Sports Picks & Predictions

*3 Star MLB Total DOMINATION* Danny Salazar is much better than he has shown so far this year. Salazar goes up against a KC offense that is one of the five worst in baseball here, and I see this as a good chance for him to get back on track. 

Jason Vargas has been excellent this year. Vargas had one really bad start a couple outings ago, but overall he has been very solid. The Indians rank in the bottom 10 in the majors in almost all major statistical categories against left handed pitching. 

A key angle here is the weather as well. The wind will be blowing in from center field for this one. Progessive Field is one where the weather makes a big difference. 

Here's a great statistic to back this up. With the wind blowing in at least 6 mph (projected to be 10 mph here), and a total of at least 8, the under is 70-25 in the last 95 games played at Progressive Field. 

The under is 14-2 in Vargas' last 16 starts.

Take the under here. 

*3 Star MLB Dog of the Day PERFECTION Angle* The LA Angels go to Miami to take on the Marlins in an interleague series here.

I understand the Angels aren't very good against right handed pitching. They aren't typically a team I'd be looking to back in this situation. What is making me play this one? It's all about price. I would have expected the Angels to be no worse than +100 here, and getting a pretty decent plus money price is too much for me to pass up.

Dan Straily has a 3.70 ERA on the year, but his xFIP is 4.72 and his SIERA is 4.34. Straily isn't a bad pitcher, but he's not all that good either.

Jesse Chavez is a little worse than an average pitcher, but he's backed by the much better bullpen in this one.

What have the Marlins done to deserve being favored like this here? The Marlins are 1-10 in their last 11 home games. The Marlins are 15-36 in their last 51 interleague games.  

The Marlins are 0-6 in their last 6 interleague home games. The Marlins are 0-6 in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a road win percentage of 40% or less. The Marlins are 0-5 in their last 5 Friday games. A 17-0 angle.

This also nicely fits into an interleague system that has made big money. The system is to play on an American League team that is mediocre (between 47% and 53% win percentage on the year. The total needs to be 7.5 or higher. The opponent win percentage is 34% or higher. How good has it done? It's 517 wins and 331 losses in the last 10 years (61% winners). $100 bettors are up $12,904 playing each of those games that fit this system. The Angels fit this system.

Take the Los Angeles Angels.

*4 Star MLB 100% Angle CRUSHER* The Colorado Rockies are red hot right now. I have cashed with Colorado each of the last two nights, and I'm Colorado in the series finale here as well. Colorado has scored at least 6 runs in each of their last 6 games. This offense is on fire of late. 

The Phillies are 4-20 in their last 24 games. The wheels have completely fallen off for this team. Judging by the stories in the media now I have to wonder if the team chemistry is lacking right now also.

Tyler Anderson is definitely better than he has pitched this year. His xFIP is 3.65 while his ERA is above 6. He'll get better as the season goes. The Rockies bullpen is a good one.

The Phillies have the worst bullpen in baseball and Vince Velasquez hasn't been good this year. Velasquez is giving up nearly 2 home runs per nine innings and that is tough when going against a Rockies team with a lot of power. Colorado has even more power now with Trevor Story back in the lineup.

There is rain forecasted in the area here which increases the chance of a bullpen game and that definitely helps Colorado.

The Rockies are 7-0 in their last 7 games against a team with a win percentage of 40% or lower. The Phillies are 0-9 in their last 9 games against a starter with a WHIP of 1.30 or higher. The Phillies are 0-6 in their last 6 vs. the NL West. They are 0-4 in their last 4 home games. A 26-0 angle. 

Take Colorado. 

*3 Star Play on Pittsburgh Pirates* The Pittsburgh Pirates start Ivan Nova here. Nova has been really good with his fastball and curveball this year, and he's having the best season of his career thus far. Nova has walked only 0.58 batters per nine innings this year, and that kind of extreme low walk rate is a huge help. Nova has improved at inducing weak contact and not having to strike everyone out.

The Braves offense isn't the same without Freddie Freeman. He is the most reliable piece in the middle of their order. Atlanta can still score some runs, but the Braves start Bartolo Colon here, and he has been bad this year. Colon turned 44 years old yesterday, so nobody can blame him too much for struggling. Still, all of his advanced metrics and what I've seen when I watch him tells me he is a decent fade in the right spots. Colon is giving up more hard contact than he has in any other year in his very long big league career.

The Pirates as a short favorite are the play for me here.

Take Pittsburgh. 

*3 Star Play on Red Sox -1.5* The Boston Red Sox host the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night. Chris Sale gets the ball in this one. He has been the most dominant pitcher in baseball so far this year. Sale is striking out an amazing 13.02 batters per nine innings this year. He is walking only 1.78 batters per nine innings. Sale's ERA is 2.19 and his FIP is an excellent 1.62. 

The Texas Rangers rank in the bottom five in all of baseball in almost all the major statistics when it comes to hitting off a left handed pitcher. Texas misses Adrian Beltre's great production against lefties, and the Rangers have too many guys who strikeout very often. 

Martin Perez has a career ERA on the road of almost 5. Perez is up against a Boston lineup that is excellent against lefties. They have a .346 OBP against lefties this year. 

The Red Sox have a huge edge in all these areas- starting pitching, bullpen, and offense. They are also have a small edge when it comes to defense.

It's an expensive price for a run line, but I see value.

Take Boston -1.5. 

*4 Star MLB 100% Angle CRUSHER* The Colorado Rockies are playing with a ton of confidence and they are up against a Philadelphia Phillies team that is laying worse than anyone in the majors right now. The Phillies are 4-19 in their last 23 games. 

Philadelphia has the worst bullpen in baseball. The Phillies also have a lineup that is far less than reliable. The Phillies have scored 2 runs or less in 4 of their last 8 games overall. 

Jeremy Hellickson isn't very good, and he's getting too much respect from the oddsmakers based on the team going 8-1 in his games this year. My issue with that is: Hellickson has pitched terribly and the team has just happened to win games he pitches in. I don't think that continues. Hellickson has a FIP over 5, and he is striking out less than 4 batters per nine innings.

Colorado's Tyler Chatwood has been great to back on the road in the last couple seasons. I don't love Chatwood as a pitcher, since he puts a lot of guys on base, but the Phillies are a mess right now. Also, Colorado's bullpen is much improved and they represent a huge advantage over the Phillies in the pen.

The Rockies have scored 42 runs in their last five games. I don't see the Phillies being a good team to stop them from keeping their hot offense going with a subpar starter and a terrible bullpen.

The Rockies are 6-0 in their last 6 games vs. a team with a 40% or lower win percentage. The Phillies are 0-5 in their last 5 vs. the NL West. The Phillies are 0-8 in their last 8 games vs. a starter with a WHIP of 1.30 or higher. A 19-0 angle.

Take Colorado.

*3 Star MLB Early Bird Special* Jose Berrios has been one of the most highly touted pitching prospects in baseball the last few years. Berrios struggled in his first couple trips to the big leagues, but he has been great this year in a two game sample size.

Berrios had a 1.13 ERA in six starts in Triple A for the Twins this year. He has a 0.59 ERA in two starts in the big leagues so far this year. Improved control has been the biggest key for Berrios.

Chris Tillman isn't a special pitcher, but he isn't bad either. He has a home ERA of 4.01 in his career at Baltimore. The Twins are hitting only .259 off of him in his career. 

The key here is the situation. It's a get away day game with a start of 12:35 pm EST. These are the games where a key player or two usually sits out for some rest. The wind is scheduled to be blowing in from right field here as well at about 10 mph.

At Baltimore, with the wind blowing in the under has been a great play in the past. The under is 126-70 (64.2%) with the wind blowing in at Baltimore. 

Day game unders with the wind blowing in and the total of at least 8.5 are hitting 55.5% in the last 8 years. 

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Under* It is really rare to see a Clayton Kershaw game at Dodger Stadium with a total of 7. Kershaw and the Dodgers are big favorites once again here. The likelihood of the Dodgers batting only 8 times has to be accounted for here. Kershaw is the most dominant pitcher in the game, and the Cardinals aren't very good against lefties. St. Louis ranks 20th in the majors in weighted on base average against lefties.

Lance Lynn has pitched well against the Dodgers in his career. The under is 6-1 in Lynn's last 7 starts against the Dodgers. The under is 5-1 in his six starts at Dodger Stadium.

Overall, the under is an impressive 79-58 in Kershaw's 137 home starts in his career. That's a 57.7% winning percentage. 

When was the last time a Kershaw home start had a total of 7 runs? It was September 28, 2012 against the Rockies. 

Solid value here. 

Take the under. 

*3 Star MLB 100% Angle CRUSHER* The Oakland A's have an underrated starter on the hill here in Jesse Hahn. Hahn was pitching injured much of last year, and it showed as he had a really bad season. His velocity is way up this year, and he is consistently hitting his spots.

Hahn has one of the lowest career home runs allowed per nine innings rate of any starting pitcher in the bigs. Hahn is perfect for this ballpark, which has a lot of room both in the outfield and in foul territory. 

Jose Urena has a 1.91 ERA and a 5.42 xFIP. Urena has been extremely lucky this year. He is stranding 88% of runners. He is striking out only 4.64 per nine innings. This will catch up to him in time.

The A's have a decided advantage in the bullpen. They'll also get back Yonder Alonso for this game, and he has been great this year.

The A's are 4-0 in Hahn's last 4 home starts. The Marlins are 0-6 in their last 6 road games vs. a right handed starter. They are 0-4 in their last 4 vs. the AL West. They are 0-5 in Urena's last 5 during game one of a series. A 19-0 angle.

Take Oakland. 

*4 Star Play on DBacks -1.5* Dylan Covey might be the worst starting pitcher in all of baseball right now. Jered Weaver would have had a good argument, but he is one the disabled list now. Covey only pitched six times above high A ball in the minor leagues, and it is showing in a big way.

Covey's biggest problem is he allows all sorts of homers. He is allowing almost 3 home runs per nine innings. Chase Field is one of the most homer friendly parks in baseball, and Arizona ranks first in the majors in weighted on base average against right handed pitching. I think Covey gets lit up in this one.

Patrick Corbin isn't great, but he is certainly better than Covey. The White Sox lineup has been inconsistent in the last few weeks. The Diamondbacks bullpen has been a very nice surprise, and I rate them slightly higher than the White Sox bullpen.

Take Arizona -1.5. 

*4 Star Play on Houston Astros -1.5* The Houston Astros start Lance McCullers in this one. McCullers has one of the highest upsides of any young pitcher in the game. McCullers is striking out 10 batters per nine innings pitched. He's cut his walk rate in half since last year, and that was really the one chink in his armor before. McCullers has a career ERA of just 2.11 at home.

Jordan Zimmermann is getting absolutely crushed on a consistent basis right now. Zimermann has a 6.25 ERA and a 6.06 FIP. He is giving up a ridiculous amount of hard hit balls this year. In his career, Zimmermann has allowed 28.2% of balls to be hard hit. This year that number has jumped to 42.3%.

