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Main DraftKings Picks August 9: Don’t Trust Wood or Greinke at Chase Field

By Mike Marteny

PHOENIX, AZ - SEPTEMBER 10: Detail of the Arizona Diamondbacks logo behind home plate before the Major League Baseball game against the San Diego Padres at Chase Field on September 10, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated the Padres 6-5 in 10 innings. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - SEPTEMBER 10: Detail of the Arizona Diamondbacks logo behind home plate before the Major League Baseball game against the San Diego Padres at Chase Field on September 10, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated the Padres 6-5 in 10 innings. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JULY 22: (L-R) Eduardo Escobar #5, Eddie Rosario #20 and Max Kepler #26 of the Minnesota Twins celebrate winning against the Detroit Tigers after the game on July 22, 2017 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Tigers 6-5. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Main MLB Picks For August 9

10 of the 15 games are in the main DraftKings tournament tonight. There are a lot of good pitching options out there tonight, and most of them are reasonably priced. The two higher priced pitchers are facing each other in a hitter’s park with two really good offenses backing them and poor pasts stats to boot. I am steering clear of both. There are also plenty of pitchers worth stacking against, so just how do we save money? Let’s start by checking out some stats!

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The money line last night was the highest of the season at 151.2 DraftKings points. All three of my lineups made it in, with the published ones getting 155.1 and 164.8 respectively. This was largely to do with the successful Phillies stack and Chris Sale and Corey Kluber.

The winning lineup was up to 281.15, the second highest total of the season. He managed to use both Sale and Kluber. The lineups I tried with those two I didn’t like, but he made it work with cheap Twins and cheap Phillies.

These picks are based mostly on statistical analysis . If you have a gut feeling, then by all means, follow that. This is not an exact science. The best lineups usually have a mix of proven stats and hot players. Check out this post from Matt McGarvey for great tips about whether to use a hot player in DFS or not.

For you first time players, if you would like $10 worth of free entry tickets, use this link for the referral bonus! Then continue reading for tips on how to turn that $10 into more!

Next: DraftKings Lineup

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DETROIT, MI – JULY 30: Justin Verlander #35 of the Detroit Tigers pitches against the Houston Astros during the second inning at Comerica Park on July 30, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

P: Justin Verlander ($10,500): The Pirates have actually fared pretty well against Verlander, but the Tigers ace is starting to get his groove back. He has six straight quality starts since being blasted by Cleveland on July 2nd. The Pirates have scored three or fewer runs in seven of their last 12 games. I like Verlander to keep his hot streak alive tonight in a pitcher-friendly environment.

P: Asher Wojciechowski ($6,700): Someone needs to explain how Wojciechowski has a 3.12 ERA at home and 6.23 on the road. Wojciechowski is at home tonight, and will hold the platoon advantage against nearly all of the San Diego lineup. He is a strong play once again. Want another reason to roll with Wojo? He has not allowed a homer in his last four starts. Two of those were at home, and one was in Yankee Stadium.

C: Yadier Molina ($3,500): Molina is 4-11 with three walks, a homer, and two RBI in his career against Trevor Cahill. This could be a place to stack Cardinals. I like other options better, but I definitely want some exposure. The Cardinals are hitting .365 in 52 at bats against Cahill in his career, but Molina has the only homer.

1B: Freddie Freeman ($5,100): Freeman is 6-18 with four walks, a double, two solo homers, and six runs scored in his career against Jerad Eickhoff. Things wont get any easier for Eickhoff in SunTrust Park, the league’s latest and greatest lefty paradise. I definitely want Freeman here!

2B: Brad Miller ($2,500): Miller is 8-29(.276) with two walks, two doubles, four homers, six runs scored, and eight RBI in his career against Rick Porcello. Porcello has been closer to his 2016 form recently, but he has still surrendered five homers in just 18.1 innings against the Rays this year.

3B: Eduardo Nunez ($4,400): Nunez is hitting .405 with four homers, four steals, and a whopping 14 RBI in his first ten games with Boston. I don’t care who he’s playing. Get him out there at this price!

SS: Zack Cozart ($4,600): Travis Wood has a 6.49 ERA on the season and a 6.99 ERA on the road. The righty-heavy Reds could have a field day in their hitter’s paradise against the struggling Wood. I wont be the only one stacking Reds, and I fell short of a full stack, but I want the important righties in there.

