home this season he has a 5.67 ERA and the over is 5-1 in those 6 outings. Also, these lineups just faced these starting pitchers two weeks ago. The hurlers held the upper hand in those meetings but don't be surprised if the hitters fare much better in the rematch! The Brewers had averaged 6 runs and 11.5 hits per game in their last 4 games before getting shutdown yesterday. The Diamondbacks had averaged 8.6 runs per game in their last 5 games before yesterday's tight 3-2 win over Milwaukee. On the season Arizona is averaging 6.4 runs per game at home and the Brewers have a .450 slugging percentage versus lefties (ranks among tops in the league) and they have averaged 5.3 runs per game in match-ups with southpaw starters this year! Look for the over to improve to 10-5 this season in Brewers games against left-handers this season! The Diamondbacks had recorded 5 straight overs before yesterday's pitchers duel. Look for the "over trend" to resume here. 10* OVER the total in Arizona

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play Minnesota Twins Money Line (+) @ San Francisco Giants @ 4:05 ET - The Twins won 4-0 last night and the Giants struggles at the plate continued. San Francisco has now been held to 3 runs or less in 7 of their last 11 games. The Giants are likely to struggle again here as they face a tough hurler in Jose Berrios. The Twins right-hander is 4-1 with a 2.75 ERA and a 0.89 ERA as a starter this season. Minnesota is a perfect 3-0 in his road starts this season and, overall, the Twins are an incredible 19-8 in road games this season. Keep in mind, the Giants have a losing record at home this season and Jeff Samardzija is 2-7 on the season. The San Francisco right-hander has given up "only" 3 earned runs in each of his last two home starts but he allowed a total of 18 hits in those two outings even though the starts combined for a total of less than 11 innings. The Giants are only 2-4 this season after being shutout while the Twins are 3-1 this season after shutting out their opponent! San Francisco is an ugly 7-14 in day games this season. Their price has climbed higher since opening around the pick'em price range it truly belonged in. That said, there is phenomenal line value here with the underdog Twins. The Giants have lost 8 of their last 11 games and that includes 4 straight home games. The Twins have won 17 of their last 22 road games! Berrios has good stuff and the Giants hitters have no experience him. Samardzija has been hit hard in recent home starts and the Twins have a number of hitters with significant experience against him. 10* MINNESOTA TWINS money line in afternoon action Saturday

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in St Louis Cardinals vs Philadelphia Phillies @ 2:15 ET - Despite 18 hits in yesterdays game, it easily stayed under the total as the Cardinals prevailed 3-2. I won't hesitate to come right back with the over in this afternoon's rematch. The ball tends to carry well in afternoon games at Busch Stadium and the wind is going to be blowing out to left-center in warm day game action in St Louis Saturday. The Phillies are starting Nick Pivetta and he continues to be shaky on the  mound. In his most recent start he only allowed 3 earned runs but he did give up 6 hits plus walked 3 in his 5 innings of work. That short start means that Pivetta has not lasted longer than 5 innings in any of his 5 starts this season. Carlos Martinez gets the start for St Louis today and he has good overall numbers on the year but he is just 1-2 with a 5.09 ERA in his 4 day game starts this season. Also, throughout his career, the righty has been tougher on right-handed bats than left-handed sticks and this season has been no different. Martinez has a 2.32 ERA against righties but a 4.42 ERA versus lefties. That is significant because the Phillies meat of the order has been hot and so, though they are righties, I expect them to stay hot against Martinez. Where the lefty/righty match-up helps is in the fact that much of the rest of the Phillies lineup includes switch-hitters and left-handed bats so don't be surprised if they enjoy some success here. With the Cards also likely to pound Pivetta, that sets this one up nicely for a slugfest on a warm afternoon at Busch Stadium with a hitter-friendly breeze. Also note that both of these bullpens have struggled this season and their ERA ranks them each in the lower third of the majors. Look for the over to make it 4-0 in Pivetta's last 4 starts. As a road dog of +125 or more this season, the Phillies are 14-7 to the over. Also, Philadelphia is 42-20 to the over in June games the past 3 seasons combined. The Cardinals are 15-9 to the over this season in their games against teams with a losing record. 10* OVER the total in St Louis in early afternoon action Saturday 

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in St Louis Cardinals vs Philadelphia Phillies @ 8:15 ET - The Phillies Jeremy Hellickson is winless in his last 3 starts and has compiled a 7.72 ERA and 1.72 WHIP in these 3 outings. The Cardinals Michael Wacha is winless in his last 3 starts and has compiled an 11.92 ERA and a 2.38 WHIP in these 3 outings. Also, Hellickson gave up 6 earned runs in 5 and 1/3 innings in his only career start at St Louis. Wacha has given up 4 earned runs or more in 2 of his 3 career starts versus the Phillies. The over is 8-2 in Wacha's 10 starts this season. Also, the over is 15-8 in Cardinals games against teams with a losing record this season. The Phillies are 42-19 to the over in June games the past 2+ seasons combined! The over is also 21-11 in Philadelphia's night games this season and the over is 10-4 when the Phils are a road dog in a range of +125 to +175. Light breeze blowing out toward left-center with hitter-friendly conditions expect on a mild night at Busch Stadium Friday. 10* OVER 8.5 runs in St Louis

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Angels Money Line (+) @ Houston Astros @ 8:10 ET - There is a lot of underdog value here with the Angels. Matt Shoemaker has held the Astros to a .200 batting average long-term. Also, this season the Los Angeles right-hander has simply been hurt by the long ball when facing Houston. He's giving up 2 homers in each start against them but only allowed a total of 8 hits in the 13 innings spanning those two starts. Also, Shoemaker has allowed just 2 earned runs in each of his last 2 starts at Houston. He comes into this start having compiled a 2.73 ERA in his last 5 starts overall. I know the Astros Brad Peacock has pitched surprisingly well overall since moving into the rotation. However, he has a 5.06 ERA in his last two starts and he also allowed 5 earned runs in less than 5 innings of work in his most recent start against the Angels and that wasn't that long ago - Sept. 30th. Off of a big 11-4 win yesterday afternoon at Detroit, Los Angeles has some momentum heading into Houston as the Angels have won 3 of their last 5 games. The Astros 6-1 win yesterday looks impressive on the surface but they got a 5-spot in the top of the 9th and lets not forget they had lost their two prior games. Simply put, Houston just can't keep winning at the ridiculous clip they were winning at. LA has won 6 of the last 8 starts made my Shoemaker and I see another upset coming here as the Angels have the advantage of having played a day game yesterday while the Astros were in a fierce battle in Kansas City last night. Travel situation favors the road team here. After a 10-game road trip, Houston could prove to be spent! 10* LOS ANGELES ANGELS money line

