There are 16 games on the MLB schedule Sunday including baseball's best team, the Dodgers, in New York to take on the Mets on Sunday Night Baseball. Get analysis on all of today's games as well as tips on weather, umpires, and other betting trends with our daily MLB Line Drive. **video
Double-Play Picks
Seattle Mariners at Kansas City Royals - Game 1 (-140, 9)
The Mariners and Royals are in the midst of a four-game series in Kansas City this weekend in a battle for the second American League Wild Card spot, and due to yesterday's rain-out they will play a pair of games today.
Kansas City struck first, winning the opener 6-4, but Seattle came back to take Game 2 by a score of 5-2 to climb within 1.5 games of the Royals, who currently hold that coveted second Wild Card spot.
The M's suffered a major blow when Felix Hernandez, who was supposed to start Game 3 of this series, was placed on the 10-day DL with biceps tendinitis. The Mariners will instead hand the ball to their No. 11 prospect Marco Gonzales, who will be making his M's debut after being acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in a AAA deal back in July. Gonzales will provide rotation depth for the Mariners, however his only other start this season at the major league level did not go well - 3.1 innings and five earned runs allowed with the Cards in an eventual 8-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Danny Duffy will toss for the Royals today in Game 1 of the doubleheader and he has been really solid in his last several outings and at home this season. Over his last four starts Duffy owns an ERA of 2.36 and a WHIP of 1.0875 to go along with only two walks allowed and zero home runs. Don't surrender free passes and don't give up dingers - pretty solid formula for success. At home this season Duffy has an ERA of 2.93 and a WHIP of 1.15.
We usually stay away from doubleheaders due to lineup uncertainty, but this is a playoff race so all healthy starters should be in play today.
It's early Sunday morning and this line is already on the move. Get it early before it gets too high.
Pick: Royals -140
Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets (+152, 9)
The Dodgers and Mets tangle in the final game of their three-game weekend series in Queens on Sunday Night Baseball. The Dodgers have taken the first two games and are clearly establishing themselves as the most dominant force in Major League Baseball this season.
The Dodgers, who have won 43 of their last 51 games overall, will send Hyun-Jin Ryu to the mound tonight. Ryu hasn't been getting the decision victories lately with six no-decisions in his last eight starts, but he's been getting the team wins with Dodgers' victories in five of his last six. His ERA has been solid at 3.83 overall this season and over his last three outings Ryu is working with an ERA of 2.04, including seven innings of shutout pitching in his last start against the San Francisco Giants.
Steven Matz gets the ball for the Mets on Sunday night and he has been awful over his last five appearances. Matz missed the first two months of the season dealing with a flexor tendon strain in his pitching elbow, returned in June and looked very good in his first five starts, and has been so bad in his last five starts that we're convinced that his elbow issue is flaring up again.
The Mets have only won two of Matz's last nine starts and in three outings at Citi Field in 2017 he is 0-2 with an ERA of 9.69 and a horrific WHIP of 2.08. To compound the problem even more, in Matz's last five starts overall he owns an ERA of 11.78 and a WHIP of 2.40.
Things sometimes have a way of going a bit sideways on the Sunday Night Baseball stage but the Mets have lost eight of their last 10, the Dodgers are 17-4 in their last 21 road games, and the Dodgers have won the last eight head-to-head meetings with the Mets.
Pick: Dodgers -165
Yesterday's Picks: 0-1-1
Season To Date: 105-96-12
For more FREE picks and analysis head over to our Free Picks page on Covers Experts.
Streaking and Slumping Starting Pitchers
Streaking: Luis Severino, New York Yankees (8-4, 2.98 ERA)
Luis Severino has been dynamite for the Yankees over his last four trips to the hill with a team win/loss record of 4-0, an ERA of 0.69, and a WHIP of 1.0385.
Severino and the Yanks are currently slight dogs at -105 for this afternoon's game in Cleveland against Carlos Carrasco and the Indians.
Slumping: Clayton Richard, San Diego Padres (5-12, 5.40 ERA)
The San Diego Padres have lost seven of Clayton Richards' last eight starting assignments. Over his last four outings (all losses) Richard has pitched to an ERA of 8.87 and a WHIP of 2.186, including a horrific start in Denver against the Colorado Rockies where he allowed 10 earned runs in just 3.2 innings of work.
Richard and the Padres are big +165 dogs today in Pittsburgh against Jameson Taillon and the Pirates.
Weather To Keep An Eye On
There is a chance of rain this afternoon in Cincinnati where the Reds will take on the Cardinals. The wet stuff isn't supposed to arrive until the later innings but will continue for the remainder of the day.
There is a 30-40 percent chance of a thunderstorm in Minneapolis where the Twins will be hosting the Rangers this afternoon. If the system does impact the game today, it should clear out relatively quickly.
A strong 15 mile per hour wind is expected to blow out to right field today at Fenway Park where the Red Sox will host the Chicago White Sox. The total for today's game is currently set at 10.5.
There will also be a strong 15-18 mile per hour wind blowing straight out to center field today at AT&T Park in San Francisco (as usual) where the Giants will take on the D-Backs. The total for this game is currently at 8.
Sunday's Top Consensus
Here are the top side and total play according to our Covers Consensus.
