Will Rogers

The set-up: The Cubs had a three-game winning streak snapped with a 3-2 home loss to San Diego on Wednesday in which they tied a season-low with only two hits. Chicago begins an 11-game trip with four against the Marlins in Miami on Thursday. The Cubs did win their last road series (took two of three at Pittsburgh June 16-18) but prior to that, had gone 4-14 their previous 18 on the road. Miami was being no-hit by Washington’s Max Scherzer entering the eighth inning Wednesday but rallied for a 2-1 win, giving the Marlins their fifth straight series victory at home (Marlins are 12-3 in that span) as they prepare to host the Cubs on Thursday.

The pitching matchup: Jake Arrieta (6-5 & 4.64 ERA) will start for Chicago and Jeff Locke (0-2 & 4.58 ERA) for Miami. Arrieta continues to struggle in 2017, after going a combined 40-14 the previous two years. He takes the mound tonight having failed to get out of the fifth inning in his last two starts, lasting a total of just nine innings. Like his team, he's struggled big time on the road, with a 5.09 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in nine away starts. Miami's Locke is win-less in four starts since coming off the disabled list June 1 but he's pitched reasonably well, allowing three ERs or less in all four outings. Locke lost to Arrieta and the Cubs on June 6, when he allowed four runs (three earned) in 4 2/3 innings and that's not exactly new. Locke is 1-4 with a 6.23 ERA in 11 career starts against the Cubs (teams are 3-8).

The pick: Locke hasn’t beaten the Cubs since 2013 but as noted above, he has not allowed more than three ERs in any of his four starts in 2017 since getting off the DL. Locke faces a Chicago team which is just 6-15 over its last 21 road contests, averaging only 3.71 RPG. Sure, Arrieta has struggled in 2017 but he limited the Marlins to two runs on just two hits over six innings in a 10-2 win June 6 in Chicago, improving to 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA in three meetings with Miami. Make the Under a 10* play.

The set-up: It's hardly been smooth sailing for the 33-37 Cardinals in 2017 but St. Louis outscored Philadelphia 16-7 in sweeping a three-game series at Busch Stadium June 9-11 and has now opened this week by winning back-to-back extra inning games at Citizens Bank Park. The Cards won 8-1 (in 11 innings) on Tuesday and last night overcame a 5-0 deficit to win 7-6 in 10 innings. St. Louis improved to 3-2 on its six-game road trip while Philadelphia suffered its fifth straight loss, as well as its 13th in the last 14 games. The Phillies continue to fall deeper and deeper into a hole, as the team's 22-48 record remains MLB's worst as the Cards look for a second straight three-game sweep Thursday afternoon.

The pick: Carlos Martinez (6-5 & 2.86 ERA) takes the mound for St. Louis and Aaron Nola (3-5 & 4.76 ERA) for Philadelphia. Martinez, another reliever turned starter for the Cards, opened the 2017 season struggling. He came out of nowhere to win 14 games in 2015 and then 16 games in 2016. However, he went 0-3 with a 4.71 ERA in five April starts in 2017. That's all changed since the start of May though, as he's gone 6-2 in his last nine outings, with his ERA on the season dropping to 2.86. Martinez is coming off back-to-back outstanding efforts, striking out 11 and scattering four hits in a 7-0 win over Philadelphia on June 10 before allowing one run in six innings in an 11-2 rout at Baltimore last Friday. Nola takes the mound for the Phillies having gone 1-5 in his last six outings, after allowing five runs on nine hits in six-plus innings against Arizona last Friday. "I'm not getting ahead of hitters like I need to, which makes me battle more, which puts a little more stress on you," he told reporters.

The pick: It's been a struggle for Nola this year but has pitched well in two career outings versus St. Louis, allowing just two hits over seven shutout innings in an game last season, before taking a 6-5 loss on June 11 despite allowing just three runs on four hits in five innings. However, Nola has had all sorts of trouble at home in 2017, posting a 6.50 ERA and 1.56 WHIP. Martinez is 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA in three career starts vs. Philadelphia, including allowing four hits and one walk while striking out 11 batters in a 109-pitch complete game on June 10. Martinez now has nine quality starts in his past 10 outings, including posting a 1.77 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings of his last six, while holding batters to a .159 batting average and .450 OPS. St. Louis makes it 6-0 against Philadelphia in 2017 with a second straight sweep. Make the Cards an 8* play.

The set-up: The Saskatchewan Roughriders (West Division) ended last year with losses in their last three games and finished 5-13. However, they were a much more respectable 9-9 ATS. That said, the Roughriders pretty much have nowhere to go but up. They allowed 530 points (only the East's Toronto allowed more in giving up 568) and no team in the CFL scored fewer points than Saskatchewan's 350. QB Darian Durant, who is a two-time Grey Cup champion, is gone and finding a new starting QB among Kevin Glenn, Brandon Bridge or Marquise Williams will be a priority. The Roughriders open their season in Montreal tonight, against the Alouettes. Montreal plays in the East and despite winning their final three games finished 7-11 last year, a season in which none of the four teams in the East were able to finish with a winning record. Durant, who threw for more than 3,800 yards last season, is now Montreal's starting QB. I'm sure he'd love to have a big game against the ex-teammates.

The pick: It's no surprise that the West is the much tougher division (four of the West's five teams topped .500, with only Saskatchewan under. 500) and Saskatchewan went 7-3 ATS over its last 10 games, overall (4-1 ATS in their last five road games). Having a consistent and reliable QB such as Durant makes Montreal a better team in 2017 but I have no interest in laying points (about a TD) with a team which is 3-9 ATS in its last 12 home games. Make Saskatchewan a 10* play.