Xam’s Daily Gems:
Royals Money Line -130 FanDuel 10 Units
The Royals have been surging lately and find themselves sitting in the third Wild Card spot in the American League. However, after losing the first game of their series against their state rivals, they NEED to bounce back! The Royals are sending Michael Wacha to the mound, who’s been really impressive and become a key part in their rotation. For the season, he has a 3.55 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. However, he’s taken it to another level over his last 7 starts. In that stretch, Wacha has pitched to a STERLING 2.63 ERA! He’s also pitched a little better at home this year, with his ERA more than half an earned run lower than it is on the road. The Cardinals counter with their own righty, Andre Pallante. He’s struggled for much of the year, pitching to a 4.43 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. He’s been A LOT better pitching on the road, but his ERA and WHIP at home trounce his ERA and WHIP on the road, suggesting some negative regression is on its way. Despite losing last night, the Royals have been a solid home team and need this game to ensure they keep separation between themselves and the Red Sox for the final Wild Card spot. The Royals have been REALLY good at scoring runs at home, averaging 5.23 runs per game in front of the Royals faithful this year. If Wacha can keep his hot streak going, the Royals shouldn’t have ANY ISSUES hitting Pallante and setting up a rubber match tomorrow.
Cubs -1 -218 DraftKings 10 Units
Somehow, the Cubs have managed to find themselves just 4 games back of the last Wild Card spot in the National League. They’ve been hot, winning 3 straight games and 7 of their last 10 overall. Now, they send their ace and one of the best young pitchers in the game to the mound to keep the good times rolling. Justin Steele has been nothing if not consistent this season. His 3.33 ERA and 1.09 WHIP are more than respectable this season. In his last 7 starts, he has a 3.71 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. Over his last 15 starts, those numbers are 3.14 and 1.08, respectively. That consistency extends to whether he starts at home or on the road as well. The White Sox counter with righty Chris Flexen. While he’s also been consistent, it hasn’t been of the good kind. He’s consistently pitched poorly this year. He has a 5.53 ERA on the year and 1.49 WHIP, which has only skyrocketed over his last 7 starts, to the tune of a 6.43 ERA and 1.69 WHIP. There isn’t much else to say about historically inept the White Sox have been. They are an unbelievable 28-90 on the year and have lost 23 of their last 24 games! Justin Steele SHOULD be able to contain the team that’s scored the fewest runs in baseball. They should ALSO be able to hit a starting pitcher that just hasn’t proven to be very effective lately. The Cubs NEED this game more and quite simply have the better players.
Braves Money Line -192 DraftKings 10 Units
Say it with us..WE WILL CASH THE BRAVES TONIGHT!
We have been burned plenty by the Braves recently, but we are BACK FOR MORE! Southpaw Max Fried takes the ball for the Braves as they are desperately searching for a win. They’ve lost an unbelievable 6 straight games and would be out of the playoffs if the season ended today! Fried has pitched well overall this year, coming into today with a 3.40 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. He’s actually been BETTER on the road than he has been at Truist Park, though that doesn’t matter much when going to pitch in the altitude. The Rockies are a weak hitting team but can always put up some runs at home as they showed last night. However, they don’t even a have starter listed for the game yet! This may turn into a bullpen game of sorts for them, which would be bad news. They have the single WORST bullpen ERA in the league, by A LOT, at 5.56. They also have the highest WHIP among bullpens. This is as prime a spot for the Braves that exists. If Fried can contain the Rockies lineup, the Braves SHOULD be able to score enough throughout the game to get off the schneid and back in the win column!