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play Colorado Rockies Money Line (+) @ Chicago Cubs @ 8:05 ET - The Rockies are a big dog here despite being 21-10 on the road this season. I understand the Cubs have Jon Lester on the mound and the veteran southpaw is known for pitching well at home. However, Tyler Chatwood gets the start for the Rockies and the right-hander went a fantastic 8-1 with a stellar 1.69 ERA away from home last season and is 3-3 with a 2.68 ERA on the road this season. Incredibly, opponents are batting just .168 against Chatwood when he faces them away from Coors Field. As you can see, Chatwood's overall numbers this season and last season have certainly been impacted by the fact he pitches his home games at hitter-friendly Coors Field. The fact is that Chatwood has been dominant in road outings and I expect that to continue here. The Cubs are only 5-7 in their last 12 games. In those dozen games, the Cubbies had just 2 big games at the plate. In the other 10 games, the Cubs averaged just 5.1 HITS per game. As you can see, Chicago really hasn't been hitting the ball well at all and Chatwood is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA in his two career starts against the Cubs. The Rockies have won 5 of their last 6 games and have averaged 7 runs and 11 hits per game in those 6 games. Look for them to stay hot here as Lester has allowed 9 earned runs on 13 hits (including 3 homers) in last 2 starts and those outings have spanned just 9 and 1/3 innings! 10* COLORADO ROCKIES money line

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - Many books opened this total up at an 8.5 yesterday afternoon but the betting markets are telling the odds makers they don't know what they're doing as the markets have forced the odds makers down to a 7.5 with this total as of Thursday AM. Long-time followers know how I feel about the value of the odds makers compared to the betting markets! The point is that we're getting extreme line value here with this big downward move on this total. Yes I know David Price is on the mound for the BoSox but he has allowed 14 earned runs on 32 hits in 18 innings of work spanning his last 3 starts against the Yankees. Also, all 3 of those outings came after the midway point of last season so it's not like it is ancient history by any stretch of the imagination. Price will be opposed by the Yankees Michael Pineda. The Yanks right-hander has allowed 7 earned runs on 13 hits including 4 homers in his last 2 home starts versus the Red Sox. Also, Pineda comes into this outing off of a rough start in his most recent outing. The over was 5-2 in the Yankees last 7 games before yesterday's game stayed just under the total. The over is 19-10 in Yanks divisional games this season. The over is also 13-7 in Boston's last 20 road games. More of the same here as both pitchers struggled against lineups that have fared very well against them in recent meetings. 10* OVER the total in the New York Yankees game

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - I know CC Sabathia has pitched well recently but he has been rocked in 2 of his last 3 starts versus Boston and the Red Sox hitters are very familiar with him. As for Rick Porcello, though he has a decent ERA in his last 3 starts he truly has been getting hit hard and that means we get hidden value here with this over. The total opened up at a 9.5 even though Sabathia has a 2.04 ERA in his last 3 starts and even though Porcello has a 3.65 ERA in his last 2 starts. The key here is Sabathia's likelihood to struggle with the BoSox lineup AND the fact that Porcello has allowed 30 hits in the 19 innings spanning his last 3 starts! The Red Sox right-hander has simply been fortunate he's been able to avoid big damage in those starts but I expect an implosion is imminent for him with the way he's been getting hit so hard. The Yankees have averaged 6 runs per game in their last 9 games. The Red Sox have averaged 6 runs per game in their last 15 games which has encompassed a red hot 11-4 run for Boston. Two hot hitting teams, two starters likely to struggle, and a total moving favorably for our purposes. This is a great spot for a Top Total in my book. 10* OVER the total in New York Yankees

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play Pittsburgh Pirates Money Line (+) @ Baltimore Orioles @ 7:05 ET - Look for the Pirates to bounce back after they blew last night's game by giving up a pair of runs in the bottom of the 9th which led to an eventual 10-inning loss to the Orioles. The Pirates Chad Kuhl has a sparkling 1.19 WHIP in his road starts his season and a 1.18 WHIP in his last 3 starts overall. The point is that he has been better away from home than in Pittsburgh this season AND he is in better current form than what his ERA shows. I feel this is giving us substantial underdog line value here because another edge that Kuhl has is that that the Orioles have not faced him. As for the Pirates, they faced the Orioles Wade Miley last season and rocked him for 5 earned runs in just 4 innings of work. Even though the Baltimore southpaw has some solid full season numbers he truly has been quite hittable dating all the back to April 30th. Prior to a surprisingly solid start versus Boston in his last outing, Miley had given up 38 hits in the 27 and 2/3 innings spanning his 6 prior starts. As you can see from those numbers, he has gone through some very hittable stretches over the past 5 weeks and I expect that trend to quickly resume here. Also, the Pirates had won 6 of their last 9 road games prior to yesterday's loss. As for the Orioles, they had lost 16 of their last 23 games prior to the comeback win last night. Solid dog value here Wednesday evening and I'll take it! 10* PITTSBURGH PIRATES money line

