The Braves have lost three of their last four games, but they have Foltynewicz on the hill in this game, and the team has won his previous 13 starts. He has been great in his last few starts and only gave up one earned run in his only starts against the Mets this season in an Atlanta win. Matz has pitched well against the Braves in his last two starts facing them, but New York lost both games. He was lit up in his previous two outings giving up 13 earned runs in nine innings. The Atlanta lineup will get to him in this game and Foltynewicz will have another good outing and put those things together, and you get a Braves to win.

The Indians head into their final series behind the eight-ball not only in terms of the standings but their lineup has struggled in the last two games, and their starter for this game has pitched well in three of his previous four starts. On the other side of the coin the Nats are surging, but they have had little success with Voth on the hill this season. Plesac will struggle once again in this must-win game while Voth will have another solid start as he did in his last one. However, this time around Voth will get some support from the lineup. The Nationals will take this game inching closer to hosting the NL Wild Card while the Indians playoff hopes may be eliminated if the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Indians cannot afford to lose this game, and it is a plus for them having a red-hot rookie on the mound. He and Cease have been pitching well as of late, and while Civale has been great since being called up from the minors, Cease struggled for a while before his last few starts. Cleveland has all the pressure on them needing to win and get help to make the playoffs. They will come through in this season finale getting to Cease for a few runs while Civale will have another good start. The Indians will take this game and keep their playoff hopes alive hoping to catch the Rays, who they trail by 1.5 games for the 2nd AL Wild Card.

The Rangers are reeling, and they face a hot hurler in Porcello who is coming off a great outing. The Red Sox have won five straight against the Rangers when Porcello has gotten the start. Allard is not coming off a bad outing, but he will get tagged up in this one at home where he has struggled on the season. The Red Sox lineup has been good on the season and especially as of late and with them solid at the dish in this game and a good start from Porcello it equals a Red Sox win.

The Brewers are hot right now, but they face Gray, who is the Ace of the Reds’ staff and leads the team in ERA and strikeouts. He has pitched great against the Brewers this season with two starts where he did not give up any earned runs and Cincy has won all four of his starts facing them this season. Look for him to have another sharp outing while the Reds’ lineup will get to Houser, who has given up six earned runs in his last two starts where he only lasted eight innings. The Brewers have lost five of Houser’s last six road starts while the Reds have won 10 of Gray’s last 11 home starts. Look for those trends to continue, as the Reds will take this game and snap the Brewers four-game winning streak.

The Jays swept the Orioles on the road last week, and in one of the games Buchholz was less than sharp giving up seven runs and failing to make it out of the 4th inning. I see him getting tagged up again in this game, but unlike the last one, he will not get a lot of run support. Sheppard will have a good outing in the 2nd one his career but not a great one. However, the Orioles will get it done at the dish facing a struggling Buchholz, and that is why they will take the first game of this division series.

Both teams are in need of a win in this game, as both are currently on the outside looking in on the playoffs. The Phillies are in desperation mode, and they likely need to win out and get a lot of help to make the playoffs. The Indians also need to finish well, but they are only one game out of the 2nd AL Wild Card. The Indians were hot until the Game 2 loss, and they will get hot again in this game getting to Vasquez and the Philadelphia bullpen. Plutko will have another steady outing, and with him getting help, Cleveland will take this game, which is their last home one of the season.

The Diamondbacks have their backs against the walls in their push for the playoffs, but at least they have a hot hurler on the mound and face the struggling Padres. Kelly has been pitching well as of late, and in his first start of the month, he got a win facing the Padres where he did not give up any earned runs and only allowed three hits. Lauer was roughed up in his last outing where he did not even make it out of the 3rd inning. While Arizona has lost five straight road games, that streak will end in this game. Kelly will have another good start, and Lauer will struggle again. The Diamondbacks will take the first game of this series and keep their faint playoff hopes alive.

To say this is a big series is an understatement. This is the first game of seven remaining for these teams and how those games turn out will affect the playoff picture. Not sure why oddsmakers have the Cardinals as the slight favorite in this one, as Hendricks has been great facing St. Louis and he has pitched great as of late. On top of that the Cubs have won all six home games facing the Cardinals this season. Look for this to be a pitcher’s duel with Hendricks and Flaherty each having great outings. However, the Cubs will find a way to win late and in a close and low scoring affair Chicago will take the first game of this series.

The Padres are reeling, and the last time they won a game Paddack was on the hill. He has pitched great in the previous three games and has not given up any earned runs in his last two starts. The Brewers are hot in their chase for the playoffs, and they are hoping for a good return from Woodruff. However, he struggled in his only start of the season against the Padres and will struggle in a very short outing in this one. San Diego will get him for a few runs and Paddack will have another great start. Add those things up, and you get a San Diego win snapping their five-game losing streak.

