*3 Star Play Under* Yu Darvish against Gerrit Cole is a good pitching matchup in New York. 

San Diego is 23rd in weighted on base average against right handed pitching for the year. This Padres lineup just hasn't been very good all season. San Diego relies a lot on walks, and Cole has good control. He also has a very favorable home plate umpire here. 

The Yankees are 19th in the majors in wOBA against right handed pitching. New York's depth has really been tested by their injuries. Darvish is still capable of missing a lot of bats. 

Bill Miller is arguably the best under umpire in baseball. He has an insanely high 3.82 strikeout/walk ratio this year. He definitely likes to ring up batters.

Take the under here. 

*3 Star Play Over* The Tampa Bay Rays offense has been the best in baseball so far this year. Tampa Bay has been consistently excellent all year. They have scored six runs or more in three of their last four games and six of their last ten games.

Noah Syndergaard is far from what he was a few years ago before the injuries. He now doesn't miss many bats and is giving up a lot of hard contact.

The Dodgers will go against opener Jalen Beeks and then Cooper Criswell here. Beeks is a mediocre lefty. The Dodgers have a very unlucky .227 batting average on balls in play against lefties. They are due for positive regression against lefties. Criswell is a right hander who has looked very shaky in his first three big league appearances. Los Angeles has a deep lineup that has caught fire of late. The Dodgers have scored five runs or more in seven of their last eight games. 

Take the over in this one. 

*3 Star Play Under* The Seattle Mariners are third worst in the majors in wOBA against left handed pitching. While JP Sears does have some weaknesses, he has great control and is a tough matchup for the Mariners. Sears is on a bad team, but I do like his potential for the long term.

Logan Gilbert is a much above average right handed pitcher. Guess which team is last in wOBA against right handed pitching in the majors? The Oakland A's, and it isn't even close. 

Oakland has scored 2 runs or fewer in 7 of their last 9 games. I don't think they will score many here either. 

Cory Blaser is the home plate umpire here. The under is 39-26 in his last three years behind home plate. He carries a top ten strikeout/walk ratio out of all umpires in the big leagues.

Take the under here. 

*3 Star Play Under* The Cleveland Guardians have been the worst offense in the majors so far this year. Cleveland lacks consistency in the lineup. The Guardians have a star in Jose Ramirez, but they haven't surrounded him with enough help. 

The Chicago White Sox offense is just mediocre. Chicago has lost a lot of key pieces in recent years from their lineup.

Michael Kopech had the best outing of his career in the White Sox last game. Kopech has a sub 4 ERA if you discount his first start of the year. Kopech was a really highly touted pitcher who is coming back from some major injury issues.

Cal Quantrill has a good history against the White Sox, and Quantrill has in general been a guy who does a good job not issuing free passes.

Lentz is the home plate umpire here and he has had an above average strikes called rate and a high strikeout/walk ratio. 

The weather calls for a steady breeze blowing in at about 12-14 mph during this game. The wind in angles have been strong in Cleveland home games.

Take the under. 

*4 Star Play on Tampa Bay Rays ML* The Tampa Bay Rays are 22-4 at home this year. They are 40-12 in their last 52 home games. Tampa Bay has been the best offense in the majors so far this year, and it isn't even close. Taj Bradley starts here, and he is the Tampa Bay Rays best starting pitching prospect. He has four starts so far this year with a 3.54 ERA and a 3.29 FIP. 

Jose Berrios starts for the Blue Jays. Berrios has a long history of pitching very poorly on the road. Berrios has a 2.22 ERA and a ..261 wOBA allowed at home this year. He has a 6.67 ERA and a .358 wOBA allowed on the road.

Toronto is 3-13 in their last 16 vs. the AL East. The Blue Jays are 18-38 in their last 56 games in Tampa Bay. 

Tampa Bay has the much better defense which is underrated by many as well. I have to fade Berrios on the road against a team that has been money at home.

Take Tampa Bay. 

*3 Star Play Over* The Boston Red Sox are second in the majors in weighted on base average against right handed pitching. Boston has deep lineup with guys who can work the count quite a bit and get on base. Michael Wacha is middle of the road right handed pitcher. Wacha lacks that dominant pitch to strike guys out with.

Corey Kluber was once an excellent pitcher who could dominate on a consistent basis. Kluber is nothing like he was a few years ago. Kluber has a 6.41 ERA and a 6.63 FIP on the season. He has given up a ton of hard hit balls on the season. He just isn't fooling people like he did in the past. The Padres offense does have the lowest batting average on balls in play in the majors against right handed pitching, so they should get better in this category.

Mark Wegner is behind home plate, and Wegner is one of the better over umpires in baseball. He consistently has one of the lowest called strike percentages of any umpire. 

Take the over. 

*3 Star Play Under* Patrick Sandoval has turned himself into a good left handed starting pitcher. Sandoval has an elite curveball, and he has improved his command of the rest of his pitches in the past year. Sandoval has a 3.22 ERA and a 3.99 FIP on the season thus far. 

The Minnesota Twins rank 25th in the majors in weighted on base average away from home. Minnesota is also 28th out of 30 teams in the majors in wOBA against lefties. This is a tough matchup for the Twins offense. 

Varland is a young pitcher with a unique delivery that can bother some hitters until they get accustomed to it. The Angels offense is good, but they aren't as deep now without Anthony Rendon.

Roberto Ortiz is the home plate umpire here. The under is an impressive 45-17 in his last 62 games behind home plate. 

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Over* The Baltimore Orioles are fifth in the majors in weighted on base average against left handed pitching. This young lineup has several guys who really crush left handed pitching. Kikuchi is a left hander who this Baltimore lineup has hit hard in the past. How well have they hit him? The Orioles current lineup has a .446 wOBA against Kikuchi in 73 plate appearances. It isn't a huge sample size, but it is plenty large enough to see that they have really seen him well. Kikuchi has a 3.89 ERA on the year, but his FIP is 5.46 and he has stranded a ridiculous 90.9% of base runners so far this year. He can't keep that up long term. I like the matchup for Baltimore.

Toronto is still one of the best offenses in the majors. Gibson is a really inconsistent pitcher. He is more than capable of getting hit hard in any one game. Toronto has scored four runs or more in each of their last six games against the Orioles. Toronto has a strong top of the order and Gibson tends to put too many guys on base free.

Take the over. 

*3 Star Play Over* Chase Silseth has a 6.59 ERA as a starter in the majors. Silseth doesn't have enough plus pitches at this point in his career to consistently get guys out over several innings. While Baltimore has slumped a bit offensively of late, the Orioles are still a pretty good lineup.

Dean Kremer has a 4.97 ERA, but his xERA is 6.93 so far this season. The Angels are a dangerous lineup. They rank top ten in the majors in all major categories. The Angels have scored 5 runs or more in 9 of their last 12 games overall.

The weather here is favorable with a game time temperature of 75 degrees and winds blowing out to right field at 10 mph. This park is a hitters park with conditions like this.

Take the over. 

*3 Star Play on DBacks -1.5* The Oakland A's are 4-18 at home this year. Oakland is a terrible team and they have absolutely no home field advantage. In fact I would even argue that Oakland at this point is at a disadvantage playing at home in front of next to no one. There is very little pressure on the opposition to go against this very weak roster and the lack of a crowd.

Merrill Kelly is an above average right handed pitcher. The A's can hit lefties some, but they are terrible against right handed pitching. 

Oakland starts Drew Rucinski and he is one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball. Rucinski has an 8.16 ERA and a 7.27 FIP in three starts this year. Two of those starts were at home in this pitchers ballpark as well. The DBacks are underrated overall and the lineup is pretty solid.

Take Arizona -1.5. 

