Thursday's best MLB bets

Philadelphia Phillies at Colorado Rockies (-140, 9)

September is the time we separate the pretender from the contender. The Phillies are making a magical tranformation from the former to the latter.

After a brutal homestand that saw the Phillies go 4-6 against subpar competition, they are 5-1 on their current West Coast road swing with a sweep of the Padres and a series win against the Dodgers. They pull into Colorado on a roll.

"There's the saying the season is a marathon," said Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard. "You want to try to be strong at the end of the race, and kick it in during the home stretch."

The Phillies have taken 10 of their last 12 from the Rockies, who also are on a bit of a roll but have lost shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and third baseman Ian Stewart to injuries over the past week.

The Phillies are finally healthy and hitting their high point down the home stretch. The Braves may not be catchable, but the NL wild-card is still up for grabs for a team that knows how to turn it on when it counts.

Pick: Phillies

Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles (130, 9)

Banged-up Boston can just about forget about the postseason after dropping four of its last five while the Yankees and Rays have pulled away in the AL East standings.

The Sox can blame their offense for falling off the radar. They have scored just 12 total runs during their last five entering Wednesday night's game against the O's.

The Orioles have won four of their last five but have managed just 14 runs during that span. Their pitching has been stellar, especially today's starter Bradley Bergesen. He has won five straight starts and has allowed only 11 earned runs in that stretch.

For the Red Sox, Dice-K returns to the rotation after sitting out with a sore back, but he has been hot in August by going 3-2 with a 3.49 ERA for the month. He has owned the O's this season, posting a 0.47 ERA against them.

Opponents are batting just .222 against him over the past month, which is about what both teams are batting against righties over their last 10 games (Red Sox .223, O's .224).

Under is 7-0-1 in Boston's last eight games and 20-8-1 in Baltimore's last 29. This one has under written all over it.

Pick: Under