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER 10.5 runs +100 in Colorado Rockies vs Cleveland Indians @ 8:40 ET - I know the Indians Mike Clevinger has surprisingly decent numbers since moving into the rotation but, in my opinion, the last 2 starts are a sign of things to come. Clevinger has given up 7 earned runs in the less than 12 innings of work spanning his last 2 starts AND he gave up 2 homers in EACH outing! Now he has to pitch at hitter-friendly Coors Field and this one is offering great line value with the downward line move from an opener of 11. We're getting some value here because, just like Clevinger, Antonio Senzatela is over-rated and he is also showing some signs that a bit of an unraveling is about to take place. Senzatela has just one quality start in his last 4 starts. In the other 3 starts he only worked 5 innings in each start plus allowed 4 innings in each starts. That's a consistent 7.20 ERA in those 3 starts. Senzatela has been fortunate in that he gets a lot of run support and that has also helped lead the way to a 6-2 run to the over in his last 8 starts. The Rockies game Sunday at San Diego stayed under the total but that was just the 2nd over in Colorado's last 8 games. The Rockies have been a surprisingly strong team this season and they have averaged 5.4 runs per game at home this season. The Indians come into this one hot at the plate and have averaged 5.8 runs per game in their last 8 games. Senzatela's most recent home start was a gem but his 4 prior home starts went 4-0 to the over. At hitter-friendly Coors Field, look for the over to improve to 8-3 in Rockies Tuesday games this season. 10* OVER 10.5 runs in Colorado

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Tuesday MLB 10* Top Play - Boston Red Sox Money Line (+) @ New York Yankees @ 7:05 ET - Considering that the Yankees are 17-8 at home this season and the Red Sox have a losing record on the road plus Masahiro Tanaka is 6-2 versus Boston in his career while Drew Pomeranz is winless in 4 career starts versus the Yanks, you may be surprised to see New York as such a small favorite here. However, this low line is absolutely justified and I am grabbing the small road dog BoSox in this one. Pomeranz is 2-0 in his last 3 starts with a 2.12 ERA and he has struck out 25 in the 17 innings spanning those 3 starts. Conversely, the Yankees have lost 4 straight Tanaka starts and the right-hander has an 11.21 ERA in these 4 starts. Plus Tanaka has given up 48 hits in the 31 innings spanning his 6 starts since he shutout Boston in late April. Much has changed for Tanaka since that rare shutout win over the BoSox and they get their revenge here on Tuesday night in a big AL East battle. 10* BOSTON on the money line

Total Dominator - Rickenbach MLB 10* Monday Top Play OVER the total in Kansas City Royals vs Houston Astros @ 8:15 ET - Despite scoring 7 runs yesterday, the Astros game stayed under the total. Despite allowing 8 runs yesterday, the Royals game stayed under the total. I love situations like these as we now grab the over the very next day even though many will be looking at the under because of yesterday's results. That helps to hold a total in place and I like the value here in this spot because Houston's Mike Fiers has a 5.13 ERA on the season and Kansas City's Ian Kennedy is 0-5 with a 5.12 ERA on the season. Since Kennedy came off of the disabled list he's made 3 outings and none have lasted longer than 5 innings. I know Fiers has surprisingly decent numbers but this is still a guy who got hit at a .280 clip lase season and also is getting hit at a .280 clip again this season. Plus Fiers has given up 18 homers in his 11 starts this season. For the Royals, the over is on a perfect 5-0 run when they are off of a game where they allowed 1 run or less or scored 1 run or less or both (they had a 1-0 game recently). Look for this run of overs to improve to 6-0 Monday as they respond off of a shutout loss. Also, the red hot Astros offense has scored 68 runs in their last 7 games! That's an average of 9.7 runs per game and Houston should stay hot against Kennedy as he has a horrible 12.60 ERA in his last 3 starts. In Astros road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs, the over is 24-9 the past 2+ seasons! That means we're testing a combined 29-9 mark to the over in this one (including the aforementioned 5-0 involving Royals). 10* OVER the total in Kansas City

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play Texas Rangers Money Line (+) vs Houston Astros @ 3:05 ET - Brad Peacock gets the start for the Astros and he has only lasted a total of 9 innings in his first two starts in the rotation and gave up 4 earned runs in less than 5 inning of work in his most recent start. Martin Perez has a rather high ERA in his last 3 starts but only a 1.26 WHIP in those 3 outings and I feel he is offering some solid value here as we have the better starter on the mound and the home team. I know the Astros are in a fantastic win streak but they barely won yesterday's game and the Rangers are still a long-term 16-6 in home games against Houston the past 2+ seasons. After that tight one-run loss yesterday, look for the Rangers to bounce back here. The Astros are hitting 24 points lower versus lefties compared to righties this season. Also, Houston is 1-4 in Peacock's 5 career starts against Texas while the Rangers are 6-3 in the 9 career starts Perez has made against the Rangers. Look for the home dog to explode on offense today and that will prove to be plenty of run support for southpaw Perez as he has a solid 2.49 ERA in his career starts against the Astros! 10* TEXAS RANGERS money line Sunday Afternoon

Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play Texas Rangers Money Line (+) vs Houston Astros @ 7:15 ET - The Rangers Andrew Cashner has been solid with a 2-1 record and 2.90 ERA in his last five outings. Opponents are hitting only .079 against him with runners in scoring position as he continues to be at his best in key situations. Even though he is winless in his three starts against the Astros in his career he has been solid with a 2.90 ERA. As a result, I feel we're being offered solid home dog value here with the Rangers. The Astros have Lance McCullers on the mound and he is 0-3 with a 6.27 ERA in his 4 career starts versus Texas. Though most of the bad numbers were in his first career start against the Rangers it does not change the fact that Texas has a little extra confidence when facing McCullers and his winless record could be in his head a bit. I know the Astros have been hot but this is tremendous home dog value that is too strong to pass up in the case of in-state rivals that don't like each other plus Cashner has a 1.96 ERA at home this season. Look for Houston to drop to 2-6 in Saturday games this season while the Rangers improve to 18-11 at home. 10* TEXAS RANGERS money line Saturday evening

