Xam’s Daily Gems:
Phillies -1 -122 DraftKings
The Phillies send Aaron Nola to the mound, and he’s putting another solid season together as the Phillies look to continue their march to the NL East title. Nola has been overall as effective on the road as he has at home, but he has struggled in his last 7 starts, to the tune of a 5.13 ERA. The Twins will be going with an opener today, followed by what will be the equivalent of a bullpen game. This is NOT the team you want to be doing this against. The Phillies have a TREMENDOUS lineup capable of doing damage against anybody. The Phillies SHOULD have their premium bullpen guys ready and available to lock down this game when needed!
Cubs Money Line -142 FanDuel
The Cubs turn to ace Justin Steele today, who’s been solid this year, despite a poor start in his last year. Before his last poor outing, his last two starts saw him pitch 16 innings and give up just 1 run! The Cubs are just BARELY hanging around the Wild Card race, and they need EVERY win they can get with the deadline approaching! Expect them to play with a sense of urgency and use every top reliever they have after a disappointing 1-0 loss yesterday. The Cubs just HAVE TO start hitting. It’s been a problem for them all year. If Steele can get back to form, they SHOULD be able to scratch out enough runs to get it done today.
Astros Money Line -160 BetMGM
Suddenly, the Astros have lost 3 straight games with the last 2 coming against the Athletics of all teams! Yesterday’s loss wasn’t even competitive! Expect the Astros to come out determined and focused to avoid an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Athletics. Astros starter Hunter Brown has DOMINATED the Athletics in his career, pitching to a sparkling 1.88 career ERA in 4 starts against them. Expect the Astros to use all of their top relievers in this game, as this is a game the Astros simply HAVE TO HAVE! They’re simply too good to keep losing winnable games, and today their lineup will get them on track.
Mariners -1 -136 DraftKings
The Mariners have shockingly lost the first 2 games of their series to the woeful Angels at home, and now need Luis Castillo to salvage the last game. They just haven’t hit in this series, but that SHOULD change against starter Griffin Canning, who has an ugly 5.20 ERA on the year, 6.25 ERA in his last 7 games, and 6.31 ERA on the road. He hasn’t lasted more than 4.1 innings in any of his last 3 starts. Expect the Mariners to play with a sense of urgency as they NEED this game. Getting swept at home by the Angels would be embarrassing, so expect Mariners manager Scott Servais to pull out ALL OF THE STOPS TODAY!
Braves Money Line -185 (Game 2)
Chris Sale takes the ball in Game 2 of the doubleheader tonight, and he’s been nothing short of FANTASTIC for the Braves this year. His incredible efforts just may lead to him winning the Cy Young award this year. As of this writing, he’s the odds-on favorite to win it! Nick Martinez will make the start for the Reds in Game 2 of the doubleheader, but it’s likely to turn into a bullpen game for the Reds. These are the games the Braves simply HAVE TO HAVE! They are in the first wild card spot but it’s been tenuous as they’ve dealt with A TON of injuries to the lineup. However, they have the guys to get it done in this one!
Yankees Money Line -164 FanDuel
The Yankees lost once again to the Mets yesterday, making them 0-3 in the Subway Series this year. However, Gerrit Cole takes the ball in the last game of the series and that’s who the Yankees need going in this game. He has back-to-back starts of 6 innings and 1 run baseball, so he’s rounding into form as expected. However, the bigger issue for the Yankees has been their lack of hitting. Outside of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, they’re not getting consistent production anywhere else. Mets starter Sean Manaea has quietly put together a nice season, but he’s given up 8 runs in his last 2 starts, including getting shelled in Miami. This is a game the Yankees simply MUST WIN and expect manager Aaron Boone to manage like it.
Rangers -1 -196 DraftKings
KEEP FADING THE WHITE SOX! There’s simply not enough ways to describe how terrible the White Sox are. They’re the worst team in the sport, lost 9 straight games, don’t score many runs and they give up A TON! Chris Flexen is not having a good season for the White Sox. He has a 5.22 ERA on the year and that goes up to 5.83 on the road. For the Rangers, Nathan Eovaldi is putting together another solid season. The Rangers have an underappreciated lineup and these are the games they NEED to win to get back into the wild card race. The White Sox are just a miserable team and don’t have the chops to win this type of game with a guy like Flexen on the mound.
Dodgers Money Line -200 FanDuel
The Dodgers are going for the SWEEP of their NL West rival Giants and are sending one of their best pitchers to do it. Tyler Glasnow has been awesome in his first season with the Dodgers, though he’s hit a bit of a rough patch, coming off back-to-back starts where he gave up 5 earned runs. This is the PERFECT spot to bounce back as the Giants don’t score a lot of runs and haven’t in this series. Southpaw Robbie Ray is making his first start of the year tonight, and the matchup couldn’t be much worse. The Dodgers have a TREMENDOUS lineup, and they should FEAST on a guy who hasn’t pitched this season.
Matt Waldron Over 3.5 Ks -145 DraftKings
Waldron has been RACKING UP the strikeouts recently. He’s cleared this line in 3 of his last 5 starts and 10 of his last 13 starts overall. In 8 of those starts, he compiled 5 strikeouts or more! He looks to be back to his regular pitch count, as in 7 of his last 9 starts he’s thrown 94 or more pitches. He is pitching with a lot of confidence right now and that SHOULD continue today!
Mitchell Parker Over 15.5 Outs Recorded -140 FanDuel
Parker got rolled in his last start, giving up 5 runs and failing to make it out of the 1st inning! Expect him to be locked in today. In his last 2 starts prior to that meltdown, both at home, he went 6 innings and 7 innings, respectively. Parker is AVERAGING about 6.2 innings pitched at home this season AND the Nationals could use plenty of length today as they had to use 5 different relievers yesterday. If Parker can get some quick outs and attack the strikezone, manager Davey Martinez SHOULD let his young southpaw go as deep as he can in this game!