The Tigers bullpen is one of the worst in the majors. The Astros might have the best bullpen depth of any team in the majors. They are definitely a top three bullpen.

Take Houston -1.5.

*3 Star Play on Orioles Moneyline* There is no way Ervin Santana can keep pitching this way. It is only a matter of time until Santana regresses to the mean. Opponents have a .143 batting average on balls in play this year. That number was .285 each of the last two seasons. He has stranded 90.7% of runners this year. His career average is 73%. 

Dylan Bundy has pitched at least six innings in each start this year. In only one of those starts has he allowed more than 3 runs. Bundy has been much better at home in his career. 

I'm not convinced the Twins are as good as their record. They are certainly better than last year, but I think they are due to fall off the pace pretty soon. 

Baltimore is 55-23 in their last 78 home starts vs. a right handed starter. 

Take the Orioles. 

*5 Star MLB Moneyline TOP Play of the Week* The Colorado Rockies are really playing some good baseball. When good teams get on a nice run on a road trip, they can be a good team to back since their prices will still manageable. 

In this one, we will fade a Phillies team that looks absolutely hapless right now. The Phillies are 4-18 in their last 22 games. Zach Eflin starts here, and he isn't a guy I rate highly at all. Eflin is striking out only 4.45 batters per nine innings in the majors. That's one of the lowest rates of any starting pitcher. He is prone to giving up the long ball and the Rockies have plenty of home run power.

German Marquez has impressed me this year. His fastball averages 94.5 mph, and his fastball has some really nice movement on it. 

The Rockies bullpen is much better than it has been in the past. The Phillies bullpen is the worst in the majors. Huge advantage here for Colorado in the pen.

The Rockies are 5-0 in their last 5 games vs. a team with a win percentage of 40% or lower. The Phillies are 0-4 in their last 4 vs. the NL West. They are 0-4 in Eflin's last 4 starts. They are also 0-4 in Eflin's last 4 starts following a team loss. A 17-0 angle.

Take Colorado. 

MLB Moneyline TOP Play of the Week

*4 Star MLB Oddsmaker ERROR* The Cleveland Indians are way better than their record. Cleveland is going to have a great season, and I'll look to back them if the oddsmakers are going to be low on them as it appears they are on in this game. 

The Cincinnati Reds aren't as good as they looked early in the season. They have fallen off badly of late, and I look for that to continue. Cincinnati's Scott Feldman is a below average starter. The Reds bullpen is improved, but they are obviously not at the same level of the Indians bullpen.

The Indians offense has underachieved this year, and they are going to heat things up in the long run. The Tribe have the most dominant bullpen in baseball, and that will help them win a lot of close games.

The American League continuously dominates the National League in interleague play. This line makes no sense at all to me. I'll gladly take the Indians at this price.

The Indians are 6-0 in the last 6 games between these two teams. The Indians are 5-0 in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record. The Reds are 1-8 in their last 9 games. A 19-1 angle.

Take Cleveland. 

*3 Star Play on Tampa Bay Rays Moneyline* The Tampa Bay Rays moneyline has caught some serious steam on Pinnacle today, and that is the sharpest book of all of them. 

Pinnacle steam has to be respected because steam moves at Pinnacle in the past ten years are up 280 units based on a one unit per play scale. That's some major winning. 

Tampa Bay was a lean of mine last night, and with Tampa Bay being steamed two separate times today at Pinnacle, I'm going to make this a play.

Here is a great system backing this one. With at least two steam moves at Pinnacle and the following factors

-The home team has been at home for less than 6 games in a row.

-The road team has been on the road for at least 4 games in a row.

-It is game 40 or later in the season

-The moneyline is -100 to -145.

In this spot, taking the steamed side is a whopping 54-16 (77% winners). That's pretty amazing considering the small amount of juice here. 

Jake Odorizzi has a 2.82 ERA at home in the last four years. I'll back him and the Rays here.

Take Tampa Bay. 

*3 Star MLB 100% Angle CRUSHER* The San Diego Padres are the worst team in baseball. They have no areas of strength on this team. Arizona is one of the biggest surprises of the season thus far. Arizona has drilled San Diego in the first two games of this series, and I think they'll get the upper hand again here.

Zack Godley has been pitching really well this year. He is allowing only 12.2% line drives on the year, which is great since those have the highest chance of being a hit. Godley is also getting a ton of ground balls and balls that are not hard hit.

Clayton Richard's velocity is down, and he's giving up a lot more hard hit balls of late. The Diamondbacks finished first in the majors in wOBA against lefties last year, and they are above average against lefties again this year.

The DBacks have a big offensive advantage here and a big bullpen advantage.

Arizona is 5-0 in their last 5 games. They are 4-0 in their last 4 after scoring five runs or more. The Padres are 0-6 in their last 6 vs. the NL West. They are 0-5 in their last 5 home games. They are 0-4 in their last 4 after scoring 2 runs or less. They are 0-4 in their last 4 home games vs. a right handed starter. A 28-0 angle. 

Take Arizona. 

*4 Star MLB Total DOMINATION* The Boston Red Sox start Eduardo Rodriguez here. Rodriguez was a guy who there were very high expectations for a long time ago, and he struggled a bit in his early time in the majors. He is putting it together this year. Rodriguez hasn't allowed more than 3 runs in any of his last six starts. He has a FIP of 3.20 or lower in each of those starts. He is striking out 10.23 batters per nine innings, which is easily the best of his career.

Andrew Triggs has allowed 2 runs or less in six of his eight starts this year. Triggs gets soft contact and uses a deceptive delivery to make things difficult on batters who don't see him on a regular basis.

Yonder Alonso is doubtful for this game for the A's, and he's been the best hitter on the team. The A's offense is 23rd in weighted on base average against lefties in the majors. 

Mike Muchlinski is the umpire here, and that is definitely good for the under. He's a solid under umpire overall. The under is 21-7 in his last 28 Sunday games behind the dish.

Take the under. 

*4 Star MLB Total PERFECTION* Matt Cain and Adam Wainwright are following similar paths in their careers. Both were excellent pitchers a few years ago, but things have changed in a big way. Interestingly, these both were guys who had great control a few years ago. Now, both of them have doubled their walk rate from about 5 years ago. They are getting less strikeouts and a lot more hard contact.

The Giants offense has been much better on the road than at home. The Giants are 14-7-2 to the over in their road games this year.

The Cardinals are excellent against right handed pitching, and they have a terrible defense that costs them a run or two a game many times. The over is 24-14 for the Cardinals this year. This is an offense that has finally gotten healthy and they should put up a lot of runs this year.

Tom Hallion is the umpire here and he ranks among the bottom 15 in the majors in the past five years in strikes called.

The over is 4-0 in Cain's last 4 starts. The over is 4-0 in the Cards last 4 when their opponent allows 2 runs or less last game. The over is 6-0 in Wainwright's last 6 starts after the Cardinals score 2 runs or less. The over is 3-0 in Cain's last 4 starts vs. the Cardinals. A 17-0 angle. Take the over. 

*3 Star MLB 100% Perfection DOG Of the DAY* The Texas Rangers have won 10 straight games. It is pretty rare that you'll see a team playing this well dogged by this much to anyone. In this case, I think they are dogged by a large margin to a team that is no better than mediocre, especially in its current state. 

Detroit is without Victor Martinez for this one and Miguel Cabrera is questionable. Those are their top two hitters and that is clearly a big issue. The Tigers are a rare team with a bullpen worse than the Rangers.

Justin Verlander's peripherals suggest some trouble. This year, 38% of batted balls against him have been hard hit. That is the highest percentage by a wide margin in the last few years for him. 

A.J. Griffin has allowed a grand total of 4 earned runs in 4 road starts this year. The Tigers lineup is good, but Griffin does have good numbers against them in his career.

The Rangers are 10-0 in their last 10 games. They are 8-0 in their last 8 vs. a right handed starter. They are 5-0 in Griffin's last 5 road starts. They are 7-0 in their last 7 games played in Detroit. A 30-0 angle.

Take Texas. 

*4 Star MLB 100% Angle CRUSHER* The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays meet on Saturday afternoon in Tampa Bay.

Masahiro Tanaka has allowed 16 runs in his last three outings. Tanaka has allowed 7 home runs in that three game span. He has an ERA more than half a run higher in his career in day games, and this is a day game. 

Matt Andriese is a serviceable pitcher, but he is up against an excellent Yankees lineup. The Yankees are hitting 2.78 and averaging 5.91 runs per game against right handed pitching.

The Rays are quietly hitting the cover off the ball lately. Tampa Bay ranks in the top five in the majors in homers. The Rays are averaging 5.01 runs per game off right handed pitching.

The Rays bullpen is one of the five worst in the majors. The Yankees bullpen isn't nearly as good without a healthy Aroldis Chapman.

The over is 7-0 in the Yankees last 7 vs. the AL East. The over is 6-0 in Tanaka's last 6 following a team loss in their last game. The over is 8-0 in the Rays last 8 vs. a right handed starter. The over is 4-0 in their last 4 home games vs. a team with a winning road record. The over is 4-0 in their last 4 following a win. The over is 6-0 in their last 6 vs. a starter with a WHIP of 1.35 or higher. A 35-0 angle. 

Take the over. 

*3 Star Play on Washington -1.5* The Atlanta Braves are going to be down a lot offensively without Freddie Freeman. He is the most consistent hitter in this lineup, and he is the lefty in the middle of the lineup to break up a string of right handed hitters.

Bartolo Colon is giving up all kinds of hard contact this year. He is getting swinging strikes on a ridiculously low 5.4% of pitches. Colon is finally getting too old to be consistently solid anymore. The Nationals lineup is excellent, and they'll test him in a big way.

Max Scherzer has been very good this year. His control and command have impressed me, and he has good numbers against this Braves lineup.

Take Washington -1.5. 

*4 Star MLB Red HOT CASH* The Toronto Blue Jays gave up six runs in the first inning last night against the Braves. Toronto and Atlanta got into a bit of a scuffle late, and there is some animosity between these two teams.

Marcus Stroman is the ace of this Toronto staff. Toronto is coming off a couple straight bad losses against the Braves, and he needs to be the stopper. At this price, I see good value on backing Stroman and Blue Jays.

Stroman has a FIP of 3.36 on the year, which is the lowest of his career. His velocity is at the highest point of his career. In only one game so far this year does Stroman have a FIP over 4. He's been very consistently good.

Julio Teheran has been fade material at home of late. Teheran's velocity is down and his FIP and xFIP are much higher this year. He doesn't look healthy to me. 

The Braves are 5-17 in Teheran's last 22 home starts. The AL has dominated the NL in Interleague play in the past few years. 

Freddie Freeman will likely miss this game with a hand/wrist injury after getting hit by a pitch yesterday.

Take Toronto. 

*3 Star MLB Red HOT CASH* The Boston Red Sox have been a great interleague team. Overall, the American League has dominated the National League, but Boston has topped the charts as far as taking advantage in interleague play. Boston is 24-9 in their last 33 interleague games. The Red Sox are a stunning 122-53 in their last 175 interleague games vs. a right handed starter.