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:15 ET - This is a contrarian play as the total has already moved lower and many will look for an under here because David Price is on the hill for the Red Sox and because of Dylan Bundy's long-term numbers for the Orioles this season. However, Price struggled in a rehabilitation assignment before making his first start of this season and I would not be surprised to see him struggle here on the road after enjoyed success in a 5-inning stint in his first start of this season. The Orioles are very familiar with Price and are facing a southpaw starter for the 4th time in their last 8 games. The O's have won 3 straight games and  averaged 6.7 runs per game but they'll be hindered by their own starter in this game. I know Baltimore's Bundy has great numbers this season but he is facing the Red Sox for the 4th time already this season. Boston is averaging 6.3 runs per game in their last 12 games and I expect this to be a breakthrough game for them today against Bundy as the more a team sees a pitcher the more it tends to help that lineup make the proper adjustment. 4 times in 2 months is a lot! This is a contrarian play all the way but I expect the BoSox to bounce back after a miserable day at the plate yesterday. 10* OVER the total in Baltimore

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Indians @ 8:15 ET - I know Josh Tomlin just shut down the Royals in Cleveland and has had great success against them this season. However, they're now facing him for the 3rd time in less than 4 weeks and familiarity generally leads to success for the hitters. Tomlin had been rocked in consecutive starts before shutting down KC last week so don't be surprised if he gets roughed up here as his recent struggles resume.  As for the Royals, they will have Jason Vargas on the mound and he was very fortunate that he allowed only 2 earned runs to the Indians last week as he gave up 9 hits in less than 6 innings of work. Vargas also got rocked for 6 earned runs in just 4 innings of work in his most recent home start. The Indians have averaged 5.4 runs per game in their last 11 games. The Royals have scored at least 5 runs in 4 of their last 6 games. Kansas City was off yesterday and the over is 7-2 this season when the Royals are playing with a day off between games. This is a bit of a contrarian play considering the recent success Tomlin has had against the Royals but I expect a breakout game from the lineups here on a hitter friendly night at Kaufmann Stadium. They are familiar with the pitchers they are facing in this one. Very familiar in this divisional battle. 10* OVER the total in Kansas City 

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play Miami Marlins (-) vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 7:10 ET - The Marlins Jose Urena continues to prove to be tough to hit. He has allowed only 20 hits in his 5 starts this season and that has spanned nearly 28 innings of work. He'll be opposed by the Diamondbacks Patrick Corbin and the Arizona southpaw has proven to be very hittable. Corbin has a 7.87 ERA and 2.00 WHIP in his last 3 starts overall. Also, in his 4 road starts this season he is 0-4 with a 9.45 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. The Marlins lost a tight one yesterday but had previously won 4 straight games and they have a pitching edge here and the Dbacks are only averaging 3.6 runs per game on the road this season. Despite the disparity in records between these teams this season, the Marlins are favored with good reason and this is the perfect spot to be a contrarian. Lay it with the home team. 10* MIAMI

Early Shocker - Rickenbach MLB 10* Top Play Miami Marlins Money Line (+) vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 7:10 ET - This is a contrarian play. Everyone will likely be lining up to back Zack Greinke. However, he has allowed 4 earned runs or more in 2 of his last 3 starts. The right-hander is facing a Marlins team that has won 7 of its last 10 games and averaged 6.5 runs per game in these 10 games. As for the Diamondbacks, they've lost 3 of their last 5 games and averaged just 4 runs per game during this stretch. Also, the Dbacks have averaged just 3.7 runs per game when on the road this season. Arizona is 60-80 and -$21,200 in games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs the past 3 seasons combined. Jeff Locke gets the start for the Diamondbacks here and he is returning from tendinitis in his shoulder. Is he ready? Well, let's put it this way...he has a 1.77 ERA in his 4 rehab starts! Also, throughout his career he has fared better in home starts. In the last 3 seasons combined he is 13-8 in home appearances with his ERA no higher than 3.63 in home outings in any of those 3 seasons. I know Locke does not have a good history against the Dbacks but they've seen him just once since the 2014 season. In other words, not much of that history is relevant here. Look for Locke to come up big here and Greinke's recent struggles continue. I like riding the red hot Marlins at home. Look for them to make it 5 straight wins. 10* MIAMI

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 runs in Toronto Blue Jays vs New York Yankees @ 7:05 ET - The very first totals opened up at 9.5 on this game and it's now an 8.5 and I love the value we're getting here with two solid lineups. I know CC Sabathia has pitched better of late but he's faced some weak-hitting teams. He now faces a Blue Jays team that has won 8 of its last 9 games and averaged 6 runs per game in the process. Also, Sabathia faced the Blue Jays 4 weeks ago and was rocked for 6 earned runs in just 4 innings of work. I know Toronto's Marco Estrada has been pitching well but the Yankees have a .463 slugging percentage against right-handers and that ranks them as one of the top hitting teams in the majors against right-handed pitching. The Yankees have pounded out 42 hits and 23 runs in their last 4 games and Estrada has given up 4 homers in his last 3 starts versus the Yanks. Though he's pitched well overall I do look for Estrada to struggle again here. Prior to his solid start versus Texas he had allowed 5 earned runs in 2 of his last 4 outings. The over is 16-7 in Yankees divisional games this season. 10* OVER the total in New York Yankees

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Chicago White Sox vs Boston Red Sox @ 8:10 ET - With yesterday's 13-7 win, Boston is now 7-2 in their last 9 games and they've averaged 7.1 runs per game during this hot streak. The Red Sox will have Drew Pomeranz on the mound for this one. The southpaw is facing a team that hits lefties very well and will be facing a left-handed pitcher for the 3rd straight day. The White Sox have a .462 slugging percentage against lefties this season and that ranks #1 out of all 30 MLB teams. Also, with scoring 7 runs yesterday, they ChiSox have averaged 6.2 runs per game their last 11 games. You've got two lineups here that have plenty of confidence and, in addition to Pomeranz getting rocked, look for Mike Pelfrey to also struggle. I know that Pelfrey has pitched surprisingly well in his last two starts but, prior to that, he had a 5.70 ERA with more walks than strikeouts in his first 5 starts this season. Let's not forget that Pelfrey got hit at a .332 clip last season and has not finshed an MLB season with an opponents batting average of less than .300 since the 2011 season! Now he faces a strong Boston lineup that got to him for 5 earned runs in 5 innings in his only start against them last season. The most recent start for Pomeranz stayed under the total but, prior to that, the over was 3-0 in his last 3 starts. As for Pelfrey, I look for this start to move the over to 3-0 in his last 3 outings. 10* OVER the total in the Chicago White Sox game

