Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach Free Pick Wednesday MLB Oakland A's Money Line (+) @ Baltimore Orioles @ 3:05 ET - Since the All Star break Daniel Gossett has been rock solid in 3 of his 4 starts for the Athletics including each of his 2 road starts. Overall, in all 3 outings he allowed a total of just 6 earned runs on only 15 hits in 20 innings of solid work. That equates to a 2.70 ERA in those 3 starts and Gossett now makes his first ever start against the Orioles. Baltimore's lack of familiarity with him will work to his advantage. Conversely, Dylan Bundy (whom admittedly has been pitching very well) just faced the A's less than 2 weeks ago. Oakland got to Bundy for 2 homers in that game and they'll take advantage of getting a quick "second look" at him in this rematch coming just 11 days later. The Orioles are just 5-9 the last two weeks and yet they're very nearly a 2 to 1 favorite here! The A's are absolutely worth a look here given the generous underdog price being offered and the fact that Gossett has been pitching very well on the road in recent outings. Free Pick on OAKLAND A'S on the money line in afternoon action Wednesday. Best of luck, Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach

Contrarian Shocker - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Rays (+) vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 7:10 ET - The Blue Jays now have the longest losing streak in the majors with 4 straight defeats. Marcus Stroman gets the call here looking to stop the bleeding but the Rays just saw him last week and are now seeing him for the 4th time already this season. Tampa Bay has averaged 5 runs per game in their last 3 games and, overall, they've finally started to hit the ball better over the past week. The Rays send Austin Pruitt to the mound for this one. This is Pruitt's first ever start against the Blue Jays and the Toronto hitters that do have experience against him (relief appearances for Pruitt) have gone just 4 for 20 (.200) against him. Pruitt is off of a rough start versus the Mariners but previously allowed just 4 earned runs on 16 hits in 18 and 1/3 innings spanning his 3 prior starts. That equates to a 1.96 ERA and I look for Pruitt to come up big again here as the slump continues for Toronto. The Blue Jays are 25-37 on the road this season! The home team has won 5 of the last 6 games between these clubs. 10* TAMPA BAY on the money line early Wednesday evening.

Total Dominator - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cincinnati Reds vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:10 ET - The Reds and Cubs combined for 22 runs yesterday. The Cubs have now won 7 of their last 9 games and they've averaged 7.8 runs per games during this hot stretch. The Reds have also been on fire at the plate as Cincinnati has averaged 6.9 runs per game in their last 13 games. More of the same can be expected here as Chicago is starting Michael Montgomery only because Jon Lester is on the disabled list. Montgomery has an 8.53 ERA in the last 3 starts he made and all 3 flew over the total. The Reds are starting Asher Wojciechowski because Scott Feldman is on the disabled list. Wojciechowski has allowed 10 earned runs in less than 10 innings of work spanning his last two starts and he gave up a pair of homers in each start. Both these starting pitchers have had rough times against the lineups they will be facing this evening. The over is 4-1 in the last 5 starts that Wojciechowski has made. The over is 12-5 this season in Cincinnati's home games where they are a dog of +125 to +175. The over is 31-17 in Reds divisional games this year. The over is 12-6 in Chicago's Wednesday games this season. 10* OVER the total in Cincinnati early Wednesday evening.

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach Wednesday MLB 8* OVER the total in San Francisco Giants vs Milwaukee Brewers @ 3:45 ET - Yesterday's game stayed just under the total but each team had 10 hits. That's a good sign of what to expect this afternoon at AT & T Park in terms of plenty of hits. Yes it will be cool, as is typical of San Francisco this time of year, but the wind will be blowing out and the ball does carry better in day games than at night. That said, note that the Brewers Matt Garza has been rocked for 7 homers in his last 2 road starts. Overall he has more walks than strikeouts in his last 3 starts combined and he has compiled an ugly 12.47 ERA in these 3 outings. Matt Moore gets the call for the Giants here and he is off of a strong start but that came versus the league-worst Phillies. The San Francisco southpaw previously allowed 49 hits in the 40 and 2/3 innings spanning his 7 prior starts. Though yesterday's under was the 3rd in a row in a Giants game, San Francisco had gone 7 straight games without an under prior to this 3-game run of unders. The over is 15-10 this season (and 61-46 the last 3 seasons combined) in Milwaukee's games versus left-handed starters. 8* OVER the total in San Francisco Wednesday afternoon.