Both starters in this game have been pitching well as of late, and the Cardinals have won Hudson's last five home starts. In three of his previous four home starts he did not give up any earned runs including his last one where he pitched six scoreless innings and only allowed one hit in a 10-0 win over the San Francisco Giants. When Hudson opposed Strasburg, both pitched well in a low scoring affair that the Nats won and I look for that to happen again. However, Hudson will have the slightly better outing and this time around the Cardinals will get the win.

The Mets have to keep up their solid play for their playoff push, and they have a hot pitcher on the mound in Wheeler. Not only has he only given up one earned run in each of his last three starts but in each of them gave up exactly seven hits as well. Buehler has been lights out in three of his previous four starts but was roughed up some in his lone start against the Mets this season. Look for both starters to have good outings and for this to be a pitcher's duel like Game 2 was. Like Game 2 the Mets will come through late and win this game and take the series.

The A's have won four in a row with all four games coming on the road, and they took three of the last four games facing Houston Astros in their previous series. Fiers is coming off a horrible start, and while he has not fared well against the Rangers in the Lone Star State, he had a good start his last time facing them. Minor has been solid in his previous two starts but has not been so solid in his previous couple of home starts. I look for that to continue and for him to struggle some in this game while Fiers will rebound from his terrible previous start and have a decent one. Like the first game of this series, there will be many runs scored and just like the first game the A's will get the win extending their winning streak to five games.

The Indians come into this game hotter winners of four in a row, and they took two of three games recently from the Twins and are still home underdogs. I think they have great value in this one, especially with Civale on the hill and he pitched better than Odorizzi when they recently faced each other even though the Twins won. Civale will have the better outing again in this game but this time around the Indians will get the win and put pressure on the Twins in the race for the AL Central title.

The Red Sox are slumping at the wrong time, as their playoff hopes are, pretty much, out the window and to make things worse they recently fired their manager. They have struggled at the plate and on the mound, and they start Chacin, who was pretty bad for the Brewers this season but has been solid in the two relief appearances since joining Boston. Buchholz has not been bad since a long stint on the DL, and he will have a good outing in this game, and it helps to face the struggling Boston lineup. The Blue Jays will get to Chacin in his first start for the Sox and Toronto will get the win and complete the series sweep.

Matz was not sharp in his only start against the D-Backs this season, but he has been in top form in his last several starts. On the other side of the coin Ray, who has not faced the Mets this season, has been dominant against the Mets in his career and while Arizona has won his last two starts, he gave up seven earned runs in those starts. This game will be very similar to the first two in close and low scoring affairs. Just like in those games the Mets will come out on top in this game, as Matz will have the better outing. The Mets will win again and go for the sweep of the series on Thursday.

Both teams have been playing well as of late, especially the Rays. They have been led by their pitching on the season, and in their five-game win streak, they have only allowed ten runs. Yarbrough has not had the best last two starts, but Tampa has won seven of his previous eight starts. Like his last two starts he will get some help from the lineup, which will get to Lynn for a few runs early. Lynn will not have a bad outing, but not a good one either. The Rays will not light it up at the dish but have a pretty good game there and add that with a solid start from Yarbrough, and you get a Rays win in Game 1 of this series.

The Phillies have won all four of Nola’s starts against the Braves where he was great in two of them, but the lineup bailed him out in the two others. Foltynewicz has pitched well as of late in his audition to get into the Atlanta playoff rotation, and he will have another solid outing in this game. There will not be much offense in this game, as both starters will pitch well. The Braves will come up with a few runs, and in a low scoring game, they will win Game 1 in a low scoring affair.

The Cardinals have been hot for a few weeks, and they swept the Pirates the last time facing them in Pittsburgh. They have hit Musgrove hard this season, as in four starts against St. Louis he is 0-4 with an ERA of 10.00. Mikolas gave up five earned runs in his last start against the Pittsburgh, but the has two straight quality starts since then. He will have a good outing in this game while Musgrove will not. The Cardinals have had the Pirates number in their house winning 10 of their last 11 games facing them in Pittsburgh, and that will continue with them winning Game 1 of this division series.

These teams met in the series before their last one in Chicago where the Brewers took the previous two games after losing the first one. The Brewers lone loss in the last series with the Cubs has the pitching matchup for this game, and in that Milwaukee loss, Anderson was lit up while Quintana had a great outing. I look for the same to happen in this game. Anderson has given up 15 earned runs in each of his last two road starts, and the Chicago lineup will get to him early and often in this game. Quintana will have his 2nd straight quality start, and the Cubs will take this game on the road where they are the betting favorite.