Early Shocker - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play Oakland A's Money Line (+) @ Cleveland Indians @ 6:10 ET - Mike Clevinger gets the start for the Indians and he has struggled in both of his home starts this season. In his first one he walked 5 in less than 5 innings of work. In his second one he gave up 4 earned runs on 8 hits in only 5 innings of work. I know the A's have been slumping a bit over the past week but facing Clevinger will turn them around and they have a big pitching edge with Sean Manaea on the mound. The Oakland left-hander gave up just 1 earned run only 3 hits in 7 innings of work when he faced the Tribe last season. Also, Manaea comes into this start off of a fantastic outing against the Yankees in the Bronx. Manaea has allowed only 6 hits in the 12 innings spanning his last two road starts. The Athletics have won each of his last two starts while the Indians have lost two of three with Clevinger on the mound. Even with yesterday's win, Cleveland is just 27-43 (and -$28,600) in games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs the past 3 seasons combined. The A's struck out far too many times in yesterday's game but Clevinger's stuff has not been that dominant and Oakland was only outhit 11-10 in the defeat last night. Look for them to get over the hump with the big pitching edge being the key in this road win Wednesday. 10* OAKLAND

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Houston Astros @ 8:10 ET - The Twins Jose Berrios has been fantastic but he did allow 3 homers in his recent start and the wind will be blowing out toward right field in tonight's game. That certainly could be an issue for the Astros starter tonight. Michael Fiers has given up 18 homers in his 9 starts this season and, in fact, had been relegated to the bullpen recently. However, he immediately is right back in the rotation because Charlie Morton went on the 10-day disabled list. Yesterday's game got completely nuts and I expect this could turn into another wild one. Fiers has just been a mess this season for the Astros and he has a 6.37 ERA on the road this season with only 1 of those 5 starts resulting in an under. Although Berrios has pitched surprisingly well, the Astros have reached double digits in hits in 4 straight games now. The Twins 15 inning marathon loss Sunday used up the bullpen and then they got exposed yesterday as they allowed 14 runs in the final 2 innings of Monday's loss. Berrios has been getting a lot of strikeouts but that also means the pitch counts go up and the Twins pen could be exposed again tonight. The over is 23-9 in the last 2+ seasons in Astros road games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. Also, the over is 37-22 in the last 2+ seasons in Twins home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play Seattle Mariners Money Line (+) @ Colorado Rockies @ 7:10 ET - The Mariners Ariel Miranda has given up just 2 earned runs or less in 5 of his last 6 starts. The Seattle southpaw has a 2.12 ERA in his last 3 starts and has struck out 21 in the 17 innings spanning those 3 outings. The Mariners are 4-2 in his 6 road starts this season. The Rockies will have Tyler Anderson on the mound and the southpaw has been solid in his recent starts but has a 5.24 ERA at home this season. Even though Miranda has a big road ERA, that was greatly impacted by just 1 ugly start at Philadelphia earlier this month. Overall, he's been solid on the road and, though the Rockies have been better against lefties than the Mariners have this season, there is another key factor here that favors Seattle in a big way. The M's will be facing a left-handed starter for the 6th time in their last 11 games. As for Colorado, their last 14 games have ALL come against right-handed starters! This is the first time in over 2 WEEKS that the Rockies are matched up against a southpaw starter. Yesterday's loss dropped Colorado to 16-28 in inter-league games the past 2+ seasons. The Mariners are 5 games over .500 in inter-league games since the start of the 2015 season and the M's are already 6-3 this season in inter-league action! Look for another win (at a nice underdog price) again on Monday. 10* SEATTLE

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play Detroit Tigers Money Line (+) @ Kansas City Royals @ 7:15 ET - I successfully used Daniel Norris and the Tigers when they got a big upset road win at Houston in his most recent start and I certainly like him even more in this spot as he's matched up with a Kansas City team that, unlike the Astros, has struggled this season. Also, this appears to be a pitching match-up with Jason Hammel on the mound for the Royals. Hammel is 1-6 with a 5.98 ERA this season and it is not fluke as he has been getting hit at a .313 clip and not keeping the ball down in the zone (way too many outs through the air). Though Detroit's Norris doesn't have ultra impressive overall numbers on the year he does have a solid 3.62 ERA in his 5 road starts this season. Also, he's allowed 2 earned runs or less in 3 of his 5 start this month! Norris also has a 3.47 ERA in his starts against the Royals in his career. Conversely, the Royals Hammel has an 8.53 ERA in his career starts against the Tigers and they've hammered him for 3 homers in EACH of his last two starts versus Detroit. The Royals are an ugly 6-15 in divisional games this season and have gone just 4-9 in their 13 games against teams with a losing record this season. I am looking for the Tigers to improve to 3-0 in Norris' divisional starts this season. I know the Tigers don't have a great record but the Royals have struggled this season too and we've got a huge pitching edge here and the Tigers are averaging 4.7 runs per game against righty starters while the Royals are averaging just 3.1 runs per game against lefty starters. 10* DETROIT

