Scott Rickenbach

MLB Thursday 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 in Arizona Diamondbacks vs Colorado Rockies @ 3:40 ET - This total dropped from a 10 to a 9.5 and I like fading the line moves when other factors line up and that is certainly the case here. The Diamondbacks Zach Davies has not been right this season and is trying to now also come back from an oblique injury and the first start back did not go well at all. He is now 8-18 the past 3 seasons combined and with a high ERA in the 5.00 range these past 3 seasons combined. Davies will not be the only starter likely to struggle here. Note that Connor Seabold has struggled for the Rockies but whether it is him or Chase Anderson I like the over in this one. As per usual, I am going with action on the pitchers and Anderson did have an ugly 1.57 WHIP in the minors before he was called up. I know the journeyman veteran has had some surprising success this season in his limited MLB action in 2023 but he really struggled in the start before his most recent one. That was home against the Marlins and he allowed 8 hits in less than 6 innings and he had 2 walks against just 1 strikeout in that outing. Anderson is due for a regression to the mean and I think that Marlins start is a sign of the reality that is soon on the way for him. Regardless of starting pitchers I like the over here as neither bullpen has been good this season and I expect the hitting to resume like we had seen in Monday's game. OVER 9.5 in Arizona

MLB Thursday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Phillies +150 @ New York Mets @ 1:10 ET - 3 key angles here. The Phillies have never been swept in a series in the eastern time zone this season. Sweeps are rare to begin with and I don't see Phillies getting swept against division rival Mets. That is where the next couple of key angles comes in actually. Speaking of divisions and rivals, Scherzer use to pitch with Nationals and now is with Mets and so the Phillies see plenty of him and they actually have hit him well in recent meetings. Thirdly, and the other part of this rivalry aspect, Walker use to pitch for the Mets. Now he faces his former team and you know he will be up for this start. The underdog value is tough to pass up here in my opinion. 10* PHILADELPHIA +150

Rotation #202401: German Bundesliga Promotion/Relegation: Thursday 10* Top Play OVER 3 +105 in Stuttgart vs Hamburger SV @ 2:45 ET - Hamburger SV trying to get back to Bundesliga 1 after 5-year absence while Stuttgart trying to avoid relegation to Bundesliga 2 after 3 years in the top flight. This is the first leg of two and and I am sure the hosts will be strong here but Hamburger SV was the highest scoring team in Bundesliga 2 this season and I don't see them going away without a fight in this set of two matches with Stuttgart. Note that the visitors also were solid on the road this season and they have averaged 2 goals per match this season. The hosts are not very high-scoring but are at home here and certainly can take advantage of a Hamburger side that does allow quite a few goals particularly on the road. Additionally, the hosts are off a disappointing finish to the regular season and will want to rectify that here with a strong showing on their home pitch after a disappointing draw in their regular season finale as a host. Before that 1-1 disappointment, Stuttgart's last 8 matches averaged 4 goals apiece. Also, the last 3 meetings between these clubs have averaged 5 goals apiece! Hamburger finished the regular season with a 1-0 win but, prior to this, their last 8 matches had averaged 5 goals apiece. OVER 3 +105 in Stuttgart

Rotation #206801: Romania Liga 1 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER 2.5 in CFR Cluj vs U Craiova 1948 @ 1:30 ET - CFR Cluj let a 1-0 lead slip away in a frustrating 2-1 loss to Farul in their most recent match and it had their manager furious. That said, and you can tell by the money line of -200 and the goal line of -1, CFR Cluj is expected to respond in a big way here. While I do indeed expect a response from the hosts here in what should be a great atmosphere in Cluj, I am also expected U Craiova 1948 to put up a helluva fight in this one. This is a battle for European football with a shot at the Conference League. That said, U Craiova 1948 is going to battle here and they have averaged scoring 1.6 goals in their last 10 matches. As for CFR Cluj, they have scored 1.7 goals per match last 14 matches. After losing following a 1-0 lead against Farul, I am sure CFR Cluj is going to get a couple goals but I also see U Craiova 1948 being very tough to put away. That means strong odds on at least a 2-1 final the way I see it. As for the last 4 meetings between these clubs, 3 of 4 have totaled at least 4 goals and the 4 matches have averaged 4 goals. More of the same expected Thursday in what should be a very entertaining battle. OVER 2.5 in CFR Cluj

NBA Thursday 10* Top Play Miami Heat +9 @ Denver Nuggets @ 8:30 ET - I really like both these teams. Guys who follow me closely know I rode both the Nuggets and Heat heavily in the conference finals. That said, I got the match-up I wanted and I feel we have a solid competitive balance here. Certainly the Nuggets are the stronger overall team and deserve this heavy line generally speaking but Miami is a very good team. Also, this is not a normal situation here either. Rest is a good thing but too much rest can lead to rust. That is an issue here for Denver. There already is a normal automatic layoff between the conference finals and the NBA finals. That said, the fact the Heat / Celtics series went 7 games did not necessarily hurt them entering this series. It could hurt them if this series goes deep but early on it actually is an advantage that Miami could be more game ready here considering the fact that the Nuggets have not played since Monday. No not the Monday of THIS week but the Monday of LAST week. So a weak and a half later Denver is taking the floor again finally for a real game. Nothing compares to real game action no matter how much you practice. So the point is Denver is likely rusty enough that the Heat can take advantage early on in this one. I still think Nuggets find a way to win this one but I do not think they win this by double digits. Grab the big points here. MIAMI +9