*3 Star Play Over* The Milwaukee Brewers are terrible against left handed pitching, but they are above average against right handed pitching. Milwaukee has a .329 OBP against right handers. The Brewers are at just .278 OBP against lefties. They are up against Jack Flaherty, a right hander who is really struggling right now. Flaherty has an ERA of 9 in his last five starts. The Brewers lineup has a fantastic .401 weighted on base average against Flaherty in his career.

St. Louis' offense has come on in a big way of late. They are averaging 6.2 runs per game in their last ten contests. Freddy Peralta is a good pitcher, but the Cardinals have hit him very well in the past. Peralta has a 6.59 ERA in St. Louis. The Cardinals have a .382 wOBA against him.

This is a low total given the matchups.

Take the over. 

*3 Star Play Under* The LA Dodgers start Tony Gonsolin in this one. Gonsolin has great career numbers against the Padres. Gonsolin has a low .265 weighted on base average allowed against this Padres lineup in his career. The Padres have scored three runs or fewer in 7 of their last 10 games overall.

Ryan Weathers is no great pitcher, but he is serviceable. The Dodgers lineup is much better against right handed pitching than lefties.

This is a Sunday afternoon game and it wouldn't be a surprise if a key hitter or two misses this one. 

Bill Miller is the home plate umpire here. He is a very good under umpire. He has the highest strikeout/walk ratio in the majors in the last five years. 

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play on Braves ML* The Atlanta Braves are first in the majors in weighted on base average against left handed pitching. Kikuchi has thrown the ball a bit better this year, but I still don't trust him. Now he's up against an elite lineup and Kikuchi still has blowup potential. 

The Braves have lost the first two games in this series, and this is a Braves team I have rated as high as anyone in the majors. I expect Atlanta to come out with a good effort here.

McHugh will start for the Braves in a bullpen game. The Braves bullpen has the best SIERA in the majors. They are a deep bullpen and they haven't been overworked of late.

Take Atlanta. 

*3 Star Play on Angels ML* The Cleveland Guardians aren't a bit hitting team to begin with, but Cleveland is bad against left handed pitching. Cleveland is 1-11 in their last 12 games against a left handed starting pitcher. The Guardians are 28th in weighted on base average against left handed pitching. 

The LA Angels have been pretty good on the road so far this year. Reid Detmers is inconsistent, but he has quality stuff and the Guardians are a good matchup for him. 

Cal Quantrill ranks in the bottom 5% of all pitchers in the majors in strikeout rate and whiff rate. Quantrill is a pitch to contact guy, and the Angels have a lot of guys who can make hard contact. 

The Angels have been on fire offensively. They have scored 5 runs or more in seven of their last nine games. The Guardians offense has failed to score 5 runs in 11 straight games.

Take Los Angeles. 

*3 Star Play on Arizona ML* The San Francisco Giants lineup has crushed right handed pitching this year (4th in the majors in weighted on base average), but they are 26th in the majors in wOBA against left handed pitching. Henry isn't a great pitcher by any means, but I think he can do alright against a Giants lineup without Mike Yastrzemski and with a banged up Austin Slater. 

Arizona has been underrated by the oddsmakers all season. The Diamondbacks have some nice young talent, and the DBacks are healthier than the Giants at this stage. Ketel Marte is a really good player, and Gurriel Jr. was a nice addition in the offseason. 

Alex Cobb is a pretty good starting pitcher, but Arizona is 5th in wOBA against right handed pitching this year. Cobb has allowed a 48% hard hit rate on batted balls this year. He is stranding almost 87% of runners on base, which is sure to regress over the course of the season.

We're getting a nice plus money price here.

Take Arizona. 

*3 Star Play Under* Clayton Kershaw isn't what he was several years ago, but he is still a very good pitcher. Kershaw has a 2.53 ERA and a 3.30 xERA so far this year. He has 10.13 strikeouts per nine innings on the season thus far. Kershaw now faces a Brewers team that has the highest strikeout rate against left handed pitching so far this year. They are striking out at a really high 30.5% rate. Kershaw should pitch well against this lineup.

Wade Miley has been above average so far this year. He can be inconsistent, but the Dodgers rank 25th in weighted on base average against left handed pitching so far this year. 

Doug Eddings is the home plate umpire here. Eddings has the highest strikes called percentage of any umpire in the last six years. Eddings is a strike caller and this is a get away day game in Milwaukee. I think the pitchers will get the edges and there could be a key bat or two missing in the lineup.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Over* Charlie Morton is no longer a really good starting pitcher. Morton is fine, but he is past his prime. Morton is a few months away from turning 40. He has a 3.38 ERA, but a 5.29 xERA, 4.10 FIP, and 4.68 xFIP. He has been fortunate so far this season. The Boston lineup is a very good one. Against right handed pitching, Boston is second in the majors in weighted on base average. Boston has scored 7 runs or more in seven of their last nine games.

Nick Pivetta is a below average starting pitcher. Pivetta has been far worse through the course of his career when pitching at night. Pivetta has a 4.07 daytime ERA, but a terrible 5.49 ERA at night (and a 1.437 WHIP). The Braves lineup is one of the best in the majors, and I think he will struggle against them.

Both teams should have plenty of chances to score in this one. 

Take the over. 

*3 Star Play on Tigers +1.5* The St. Louis Cardinals are 1-12 in their last 13 games. They continue to be priced like a very good team. St. Louis is now 10-24 on the season. 

Steven Matz is a below average left handed pitcher. The Detroit Tigers are far better against lefties than they are against right handed pitching. The Tigers have a .314 OBP against lefties and just .288 against right handed pitchers. 

Matz has a 6.39 ERA and a 5.32 FIP on the season. He rates in just the 22nd percentile of all pitchers in exit velocity allowed. He is all the way down in the bottom 14 percentile in chase rate as well. 

This is a fade of the Cardinals and I'll go with the run line here. 

Take Detroit +1.5. 

*3 Star Play Over* The Kansas City Royals offense started the season really slowly, but they have been excellent of late. Kansas City has scored 31 runs in their last four games. They have scored at least six runs in each of those games. 

Oakland's offense isn't good, but they have scored 7 runs or more in three of their last eight games. They are up against Brady Singer in this one. It seems like something is wrong with Singer. He ranks in the bottom one percentile of all pitchers in baseball in exit velocity allowed and hard hit percentage allowed this season. Singer has a 8.49 ERA and a 5.05 FIP (a 7.11 xERA) and the whole season has been a struggle for him.

Ken Waldichuk starts for Oakland, and he has been very poor as well. Waldichuk has a 7.26 ERA and a 7.40 FIP in six starts on the season. The Royals have been much better against left handed pitching than righties so far this year.

The weather here calls for a temperature of around 90 degrees with the wind blowing out about 10 mph which will help the ball carry.

Take the over. 

*3 Star Play on Tigers +1.5* The St. Louis Cardinals are 0-10 in Game One of the series this year. St. Louis has been one of the biggest disappointments in all of baseball (probably the biggest). The Cardinals are laying a huge price here. I'm going to go with the +1.5 line here because I don't trust the Tigers very much. This is primarily a fade of the Cardinals.

Matt Boyd is a mediocre pitcher, but Jordan Montgomery is inconsistent as well. The Cardinals are 8-21 in their last 29 games. They are 1-5 in their last 6 home games. 

The Tigers are decent against left handed pitching, and I'll take them to at least keep this close.

Take Detroit +1.5. 

*3 Star Play Over* The Toronto Blue Jays start Alek Manoah in this one. Manoah has been in poor form so far this year. He has a 4.88 ERA and he has been fortunate at that as well. He has a FIP of 5.88 and an xFIP of 5.69. 

