Welcome back to a small little preview of a couple of selected MLB games as the season heats up heading down the home stretch. And with that, the trade deadline has passed with a few teams having thrown the gauntlet down. The Dodgers went all in, grabbing Yu Darvish and a few extra pieces to build a solid roster for the post season. The Yankees grabbed Sonny Gray which gives them not only a great starter for the remainder of the season but over the coming years. It really hasn’t taken them long at all to rebuild. While on the punting side of things it has not been the greatest of weeks, with a few rough days but thankfully not too much damage done to the season tally. Hopefully, like the days of our last few previews we can grab a clean sweep. As the season heats up the previews and plays will be coming thick and fast. This is the time of the season that all that previous work gets tested. Lets hit the home stretch with a bang.
Thursday 3rd
Best Bet – Astros -1.5 $1.97 (2u)
Next Best – Rockies -1.5 $2.14 (1u)
Double – Pirates/Twins $3.04 (0.5u)
Houston Astros vs Tampa Bay Rays (10.10am AEST)
Astros ($1.46) – Keuchel (9-0, 1.94 ERA)
Rays ($2.78) – Pruitt (5-2, 6.63 ERA)
Making his 2nd start since returning from injury Dallas Keuchel will look to continue what has been a fantastic 2017. With the Astros only losing 1 of his 12 starts, he has gone 4-0 at home with a ridiculous 1.04 ERA and .164 BAA. While not at their best over the recent road trip, the Astros still do hold a 31-22 home record. For the Rays it will be Austin Pruitt, who makes another rare start, over 22 innings pitched on the road he has a 7.25 ERA and .320 BAA. While he does get his share of strikeouts he gives up way too many hits and heading into a dangerous Minute Maid Park I’m taking that trend to continue. The Astros are short, but they have the bats to cover the RL, and continue to push for the AL West division. I like this price and I’m taking a decent stab at it.
Suggested Bet – Astros -1.5 $1.97
Colorado Rockies vs New York Mets (10.40am AEST)
Rockies ($1.63) – Chatwood (6-11, 4.78 ERA)
Mets ($2.32) – Flexen (0-1, 9.00 ERA)
Another team that looks to be taking their chance while they can is the Colorado Rockies. Unfortunately for them the best they can hope for is a Wild Card spot, but they have a share of teams snapping at their heels. Needing to win their home games will be key for the Rox, who traditionally don’t travel well away from home. After grabbing game 1 in the series, they find themselves with another pitching matchup that favours them. Tyler Chatwood will get the start, and he is one pitcher who I feel that his season stats don’t tell the true storey of his ability. He pitches better away from home as all Colorado pitchers do but the fact he has only given up 6 HR’s over 44 innings at Coors is worth highlighting. A 6.14 ERA and .300 BAA does not look good but thats the way his home field is. He was not good at all against the Mets in his last start, recording just the 1 out. I like him to do a tad better here. For the Mets it will be youngster Chris Flexen making only his 2nd career start. Not the field you want to be doing that in. He went 3 innings in San Diego giving up 3 runs on 5 hits. The future may be bright for him but there is a long road ahead and it has to go at least through Coors Field.
Suggested Bet – Rockies -1.5 $2.14
Other Games
Pittsburgh Pirates vs Cincinnati Reds
After a disappointing loss in the opening game of the series, the Pirates need to win here to keep post season hopes alive. Trevor Williams has had some quality starts of late and the Pirates bats are due a few runs. The usual boggy team the Reds in PNC Park are always a rough opponent but I feel the Bucs get the better of them today. Look a decent addition to a double at worst.
All Prices Quoted via Crown Bet at time of writing.
Hopefully your thoughts on the games match up with mine. As always these are only a select few games I was interested in, feel free to share your opinions on any games at @MLB_TheProfits on Twitter. Happy Punting.
