Scott Rickenbach Handicapper, Premium and Free Picks

Earliest Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play OVER 9.5 runs in Cleveland Indians vs Kansas City Royals @ 1:10 ET - Jackson Kowar is the expected starter for the Royals here and he is 0-4 with an 11.45 ERA. Cal Quantrill has great numbers for the Indians but he just faced Kansas City last week and that could be a problem here. They have hit him decently this season (including 3 homers in 2 starts) plus are now getting a quick second look at him after having just seen him. Also, this total went from a 9 to a 9.5 and given the recent under stretch for the Royals I believe this is a sign of sharp money funneling in on the over in this one. My money is going to be on it as well. Yes the Indians game stayed under yesterday but the teams combined for 23 hits! That's ridiculous. Also ridiculous was the Royals having only 2 runs on 10 hits in their game yesterday. This game makes up for yesterday as the situation is ideal. 10* OVER 9.5 runs in Cleveland

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play Detroit Tigers Money Line +142 vs Chicago White Sox @ 1:10 ET - ACTION on pitchers. No matter who pitches here this play is all about the value. The White Sox have already locked up the division and Chicago's road record is a slight losing record while the Tigers home record is a slight winning record. The point is that there is value on the home dog even just looking at this game from that perspective. The White Sox are off a win yesterday but have lost 9 times the last 10 when coming off a win! The Tigers are off a loss yesterday but this was preceded by a 10-4 run as they have been a scrappy team during this stretch run of the season. In fact, Detroit is 7-2 last 9 games when coming off a loss. Nice set up here regardless of the pitchers but I will mention that Keuchel has allowed 25 hits in 16 and 2/3 innings his last 3 starts overall and the White Sox are 4-11 in his starts this season! As for Manning, he has allowed only 10 hits in 14 innings spanning his last 3 starts and the Tigers went 3-0 in those starts and are 6-3 in his home starts this season! 10* DETROIT +142

Game of the Week - Rickenbach EPL Monday 10* Top Play Brighton & Hove Albion +162 @ Crystal Palace @ 3 ET - Brighton & Hove has a chance to move to the top of the table with a win here and picking up the full three points. I love the fact that they are winless in their last four meetings with Crystal Palace as that is helping to keep this line in a very valuable price range. I do not see Brighton settling for a draw here as they will go hard for the full 3 points to do their best to earn the points needed to vault to the top of the table! I know they have only produced 7 goals in their 5 matches this season but Brighton & Hove does have a more potent attack than that of Crystal Palace. The visitors in this one are full of confidence and looking to end that winless run versus the hosts and I do not see them being denied. The hotter club is on the road (which gives us extra line value) and firing on all cylinders and keep in mind, Crystal Palace had one shocking 3-0 home win but, other than that, has tallied only 2 goals total in its other 4 matches! 10* BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION +162 

EPL Monday Free Pick OVER 2 goals in Crystal Palace vs Brighton & Hove @ 3 ET - I know Crystal Palace has not conceded a goal in their first two home matches but I do not see that continuing here as Brighton & Hove can move to the top of the table with a victory in this one and I look for them to be aggressive on the attack here as a result. Of course this could leave Brighton vulnerable to some damage on the other end of the pitch. Getting a low total of just 2 goals posted on this one makes this spot absolutely worthy of a look. Crystal Palace scored 3 goals in their home victory this season and Brighton & Hove has averaged 1.5 goals per match in its two road victories this season. Free Pick OVER 2 goals in Crystal Palace

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL 10* Top Play Philadelphia Eagles +3.5 @ Dallas Cowboys @ 8:15 ET - Value with the points here. First divisional game for each of these teams and it is an early-season battle for first place in the NFC Least as I like to call it! Both of these teams have looked a little better than expected early this season but like the fact that, though both teams went 1-5 ATS in divisional games last season, the Cowboys are laying 3 plus the hook here and they went an ugly 1-6 ATS as a favorite last season. Philadelphia has been the better team defensively early this season and I also like the fact that they have been running the ball well early this season. When you have a road team that can establish the ground game on offense plus play very strong on the other side of the ball, you have a good shot at a road dog cover if not upset win. Also note that Dallas is 2-0 ATS this season but look around the league after yesterday's results and you can see how rare it is for teams to be perfect 3-0 ATS after 3 weeks. In other words the odds a bit stacked against the Cowboys here and I do like the fact that the road teams are a perfect 2-0 ATS this season in both Eagles games and Dallas games. Those trends continue here and the road dog relies on solid defensive play as well as a strong ground game on offense to grind out the win (at least ATS win) in this one. 10* PHILADELPHIA +3.5