Nick Pivetta isn't a pitcher I trust. Pivetta has drastic day/night splits in his career. He has been much worse at night. He has a career day game ERA of 4.07 and a night ERA of 5.50. His WHIP is 1.442 at night which is really poor. Pivetta also has terrible career numbers against this Toronto lineup. A wOBA of .419 for this Blue Jays lineup in a large sample size of 164 plate appearances against Pivetta.

The Red Sox offense is rolling of late. Boston has scored 28 runs in their last four games. They have scored at least six runs in each of those contests. 

Toronto has scored 19 runs in their last three games. The Blue Jays have one of the best lineups in baseball.

Take the over here. 

*3 Star Play on Angels ML* The St. Louis Cardinals have been really bad so far this season. They have been burning money for bettors as much as anyone in the early going.

The Los Angeles Angels aren't a really trustworthy team either, but we are getting a nice plus money price on a team with the better starting pitcher here. The Cardinals continue to be priced like a good/very good team and they just aren't showing it.

Patrick Sandoval is an above average starting pitcher. Sandoval ranks in the 96th percentile according to Baseball Savant in hard hit percentage allowed. 

Steven Matz ranks 19th percentile in the majors in exit velocity allowed and 13th percentile in hard hit percentage allowed. Matz has a 6.23 ERA and a 5.31 FIP on the season. 

I think the Angels should be a very short favorite here, and they are a clear underdog.

Take Los Angeles. 

*3 Star Play on Twins -1.5* Brady Singer has been in terrible form of late. Singer has a 6.67 ERA on the season. In his four starts in Minnesota he has a 6.50 ERA so I wouldn't expect a big bounce back start here.

Sonny Gray has been throwing the ball extremely well so far this year. Gray has a sparkling 0.62 ERA and a 2.14 FIP on the season. Gray has been a fast starter year after year. He also has great stats against the Royals current lineup.  He has allowed just a .239 weighted on base average against them. 

Kansas City is one of the worst teams in the majors, while Minnesota is on the rise. 

Take Minnesota -1.5. 

*3 Star Play Over* The Seattle Mariners have hit Kevin Gausman well in the past. This Mariners lineup has a .358 weighted on base average in 78 plate appearances against Gausman. They haven't consistently shown it, but I still think this is a pretty good Seattle offense.

The Blue Jays are unquestionably one of the best offenses in the majors. Toronto has crushed Chris Flexen in the past. Flexen has allowed a .390 wOBA against this Blue Jays lineup in his career. 

Flexen has been absolutely crushed so far this year. He has a 8.86 ERA and a 6.63 FIP on the season. He has allowed 20 runs in his last 12 innings pitched. This Blue Jays lineup isn't the lineup you want to face when you are in terrible form.

Take the over in this one. 

*3 Star Play Under* The Miami Marlins are a weak offense on the whole. Miami is 25th in the majors in weighted on base average against right handed pitching. Marcus Stroman has a 2.17 ERA, and four of his five starts have been very good ones. 

The Cubs are 6th in wOBA against lefties, but they have an extremely high batting average on balls in play which suggests they aren't going to be able to keep this pace in the long run. Jesus Luzardo has allowed just 4 runs in 17 innings pitched at home this year.

Two above average pitchers here and I think we see a low scoring game with both pitchers going pretty deep into the game.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Under* Both pitchers enter this game in great form. Cease has a 2.73 ERA and a 3.68 FIP on the season. McClanahan has a 1.86 ERA and a 2.92 FIP. Both of these guys are on the short list of best pitchers in the league. 

The two offenses have been ice cold of late. Both offenses have been shutout in their last two games. The White Sox have scored 3 runs or fewer in six of their last seven. The Rays haven't been as good offensively on the road, and they are better against left handed pitching. In this one they are up against an elite right handed starter.

This one should be a tight low scoring contest.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play on Mariners ML* The Seattle Mariners start Logan Gilbert here. Gilbert has turned into a very solid starting pitcher. He has a 3.57 ERA and a 3.10 FIP so far this year. Gilbert had a 3.20 ERA and a 3.46 FIP last year. He has great control and gets ahead of batters very often. 

Bailey Falter is a middle of the road starter. Falter uses deception as his primary strength, but once batters have seen him a bit he often has trouble. 

The Phillies are a team I still believe is overvalued overall. They just won 3 straight, but that was against the lowly Rockies. The Mariners have underachieved to this point and I'm looking to buy low on them.

Take Seattle. 

*3 Star Play Over* Chris Sale isn't the same dominant pitcher he was several years ago. Sale is now 34 years old and injuries have slowed him down. He an ERA of 8.00 and a FIP of 5.63 on the season thus far. 

Dean Kremer has a 6.16 ERA and a 6.57 on the year. Kremer has potential, but he is a very inconsistent young pitcher.

Both of these lineups have really hit the opposing pitcher well. Sale has allowed a .349 wOBA against this Baltimore lineup. Kremer has allowed the Red Sox lineup to have a whopping .410 wOBA against him. 

I think this total is set too low given the question marks surrounding the pitchers.

Take the over. 

*4 Star Play Under* The Cleveland Guardians will start Logan Allen in this one. Allen is one of their top prospects. He has elite strikeout stuff and has been striking out more than 11 batters per nine innings in the minors. Miami has good numbers against lefties early this year, but that is carried by abnormally high batting average on balls in play numbers (BABIP) that aren't sustainable. 

Jesus Luzardo has really fixed his command issues and Luzardo has great strikeout stuff. The Cleveland Guardians have been weak against lefties for three straight seasons. I think he'll give them a lot of trouble here.

Miami has seen its last nine games stay under this total. Cleveland has seen its last five games all stay under the total. 

Take the under here. 

*3 Star Play Under* Bill Miller is the home plate umpire in this one. Miller has the highest strikeout/walk ratio of any umpire in the last six years. Miller has consistently been a strike caller who will make the zone a bit larger on strike three especially. A big plus for under bettors in general.

Anthony Desclafani starts for the Giants. He is a middle of the road pitcher, but his biggest weakness has always been he gives up too many home runs. Now he is in a great pitcher's park where home runs are as hard to come by as anywhere in Major League Baseball.

Joey Lucchesi returns to start here, and the Giants have been awful against left handed pitching this year. San Francisco has a terrible .271 OBP against lefties so far this season. 

A total this high is a pretty high one for this park as well.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Over* The Kansas City Royals host the Texas Rangers in an afternoon game on Wednesday. 

Brady Singer starts for the Royals. Singer is a guy who I think can be good in the long run, but he is in really bad form right now. Singer has pitched 16 innings so far this year and has allowed 14 earned runs. His 7.88 ERA is also supported by a really high 6.07 FIP. Singer is giving up more hard contact this year and pitching with traffic on the bases.

Martin Perez has a 2.87 ERA but a 5.11 FIP. Perez has been pretty fortunate so far this year. 

The weather here is a key as well. A temperature of 78-80 degrees during the game with winds blowing out to center and left field at about 20 mph with gusts to 25 or 30 mph during the game. 

Both offenses have been very unfortunate so far this year according to BABIP numbers. I'll take the over in this one.

Take the over. 

*3 Star Play on Braves ML* I think the Atlanta Braves are the best team in the majors at this point. Atlanta doesn't have a single weakness. They have a strong starting rotation with a deep bullpen. They also have a fantastic lineup that is as deep as anyone in baseball. 

Atlanta is good against right handed pitching, but they are elite against left handed pitching. Blake Snell has been very good in the past, but he is currently in very bad form. Snell has terrible stats against this Braves lineup too.

Snell has a 4.14 ERA and a 1.383 WHIP in the first half of the season in his career, which is far worse than his second half numbers. Snell has a 6.92 ERA and a 6.17 FIP so far this season. He has a .485 wOBA allowed in 69 plate appearances against this Braves lineup.

Spencer Strider is one of the best young pitchers in baseball. Strider has great road splits in his career.

