Xam’s Daily Gems:
Yankees -1 -112 DraftKings
Simply put, these teams don’t match up well. The Yankees have the better pitching and hitting in this game. They have the lineup, despite inconsistent play over the year, to mash ANYBODY. The Yankees are going with southpaw Nestor Cortes, today, who has a sparkling 1.81 ERA at Yankee Stadium this year. He’s a veteran pitcher who definitely seems to be more comfortable at home than on the road. Taj Bradley goes for the Rays today, and he’s been truly awful away from Tropicana Field, posting a 6.20 ERA on the road! He’s pitching very well recently, but the Yankees are just a different beast. The Yankees will have their premium bullpen arms available as well, and should be FULLY READY to take the second game of the series and win the series today.
Rays/Yankees Over 8 Runs -115 DraftKings
Both Taj Bradley and Nestor Cortes have struggled mightily at times this year. Cortes faced the Rays in Tampa Bay in his last start and got torched for 5 runs in less than 5 innings. He’s someone that can give up runs in droves when he’s not on. The Rays SHOULD be able to score some runs, and we all know how dominant the Yankees can be offensively at Yankee Stadium. Taj Bradley’s struggles away from home are well documented and the Yankees are once again finding their offensive footing. Don’t be surprised to see a SLUGFEST at Yankee Stadium today!
Braves -1 -114 DraftKings (Game 1)
Charlie Morton goes for the Braves in Game 1 of the doubleheader today against the Cardinals. He’s had an up and down season thus far, but overall he’s been better pitching at Truist Park than away from it. The Cardinals turn to righty Kyle Gibson, who’s been struggling recently. He’s given up 3 or more runs in each of his last 4 starts and in 6 of his last 7 starts. That equates to an ugly 5.15 ERA in that stretch. The Braves are a formidable home team, posting a 29-17 record in front of the home crowd this year. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are an average road team, sitting at 24-24 away from Busch Stadium. The Braves have seemingly found their offensive footing recently, scoring 45 runs in their last 10 games. Their pitching has been more than capable. If the offense can get it going, they SHOULD be able to go on a run and keep their playoff hopes right in front of them.
Mets -1 -147 DraftKings
The Mets came out with a dud to start the 2nd half of the season last night, but now they turn to arguably their best pitcher this year in Luis Severino. Severino comes into today with an impressive 3.78 ERA and when he faced the Marlins last month, he threw 6 innings of 1 run baseball. The Marlins counter with righty Roddery Munoz, who has an ugly 5.47 ERA on the year. Not only that, but he’s also been significantly worse at home this year, posting an ugly 6.50 ERA at LoanDepot Park. The Mets have the better lineup and better pitcher, and they SHOULD be laser focused today after coming out sluggish yesterday. Losing a series to the Marlins would be EMBARRASSING, so expect the Mets to use all of their premium relievers today to try and even up this series.
Diamondbacks First 5 Innings Money Line -145 FanDuel
Zac Gallen is coming off an atrocious start in his last before the All-Star Break and is looking to right the ship. In fact, his last 3 starts have all been subpar, as he’s given up 13 runs and a whopping 20 hits in just 13 innings pitched. That’s led to an ugly 5.23 ERA in his last 7 starts. However, the CUBS SHOULD be a favorable break for the young righty. The Cubs haven’t been scaring anybody at the plate this year and they’re averaging just 4.21 runs per game this year. They’ve scored the 5th FEWEST runs in the National League! The Cubs counter with Kyle Hendricks, who despite pitching to a 3.48 ERA in his last 7 starts, STILL has an ugly 6.78 ERA on the year. The DIamondbacks have the better lineup AND better starting pitcher. If Gallen can find his old form, the Diamondbacks shouldn’t have ANY ISSUES scoring runs tonight.
Nationals Team Total Over 3.5 Runs -130 FanDuel
The Nationals have an underrated lineup and are facing a pitcher that is prone to giving up some runs. Nick Lodolo hasn’t quite been himself since returning from injury and the Nationals are scoring 4.31 runs per game at home this year. They’re a young team playing with confidence and after scoring 8 runs yesterday, they’ll be MORE THAN READY to get the bats going again tonight.
Max Scherzer Over 15.5 Outs Recorded -125 DraftKings
Simply put, for the Rangers to have ANY CHANCE at getting back into the playoff race, need Max Scherzer to perform like Max Scherzer can. He was extremely disappointing in his last start, lasting just 4 innings against the rival Astros. However, he went over this line in each of his last 3 starts before that, and in the last 2 starts before his dud against Houston, he went 6.1 innings or more. The Orioles LOVE to swing and put the ball in play, and the LAST THING the Rangers want to do is use their bullpen for another 4 innings like they did last night. If Scherzer can be efficient and attack the strike zone, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy will be motivated to let Scherzer go as long as he can!