Doc’s Sports Free Picks & Handicapper Review

7-Unit Play. Take #929 Chicago (NL) (-1.5, -130) over Chicago (AL) (7:10 p.m. Saturday, September 22)

Not that the Cubs need any extra motivation to beat their cross town rivals that have no chance of making the playoffs, but the Brewers are breathing down their neck for the National League Central title. Having Jon Lester toe the rubber usually leads to good results for the Cubs and I think that is what will happen tonight. Lester has gone 10-2 with a 2.82 ERA in 14 starts on the road this season, and in his last three starts away from Wrigley Field he has allowed just one run over 17.2 innings pitched. Lester beat the White Sox on May 12th 8-4 when he yielded one run on four hits through 5.2 innings. Lucas Giolito is part of the plans for the White Sox future but he hasn't been to effective this season. Giolito has struggled in 14 starts at home this year going 3-6 with a 7.91 ERA across 14 starts. The White Sox have lost the last four games Giolito has started with him allowing 12 earned runs over 20.2 innings and I think the Cubs offense will be able to produce in this contest. I think the Cubs bounce back from yesterday's defeat and inch closer to the playoffs. 

Best of Luck - Doc's S

5-Unit Play. Take #653. Edmonton -3 vs Ottawa (Saturday @ 4:00pm. Est).

In a league with just nine teams, it's easy to zig when you should zag and zag when you should zig. The Ottawa Redblacks are one of those teams that are hard to get a good read on, but in this spot, against this opponent, we feel the time is right to go against them. Look, Ottawa won last week at Saskatchewan. The offense put up 30 and the defense held the Riders into just 25 points. However, the Riders offense is not as prolific as the Edmonton offense is, so we expect Ottawa to be a step slow in their first game back after a two-game west coast road trip. Not to mention, Ottawa is on a bye next week, so with a comfortable lead in the division, it's not all that uncommon for teams to go through the motions in a spot similar to this. The Edmonton Eskimos come to town after putting up 48 on the vaunted Calgary defense. Mike Reilly connected on 30/44 passing for three touchdowns and also added 43 yards on the ground. A similar result will have the Eskimos leaving the Nations Capital with a win and will move them one step closer to Calgary who has a bye. The Eskimos are 7-0 vs a team with a winning record and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 Road games while the RedBlacks are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 home games.

4 Unit Play. Take #406 Alabama Crimson Tide over Texas A & M Aggies (3:30 p.m., Saturday, September 22 CBS) I guess you have to keep riding Alabama until they do not cover a spread. The Tide has looked dominating on all levels of play and we will lay the wood in this game against a rebuilding Texas A&M squad. The Aggies had their Super Bowl two weeks ago against Clemson, but that game was a home and I just do not believe they can put forth that big of an effort on the road. Alabama has won 20 straight home games by an average of 32 points per game. A&M is 4-9 ATS (1 push) in their last 14 SEC games. Alabama has covered the spread in 4 of their last 5 home games.

4 Unit Play. Take #380 Texas Longhorns over TCU Horned Frogs (4:30p.m., Saturday, September 22 FOX) TCU got shell shocked in the third quarter last week in a defacto home game against Ohio State. Texas is coming off an impressive win against USC and it is imperative that they follow that up with a victory this week to keep the momentum going. TCU has not played in Fort Worth since September 1st and that will catch up with them in this game. Texas has played a home heavy schedule as this is their fourth game of the season and their third game Texas Memorial Stadium. Coach Herman cannot afford to look past any opponent as he did not have a good season last year and already has a lost to Maryland this season. TCU is 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games following an ATS win in their previous game.

4 Unit Play. Take #359 Mississippi State Bulldogs over Kentucky Wildcats (7p.m., Saturday, September 22 ESPN2) The Bulldogs are for real in 2018 and they may be the second-best team in the SEC West. The SEC East appears to be Georgia and a bunch of pretenders and thus we will gladly lay the points on the road with the better overall team. QB Fitzgerald had 6 touchdowns last week and he has lighten up the scoreboard since coming off an opening game suspension. The Bulldogs are 8-1 straight-up (6-2 ATS) in their last 9 meetings with the Wildcats. Kentucky has not done well in Lexington going 6-20 ATS in their last 26 games at Commonwealth Stadium. Mississippi State is 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games against teams with a winning record.

10 Unit Play. Take #356 Oregon Ducks over Stanford Cardinal (8p.m., Saturday, September 22 ABC) This is a game that can put Oregon on the national radar once again. A win will likely prevent Stanford for reaching the PAC-12 Championship Game and set up a battle between Washington and Oregon on October 13. The Ducks result last week was misleading as they were clearly looking ahead to this game and have revenge on their minds after getting pounded last year in Palo Alto. Getting rid of Willie Taggert can only be beneficial evident by this lack of success at Florida State. Stanford is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games played in September. Oregon has the weapons to attack this Stanford defense and expect them to win straight-up. The Line has swing too much and the value now clearly lies with Oregon.

4 Unit Play. Take #348 Virginia Cavaliers over Louisville Cardinals (12:30p.m., Saturday, September 22 ACCN) The Cardinals appear to be in a downward trend and this year they have no Lamar Jackson to bail them out. They were outgained last week against Western Kentucky and now face a better defense in Virginia this Saturday. Louisville is 5-13 ATS in their last 18 games. Virginia has a chance to make a bowl game this year but must win this game in order to accomplish that. Virginia is 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games against teams with a winning record. Louisville is 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games played during September.

4 Unit Play. Take #337 Clemson Tigers over Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3:30p.m., Saturday, September 22 ABC) The Tigers have the defensive line that will be able to stop the rushing attack of the Yellow Jackets. Clemson has won 5 of the last 6 meetings (4-2 ATS) by an average margin of victory of 18 points per game. Clemson is allowing just 89 yards rushing each game (about 2.1 yards per carry). Georgia Tech has scored just 17 combined points in their last 2 games against Clemson. Georgia Tech is 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Yellow Jackets are in a serious downturn and this may be the year they make a coaching change, as Paul Johnson does not inspire an exciting brand of football.