Xam’s Daily Gems:
Nationals Money Line -164 FanDuel
The Nationals are playing solid baseball right now and are coming off a 5 game winning streak. Now they send southpaw MacKenzie Gore to the mound. Gore has been solid this year, posting a 3.44 ERA. He’s given up 2 earned runs or less in 4 of his last 5 starts and now gets to face one of the worst lineups in baseball. The Marlins are coming off a disheartening series loss to the Mets, and the Nationals have been a pleasant surprise this year, hovering around .500 and in the wildcard race. They’ll have their elite bullpen arms ready as well and have a little more rest as they played an afternoon game yesterday.
Braves -1 -167 DraftKings
The Braves have struggled without Ronald Acuna Jr., but they got a win to end a long losing streak and now return home. Chris Sale has been a revelation in his first season in Atlanta. The southpaw has a 3.01 ERA on the year which dips down to 2.91 at Truist Park. Zack Littell goes for the Rays. He’s been fine this year with a 3.63 ERA, but that goes up to 3.92 over his last 7 starts and 4.58 in night games! He’s also given up a whopping 18 hits in his last 2 starts. The Braves have won without Acuna before and they SHOULD be able to take advantage of a team that struggles to score like Tampa Bay does.
Twins -1 -128 DraftKings
Keep fading the Athletics! Simeon Woods Richardson goes for the Twins tonight. He’s been ELECTRIC with a 2.84 ERA on the year. That drops down to 2.25 at Target Field! Mitch Spence goes for the Athletics. He’s been better on the road than at home, but the Twins should be able to hit him and score some runs. With their ELITE bullpen arms ready to go, the Twins should be able to continue rolling through one of the worst teams in baseball.
Celtics/Mavericks Over 211.5 Points -110 DraftKings
Incredibly, the Mavericks have yet to hit 100 points in the NBA Finals. During the regular season, they averaged nearly 118 PPG! Boston has played great defense, but Dallas’s stars haven’t played very well, which is especially true for Kyrie Irving. The Celtics also haven’t scored as much as they do in the regular season. They averaged over 120 PPG over the year. With it being 3-0 in the NBA Finals, it’s all hands on deck for the Mavericks to extend their season and the NBA season. Expect superstars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to leave it all on the court and for them to play far more minutes than they usually would. If Dallas can bring their offense tonight, they SHOULD be able to find ways to score, and Boston will as well!
MacKenzie Gore Over 17.5 Outs Recorded -130 DraftKings
The Nationals had to use A TON of bullpen arms in their series against the Tigers. They had to use a lot of bullpen arms in their series before that against the Braves as well, so they could really use some length from their young lefty today. They haven’t had a starter go longer than 6 innings since June 6th and they’ve had multiple starters go less than 5 innings since then! Gore hasn’t gone longer than 5.1 innings in his last 3 starts, but he went 6 innings or longer in his 3 prior starts from there. He threw 99 pitches in his last start and has gone as high as 111 pitches, so he clearly has the trust of manager Dave Martinez. The Marlins can be an aggressive swining team which should help Gore last into the later innings!
Kevin Gausman Over 4.5 Ks -160 DraftKings
Gausman is averaging 5.3 strikeouts per start this year. He had 10 strikeouts in a complete game masterpiece on the road in his last start, and has 5 or more strikeouts in 7 of his last 10 starts. He has had 8 or more strikeouts in 3 of his last 7 starts as well, showing he can mow opposing hitters down when he’s on. The Guardians don’t strikeout out a ton, but Gausman is a veteran pitcher who knows how to get outs. Trust in the veteran to get it done in front of the home crowd!
Logan Allen Over 15.5 Outs Recorded +110 DraftKings
Logan Allen is coming off a quality start on the road and has cleared this number in 4 of his last 5 starts! In 3 of those starts, he lasted 6 innings. In 13 total starts this season, he’s gone over 15.5 outs in 8 of them. His road averages fit right in line with 5.1 innings pitched per start. The Blue Jays haven’t done much offensively this season, so Allen SHOULD be able to find some success. He only threw 83 pitches in his last start and 59 in the start prior to that, so he SHOULD have a little bit more in the tank than usual to get deeper into this game if he can be efficient.
Simeon Woods Richardson Over 15.5 Outs Recorded -120 DraftKings
Woods Richardson is coming off one of his better starts of the year, throwing 6.1 innings of 1-run ball on the road against the Pirates. Now he comes home to face one of the weakest lineups in the sport. He’s only gone 5.1 innings or more in 4 of his 10 starts, but 3 of them have come on the road, showing he’s capable of pitching deep into games. He also threw a season high 97 pitches in his last start, which shows the confidence manager Rocco Baldelli has in him. Facing a weak lineup, Woods Richardson SHOULD be able to be efficient and pitch deep into this game. He’s a young star on the rise and this is the PERFECT lineup to face to continue that trend!