There are a lot of odd quirks in baseball. One of them is Charlie Morton pitching during the day. It's usually a good idea to fade Morton in these instances, one of which occurs today.

Morton is 1-6 with a 4.35 ERA this season in days games. This is in keeping with his history of having lost 23 of 28 day-time decisions.

Another quirk is how the Padres dominate the Pirates in Pittsburgh winning 15 of their last 18 at PNC Park. The Pirates could only manage one run yesterday off Eric Stults, one of the worst starters in the majors. That's not totally amazing when you see the lineup the Pirates fielded Saturday with Russell Martin batting third, Gabby Sanchez hitting cleanup, Jayson Nix playing third base and Michael Martinez at second base. I can't think of any one worse batting cleanup all season than Sanchez.

Maybe the banged-up Pirates get back Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez with his brutal defense today, but Andrew McCutchen isn't back due to a broken rib. Plus the Pirates draw San Diego's No. 1 pitcher, All-Star Tyson Ross.

Ross hasn't surrendered more than two earned runs during any of his last nine starts posting a 1.62 ERA during this span, second only to Clayton Kershaw in this time frame. Ross, unlike Morton, is tough in day games going 3-1 with a 1.29 ERA.

Some teams play better with the pressure off. That's the case with San Diego. The Padres have won 12 of their last 19 and seven of their past 10 games. They are a better offensive team away from Petco Park, especially when Everth Cabrera gets on base. The speedy lead-off hitter recently came off the DL and is batting .414 this month.

(Editor's note: In addition to this free selection, long-time pro Stephen Nover has his August Chalk Play of the Month today. Grab this guaranteed winner and lock into a 2-0 Sunday!)