Big Al McMordie

At 6:10 pm, our selection is on the Chicago White Sox over the Cleveland Indians.  With a long-sought post-season spot now secured, it seems that the White Sox are going to be cautious with some of their veteran starters.  And none more-so than the southpaw leader of the rotation, Dallas Keuchel.  The former Astros-Braves veteran appears to be on some type of a pitch count, having not allowed a run in his last three starts, but also only having thrown a total of 14 innings in those (5 IP, 5 IP and 4IP in his last one).  That last start was a gem as he held the Reds scoreless while the Sox beat them and ace Trevor Bauer 4-0 in what would be a no-decision for Keuchel.  This shows how confident the Sox are in their bullpen right now and rightly so.  Chicago relievers are 16-8 with a 3.69 ERA on the season so far.  The Indians batting order has struggled mightily against LHP this season, hitting just .227 against them (fourth-worst in the AL).  Chicago is 19-8 in its last 27 games vs. teams from the AL Central.  Take the White Sox.

At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Houston Astros over the Texas Rangers.  Houston's magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to 2.  So, if the Astros win tonight, and the Angels lose, Houston would qualify for the playoffs.  We'll play on Houston, which is now 100-43 (+22 games on the moneyline) as a road favorite of -125 (or more).  Meanwhile, Texas is 14-31 (minus 10 games on the moneyline) as an underdog.  Take the Astros.

At 9:40 pm, our selection is on the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Oakland Athletics.  The future of the NL West may someday belong to the San Diego Padres, but for now it's the Dodgers who reign supreme.  Los Angeles has clinched its eighth straight Division Crown and it will also finish with the League's best record in this shortened season.  But nobody knows better than the Dodgers that those eight pennants have resulted in zero World Series rings and it's now been more than 30 years since they have won it all.  If they're going to do it this year, they're going to need to stay as healthy as possible.  That's been problematic for young RH ace Walker Buehler.  But the good news is that it's been a blister problem that has sidelined the 26-year-old and those are normally very manageable.  Buehler gets his first start since September 8 tonight and no doubt he will be carefully watched.  He's been a beast in inter-league games, going 3-0 with a 2.74 ERA in eight starts covering just under 43 innings vs. teams from the American League.  Take L.A.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 1:35 pm, our selection is on the Chicago Cubs over the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Cubs RHP Alec Mills gets his second start since tossing his first career no-hitter on September 13.  Not surprisingly, Mills' first start since the no-no was a bit of a let-down as the Cubs were soundly beaten 8-1 (and we cashed our highest-rated play of the season in that game on the Twins).  But that outing last Saturday was against one of the best offenses in the league, and Mills really didn't pitch that badly (4 ER in 6 IP with 7 Ks and 1 BB).  He gets a significant break tonight by facing the Pirates.  Just how bad is the Bucs' hitting this season?  They are batting a paltry .214 (somehow not the worst in the league -- CIN @ .211) and their OPS is an MLB-worst .619 which is almost 20 points below the next team.  Somehow, Mills lost to this team back on September 3, but that means this afternoon is a revenge situation as well.   Pittsburgh will go with RH Chad Kuhl and to say that the Cubs are a problem for him is an understatement.  In 11 previous games (10 starts) vs. the Cubs, Kuhl is 1-6 with a 6.75 ERA.  Take Chicago.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 9 pm, our selection is on the Los Angeles Lakers minus the points over Denver.  The Nuggets got back into the series with a blowout win over Los Angeles on Tuesday. We stayed away from that Game, but will jump back into the fray tonight, and play on the Los Angeles Lakers.  Since 1990, #3-seeded NBA teams are a poor 37-57-3 ATS after upsetting their opponent in the previous playoff game.  Even better:  LeBron James teams are a jaw-dropping 21-0 straight-up, and 17-4 ATS as a favorite in the Playoffs vs. foes off back to back ATS wins.  Lay the points with the Lakers.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.