Scott Rickenbach

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #964 Sunday 10* Top Play Arizona Diamondbacks (+) vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 4:10 ET - I have plenty of respect for the Brewers Brandon Woodruff but this is too much home dog value to pass up on with Alex Young and Arizona. The Diamondbacks let last night's game slip away and I expect them to respond this afternoon. Young is a very tough lefty and the Milwaukee lineup has no experience against the rookie southpaw. Young is 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA in 4 games (3 starts) at the MLB level and opponents are hitting just .100 against him. Also, having a southpaw on the mound against the Brewers best hitter, Christian Yelich, is also a big edge. As for Milwaukee's Woodruff, he had a great May but, keep in mind he had a 5.47 ERA in April and a 4.78 ERA in June. He is 9-0 at home this season but 2-3 on the road and this looks like the perfect spot to fade him. Prior to last night's win for the Brewers, they were 5-9 in their last 14 games while the Diamondbacks entered last night's game 8-2 in their last 10 home games. Milwaukee is 2-6 this season as a road favorite of -125 to -175 while Arizona is 3-1 this season as a home underdog of +125 to +175. Considering the Brewers have struggled on the road quite often this season, the value is huge here with the Diamondbacks as a home dog. This is especially true when you consider how well Young has been pitching. 10* ARIZONA

Total of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #975 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Astros vs Texas Rangers @ 2:10 ET - The Astros Lance Lynn has a low ERA versus the Astros this season but, keep in mind, he did allow 3 homers in his lone start at Houston this season. Also, though Lynn has a 3.15 ERA this month he has been hit at a .277 clip and all 3 of those starts were at home. This will be just the second road start for Lynn since mid-June! I expect the Astros to enjoy success at the plate here as this is their third shot at Lynn this season. Though he had success against them on July 11th, Lynn's other two starts this month saw him allow 7 earned runs on 17 hits in 13 innings. The issue for Houston today won't be their lineup, it will be the fact that their starting rotation has been impacted by injury. The Astros are expected to give Rogelio Armenteros his first-ever MLB start. The rookie right-hander has had some success in his first 3 MLB appearances out of the bullpen. However, lets not forget that Armenteros went 4-6 with a 5.05 ERA and .286 BAA at AAA Round Rock this season. Though one can say that is the Pacific Coast League and ERAs do tend to be higher than normal there, it does not change the fact that it is AAA hitters he is facing and plus Armenteros had much better numbers in the very same league last season. Don't be surprised if the Rangers give him a rough intro to what it is like to start at the MLB level and, of course, he'll face the extra pressure of trying to perform well for the home fans here. The first two games of this series stayed under the total but Texas entered this series on a 10-3 run to the over. Also the Astros and Rangers entered this series having gone 5-1 to the over in their 6 most recent meetings. With this total dropping from a 9.5 to a 9 we have even more value in this one. I'll take it! 10* OVER the total in Houston

Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach MLB Rotation #980 Sunday Free Pick UNDER the total in New York Yankees vs Colorado Rockies @ 1:05 ET - The Rockies German Marquez is off a career-worst start. You can fully expect a response from him here. Also that outing was at home in hitter-friendly Coors Field. As per usual this season, Marquez has been much better when away from home. Marquez has a 3.33 ERA in his 10 starts away from Colorado on the season. A fluke? No! Last season Marquez had a stellar 2.95 ERA in his 17 road starts. Another edge for Marquez is that this is an inter-league match-up and the Yankees sticks do not have experience against him. James Paxton starts for the Yanks here and he has a similar edge over the Rockies here. The Colorado lineup has very little experience against him and what they do have (4 for 45 at the plate) has not been good. Also, Paxton has a 3.22 ERA in his home games this season and has held opponents to a .229 batting average at Yankee Stadium on the year. More of the same expected here. Free Pick UNDER the total in New York Yankees