MLB Picks & Parlays Monday 06/24
Monday sees just seven games making up an evening slate. However, there are some very interesting games among those seven, which should make for an interesting evening of baseball
Here are Today’s MLB Picks:
This game does not fill me with many warm feelings. The Indians are the most inconspicuous team over .500 I have perhaps ever seen. They rank 20th in home runs, 23rd in slugging and 22nd in runs. Their strength has been their pitching as they rank fifth in ERA and batting average against, and those two contrasting stats are a benefit to us here. The Royals have equally struggled with the bat, ranking 24th in runs and 26th in home runs. Pitching wise, Plutko’s ERA is misleading as he has made just five starts. In just one of those starts has he allowed more than two earned runs, but his seven earned runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Rays has driven the 4.55 ERA. Brad Keller, for the Royals, has been equally as difficult to judge. His ERA dipped below four for the second time this season, and then he allowed the Mariners to score seven earned runs in four innings last time out. Generally, Keller has been solid in the last month, going six or more innings in the five outings prior to the Seattle outing. This line is far too high at 10, given these offenses, so take the under and give yourself a reason to watch.
1u – Under 10 Total Runs @ -110
This is the game I am most excited about on this slate. The Red Sox have struggled in Fenway Park, going 18-19, and now they get Lucas Giolito pitching against them. Giolito has a 2.74 ERA, and yes, he struggled last time out in Chicago, but he has shut down some good offenses this season, including the Astros and Yankees. In contrast, Boston have Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound, who has a 4.00 ERA at home. There is a very real chance that Giolito gets the better of Rodriguez in this start, and these odds should be much close to even than this.
1u – CHI White Sox ML @ +155
Actually, I may be more excited about this game, between two of the best pitchers of the last five or so years, and former team mates at that. Zack Greinke, had a rough first outing against the Dodgers this season, but he has generally been solid against his former team since moving to Arizona. What concerns me is that the Dodgers rank fourth in batting average, and Greinke is not a great strikeout pitcher. He is going to need good defense behind him as always in this game. Clayton Kershaw may not be the pitcher he once was, but he still has a 2.85 ERA and a 7-1 record. This game has all the makings of a low-scoring pitching duel in the desert.
1u – Over 8 Total Runs @ -104
By Ben Rolfe