Scott Rickenbach Free Sports Picks & Handicapper Review

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play Pittsburgh Pirates Money Line (+) @ Colorado Rockies @ 8:10 ET - No team in the majors has a current winning streak longer than 3 games except the Pirates! With their huge 13-5 win yesterday, Pittsburgh has now won 6 straight games and they've also recorded victories in 12 of their last 14 overall. As the hottest team in the majors right now they're certainly not getting much respect from the odds makers here! The Pirates have averaged 5.5 runs per game in their last 10 games and they should have no trouble with the offerings of German Marquez. Even though the Rockies right-hander has a respectable ERA in his last 3 starts, he has allowed a combined 14 earned runs on 29 hits in 23 and 1/3 innings over his last 4 starts. The point is that he has been getting hit hard but he has been fortunate to work out of some jams. Facing a Pirates team that is red hot means that those jams could be a lot tougher to work out of tonight! Also, Marquez got the better of Chad Kuhl in their match-up on June 14th but Kuhl really didn't pitch poorly in that game. Also, the Pirates right-hander comes into this revenge-seeking start having allowed 2 earned runs or less in 7 of his last 9 starts. Overall, in Kuhl's last 4 starts he has allowed just 6 earned runs on only 14 hits in 21 and 2/3 innings of work! Look for the Pirates to improve to 12-4 (75%) in Saturday games this season. As for Colorado, they are 116-160 in night games the last 3 seasons combined! Grab the underdog value in this one! 10* PITTSBURGH money line

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Houston Astros @ 7:05 ET - The Astros Collin McHugh will make his first start of 2017 at the MLB level after missing time due to injury. He has been hit at a .309 clip in his rehab assignments in the minors as he has prepared for this start. If you think that is a fluke or that he is really "better than that" the fact is that he really didn't pitch all that great last year. Remember that McHugh had a great 2014 in terms of his ERA and then went 19-7 in 2015. This has him high on the radar of a lot of bettors. However, even with going 13-10 last season he actually was hit quite hard and that includes getting hit at a .295 clip in night games. Also, on the road last season McHugh compiled a 4.95 ERA and was hit at a .291 clip. He's facing a tough Orioles lineup that has averaged scoring 9.5 runs per game in their last 4 games. The over is 7-2 in Baltimore's last 9 games. As for the Astros sticks, they are averaging 7.3 runs per game in going 5-3 in their last 8 games. They should have no trouble with the offerings of Chris Tillman. The O's right-hander gave up 6 earned runs in just 2 innings when he last faced Houston. Also, Tillman has an ugly 7.20 ERA and 2.02 WHIP so far this season! The over is 27-12 in Astros road games this season and both these teams are loaded with confidence at the plate right now. 10* OVER the total in Baltimore

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach Saturday MLB 8* OVER the total in San Francisco Giants vs San Diego Padres @ 4:05 ET - With yesterday's 12-9 win, the over is now a stellar 7-0-1 in the Padres last 8 games! It was the 4th time in 5 games that San Diego has allowed 9 runs or more. However, the Padres offense has averaged scoring 6.3 runs per game during this solid stretch. The wind will be blowing out this afternoon at AT & T Park and the ball does carry better in afternoon games in comparison with night games in San Francisco. Couple that with the fact that this is a favorable pitching match-up for an over and you have all the right ingredients for another wild one by the bay. The Giants send Matt Moore to the mound and, though he has been better at home than on the road this season, the San Francisco southpaw has been getting rocked in most of his recent outings. Prior to a solid effort at home against the Indians, Moore had given up a ridiculous 14 earned runs on 26 hits in just 13 and 2/3 innings spanning his 3 prior home starts. As for Padres starter Luis Perdomo, he has been rocked for 22 hits in just 12 and 2/3 innings spanning his last 3 starts. Also, this will be the 3rd time this season that the Giants are facing Perdomo and repetition tends to favor the hitters. The over is 7-2-1 in San Francisco's last 10 games. Also, the over is 28-15 in San Diego's divisional games this season. Look for more of the same Saturday afternoon. 8* OVER the total in San Francisco

Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach MLB Free Pick Saturday UNDER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 7:10 ET - The Blue Jays Marcus Stroman has been on a fantastic run. The Toronto right-hander has given up a total of only 3 earned runs in his last 4 starts. Keep in mind, on the season, Stroman has allowed 2 earned runs or less in 14 of his 19 starts! Danny Salazar gets the start for the Indians here. The right-hander has been out since late May but the fireballer is ready to go here. This guy piles up the strikeouts. Salazar has fanned 73 in 52 and 1/3 innings this season. Also, the right-hander is now healthy again and, keep in mind, he had struck out 69 in his first 47 innings this season! The Blue Jays are 10-3 to the under in Saturday games this season and Toronto had averaged just 3 runs per game in their 5 games prior to Thursday's upset win at Boston. Stroman has a 2.13 ERA in 4 career starts against the Indians and all 4 stayed under the total. Look for that under mark to reach a perfect 5-0 with another pitchers duel in this one Saturday. Cleveland entered Friday's action having gone 35-22 to the under in night games and 28-18 to the under in games against teams with a losing record this season. Also the under is 11-5 in Indians Saturday games this year. Look for more of the same this Saturday for both clubs! Free Pick on UNDER the total in Cleveland. Best of luck, Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach

Saturday Slaughter - Rickenbach CFL 10* Top Play OVER the total in Calgary Stampeders vs Saskatchewan Roughriders @ 9 ET - This total has gone from as high as a 60 a few days ago all the way down to as low as a 55 as of the night before the game. This is offering fantastic line value for the over. The Roughriders are averaging 31 points per game so far this season and the Stampeders are averaging 31.5 points per game on the season thus far. Both of these teams have non-conference match-ups on deck so they'll be fully focused here and that should mean plenty of offense in this one. Saskatchewan is coming off of a bye week and they are 3-0 to the over the last 3 times they've been off of a bye. The Roughriders are also 2-0 to the over this season in Saturday games while Calgary is 2-0 to the over this season in their games against teams with a losing record. These records combine for a perfect 7-0 mark to the OVER! The Stampeders are hungry to respond as they are off of a loss last week and they'll be ready to bounce back after scoring just 23 points. That came against Montreal but the Alouettes have one of the top defenses in the league this season. Calgary should find a lot more to exploit in terms of match-ups this week against the Roughriders defense. The Stampeders have averaged 38.5 points per game in their last two home games versus Saskatchewan and they'll be "on the attack" again Saturday. 10* OVER the total in Calgary