The Braves are 7-0 in their last 7 road games. They are 37-14 in their last 51 games against left handed starters.

Take Atlanta. 

*3 Star Play Under* Zac Gallen has a superb .190 weighted on base average against the Miami Marlins. The Marlins are still a light hitting team this year even with some upgrades on offense. Gallon has a career WHIP of 0.95 in the first month of the season.

Sandy Alcantara was hit around in his last outing, but I think he'll bounce back here. Alcantara is still a top ten pitcher in the majors. He has elite strikeout stuff, and the DBacks have a lot of free swingers in their lineup.

I like this one to stay low scoring all the way. Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Over* Tampa Bay has played 14 games so far this year. The Rays have scored 5 runs or more in 11 of those games. They have scored 7 runs or more in eight of those games. This Tampa Bay offense is on fire with Franco, Arozarena, and Lowe leading the way thus far.

Kikuchi is a below average left handed pitcher. He can look very impressive on a rare occasion, but overall his numbers are bad. Kikuchi puts far too many people on base. The Rays have the power to make him pay for those free passes too. 

Faucher is the opener here for Fleming for the Rays. Fleming has been in bad form this year, and he has given up a lot of hard contact. The Blue Jays lineup is one of the best in baseball, and they will mash left handed pitching again this year.

Take the over here. 

*3 Star Play Over* The Kansas City Royals offense has woke up of late after a terrible start to the season. Kansas City has scored 24 runs in their last 5 games. Kansas City isn't great on offense, but they are better than many think they are after their terrible start to the season.

The Braves have one of the very best offenses in baseball. Atlanta's depth in the lineup is really tough to match.

Brady Singer is a guy I like, but Singer has consistently had slow starts to the season. Singer's ERA is nearly a full run worse in the first half of the season compared to the second half. 

Charlie Morton is far past his prime and one of his weaknesses at this point is his control and the hard contact that he allows. 

The wind will be blowing out at about 12 to 14 mph during this game with warm temperatures too.

Take the over. 

*3 Star Play Under* Griffin Canning returns after missing last year due to an injury. Canning has pitched pretty well in the majors in the past. Canning also pitched very well in the minors in his most recent start. He's up against a weak Nationals lineup here.

Gore isn't a great pitcher, but he has some quality pitches too. Gore should be able to throw enough strikes to get ahead in the count a decent amount of the time here.

This is a get away day game and both of these managers are liable to sit a key bat or two.

Doug Eddings is the umpire here. He has the highest called strikes percentage of any umpire in the majors over the last five years. Eddings is a good under umpire.

Take the under here. 

*3 Star Play Over* PNC Park has been a park that changes a lot based on the weather. PNC has been a really good over park with warm temperatures and the wind blowing out. This one will be played in those conditions.

Rich Hill is 43 years old. Hill has been a slow starter his entire career and he clearly isn't at the top of his game anymore. The Astros have a lineup that will crush left handed pitching this year. 

Jose Urquidy has been a slow starter too. His worst month of the season in his career has been the first month, and it isn't close. Urquidy has a 1.393 WHIP in the first month of the season. No other month is higher than 1.21. 

Look for both teams to get plenty of scoring opportunities here.

Take the over. 

*3 Star Play Under* Kyle Wright has been fantastic in the first month of the season in his career. He is a fast starter. Wright has a 1.18 WHIP in March/April and he averages a 1.263 WHIP for his entire career. Wright has struck out 10.6 batters per nine innings in March/April and his overall career average is 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Wright is up against a Reds offense that is subpar especially away from Great American Ballpark. 

Luis Cessa has a .209 wOBA against this current Braves lineup. It is in a very small sample size, but I think Cessa is at least somewhat underrated as a pitcher. He has solid control.

Ryan Blakeney is behind home plate here and I view him as a pretty good under umpire. The temperatures aren't very warm for this game either.

Take the under here. 

*3 Star Play Over* The St. Louis Cardinals travel to Coors Field to take on the Colorado Rockies on Monday night. Steven Matz is in line to get the start for the Cardinals. Matz has been terrible at Coors Field in his career. He has a 9.20 ERA in three starts in Colorado. Against this Rockies lineup, Matz has allowed a ..560 wOBA and a .488 average in 50 plate appearances.

German Marquez has a terrible .426 wOBA against the Cardinals in a pretty big sample size of 105 plate appearances. Marquez has continued to struggle when pitching at Coors Field.

I think both teams get a lot of baserunners on in this one. A back and forth contest.

Take the over. 

*4 Star Play Under* The New York Yankees still have an excellent bullpen. Nestor Cortes will start this game too, and Cortes is a very good starter. Cortes has excellent numbers against the Orioles. Cortes has a fantastic .195 weighted on base average allowed in 86 plate appearances against the Orioles. 

Wells has solid stuff, and I think he can become a pretty good pitcher for Baltimore. The Yankees lineup can be a bit inconsistent.

The weather here calls for cool weather and a slight wind in.

Bill Miller is the home plate umpire. Miller has the highest strikeout/walk ratio in the majors in the last five years. He is a very good under umpire.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Under* Brito is a really good young pitcher for the Yankees. He has great stuff and multiple plus pitches. The Orioles do have some free swingers on their team and he could take advantage of that.

Cole Irvin has been a fast starter throughout his career. He isn't a great pitcher, but he doesn't usually hurt himself with a bunch of walks. 

The Yankees bullpen is one of the best in baseball. The Orioles bullpen is improved.

Roberto Ortiz is the home plate umpire in this one. The under is 41-15 in his last 56 games behind the plate.

Cool temperatures are in the forecast here with a slight breeze in.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Over* Early in Madison Bumgarner's career he had some terrific numbers against the LA Dodgers. Bumgarner isn't the same pitcher he was six or eight years ago. The Dodgers also have a better lineup than they had back then as well. Bumgarner has pitched poorly against LA the last three years. Bumgarner has also been poor at Chase Field.

Clayton Kershaw has a somewhat pedestrian 3.81 ERA when pitching at Chase Field in his career. Kershaw is still a very good pitcher, but he isn't quite as dominant as he once was. The DBacks offense is a bit underrated in my opinion.

The over is helped by home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez who has been one of the very best over umpires in the league for the last 6 or 8 years. 

Take the over here. 

*3 Star Play on Cardinals ML* The Atlanta Braves are a really good team and I won't bet against them many times this year. I still think this is a good spot for St. Louis. The Cardinals are clearly an above average team, and they have lost the first two games of this series at home. There are some very good long term systems regarding mediocre or better teams at home trying to avoid the sweep. These have been particularly strong earlier in the season.

Miles Mikolas is an underrated starting pitcher. He has fared pretty well against the Braves. 

Elder has talent, but he is still inconsistent at this point in his career.

The Cardinals show some pride here in this final game of the series.

Take St. Louis. 

*3 Star Play Under* Shane Bieber is still one of the best starting pitchers in baseball. The Oakland Athletics absolutely have one of the worst offenses in baseball. Oakland has scored 2 runs or fewer in three of four games. They then scored 11 in a loss yesterday to the Guardians. I expect a lot more of the very low run totals from the A's offense this year.

The Cleveland Guardians are a team who has drastic lefty/righty splits. The Guardians are very weak against left handed pitching. They face a good young lefty in J.P. Sears here. Sears has good strikeout stuff and I think he will improve this year.

Doug Eddings is the home plate umpire. He has the highest strike percentage called of any umpire in the last eight years (overall average). He is a very good under umpire.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play on Rangers ML* The Philadelphia Phillies are a team I'm looking to bet against when I can this season, especially in the early going. The Phillies are going to really miss Hoskins and Harper. This lineup doesn't have the depth they had late last year, and the starting rotation isn't deep after the first two guys. 

