Scott Rickenbach

MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER 7.5 or 8 in Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 7:40 ET - This total has dropped and we have solid value on the over. Yes, Steele has great numbers on the season but he actually got hit at a .286 clip last month and a .287 clip the month before that. Hitter friendly weather for this one at Wrigley Field even though the southerly wind will be rather light. Pirates can score some runs here and they will need it because Keller has a 5.35 ERA since the All Star break and has been hit at a .291 clip since then. He also has been great at home but has a 5.15 ERA on the road this season. Cubs rolled 14-1 yesterday and each of their last 7 games have totaled at least 8 runs and that is the current number on this total. Pirates actually had been playing decent on the road and averaged scoring 5 runs per game during this solid 6-3 stretch before getting rocked yesterday so they will bounce back here but Cubs are going to continue mashing the ball. 10* OVER 7.5 or 8 in Chicago Cubs 

MLB Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 in St Louis Cardinals vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 7:45 ET - This total moving to a 9 in some spots with good reason. The Brewers finally got their bats going again yesterday and will have no trouble with the offerings of Thompson here. The Cardinals do tend to hit better at home and should hammer Houser in this one. Note that Houser is 2-4 with a 5.01 ERA in night games this season. Opponents are hitting over .300 against him in road games and in night games this year. Thomson has a 4.75 ERA in night games this season and opponents hitting .283 against him under the lights. He is facing a Milwaukee team that has won 9 of 14 and scored an average of 7 runs in those 9 victories. The Cardinals 9 of last 13 home games have totaled at least 9 runs and more of the same expected here. 10* OVER 8.5 in St Louis Cardinals

Rotation #224245: Champions League | Group Stage: Wednesday 10* OVER 3.5 +100 in Bayern Munich vs Manchester United @ 3 ET - Bayern Munich now has Harry Kane and the former Tottenham man facing Man United adds a little extra intrigue to this one. The thing is Bayern Munich has been fantastic early this season in Bundesliga action and I look for that to carry over here as Man U is having majors issues defensively and missing some players. This Man United club still has some attacking firepower though too and they should enjoy scoring success here but their struggles in the goals-conceded department will continue against this Bundesliga powerhouse. Bayern Munich has scored 2.7 goals last 4 matches but allowed 7 goals last 5 matches across all competitions. Man United has allowed 10 goals in last 4 matches and their leaky backline is a major concern here but, again, they have some striking prowess at front and the hosts in this one certainly have a knack for conceding goals when facing solid competition. This one should turn into an entertaining, high-scoring affair. 10* OVER 3.5 +100 in Bayern Munich

Rotation #224233: Champions League | Group Stage: Wednesday 10* OVER 3 +120 in Real Madrid vs Union Berlin @ 12:45 ET - The fact you are seeing over 3 on this one at plus money is no accident. In my opinion this is encouragement from the books to lay that big price on the other side of this one, the under, because some of the sharper books are thinking this one gets to 4 or more goals. I am right there with them on that theory and we have great line value here when you consider getting to 3 goals would still be a push but we have that solid shot at nice plus money with 4 or more goals. Note that Real Madrid has scored 10 goals in last 5 matches but also allowed 9 goals in last 7 matches. Union Berlin has seen 7 of last 8 matches total at least 3 goals and those 7 matches averaged 4.6 goals apiece and there certainly is nothing average about that. Look for another wild one here. 10* OVER 3 +120 in Real Madrid 

Rotation #224238: Champions League | Group Stage: Wednesday Free Pick UNDER 2.5 +115 in Galatasaray vs Copenhagen @ 12:45 ET - Goals could be tough to come by here as Galatasaray is so strong at home and off a 4-2 win. The thing is, prior to this their last two matches in Turkish Super Lig were both wins in which they delivered a clean sheet. Copenhagen off a 2-2 draw in Danish Super Liga action but this was preceded by 4 of last 5 matches have totaling 2 or less goals. This one will too. Free Pick UNDER 2.5 +115 in Galatasaray

NFL Thursday 10* Top Play New York Giants (+) @ San Francisco 49ers @ 8:15 ET - Laying double digits in the NFL is always a scary proposition in my book and the situation becomes even tougher on a short week. That's because a lot of things have to go right to beat any NFL team by double digits. That is why you don't see many double digit lines in the NFL. Being fully prepared to blowout a team is even tougher when playing on a Thursday after a Sunday win over a divisional foe. SF has failed to cover 6 of last 7 on Thursday when coming off a SU win in their prior game. This line is a solid 10.5 at the time of this posting and I feel we have excellent value with the big road dog in this one. Everyone is still thinking about the Giants losing to Dallas 40 to 0 in Week 1 primetime but are forgetting that the Cowboys only had 265 yards of TOTAL offense in that game! To put that in proper perspective, this 49ers team (which certainly is strong and has a solid defense too) allowed 297 PASSING yards to the Rams in their win last week! So lets not bury the Giants just yet in comparison to the Niners. The Giants got caught still lamenting the embarrassing home loss to the Cowboys when they were down by 21 midway through the 3rd quarter at Arizona last week. However, the Giants rally did two things last week. It gave them a win of course, which is big, but the bigger thing it did was give them confidence. This Giants team feels much different now emotionally and mentally heading into this battle with the Niners and they have done very well as a road dog under HC Brian Daboll as they went 8-2 ATS in that role last season. I know Saquon Barkley is out for the Giants here but guess who Matt Breida started his career with? San Francisco of course! Watch Breida have a huge game against his former team and the Giants surprise in this one! I am not saying they win this one outright but I am feeling confident in a game decided by a one score margin. Give me the double digits here! Daboll will have his team ready and he was Coach of the Year last season and will not be embarrassed again on primetime like they were in that sloppy week one loss to the Cowboys. 10* NEW YORK GIANTS (+)

