This game is lined as a pick 'em, and with good reason. We call the pitching match-up a push, and while Minnesota owns an edge with the sticks, Milwaukee owns the advantage in the bullpen comparison. Ultimately, the Brewers are playing a little better ball as of late, and while they might get a stick back in the lineup with the return of Ryan Braun, the Twins might be down a stick if Josh Donaldson can't play. We like Milwaukee here, the home team, at a short price.

McCullers owns the edge in the pitching match-up, and Houston also holds a big advantage with the sticks. So we like the Astros here. And in knowing Houston will bat nine times, we'll gamble a bit and give the run and a half with the Astros against the run line.

Buehler might own the edge in the pitching match-up, and Los Angeles probably holds an advantage with the sticks. But the Dodgers also might be without a couple of bats Monday night. Meanwhile, we like the vibe around San Diego right now. We'll take the Padres with Paddack as home dogs for our free MLB pick for Monday.

We'll call Friday's pitching match-up a wash, but we give Houston the check-marks in the batting splits and in the bullpen comparison. On top of that, Los Angeles is playing without Trout. So we like the Astros here. We also like chasing better prices, so we'll play Houston and give the run and a half on the run line.

San Diego is 4-1 this season and would be 5-0 if it hadn't blown a game against Arizona over the weekend. San Francisco, meanwhile, is shorthanded and struggling, as this team goes through a rebuilding process. So we like the Padres here, and we also like taking chances. So we'll chase a better price and play SD against the run line.

We're calling this pitching match-up a push, and while Chicago might own a slight edge with the sticks, Milwaukee owns a slight edge in the battle of the bullpens. So we see this game as a pick 'em. Which means we also see betting value, which is what betting baseball is all about, with the underdog Brewers.

We gotta give Cole a slight edge in the pitching match-up, and once the bullpens get involved, it's still advantage Yankees, even without Chapman. Plus, the Nats are gonna miss Rendon. So we like New York here. And we also like taking chances. So we'll chase a price and take the Yankees getting +125, giving the 1.5 runs on the MLB run line.

We give Scherzer the check-mark in the pitching match-up, and while Houston might own statistical edges with the sticks and in the bullpen comparison, those have been wiped out somewhat by Washington's recent play. So the betting value here resides with the underdog. We're going all the way with the trend on the visitors in this World Series; we like the Nationals to win Game 7.

We're gonna give Strasburg the edge in this pitching match-up, and while Houston gets the check-marks with the sticks and in the bullpen comparison, they're not enough to warrant a line so high. So we're sticking with the trend on the visiting team and taking Washington at the underdog price.

Many signs point toward Houston here; Greinke owns an edge in the pitching match-up, the Astros own advantages with the sticks and in the bullpens, and they're now playing in desperation mode. However, Washington is riding a wave of momentum and an eight-game winning streak, and it's getting a home-dog price. We're riding the Nationals for our free MLB pick on Game 3.

It's very difficult to beat Cole and Verlander back-to-back, but the way the Nats are playing, we're asking, "why not?" Washington's riding a huge wave of momentum, it's getting excellent starting pitching, timely hitting, the bullpen is better as of late, and it's getting another attractive underdog price. We like the value here with the Nationals.

Cole is ridiculously hot, so he gets the check-mark in the pitching match-up, but Scherzer's no slouch, so it's close. Also, while Houston owns edges with the sticks and in the bullpen comparison, it's not enough to warrant a line so high. And Washington's riding a wave of momentum. We are going with the betting value here and taking the Nationals at the fat underdog price for Game 1.

It's time for Houston to put New York away and advance on to the World Series. We give the Astros advantages with the sticks and in the comparison of the bullpens, and the line on this game, when it comes out, shouldn't be too prohibitive, considering neither Cole or Verlander will pitch. The home team is only 2-3 in this ALCS, but that seems like a lean due for a correction. We're going with Houston for our free MLB pick here.

Houston is hot, with three wins in a row in this series, while New York looks lost, striking out 13 times Thursday night, committing four errors. Now the Astros get to throw Verlander on regular rest, and they're excellent against left-handed pitching. We're going with Houston here to finish off this series, with a World Series berth for the taking.

We're giving Tanaka the edge in the pitching match-up, and with other factors basically equaling out, we like New York to take Game 4 for our free MLB playoff pick here.

New York owns a slightly better record this season without its main starting pitchers. Also, the line on this game, when it comes out, will be very close to a "pick 'em", and the Yankees might even be posted as home dogs. And if there's ever a time to bet against Houston, it's right here, with both Cole and Verlander watching from the dugout. We'll take New York for our free MLB pick on Game 4.

We gotta give Cole the check-mark in the pitching match-up, and Houston owns short edges with the sticks and in the bullpen comparison. So we're going with the Astros for our free MLB pick on this Game 3.

The Nationals' pitching has been lights out in this series, giving up only one run and four hits in the first two games. The Cardinals won three of four games against the Nationals in the series this season in Washington in the first half. The Nats have won four of Strasburg's last five starts against St. Louis, and that trend will continue in this game. He will have another solid playoff start, and the bats of the Cardinals will stay silent. Flaherty will have a good outing as well, but just like the first two games, the Nationals will win a low scoring game and take a commanding 3-0 lead in this series.

Verlander is coming off a rough outing on short rest, but we expect a bounce-back performance Sunday night. So we'll give Houston the edge in the pitching match-up here. We'll also give Houston a small advantage with the sticks. Plus, we have to believe the Astros will salvage a split of these first two games on their home field. So we're going with Houston here for our free MLB pick on Game 2.

We give Greinke a short edge in the pitching match-up here, but it's close. We also give Houston the edge with the sticks and in the bullpen comparison. Also, the Astros just played a big game two days ago, while New York's had four days off, and we prefer teams that have played more recently in spots like this. So we're going with Houston here for our free MLB pick.