Scott Rickenbach

Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach MLB Game #963 Sunday Free Pick Colorado Rockies Money Line (+) @ Arizona Diamondbacks @ 4:10 ET - Of course the Diamondbacks would love to play the role of spoiler here against the Rockies. However, Arizona's slump continues and Colorado continues to fight hard for a playoff berth. The Dbacks have lost 16 of their last 21 games. The Rockies have won 9 of their last 11 games versus Arizona. Colorado also has a huge pitching edge here. The Rockies have won 13 of the last 15 games that Kyle Freeland has started. The southpaw has a stellar 2.95 ERA on the season and this is despite pitching his home games in the most hitter-friendly ballpark in the majors. As for Diamondbacks starter Zack Godley, he is 0-3 with a 9.23 ERA in his last 3 starts. Great value here with the small road dog. Free Pick on COLORADO

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach MLB Game #969 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cleveland Indians vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - Talk about relaxed hitters at the plate...the Red Sox have clinched the AL East and the the Indians have clinched the AL Central. Neither lineup wants to lose their "rhythm" right before the playoffs either. In other words guys are "locked in" at the plate but certainly not feeling any pressure either. That leads to some high-scoring games in match-ups like these with two sub-par pitchers. The Red Sox hand the ball to Hector Velazquez and he has allowed 10 earned runs in less than 7 innings spanning his last two starts. The Tribe will hand the ball to Adam Plutko and he got rocked by Boston last month and he enters this start in poor overall form. The Indians right-hander has allowed 9 earned runs in less than 11 innings spanning his last two starts plus he gave up 3 homers in EACH of those starts! The over is 5-0 in Boston's last 5 games. The over is 2-0 in the last 2 starts Velazquez has made. Last but certainly not least, the over is a perfect 7-0 this season in Indians home games in which their money line is ranging from -125 to +125. This is combined trending of 14-0 / 100% PERFECT in favor of the over in this match-up. Look for a slug-fest Sunday evening at Progressive Field. 10* OVER the total in Cleveland

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Game #973 Sunday 8* OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Los Angeles Angels @ 2:10 ET - I know Chris Morton has great numbers on the season and Houston is still battling to try to lock up the AL West division. However, Morton allowed 4 earned runs in 4 innings in his only start versus the Angels this season. Los Angeles has a potent lineup and their games continue to fly over the total. With yesterday's 10-5 Astros win, the over is now 8-2 in the Angels last 10 games and 5-0 their last 5. As for Houston's lineup, they should have no trouble with the offerings of the Angels Tyler Skaggs. He has slumped and has a 15.84 ERA and 2.48 WHIP in his last 3 starts! The over is 7-3 in the Astros last 10 games and they've scored an average of 10.5 runs per game so far in this series. I'll take advantage of the low total here and look for the over to improve to 4-1 in Skaggs last 5 starts. 8* OVER the total in Houston

Total of the Month - Rickenbach NFL Game #488 Sunday 10* Top Play UNDER the total in Detroit Lions @ 8:20 ET - This total opened up in the mid-40s (very early line but this still tells you something) and got steamed up all the way up into the mid-50s. I feel we are getting excellent line value here because this game is going to be much of a chess match than many people realize. Now I know when you look at the Lions and all the points that have been scored against them you would find this hard to believe. However, the fact is that Detroit has allowed an average of only 347.5 yards per game so far this season. Their head coach, Matt Patricia, was the defensive coordinator at New England from 2012 to 2017. You know that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is going to want to prove here whom really is the mastermind behind making proper defensive adjustments. This is why I mentioned "chess match" previously because I really believe we are going to see this game be much more about defense than many are expecting. With the Pats off of a bad game defensively against a highly motivated Jaguars team, I expect Belichick's group to be ready to return to the form that led to just 325 yards being allowed versus the Texans in Week 1. New England, prior to last week's dismal effort, had allowed 20 points or less in 13 of their last 16 games (regular season and playoffs included). In true road games (not including neutral site games), the Patriots offense has been held to 27 points or less in 6 of their last 7 games. Now you see why the odds makers had this total in the mid-40s to start with! Indeed, look for it to finish in the 40s as both coaches look to one up the other with quite the effort in terms of play-calling on the defensive side of the ball in this one. In road games with a posted total of 49.5 points or more, New England has stayed under in 5 of 6 (83%). In home games with a posted total of 49.5 points or more, the Lions have stayed under in 11 of 17 (65%). Look for another one here. 10* UNDER the total in Detroit