CFB Thursday 10* Top Play Coastal Carolina (-) vs Georgia State @ 7:30 ET - This series has been dominated by the road team recently and, in my opinion, that is keeping the line (6.5 at time of this posting) on this one lower than it should be. Coastal Carolina is really rolling under their new coach after all the changes made after last season's last collapse. I like this Chanticleers team. I am not crazy about their defense but they have enough offense to dominate in this one. Keep in mind, new head coach Tim Beck was offensive coordinator at NC State and he has this offense firing on all cylinders now. They have played the tougher schedule than Georgia State thus far. The Chanticleers had to face the Bruins at UCLA and having that one really tough game and a SU loss helps them here. Georgia State is 3-0 SU but has not really been challenged yet. The Chanticleers are 3-0 ATS this season as they did cover in that SU loss at UCLA. The Panthers have been allowing more points than Coastal Carolina and CC has the stronger offense too. Combining all that with the home field edge, the play here is the home team as laying less than a TD is a real bargain here and the current line is 6.5 on this one at time of posting. The Chanticleers are 100% ATS this season and I am happy to test that here. Look for 4-0 ATS after this one goes in the books! 10* COASTAL CAROLINA (-)

MLB Thursday 8* Philadelphia Phillies Money Line -160 vs New York Mets @ 7:15 ET - The price on this one is a little on the high side but I do not want to get burned if the Phillies win this game by only 1 run so I am going with money line here instead of run line though I am anticipating a blowout home win. The Phillies are 28-20 against lefties and the Mets are 15-32 against lefties this season and this is a battle of southpaws. Overall, no matter the pitchers, the Phillies are the overall stronger club plus they are at home here. The Mets are 32-45 on the road this season and struggling again away from home just like last season. The Phillies are 39-24 against teams with a losing record this season. The Mets are 42-51 against teams with a winning record this season. So the situation strongly favors the Phillies and then the pitching does as well. Ranger Suarez had a 2.45 ERA last month and has a 3.31 ERA this month. He has a 3.18 ERA in night games this season. David Peterson is 1-6 with a 7.35 ERA in road games this season. Opponents are hitting .327 against him away from home. Peterson has been piling up strikeouts of late but is still getting hit hard recently as opponents are hitting .323 against him this month. The Phillies also have the bullpen edge here! 8* PHILADELPHIA -160

Rotation #224417: Europa League | Group Stage: Thursday 10* Top Play OVER 3.5 +115 in LASK vs Liverpool @ 12:45 ET - Having narrowly missed out on Champions League Football for this season, Liverpool will come to this competition ready to impose their will. They are currently in top form and that means even if they mix in some other personnel in this one they will be too much for this Austrian opponent. LASK, however, is at home and playing with confidence as they are off to a strong start in their league. They also have scored 2 goals in 4 straight matches as a host. However, Liverpool also has plenty of attacking prowess and also has the talent edge here. That said, I am looking for a 3-1 type match here. The Reds are just too strong but have been a bit leaky at the back and you know LASK is going to play aggressive on their home pitch and look to attack that weakness. That said, a 3-2 final would also not completely shock me. Either way, plenty of goals in what should be a highly entertaining affair here in this one. 10* OVER 3.5 +115 in LASK

Rotation #206929: Romania Liga 1: Thursday 10* Top Play OVER 2.5 +110 in Hermannstadt vs FCSB @ 1 ET - Hermannstadt is sure to put up a fight here at home and FCSB is rotating in some of their personnel for this one because of a shorter than usual rest cycle due to this being a rescheduled match from earlier in the season. Both these clubs will be playing again later this weekend. That said, I do look for Hermannstadt to get on the board here with making the net ripple at least once but of course FCSB is favored for a reason. Also note that FCSB is currently at the very top of the table for the 16-club league and they have not had a draw yet this season. So if each team scores and a draw is unlikely, that puts this one at least 2-1. FCSB is scoring an average of 2 goals per match this season and has scored in all 8 of their matches! Hermannstadt has both scored and conceded in 4 straight matches and in 6 of last 7. Those 6 matches have averged 3.5 goals apiece. Each of Hermannstadt's last 3 matches have totaled 4 goals! Having scored 7 goals in their last 3 matches at home, they have plenty of confidence here. 10* OVER 2.5 +110 in Hermannstadt