At 2:10 pm, our selection is on the Texas Rangers over the Houston Astros.  What kind of odds could you have gotten on Lance Lynn leading the League in wins this season?  Well, we are almost two-thirds of the way through, and Lynn is doing just that, with 12 victories against just five defeats, in 20 starts.  The veteran RHP has a chance to reach 20 when the season comes to an end -- a mark which seems to be harder and harder to attain these days.  We've seen quite a bit of the future of Astros pitching lately, and this afternoon is no different as 25-year-old Rogelio Armenteros will get the start at home.  Armenteros has earned this start -- his first in the Majors -- on the strength of his performances out of the bullpen this season.  In three relief appearances, the Cuban RHP has a 2.00 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in nine innings.  However, his numbers this year as a starter in the Minors do not instill confidence for this debut as he was 4-5 with a 5.05 ERA in 13 starts at the AAA level.  The Rangers are a solid 9-5 in their last 14 against RH starters and 5-1 in Lynn's last six starts.  Take Texas in an underdog role today.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 2:10 pm, our selection is on the Minnesota Twins over the Oakland Athletics.  When evaluating RHP Michael Pineda's 2019 season, it's a matter of the glass being half-empty or half-full.  On the half-empty side is the fact that Pineda has only managed to log a 6-5 record with a very mediocre 4.38 ERA in his 18 starts covering just under 99 innings.  But on the half-full side is Pineda's pinpoint control and the fact that he's only walked an average of 1.5 batters per nine IP, resulting in a very nice 1.16 WHIP and 5.44 K:BB ratio.  The other enigma this season is Pineda's poor record at home (just two wins in 10 starts) vs. on the road (4-2 in eight starts), contrasted against his ERA which is almost a full run better here at Target Field (3.98 vs. 4.87).  But the biggest reason to like Pineda and the Twins today is his record vs. Oakland.  In six career starts vs. the A's, Pineda is 4-1 with a 2.75 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 36 innings.  The Twins are also 6-1 in Pineda's last seven starts following a team loss in their previous game.  Take Minnesota.

At 1:10 pm, our selection is on the Cleveland Indians over the Kansas City Royals.  With the injuries that Cleveland has had to its rotation, it's quite a tribute to the Tribe that it's been able to be competitive this season.  That's because some of the young pitchers the Indians have had to rely on have performed very well for them.  Case in point is rookie RHP Zach Plesac, who the Indians selected in the 12th round of the 2016 draft from Ball State University.  Plesac is 3-3 with a 3.56 ERA in nine starts covering 48 innings.  More important is the fact that he is 2-1 with a 2.82 ERA in four starts here at home (22 1/3 innings) vs. just 1-2 and 4.21 in five road starts (25 2/3 IP).  The Tribe hitters couldn't solve KC's Jake Junis yesterday.  But prior to that shutout, they had plated plenty of runners this season against the Royals.  In the eight previous match-ups leading up to Saturday, Cleveland had scored a total of 53 runs -- or almost seven per game.  Finally, the Royals are 8-24 in the last 32 meetings in Cleveland.  Take the Indians.

At 1:10 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Rays over the Chicago White Sox.  This will be rookie Dylan Cease's 3rd career start for the White Sox.  And he's not been effective in his first two outings.  He's surrendered 12 hits, five walks and nine runs (seven earned) in just 11 innings (5.73 ERA; 1.54 WHIP).  And those two games were against two of the worst teams in baseball (Royals; Tigers).  This afternoon, he'll have to face the Rays and their Cy Young award-winning hurler, Blake Snell. Snell's not having as good a season as he did in 2018, but he's been terrific lately, with a 2.25 ERA and 0.93 WHIP over his last three starts (all Tampa wins).  Snell is also a perfect 3-0 in his five career starts vs. Chicago, with a 1.07 ERA and 1.02 WHIP.  Take Tampa Bay.

At 1:10 pm, our selection is on the St. Louis Cardinals over the Cincinnati Reds.  Following a breakout campaign in his second MLB season last year, many thought Jack Flaherty would take the next step in 2019.  That 2018 campaign included eight wins, a strikeout rate of almost 11 per nine IP, and a fifth place finish in the Rookie of the Year balloting.  But 2019 hasn't seen any improvement for the hard-throwing RHP, at least when it comes to the W/L record (4-6) and ERA (4.41).  But there are several signs that Flaherty can still have a successful season by the time things wrap up.  For one thing, his strikeout rate per 9 IP is still elite at 10.0 and he is walking less hitters this season which has resulted in an improved K:BB ratio (3.29 vs. 3.05 in 2018).  And he's only 23 years old.  Start #20 will come this afternoon in Cincinnati vs. a Reds team against which he has a 3.09 career ERA.  Flaherty also loves daytime outings, with a 3.20 ERA in 17 career afternoon games (vs. 4.35 in 35 under the lights).  The Reds will go with RHP Anthony DeSclafani and they are 3-7 in his last 10 starts.  Take the Cards.