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Seattle Mariners @ 3:10 ET - The Rockies have been heating up at the plate. With yesterday's 8-4 win over the Cardinals, Colorado has now scored an average of 6.8 runs per game during their current 7-3 hot streak their last 10 games. Monday the Rockies take on the Mariners and Seattle got back on track with a 5-0 win at Boston yesterday. The M's have been struggling at the plate recently but a big win like that as well as now a day game at hitter-friendly Coors Field is the kind of sequence that can rejuvenate a dangerous lineup. The Mariners do indeed have solid hitters up and down their lineup and they should have no problems with the offerings of Tyler Chatwood. The Rockies right-hander has a 6.18 ERA at home this season. He also had a 6.12 ERA at home last season. It's one of the drawbacks of being a Rockies pitcher. Chatwood has seen first hand how this home park can be so tough on a pitcher and he has a huge road/home dichotomy as he has been tremendous away from home but struggled mightily at Coors Field. I don't expect the Mariners Sam Gaviglio to find Coors Field to his liking either. He's making just the 3rd start of his MLB career and in the rookie's first two starts he has a total of just 3 strikeouts. Remember, contact at Coors Field is not a good thing so if he can't mow hitters down here it's likely to be a long afternoon for him. The over is on a 29-17 run in Mariners inter-league games the past 3 seasons and I look for a slugfest in this one. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 10*Top Play Money Line Colorado Rockies (-) vs St Louis Cardinals @ 3:10 ET – With the 10-0 win that the Rockies got in the series opener Friday, Colorado entered Saturday’s action having won 9 of their last 12 games. As for the Cardinals, that ugly defeat brought St Louis to a poor 2-7 in their last 9 games. Based on this pitching match-up for Sunday, I expect the Rockies to remain the hotter team and the Cardinals struggles to continue. Colorado will have German Marquez on the mound for this one and he has been in top current form as he has allowed 1 earned run or less in 4 of his last 5 starts. Also, though this is just his 2nd season in the majors and he has not seen a ton of action, Marquez has pitching surprisingly well at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Marquez has given up just 29 hits in his 30 innings at Coors Field. Those are very impressive numbers for this ballpark that is so tough on pitchers. Marquez also has been fantastic in day games in his career thus far. The Rockies right-hander has an ultra-impressive 1.20 ERA in his 5 career day starts and has averaged 6 innings in those 5 outings. He was strong in his only career start against the Cardinals while the Cards Lance Lynn did struggle the last time he faced the Rockies. I know Lynn has been impressive at times this season but, before shutting down the Dodgers at pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium in LA, he allowed 7 homers in his first four road outings of this season! Now he faces the Rockies in a hitter-friendly venue and Lynn’s toughest starts this season have come away from home. Also, I expect Lynn to struggle after throwing 123 pitches against Los Angeles on Tuesday. Don’t be surprised if he shows fatigue earlier than you would expect in this one. 10* Colorado Rockies on the Money Line

Total of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Twins vs Tampa Bay Rays @ 2:10 ET – The Rays Alex Cobb has not been the same pitcher since Tommy John surgery. He’s been inconsistent and about every other outing has been a rough outing for Cobb since he returned to the majors. Why expect a “rough one” here? Well one thing that is consistent about Cobb is that he has had a tendency throughout his entire career to struggle more on the road than at home. Also, since the Tommy John surgery, Cobb has seemed particularly vulnerable to left-handed batters and the Twins lineup will be loaded with left-handed bats and switch-hitters for this one. Also, the wind will be blowing out to center at a good clip on a mild afternoon in Minneapolis Sunday. In other words, all the proper variables are in place for Cobb to get rocked here. He is getting hit at a .271 clip in day games this season and has a 6.04 ERA against left-handed batters on the season. The Twins will have Kyle Gibson on the mound here and he was rocked for 6 runs in just 5 innings in his first start back after being recalled from the minors. In other words, his struggles continued even after being sent down to the minors! Simply put, Gibson just can’t “get right” this season and he has an 8.62 ERA in his 7 starts at the MLB level. Also, Tampa Bay has plenty of hitters who have enjoyed success against Gibson and, the way he’s throwing right now, he’s particularly vulnerable. The over is a perfect 4-0 in Gibson’s last 4 starts. The last 3 seasons combined the over is 35-21 in Twins home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs. As for the Rays, they entered Saturday’s action having gone 17-8 to the over in their games against teams with a winning record this season. Look for more of the same on Sunday. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

Total Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Pirates vs New York Mets @ 7:15 ET - Yesterday's game went over the total and the over is now an incredible 30-10 in Mets games this season. New York's games just keep finding their way over the total and yesterday's got there despite Pittsburgh scoring only 1 run in that game. Look for the Pirates lineup to get right back on track as they had scored 26 runs on 42 hits in their 3 prior games. The over is an insane 25-5 in Mets night games this season and 18-3 in their games against teams with a losing record. As for the Pirates, the over is 10-4 in their home games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs so far this season. Though this pitching match-up may not seem conducive to an over, note that the Mets Zack Wheeler has not pitched in a week and he was already having issues with command of his pitches. He had walked 4 or more in 2 of his last 3 starts. The extra time off won't help here. I know he had asked the team for an extra day but then it turned into 2 extra days off and I would not be surprised to see him struggle here. As for the Pirates Gerrit Cole, I know he has great overall numbers but he got rocked by the Braves in his most recent start and now faces a Mets team that has scored 60 runs in their last 11 games! Overall, on the season the Mets are averaging 6.2 runs per contest in their road games. Also, the Mets bullpen has been horrible on the road this season. They entered Friday's action having a 7.17 ERA away from home so far this year. Wheeler has made 8 starts this season and he has not had a single one of those 8 result in an under! Look for the strong high-scoring trend in Mets games to continue here. 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Contrarian Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play Minnesota Twins Money Line (+) vs Tampa Bay Rays @ 8:10 ET - Chris Archer is the big name pitcher in this match-up and that's why the Rays are favored on the road. However, Archer has given up 9 earned runs in just 11 and 1/3 innings spanning his last two starts. Also, on the road this season, the Rays right-hander has gone only 1-2 with a 4.74 ERA in his 4 starts away from home. Another issue for him Friday could be run support because the Rays are only 5-10 against southpaw pitchers this season and have been quite anemic at the plate against lefties. The Twins will have left-hander Hector Santiago on the mound and he is 3-0 in home starts this season with a solid 3.07 ERA in his 5 starts in Minnesota. Tampa Bay's .217 batting average versus southpaws ranks among the worst in the league. Also, the Rays 515 strikeouts this season is far and away the worst in the majors and Santiago did strike out 9 in 7 scoreless innings versus Tampa Bay last season and that game was at Tropicana Field. Santiago is known to be even tougher when he is at home. The Rays did get the win at home yesterday but they do struggle against lefties and have lost 12 of 21 road games this season. The Twins have won 6 of their last 7 games overall and are also 16-5 in night games this season. Also, Minnesota's .441 slugging percentage against right-handers this season does rank them in the top third of the majors! Archer has gotten a lot of strikeouts recently but he's still given up plenty of big hits too and the Twins are hot again and on their home field. That means we're being given great home dog value here. 10* Minnesota Twins money line