The Phillies lost their first two games even with those best pitchers pitching. Now, they turn to Bailey Falter. Falter has been inconsistent and hasn't been very sharp away from home. 

Martin Perez certainly isn't a great pitcher, but he has been a fast starter through his career. The Rangers bullpen is better than last year as well.

I think the Phillies are overvalued in the marketplace right now.

Take Texas. 

*3 Star Play on Rangers ML* The Philadelphia Phillies are without both Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins. Those guys are two massive losses. Philadelphia does pickup Trea Turner, and the top of the lineup still looks great. The Phillies don't have the same lineup depth that they have had in the past. 

The Rangers start Jacob Degrom here. Degrom has a tremendous track record in the first month of the season. He is up against Aaron Nola who has been below his average in the first month of the season. 

I think Corey Seager will have a big year for the Rangers and Lowe and Garcia are solid in the middle of the order. 

Favorites and home teams have fared very well on Opening Day in MLB over the last decade. I'll back the Rangers here.

Take Texas. 

*3 Star Play Over* Justin Verlander is 0-6 with a 6.07 ERA in his career in the World Series. He has the highest ERA of any starting pitcher to throw at least 30 innings in the World Series. Verlander was spotted a lead in game one and couldn't hold it. He hasn't been quite himself since coming back from an injury to his calf late in the season. 

Noah Syndergaard makes the start here for the Phillies. Syndergaard hasn't been that trustworthy this year. He is very capable of giving up that big inning. The Astros have a deep lineup and they can string together hits and keep runners in scoring position throughout. 

Both bullpens have been used quite a bit and that can lead to some issues. They haven't had days off as much here since they had to play Tuesday and Wednesday night after the rain out on Monday. 

Both of these offenses ranked top 8 in the majors in the last 30 days. The Phillies were no hit yesterday, but I think they can bounce back here.

Take the over in this one. 

*3 Star Play Over* The Los Angeles Dodgers offense is the best offense in the majors. The Dodgers have a .337 weighted on base average and they are first in the majors in wRC+ as well.

Blake Snell hasn't had a lot of success against this Dodgers lineup. Snell has allowed a .329 wOBA against the lineup he will face here. Snell struggled against the Mets in his first start in the postseason. 

Tony Gonsolin has been really bad (in a fairly small sample size) in the postseason. Gonsolin has a 9.45 ERA in his postseason career. He has a 1.80 WHIP in the playoffs. Gonsolin faces a Padres lineup that is healthy now and with Machado swinging it well and Soto against a right handed pitcher, this is a really dangerous offense.

This is a very low total in a game with a ton of extremely talented hitters. 

Take the over here. 

*3 Star Play Over* The San Diego Padres certainly improved their lineup during the season. Juan Soto is fantastic and the Padres lineup is pretty deep as well with Cronenworth and Myers toward the bottom of the order proving to be very solid against lefties.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have the best lineup in baseball, and they are particularly good against right handed pitching. The Dodgers have a ridiculously good .340 wOBA against right handed pitching this year. 

Mike Clevinger has been subpar this year. He has had a lot of trouble with injuries, and he has been ill leading up to this start as well. Clevinger faced the Dodgers three times in the regular season this year. He never went more than 5 innings, and he allowed 4 runs or more in every start. The Dodgers should get plenty of scoring opportunities in this one as well.

Julio Urias is a very good pitcher, but he tends to get lifted earlier than most pitchers. The Dodgers bullpen has been inconsistent this season.

Take the over here. 

*3 Star Play Under* The MLB playoffs get underway with this game in Cleveland. Both of these teams are scrappy teams who have some weaknesses, but they have had successful seasons despite those shortcomings.

Cleveland isn't good against left handed pitching. Cleveland was 27th out of 30 teams in the majors in weighted on base average against left handed pitchers this year. Shane McClanahan is a good lefty. 

Tampa Bay was 26th in wOBA overall in the last month of the season. The Rays lack power in their lineup and they have a couple key injuries.

Shane Bieber wasn't quite as dominant this year, but he is an excellent starter who the Rays are likely to have a tough time against.

Both teams have very deep bullpens and they wouldn't be afraid to use them as they come into this one rested.

The weather here calls for a temperature of around 50 degrees with winds blowing in from center field at about 12 mph. The winds do matter quite a bit at this park.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Under* The Cincinnati Reds offense has been miserable down the stretch. Cincinnati's lineup is shorthanded and they have scored 3 runs or less in 11 straight games. The Reds have scored 1 run in four of their last six games. 

The Chicago Cubs offense has scored two runs or less in five of their last nine games. The Cubs have a lot of youth in this lineup right now, and it is hard for them to string together big innings.

Phil Cuzzi is the home plate umpire for this game. He is one of the best five under umpires in baseball. Cuzzi has a called strike percentage of nearly 66% on the year and a strikeout/walk ratio of higher than 3. He'll help as much as he can here.

The weather in Cincinnati is cool and the ball isn't jumping as it would have a couple months ago.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Under* Corey Kluber comes back to Cleveland to take on his old team. Kluber has been a bit up and down this season. Recently he has had some poor outings, but advanced metrics show it has primarily been poor batted ball luck that is responsible for those poor showings. He actually has a pretty good FIP in recent starts.

Shane Bieber has been throwing it well of late. Bieber is up against a Rays team that isn't a very good offense against right handed pitching.

Both of these teams are really deep and very good in the bullpen. 

The forecast calls for significant wind coming in from Lake Erie during this game. There will be rain as well through some of the day. There is a chance for a delay or even a postponement. If this game is played though, the weather is a plus for the under.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Under* The Tampa Bay Rays offense has been struggling of late, especially against right handed pitching. The Rays have been held to two runs or fewer in four of their last nine games. 

Cristian Javier has been dealing. Javier has a 2.36 ERA since the All Star Break. He hasn't allowed more than 3 runs in any of those starts. Javier is striking out 10.29 batters per nine innings. 

Shane McClanahan has been tremendous this year. He has a sparkling 1.50 ERA and a 2.61 FIP in his last four starts. He hasn't allowed a run in his last two starts. Though the Astros do have a very good lineup, McClanahan has done well against them in limited action (.227 wOBA allowed). 

Both teams have very deep and solid bullpens to back up the starters.

Brian O'Nora is the home plate umpire and he ranks in the top ten umpires in the majors in strikes called percentage as well as strikeout/walk ratio. He's a boost to the under's chances here.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play on Orioles ML* I'm very cautious about laying big numbers in baseball, and even this number isn't that big of a number. You'll never see me taking -200 favorites. This is about as high as I'll go in MLB, but I think this number is justified.

The Washington Nationals are 6-22 in Patrick Corbin's starts this year. They are 26-66 in their last 92 vs. a team with a winning record.

Baltimore hasn't been playing particularly well of late, but they did fight back and beat the Nationals last night. The Orioles still have an outside chance at making the playoffs, but they have to get red hot right now. This is a really good opportunity for them to try to get going against both a very weak Nationals team and against a very weak starting pitcher.

Patrick Corbin has an ERA north of 7 since the All Star break. Corbin gives up far too many long balls, and Baltimore has a surprising amount of power.

Tyler Wells is an average starting pitcher, but he is backed by a strong bullpen. The Orioles have the much better offense too.

Take Baltimore. 

*3 Star Play Over* The New York Yankees have scored 10 runs in each of their last two contests. The Yankees offense is back in a big way of late. This is still one of the very best lineups in baseball. Nick Pivetta goes against them here, and Pivetta has been smashed by the Yankees in the past. In 86 plate appearances, the Yankees hitters have a whopping .381 wOBA against Pivetta and 7 home runs.

Gerrit Cole has pitched terribly at Fenway Park, especially the last couple years. Cole has a 6.55 ERA in his last four starts at Fenway (last year and this year). This lineup is full of guys who have bothered Cole in his career.

