This is a 7* BIG-CHALK CHOKE-OUT on the Cleveland Indians.

While Alfredo Simon has put up some excellent numbers this year, he's been scuffling of late and anyone that has followed me for a while knows that "recent performance" plays a part in my handicapping repertoire; red-hot Corey Kluber has a distinct advantage tonight, I think this line should in fact be a lot larger and when the smoke does finally clear at the end of this one, I look for the home side to find a way to get the job done. The Reds remain in the wild-card hunt and come off a 7-3 win over Miami on Sunday. The Indians also remain in the hunt and are also coming off a 4-3 victory Sunday which would pull them three games behind the Jays. The home side turns to Kluber (11-6, 2.61 ERA) who has gone a near-perfect 5-1 with a minuscule 1.32 ERA in his last seven starts; note that he's 4-0 with a 1.54 ERA over his last five and threw his first career shutout in a 2-0 win over the Mariners on Wednesday. The visitors counter with Simon (12-6, 2.84 ERA) who enters this contest on a personal three-start losing streak, posting a pedestrian 3.86 ERA in that span. I am basing this selection entirely on the starting pitching, I think Kluber and company are worth the price; play on CLEVELAND.

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