Sunday was another action-filled day around the MLB that concluded with a fantastic night in Williamsport, PA, for the Little League Classic, where the Washington Nationals notched a four-run first inning to victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Elsewhere, Seattle Mariners’ outfielder Julio Rodriguez has his four-game streak of games with four hits come to an end after he had 18 hits in five games (most since 1901). Finally, Minnesota Twins’ pitcher Dallas Keuchel pitched a perfect game through six innings in Minnesota before Pittsburgh Pirates’ Bryan Reynold’s double ended the bid.
Some awesome bats from the Little League Classic game tonight
(via @VictusSports) pic.twitter.com/APQFfa5xGg
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 20, 2023
Major League Baseball has another ten baseball games on a Monday night, and LWOS targets three teams to back your bets with tonight. Don’t forget to tail and BOL!
SEATTLE MARINERS VS. CHICAGO WHITE SOX: MARINERS ML (-185)
In case you haven’t noticed, the Seattle Mariners have been surging up the standings in the second half of the season and our starting a dialogue in the west. After sweeping the Houston Astros in Houston, the Mariners sit three games back in the AL West and are a half-game up for the third and last spot in the AL Wild Card.
This is not exactly the season the Chicago White Sox had in mind coming into 2023. The south-siders sit 4th in the AL Central and are 3-7 in their last ten games. Many of their struggles come from their pitching staff, currently with a 4.72 ERA (24th in ML) which is only better than the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals.
The Mariners rank 8th in OPS and have a team OPS+ of 152 over their last seven games. Luis Castillo has a career 2.92 ERA in 12.1 IP against the White Sox and has a 3.23 ERA in his previous 30 games. Seattle features 12 batters with OPS+ over 100, while the White Sox feature just four. Take the Mariners’ ML to -190, or look for the first five innings ML (-190).
BOSTON RED SOX VS. HOUSTON ASTROS: RED SOX ML F5 (+105)
We will stay with another hot team in the Boston Red Sox as they travel to face a Houston Astros club coming off getting swept at home by Seattle and are just 4-6 in their last ten games. Conversely, the Red Sox are 7-3 in their previous ten games, sit three games back in the AL Wild Card, and just swept the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium.
We discussed Julio Rodriguez being the hottest bat in the league earlier, but Rafael Devers may have something to say about that. He slashes .341/.431/.614 over his last 14 games and has a 7:5 BB: SO ratio to boot. Justin Turner (124 OPS+), Triston Casas (122), and Masataka Yoshida (117) will all look to tee off tonight against Christian Javier.
Javier has not been good this year; his ERA (4.49) is an entire run higher than his career mark (3.46), and he has a 6.37 ERA in his last seven appearances. Houston’s bad run of form (3-7 in their previous 10) should spell trouble as they face a hot Boston team. Take the Boston first five innings (+105) or look for their total game ML at +110.
NEW YORK METS VS. ATLANTA BRAVES: BRAVES o2.5 TOTAL RUNS – F5 (-150)
Our final pick of the day comes to us from the best team in baseball: the Atlanta Braves. They are in first place in the NL with a record of 8-43 and are 8-2 in their last ten games. They face a New York Mets team that waved the white flag at the deadline, trading Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander for prospects.
Not surprisingly, the Braves dominate teams at Truist Park with a record of 42-21 (NL best) and have outscored opponents 373-272. They have been dominant over the Mets this year, too. Going 8-2 and have outscored the New York side by 40 runs (82-42). Mets’ starter David Peterson gave up four runs in five innings last time vs. the Braves and has a 7.75 ERA on the road this term.
Matt Olson has three home runs off of David Peterson in his career, and Ronald Acuna Jr. (1 HR), Kevin Pillar (.600), Austin Riley (.444), and Eddie Rosario (.500) will all look to capitalize on previous success off Peterson. Take the first five-inning run total for the Braves or the entire game total at o5.5 (-115).
Main Photo Credits: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
