Will Rogers Handicapping Review & Free Picks Page

The set-up: The Boston Red Sox won 6-2 last night in Anaheim, giving them four wins in their last six. That's not exactly a hot streak but it's a step in the right direction after having lost six of eight from July 5 through July 16. Chris Sale tossed six scoreless innings in Friday’s victory but Dustin Pedroia saw his nine-game hitting streak come to an end. Still, the win kept Boston 3 1/2 games up on the Yankees and Rays, who are in a virtual tie for second in the AL East. The Angels have now dropped eight of their last 12 games and are now 4 1/2 games out of a wild card spot, with three teams ahead of them and two teams tied with them (talk about a log-jam!).

The pitching matchup: David Price (5-2 & 3.39 ERA) gets the start for Boston and will be opposed by JC Ramirez (8-8 & 4.54 ERA). Price tossed eight scoreless innings against the New York Yankees last Sunday night and now has allowed three ERs or less in his last seven outings (Red Sox are 5-2). Price is 5-6 with a 3.24 ERA in 14 career starts against the Angels (teams are 7-7). Ramirez stumbled in his first start after the break against Tampa Bay last Saturday, allowing four runs in six innings. Ramirez has pitched well away from home (7-3 with a 3.60 ERA) but he's 1-5 with a 5.50 ERA at Angel Stadium. Ramirez will hope to repeat his last effort (only) against Boston back on June 24, when he led the Angels to a 6-3 victory by allowing one run and four hits over six innings.

Thed pick: Price has not seemed like a "happy camper" this season, as not only did he miss the first two months of the season because of an elbow strain but a feud with the Boston media reached a boiling point after a bad performance against the New York Yankees last month. However, Price is beginning to pitch like the five-time All Star he is, going 5-2 with a 3.39 ERA in 10 starts since being activated May 29 (Boston is 6-4). The Angels are in a slump and how does one overlook Ramirez's 5.50 ERA at home? Make Boston a 10* play.

The set-up: The Cubs’ six-game winning streak came to a crashing halt on Friday, when the Cardinals scored nine runs with no outs in the eighth, for an 11-4 win at Wrigley. However, the entire NL Central got much tighter, as with Milwaukee's loss at Philly (6th straight), the Cubs remained just one game back of the Brewers while Pittsburgh's sixth straight win (12th in 14 games) saw the Pirates close to withing two games of first place. The Cards' big win over the Cubs moved them within 3 1/2 of the Brewersrs square off here.

The pitching matchup: Adam Wainwright (11-5 & 5.08 ERA) takes the hill for the Cards and Jon Lester (6-6 & 4.07 ERA) for the Cubs. Wainwright got off to a terrible start in 2017 (0-3 with a 7.24 ERA) but is 11-2 over his last 16 starts (Cards are 12-4). Wainwright has won his last four starts and has mostly been dominant since mid-May. He's allowed two ERs or less in nine of his last 12 starts but in those other three, has been downright awful. Wainwright has allowed 24 ERs over just 10 1/3 innings in those three outings, the reason his ERA is still plus-5.00 on the season. Wainwright has seen plenty of the Cards in his career, going is 14-9 with a 4.09 ERA in 42 games (33 starts / Cards are 21-12) against them. Lester allowed 10 runs (four earned) while failing to get out of the first inning in his final start before the All-Star break but in his first start after the break, held Atlanta to one run on three hits over seven innings on Monday to snap a two-start losing streak with a 4-3 win. Lester is just 5-5 in 15 starts against the Cards (teams are 8-7 ) and is win-less in three meetings against them this season (he's 0-1 with a 3.78 ERA and the Cubs 1-2).

The pick: The Cubs held a 3-2 lead into the eighth yesterday, before that nine-run inning by the Cards ruined their six-game winning streak. These are two bitter rivals and teh Cubs know that if they had held on, they would have woken up Saturday morning tied for first in the division. Two quality pitchers square off hereand I'm on the home team behind Lester, who I believe, will have another excellent second half just like in 2016. Note that in his 15 career starts against St. Louis, Lester owns a 2.19 ERA! Make the Cubs an 8* play.

The set-up: The 1-2 Saskatchewan Roughriders will take on the 2-1-1 Calgary Stampeders Saturday at McMahon Stadium. The Roughriders are off their first win of the season (37-20 at home over Hamilton), after opening 0-2. Saskatchewan lost 17-16 at Montreal to start the season but QB Kevin Glenn has thrown for 728 yards and six TDs the last two games, leading the Roughriders to 40 points (lost by three in OT) and 37 (17-point win). The Saskatchewan  defense has allowed 326.0 YPG (first) but 26.7 PPG, which ranks fifth. Calgary is 2-1-1, having played three of their first four away from home. QB Bo Levi Mitchell is completing 65 percent of his passes for 1,382 yards with seven TD passes and just two INTs in 163 pass attempts. Calgary allows more than 90 YPG than Saskatchewan (419 to 326) but about the same amount of points, 27.5 per to 26.7.

The pick: Calgary is glad to be back home, where the Stampeders haven't lost since October of 2015. That's a streak of 14 straight wins (including the playoffs), going 10-4 ATS. Enough said. Make Calgary an 8* play.