Xam’s Daily Gems:
Tigers Money Line -154 FanDuel 5 Units
In limited appearances, Tigers southpaw Brant Hurter has been A LOT better pitching at home than he has been on the road. The Tigers have been playing MUCH better baseball and can get over .500 with a win today! The Angels have lost 5 straight games and 8 of their last 10. They’re ready for the season to be over. Johnny Cueto makes the start for them today, and the Tigers SHOULD be able to score some runs off him. With a rested bullpen, the better starting pitcher, AND the better lineup, the Tigers shouldn’t have ANY ISSUES getting the job done tonight at Comerica Park!
Reds Money Line -142 DraftKings 5 Units
The Reds are hosting one of the WORST teams in baseball at Great American Ballpark tonight. The Athletics are a WOEFUL 23-40 on the road this year, which is the 4th worst road record in baseball! Mitch Spence has been AWFUL for the A’s recently. He has a 5.50 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over his last 7 starts. He’s ALSO been awful on the road this season! On the road this year he’s pitched to a 5.63 ERA, .261 batting average against, and 1.35 WHIP. The Reds are averaging NEARLY 5 runs per game over their last 20 games, so they SHOULD be able to produce offensively tonight.
Yankees -1 -194 DraftKings 5 Units
The Yankees have opened up a 2-game lead on the Orioles for the AL East title, and now send their ace to the mound to continue their march towards the postseason. Gerrit Cole has been rounding into form as expected. He hasn’t given up an earned run in his last 2 starts and has only given up 1 earned run in his last 3! He has a sparkling 2.43 WHIP over his last 7 starts as well. Opposing him is southpaw Patrick Corbi, who has struggled ALL SEASON LONG! He’s been one of the WORST pitchers in baseball for quite some time, and the Yankees shouldn’t have ANY ISSUES pounding out runs against him and the TERRIBLE Washington bullpen! If Cole can keep his hot streak going, look for the Yankees to win their 3rd straight game!
Red Sox Money Line -146 FanDuel 5 Units
The Red Sox have to win a game at some point…right? They lost both games of their doubleheader yesterday and have just been in total freefall. They NEED Cooper Criswell to be the stopper and get them back on track! He’s operated as both a starter and reliever, but most importantly he’s pitched better across the board when he’s pitching at Fenway Park versus when he isn’t. At home this year, he has a 3.92 ERA, .240 batting average against, and 1.18 WHIP. If the Red Sox can’t score some runs off Yariel Rodriguez, that’ll be disappointing. He has a 5.10 ERA and 1.33 WHIP over his last 7 starts and has been AWFUL on the road this year. Look for the Red Sox to show some pride and snap their losing streak tonight.
Rangers Money Line -150 BetMGM 5 Units
The Rangers have been nothing but a supreme disappointment this season after winning the World Series last year. However, they’re good enough to handle the HISTORICALLY WOEFUL White Sox. The White Sox are now an incredible 31-101 on the season. They’ve lost 4 straight games and 8 of their last 10. They’ve scored the fewest runs in the league (by far) and have given up the 2nd most runs, behind only the Rockies on that front. Garrett Crochet has also been TERRIBLE recently. He has an UGLY 6.17 ERA and 1.54 WHIP over his last 7 starts. Andrew Heaney isn’t great, but he’s a veteran pitcher who KNOWS how to get outs! Despite their disappointing season, the Rangers SHOULD get the job done tonight.
Rockies Money Line -145 BetMGM 5 Units
The Rockies may be wildly incompetent on the road, but they’ve proven to be competitive when playing at Coors Field this season. They are 30-33 when playing at home and average 4.87 runs per game at home this year. That’s up to 5.15 runs per game in their last 20 home games! That’s BAD NEWS for Marlins starter Roddery Munoz. On the year, he has an UGLY 5.98 ERA and 1.51 WHIP. That jumps to a HORRIFIC 6.82 ERA and 1.68 WHIP in his last 7 starts. This is the PERFECT get right start for Cal Quantrill. The Marlins averaging 3.5 runs per game in their last 10 games, and they’ve struggled to score all year long. The Rockies have enough firepower to get it done once again tonight!
