Below are 2 daytime MLB selections for Sunday afternoon. You can also get an awesome NFL Sunday Night winner (Cowboys/Packers) on Steve Merril’s Guaranteed Selections page!

MINNESOTA +100 (action) – 1:40 pm ET #973

The Devil Rays completed one of the greatest turn around stories in MLB history by clinching a playoff birth last night for the first time in franchise history. The team celebrated as though they had just won the World Series and they are definitely due for a letdown today, especially with a quick turnaround and early daytime start.

Minnesota is a quality team that is still battling for the A.L. Central title and a playoff birth of their own. The Twins qualify in a solid 58% situation and my pitcher performance ratings predict a bounce-back effort from Francisco Liriano who is coming off a rare bad performance last Tuesday when he allowed 8 runs in less than three innings. Despite that poor showing, Liriano has still allowed 2 earned runs or less in 7 of his 9 starts since returning to the big leagues in early August.

ST. LOUIS -115 (action) – 2:20 pm ET (time-change) #965

The Cubs clinched the division title with a 5-4 win yesterday and the team celebrated hard after the game as it was first time in 100 years that the franchise has won back-to-back division titles.

Chicago is likely to suffer a letdown today, plus they might rest some key offensive starters. Meanwhile, St. Louis is still battling for a wild card spot and my pitcher performance ratings predict a solid outing for Braden Looper who enters off back-to-back losses.

Despite those recent defeats, Looper is still in excellent current form with a 2.33 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in his past three starts and he has been strong on the road all season with a 1.27 WHIP and a powerful 47-15 strikeout/walk ratio.