Rick Porcello's ERA is a lot higher this year, but his xFIP and SIERA (sabermetric advanced metrics that essentially estimate what an ERA should be) are actually slightly lower than last year. Porcello isn't a great pitcher, but he usually gives his team a chance to win. Boston has an excellent bullpen as well.

Mike Leake is due for some major regression in the weeks ahead. Leake has a 1.94 ERA, but an xFIP of 3.62. The Cardinals bullpen has been a problem area all year long.

The Red Sox have the much better defense here. St. Louis has committed a whopping 32 errors on the year so far. 

A good price on the more complete team. 

Take Boston. 

*3 Star MLB Early Bird Special* The Miami Marlins and Houston Astros are going in two completely different directions right now. Houston is 24-8 in their last 32 games. The Astros are playing like one of the best teams in baseball. Miami is 1-9 in their last 10 home games. The Marlins are 7-19 in their last 26 games. 

Lance McCullers is a budding star for the Astros. McCullers is taking that next step this year. He averaged 5.00 walks per nine innings last year. He is averaging only 2.42 walks per nine innings this year. He is averaging 10.61 strikeouts per nine innings. 

Jose Urena has a 1.98 ERA on the year, but that will not continue. His advanced metrics show he has been extremely lucky. Urena is striking out only 4.61 batters per nine innings. He is stranding 94% of runners and his BABIP against is only .259. Urena has a 1.98 ERA, but a 5.02 xFIP.

Houston rested Springer and Bregman last night, so they should be back in the lineup for this early game.

Houston has a big bullpen advantage in this one as well. 

Take Houston -1.5. 

*3 Star MLB Late Night BAILOUT* The Los Angeles Dodgers are a good team, but they are much better against right handed pitching than lefties. The Dodgers are batting .274 against righties and .229 against lefties. 

Ty Blach has started two games against the Dodgers in his career. Both were against Clayton Kershaw. The Giants won one of those games 3-0, and lost the other 2-1. Blach is a lefty who pitches to contact and that has worked against the Dodgers in a small sample size.

Rich Hill is slated to start for the Dodgers. He is having blister problems. His walk rate this year is at an all time high. He struggled in both of his rehab starts, and I see no real reason to expect him to be good in this start. The Giants have a combined .375 average against Hill.

The Giants play the Dodgers very tough. They are 19-6 in their last 25 home games against the Dodgers. 

I rarely take the +1.5 line, but here I will. It's a low posted total, and these two play a lot of close games against each other. We don't have to lay much juice at all on this one.

Take the Giants +1.5. 

*4 Star MLB Tuesday's BEST BET* The Arizona Diamondbacks are better against left handed pitching than right handed pitching. Last year, Arizona was first in the majors against lefties in weighted on base average.

Tom Milone starts here for the Mets, and he is a subpar lefty. Milone doesn't have overpowering stuff, and he has always been very prone to giving up the home run ball. That's bad news at Chase Field where the roof should be open for this game. The ball flies extremely well with the roof open here.

Zack Greinke is pitching in fine form right now. Greinke has the highest swinging strike rate of his career right now. He is throwing his slider more often, and it is a pitch that most hitters can't touch.

The Mets bullpen is a dumpster fire right now. In the last 30 days, the Mets bullpen has a 5.73 ERA. The Diamondbacks bullpen has a 3.28 ERA in the same period.

The Mets offense was really good for a long time, but they are short handed right now. They are up against an elite pitcher. The Diamondbacks should get to Milone here.

Take Arizona -1.5. 

*3 Star Play on Red Sox* The Boston Red Sox start Eduardo Rodriguez. This is a guy who went through some growing pains, but he was always a very highly rated prospect. He's pitching great in his last few starts. In his last three road starts, he has allowed a total of 4 runs. In his last 5 starts, he has a FIP of 3.18 or lower in each of them.

Lance Lynn is due for some major regression. Lynn is giving up a lot more hard hit balls this year, but he has gotten some batted ball luck and he's stranding 86% of his runners.

The American League has dominated the National League in interleague play. The Red Sox are an amazing 121-53 in their last 174 interleague games vs. a right handed pitcher. The Cardinals are weak against lefties overall, and the Cardinals are 8-22 in their last 30 home interleague games vs. a left handed starter.

Take Boston. 

*3 Star MLB Total DOMINATION* The under is a whopping 63-30-7 in the Rangers last 100 Sunday games. I hate putting too much stock in day of the week trends, but Sunday is consistently the best "under" day in the majors overall, so it is something to note. 

Both of these pitchers have excellent track records against their opponent on Sunday. Kendall Graveman has held Texas to a .210 average and .264 OBP in his career. A.J. Griffin has held Oakland to a .163 average and a .234 OBP in his career.

Jim Reynolds is behind the plate and he has changed his stripes a good deal in the past couple years. He was a big over umpire in the past, but he now ranks in the top 20% of umpires in most pitches called a strike. He shouldn't hurt the bet.

It's hot in Texas now, and the wind will be blowing in at about 10 mph. I ran a query on this situation and found that the under is 59-38 in Texas' last 97 home games with a temperature of 86 degrees or warmer and the wind blowing in. 

The under is 10-2 in the Rangers last 12 games after scoring 5 runs or more last game. The under is 8-3-1 in the last 12 meetings between these two teams.

Take the under. 

*4 Star MLB 100% Angle CRUSHER* The Texas Rangers are playing some good baseball of late. They started the season slowly, but this team is too talented to be bad all year long. Texas' bullpen is improved of late, and the starting pitching has been good.

A.J. Griffin has been tremendous in his last few starts. Griffin has walked only four batters while striking out 23 in his last four starts. He has allowed only one earned run in his last three starts combined. 

Oakland is only 2-10 in their last 12 road games. They are 18-39 in their last 57 vs. the AL West. 

Kendall Graveman has a 3.53 ERA at home, but a 4.55 ERA on the road. Graveman is backed by one of the weaker offenses in the majors here. 

The oddsmakers are having trouble adjusting quick enough to the Rangers after their recent run.

Texas is 5-0 in Griffin's last 5 home starts. The Rangers are 5-0 in their last 5 overall. The Rangers are 6-0 in Griffin's last 6 vs. an AL West foe. The Rangers are 7-0 in Griffin's last 7 following a quality start in his last outing. A 23-0 angle. 

Take Texas. 

*3 Star MLB Total DOMINATION* The Colorado Rockies start Tyler Anderson here. Anderson was off to a slow start to the season, but I think his long term numbers at Coors Field suggest he is a pretty solid pitcher. He'll be up against a Dodgers lineup that is really bad against left handed pitching. The Dodgers offense is a little bit banged up right now and Adrian Gonzalez is a key part of their lineup missing. 

Alex Wood is throwing the ball better than he has at any point during his career. Wood has a great 2.73 ERA and an even more impressive 1.91 FIP on the season. His strikeouts per nine innings are above 11, and his swinging strike rate is the highest it has been at any point in his career. 

Bill Miller is the home plate umpire here. Miller has made me more money than any other umpire in the majors when it comes to betting on unders. He loves to ring people up, and his strikes called percentage is second of all the umpires in the past five years. 

With a high total and Miller behind the dish, I see this as a good value.

Take the under. 

*3 Star MLB Red HOT CASH* Dylan Covey is definitely one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball. In fact, I'm surprised the White Sox have kept him in the rotation as long as they have. Covey has some atrocious numbers this year. 

Covey has made 5 starts and his ERA is an awful 8.28. His FIP is 7.22, so he hasn't been all that unlucky either. He's just been bad. He's struck out only 11 batters in his five starters. He's also walked 11 batters. I don't know why the White Sox thought he would be successful as a starter though. He has thrown only 29 innings above the Single A level in the minor leagues. 

San Diego isn't a good team, and I really don't want to back them much at all this year. In this spot and at this price, I have to. Trevor Cahill has some really nice advanced metrics this year. He is striking out 11.21 per nine innings, and his offspeed stuff has been awesome this season.

The early sharp money is on the Padres pretty big. The fact that the sharps are on the Padres in a big way made me pay attention.

The White Sox are dead last in the majors in weighted on base average against right handed pitching.

Take San Diego. 

*4 Star MLB Early Bird Special* The Boston Red Sox moved the start time up for this game to 1:05 because of the weather forecast. I initially overlooked this game because I saw it as a likely rainout, but with the moved start time, I see good reasons to take Boston here since the game should be able to be completed based on the current forecast. The rain is expected to start around 4 pm.

Chris Sale starts for Boston. He has been the most dominant pitcher in baseball this year. Sale has a 1.92 ERA and a 1.45 FIP on the season. He is striking out a ridiculous 12.72 batters per nine innings. The Tampa Bay lineup has combined to hit a miserable .126 against Sale. 

Blake Snell starts for the Rays, and he has had major control problems in his young career. Snell is walking 5.5 batters per nine innings. He has 3.96 ERA, but his FIP is 5.05. Snell puts himself in bad positions very often. Trying to constantly pitch out of jams is rough against a lineup like this Boston one.

The Rays have the much weaker lineup and the much weaker bullpen. They obviously are at a huge disadvantage in the starting pitching area.

Take Boston -1.5. 

*3 Star MLB Oddsmaker ERROR* The Chicago White Sox are better than many expected them to be. They have a strong bullpen and that's a great start for being competitive. The White Sox are coming off a disappointing series against the Minnesota Twins, and I think they get back on track against the lowly San Diego Padres.

San Diego is coming off a really tough loss in Texas late on Thursday night. San Diego led the entire game before losing in the bottom of the ninth when Maurer blew the save. I believe the Padres have the worst team in baseball, and they are in for a very long season. The fact that they are in a difficult spot by losing late last night and traveling late into Chicago makes this a better situation to back the White Sox.

Taking American League teams in Interleague play over the last ten years has been a big money maker. 

The White Sox are 5-0 in Miguel Gonzalez's last 5 home starts. I'll take the short home favorite here.

Take the White Sox. 

*3 Star MLB Total DOMINATION* The Miami Marlins have allowed 6 runs or more in 6 of their last 8 games. The Marlins pitching staff has really fallen apart of late, and the bullpen is taxed right now. 

Jose Urena gets the start here, and I don't think he's the answer. Urena had a 6.13 ERA last year. His ERA looks great this year, but that is thanks to stranding 94.3% of runners. He is striking out only 4.22 batters per nine innings. Urena is going to regress to the mean soon. The Braves hitters have a .500 OBP against him, though it is in only 26 plate appearances. 

Mike Foltynewicz had a 4.31 ERA last year and he has a 4.55 ERA so far this year. He puts himself into bad pitch counts far too often, and that leads to mistakes. This is a guy with potential, but so far he has struggled to realize it. The Marlins hitters combine to have a .400 on base percentage against him in 50 plate appearances.

Both bullpens are bad and these offenses are improved. The over is 25-8-2 in the last 35 meetings between these two teams.

Take the over. 

*3 Star MLB Total DOMINATION* Chase Field is a hitters paradise when the roof is open. The ball flies so well there with the heat and low humidity.

