Picks And Parlays

Texas & Oakland under 9.5 The Texas Rangers host the Oakland Athletics on Monday in game one of a four-game set. Texas dropped their last game to Toronto 7-2, while Oakland beat Seattle on Sunday, 10-2. Oakland’s 10-run outburst on Sunday hides the team’s offensive struggles of late. Over their previous seven games, the Athletics had scored only 2.7 runs per contest. Texas has been enduring an even greater offensive slump. The team scored only four runs in their four-game series with Toronto, and have scored only 2.6 runs per game over their last 15 contests. Nicholas Tepesch takes the mound for the Rangers in this one. He has been an under machine, particularly at home. Tepesch has a 3.66 ERA in six home starts this season, and the under is 6-0 in those games. The under is 23-6-1 in Texas’s last 30 home games. Daniel Straily counters for the Athletics. He’s been rolling in his last five starts, posting a 2.20 ERA with a 0.77 WHIP. In his first start versus the Rangers this season he threw seven innings of shutout ball. The under is 5-1 in Straily’s last six starts. Straily has limited the Rangers to a .172 batting average in three starts against them. The under is 5-1 in Oakland’s last six road games. The under is 13-3 in Texas’s last 16 games. Take the UNDER. Good Luck, Razor Ray 7* Play on Texas & Oakland u9.5 -110

Houston ML The Houston Astros host the Chicago White Sox on Monday in game four of a four-game set. Houston won game three in the series on Sunday, 5-4. The White Sox are the lowest-scoring team in the American League with only 233 runs thus far. Expect their offensive struggles to continue in this one against Bud Norris. Norris is 7-3 with a 1.94 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP at Minute Maid Park over the last two seasons. He has been especially successful in home starts versus teams with a losing record. The Astros have won seven of Norris’s last eight home starts versus teams with a losing record. The Astros are 10-1 in their last 11 games played as part of a four-game series. Jose Quintana counters for the White Sox. The team has dropped each of his last four outings. Quintana allowed four runs in three of those outings, and three runs in the other. His losing ways should continue against an Astros team that is 4-0 in their last four starts versus left-handed starters. The White Sox are 0-7 in their last seven games as a favorite, and 3-12 in their last 15 games versus American League West opponents. Houston is 7-4 in their last 11 home games played outside of their division while Chicago is 1-12 in their last 13 road games. Take Houston. Good Luck, Razor Ray 8* Play on Houston Astros +114

Kansas City ML The Cleveland Indians host the Kansas City Royals on Monday in game one of a three-game set. Cleveland is coming off a 2-0 win over Washington, while Kansas City beat Tampa Bay on Sunday afternoon, 5-3. Carlos Carrasco gets the nod for the Indians in this one. Carrasco missed all of the 2012 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and his return to the show hasn’t been inspiring thus far. Carrasco has allowed 13 runs over 7 2/3 innings of work through his first two starts, good for an ERA of 15.26, with the Indians getting outscored 20-5 in those contests. Don’t expect Carrasco to turn things around against Kansas City as he has a career 6.33 ERA in five starts against them. Dating back to his last go around with the team, the Indians are 0-8 in Carrasco’s last eight starts, and 0-9 in his last nine starts has a home underdog. James Shields counters for the Royals. Shields has a 2.79 ERA on the season and his teammates are finally starting to reward him with some run support. The Royals were 3-8 in Shields’s first 11 starts of the season, largely due to a sluggish offense, but the team has won his last three starts, with the offense finally offering up some support. Opponents have scored only 1.7 runs per game in Shield’s last three starts. The Royals are 5-0 in their last five games as a favorite. Kansas City is 10-2 in their last 12 games while Cleveland is 4-9 in their last 13 and 7-15 in their last 22. Take Kansas City. Good Luck, Razor Ray 8* Play on Kansas City Royals -129

Boston & Chicago under 5 The Boston Bruins host the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday in Game Three of the Stanley Cup Final. Boston won Game Two in the series in overtime on Saturday, 2-1. We’ve been active in selecting the under in road games for the Blackhawks this season, and have been very successful in doing so. The under has been a regular occurrence for Chicago when they’ve taken to the road. The under is 10-1-2 in their last 13 road contests. Goaltending was the story in Game Two of this series, and that should continue in Game Three. Tuukka Rask stole Game Two for the Bruins, continuing a fabulous playoffs run. Rask has posted a 1.73 GAA with a .944 save percentage and two shutouts in the postseason. He has allowed only three goals in his last three home games. Corey Crawford has stepped his game up in a big way in the playoffs. He has posted a 1.72 GAA with a .935 save percentage in the postseason. Scoring chances have been incredibly hard to come by in this series. The team have combined for only four goals in the last seven periods of play. The under is 5-2 in Boston’s last seven games overall, and 3-1-1 in their last five home games. Take the UNDER. Good Luck, Razor Ray 7* Play on Boston & Chicago u5 -140