MLB Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia -1.5 +110 - I respect John Means for the Orioles. He is a very solid pitcher. However, Ranger Suarez has been dominant for the Phillies so Baltimore has no edge in the pitching department here. That said, Baltimore is really in trouble when you compare everything else too. The Phillies have the bullpen edge, lineup edge, and home field edge in this one. Of course this is why they are a big favorite of nearly 2 to 1 on the money line. Where we get our value is on the run line. Phillies actually are available at a plus money price by laying the 1.5 runs and I am looking for a dominating win in this one. Baltimore is 47-102 on the season and 82 of their 102 losses have been by 2 or more runs! The Orioles are slumping again too with losses in 7 of their last 9 games. 6 of those 7 defeats by 2+ runs. The Phillies are off a tight loss to the Mets last night but this followed 4 straight wins. Also, Philadelphia is 4-2 in home starts for Suarez and he has a 1.85 ERA in his 9 starts this season and has dominated out of the pen too. The lefty having a phenomenal season. Again, respect to Means but Suarez has been even better and all the other edges are with the Phillies in this one too and that makes this an easy anti-Baltimore call as we fade one of the worst teams in the majors. 10* PHILADELPHIA -1.5 +110

MLB Monday MLB 10* Top Play OVER 8.5 in Miami - Late season match-ups between two teams that are simply looking to finish out a sub-par year are the types of situations I like to look at for overs. There is no playoff pressure. The hitters come to the plate relaxed. That said, when you have a pitching match-up that should be conducive to an over in a spot like this, it is time to pull the trigger. I know the Nats Fedde has been strong against the Marlins this season but the over is 3-0 in his last 3 starts and this is still a guy who has a 5.16 ERA on the year. Miami catching him at home and seeing him for the 3rd time in 4 weeks absolutely should lead to some success at the plate in this one. At the same time, Luzardo is going up against Washington in a similar situation - 3rd time in 4 weeks - and the Nationals have been hitting him hard. Luzardo has a 6.37 ERA on the season in his 15 starts and the over is 10-5 in those outings. More of the same here as he has a 9.00 ERA against the Nats this season and also the Marlins get their fair share of runs at home in this one too. 10* OVER 8.5 in Miami

MLB Monday Free Pick Pittsburgh Pirates +160 - Don't care who pitches here so make this bet with action, just as I advise on all my baseball picks. The fact is the Pirates have been hotter than the Reds for some time. In terms of the pitching match-up here Peters has been pitching much better than Gutierrez. Regardless of the starting pitching though, the Pirates hold a slight bullpen edge and, again, have been the hotter team. Prior to yesterday's loss, Pittsburgh had won 8 of 11. The Pirates are 4-0 last 4 times coming off a loss. The Reds, absolutely feeling playoff pressure, have lost 14 of 20 games. The value with the big dog, given all of the above, is absolutely worth a look here. Free Pick PITTSBURGH +160

NFL Monday 10* Top Play Detroit Lions +12 - I know that the Packers are generally strong at home and should bounce back here. But for Green Bay to respond and win this game by double digits is what I am doubting. The Packers have some issues. I am not sure how cohesive this group is ever since the Aaron Rodgers off-season saga. This team just looks a bit disjointed. Undoubtedly, talent-wise Green Bay is the better team in this match-up. However, the Lions gained confidence and showed a lot of character in battling back against San Francisco last week. Yes it was a fortunate ATS cover for Detroit but that does not change the fact that it gave new QB Jared Goff and this Lions offense some confidence heading into this week's match-up. Keep in mind Green Bay was turnover-prone last week and just overall it was an ugly performance against the Saints. That said, consider that New Orleans then went on the road yesterday and looked very bad against the Panthers. As for the Niners they went on the road and beat an Eagles team that is playing inspired football early this season. The point is Detroit's cover against San Francisco might be more impressive than first realized and Green Bay's demolishing at the hands of New Orleans might be even worse than originally thought. I would not be surprised to see these teams trade scores a bit and for the Lions to hang around throughout this contest. Look for a game decided by a margin of about 7 points which means we have great value with the big points offered here. 10* DETROIT +12

MLB Tuesday 8* OVER 9.5 in Detroit @ 1:10 ET - Over is 5-1 in Tyler Alexander's home starts this season. Over is 2-0 in Dallas Keuchel's starts versus Tigers this season. Keuchel got rocked in his lone start at Detroit this season. Alexander has allowed 21 hits in 13 innings over his last 3 starts against the White Sox and compiled a 6.92 ERA in those outings. Yesterday's game stayed under and I know these teams have trended under of late. However, this pitching match-up is conducive to an over plus it is a day game. Look for bats to rule the day in this one. 8* OVER 9.5 in Detroit