There are some great long-term numbers to prove this is a great over park with the roof open as it is scheduled to be in this one. The over is 150-99 (60.2%) in the last 249 games at Chase Field with the following conditions being met:

-A temperature of 75 degrees or warmer

-The total is 9.5 or lower

-The game is before the All Star Break (roof rarely open later in the season)

Greinke and Cole are both good pitchers, but both of these bullpens are trainwrecks. A total of only 8.5 at Chase Field with the roof open is only warranted if you have a guy like Clayton Kershaw pitching in my opinion, and he isn't pitching here. 

Take the over. 

*3 Star MLB Early Bird Special* The Tampa Bay Rays and Kansas City Royals collide in a get away day game in Tampa Bay here. These types of games are generally slightly lower scoring. It's the type of game where you see umpires call more strikes and hitters swing at more first pitches in hopes of keeping things moving. 

Mike Everitt is behind the plate here. On a get away day with a game start time of 5 pm eastern or earlier, the under is 40-24 in Everitt's last 64 games behind home plate. That's a nice 62.5% win percentage.

Jason Vargas and Jake Odorizzi have pitched really well this year, and they'll be facing a weak opposing offense here. Look for both guys to pitch fairly deep into the game.

The under is 12-1 in Vargas' last 13 starts. The under is 8-1 in Odorizzi's last 9 starts. The under is 4-0 in Odorizzi's last 4 following a quality start in his last game. A combined 24-2 trend.

Take the under. 

*3 Star Play Over* The Red Sox offense underachieved for a long time this year. Now, they are on fire. It can be pretty amazing how long these kind of offensive streaks can go for good offensive teams. The Red Sox will definitely finish the year as one of the best offenses in baseball. 

Boston has scored 35 runs in their last three games! They sat out a couple key hitters last night, and I would expect a full roster of starters for this one. Chase Anderson started the year red hot, but he has been shaky in his last couple starts. Anderson is a streaky pitcher and he's been missing his spots in his last couple starts. Boston should make him pay.

Kyle Kendrick is one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball. Kendrick is almost 33 years old, and he was never very good to start with. Kendrick had a 4.73 ERA in Triple A last year, and he had a 6.00 ERA in Triple A this year before being called up. That's not the type of guy that has much success against a good big league lineup very often. The Brewers have a lot of young talent in the order.

Take the over here. 

*4 Star MLB Major MISMATCH* The Washington Nationals are first in the majors in on base percentage against lefties, and it isn't even close. They won't keep up their current rate, but this team is excellent against lefties.

Wade Miley is due for some serious regression. Miley is stranding 90.2% of runners so far this year, and he is giving up a ton of hard contact. It's just a matter of time! The Nationals seem like as good of a candidate as any to be the team that starts his bad run. Washington hitters have an amazing .405 average against Miley in a pretty large sample size.

Stephen Strasburg keeps getting better. He is doing a great job mixing up his pitches, and I think he can keep the Orioles off balance here.

Getting this kind of price on the run line is too good to pass up.

Take Washington -1.5. 

*3 Star MLB 100% Angle CRUSHER* Francisco Liriano is a very inconsistent pitcher. Liriano is capable of completely shutting anyone down, but he's also capable of struggling badly. Liriano pitches much better at home, and he's up against a Cleveland team that has been really bad against lefties this year.

Cleveland is hitting .213 against lefties on the year, and they rank in the bottom five in the majors in weighted on base average against lefties. 

Danny Salazar is due for some positive regression. Opponents have a ridiculously high batting average on balls in play against him of .385. That will come down over time. Salazar has excellent stuff and he's up against a Toronto offense without Donaldson and Tulowitzki.

Vic Carapazza is the home plate umpire here, and he ranks in the top ten of my best under umpires in baseball. 

The under is 6-0 in the Indians last 6 vs. a team with a win percentage of 40% or lower. The under is 4-0-1 in Salazar's last 5 starts. The under is 4-0 in the Jays last 4 games vs. a right handed starter. The under is 6-0 in Liriano's last 6 starts vs. a team with a winning record. The under is 6-0 in his last 6 home starts. The under is 4-0 in his last 4 starts on 4 days of rest. A 30-0 angle.

Take the under. 

*4 Star MLB Total DOMINATION* Hector Santiago and Mike Pelfrey on the mound and the total is only 8.5? The cool temperatures in Chicago have something to do with it, but I can't pass up an over at this number with these two guys on the mound.

Santiago has a 2.78 ERA this year, but he has a 5.19 xFIP and a 4.74 SIERA. Those are sabermetric stats that show Santiago has been extremely lucky so far this year. He'll face a White Sox team that ranks in the top six in the majors against left handed pitching in almost all the major categories. 

Mike Pelfrey had 7.50 ERA in two starts in Triple A this year, and he has a 5.02 ERA in the big leagues thus far. This is a guy who is averaging a pathetic 2.51 strikeouts per nine innings this year. He isn't missing bats, and I don't expect Pelfrey to fool many Twins in this game. The Twins hitters have a lifetime batting average of .367 against him.

The over is 8-1 in the Twins last 9 games.

Take the over. 

*3 Star MLB 100% Angle CRUSHER* The St. Louis Cardinals offense is way better than they showed early in the season. The Cardinals have broken out offensively in their last few games. St. Louis has now scored 30 runs in their last four games. I look for this to be one of the best offenses in the National League this year.

Adam Wainwright isn't the pitcher he used to be. Wainwright has an ERA over 6 this year. He isn't as bad as that number would suggest, but his road ERA in the last two years is well over 5. The Marlins offense is good enough with Yelich, Stanton, and Ozuna in the middle of the order to do some damage.

Both bullpens have been bad this year and that means scoring chances late in the game. 

Andy Fletcher is behind the plate here, and he ranks in the bottom ten umps in the majors in strikes called in the past five years.

The over is 4-0 in Wainwright's last 4 starts on 4 days of rest. The over is 6-0 in the last 6 meetings between these two teams. The over is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings in Miami between these teams. A 15-0 angle. 

Take the over. 

*3 Star MLB Major MISMATCH* The Cleveland Indians went up against the Toronto ace Marcus Stroman in game one of this series. Stroman was on his game and quieted the Indians in that contest. Cleveland gets a much easier test against Mike Bolsinger in this one.

Bolsinger wasn't very good in the minors through the years. He had one good year with the Dodgers in the big leagues, and in all his other stints in the big leagues he was hit hard. Last year, he had a 6.04 ERA in Triple A with the Blue Jays. Now, he's in the big leagues and up against a very good team.

The Indians start Carlos Carrasco, who is one of the top 15 or 20 pitchers in baseball today. Carrasco's stuff continues to get better as the years go by. He has great movement on his pitches. He'll face a Toronto lineup that is without Troy Tulowitzki and Josh Donaldson. 

The Indians have the huge edge in the bullpen as well.

Take Cleveland -1.5. 

*3 Star MLB Monday MONEYMAKER* The San Francisco Giants are a mess right now. The Giants are without Denard Span and Brandon Crawford, and the Giants have been awful on offense lately. Scott Feldman just pitched a complete game shutout against them on Sunday. The Giants have lost 4 of their last 8 games by at least 8 runs. They haven't even been competitive.

Jacob Degrom is throwing the ball harder than he has at any time in his career. His swinging strike rate is up and his FIP and XFIP are quite a bit below his ERA. Degrom is a guy I'll look to back at home. In his career, Degrom has a sparkling 1.97 ERA at home. 

Matt Moore is giving up a ton of hard contact this year. 41.3% of balls in play against Moore have been hard hit, and that is an extremely high percentage. Basically, he hasn't been fooling anyone. 

The odds here imply only a 59.5% chance of the Mets winning. I don't like laying this big of a price very often, but I think it is warranted here. 

Take the Mets. 

*4 Star Yankees/Cubs Sunday Night CASH* The New York Yankees have taken the first two games in this series. The Yankees are definitely impressing so far this year, but I still believe they will come back down to earth a bit in the weeks and months to come.

The Chicago Cubs are only a couple games above .500, and the Cubs have been a disappointment so far on the year. I'm not worried about the Cubs, and I fully expect them to get it going soon.

Jon Lester is a good guy to be sending to the mound to be the stopper. Lester has been remarkably consistent throughout his career, and he's a guy that excels on the big stage.

Luis Severino has a bright future, but he'll be up against a hungry Cubs offense that is one of the best in baseball. I won't be surprised if he has a couple bad innings that cost him here.

I'm not usually one to subscribe to the "you can't sweep a team so I'll bet the other side in the last game of the series" theory, but in this case I find this to be a great spot for the Cubs. There's little doubt the Cubs will be the better team this year, and we're getting the defending champs at a very short price at home when they are looking to salvage a game.

The Cubs are 23-6 in Lester's last 29 home starts. The Yankees are 4-13 in Severino's last 17 starts.

Take Chicago.

*4 Star MLB Total DOMINATION* Coors Field is obviously the best hitters park in the majors. The weather conditions matter a lot at Coors though, and the weather conditions on Sunday are absolutely perfect for the over.

A warm temperature has meant higher scoring at Coors Field. Wind blowing out is obviously helpful as well, and that's what we'll have here. The average temperature during this game is expected to be 78 degrees. The wind will be blowing out at 10-15 mph.

In the past 75 day games at Coors Field with a temperature of 75 degrees or warmer and wind blowing out at 10 mph or more, the over is 50-25.

Tyler Chatwood has been terrible at home. He has a career 5.04 ERA at Coors Field. The Diamondbacks bullpen isn't any good, so even if Taijuan Walker slows down the Rockies lineup, Colorado should get plenty of scoring chances late.

Take the over.

*4 Star MLB Late Night BAILOUT* The Seattle Mariners offense has been much better of late. They were quieted by Yu Darvish last night, but lots of teams will be quieted by Darvish and his elite stuff. Seattle has a lineup full of guys who can hit lefties.

Martin Perez is a below average lefty. Seattle's lineup has a combined .425 on base percentage against Perez, so there are a bunch of guys who really hit him well. Nelson Cruz has 3 homers in 12 at bats against Perez. Kyle Seager has 4 homers in 32 at bats against Perez. 

Chase De Jong doesn't appear to be ready for the big leagues yet. De Jong has had serious control problems all through his minor league career, and he can't locate the zone at all in the bigs. His stuff isn't overpowering enough to overcome that.

The bullpens were both used up in a big way last night. The two starters have to go deeper here, and neither starter is good.

Take the over. 

*4 Star MLB Major MISMATCH* The Chicago White Sox are one of the best teams in the majors against left handed pitching, but they are awful against right handed pitching. The White Sox have a ridiculously low .270 weighted on base average against right handed pitching. That's easily the worst of any team in baseball. 

Dylan Bundy has good stuff and if he can keep his control he is tough to hit. He'll be helped by an umpire (O'Nora) behind the plate who has a bigger strike zone than the average umpire. 

Dylan Covey is in way over his head right now. Covey has pitched a whopping 6 games above the high A ball level in the minors! How a guy can jump that fast to the majors makes no sense to me. Not surprisingly, Covey has a 7.29 ERA and a 6.95 FIP so far this year. Covey is striking out only 3.43 batters per nine innings, so he isn't fooling anyone.

