Daily Picks: Miami Sunset
Friday is always pretty hectic in the MLB and this week is no different. The Cubs and Brewers take to the mound in the afternoon, before the rest of the teams take the field in the evening slate.
Here are Today’s MLB Picks:
Miami Marlins @ Washington Nationals
This will not be the most interesting of baseball games. The only redeeming feature of it is that the Nationals are in a scrap for the playoffs and it may have interest from that point of view. However, outside of that there is not a lot of fun to be found here. From a gabling point of view there is some interest however. The line is set at 9.5 and both teams have favourable numbers for the under in these situations. In games with a 9-or-9.5 line the under is 18-7-1 in Nationals home games, and 14-6-3 in Marlins road games. Neither pitcher is great, but both have been putting up largely positive performances recently. There was a temptation to take this line down to either 8.5-or-9, but for now with a slight hitting friendly weather outlook sitting at 9.5 seems right.
1u – Under 9.5 Total Runs @ -120
Chicago White Sox @ Atlanta Braves
This matchup should be a slam dunk for the Braves, but the form of Ivan Nova makes it interesting. Nova has a second half ERA of 2.30 and an August ERA of 1.09. He is in great form right now and is a long way from his season opening form. However, Max Fried is doing pretty well himself. The 25-year old pitcher struggled in June and July, but has been much better in August, putting up a 3.29 ERA. It is not as good as Nova, but it is good enough to make the under on a line of 9.5 look tasty. Four of the White Sox last five games have seen the under hit, as have three of the last four for the Braves. The wind is blowing in so weather should favor the pitchers, and the temperature will only be in the mid-80s.
1u – Under 9.5 Total Runs @ -111
Seattle Mariners @ Texas Rangers
The Rangers are just the most frustrating team right now. Without Joey Gallo and Hunter Pence their lineup is lacking any real pop and run scoring threat. An example of how ugly it has got is they could not even take advantage of Felix Hernandez’s return to the full extent last night. This start is compounded by facing a left-handed pitcher, who they have struggled against this season. In the two-game series against the Angels, they faced two lefty starters and totalled zero earned runs, 19 strikeouts and nine hits in 11 innings. It was not pretty. Gonzalez has faced Texas four times this season. In one start he gave up six runs, but in the other three he allowed a combined three earned runs in 21 innings. Until the Rangers show some pop at the plate their team under is the way to go, especially against lefties.
1u – Texas Rangers Under 5.5 Team Runs @ -133
Cincinnati Reds @ St. Louis Cardinals
We finish up our night with the on-fire Cardinals of St. Louis and Dakota Hudson, who has not allowed an earned run in his last three starts. He is facing Trevor Bauer, who bizarrely could do nothing wrong on the road in his time in Cleveland, but apparently cannot pitch on the road as a Reds player. In his three road starts for the Reds he has pitched just 12 innings and allowed 19 earned runs, with 10 strikeouts, 20 hits and seven walks. The Cardinals offense has been much improved in the large part recently, and if Bauer does not have his best stuff it could be an ugly day in St. Louis.
1u – St. Louis Cardinals ML @ -115
By Ben Rolfe