Scherzer owns the edge in the pitching match-up here but it’s close. From there New York owns a short edge in the bullpen comparison and a solid edge in the splits with the sticks. The Mets also played 27 games over .500 at home this season and 31 games over .500 against right-handed starters. We like New York to take the opener of this series Friday.

Manoah gets the check mark in the pitching match-up, and while Seattle owns an edge in the bullpen comparison, Toronto owns the edge in the splits with the sticks. Also, the Blue Jays are 31 games over .500 this season against right-handed starters. We’re taking Toronto to take Game 1 of this series Friday.

We give Fried a slight edge in the pitching match-up because he's going better as of late than deGrom. From there, it looks like the splits with the sticks are about even, but Atlanta owns a short edge in the bullpen comparison. Plus, it's getting an underdog price at home. We're betting the Braves Friday night.

This pitching match-up looks about like a wash, as do the splits with the sticks and bullpen comparison. So the line on this game is about right. But Tampa Bay is still trying to secure a playoff berth while Cleveland is already locked into its playoff spot, which brings the Guardians’ motivation into question. Also, while the Rays batted 1/10 with RISP Wednesday in our minds that just sets them up for a little better luck next time out. We’re betting Tampa Thursday night.

We give Urias the edge in the pitching match-up because of the better recent track record against these opponents. From there, Los Angeles owns the best line-up in the Majors against RH pitching and perhaps the best bullpen in Baseball. So we like LA here. We also like chasing better prices. So in knowing the visitors will bat nine times, we'll give the 1.5 runs against the run line, catching +123.

Mikolas owns the edge in the pitching match-up while the splits with the sticks and the bullpen comparison come out about even. Also, St. Louis has an MVP candidate in Goldschmidt, while Milwaukee strikes out too much. So we're betting the Cardinals Tuesday night.

We give Kershaw the edge in the pitching match-up, and while St. Louis owns a slight edge with the sticks, Los Angeles owns a slight edge in the bullpen comparison. However, when we add that all that up, it does not warrant so high a price. Betting baseball often comes down to betting value, and we like the value with the Cardinals getting that fat underdog price.

We give Stripling the edge in the pitching match-up in part because Toronto is 8-1 over his last nine starts. From there, the Blue Jays own the edges in both the splits with the sticks and in the bullpen comparison. Also, Toronto is 28 games over .500 this season against RH starters. We're betting the Blue Jays Tuesday night.

This pitching match-up is a wash because both guys are just great. But from there, New York owns edges in both the splits with the sticks and in the bullpen comparison. Also, the Mets are 31 games above .500 against RH starters this season. We're betting New York Monday night.

We give Nola the edge in the pitching match-up, but Atlanta owns the better bullpen and the edge with the sticks because Philadelphia's Hoskins and Castellanos are out/questionable. Plus, the Braves are one of the best home teams in Baseball this season, they're 16 games over .500 against RH starters, and they might have Big Mo on their side after Friday night's late rally. We're betting Atlanta Saturday night.  

We're calling this pitching match-up a wash, but New York owns an edge in the bullpen comparison. Also, the Yankees seem to be regaining some mojo following a rough stretch, and the bats are alive, scoring 32 runs over their last four games. Milwaukee, meanwhile, is one of the most inconsistent teams in Baseball. We're betting New York Friday night at a very reasonable price.

We give Burnes the check-mark in the pitching match-up mainly because of the much better recent past performance against these opponents. From there both the splits with the sticks and the bullpen comparisons are about even. So the right team is favored here. Also, Milwaukee is going good as of late while St. Louis seems to be slowing just a bit, following a super last six weeks or so. So we’re betting the Brewers Wednesday night.

We give Gilbert a slight edge in the pitching match-up and while San Diego might own an edge with the sticks Seattle owns an edge in the bullpen comparison. Also, the Mariners are going better than the Padres as of late and they’re 20 games over .500 against RH starters. We’re betting Seattle Tuesday night.

We'd give McKenzie a solid edge in the pitching match-up, but he's been bad against Minnesota this season. So we're a bit leery. From there, Cleveland owns an edge in the bullpen comparison, while the splits with the sticks are about even. But the Guardians are trending in a good direction while the Twins are not, and that means a lot to us when handicapping baseball games. So we're betting Cleveland Saturday night. 

We give Manoah the edge in the pitching match-up and while Baltimore owns a slight edge in the bullpen comparison Toronto owns the edge in the splits with the sticks. Also, the Blue Jays seem to be pulling away from the Orioles, who are coming back to Earth after a great run pulled them into wild-card contention. We like Toronto for Wednesday night.

We have to give Cole the checkmark in the pitching match-up, although it's a little closer than first glance might indicate. From there, New York owns an edge in the bullpen comparison, but the splits with the sticks are about even. So when we add things up, it appears the line on this game is about 40-50 cents too high. Betting baseball is about betting value on the daily dime line, and we think there's good value with Minnesota getting that fat underdog price. 

We're calling this pitching match-up a wash. From there, we'd give Chicago the edge with the sticks, but they might be down a couple of key guys. And we give Seattle the edge in the bullpen comparison. So our thoughts are the original line on this game - a pick 'em - was about right. Also, the Mariners are just going better than the White Sox, who are lucky to be playing in a poor division. We like Seattle for Monday night.

Ferguson will probably open for a couple of innings, then turns things over to one of the best bullpens in Baseball. Also, Los Angeles gets a big checkmark in the splits with the sticks. Also, the Dodgers hit Clevinger pretty well the last time they faced him. So we like LA for our free baseball pick for Sunday. 

We give Springs the edge in the pitching match-up. Then we'd give New York the edge in the splits with the sticks, but Tampa's bats are hotter lately. Then we give the Yankees the edge in the bullpen comparison, but they're both great, so it's close. Ultimately the Rays are going in a much better direction than New York over recent weeks, and diverging trends like that mean a lot to us when handicapping baseball games. So we're taking Tampa Friday night.

We give McKenzie our handicapping check-mark in the pitching match-up, and Cleveland owns an edge with the sticks, while the bullpens, both solid, are about equal. So we like the Guardians here. But we're not big fans of that price. So we'll take a chance and fight the 17 percent slant (17 percent of ML games are won by the favorite by precisely one run) with a play on Cleveland against the run line.