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Miami Marlins vs Los Angeles Angels @ 7:10 ET - I am well aware of the fact that Daniel Straily has put together some impressive numbers this season. However, he has been rocked in each of his last two starts against the Angels and that includes a recent one, last August, where he gave up 4 homers in less than 3 innings of work. After getting shutout yesterday at Tampa Bay, I look for the Halos sticks to get back on track Friday. The last time they got shutout (May 20th) their next game flew over the total with 12 runs scored. Having had success against Straily, the Angels step into the batters box with plenty of confidence in this one. Certainly the Marlins sticks should have no trouble with the offerings of Jesse Chavez in this one. The Angels right-hander has an 8.18 ERA in his two career starts at Miami and he was rocked in both outings. Chavez also comes into this start in questionable form as he's allowed 4 homers and 7 earned runs in his last 2 road starts spanning just 11 and 1/3 innings! The Marlins were off yesterday and they are 4-0-1 to the over this season the 5 times they were coming off of a day off. Also, the over is 8-3 this season in Miami's home games where they are price in a range of -125 to +125 and the over is 22-8 this season in Marlins night games! The Marlins most recent game (Wednesday) stayed under the total but that was their first under in a week. Look for that recent hot "over trend" to resume Friday evening. 10* OVER the total in Miami

Total Smash - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Milwaukee Brewers vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 8:10 ET - The home runs continue to fly at Miller Park and yesterday's over was the 8th in the Brewers last 11 games (both home and away). Overall, Milwaukee continues to be an "over team" and that shouldn't change today with Zach Davies on the mound. The right-hander has seen all 5 of his home starts result in overs this season and he has a compiled a 6.93 ERA and 1.91 WHIP in those outings! The Diamondbacks come into this game having scored an average of 6 runs per game during their red hot 8-1 run their last 9 games. Arizona won't slow down here as they take advantage of a pitcher (Davies) whom has given up 37 hits in less than 25 innings of work at home on the season. As for the Brewers sticks, I look for them to get to Robbie Ray early and often in this one. The Dbacks southpaw piled up strikeouts (but also gave up 5 earned runs in less than 6 innings of work) in his lone career appearance at Miller Park and that was just last season. Ray is coming off of a strong start but previously allowed 9 earned runs in 9 innings spanning his last 2 starts as both walks and home runs were an issue for him. The over is a perfect 3-0 in his last 3 starts and the Diamondbacks, overall, are 23-13 to the over the last 3 seasons combined when they enter a game on a winning streak of 3 games or more. The Brewers are 18-7 to the over in home games this season and also 7-3 to the over in their games against left-handed starters. 10* OVER the total in Milwaukee

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Thursday 10* Top Play Chicago Cubs Money Line (-) vs San Francisco Giants @ 2:20 ET - The very first money lines that popped up on this game (when the limits were small) had the Cubs as a -150 favorite. It quickly dropped down into a pick'em price range. I understand that people are excited about Jeff Samadzija for the Giants here because he's been piling up strikeouts of late. However, before shutting out the Cardinals in his most recent start, Samardzija had been rocked for 9 earned runs on 19 hits in 13 and 2/3 innings spanning his two prior starts. In other words, just because you're piling up strikeouts doesn't mean that you're not having some problems when you don't locate your pitches so well and there is some solid contact for the hitters! That said, I am happy to grab the Cubs and fade a Giants team that is now 9-18 on the road this season after losing again last night. Keep in mind, yesterday's game had a tight finish but San Francisco had managed only 5 hits through the first 7 innings. The Cubs are starting Eddie Butler here and that was another reason for every one to jump on San Fran in this one. Butler did have control issues in his most recent start but this followed a fantastic outing in his prior start. I know his career numbers are ugly but a lot of that had to do with pitching at Coors Field as all prior year numbers were compiled as a member of the Rockies. Butler is actually 3-0 with a 3.22 ERA in his career starts against SF. Also, he had a great spring training and seems rejuvenated with the change of venue from Colorado to Chicago. Look for this start to be much like his first with the Cubs (a 6-inning shutout of the Cardinals) as he takes advantage of favorable pitching weather here. Unlike the mile high air of Denver, cool conditions with the wind blowing in from left field should help Butler to a strong start here at Wrigley Field as he makes up for his first start here being a frustrating one with all the walks. The Cubs are 126-72 at home the past 2+ seasons and the price here is offering great line value as the Giants road struggles continue. 10* CHICAGO CUBS

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play Detroit Tigers Money Line (+) @ Houston Astros @ 8:10 ET - The Tigers Daniel Norris doesn't have impressive numbers on the season but he is a very capable hurler and just has made a few "mistake pitches" in recent starts. He has struck out 16 in his last 16 innings and averages about 1 strikeout per inning on the season. Norris has an added edge here in that the Astros have never faced him and, also, Houston hasn't faced a left-handed starter in nearly 2 full weeks! Don't be surprised if the Astros struggle at the plate in this one. Speaking of struggling at the plate, Detroit has certainly had issues so far in this series but Charlie Morton should bring out the best in them. The veteran right-hander gets the call for Houston today and he gave up 3 homers in just 5 and a third innings versus the Indians in his most recent start. Overall, Morton has had some issues with too many walks in recent outings as well. Before losing 3 straight games and struggling at the plate, the Tigers had averaged 6.8 runs per game in their 5 prior games. After facing some tough hurlers and struggling, the Tigers will break out the big lumber today against Morton. He's just not of the same caliber of whom they had been facing. The result here is tremendous underdog line value. The Astros are 10-13 (down $7,500!) in home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs the past 3 seasons combined. Also, the Tigers are 26-22 (+$7,000!) the past 3 seasons combined when they are entering a game on a losing streak of 3 games or more. Those records may not seem 'that' impressive but, remember, we're getting SIGNIFICANT plus money odds here and I like Norris over Morton in a BIG way in this one. 10* DETROIT

