Welcome back to a preview of some MLB action to close out what has been a fantastic weekend of sport. With only 8 days left of regular season play, this past week saw the Mets and Royals clinch division titles, with the Pirates, Cubs and Jays joining the Cardinals by clinching at worst a wild card sport. The Dodgers and Yankees look next to clinch a spot in the post season with the AL West and 2nd AL Wild Card spot likely to go until the last few days to be decided. Possible one game playoff for the AL West or AL Wild Card a decent chance of happening. From a punting perspective it’s been a solid last few days with us being on the right side of the coin flip. It could be slim pickings this week though for a punt, finding it tough to play anything other than Run Totals on teams out of contention. There is still some key games tomorrow though so let’s take a look and try and find the winners. Next week we will have a Postseason preview up, with our plays for the business end of the season.

Best Bet –  Cardinals at $1.41
Next Best –  Jays -1.5 at $2.00
Alt Totals Multi –  o5.5 Indians/Royals, o6.5 Twins/Tigers, o6.5 Orioles/Red Sox at $2.32

Tampa Bay Rays vs Toronto Blue Jays (3.05am AEST) 

Rays ($2.66) – Andriese (3-5, 4.37)
Blue Jays ($1.50)  –  Buehrle (14-7, 3.69)

Prediction

Blue Jays. With Toronto clinching a post season spot it may be easy to see them take the foot off the pedal, however the AL East is still not confirmed and they will want to get that wrapped up ASAP to give some key players a few days rest before the playoffs. This is their last regular season game at home. Bullpen arm Matt Andriese gets the nod for Tampa, where he averages a road ERA of 5.60, but more interesting is the .319 opposing batters are hitting against him. Buehrle has not pick up a Win in his last 3 starts and his form of late isn’t the best. He will want to put in a strong last 2 starts before the playoffs to get himself a starting role in what could be along October campaign for the Jays. Price and Stroman are certains to be part of a 4 man rotation. Can Buehrle ? 8-1 in 13 home starts, with a solid 3.09 ERA. Do Toronto rest any bats tomorrow though, still think they have the firepower with only a rest for catcher Russell Martin likely. Rays don’t score many and after getting 8 on Sunday it’s hard to see them back up with that sort of output again. Jays get it done and sweep the series.

Suggested Bet

Blue Jays -1.5 at $2.05 

Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros (4.05am AEST) 

Rangers ($3.00) – Perez (3-5, 5.21)
Blue Jays ($1.41)  –  Keuchel (18-8, 2.51)

Prediction

Astros.  Houston sit 3.5 games behind Texas in the AL west and losing here should hand the division to the Rangers. Lucky for them in what to this date is their biggest game of 2015 they have Cy Young candidate Dallas Keuchel on the mound. He is looking to finish the season perfect at home, currently 14-0 with a crazy 1.47 ERA at Minute Maid Park over 17 starts. How do you argue with that. Perhaps the fact that last week the Rangers belted him, 9 earned runs on 11 hits in just over 4 innings. That was on the road though. Martin Perez pitched that particular game well going 7 innings with only 1 run allowed. Though his road form is abysmal 0-4 with 5.59 ERA. Rangers are a great team and been playing amazing since the All star break however think Keuchel does enough for the Astros. Houston has had some bullpen issues and that is a little concern, though if Keuchel can go 7 or 8 innings they should be okay. $3.00 for Texas is pretty appealing though, and the Astros are too short for me to touch with confidence.

Suggested Bet

Astros at $1.41 

Milwaukee Brewers vs St Louis Cardinals (4.15am AEST) 

Brewers ($3.00) – Carvy (0-8, 6.21)
Cardinals ($1.41)  –  Lackey (13-9, 2.74)

Prediction

Cardinals. Having the best record in the MLB with a week left of the regular season you can usually relax and rest a few players. Not the case for St Louis, with the Pirates and to a less extent the Cubs breathing down their necks for that NL Central spot. With Pittsburgh and Chicago facing off in the late game, a win here and a Pittsburgh loss brings the Cardinals a step closer to the division. A 3 game series between St Louis and Pittsburgh starts Tuesday though.  John lackey is dominate at home going 9-4 with a 1.97 ERA, poor run support at times the only reason for the losses. He is a veteran and shines come business end of the season. I would not be surprised to see him handed the ball in Game 1 of the NLDS. The Brewers have been chugging along all season with nothing to play for and Carvy has not been that great. While he is better on the road he still has not got a win in any starts, consistently putting his team on the back foot. There is a decent arm hidden there though. $1.41 for the Cardinals is a much better betting proposition then the same price on offer for the Astros. Take the Cardinals, lack of runs though can make them risky on the line plays.

Suggested Bet

Cardinals at $1.41 

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs (10.00am AEST Live ESPN) 

Pirates ($2.80) – Burnett (9-5, 3.15)
Cubs ($1.46)  –  Arrieta (20-6, 1.83)

Prediction

Cubs. Both teams clinching a wild card spot this week, this recent 3 game series has been a tight contest. Pittsburgh can’t afford anymore loses if they want to catch St Louis and the Cubs realistically are playing for home field advantage for the one game wild card game. Jake Arrieta, arguably should be the NL Cy Young winner has been solid as solid can be.  8-5 at home with a 2.11 ERA. Cubs losing only 1 of his last 16 starts. 2-1 with a 0.93 ERA against the Pirates this season as well. AJ Burnett has been pretty average since his return from injury. Not pitching past 5 innings in any of those starts. His road form all season has not been the best. Although in the last 3 years his performances at Wrigley field have been solid going 2-1 over 4 starts with a 2.25 ERA. Pittsburgh will get one more look at Arrieta before their likely wild card game, and I get the feeling they may actually get to him a bit more than they have in the past. The problem I see is that the Cubs will likely get to Burnett more.  Wouldn’t be surprised to see both starting pitchers get a no decision here as I feel both teams will get on the board. Cubs will likely get more out of Arrieta though so have to side with the Cubbies.

Suggested Bet

Cubs at $1.46 

All prices quoted via Crownbet

For records. Best Bet 2 Units, Next Best 1 Unit, Multi 0.5 Units (unless stated otherwise)

Hope you all have a good week with your MLB betting. Hopefully your thoughts on the games match up with mine. As always these are only a select few games I was interested in, feel free to share your opinions on any games at @MLB_TheProfits on Twitter. Happy Punting.