The weather is a big deal at Fenway, and the wind is expected to be blowing out at 10 mph here.

Take the over. 

*3 Star Play Under* Cal Quantrill has thrown the ball really well of late. Quantrill has a 1.80 ERA in his last six starts. Quantrill has flown under the radar for the most part, but he has been really solid for the Guardians in the stretch run.

Dylan Bundy starts for the Twins, and he has been stronger late in the season as well. Bundy has a 2.17 ERA in his last six starts. For the season, Bundy has been much better when pitching at home as well, and he pitches on his home field here.

The Guardians bullpen has been the single best bullpen in baseball in the past 30 days. Minnesota ranks in the top ten in bullpen FIP and SIERA in that time as well. The bullpens are a big plus here.

The Guardians have seen only 2 of their last 16 games get past 7 runs total.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play on Braves -1.5* The Atlanta Braves are in a key pennant race. Atlanta is just one game behind the New York Mets in the NL East. They have been catching the Mets for months now, and this Braves offense has been on fire. 

Atlanta ranks third in the majors in weighted on base average against left handed pitching. The Braves also rank third in the majors in wOBA in the last 30 days overall. The Braves go against an average lefty in Cole Irvin here. Irvin is likely to struggle against this deep Atlanta lineup.

The Oakland A's are worst in the majors by a huge margin in wOBA at home. Oakland has a .262 wOBA when playing at home this year. Oakland's lineup is a bottom two defense in the majors. 

Kyle Wright comes into this game in great form. I expect Wright to pitch well against this Oakland lineup. The Braves also have the bullpen advantage. 

Take Atlanta -1.5. 

*3 Star Play Under* The Cleveland Guardians lost 6-3 in 11 innings against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. That one was a bad beat on the under. Cleveland has now played in 12 straight games that have been at 7 runs or less in regulation. 

Brady Singer has been in great form for the Kansas City Royals of late. Singer has a 2.34 ERA and a 2.92 FIP since the All Star Break. Singer has been at his best when pitching at home. 

Triston McKenzie has a .290 wOBA against this Kansas City Royals in his career. He is backed by the best bullpen in the majors in the last month. He has a 2.24 ERA and a 2.89 FIP since the start of July. 

There will be a slight breeze blowing in from center field during this contest.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Under* The Cleveland Guardians have played 11 straight games that have finished at a total of 7 runs or less. Cleveland's starting pitching has been good of late, and their bullpen has been excellent. In the last 30 days, the Cleveland bullpen has a stellar 1.92 ERA. They also rank first in bullpen FIP and SIERA. 

The Seattle Mariners have seen 8 of their last 10 games finish at 7 runs or less. Seattle's bullpen ranks in the top three in the last 30 days in all of the advanced metrics as well. 

George Kirby is a really good young pitcher who has multiple plus pitches. The Guardians lineup isn't nearly as deep as most of the contenders. 

Cal Quantrill has quietly put together an amazing season. Quantrill has a 1.41 ERA and a 2.75 FIP in his last five starts. 

Both of these teams are still playing hard to the finish as they try to get into the postseason. I expect another low scoring contest here.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Under* In their last 11 games, the Baltimore Orioles have not had a single game finish with more than 7 runs. This Orioles young pitching staff has been tremendous of late. Baltimore's bullpen has been good all year, and of late the starting pitching has been tremendous as well.

Dean Kremer was a highly touted pitching prospect who struggled badly early in his time in the big leagues. Kremer has really come into his own of late. Kremer has a 2.25 ERA and a 2.49 FIP in his last five starts. He has walked only four batters in his last 32 innings pitched. He faces a terrible Oakland A's lineup in this one. Oakland is second to last in the majors in wOBA against right handed pitching. 

Baltimore is 23rd in wOBA against lefties. JP Sears is a quality young lefty for the A's. Sears had a 1.67 ERA in Triple A this season. He has a 2.28 ERA in his 43 and 1/3 innings pitched so far in the majors. 

I think both young pitchers have the upper hand here.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play on Dodgers ML* The Dodgers have Andrew Heaney starting in this one. Heaney has been really sharp this year. He has 12 walks and 62 strikeouts in nine starts on the season. He has 20 strikeouts in his last two starts. 

While the New York Mets are elite against right handed pitching, the Mets rank 18th in the majors in wOBA against left handed pitching. I think Heaney can do enough to slow down the Mets offense here.

The Dodgers are the best team in baseball. They have a better bullpen than the Mets. They have a slightly better defense than the Mets. 

Taijuan Walker has been dealing with some back problems of late, and he gets the ball for the Mets. He faces the best lineup in the National League. The Dodgers lineup has a good .327 wOBA against Walker in his career. 

We rarely get a chance to take the Dodgers on the moneyline at a price as short as this. I'll take it here.

Take the Dodgers. 

*3 Star Play on Reds ML* I have to fade Patrick Corbin at this price. Corbin has been one of the worst starting pitchers in all of baseball this year. Corbin has a 6.81 ERA and a 5.02 FIP on the season. He is giving up all kinds of very hard hit baseballs of late. Corbin has one of the highest home run rates allowed so far this year. 

The Cincinnati Reds are much better against left handed pitching than right handed pitching. Cincinnati has a couple guys in the middle of their order now who are crushing lefties in Kyle Farmer and Donovan Solano. 

Nick Lodolo's upside is much higher than Corbin's. Lodolo will be an above average starting pitcher in the majors in time. He has already shown flashes. He faces a Nationals offense that is badly shorthanded here. 

The Reds have a big bullpen advantage as well. Cincinnati has brought up some quality young arms in the bullpen including Diaz at the back end.

Corbin has allowed 4 earned runs or more in seven of his last eight games.

Take Cincinnati. 

*3 Star Play Under* Corey Kluber isn't the dominant starting pitcher he was a few years ago, but he is still a quality starter. Boston only ranks 14th in the majors in wOBA against right handed pitching. 

Nick Pivetta starts here for the Red Sox. Pivetta is a streaky pitcher. He can look tremendous at times and he can get torched at times. He has been in good form of late, and Pivetta faces a Rays offense that is in their much weaker split. Tampa Bay is 22nd in the majors in wOBA. Pivetta has drastic day/night splits in his career. Pivetta has a career 5.63 ERA when pitching at night. He has a career 3.67 ERA when pitching in the daytime. 

Bill Miller is behind home plate for this one. If you just look at data from the last couple years, Miller has the best strikeout/walk ratio of any umpire. He is a strike caller. He's been a good under umpire for many years now.

Take the under here. 

*3 Star Play Under* Jeffrey Springs has quietly had a really nice season. Springs has only allowed more than 3 runs in a start once this year (and that was 4). He is averaging just 2.08 walks per nine innings so he pounds the strike zone. The Rays have a pretty good defense behind him, and the Tampa Bay bullpen is deep again this year. Earlier in the season the Red Sox were smashing left handed pitching, but they have cooled off a bit of late. Trevor Story's absence certainly hurts the Boston offense.

Rich Hill starts for Boston here. Tampa Bay is a below average offense. The Rays are without Wander Franco and Brandon Lowe is questionable here with an injury. Hill has pitched much better late in the season in his career.

Doug Eddings is the home plate umpire for this game. Eddings has the highest called strike percentage of any home plate umpire in the last six years. Eddings is a strike caller and that should help both of these guys since they both nibble at the corners.

The wind is expected to be blowing in at about 8 or 9 mph during this one as well.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Under* The Toronto Blue Jays host the LA Angels on Friday night. The Angels offense has been dreadful of late. They have scored 3 runs or less in 9 of their last 10 games. On the season, the Angels have the second worst weighted on base average (wOBA) in the majors when playing on the road. They have struggled badly to score away from home. 

