Monday is always a quiet day in the MLB and with just eight games on the slate that is no different today. With that little meat on the bones t can be hard to find much value, but let’s see what is available to us today as the playoff race heats up.
Here are Today’s MLB Picks:
Arizona Diamondbacks @ New York Mets
Trusting the Mets to support Jacob deGrom is a scary thought. Despite having a 2.76 ERA he has just an 8-8 record, due in large part to a lack of run support. However, if the Mets are ever going to give him that support it is going to be against a pitcher with a 6.00 ERA on the road and a 6.02 ERA in the second half of the season. The Mets are in crunch time when it comes to their playoff push and they need to support their aces with their offense down the stretch.
1u – New York Mets -1.5 @ +100
Oakland Athletics @ Houston Astros
Once again, I am shaking my head at the thought of backing Mike Fiers, but his 2.90 ERA in the second half does not lie. Facing the Astros, who are absolutely roasting with the bat right now will not be easy, but Fiers has been so good this year. He is facing Zack Greinke, who has struggled a little in the second half but still has just a 3.82 ERA. This game should be a reasonably low scoring one and 9.5 just feels that little bit too high.
1u – Over 9.5 Total Runs @ +100
Pittsburgh Pirates @ San Francisco Giants
This is actually an interest game, despite the two teams being involved being largely irrelevant in playoff terms. Anytime Madison Bumgarner is on the mound I always look to check in and the results at home this season have been spectacular. In San Francisco he has a 2.83 ERA and a .213 batting average against, which is more than strong. As for Trevor Williams he has a 4.50 ERA on the road this season, which is not great, but in San Francisco he is facing a team who average just 3.46 runs per game at home. I do not like taking the under here with the line this low but in this situation it feels the right way to go.
1u – Under 7.5 Total Runs @ -102
By Ben Rolfe