Xam’s Gem(s):
Phillies Money Line -164
The Phillies are leading the way in the wild card race while the Mets are playing out the rest of a disappointing season. Ranger Suarez has pitched well lately, to the tune of a 3.32 ERA over his last 7 starts. David Peterson, meanwhile, has struggled this year with a 5.22 ERA. On the road, he has a ghastly 7.35 ERA this year. The Mets also played later in the day yesterday, so they didn’t get to Philadelphia until the wee hours of the morning. Simply put, the Phillies are at home, have slightly more rest, and the better pitcher on the mound.
Orioles Money Line -184
The Orioles just took a series from the Astros, and are looking to lock up the top spot in the AL. Grayson Rodriguez has been downright awesome recently, pitching to a 2.08 ERA over his last 7 starts. The Guardians were struggling to play with the Royals in their last series. The Orioles have momentum and far more motivation in this game.
Cubs Money Line -166
The Cubs may have lost yesterday with their Cy Young candidate on the mound, but they come back tonight with a starter who has significant experience in big games. Kyle Hendricks has pitched well this year, pitching to a 3.77 ERA. Johan Oviedo has struggled this year for the Pirates. He has a 4.27 ERA on the year. Take out a road start against KC, and in his last 3 road starts, Oviedo has given up 10 earned runs in just 10.1 innings pitched. The Cubs have a great lineup and should be able to hit tonight.
Giants/49ers Over 43.5 Points -110
The 49ers have dropped 30 points in both games this year, both of which came on the road against quality defenses. The Giants have given up a whopping 54 points on defense this year. The Cardinals dropped 28 on them last week! The 49ers should be able to move the ball consistently. The Giants may have figured out their own offensive issues in the 2nd half last week. The Giants will be forced to keep up with the 49ers tonight. They’ll either keep up, or possibly turn the ball over which will lead to short fields. Even without Barkley and possibly Aiyuk, both teams have enough offensive talent to put up points tonight.
Tigers Money Line -188
The Tigers have played inspired baseball recently, while the A’s can’t wait for the season to be over. Tarik Skubal has pitched well all year, but he’s been even better recently. He has a 2.98 ERA over his last 7 starts. Luis Medina, meanwhile, has struggled this year with a 5.56 ERA. Detroit has shown they can be competitive against teams that are good, and they want to finish the season off on the right foot.
Xam’s Prop(s):
Max Fried Over 4.5 Ks -162
Fried has been hurt on and off this year, and thus may not get a full workload tonight. However, he’s still shown good strikeout stuff this year, striking out 5.7 batters per start. In 4 of his last 5 starts, Fried has 6 Ks or more. The Nationals don’t strikeout a lot, but if Fried can keep his pitch count in line, he should stick around long enough to get to 5 Ks.
Grayson Rodriguez Over 4.5 Ks -162
Rodriguez has shown elite strikeout stuff in recent starts. He has 5 or more strikeouts in each of his last 6 starts, and 6 or more in 5 of those starts. He’s averaging just under 6 Ks over his last 7 starts overall. The Guardians don’t strikeout a lot either, but they did strikeout 9 times yesterday.
Brock Purdy Over 229.5 Passing Yards -110
Purdy is known for being accurate, and through 2 games, the pass defense for the Giants leaves a lot to be desired. Brandon Aiyuk may be out tonight, but the 49ers have plenty of weapons that can turn a short pass into a long gain. Frankly, this may come down to whether or not the Giants keep this game competitive and force the 49ers to keep throwing in the 2nd half. Josh Dobbs went for 228 yards last week against the Giants. Purdy absolutely can hit this number if he’s required to throw for all 4 quarters.
Elijah Mitchell Over 31.5 Rushing Yards -110
Starting running back Christian McCaffrey has had a huge workload over the first couple of weeks. Mithcell didn’t play at all last week, and head coach Kyle Shanahan has said he wants to get Mitchell more involved this week. This is the perfect game to do it. If the game gets out of hand early, expect Mitchell to get even more looks in the running game. Mitchell has shown he’s more than competent in the backfield, and the Giants have already surrendered over 270 rushing yards this season.