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1* Free Play on Pirates +161

The Pirates (44-49) haven’t had much to be happy about since the All-Star break, dropping all four games. However, they can be excited for another start from rookie Dario Agrazal (2-0, 2.81 ERA), who will make his fourth start in the majors.

Agrazal lasted a total of 16 innings in his first three appearances, including a six-inning start in which he gave up just two runs in a victory over the Brewers his last time out.

The young right-hander will be going up against Jack Flaherty (4-6, 4.64 ERA) when Pittsburgh visits the Cardinals (47-45) in St. Louis this evening.

The Pirates’ bats have had some success against Flaherty. Josh Bell is hitting .333 in nine at-bats while Adam Frazier holds a .375 average in eight at-bats against the Cardinals right-hander.

A relatively underwhelming St. Louis lineup will be without their best hitter on the season in Marcell Ozuna, who has 62 RBIs and 20 homers on the season, and could be missing third baseman Matt Carpenter, who fouled a ball off his foot in last night’s game.

50* Powerhouse Play on Braves +148

When the Brewers (48-47) host Atlanta tonight, they’ll have to overcome a very hot Braves (58-37) squad that’s won five straight and eight of its last nine games.

Add their impressive streak to a fantastic 30-18 record on the road, and Milwaukie All-Star Brandon Woodruff (10-3, 3.67 ERA) will have a lot on his plate when he takes the mound.

Keep a close eye on the matchup between Woodruff and Freddie Freeman. Homering on both of his hits since the break, Freeman has a home run and two hits on just three at-bats against the Brewers’ right-hander. Freeman has been good this year with 74 RBIs, 25 homers, and a .302 average, and will look for continued success against Woodruff.

For Atlanta, rookie Bryce Wilson (1-0, 6.14 ERA) will make his fifth start in the majors after a series of call ups of returns to Triple-A ball to keep him on schedule. On July 3, Wilson looked solid when he threw six innings and gave up two runs with five strikeouts against the Phillies.

In sharp contrast to the Braves’ good form, the Brewers have just one win in their previous six games, and are 0-7 in their last seven games against right-handed starters.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Royals +120

Despite a weak away record of 17-28, the White Sox (42-48) will be the favorites tonight when they visit the Royals (33-62), and they’ll be counting on the inexperienced Dylan Cease (1-0, 5.40 ERA) to shut down Kansas City and get their first win since the break.

This will be Cease’s second career start in the majors after giving up five hits and three runs in five innings in his major league debut.

Although the Royals have struggled this season, their lineup must be salivating to face the right-handed rookie. Over the last seven days, Kansas City has five players batting .300 or higher, including a .417 average from Jorge Soler, who leads the team with 25 home runs and 64 RBIs.

Hoping to build on the back end of his previous six-inning start for the Royals, righty Glenn Sparkman (2-5, 5.18 ERA) will make his second start against Chicago this year. In his last outing, Sparkman settled in after giving up four runs in the first two innings, closing out his appearance with four straight scoreless innings.

Sparkman and the Royals will be counting on Nicky Lopez, who’s registered six hits in 15 at-bats since the All-Star break, and Whit Merrifield, who’s riding a 13-game hitting streak, to keep up their form.

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.

50* Powerhouse Play on Giants +163

Identical records will be tested this afternoon when the road-dog Giants (46-49) visit Colorado to take on the Rockies (46-49). San Francisco needed an extra inning to get the win last night, which set them up for a potential sweep of the four-game series today.

If the Giants do so, they’ll get it done without Evan Longoria, who was placed on the injured list with strained plantar fascia after finally heating up over the past few weeks. Longoria will likely be replaced by Pablo Sandoval, who’s hit 11 home runs on the season.

Sandoval is also 2-of-8 against the Rockies’ starter today, Jon Gray (9-6, 3.83 ERA). Gray went seven innings in his last start, allowing four hits and two runs while throwing 71 strikes out of 98 pitches.

Gray will be up against right-handed rookie Shaun Anderson (3-2, 4.48 ERA), who struck out a career-high eight batters over five innings in his last outing.

Some good news for Anderson and the Giants is the current form of Colorado right-fielder Charlie Blackmon. Despite a season average of .319 with 20 homers, Blackmon is batting just .143 with no home runs in his last seven games.

100* Sharp Money Syndicate Play on Pirates +117

The Pirates (45-49) have a chance to claw their way even closer to the Cardinals (47-46) this afternoon after stealing a big win from St. Louis last night.

To do so, Pittsburgh will give the ball to Chris Archer (3-6, 5.42 ERA). Although the seventh inning proved to be too deep for him, Archer had his slider and four-seamer going to strike out ten batters in his most recent start, a season high. Archer gave up three runs on three hits in the game after carrying a one-hit shutout into the seventh.

Archer will be hoping to outduel right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon (1-0, 1.99 ERA), who’s jumped around between the bullpen and starting rotation.

This will be Ponce de Leon’s fifth start of the season, but he’s lost to the Pirates before. In his only start against the club last September, Pittsburgh managed two runs over five innings against Ponce de Leon.

On the flip side, Archer holds a 2.20 ERA without any decisions in three starts against St. Louis.

Expect continued success for Pirates first-baseman Josh Bell, who likes batting against righties. He’s hit 20 of his 27 homeruns against right-handed pitching.