The Orioles are 51-21 in their last 72 home games vs. a right handed starter. They might not have faced a worse starter in that 72 game span than Dylan Covey. 

The only reason this wasn't a 5 star play is Bundy is still young and inconsistent, but I'm happy to fade Dylan Covey and the White Sox against a right handed starter.

Take Baltimore -1.5. 

*3 Star Play Over* The Cincinnati Reds offense has been much better than expected this year. Eugenio Suarez's red hot start has been a big catalyst. Adam Duvall and Scott Schebler have been very good as well. Everyone expects Joey Votto to be great, and he has been as per the norm. 

The under is 11-3 in the San Francisco Giants 14 home games this year. The over is 11-5 in their last 16 road games. The Giants and Reds have played a bunch of high scoring games against each other in the last few years. The over is 20-8-2 in the last 30 meetings. The over is 6-1-2 in the last 9 meetings between them in Cincinnati.

Ty Blach is a pitch to contact guy. He's averaging less than 4 strikeouts per nine innings. That's extremely low. Amir Garrett was awesome in his first few games but the advanced metrics suggest he has been fortunate overall and I suspect he'll have plenty of growing pains.

Both teams have been better against lefties than righties on the year. 

Take the over. 

*4 Star Play on the Indians ML* The Cleveland Indians are one of the best teams in baseball. They have started slowly, but I trust them to have a very good season again. The Royals are going to be one of the worst teams in the American League. Kansas City isn't even close to the team they were a couple years ago.

Cleveland's Josh Tomlin has pitched into some terrible luck this year. He has an ERA of 8.87 but a FIP and XFIP of a very respectable 3.77 and 3.38. Tomlin is up against a weak Royals offense here. 

The Royals start Jason Vargas here. Vargas has pitched really well this year. This play isn't a fade on him, but the team around him.

The Royals are at a severe disadvantage when it comes to offense, bullpen, and even their defense. Only the starting pitcher do they have an edge. 

Getting one of the best teams in baseball at almost even money is too cheap here.

Take Cleveland. 

*3 Star MLB TGIF Late Night BAILOUT* The Texas Rangers send Yu Darvish to the mound while the Seattle Mariners send Yovani Gallardo to the hill. This is a really big starting pitching mismatch. Darvish has had a couple hiccups, but he has some of the best stuff in the game, and he pitches really well away from home. Gallardo is near the end of his career, and his velocity is terrible now. I don't see things getting better for him.

The Texas Rangers have had some bad bullpen collapses this year, so the public perception would be that the Rangers bullpen is worse than Seattle's. The statistics show that it hasn't been though. Seattle has the worst bullpen ERA in baseball and the Rangers are 4th worst. All three of the FIP, XFIP, and SIERA (sabermetrics gauges) have the Rangers as having the better bullpen as compared to the Mariners.

The Rangers are 4-1 in Darvish's last 5 starts against Seattle. At this price, I'm on the Rangers.

Take Texas. 

*3 Star Play on White Sox ML* The Chicago White Sox are too big of an underdog here. Miguel Gonzalez is going back to pitch against his old team. You never know exactly how that will turn out, but Gonzalez has been solid this year with a 3.27 ERA and you know he will be very motivated here.

Wade Miley is badly overpriced right now. Miley is stranding 89.4% of runners on base so far this year. That's completely unsustainable. Miley also has a batting average on balls in play against him of only .254 compared to .328 a year ago. 

The White Sox are top five in the majors in weighted on base average against lefties. The bullpens are pretty even and this is a line that should be around +120, so we are getting too good of a price to pass on.

The Orioles are 2-6 in Miley's last 8 home starts. The White Sox are 8-2 in their last 10 games vs. a left handed starter. 

Take the White Sox. 

*4 Star MLB Thursday Early Bird Special* Bill Miller is one of the best under umpires in baseball. No other umpire has made me as much money in the past few years as Miller. The under has value to start with Miller behind the plate. In fact, the under is 219-173 in his games behind the plate (56% under wins). 

The wind here is a major factor as well. The wind is expecting to be blowing in from left center field at 15-20 mph throughout the game with gusts to 25 mph. With a temperature only in the low to mid 60's, the ball won't be carrying well on Thursday afternoon in Kansas City.

The Royals are dead last in weighted on base average in the majors against left handed pitching. The White Sox are dead last in the same category against right handed pitching. Holland is a mediocre lefty, but that should be enough to slow the Royals. Ian Kennedy has been good for the Royals, and his swinging strikes rate and overall strikeout rate has me relatively high on him right now.

The under is 6-0-1 in the Royals last 7 home games vs. a team with a winning record. The under is 5-0 in the Royals last 5 vs. a left handed starter. The under is 6-0 in the Royals last 6 games overall vs. a team with a winning record. A 17-0 angle.

Take the under. 

*3 Star MLB Late Night BAILOUT* The Seattle Mariners start Hisashi Iwakuma here. Iwakuma's numbers on the year don't look all that bad, but a closer look at him and I think he is in some real trouble going forward.

Iwakuma has a 4.15 ERA, but his FIP is 6.58 on the season. Iwakuma is striking out only 4.15 batters per nine innings. He struck out 7.70 per nine innings two years ago. Iwakuma is allowing more hard contact than he has at any other time in his career. His velocity is down drastically this year, and it suggests either simple aging (he is 36) or an injury of some kind. 

Ricky Nolasco starts for the Angels. Nolasco has a 4.13 ERA but a FIP of 5.26, so he has gotten lucky as well. Nolasco isn't a terrible pitcher, but he isn't good either.

Adrian Johnson is behind home plate and he's a very good over umpire. The over is hitting at a 57% clip in his last 5 years of games behind home plate.

Take the over. 

*4 Star Play on White Sox ML* I'm not one to like to back Mike Pelfrey on a regular basis, but this price is ridiculous. The Royals offense has been consistently the worst in the majors. They'll likely get to Pelfrey a decent amount, but Nate Karns isn't a shutdown guy by any means.

Karns and Pelfrey have similar FIP's, and these are two guys who are unreliable. What about the bullpens? The White Sox have a huge advantage here. The Royals have one of the three or four worst bullpens in baseball.

With the White Sox having the better offense and the better bullpen, this price should be around even money. I'll gladly take the big plus money price.

Take the White Sox. 

*4 Star MLB 100% Angle CRUSHER* The Washington Nationals are absolutely crushing left handed pitching so far this year. Washington has an amazing .439 OBP against lefties this year. That's obviously not going to continue, but the Nationals are going to be one of the top three or four in the majors against lefties.

Arizona ranked as the best team in the majors against lefties according to weighted on base average last year. The Diamondbacks are 11th so far this year. Expect them to be very good in that category again this year.

Robbie Ray is a pretty good starter, but walks are a major problem. Ray is walking 5.04 batters per nine innings. That's bad news when Paul Emmel is the home plate umpire. He is arguably the best over umpire in the business and he won't give Ray any breaks here.

Gio Gonzalez is due for some major regression. Gonzalez has a 1.62 ERA and a 3.69 FIP and a 4.17 FIP. That suggests he has gotten very fortunate so far this year. He started really fast last year before pitching some subpar baseball the rest of the way.

The over is 7-0-1 in the Nats last 8 games. The over is 6-0-1 in their last 7 vs. the NL West. The over is 3-0-1 in their last 4 home games. A 16-0 angle.

Take the over. 

*3 Star Play on Pirates ML* The Cincinnati Reds hot start was never going to last. I'm a Reds fan personally, but I don't make bets based on who I like, I bet based on where I see value. 

Jameson Taillon is a really good young pitcher. He has great control and is able to limit the big innings because of that. Rookie Davis is walking 6.52 batters per nine innings this year, so obviously control is a problem for him. Add in the fact that he has a swinging strike rate of only 6.6%, and he is a guy I'll look to fade.

The Pirates have the deeper lineup and the much better starter here. Tom Hallion is the umpire and the road team is 94-64 in Hallion's last 158 games behind home plate. I hate to put too much stock into things like that, but it seems like Hallion likes to send the home fans home ticked off. It's just an extra boost to a bet that already had value.

Take Pittsburgh. 

*4 Star MLB Oddsmaker ERROR* The Kansas City Royals are still being mispriced by the oddsmakers. This isn't the same Kansas City Royals team from a couple years ago. Kansas City has a much weaker offense, a much worse bullpen, and the starting rotation is one of the worst in baseball.

Danny Duffy is probably the most consistent pitcher in the rotation, but he's a 3.75 ERA type of guy. Jose Quintana has proven himself to be even better than Duffy in my opinion. Quintana is off to a bit of a slow start, but his consistency in the last three years with an ERA of 3.36 or lower every year tells me he should get much better in the near future. 

The White Sox lineup is set up to hit well against lefties. Chicago is fourth in the majors in weighted on base average against lefties so far this year. 

The White Sox are 7-1 in their last 8 games against a left handed starter.

Take Chicago here. 

*3 Star MLB Late Night BAILOUT* The Los Angeles Dodgers start Clayton Kershaw in this one. Kershaw is definitely the best pitcher in baseball. He dominates in ways no one else can. Kershaw consistently gets some of the highest swinging strike percentages of anyone in baseball. He is extremely consistent, and he pitches very deep into games.

The Giants start Johnny Cueto here. Cueto is certainly a good pitcher, but he isn't even close to the same caliber as Kershaw. I'm starting to think Cueto isn't quite what he was a year or two ago either. Cueto's velocity isn't what it was a couple years ago, and he is giving up a lot more hard contact.

San Francisco's lineup is a major mess right now. The Giants are without Crawford and Span, and this an offense that doesn't have a big margin for error. 

The Dodgers offense has underperformed in a big way so far this year, but against right handed pitching this team is going to be excellent. Positive regression is coming for this Dodgers offense.

The Giants are at a big bullpen disadvantage here as well.

Take the Dodgers -1.5. 

*4 Star MLB Monday BEST Bet* The New York Mets were beaten 23-5 yesterday in Washington. Yes, you read that correctly. The Mets have been a mess this year, and it doesn't appear to be getting better in any way right now. 

In some sports, teams who are beaten badly bounce back at a nice clip in the next game. That isn't the case in Major League Baseball. In fact, in the long run it has been a profitable move to continue to go against teams that just got blasted in their last game.

The bigger reason for this play though is Julio Teheran giving the Braves a starting pitching edge, and the Braves offense being so much better than the Mets. The Mets really miss Cespedes (on offense and defense), and the Braves offense is much better this year than they have been in the past couple seasons.

Teheran has a dazzling 2.25 ERA in 104 innings against the Mets in his career. Teheran goes against a short handed Mets lineup here. Gsellman starts for the Mets, and he has been very shaky this year. His control has been a big problem.

Take Atlanta. 

*3 Star MLB Total DOMINATION* The Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles are both better on offense than they have shown in the early going this year. Both of these teams have a large amount of proven hitters who are underachieving thus far, and those guys should start producing sooner rather than later. 