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NFL Game #486 Sunday 10* Top Play Seattle Seahawks Money Line (-) vs Dallas Cowboys @ 4:25 ET - This line has dropped so low on the home favorite Seattle that the Seahawks money line (as of Saturday evening) is now available for as low as a -120 price. I'll take it! While Dallas is off of their first home game of the season (and a win), it is Seattle that is now playing their home opener and that is still seeking their first win of the season. Yes the Cowboys have revenge from the home loss to the Seahawks late last season that basically ruined Christmas for Dallas but the fact is that the value is with Seattle in this match-up. Yes, I am well aware of the fact that this Seahawks team is not the same team it has been in recent seasons but that is also why we're getting phenomenal line value here. That is factored into this line and Seattle is a different "animal" when they play at home too! In a home game with a posted total between 38.5 and 42 points the Seahawks are 4-0 SU their last 4. Seattle is also 4-1 (SU and ATS) their last 5 vs NFC East opponents. When installed as a home favorite of 3 points or less, the Seahawks are a long-term 26-10 ATS. Note also that Seattle is on an 8-0 / 100% PERFECT ATS run when they are a home favorite and they are entering the game off of back to back SU losses. That system fits here and the Cowboys offensive line is a shell of its former self and I expect the Seahawks defense to take advantage! 10* SEATTLE

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach NFL Game #473 Sunday 8* Oakland Raiders (+) @ Miami Dolphins @ 1 ET - This is the ultimate in "line metrics" that fools the betting markets but that should take care of us very nicely. The fact is that many are looking at this match-up wondering how the 2-0 Dolphins at home are laying only 3 (or 3.5 in some spots) against an 0-2 Raiders team. Of course the reason is because the odds makers know exactly what they're doing here and I firmly believe that this will be Oakland's first SU win this season but certainly am glad to grab the extra value of at least a field goal in this match-up. The Dolphins beat the Jets at New York last week but they were outgained significantly in that contest. Keep in mind that Miami's season-opening win came at home against Tennessee and the Titans yardage was roughly equal with the Dolphins in that game and plus the Titans are certainly no powerhouse. I like the fact that the Raiders have had to play the Rams and also visit Denver to open the season (and covered and should have won outright over the Broncos) while the Dolphins have played two teams that many consider to be two of the weaker teams in the NFL. We're getting a lot of line value here as a result and Oakland, statistically has been stronger than Miami so far this season but that just hasn't translated to SU wins and losses yet. Look for that to change this week! The last 18 times that the Raiders have had a line between +3 and -3, they've only failed to cover 5 times! The Dolphins have covered just 3 times in their last 11 games when off of a divisional game. Not only are they off of one, Miami has one on deck too - at New England! Perfect set up here for the road dog. 8* OAKLAND

PA Insider - Rickenbach NFL Game #462 Sunday 8* Philadelphia Eagles (-) vs Indianapolis Colts @ 1 ET - The Eagles should dominate this game. Yes they have some injury issues at running back but they're getting some healthy bodies back at WR and, most importantly in terms of injuries, QB Carson Wentz is back this week. However, he is actually not even the biggest key to this play. The most significant edge the Eagles have is in the trenches because they are so strong on both the offensive line and defensive line. With the Colts having a glaring weakness in terms of their offensive line, the Eagles D can exploit this and I expect this to be a huge mismatch all game long. In truth it won't even be fair to compare Indy QB Andrew Luck to Wentz in this game because I expect the latter to have a huge edge in terms of time in the pocket and the ability to make throws after plays develop. As for Luck, he is going to need some "luck" just to evade the Eagles aggressive pass rush. Philly is at home and off of a loss and they are fired up. The fact this line is currently available at 6.5 (in a number of shops) as of Saturday afternoon is an added edge. Lay the points with the Eagles and look for a blowout as the set-up is perfect with Indianapolis off of a big road win where they are actually outgained and the Eagles off of a road loss and returning home where they have been so tough under coach Doug Pederson. 8* PHILADELPHIA