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PHILADELPHIA - A hearty "thank you" goes out to Cristian Javier for his stellar, no-hit work in Game 4 of the World Series, easily topping the over on 5.5 strikeouts (he had nine) and cashing our tickets there. We'll look to continue our winning ways in Game 5.

It's a 2-2 series, so it goes without saying that it is "pivotal." With a travel day Friday and given that the bullpens haven't been too abused in Games 3 and 4, there shouldn't be any pitching restrictions. 

Let's get to the picks. As always, all lines are courtesy of Caesars. 

OVER 7.5 runs (-105)

The two teams have put up a bunch of crooked numbers in spurts in this series. The Astros had a 5-0 lead in Game 1 only to see the Phillies storm back to win, then had another 5-0 lead in Game 2. In Game 3, the Phillies feasted for seven runs on five homers. In Game 4, the Astros had a five-run fifth. I'll go with both teams having at least one big inning in this one and something like a 5-3 final score gets us home. 

Justin Verlander starts for the Astros and he has a terrible World Series track record. He blew the 5-0 lead in Game 1 and the Phillies are more familiar with him this time around. I also can't shake the gut feeling that he's getting tired. He's 39 years old and has thrown 190 regular season and postseason innings combined in his first year back from Tommy John surgery. 

The Phillies are starting Noah Syndergaard. He's certainly capable of a good outing, but he's a mediocre starter at this point and isn't likely to go deep into the game, meaning the underbelly of that bullpen could be exposed by the Astros offense that might have awakened from a short slumber. 

And, again, it doesn't even have to be high scoring; 5-3 is perfectly fine. 

Yordan Alvarez OVER 1.5 total bases (+115)

Call it another gut feeling here, with some actual analysis sprinkled in. Alvarez squared the ball up several times in Game 4 and the fact that he's only hitting .154 since his walk-off bomb in Game 1 of the ALDS means that there's a hot streak lurking around the corner. It might be next year before we see it, but it also might be Game 5 on Thursday. I like the matchup against Thor for him, too. 

Bryce Harper OVER 1.5 total bases (+120)

I'm not leaving Harper off again the rest of the way. He's made us too much money over the course of the playoffs. Even with his team getting no-hit and shutout in Game 4, he was the most productive batter, walking and stealing a base. I wouldn't be surprised if he pops one off Verlander (a home run is +410, by the way).