Rick Porcello isn't nearly as good as you would think based on the fact that he won the AL Cy Young award last year. Porcello is a pitch to contact guy who has only been mediocre in his career against Baltimore. The Orioles have a .323 OBP against him.

Dylan Bundy has been good this year, but I still don't trust his consistency, especially away from home. Bundy has a career 2.67 ERA at home and a 4.53 ERA on the road. 

The Orioles bullpen is good, but it takes a big hit without Britton. The Red Sox bullpen is only average. 

This one is priced too low. 

Take the over. 

*3 Star Cubs/Red Sox Sunday Night CASH* The Chicago Cubs are defending champs, and they are going to be one of the teams to beat this year once again. Boston has a high ceiling, but the Red Sox haven't played very well this year. 

Kyle Hendricks is better than his early ERA for this season looks. Hendricks has pitched into some bad luck and in the long run his ERA should come back down to 3.5 or so. 

Eduardo Rodriguez pitched a gem in his last start, but it's hard to count on him. Rodriguez has been wildly inconsistent in his young career. He has been much worse at home. His Fenway Park ERA is 4.71 compared to 3.64 on the road. 

The Cubs have the more consistent pitcher, and the Cubs have the much better bullpen here. I'll take the small plus money price.

Boston is 2-8 in Rodriguez's last 10 home starts.

Take the Cubs. 

*4 Star MLB Sunday's BEST Bet* The Oakland Athletics will be one of the worst teams in the American League this year. Houston will be one of the best in the American League. In fact, I see Houston as a team that could win the World Series this year. 

Dallas Keuchel has been amazing at home in his career. After a bit of a disappointing season last year, Keuchel has been on his game so far this year. He'll face an Oakland lineup that isn't any good against lefties in this contest.

Jesse Hahn has some terrible home/road splits. His home ERA is 2.96 in his career, but his career road ERA is 4.51. Hahn has made three starts against Houston in his career, and he has a 6.75 ERA in those starts. In his two starts in Houston, Hahn has allowed 10 runs in 6 and 2/3 innings. 

The Astros have the much better starting pitcher. Houston has the better offense by a wide margin and the better bullpen by a solid margin as well.

Take Houston -1.5. 

*3 Star MLB Red HOT CASH* The Arizona Diamondbacks start Zack Greinke here. Greinke has been much better so far this year than last. Greinke has a swinging strike rate of 12.9% so far this year, which is the highest of his career. That obviously won't stay that high, but still it shows that his stuff has had some good bite this season.

Tyler Anderson is a decent lefty for Colorado, but Arizona is excellent against left handed pitching. The Diamondbacks are 8-1 in their last 9 home games against left handed starters. Arizona will probably finish the season in the top five in the majors in OBP against lefties for the second straight season. 

The Rockies offense is good, but they aren't great. Colorado isn't completely healthy, and the Rockies have been winning a lot of games because of their improved pitching. I think Arizona has a big pitching advantage here. 

The Diamondbacks are 19-7 in their last 26 home games. They are 8-3 in Greinke's last 11 home starts. The Rockies are 1-6 in Anderson's last 7 road starts.

Take Arizona. 

*4 Star Play on White Sox Moneyline* The Chicago White Sox shouldn't be this kind of an underdog against the Detroit Tigers. Detroit is without Miguel Cabrera and JD Martinez. That's two of their top three hitters out of the lineup. That's especially important since Cabrera and Martinez are excellent against lefties and Derek Holland starts for the White Sox in this one.

Derek Holland is a mediocre starter, and there is no doubt Detroit has the starting pitching advantage with Michael Fulmer on the mound. That isn't the only factor in the game though. Too many bettors handicap only the starting pitching matchup. 

The Tigers have what is arguably the worst bullpen in baseball. The White Sox bullpen ranks in the top five in the majors in all the advanced statistical categories so far this year. The White Sox defense is also better than the Tigers.

This kind of price is just way too much to overlook. Detroit isn't very good right now, and they can't be laying this number. 

Take the White Sox. 

*3 Star MLB Major MISMATCH* The San Diego Padres are one of, if not the worst team in baseball this year. San Diego starts Jered Weaver here, and at this stage of his career he is terrible.

Weaver has a 3.91 ERA this year, but don't let that fool you. Weaver has been unbelievably fortunate so far this season. Opponents have a .182 batting average on balls in play against him. That's completely unsustainable since the average is nearly .300. Also, Weaver has stranded 91% of runners so far this year. That is also unsustainable in the long run.

Taijuan Walker is showing signs of improving this year. He has elite stuff and if he can command all of his pitches, his upside is huge. 

The Padres offense is one of the worst in baseball. Arizona's offense is solid. 

The Diamondbacks have won 8 of their 13 home games by at least 2 runs so far this year. Arizona at plus money on the run line is a good value here.

Take Arizona -1.5. 

*3 Star MLB Total DOMINATION* The Los Angeles Dodgers have been awful against left handed pitching. The Dodgers are 21st in the majors in weighted on base average against left handed pitching so far this year. Last year, they were dead last in the majors in that same statistic against lefties. Matt Moore isn't a particularly great lefty, but this is a very good pitchers park, and the Dodgers don't hit those lefties well to start with. 

Julio Urias is going to be a star for the Dodgers. How soon? Likely sooner than you would think. Urias was very good in his rookie year last year despite being 19 years old. His stuff is electric and he'll be up against a Giants lineup that is badly banged up. The Giants lineup as it stands right now is one of the five worst in the majors.

It's a get away day which makes me lean more toward the under with some key players possibly getting the day off. Also, Kerwin Danley is the umpire here and the under is 86-50 in his last 136 games behind home plate.

Take the under. 

*3 Star MLB 100% Angle CRUSHER* The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants have a great rivalry. These two teams bring it every time they meet up with each other. While the Giants haven't been good so far this year, we have seen a much better Giants team show up in the first two games of this series.

Bill Miller is the home plate umpire here. Miller ranks second out of more than 80 umpires in the majors in percentage of pitches called a strike in the last five years. The under is cashing at a 56% clip in Miller's last 300 games behind home plate. You won't find a better under umpire than Miller. He has made me a lot of cash in the past few years.

Johnny Cueto has a 2.61 ERA at AT&T Park. Cueto also has a 2.99 ERA in his career in the first half of the season. He starts strong, and I expect a good outing from him against the Dodgers here.

Alex Wood is a solid pitcher, and he goes against a Giants lineup that has all kinds of injury problems right now.

The Dodgers bullpen is elite and the Giants bullpen is no worse than mediocre.

The under is 7-0 in the Dodgers last 7 games vs. a pitcher with a WHIP of 1.30 or higher. The under is 4-0 in their last 4 when their opponent allows 2 runs or less last game. The under is 4-0 in Wood's last 4 starts following a team loss. The under is 4-0 in the Giants last 4 vs. a team with a losing record. The under is 4-0 in the Giants last 4 home games. The under is 4-0 in the Giants last 4 vs. a left handed starter. The under is 4-0 in Cueto's last 4 starts vs. the Dodgers. A 31-0 angle.

Take the under. 

*3 Star MLB Total DOMINATION* The Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers meet on Wednesday night in Texas.  Both of these offenses are underachieving so far this year, but I expect them to warm up soon.

Texas has the third lowest batting average on balls in play (BABIP) as a team this year. That tells you they are having some really bad luck in general when it comes to batted balls. This is a Rangers team that has typically been good against left-handed pitching.

Hector Santiago and Cole Hamels both carry some ridiculous strand rates and opponents BABIP numbers. Both of these guys are going to regress in a negative way soon.

Hamels' worst month of the year historically is the first month of the season. Santiago has consistently proven himself to not be good enough to be effective as a starter.

We have an over umpire here in David Rackley. The wind will be blowing out at 15-20 mph during this one as well.

Take the over.

*4 Star Play on Arizona Moneyline* The Arizona Diamondbacks start Patrick Corbin on Tuesday night. Corbin has thrown the ball better so far this year, and he certainly has some real potential. He has multiple strikeout pitches, and he'll be up against a bad Padres team here.

Clayton Richard has stranded 85% of runners so far this year. That isn't going to continue. It's something that shows clear regression on its way. I think it is likely to pop up here against an Arizona team that ranks in the top five as far as best lineups against left handed pitching.

Arizona is 7-0 in their last 7 home games vs. a left handed starting pitcher. 

Arizona is a surprise team this year, and I do think they have some staying power. I think the Padres are the worst team in the majors. A good price here.

Take Arizona. 

*4 Star MLB Oddsmaker ERROR* The St. Louis Cardinals are a better team than they have shown so far this year. I still think the Cardinals have one of the better offenses in the National League. They haven't proven it yet this year, but I think they will in time.

Michael Wacha has a career 2.61 ERA in the first month of the year. He's at his best early in the season. Wacha has good movement on his pitches, and I expect him to continue to be a solid starter for the Cardinals.

Marco Estrada is past the prime of his career, and I think there will be some value in spots to fade him this year. 

The Blue Jays are in a brutal scheduling spot here. They played late Monday night in Anaheim before traveling to St. Louis to play the well-rested Cardinals. Toronto is without Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki here. 

The oddsmakers are underrating this St. Louis team. The spot for Toronto and their injuries make this a really good value.

Take St. Louis. 

*3 Star Play Over* Dylan Covey only pitched six games above the High A ball level of the minor leagues, and yet he is somehow in the White Sox starting rotation. It makes little sense to me. Covey was tatooed for 8 runs in his last start against the Yankees. As long as he is in the rotation, I think we should assume he'll have a lot of bad games. Covey walked more than 5 batters per nine innings in Double A last year, and he's struck out only 1.74 batters per nine innings so far this year. 

The Royals offense isn't good, but I think any big league offense should get a lot of chances to score against Dylan Covey.

Danny Duffy is a quality pitcher, but the White Sox are going to be good against lefties this year. Several guys on this roster are much better against south paws than right handed pitching. 

The over is 4-1-2 in Duffy's last 7 road starts. There is early sharp money on the over, and I'm going to agree with them here.

Take the over. 

*3 Star Play on Rays ML* Who is Wade Miley to be laying this kind of price against anyone? Miley has finished with a 4.34 ERA or higher in each of his last 3 seasons. So far this year, Miley has a 1.89 ERA. That will change in the near future. Whether it will be in this game or not is harder to predict, but given this price I'll take the Rays.

Miley has stranded a ridiculous 91.6% of baserunners this year. 70% is a decent long term average, so you can see he is due for regression here. Additionally, batters have a .162 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) against Miley. The average is close to .300, so batters have been hitting it right where the defense is against Miley so far this year. This is something that has to regress over time.

Erasmo Ramirez has great numbers against this Orioles lineup. Baltimore's hitters have a combined .221 average and .243 OBP against Ramirez. 

Tampa Bay is better against lefties than righties. I'll take the high price here.

Take Tampa Bay. 

*3 Star MLB 100% Angle CRUSHER* The Chicago White Sox aren't a very good team, but they will hit left handed pitching better than right handed pitching. They have several guys in their lineup that are much better against lefties than righties. 

