Scott Rickenbach Handicapper Reviews & Picks

*action on pitchers* MLB Sunday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Dodgers Money Line -115 @ Atlanta Braves @ 7:08 ET - The Dodgers lost yesterday's game 5-3 but this followed a run of 4 straight wins and 7 of last 9 games. That is why, regardless of who the starting pitchers end up being, I love LA in this match-up. The Dodgers are expected to start Tony Gonsolin here and he is having a phenomenal season and has proven very tough to hit time and time again. He is 7-0 with a 1.61 ERA in his 10 night game starts and he is 19-5 overall in his career and opponents are hitting just .150 against him this season. The Braves did get the win yesterday but his was on the heels of a mediocre 4-4 stretch. Yes, Atlanta is having a solid season but the Dodgers still the better team. Also, the expected starter here for the Braves is Spencer Strider. He struggled in his most recent start at home and he has a 4.84 ERA in his outings at home this season. Overall he has struggled at times since moving from the bullpen to the starters role and now he faces one of the best teams in the league. The road team takes this one. 10* LA DODGERS -115

*action on pitchers* MLB Sunday 8* OVER 8.5 in Miami Marlins vs New York Mets @ 12:05 PM ET - Castano has not pitched very much this season but he has been hit at a .375 clip in his home starts this season. Opponents are hitting .300 against him in June. Peterson had a 5.17 ERA in May and now is getting hit at a .279 clip in June. Since a strong April, Peterson has not been very impressive. That said, the value here is with the over as both pitchers trending the wrong way. Without regard to starting pitchers, like the fact that the Mets one of the better offenses in the league and average 5 runs per game on the season. The Marlins are averaging about 5 runs per game at home this season. If each team gets to 4 here, we can't lose our play at 8.5 runs and I am fully expecting a solid performance at the plate from each team in this one. 8* OVER 8.5 in Miami

RICKENBACH Free Pick NHL Sunday OVER 6 +112 in Tampa Bay Lightning vs Colorado Avalanche @ 8:15 - Like the fact we have had B2B unders in this series and yet the books have kept the O/U at 6 goals in Game 6. You know this will be a dogfight elimination game from the Bolts perspective and the Avs have been so strong in the offensive zone and piling up huge shot totals. That said, this one should find its way over the total. Free Pick OVER 6 +112 in Tampa Bay

*action on pitchers* MLB Sunday 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 in Milwaukee Brewers vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 2:10 ET - I am going with, as usual, action on the pitchers. But I will mention that Jose Berrios is a big name pitcher but so often he struggles on the road. That has been a problem for much of his career and this season has been no different. In four of his last six starts including his most recent one, he allowed at least 5 earned runs. He is likely to struggle here more than you might expect even though the Brewers are not known for scoring big runs. Note that the Brewers are expected to start Chi Chi Gonzalez here and he is 9-24 with a 5.71 ERA in his career. He has not been good in his limited action this season either as he has a 7.36 ERA so far. Brewers got the 5-4 win yesterday and, even with that loss, the road team has averaged scoring 6 runs per game last 13 games. No matter the pitchers I expect Toronto to resume high-scoring ways and the Brewers have produced an average of 5 runs per game last 11 games. Don't be surprised if each team gets to 5 runs in a wild one today. 10* OVER 9.5 in Milwaukee

NHL Sunday 10* Top Play Colorado Avalanche Money Line -114 @ Tampa Bay Lightning @ 8:15 ET - The Avalanche are 4-0 last 4 times when entering a game off a loss. Also, the Avs are 8-1 in road games in this post-season. Colorado has dominated shots on goal in this series and that continues here. The Avalanche just too much for a Lightning team that doesn't have the same level of talent on offense. Vasilevskiy fantastic in goal for the Bolts but Avs also have been getting good goaltending and the better team in terms of offensive output will prove to be too much here. 10* COLORADO -114