JD’s Pick & Methodology
After polishing off a nice parlay win yesterday, let’s carry-over that momentum into today’s MLB action. There are two picks that stand out to me today, the St. Louis Cardinals (“STL”) moneyline and the under in the Oakland Athletics (“A’s”) / Texas Rangers game.
The Cardinals send their ace Adam Wainwright to the mound against a Houston Astros team, that has struggled against elite pitching this season. Wainwright, who has posted a quality start in 4 out of his last 5 starts, has limited the long ball at Busch Stadium so far this season. This could be especially worrisome for an Astros team that generates a majority of its offense via the home run ball. Adam Wainwright has dominated the Astros his entire career, with a 13-1 record and a gaudy 1.57 ERA (Earned Run Average). Those numbers are staggering. While I understand the Astros are a completely different team than they were before being relegated from the NL Central to the AL West, something has to be said for the complete domination evidenced by those numbers.
As far as the matchup between the Rangers and A’s at Oakland Coliseum, the under (8 runs at -134) looks incredibly appealing. Sonny Gray will take the mound for Oakland, hitting his stride after returning from the DL, with a 2.13 ERA in that time period. The Rangers send lefty Derek Holland to the mound, who can be a bit erratic, but has pitched well against the A’s throughout the course of his career. Holland sports a 2.95 ERA in 12 appearances at the Oakland Coliseum. Another factor is the huge foul territory in Oakland, where many batters hopes go to die. While the A’s have had hitters like Reggie Jackson, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco; the organization has never had a player win a batting title while in Oakland. Every out counts when betting the under, and a pop out that in the majority of MLB parks goes into the stands goes for an out, increases our chances of taking the money.
With the moneyline for the Cardinals currently at (-128), a $25.00 wager would yield a potential payout of $19.53. Meanwhile in the case of the Rangers & Athletics, if less than 8 runs are scored a $25.00 wager at the current line of (-134) would pay-out $18.66.
You can track all of JD’s picks here: JD’s Pick Tracker
Foreward & Editing By: Thomas L. McLaughlin
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