Jason Vargas has some amazing stats so far this year for the Royals. I don't expect him to be able to keep them going. Vargas has proven himself over the years to be a mediocre pitcher. Not very many guys undergo this kind of transformation when they are 34 years old. Regression is coming for Vargas.

The Royals are a team I'm looking to fade this year. This Royals offense is terrible. Kansas City's bullpen is no longer a strength either. 

The White Sox are 4-0 in Miguel Gonzalez's last 4 starts. The Royals are 0-7 in their last 7 vs. the AL Central. The Royals are 0-5 in their last 5 road games. The Royals are 0-4 in their last 4 games vs. a team with a losing record. A 20-0 angle. 

Take the White Sox. 

*4 Star MLB Sunday Night Baseball CASH* Max Scherzer has absolutely dominated the New York Mets in his career. Scherzer has an amazing 1.83 ERA in 69 innings pitched against the Mets in his career. Even more impressive, Scherzer has allowed only three earned runs in his last 35 and 1/3 innings pitched at Citi Field. 

Scherzer is dialed in to start the season. His velocity is excellent and his command has been even better than in previous years.

Zack Wheeler has a lot of potential, but this is a guy who has been hit hard by the Nationals in his career, and he is still working his way back from an injury. His career ERA against Washington is 5.05. 

The Nationals have the better pitcher, bullpen, and the better lineup.

Washington is 6-0 in their last 6 games. They are 5-0 in their last 5 road games. They are 6-0 in Scherzer's last 6 road starts vs. a team with a losing record. The Mets are 0-4 in Wheeler's last 4 home starts. The Mets are 0-4 in Wheeler's last 4 home starts against Washington as well. A 25-0 angle. Take Washington. 

*3 Star Play on Rangers -1.5* The Texas Rangers have Yu Darvish on the mound here. Darvish was really disappointed after his last start, and I think we'll see him pitch much better here. He has elite stuff, and he throws his best at the beginning of the season.

Darvish has a tremendous 2.54 ERA in the first month of the season in his career. The Rangers offense is due to hit much better. There are several guys in this lineup that are way too good to keep struggling the way they have so far. 

Kansas City's Jason Hammel is a mediocre pitcher and he's backed by a bad offense and a bad bullpen. 

Look for the Rangers to run away with this one.

Take Texas -1.5. 

*3 Star Play on Pirates ML* The Pittsburgh Pirates are significantly better against left handed pitching than righties. Jordan Montgomery is a decent prospect for the Yankees, but I see this as a tough spot for him. He faces a lineup that makes a lot of hard contact against lefties, and he doesn't have good secondary pitches.

Ivan Nova has been in great form so far this year. Nova has a 2.25 ERA so far this year, and a FIP of 2.90 suggests it hasn't been all about good luck by any means. Nova hasn't walked a single batter so far this year. That kind of control makes a huge difference.

The Pirates are 12-5 in their last 17 games against left handed starters. The Yankees are 3-9 in their last 12 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.

Take Pittsburgh. 

*4 Star Play on Miami Marlins ML* When I can fade Jered Weaver for just a little more than even money, I'm usually going to do it. I'll take the Marlins here. Straily is a decent pitcher. I rate him at about a big league average starter. Jered Weaver is one of the worst starters in all of baseball.

A guy like Weaver with an 81 mph fastball has to hit his spots perfectly every single time, because no one is worried about him blowing it by them. 

San Diego is also at a disadvantage in the bullpen. The Miami bullpen has some good youngsters who I expect to develop into very good relievers. 

The Padres also have a much weaker offense than the Marlins. I expect the Padres to be the worst team in baseball this year. Miami isn't a good team, but the Marlins should be competitive and be close to .500 on the season.

The Padres are 0-7 in their last 7 vs. the NL East. I'll fade Weaver here.

Take Miami. 

*3 Star Play Under* Mark Ripperger is one of the best under umpires in the game today. He'll help both young pitchers in this one. Jharel Cotton has a really high upside, and he is a guy who can be really tough to hit if he gets ahead in the count. Look for him to be ahead in the count more often with a strike caller like Ripperger behind the dish.

Ariel Miranda isn't a special pitcher by any means, but the Oakland A's offense should be one of the worst in the majors this year overall, and they are worse against left-handed pitching than righties. Miranda has enough pitches in his repertoire that he can likely keep the A's to a small amount of runs here. 

The under is 4-0-1 in Cotton's last 5 home starts. The under is 4-1 in Miranda's last 5 starts.

Take the under. 

*4 Star MLB Early Bird Special* The Detroit Tigers are much better against left handed pitching than righties. They'll face a subpar lefty in Adalberto Mejia on Saturday afternoon. 

Mejia has struggled with his control early in the season, and the Tigers should be able to make him work here. The Tigers got Justin Upton back in the lineup on Friday night, and Detroit is loaded with really good right-handed bats. 

Matt Boyd pitched really well in Triple A last year, and he pitched well late in the season in the majors. He has continued that strong performance into this year. Boyd has a solid 3.77 ERA on the year. Boyd has held Twins hitters to a .202 average in 84 career at bats. It's a small sample size, but it is a nice bonus.

This price is too cheap. Detroit is 7-1 in their last 8 games vs. a left handed starter.

Take Detroit. 

*3 Star Play on Toronto Moneyline* The Toronto Blue Jays are certainly a weaker team with Josh Donaldson out of the lineup, but they are still definitely better than they have shown. I think it could do them some good to get away from home right now. Sometimes when you are losing on a consistent basis, getting away from the pressures of playing at home can help a team turn things around.

The Angels are a team I have rated a little lower than the Blue Jays. Alex Meyer is a guy who walks a ton of hitters, and that's a guy I can't lay big money with. Mat Latos isn't a pitcher I love either, but this is a nice price grab on the team with the slightly better bullpen and at least equal offense (even without Donaldson). The Angels have stars, but they don't have depth in the lineup.

I'll look to take advantage of the oddsmakers finally getting too low on this Toronto team. Grab this plus money price.

Take Toronto. 

*3 Star Play on Seattle Moneyline* The Seattle Mariners are a much better team than they have shown so far this year. Seattle is 1-7 on the road so far this year, and that's why we are getting this price. 

Still, Seattle is the much better team. Oakland has one of the worst offenses in the majors. Sean Manaea is definitely a good young starter for the A's, but the Mariners will be one of the best offenses in the majors this year against left handed pitching.

The Mariners are a perfect 5-0 in Hisashi Iwakuma's last 5 starts in Oakland. Iwakuma has a career 3.12 ERA in Oakland.

The bullpens here are pretty similar. The offense of Seattle is so much better though, and I think this game should be at least even money. Grab the nice plus money price on the Mariners.

Take Seattle. 

*3 Star Play on Dodgers Moneyline* The Diamondbacks are in their first game back from a road trip, and this can be a tough spot for teams. Arizona is better than they were last year, but they aren't as good as their record would indicate. At the same time, the Dodgers are definitely better than their record would indicate. 

Alex Wood is more than serviceable and the Dodgers bullpen behind him is one of the best in the majors. Taijuan Walker has potential but he has had issues with the long ball in the past, and Chase Field with the roof open is a hitters paradise.

The Dodgers lineup is excellent against right handed pitching. The price is depressed too much for me to pass on this one.

Take the Dodgers. 

*4 Star MLB Total PERFECTION* The San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies have both been struggling to score runs of late. While Coors Field is obviously a great hitters park, the weather conditions here for Friday night's game aren't conducive to the ball carrying. The temperature will be in the mid 40's and the wind will be blowing in at about 10 mph.

Johnny Cueto has a dazzling 2.43 ERA in six career starts at Coors Field. That's one of the best marks you'll ever see from a pitcher with a lot of innings at Coors Field. Cueto has allowed only four runs in his last 22 innings pitched at Coors Field.

Tyler Chatwood has an amazing 2.55 ERA against the Giants in 74 career innings. In two of his last three starts against the Giants, the Giants finished the game with zero runs.

This total is high considering the situation and the pitching matchup. Also, Carlos Gonzalez is questionable for this game.

Some big trends pointing to the under here. The under is 4-0 in the Giants last 4 games. The under is 5-0 in their last 5 when their opponent scores 2 runs or less last game. The under is 7-0 in their last 7 games vs. a right handed starter. The under is 8-0 in the Rockies last 8 following a loss. The under is 5-0 in their last 5 after scoring 2 runs or less last game. The under is 4-0 in their last 4 vs. the NL West. The under is 4-0 in the Rockies last 4 during game one of a series. The under is 4-0 in Chatwood's last 4 starts. A combined 41-0 angle.

Take the under. 

*4 Star MLB Oddsmaker MISTAKE* The San Francisco Giants have underachieved so far this year. Colorado has overachieved thus far. This is the time of the year where you can start taking advantage of overreactions to results from the first 15 or 16 games of the season. 

Johnny Cueto is a top 20 pitcher in the majors. Tyler Chatwood isn't even a top 100 pitchers in the majors. This is a pitching mismatch. While Chatwood has been great on the road, he has a 4.93 ERA at Coors Field in his career. 

Cueto has allowed only 4 runs in his last 22 innings pitched at Coors Field. He has a career 2.43 ERA at Coors Field.

Carlos Gonzalez is questionable with an injury here. The Giants have Buster Posey back in the lineup now. The Rockies have a .201 average this year against right handed pitching. 

I think this line should be about 20 points higher. Take San Francisco. 

*4 Star Play on Detroit* The Detroit Tigers start Justin Verlander here, and I think he'll stop their recent losing streak. Verlander was rocked in his last outing in Cleveland, but he has a good track record against the Twins. In 9 career starts at Target Field against the Twins, Verlander has a stellar 2.35 ERA.

Hector Santiago isn't nearly as good as he has pitched so far this year. Santiago has been a below average pitcher through his career.

Santiago has been extremely lucky. That can be seen through opponents .222 batting average on balls in play against him. Compare that with Verlander's .340 batting average on balls in play (BABIP), and you can see who has been lucky and unlucky so far this year. They should regress to the mean.

The Tigers are excellent against lefties. Detroit is 7-0 in their last 7 games against left handed starters. The Tigers are 7-2 in Verlander's last 9 road starts against Minnesota. 

Take Detroit. 

*3 Star Play on Cubs -1.5* The Chicago Cubs have clearly underachieved so far this year. This team is going to be amazing once again, and their prices have come down slightly. The Cincinnati Reds are overachieving in a big way, and I do not expect that to continue. This Reds team has way too many problems to be an above .500 team. 

Jon Lester is one of the most consistent lefties in the game, and the Reds struggle against lefties. In each of the last four years, the Reds have finished with a lower average against lefties than righties. They are 16-35 in their last 51 against left-handed starters. 

The Cubs are 8-1 in Lester's last 9 starts vs. the Reds. The Cubs are 86-41 in their last 127 against the NL Central. 

The Cubs are better in every facet of the game.

Take the Cubs -1.5. 

*4 Star Play on Arizona Moneyline* The Arizona Diamondbacks are a much better team than the San Diego Padres. Anytime I can get Arizona at this cheap of a price against the Padres, I'll have a hard time passing it up.

