Cardinals (Wainwright, 16-7, 2.89) vs Brewers (Houser, 9-6, 3.43)

How about the surging Cards for the hottest team in baseball. Today their elder statesman, 40 years young, faces off against Adrian Houser. Houser has been solid, but lately the Brewers have struggled with very poor offense. That combined with Wainwright’s mastery leads me to think that it will be a Cardinals sweep over the Brewers. Take the Cardinals to win.

Cardinals (Wainwright, 16-7, 2.89) vs Brewers (Houser, 9-6, 3.43)

The Cards are the hottest team in baseball, whipped the Brewers on Wednesday, and are 10-0 in their last ten games. And they have their ace Adam Wainwright, the ageless one, on the mound. The only thing that stands in the way of a 4 game sweep of the Brewers is Adrian Houser. His last start was his worst in some time (4 ER over 4 innings), but his two previous were shut-outs of 6 and 9 inning duration. This has the makings of a real pitcher’s duel and, a rarity this late in the season, both teams have very sharp bullpens.

The Cards, modest hitting usually, are punching well above their weight, while Milwaukee is in the doldrums. Their collective batting avg. is below .200 of late, and they have won only 2 of their last 6 games. The Cards are a very good road team, and are on a terrific roll at the moment. They have won their way into wild-card potential.

I like the Cards here, but I like the Total more. Take the total to go under.

Giants (Webb, 10-3, 2.86) vs Padres (Darvish, 8-10, 4.13)

Two potentially strong pitchers start in the finale of the Giants/Padres series. Yu Darvish has been all over the map; seven innings of shutout ball in his last start, preceded by a four inning bomb allowing 8 runs. It seems Darvish has refound his form but only every other game. This would be his turn to flame out. If only it were that easy to pick them..

Logan Webb has been solid all year, but he did have a poor start two turns ago. Perhaps some fatigue has settled in. He has started 24 games this year and is only 24. His ERA has edged up slightly to 3.63 in his last games. Webb has the support of the Giants bullpen, still sharp even though worked heavily, with an ERA of 3.55. The Padres’ pen has been overworked as well and has struggled with an ERA of 5.75 of late.

The Padres are 2-8, in the bottom third of the league in offense and unlikely to make the play offs. The Giants are in the top two teams in offense, 49-27 on the road, and an astounding 72-33 against right- handers. No matter how Darvish pitches, I still favor the Giants, and the odds are very palatable. Take the Giants to win.

Carolina Panthers @ Houston Texans 

Off back to back wins to open up the year, the Panthers are now one of the last 7 teams with an undefeated record. Having said that, they are battling some injuries. McCaffrey, who is going to play, is dealing with a minor calf injrury. Youngsters, Yetor Gross Matos and Troy Pride are going to miss this one though.

Off a loss to the Browns, the Texans also saw their QB Tyrod Taylor get hurt. Now, the rookie Davis Mills steps in the starting role and looks to prove himself. They looked very sharp in week 1 and I believe that they'll bounce back in a huge way this week.

Although Carolina is the better team, 8.5 points is a lot, considering Houston is the home team. I'll gladly take the points here.

Marshall @ Appalachian State

Off a tough loss to Eastern Carolina last weekend, Marshall now travels to North Carolina where they'll take on the always dangerous Mountaineers. Although they are 2-1, the Thundering Hurd are 1-2 ATS on the season, 1-4 dating back to last year. They've also lost 5 of their last 7 games as an underdog.

For Appalachian State, they've looked very sharp, despite losing a tough one to Miami. They are now a dominant 19-1 in thier last 20 games played at home. They are aksi 8-1  in their last 9 games against opponents from the Conference USA. 

Having said that, I think Marshall will be very shy/unconfident after that shocking loss last week. Expect the Mountaineers to jump all over that and make them pay. Take App State.