As this is the inaugural article in a series of articles that will provide daily best bets for baseball, a few notes on the betting philosophy followed are necessary. The goal of this series is not to get rich overnight, instead, the goal is to stack more wins than losses, grow a bankroll, and of course, take some money from the sportsbooks! There will be days that the plays sweep, and there will be days that they all lose, but just remember this is a marathon, not a sprint.
The Setup
The idea here is to have two to three official plays per day. All official plays will be tracked through a recap provided the day after the picks go live. Additionally, each day we will have some “fun plays” that will be tracked separately. These will usually be +money plays or various promotions run by the various sportsbooks. With that out of the way, let’s get into the picks.
Record
Official Plays: 0-0 (+0.00U)
Fun Plays: 0-0(+0.00U)
Spencer’s Best Bets for Baseball: July 5th
A’s @ Tigers
Our first play takes us to the American League, where the Detroit Tigers, despite being 10 games below .500, find themselves in 3rd place in the AL Central, host the floundering Oakland Athletics, who sit dead last in the AL West, a staggering 27.5 games back from the 1st place Texas Rangers. In today’s matchup, Eduardo Rodriguez takes the mound for the Tigers. This is his first MLB start in five weeks, after a stint on the 15-day IL with a ruptured pulley in his left index finger. However, prior to the injury, E-Rod was putting together a Cy Young Caliber season. Posting a 2.13 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 67:16 K/BB, through 11 starts.
This is a great bounce-back opportunity for Rodriguez, facing off against the worst lineup in the Majors. The A’s own a pitiful 23.4% team K rate, with guys who love to swing and miss littered throughout the lineup.
The pick: Eduardo Rodriguez Over 4.5 Ks 1U
Fun Pick: Player Performance Double: Eduardo Rodriguez 7+ K’s & Tigers to Win .5U
Braves @ Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians host the Atlanta Braves for the final game of this interleague series. Just last night the Guardians stunned the Braves, taking home the win after a walk-off hit from David Fry in the 10th. This loss snapped a nine-game winning streak for the star-studded Atlanta squad.
The Braves will be out for revenge tonight, and their victim will be Cal Quantrill. Through 12 starts Quantrill sports a lackluster 6.18 ERA and a 7.7% K rate. On the flip side, the Braves lineup owns one of the best K rates in the Majors at 20.2% and boasts a .271 BA. Translation: Quantrill will get shelled.
The pick: SGP Cal Quantrill Under 3.5 Ks & Braves +3.5 Alt Line 1U
Fun Pick: Sean Murphy RBI .5U
Main photo credits:
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
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