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Kansas City Royals @ 7:05 ET - Not a lot of hitting in the first two games of this series but that changes today in the 3rd game of this 4-day set. The Royals will have Jason Hammel on the mound. He has given up 12 runs (11 earned) on 22 hits (including 4 homers) in his last 2 starts spanning 13 innings. The most recent of those two outings was against the Yankees so that means another bad start is likely here as the Yanks get a quick 2nd look at Hammel. The Royals right-hander has a 7.20 ERA with a horrible 2.07 WHIP in his 3 road starts this season. The Yankees will have Luis Severino on the mound for this one and he has struggled in his last two outings. The right-hander has solid numbers on the season but he's fading recently. Severino has given up 11 hits and 6 walks in the 7 and a third innings spanning his last two starts. Another note here is that if Hammel gets knocked out early, the Royals bullpen has a 6.12 ERA on the road this season. The over is 3-1 in Royals road games where their money line is in a range of +175 to +250. The over is a perfect 4-0 in the Yankees last 4 games that Severino has started. Also, the over is 16-8 this season in Yankees games with a posted total of 8 or 8.5 runs. When off of a loss this season, the over has gone 11-6 in Yanks game. 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Yankees

Rickenbach MLB Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Red Sox vs Texas Rangers @ 7:10 ET - This total has dropped from an opener of 9.5 to a 9 and could even be headed toward 8.5 in some shops. Either way, this is opening up great line value on the over. I am well aware of Rick Porcello's long-term success at Fenway Park. However, the Rangers are 11-1 in their last 12 games and have averaged scoring 6 runs per game in these dozen games. Also, Porcello has allowed 9 runs (7 earned) on 18 hits in just 12 innings of work spanning his last 3 starts. Also the last two times Porcello has faced the Rangers as a host (including last season at Fenway Park) he has been rocked for a combined 12 runs (11 earned) on 24 hits in just 11 and 1/3 innings of work! Porcello is likely to need plenty of run support from his offense today and he is likely to get it! Texas is starting Andrew Cashner and he is off of back to back strong starts but those were at home and against two teams that are struggling to score runs this season - Oakland and Philadelphia. Now he's on the road where he has had some issues with command of his pitches and Cashner is facing a Red Sox team that will build off of a huge 12-run outburst that wrapped up their road trip Sunday. The Rangers are 5-1 to the over in their last 6 games against right-handed starters. The Red Sox are on an overall 12-2 run to the over in their last 14 games. Texas is 7-3 to the over this season in their games against teams with a winning record and the Red Sox are on a 7-0 run to the over when they're off of a win! 10* OVER the total in Boston early Tuesday evening

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Minnesota Twins @ 7:05 ET - The Orioles game stayed under the total yesterday but 4 of their 6 prior games had gone over the total and Baltimore averaged 7 runs per game during that stretch. Look for the hot hitting to resume today after the O's were held to just 1 run yesterday. Facing the Twins Kyle Gibson should help tremendously in that regard. Gibson is winless on the season and has an 8.20 ERA and 1.94 WHIP as a starter on the year. Each of his last three starts have gone over the total. The Twins should also enjoy plenty of success at the plate tonight as they will be able to "tee off" against a struggling hurler too. Ubaldo Jimenez gets the start for the Orioles and each of his 3 home starts this season have gone over the total. Overall, in his 3 most recent starts, Jimenez has given up 2 homers in all 3 starts while compiling an 8.44 ERA in these outings. The Twins played a double header yesterday and both games went over the total. The over is now 10-6 in Minnesota's games this month and the over in May Twins games is now 43-24 the last 2+ years. Look for the over to improve to 4-0 in Gibson's last 4 starts and 4-0 this season in Jimenez home starts. 10* OVER the total in Baltimore

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play Texas Rangers Money Line (-) @ Detroit Tigers @ 8:05 ET - The Rangers had won 10 in a row before getting hammered yesterday and I expect Texas to bounce right back here. Not only did the Rangers win those 10 games by an average margin of 3.7 runs per game, they also have a huge pitching edge on the mound in this game. Yu Darvish gets the start for Texas and the right-hander has a 2.61 ERA and 1.09 WHIP on the season. The Tigers have left-hander Matthew Boyd on the mound and he has a 7.31 ERA and 1.81 WHIP in his last 3 starts. Also, Darvish is 6-0 with a 3.46 ERA against the Tigers in his career while Boyd is 1-3 with a 5.24 ERA in his career against the Rangers. Those numbers for Boyd are even after he pitched a strong game versus Texas last season. In other words, his other recent outings versus the Rangers have been ugly! The Rangers have won 5 straight Darvish starts while the Tigers have lost 4 straight Boyd starts. This one has the makings of a road rout and the Rangers have gone 10-3 when they are a road favorite in a range of -125 all the way up to -175 in recent seasons. Look for the Tigers to drop to 8-13 this season when off of a win. 10* TEXAS

Bulldogs Best - Rickenbach Sunday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in San Diego Padres vs Arizona Diamondbacks @ 4:40 ET - Another blowout win for the Dbacks yesterday and they've now won 5 straight games and the over is 4-1-1 in their last 6 games. The Padres have been slumping but they have had just 2 unders in their last 9 games and I expect them to enjoy success against Zach Godley this afternoon. I know Godley has surprisingly impressive overall numbers so far this season but he's only made 3 starts and he struggled the most in his start against the Padres. In fact, in his last 2 starts against San Diego he has given up 6 earned runs in 10 innings of work. Godley is not the only one with a match-up "issue" here as the Padres Clayton Richard has struggled against Arizona. The San Diego southpaw has given up 14 runs (11 earned) on 23 hits in the less than 15 innings of work spanning his last 3 starts against the Dbacks. Also, Richard comes into this start having allowed 11 earned runs in the 11 innings spanning his last two home starts. He simply continues to get hit hard time and time again. The over is 3-1 in Richard's home starts this season and 2-1 in all of Godley's starts this year. The over is 8-2 in Padres games this season when they are on a losing streak of 3 games or more. The over is 23-12 the last three seasons combined when Arizona is on a winning streak of 3 games or more. 10* OVER the total in the San Diego

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

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

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

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