Dodgers -1 -151 DraftKings 5 Units
Jack Flaherty has shown to be as advertised since coming over to the Dodgers at the Trade Deadline. He has a 3.22 ERA, .256 batting average against, and 1.25 WHIP since joining the Dodgers. The Dodgers will NEED that kind of effort tonight when the big bats of the Orioles come to town. The Dodgers are set to face southpaw Cole Irvin, who’s been inconsistent this season to say the least. His 4.82 ERA and 1.41 WHIP leaves A LOT to be desired! However, it’s been so much worse recently. In his last 7 games (2 starts) he has an absolutely TERRIBLE 8.59 ERA and 1.77 WHIP! This Play likely comes down to the effectiveness of Flaherty and the Dodgers bullpen. The Dodgers shouldn’t have ANY PROBLEMS pounding out runs tonight. If Flaherty can limit what the Orioles do offensively, the Dodgers should get the win and continue their march towards another NL West title!
Justin Verlander Over 5+ Strikeouts -174 FanDuel 5 Units
Justin Verlander may have battled injuries all year, but he’s still shown an ability to strike batters out, averaging over 5 strikeouts per start this season. He’s actually averaging 6 strikeouts per road start this year, showing the veteran future Hall of Famer can still do it on the road, too! In his first start back since battling neck soreness, he struck out 6 Red Sox hitters. He has struck out 7 batters or more 5 times this season, with ALL of those efforts coming on the road! He’s gone Over this number in 5 of his 7 road starts overall, and after throwing just 76 pitches in his last start, he should be able to go deeper tonight. The Phillies are about middle of the pack when it comes to strikeouts, but the Astros have needed to use A LOT of bullpen arms recently and are coming off an extra inning game last night. If Verlander can pound the strike zone tonight, he SHOULD be able to get Over this number once again!
Mets Team Total Over 3.5 Runs -160 DraftKings 5 Units
The Mets have one of the DEEPEST lineups in baseball, led by MVP candidate Francisco Lindor. The Mets know that ANY chance they have to get back into the Wild Card race rests on their ability to hit. Eduardo Rodriguez has only pitched 16 innings this season and he’s already given up 7 earned runs in just 3 starts, with 2 of them against weak hitting teams in the Rockies and Marlins. The Mets have shown the ability to hit ANY starting pitcher and after getting the day off yesterday, they SHOULD be fresh and ready to go in a game they REALLY need to win!
Diamondbacks Team Total Over 3.5 Runs -165 DraftKings 5 Units
There’s no doubt Mets lefty Sean Manaea has put together a GREAT 1st season in Queens. However, this is not going to be his typical opponent. Not a single team has scored more than the Arizona Diamondbacks this season! The Diamondbacks are on an INCREDIBLE run lately, averaging 6.87 runs over their last 30 games! Not only that, they’re averaging 5.46 runs per game at home this season! That’s BAD NEWS for the Mets bullpen, which is one of the WORST in baseball. Arizona is extremely confident right now and they had a day off yesterday. Coming in fresh gives them a GREAT chance to put runs on the board early and often tonight!
Cole Irvin Over 1.5 Walks Allowed -160 DraftKings 5 Units
Cole Irvin is SHAKING IN HIS BOOTS! Talk about a brutal matchup for him tonight. There will be PLENTY of reasons for him to try and pitch carefully tonight. The Dodgers have great hitters up and down their lineup. He’s operated as both a starter and reliever this season and he’s walked multiple batters in each of his last 2 road starts. In fact, he’s walked multiple batters 5 times when starting on the road this season! He’s a guy that battles control issues and coming into a start where he can get BLASTED, he’s surely going to try and pitch carefully. The Dodgers are around middle of the pack in walks per 9 innings, but from their perspective the more baserunners tonight the better! If Dodger hitters can show some patience, Irvin will likely continue his control issues on the road and issue AT LEAST 2 walks in this game!