50* Powerhouse Play on Indians +140

As the Indians (74-52) await the return of Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco, they’re keeping the Twins and their three-game lead in the AL Central within reach. Tonight, Cleveland will visit New York to take on the Mets (65-60).

The Mets have rallied lately to bring their record at home up to 35-21, but the Indians have an impressive 35-26 record on the road.

Making his fourth start as a member of this New York club after joining at the trade deadline will be Marcus Stroman (7-11, 3.21 ERA). Although the Mets have won each of Stroman’s starts, the right-hander has posted a mediocre 5.17 ERA in 15 2/3 innings with the team.

In 12 at-bats against Stroman, Indians right-fielder Tyler Naquin is batting .583 with a pair of RBIs. Rookie Oscar Mercado is batting .333 with a homer in his last seven games.

Cleveland will be sending out Adam Plutko (5-3, 4.67 ERA) for this one. In his last outing, the Indians right-hander held one of the best offensive teams in baseball, the Yankees, to three runs in six innings.

The Indians have seven wins out of their last nine road games in interleague play.

50* Powerhouse Play on Phillies +160

As winners of five of their last seven, the Phillies (65-60) go into Boston this evening to face off against the Red Sox (67-60).

Getting the start for Philadelphia will be left-hander Drew Smyly (2-6, 7.09 ERA). Smyly will be hoping to return to his good form immediately after joining the club. In his first 13 innings as a Philly, Smyly allowed just one earned run. In 10 career games (eight starts) against Boston, Smyly is 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA.

Opposite Smyly will be Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello (11-9, 5.49 ERA). In four career starts against Philadelphia, Porcello is 2-1 with a 4.32 ERA. In six of his last 10 starts, Porcello has allowed five or more earned runs.

The Phillies will likely lean on slugger Bryce Harper for run support. In addition to leading the club with 26 home runs and 90 RBIs, Harper is batting .381 with four homers over the last seven days.

After twisting an ankle, the Red Sox may be without shortstop Xander Bogaerts in tonight’s matchup. That would be a big miss for the club, as Bogaerts is hitting .308 with 27 home runs and 94 RBIs on the season.

1* Free Play on Orioles +105

Two of the least impressive teams in baseball will take the diamond in Baltimore when the Orioles (40-86) host the Royals (45-81) this evening.

Offensively, Baltimore holds a slight edge over Kansas City. Let’s start with home runs, of which the Orioles have 158 (22ndin the majors) while the Royals have slugged just 127 (28thin the majors). With 547 runs, Baltimore is 26thin the majors while Kansas City sits at 27thwith their 541 runs scored.

The pitching matchup will feature Royals left-hander Mike Montgomery (3-5, 4.63 ERA) versus Orioles right-hander Aaron Brooks (2-7, 6.49 ERA).

Montgomery is coming off a good start in which he allowed five hits and a run, but he’s 0-0 with a 4.91 ERA in his last three outings against Baltimore.

After having worn a Royals uniform in 2014 and 2015, Brooks will face Kansas City for the first time. He’ll be looking to break a streak of four straight losing decisions tonight at home.

With a record of 21-42, the Royals have won only a third of their games on the road this season.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Marlins +180

With a 28.5-game gap between them in the NL East, the Braves (75-52) and Marlins (45-79) will go head to head tonight in Atlanta in the middle game of a three-game series.

Although the Braves are riding a three-game win streak, they’ve been unable to score more than five runs in any of their past four games.

While these two clubs are at opposite ends of the division, the playing field will be leveled tonight on the mound. Miami left-hander Caleb Smith (8-6, 3.63 ERA) will face off against Atlanta right-hander Julio Teheran (7-8, 3.71 ERA).

In his last start, Smith held one of the best teams in baseball to one run when he threw five innings against the Dodgers. In fact, Smith only allowed one hit; a home run. The Marlins left-hander has struck out 131 in 111 2/3 innings pitched on the season.

In contrast, Teheran is coming off the shortest start of his career. In just 1 1/3 innings against the Mets, Teheran allowed eight hits, one of which was a homer, and six runs. Although he faced 14 Mets, Teheran retired just three of them.

Martin Prado is batting .314 in 35 at-bats versus Teheran.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Giants +162

The Giants (63-64) have been very solid on the road this season, earning themselves a 34-31 record away from home. San Francisco will need to be in form today in Chicago when they take on the Cubs (68-58), who are hanging on to a 0.5-game lead in the NL Central.

This Thursday afternoon affair will feature Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija (9-9, 3.54 ERA) and Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks (8-9, 3.37 ERA).

After spending his first seven seasons in Chicago, this will be Samardzija’s fourth start against his former club. That’s bad news for the Cubs. In nine starts since the calendar turned to July, Samardzija has been one of the best pitchers in baseball with a 2.09 ERA.

Hendricks is 3-2 in seven career starts versus San Francisco. In his last 10 starts, Hendricks is 1-5 with a 3.96 ERA.

For Chicago, Nicholas Castellanos comes into this afternoon’s game as the hottest hitter after homering in three straight games. However, Castellanos is batting just .083 in 12 at-bats against Samardzija.

With five games between themselves and the second Wild Card spot, the Giants will be eager to avoid a sweep.