Toronto is a good offensive team, but they aren't quite as good against left handed pitching. Detmers is a pretty good lefty. He has a 2.23 ERA since the start of July and his FIP during that time is only 2.55. 

Mitch White starts for the Blue Jays and I see him as a pretty good right handed pitcher. White has allowed just seven runs in his last four starts. 

Take the under in this one. 

*4 Star Play Under* Zac Gallen and Brady Singer are two tremendous young starting pitchers. Gallen has been absolutely fantastic since the All Star Break. Gallen has a 0.92 ERA and a 1.52 FIP in six starts since the break. That includes a shutout thrown at Coors Field. He's up against a below average offense in the Kansas City Royals roster.

Brady Singer has a 1.88 ERA and a 2.54 FIP in his six starts since the All Star Break. Singer has multiple plus pitches and I really like his command of all his pitches. The Arizona Diamondbacks are a below average offense as well.

I think we see a lot of quick innings where there aren't many baserunners in this one. Neither pitcher gives many free passes, and they both have quality strikeout pitches. 

Take the under here. 

*3 Star Play on Marlins ML* Jesus Luzardo is a streaky pitcher. He is capable of shutting anyone down and he is capable of getting hit hard as well. Luzardo has come back on fire since coming back from an injury. In his four starts since coming off the injured list, Luzardo has a 2.70 ERA and a 2.26 FIP. That includes a great start in LA against the Dodgers in his last game. Luzardo's control has been much better lately. He has 5 walks and 24 strikeouts in his last four starts.

Cole Irvin is a middle of the road lefty. The Marlins aren't a good offense, but they are slightly better than the Oakland A's. The A's are an awful 19-41 when playing on their home field. There isn't a home field advantage for the A's. If anything it is a disadvantage. There is virtually no one in the stands.

The Marlins have the better bullpen as well and this price is a good one on the road team.

Take Miami. 

*3 Star Play Over* Taijuan Walker has a 6.97 ERA and a 6.70 FIP in his last five appearances. Walker has been dealing with some back discomfort, and he is struggling with his command. Walker is a very streaky pitcher, and he comes into this game in really bad form.

Frankie Montas has a 9.00 ERA and a 5.27 FIP in his three starts with the New York Yankees. Montas is striking out just 5.14 batters per nine innings. 

On the season, the New York Mets rank second in the majors in weighted on base average against right handed pitching. The Yankees rank 6th in wOBA against right handed pitching. These are two deep offenses who are more than capable of taking advantage of two pitchers who are in bad form and are putting a lot of traffic on the bases right now.

The weather here calls for winds blowing out toward center field at about 7 mph during this game. Alfonso Marquez is one of the better over umpires in the game and he is behind home plate for this one. He carries a very low strikeout/walk ratio in the long term.

Take the over in this one. 

*3 Star Play Under* Last night's contest between these two got crazy especially late in the game, but I think this one will be much lower scoring.

Before last night, the Arizona Diamondbacks had seen six of their last seven games stay under 7.5 runs total. The Cardinals have seen four of their last eight stay under this total as well.

The Diamondbacks are 23rd in wOBA against lefties this year, and Jose Quintana is really pitching well. Quintana has a 1.52 ERA and a 2.85 FIP in his last five starts. I expect him to pitch well here against the DBacks. 

Merrill Kelly has been tremendous this season. Kelly has allowed 2 runs or less in eight of his last nine starts. Kelly has done a good job keeping the ball in the ballpark this year, and he is a strike thrower in general. 

CB Bucknor has great strikeout/walk rates in the last couple years, and I rate him as a decent under umpire.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play on Cubs ML* The Milwaukee Brewers sold at the trade deadline in shocking fashion by getting rid of Josh Hader. The bullpen hasn't been the same since. Williams just blew yesterday's save and has pitched in two of the last three games. 

Milwaukee ranks 25th in the majors in weighted on base average (wOBA) against lefties. They face a solid lefty here in Justin Steele. Steele has a 1.66 ERA and a 2.76 FIP since the start of July. He also has a fantastic wOBA of .262 against this current Brewers lineup. Milwaukee has struggled mightily against lefties in general, and their offense has been weak of late. 

Brandon Woodruff is a very good pitcher, but the price tag here is too high given the Brewers issues right now. The Cubs have won 8 of their last 10 games. Chicago continues to battle. Milwaukee deserves to be favored, but I have to take the Cubs at this big plus money price.

Take the Cubs. 

*3 Star Play Over* The Baltimore Orioles topped the Boston Red Sox 15-10 last night in an epic scoring fest. I'm not expecting like that in this one, but I do think 8.5 is too short in this situation. 

Both teams rank in the top ten in the majors in wOBA in the last two weeks. The Orioles have a lot of youngsters who have been heating up of late. Guys like Mountcastle, Rutschman, Hays, and the rest are tough outs. 

Michael Wacha has a great ERA on the year, but the advanced metrics suggest he has been very lucky. He has left 82% of runners on base, which is just unheard of. He has a SIERA of 4.27 and is going to regress at some point. The Orioles lineup has a whopping .491 wOBA against Wacha in 53 at bats. 

Kyle Bradish may be a good pitcher in the majors in time, but right now he isn't very good. Bradish is allowing nealry 2 home runs per nine innings and he walks nearly 4 batters per nine innings. 

A temperature in the upper 80's and a wind blowing out about 8 mph to center and left center field helps here too.

Take the over. 

*3 Star Play on Rays ML* Simply put, the Yankees can't be mid-sized favorites against the Rays with how poorly they are performing. New York is 2-11 in its last 13 games and 8-17 going back to the All-Star break. The Yankees' hitting has dried up. New York has managed only nine runs in its last seven games. The Yankees have been without injured Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu and Matt Carpenter. 

*3 Star Play on Rays +1.5* The Yankees are at their lowest point of the season. They are 8-16 since the All-Star break, including 2-10 in their last 12 games. If they were laying 1 1/2 runs during this time frame, the Yankees would be 1-11 during their past dozen games. Tampa Bay, by contrast, is 3-0 in its last three games outscoring its opponents by a 16-3 margin during this span. This game has the makings of a 4-3 type score in a pitching matchup of Jeffrey Springs versus Nestor Cortes. Each pitcher has been impressive. Springs has a 2.56 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. Cortes has a 2.67 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Both bullpens rank in the top-seven although Yankees closer Clay Holmes has been struggling having given up 11 earned runs in his last 11 innings. The Yankees haven't been scoring, managing only eight runs in their last six games.  Take the Rays on the run line. 

*4 Star Play Over* Not only are Kyle Bradish and Yusei Kikuchi enduring rough seasons, but they have bad recent histories against these respective opponents. Bradish is 1-4 with a 6.42 ERA and 1.62 WHIP. Bradish went up against the Blue Jays on June 13. He gave up five earned runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings in an 11-1 loss. Kikuchi, who is 4-6 with a 5.13 ERA and 1.49 WHIP, faced Baltimore a week ago. He surrendered five earned in five innings on six hits and three walks. The Orioles slugged three homers against him. Overall, Kikuchi has a .361 wOBA allowed against Baltimore in his career. Kikuchi is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in two starts versus Baltimore this season. 

The Orioles were held in check by Tampa Bay's Drew Rasmussen yesterday. But they still have scored six or more runs in seven of their last 12 games. Toronto ranks in the top-five in runs, batting average and OPS. 

 The past seven meetings between these two teams in Toronto have resulted in six Overs and one push.  Take the Over.

*3 Star Play Under* The Tigers and White Sox managed a combined 10 runs on Saturday. But make no mistake these are struggling offenses. The Tigers average a major league-low 3.1 runs per game. If you discount a rare 9-run performance against the Rays and Detroit is averaging 1.8 runs in its last nine games. The White Sox are averaging 3.1 runs in their past six games while missing two of their key bats with Tim Anderson and Luis Robert both injured. 

