Scott Rickenbach

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #959 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:10 ET - Blake Snell has great numbers for the Rays but is still limited with his pitch count as he returns from injury. He is unlikely to work more than 3 or 4 innings here and the Red Sox lineup is very familiar with, and has enjoyed some solid success against, the Tampa Bay bullpen. Boston's issue here is going to be their own pitching. Jhoulys Chacin gets the start and he is winless with a 6.75 ERA in his 7 games (6 starts) since the All Star break. Also, the Red Sox right-hander has struggled on the road all season. In 11 starts he is 1-9 with a 6.85 ERA. Opponents are hitting .304 against Chacin in his road starts. Also, in his two most recent starts coming to the Red Sox from the Brewers, the right-hander has had to exit early due to running into trouble very early in his starts. That is significant because the Red Sox bullpen certainly is not what it once was. This season it has ranked only as an "average" bullpen based on team ERA on the year. In 2017 they were one of the best but they regressed some in 2018, and now this season they have dropped off even a little further. We'll take advantage here. 10* OVER the total in Tampa Bay

Run Line Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #951 Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Phillies Run Line +1.5 runs @ Washington Nationals @ 7:05 ET - The Phillies aren't going to quit until it is officially over in terms of their Wild Card odds. Yes, it would take a minor miracle now for Philadelphia to get there now, but the fact is they are facing the right team to gain traction. They have 5 straight games against Washington now and it is the Nationals that are 6 games ahead of them in the race for 1 of the 2 Wild Card spots. Again, it is a tremendous longshot but until the Phillies are officially eliminated they are not going to stop treating each game like a playoff game. That said, after getting blasted last night at Cleveland 10-1, I look for Philadelphia to respond big here. They have a red hot pitcher on the mound in Zach Eflin (2.23 ERA in his last 6 starts) and they face Patrick Corbin in this one. The Nats left-hander had a gem against the Phillies this season but in his other two starts against Philadelphia he did allowed 3 earned runs in 6 innings in each of those outings. The total on this game is only 9 runs and, with a pitchers duel expected, the Phillies getting at least their typical 3 runs off Corbin would go a long way toward cashing this ticket. I am grabbing the Phillies at +1.5 runs on the run line in this one. If they lose a 1-run ball game we still get the cash and note that Washington's bullpen ERA of 5.87 on the season ranks dead last in the majors. 10* PHILADELPHIA +1.5 runs

Monday Night Mauling - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #490 Monday 10* Top Play Washington Redskins (+) vs Chicago Bears @ 8:15 ET - Teams almost always are amped up for Monday Night Football but this is particularly when they enter a game winless on the season and playing on their home field. Teams view this is as a great opportunity to right the ship while not only their home crowd, but also all of football nation, is tuned in with Monday Night cameras rolling. The fact we can get the Redskins at nearly a full TD underdog price here is a great value considering that the Bears have averaged scoring only 9.5 points per game in their first two games this season. Chicago was fortunate to get the win at Denver last week. Give them credit for sure as they finally got the clutch kick they needed but now there is even concern there again as the Bears kicker is hurting heading into this game. The Redskins have covered 9 of their past 12 games against non-divisional opponents. The Bears have an anemic offense but do have a strong defense. However, the Broncos did throw for nearly 300 passing yards against Chicago last week. The Bears have been strong at getting sacks but the Redskins have done a great job of limiting sacks early this season. That said, don't be surprised if Washington enjoys some success through the air in this game and I don't expect the Bears to be able to get much of, if any, margin in this contest. The Redskins are fired up off back to back divisional losses including the most recent one coming last week as a host. Note that Washington is 5-0 SU/ATS off a home loss by 10 or more points. Chicago is 2-10 ATS their last dozen games against NFC East opponents. 10* WASHINGTON