50* Powerhouse Play on Marlins +113

If the Marlins (34-57) can shut down one-man wrecking crew Manny Machado, they’ll give themselves a great chance to win this evening’s contest against the visiting Padres (45-48).

Machado hit three homers in three games against Atlanta coming off the All-Star break, but will be up against rookie Jordan Yamamoto (3-0, 1.24), who’s undefeated in his five games in the majors. In his last outing, Yamamoto gave up just two hits in six scoreless innings against the Braves.

Opposite Yamamoto will be rookie left-hander Logan Allen (2-1, 4.50 ERA). Allen didn’t even last five full innings when he gave up six runs on seven hits against the Giants in his last start.

Allen will look to jumpstart a sleepwalking club that’s gone winless in its three games since the break, but he’s struggled to match his strikeout performances for the majority of his minor league career, in which he averaged more than a strikeout per inning. In the majors, Allen is registering just 6.5 strikeouts per nine innings thus far.

Although the Marlins are dead last in the majors in homers hit this season, Miami’s Garrett Cooper has notched two dingers in his last 11 at-bats alongside a .364 average. He’ll look to pair with Starlin Castro, who holds a .385 average in his last three games, to give Yamamoto run support tonight.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Pirates +131

Although the Cardinals (46-45) enter tonight’s contest with the Pirates (44-48) as straightforward favorites, the hot arm of Joe Musgrove (6-7, 4.15 ERA) is poised to give Pittsburgh a great chance to steal this one in St. Louis.

The Pirates have won each of Musgrove’s last four starts, in which the right-hander has allowed just four earned runs with a 1.64 ERA over 22 innings.

Adding Musgrove’s recent form to the bats of Starling Marte and Josh Bell will combine for a lot of firepower on the field for Pittsburgh. Josh Bell leads the Pirates in batting with 27 homers, 84 RBIs, and a .298 average. And over his last 15 games, Marte is hitting .295 with four home runs of his own.

Marte and Bell will be facing right-hander Miles Mikolas (5-9, 4.53 ERA), who didn’t end the first half of the season on the same sort of hot streak as his counterpart tonight. Instead, Mikolas gave up four earned runs (five total) in just four innings against the Giants his last time out.

Also concerning for the Cardinals is how five Pittsburgh hitters are batting anywhere from .294 to .381 in their respective careers against Mikolas.

50* Powerhouse Play on Dodgers -160

Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 3.09 ERA) may not have the same velocity that helped him become one of the best pitchers in the game, but the All-Star is still pumping out wins for the MLB-leading Dodgers (62-33). Kershaw will be looking to add to LA’s 25-21 away record when they face off against the Phillies (48-45) this evening.

Taking down the Dodgers looks a very tall task for Philadelphia considering their lack of production out of their starters beyond Jake Arrieta, sporting a rotational ERA of 4.53 (fifth worst in the NL). So, the Phillies are hoping for more innings and a stronger performance from right-hander Zach Eflin (7-8, 3.78 ERA).

That doesn’t look particularly likely considering Eflin’s 9.64 ERA over his last three starts before the All-Star break. Eflin gave up 15 earned runs in 14 innings in those outings.

It’s expected that Eflin will need a lot of help from the likes of Bryce Harper and Co., who’s hitting just .143 with a single home run against Kershaw in his career.

While the Phillies are 0-6 in Eflin’s last six starts against teams with a winning record, the Dodgers can boast a 7-3 record over Kershaw’s last 10 starts against the same sort of competition.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Cubs -159

The Cubs (49-43) can complete the sweep of Pittsburgh this afternoon when the visiting Pirates (44-47) try to worsen Chicago’s impressive 31-16 record at home.

Including two straight losses to the Cubs, Pittsburgh has lost four of the last six dating back to before the All-Star break.

Hoping to avoid another losing streak, the Pirates will send out right-hander Trevor Williams (3-2, 4.54 ERA), who’s struggled since coming off the injured list in May. Since that point, Williams has allowed 26 hits and 16 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings.

Opposite Williams will be Jose Quintana (6-7, 4.19 ERA), who tends to pitch well against the Pirates. In seven career starts against Pittsburgh, Quintana is 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA.

Although Pirates outfielder Starling Marte was able to hit two homers on Saturday, he’s had a difficult time against Quintana, batting just .167 over 18 at-bats.

