Daily Picks: A High Scoring Evening Ahead
Sunday sees a lot of very interesting games and with the weather leaning even further to hitting there could be a lot of runs scored today.
Here are Today’s MLB Picks:
Right now, I am riding Jack Flaherty until the wheels start coming off this train. In his last seven starts, Flaherty has allowed just four earned runs, striking out 56 in 45 1/3 innings. That includes three straight seven shutout performances in his three games, in which there have been eight hits and four walks in total. In contrast, Alex Wood has a 5.56 ERA having allowed at least two earned runs in all of his four starts. It has been a mixed set of performances, but Flaherty should have too much quality right now for Wood to compete toe-to-toe.
1u – STL Reds -1.5 @ +100
This is a fascinating one because these two pitchers have been so up and down this season. Zack Wheeler has a 4.36 ERA and has allowed four or more earned runs in four of his last 10 starts. In the other six he has allowed just seven earned combined so it can be tough knowing what to get from him. Glenn Sparkman has had similar highs and lows allowing more than four earned runs in seven of his last 10 outings. With the variable nature of these two pitchers and the weather suiting hitting in a big way this game could get ugly fast.
1u – Over 10 Total Runs @ -105
Martin Perez against his old ballclub having allowed 34 earned runs in his last 10 starts could make for an interesting situation. Perez has massively fallen off his perch from earlier in the season and was flirting with an ERA of five before his shutout of the Brewers last week. The chances that he can repeat that in this one look slim, and he is going to need the Twins offense to fire. However, that could be difficult against Lance Lynn who has been extremely impressive in 2019. He has a 14-8 record this season, but his last two losses have come in games where he allowed just one earned run. In fact, over his last four starts he has allowed just four earned runs with 32 strikeouts in 25 innings. He has been on it this season, and with Perez pitching for the Twins he should be able to get the run support to pick up the win.
1u – TEX Rangers ML @ -129
Sunday night baseball sees the Cubs taking on the Pirates as the Cubs scrap for the NL Central with the Cardinals and Brewers. The line in this game is set right in the over zone in Pittsburgh this season. Games with a line of 9-or-9.5 in Pittsburgh have seen the over hit 20 times out of 30 this season. Throw in the up and down performances of Mitch Keller this season and his 7.94 ERA and the expected hitter friendly weather forecast and this could be prime to be an explosive game of baseball on Sunday night.
1u – Over 9.5 Total Runs @ -110
By Ben Rolfe