It’s the final bout of this four-game Citrus Series, with Matt Andriese hosting Dan Straily. Both starters have been trending upwards as of late, which could result in a lower-scoring affair.
Tough loss last night, as my Eickhoff vs Arrieta Under 7.5 bet lands on my exact 5-3/5-4 worst-case scenario prediction, thus propelling the over by the slimmest of margins. Let’s just move forward and see what’s on the card for Thursday.
Zylbert’s 2017 MLB Over/Under Betting Record: 17-15-3 (53.1%), +70
Yesterday’s Result: Eickhoff vs Arrieta Under 7.5 (Loss)
*Each bet graded as if it were to win 100 dollars/units
Miami Marlins @ Tampa Bay Rays
Dan Straily vs Matt Andriese
UNDER 8.5 (+100) (via OddsShark)
The annual Citrus Series reaches its conclusion tonight, and it could be doing so in the form of a pitcher’s duel if these two hurlers keep throwing the way they’ve been throwing their past few starts.
Since allowing five runs (four earned) in his first start of the year just under a month ago, Matt Andriese has settled in for the Rays while cementing his spot in the rotation. He’s allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his last four, and over that span, he’s registered a quality start in three of those instances.
The 27-year-old has to be feeling good after how he fared his last time out, limiting a feisty Blue Jays lineup to four runs (three earned) over seven solid innings, yielding five hits and striking out four. The one troubling issue concerning Andriese is that he’s surrendered at least one home run in each of his outings thus far, but fortunately for him, he’ll be taking on a club that ranks in the bottom-half of baseball in long balls.
Dan Straily certainly doesn’t have a problem giving up homers, having yielded only three in five starts, and just like his counterpart this evening, he’s been trending upwards over the past few weeks.
In his first start with his new team on April 5, Straily did not fare so well, but in his defense, that assignment came on the road against the NL-best Nationals. Since that point, he’s provided the Marlins with the quality pitching they were anticipating when they nabbed him over the offseason, as he’s allowed three runs or fewer in each of his starts since.
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That also includes one of the strongest performances by any starter this season when he dominantly recorded 14 strikeouts in seven innings opposite the Padres less than two weeks ago. He would go on to lose his next outing last Saturday, but overall, Straily has been good, as while his 4.15 ERA isn’t anything spectacular, he also owns a 1.12 WHIP and .183 batting average against to go with his 29 punch-outs in 26 total innings of work.
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