In contrast, Kyle Schwarber can give a boost to the Cubs if he keeps up his own average of .353 with two home runs in 17 at-bats against Williams.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Reds +113

When Kyle Freeland (2-6, 7.13 ERA) takes the mound for the Rockies (45-45) tonight, he’ll continue searching for the form that made him one of the best pitchers in the NL last year.

But after finishing fourth in Cy Young voting on the back of a 17-7 record with a 2.85 ERA last season, Freeland was sent down to Triple-A this May when he went 0-2 with a 10.17 ERA in six starts.

If Freeland continues to struggle, this might be a lopsided competition in favor of the road-dog Reds (41-47), who will turn to right-hander Tanner Roark (5-6, 3.51 ERA) to end their three-game losing streak.

Before his last start, Roark was ranked third in the majors in homers given up with just 0.735 per nine innings.

Luckily for the Reds, Roark is a July and August pitcher. He holds a record of 27-14 over those two months, contrasting sharply against his 42-46 record in other months.

50* Powerhouse Play on Astros -118

When the Astros (57-35) visit the Rangers (50-42) tonight, they’ll be starting their All-Star lefty Wade Miley (7-4, 3.28 ERA).

Miley will be trying to outduel fellow All-Star Mike Minor (8-4, 2.54 ERA), who’s 3-3 against the Astros in his career.

To worsen Minor’s 1-1 record against Houston this year, the Astros will lean heavily on Michael Brantley. Although Brantley isn’t a home run machine, he can boast a .321 average on the year.

Other than Brantley, the Houston bats have plenty of appearances against Minor, with the likes of George Springer and Yuli Gurriel hitting a .450 and .389 average against the left-hander on 20 and 18 at-bats, respectively.

The Astros will take their 24-21 away record into Texas, and the return of reliever Joe Smith should add some necessary reinforcement to the ball club after sitting on the 60-day injured list. Houston will be happy for any help in relief after they allowed five runs in three innings against the Texans in their second straight loss of the series.

50* Powerhouse Play on Tigers -103

The trade market is heating up going into the middle of July, and the Tigers (28-58) can improve his value even more if their left-handed ace, Matthew Boyd (6-6, 3.87 ERA), has a good start against the Royals (31-61) tonight.

With a 7:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, Boyd is the top player on the trade block for Detroit. Although he gave up four runs, Boyd left the mound with 13 strikeouts through 5 1/3 innings his last time out.

He’ll be facing right-hander Brad Keller (4-9, 4.47 ERA), who hasn’t recorded more than six K’s in a game this season outside of one start against Cleveland.

A weakness the Tigers might be able to exploit is the amount of walks Keller gives up. Keller only struck out two and gave up five walks and six hits in his last start.

Although their at-bats against Keller are limited to just five, both Miguel Cabrera and Christin Stewart are hitting .600 against the righty.

50* Powerhouse Play on Rockies -115

After taking a beating from the Indians to finish out the first half of the season, the Reds (41-46) will visit Colorado to face the Rockies (44-45) and their solid 24-19 record at home.

Colorado has an obvious target to shoot for, as they’re just 2.5 games behind the second wild card spot in the NL.

The Rockies will turn to right-hander Jon Gray (9-6, 3.92 ERA), who’s been good at home. At Coors Field, Gray is 4-1 in eight games this season with a 44:17 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

For Cincinnati, right-hander Sonny Gray (5-5, 3.59 ERA) will take the mound. His toughest competition will likely be Charlie Blackmon, who’s batting .330 with 20 homers and 57 RBIs this season.

In his last 30 games, Blackmon hit 30 home runs as part of his .383 average for the Rockies in that stretch.

With just 17 wins out of 42 away games, the Reds are 0-4 in their last four road games while the Rockies are 4-0 in Jon Gray’s last four home starts.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Indians -136

After closing out the first half of the season with 21 wins out of 29 games, the Indians (50-38) will be hoping to do direct damage to the 5.5-game lead that the Twins (56-33) hold in the American League Central.

Facing the hot bats of Cleveland will be right-hander Kyle Gibson (8-4, 4.09 ERA), who’s struggled against the core of the Indians lineup.

With at least 30 plate appearances against Gibson, Jason Kipnis can boast 11 walks with a .419 average, Francisco Lindor is hitting a .382 average, and Jose Ramirez has a .333 average.

On the flip side, Cleveland will be excited for another start from Mike Clevinger (2-2, 4.44 ERA), who registered nine strikeouts and no walks in a four-hit game against the Royals his last time out.

With a much lesser history of success against Clevinger, the Minnesota bats are likely to struggle to keep up in this contest.