In this particular matchup, Clayton Richard toes the rubber for the Padres. Richard has a long track record in the majors, and there's nothing that suggests he'll be able to keep his 3.60 ERA for very long. Richard is a worse than average lefty, and he is facing a Diamondbacks team that excels at hitting left-handed pitching.

Arizona finished in the top three in the majors in weighted on base average against lefties last year. They should finish near the top again this year.

Patrick Corbin definitely has a higher upside than Richard, and he gets to pitch in a park that is kind to fly ball pitchers here. 

Take Arizona at this low price. 

*5 Star TOP Play Under* The Houston Astros have Lance McCullers on the mound on Thursday. McCullers is a guy with a really high upside. I think he has the stuff to be an All Star every year and contend for a Cy Young award. McCullers has a career 2.18 ERA at home. 

The Angels lineup isn't deep. Mike Trout is the best player in baseball, and Albert Pujols is hitting the ball well, but in general this team isn't very good down the order.

Matt Shoemaker starts here for the Angels. Shoemaker is the Angels best pitcher, at least in my opinion. He has a deceptive delivery and mixes up his pitches well. The Astros offense is missing Carlos Correa right now, and he is considered doubtful for this game. 

Tripp Gibson is the umpire here, and my umpire spreadsheet says he is a decent under umpire. It's a Wednesday get away day game and that's definitely a positive for the under as well.

Take the under big! 

*3 Star Play Under* The Los Angeles Dodgers are terrible against left handed pitching. This offense is one of the best in the majors against righties, but against lefties they are a bottom six or eight offense in baseball.

Tyler Anderson has a solid track record in the minors and in the majors last year, and I expect him to pitch better than he has shown so far this season. Look for positive regression on the way for Anderson.

Clayton Kershaw dominates the game like no other pitcher. Kershaw is at his best at Dodger Stadium and this Rockies lineup isn't completely healthy right now. They are better against right handed pitching as well.

The under is 6-0 in the Rockies last 6 vs. a lefty. The under is 20-9 in the Dodgers last 29 home games vs. a left handed starter.

Take the under. 

*4 Star MLB Late Night BAILOUT* Zack Greinke has a superb 1.90 ERA in 10 career starts in San Diego. Greinke loves pitching in this park, and the Padres have what I believe is the worst team in baseball this season. 

Jhoulys Chacin starts here for the Padres. Chacin had a 7.71 ERA in spring training, and his ERA in the regular season so far is 7.80. His WHIP has been above 2 consistently through the spring and in the regular season. 

Arizona's offense is much better than the San Diego offense. Greinke gives them a massive advantage at the starting pitcher spot. The Diamondbacks bullpen isn't good, but the Padres pen isn't much better. This is a good value on the moneyline.

Arizona is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings between these two teams. I'll grab the Diamondbacks here as a play on Greinke and a fade of a Padres team that I expect to be awful all year.

Take Arizona. 

*3 Star Play on Detroit Moneyline* I like Chris Archer, so this isn't a game I had circled to play Detroit, but this line is too high to pass. 

I rate Detroit as the better team between these two. The Tigers have a much more powerful lineup, and I'll be surprised if they don't finish the year with a better record than Tampa Bay. Jordan Zimmermann had a down year last year due to injuries, but he has a long history of being a quality pitcher. I think we are grabbing the better team at implied odds of 38.5% of winning this game. 

Tampa Bay is 0-7 in their last 7 home games with Archer starting against a team with a winning record. Detroit is 5-0 in their last 5 following a loss. The Rays are 0-4 in Archer's last 4 starts vs. Detroit.

An inflated price here. Take Detroit as a big dog. 

*4 Star MLB 100% Angle CRUSHER* The Boston Red Sox have what is arguably the best lineup in baseball. Boston is going to score a ton of runs this year. The Red Sox are without Jackie Bradley Jr, but for the most part they are healthy again now after going through some nasty sicknesses for the first week or two of the season. 

Toronto's lineup isn't healthy. Josh Donaldson is the best player on this team, and he is out of the lineup due to an injury. The Blue Jays have started the season really badly, and it feels like this thing is unraveling really quickly on the Jays. 

Rick Porcello isn't a guy I'm really high on, but he's pitched into some bad luck so far this year. Porcello has good control and that's a lot more than you can say about Francisco Liriano. Liriano has always been shaky with his command and this year he is walking more than 7 batters per nine innings. That's really dangerous against a lineup like this.

The Red Sox are 4-0 in their last 4 vs. the AL East. They are 5-0 in their last 5 on turf. The Jays are 0-7 in their last 7 Wednesday games. Toronto is 0-5 in their last 5 after scoring 5 runs or more last game. A 21-0 angle. 

Take Boston. 

*3 Star Play on Arizona* The San Diego Padres should be the worst team in baseball this year. San Diego has issues all over the place. Their starting pitching is just awful. I can't remember the last time I saw a major league team with starting pitching this bad. The Padres aren't good hitters either, and the defense is below average.

Jarred Cosart had a 6.00 ERA in 16 starts last year. Cosart has a 3.86 ERA on the season so far, but that won't continue. Cosart had an ERA of 4.09 and a FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) of an ugly 6.07 in Triple A last year. 

Shelby Miller had some serious problems last year, but he looks like a better pitcher to me this season. Miller is much healthier and his velocity is back up. Miller no longer has the strange follow through that he had last season.

Miller has the potential to be very good this year, while Cosart doesn't.

A good price on the better overall team. Take Arizona. 

*4 Star MLB Oddsmaker ERROR* The Texas Rangers should be favored by more than this against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night. Yu Darvish takes the hill for the Rangers, and Darvish has some of the best stuff in baseball. If he can stay healthy, expect a really good season out of him this year.

The Rangers are 3-11 in Darvish's last 14 starts against Oakland, which is likely the main reason why this number is so short. I think this gives us an opportunity to take advantage of the low line. A trend like this needs to be taken in the correct context. Texas hasn't hit the ball for Darvish in those games. Darvish has held Oakland hitters to a career .211 batting average, so it hasn't been on him much of the time. A trend like the one listed above isn't likely to be predictive of future results when you find underlying stats like we have in this game.

Andrew Triggs is a soft tosser that relies on weak contact. The Rangers lineup is much better than the A's lineup, and the Rangers obviously have a big starting pitching advantage.

Take Texas. 

*3 Star Play Over* Zach Wheeler certainly has potential, but with his kind of injury history and lack of work in the last few years, he is a guy I have to be cautious with.

Zach Eflin just doesn't have good enough stuff to be a good big league pitcher. Eflin struck out only 4.41 batters per nine innings last year. That's an extremely low rate, and his minor league numbers don't show a guy who will strike out many either. Combine that with the fact that Eflin has below average command and you have a guy who isn't very good.

These two teams have a history of scoring a lot of runs against each other. The over is an impressive 70-34-5 in the last 109 games between these two NL East foes.

Given the question marks at pitcher and the lack of a dominant bullpen for either team, I'm taking the over. 

*4 Star MLB Total Domination* The Marlins have Koehler slated to pitch this game. In his career, he has a 4.50 ERA on the road. Miranda, who is set to start for the Mariners, is a young pitcher who has been having control problems. His FIP is above 6 this year, which suggests he is fortunate to not have an ever higher ERA this year. I like the over given this combination of subpar starting pitching.

The over is 11-4 in the Marlins last 15 interleague games. The over is 21-7-2 in the Marlins last 30 interleague games. I think this interleague contest will be high scoring as well.

Take the over.

*4 Star MLB Sunday Night Baseball CASH* St. Louis is off to a really bad start to the season. I think they'll have a tough time turning it around on Sunday night. Michael Pineda is far better than his numbers from last year show. His stuff is good enough to be an ace, but he occasionally can't command his stuff and misses with one in a bad part of the strike zone. The Cardinals haven't been hitting right now, and I think Pineda racks up the strikeouts here.

Even more importantly, I don't trust Adam Wainwright at all here. Wainwright has a 6.35 ERA in his last 18 starts on the road. Wainwright is way past his prime, and he has started giving up the long ball way too often.

The Cardinals bullpen has quite a few question marks, while the Yankees unquestionably have one of the best bullpens in baseball.

This is a good price on the home team.

Take the New York Yankees. 

*4 Star MLB Total DOMINATION* The Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians have two of the top offenses in the majors. Cleveland should be even better on offense than they were last year. The Indians have a great young leader in Lindor, and Carlos Santana is great at getting on base from the leadoff spot.

Detroit's lineup is excellent as well. Miguel Cabrera has hit into some bad luck in the early going. He's been ripping the ball all over the field, but hitting it right at people. He'll get it going, and so will Victor Martinez. Detroit will score a lot of runs this year.

Justin Verlander has a career 5.37 ERA at Progressive Field. Corey Kluber has a career 4.05 ERA against the Detroit Tigers. Both Verlander and Kluber have been at their worst from an ERA standpoint in the first month of the season over the course of their careers.

The over is 26-5 in the last 31 meetings between these two in Cleveland. The over is 6-1 in Kluber's last 7 vs. Detroit. The over is 9-4 in Verlander's last 13 starts vs. Cleveland. 

Take the over. 

*3 Star Play Under* Two excellent young pitchers going against each other in this one. Lance McCullers and Sean Manaea are both guys I have ranked very highly. I think these guys will both have breakout seasons this year. Perception isn't high enough on them yet to have a really low total, but I think this one deserves to be at no higher than 7.

Manaea just struck out 10 in his last start at Texas, and that's a really tough place to pitch. McCullers has been great this year, and he's up against one of the worst offenses in the American League in the Oakland A's. 

The under is 19-7 in McCullers' last 26 starts. The under is 6-1 in Manaea's last 7 starts vs. an AL West foe. The under is 7-1 in the last 8 meetings between these two.

Take the under. 

*3 Star MLB Early Bird Special* The Baltimore Orioles are 7-2 on the season thus far. Baltimore certainly has weaknesses, but their bullpen is one of the best in baseball and that's a huge weapon. Toronto's bullpen is below average, and they have very little depth in the pen.

Alec Asher starts for the Orioles here. He is considered a decent prospect. Asher doesn't have elite stuff by any means, but he does limit walks which is very important. Marco Estrada pitches for the Blue Jays. No doubt Estrada gives the Blue Jays an advantage at starter, but I don't think it's a huge one. 

Estrada is nearly 35 years old, and I believe he is past his prime. The Baltimore offense is underrated by many. Against right handed pitching, Baltimore is going to score a bunch of runs this year. This lineup is a deep one, and there is power throughout the order. 

How can a team playing as poorly as Toronto be laying -150 at most books? It makes little sense to me. 

Baltimore is 5-0 in their last 5 vs. a right handed starter. The Blue Jays are 0-7 in their last 7 on turf. They are 0-5 in their last 5 home games. They are 0-4 in Estrada's last 4 starts. Baltimore is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings between these two. A 25-0 angle. 

I'm taking the nice plus money price.

Take Baltimore.