Scott Rickenbach Free Sports Picks & Handicapper Review

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Game #913 Sunday 8* OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Minnesota Twins @ 1:10 ET - NOTE that Shane Bieber is now slated to start this game for the Indians after Adam Plutko (original expected starter for today) ending up being used for two innings of relief in yesterday's game. This is not a good situation for Bieber as it is only his 2nd MLB start and in his first start he also faced the Twins. In that outing just a couple weeks ago Bieber got rocked for 4 earned runs in less than 6 innings of work. That start was on his 23rd birthday and this is a young hurler whom has only made 7 minor league starts above the AA level. All of those were this season at the AAA level. In other words, he is still very inexperience and the Twins will have plenty of confidence here since they scored 9 runs in yesterday's win plus roughed Bieber up when they faced him on the 31st of May. The Twins will have Jake Odorizzi getting the start in this one. The right-hander has a 9.20 ERA in his last 3 starts versus the Indians. That includes 6 homers allowed in less than 15 innings of work versus Cleveland and 5 of those have come in the two starts Odorizzi has made versus the Tribe this season. The over is 22-4-1 in the Indians last 27 games at home. The over is 5-1 in the 6 starts Odorizzi has made versus Cleveland in his career. Minnesota is 6-2 to the over this season in games where they are a road dog in a range of +125 to +175. In home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs this season, the Indians are 5-0 / 100% PERFECT to the over! 8* OVER the total in Cleveland

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach MLB Game #957 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in St Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs @ 8:05 ET - The Cubs won yesterday's game 6-3 making it an over or a push for all over players on the total. Chicago has now scored 6 or more runs in 3 of their last 5 games and I feel the Cardinals Jack Flaherty is in trouble here. I know he has pitched well overall on the season but he has been roughed up in 2 of his last 3 starts and this could be a sign of things to come for the rookie right-hander. The Cardinals have allowed an average of 6 runs per game in their last 11 games and the Cubs have plenty of confidence as they've been heating up and have won 7 of their last 10 games. Look for St Louis to also get their sticks going today as they face Jose Quintana. The Cubs left-hander was fortunate to not allow any earned runs (all 3 were unearned) in his start at St Louis last month. Quintana gave up 5 hits plus walked 4 in only 4 innings of work. He has allowed 4 homers in his last 15 and 2/3 innings versus the Cardinals. Both teams hit the ball quite well yesterday (19 hits) and I expect this to continue today. The Cards are very familiar with Quintana and though the Cubs are not familiar with Flaherty, there are some signs that the rookie's campaign is about to encounter a bumpy stretch of road. Prior to a strong start against a weak Padres lineup he allowed 10 runs (7 earned) on 15 hits in just 10 innings of work. Look for a start along those lines here but look for the Cardinals to also pound Quintana in this one. 10* OVER the total in St Louis

Top Play SPECIAL - Rickenbach MLB Game #921 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Oakland A's vs Los Angeles Angels @ 4:05 ET - The A's Daniel Mengden has allowed 12 earned runs in less than 9 innings spanning his last two starts! The Angels Andrew Heaney has allowed 10 earned runs in 8 innings spanning his last two road starts! Oakland is 5-0 to the over their last 5 games after yesterday's game went over the total. That result also brought Los Angeles to 5-0 to the over (and one push) their last 6 games. Only 3 of Mengden's 9 home starts this season have resulted in an under. Amazingly, none of Heaney's 5 road starts have gone over the total even though he has a 5.68 ERA away from home on the season. This is helping to give line value here because this is a "false trend" as Heaney has not pitched well on the road an yet his starts away from home are 0-4 to the over (and one push) on the season. Take advantage of the low total here because both pitchers are struggling and both teams have been trending over of late. It is the perfect combo, particularly on a mild afternoon with the wind blowing out at Oakland Coliseum, for a slugfest. Both these pitchers have been giving up the long ball of late. Heaney is coming off of a start where he allowed 3 bombs and Mengen has given up 6 dingers in his last 2 starts! 10* OVER the total in Oakland

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Game #929 Sunday 8* OVER the total in Texas Rangers vs Colorado Rockies @ 3:05 ET - The Rockies Jon Gray is off of a strong start versus the Phillies but Philadelphia has not been hitting well at all and the long-term numbers on Gray tell the full story. Gray is 1-3 with a 6.97 ERA in his 4 day game starts this season. Overall he has a 5.68 ERA on the season and, in each month so far this season (March, April, May, June) he has at least a 5.57 ERA in each month. As you can see, Gray has consistently struggled and that day game stat noted above is no fluke. The past two seasons the Rockies right-hander had a combined 4.93 ERA in day game outings. The Rangers scored 5 runs yesterday and that is the 4th time in their last 5 games that Texas has scored at least 5 runs. The problem yesterday for over players was that the Rockies only scored 2 runs. However, a complete bounce back can be expected here as Colorado "tees off" against Yovanni Gallardo in this one. He has been pitching in the minors and has some decent (though not great) numbers there but now is back in the bigs where the veteran has struggled badly ever since 2015. The past 3 seasons combined (includes some work out of Reds bullpen this season) Gallardo has gone 11-18 with an ugly 5.81 ERA. Now he faces a Rockies team that had been swinging the bats very well prior to yesterday's loss. In fact, heading into yesterday's game Colorado was on a 14-1 run to the over! Look for that strong trending to resume here as there is plenty of reason to believe that both these pitchers get rocked Sunday. 8* OVER the total in Texas

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Game #913 Sunday 8* OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Minnesota Twins @ 1:10 ET - NOTE that Shane Bieber is now slated to start this game for the Indians after Adam Plutko (original expected starter for today) ending up being used for two innings of relief in yesterday's game. This is not a good situation for Bieber as it is only his 2nd MLB start and in his first start he also faced the Twins. In that outing just a couple weeks ago Bieber got rocked for 4 earned runs in less than 6 innings of work. That start was on his 23rd birthday and this is a young hurler whom has only made 7 minor league starts above the AA level. All of those were this season at the AAA level. In other words, he is still very inexperience and the Twins will have plenty of confidence here since they scored 9 runs in yesterday's win plus roughed Bieber up when they faced him on the 31st of May. The Twins will have Jake Odorizzi getting the start in this one. The right-hander has a 9.20 ERA in his last 3 starts versus the Indians. That includes 6 homers allowed in less than 15 innings of work versus Cleveland and 5 of those have come in the two starts Odorizzi has made versus the Tribe this season. The over is 22-4-1 in the Indians last 27 games at home. The over is 5-1 in the 6 starts Odorizzi has made versus Cleveland in his career. Minnesota is 6-2 to the over this season in games where they are a road dog in a range of +125 to +175. In home games with a posted total of 9 or 9.5 runs this season, the Indians are 5-0 / 100% PERFECT to the over! 8* OVER the total in Cleveland