OF: Adam Duvall ($4,600): Duvall has smacked four homers in his last ten games. He may as well be hitting off of a tee today against Travis Wood. Any Reds stack needs to include Duvall today.

OF: Billy Hamilton ($4,200): Hamilton’s batting average is 68 points higher at home, and he has stolen eight more bases as well. His speed translates anywhere, and if he is on base today, someone is going to bring him in.

OF: Brandon Moss ($3,800): Moss already has three homers in August. He is rolling right along with the rest of the Royals offense. He is also 3-8 with a double, a homer, and three RBI in his career against Mike Leake. Moss is a solid play at this price.

Next: DraftKings Main Lineup 2

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ST. PETERSBURG, FL – AUGUST 4: Brandon Woodruff #53 of the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 4, 2017 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /

P: Collin McHugh ($8,800): McHugh has quietly given up only three runs in his last two starts. He showed rust in his first start of the season, but seems to be rounding into form here. He had a 2.73 ERA just three years ago, and hasn’t been horrible since then. I am a little apprehensive since the Sox blasted Dallas Keuchel last night, but they have been tougher on lefties all year. McHugh will hold the platoon advantage over Kevan Smith and Jose Abreu, the ones that did most of the damage last night.

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P: Brandon Woodruff ($5,900): Woodruff shut out the Rays for 6.1 innings in his major league debut in Tampa. He will head to a more hitter-friendly venue tonight, but the team he will faced there has scored the fewest runs in the majors since the All Star Break. He will hold the platoon advantage against most of the lineup, and all of the power but Max Kepler. Woodruff has way too much potential to be priced this low tonight.

C: Brian McCann ($3,500): I’m using the Astros battery to power this lineup tonight. McCann is 4-16 with three walks, two homers, and three RBI in his career against Miguel Gonzalez. Gonzalez has actually pitched pretty well at home this year, but McCann is priced to buy here.

1B: Paul Goldschmidt ($5,500): Goldy is 5-17(.294) with four walks, two homers, four runs scored, and four RBI in his career against Alex Wood. Wood has surrendered 14 runs (12 earned) in his last three starts. That is not a bad number, but it is a bit ominous heading into Chase Field against one of the better offenses in the league.

2B: Dustin Pedroia ($3,600): Pedroia is 13-30(.433) with a walk, two doubles, three homers, six runs scored, and five RBI in his career against Jake Odorizzi. In fact, the Sox as a whole have hit Odorizzi hard. In 167 career at bats, the Red Sox are hitting .293 with seven homers and 24 RBI. Stacking may be a bit off base in Tropicana Field, but I want some exposure here, especially in Odorizzi’s first start back.

3B: Rafael Devers ($4,000): Devers is still reasonably priced despite hitting .349 with three homes and six RBI in his first 11 games. I like him to keep the hot streak going against a possibly rusty Odorizzi.

SS: Corey Seager ($4,400): Seager’s price takes a nice discount with him facing Zack Greinke tonight, but maybe it shouldn’t. Seager is 6-9 with four walks, a double, two homers, six runs scored, and four RBI against his former teammate. Maybe he is mad at him for signing with Arizona. Whatever the case, Seager hits him hard.

OF: Josh Reddick ($5,100): Reddick is hitting .344 with two homers and seven RBI over his last ten games. He has also homered and walked off of Miguel Gonzalez the only time he faced him. That looks like a good combination to me.

OF: A.J. Pollock ($4,400): Pollock is 6-13(.462) with a double, two homers, four runs scored, a steal, and three RBI in his career against Alex Wood. Wood has come back to earth, and is in a hitter’s park. Arizona will get some solid cuts at him.

OF: Ryan Braun ($4,300): Braun is 5-12(.417) with two homers, three runs scored, and five RBI in his career against Bartolo Colon. Colon has done a solid job in Minnesota, but he has still given up at least three runs in each start. Braun is the most likely to take him deep tonight, so I’m investing here.

Next: Early Slate DraftKings MLB Picks

Good luck out there, and check out our picks for FanDuel baseball, along with our PGA picks. We also have plenty of NFL stuff to get you ready for football!