Yet the total is fairly high because of a starting pitching matchup of Tyler Alexander versus Lance Lynn. Alexander has a 3.83 ERA. However, he's coming off an excellent performance against the Guardians this past Tuesday where he pitched a season-high seven innings while giving up two runs on seven hits. Alexander has a 3.38 ERA in his last three starts. The Under has cashed during each of his last six road starts. Alexander normally doesn't pitch deep into games. But Detroit relievers have the fifth-lowest bullpen ERA in the majors.

Lynn came off the injured list too early and paid the price. He's 2-5 with a 5.88 ERA on the season. Lynn, though, has started to get back to speed. He's been respectable during his last four starts. During this span, he blanked the Guardians for six innings and held the Royals to one earned run in six innings. Lynn can hold his own against bad offenses. 

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Under* Dominant starting pitching isn't required for an Under to play out when the teams are the Tigers and White Sox.  The Tigers have the worst offense in baseball ranking last in runs, homers and OPS. They have scored four or fewer runs in 17 of their last 20 games and are averaging 1.7 runs in their last four games. Detroit just struck out 14 times to the Guardians in a 4-3 extra inning loss Thursday. Cleveland starter Zach Plesac had seven strikeouts. Plesac is not a high strikeout pitcher with 90 in 114 innings. The Tigers have struck out the second-highest number of times in the American League.  Now Detroit draws White Sox righty Michael Kopech, who has a 3.14 home ERA. The Under is 43-19-5 (69%) the last 67 times the Tigers have gone against a righty starter. The White Sox are in a scoring slump, too. They've produced fewer than four runs a game in seven of their last eight games. Chicago is averaging 2.7 runs in its last four games.

The Under has cashed in nine of the White Sox's last 12 games.  Lefty Daniel Norris is slated to start for the Tigers. He has a 4.59 career ERA with the Tigers. The White Sox have the second- highest batting average in the majors against southpaws, but rank 11th in slugging percentage.

Overall, the White Sox rank 18th in runs and 25th in homers through Wednesday. This is likely to be a bullpen game for the Tigers, which is fine since Detroit has the fifth-lowest bullpen ERA in baseball at 3.20. The Tigers won't have to face star shortstop Tim Anderson, out with a broken finger. There's a slight breeze in the forecast and that's for the wind to be blowing in at 5-6 mph. 

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play on Orioles ML* The Orioles have won 23 of 31 games since July 3. They've gone 18-6 as underdogs or pick in 24 of those games during this span. Just another reason why the Orioles have easily been the most profitable team in the majors for bettors.  Once again, Baltimore has opened as an underdog. This time to the struggling Red Sox, who are 1-6 in their last seven games and 3-9 during their past dozen home contests. The Red Sox have surrendered 56 runs in their last seven games for an average of eight runs allowed per game.  

Dean Kremer pitches here for the Orioles. The Orioles have the third-lowest bullpen ERA in the majors. Baltimore also enters this matchup fresh since its Wednesday game against the Blue Jays was postponed.  Josh Winchowki will oppose Kremer. He has a 4.68 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. The Red Sox's bullpen entered Wednesday ranked 26th in ERA. The Orioles are swinging hot bats scoring six or more runs in six of their last eight games. 

 Take the Orioles.

*3 Star Play Under* Shane McClanahan is firmly in the American Cy Young Award discussion. He might even be the favorite with a 10-4 record, 2.07 ERA and 0.83 WHIP, which is the lowest in baseball. McClanahan has the fourth-lowest ERA in the majors and is tied for the fourth-most strikeouts.  McClanahan is in good position to turn in another dominant performance facing Detroit, which has the worst offense in the league ranking last in runs, homers and OPS. The Tigers are averaging a puny 2.7 runs in their last nine games.  

Garrett Hill gets the start for Detroit. He's been better at home where he's 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA. McClanahan's road ERA is 1.62. Hill goes against a Rays offense that is bottom-10. Hill is backed by a strong Detroit relief corps that has the fourth-lowest bullpen ERA in the majors. Tampa Bay has scored fewer than four runs in nine of its last 13 games.  Both hurlers will be aided pitching at spacious, pitcher-friendly Comerica Park. The forecast also is calling for winds to be blowing in at 7-to-8 mph.  

Take the Under. 

*3 Star Play on Over* This total is too low given Toronto's high-caliber offense and Kevin Gausman not being in good form lately. The Blue Jays have the highest batting average in baseball at .265. They entered this week ranked third in runs and on-base percentage. Toronto has scored at least four runs in 13 of its last 16 games.  Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen is decent, but he's a low-innings pitcher. Only twice in his last 10 starts has he gone more than five innings. He has a 3.90 ERA in night games. Rasmussen has to contend with a red-hot Vladimir Guerrero, who has a 12-game hitting streak and is batting .421 during his past 10 games.  The Rays are missing some key batters due to injuries. They did pick up David Peralta from the Diamondbacks to strengthen their outfield depth. This total is low due to Gausman, who has a 3.30 ERA. But Gausman hasn't been sharp with a 5.74 ERA in his last three starts. Gausman has surrendered four homers during these last three starts spanning 15 1/3 innings. Take the over. 

*3 Star Play Under* 

The Giants are struggling averaging two runs per game during their last five games. Things aren't looking up as they go against Zac Gallen, who has a 3.36 ERA this season when pitching at home. Gallen is in good form with a 2.89 ERA during his last three starts. This is a day game. Gallen has a 1.90 day time ERA. 

*3 Star Play Under* 

Both teams have below average offenses. Tampa Bay starter Corey Kluber has been solid. He's given up two earned runs or fewer in seven of his last nine starts reaching the sixth inning during each of those seven outings. The Rays have a strong bullpen ranking eighth in relief pitching ERA. 

The Rays managed only a combined five runs in their last two games while striking out 19 times against mediocre Kansas City pitching. 

*3 Star Play Under* 

These are two of the coldest offenses in baseball. And now both are running into hot pitchers. Miami is averaging 2.4 runs in its last 15 games. The Marlins have been shut out in three of their last four games. The Pirates are averaging 1.8 runs in their last six games discounting an eight-run game against the Rockies at Coors Field. Pittsburgh ranks in the bottom-three in runs, batting average and OPS. 

 Don't look for the Pirates to break out with a big-scoring game facing Sandy Alcantara, a prime Cy Young Award candidate with a 9-4 record, 1.76 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. Alcantara has a 0.78 ERA in his last three starts. He has the lowest ERA in the National League.  Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller has pitched his most consistent ball of his career since rejoining the rotation at the end of May. He's given up three earned runs or fewer in seven of his last nine starts since then. He has a 2.37 ERA during his past three starts. The Marlins are without Jorge Soler, their second-leading home run hitter with 13. He was placed on the injured list because of back spasms on Saturday. Take the Under. 

*3 Star Play Under*The Tigers are the lowest-scoring team in the majors. They've scored three runs or fewer in eight of their last 11 games. 

Mariners ML (+106)

 *3 Star Play on Seattle* The Astros are in a tough scheduling spot here. They swept the Yankees in a doubleheader at home on Thursday, but then had to fly out to the West Coast to take on the hottest team in baseball. Seattle has won 14 in a row and 22 of its last 26 games. The Mariners are fresh, too. This is their first game following the All-Star break.  It wouldn't surprise if the Astros rested a starter or two. They may not have their star closer, Ryan Pressly. He was not with Houston against the Yankees after going on paternity leave following the birth of his daughter on Wednesday.  The Astros have lost in six of their last eight visits to Seattle.  The pitching matchup pits Jose Urquidy against Marco Gonzales. Urquidy has a 5.20 road ERA. Gonzales has a 3.21 home ERA.  

Take Seattle