Main DraftKings MLB Picks June 8: Mad Max, the road warrior

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – MARCH 29: Gerrit Cole #45 of the Houston Astros throws in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on March 29, 2019 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images) /

Main DraftKings MLB Picks June 8: Mad Max, the road warrior

The main slate only has six games, but there are some really good pitching options. There is even a night game at Wrigley! The Rays-Red Sox tilt is showdown only, starting at 12:05 eastern and the second game of the doubleheader is left off of everything. The A’s- Rangers twin bill is in both slates since it’s a day-night doubleheader. The early game is part of the first nine. The night game is in the night slate.

DraftKings MLB Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Max Scherzer ($12,000): As we saw with Cole last night, the strikeouts add up quickly even if you can’t keep the other team off the board. That’s what we’re hoping for with Scherzer here. The Padres are only hitting .194 against Scherzer in 139 at bats with four homers, 12 runs, and a whopping 49 strikeouts. Max is going to allow a couple of homers, but he’s going to strike out double digits, so no reason to shy away here.

Rich Hill ($11,000): You can’t get any more consistent than Hill. He has an identical 2.25 ERA on the road and at home. His DraftKings points per game is separated by just 0.2 points between home and road. What does this mean? It means Hill is going to own the Giants. He has a 3.44 ERA at AT&T Park in his career, but the Giants have had much better offenses in there than they do right now.

Middle Tier:

Eric Lauer ($8,100): Lauer has been brilliant at home this year with a 2.50 ERA in seven starts at PetCo Park. One of those was against the Nationals. Lauer went home with 17.8 DraftKings points, and that was without securing the win. That’s important to know because he’s not beating Scherzer tonight.

Jeff Samardzija ($7,700): I think people are going to go after Shark just because of the name. That creates a good place for us to gain some leverage, not only on Dodger bats, but on the low ownership of Samardzija. Shark faced the Dodgers once this year, and shut them out through five innings. His numbers are down across the board from a disastrous 2018. Oh, and Shark has a 2.03 ERA in five starts at AT&T Park this year. There’s a lot to like here.

Bargain Pitchers:

Chris Bassitt ($7,500): The Rangers are hitting just .211 against Bassitt with only two runs in two games. The 13 strikeouts are a solid total as well. There is plenty to like about Bassitt here. The A’s as a whole have owned Texas for the better part of the last 16 months. Bassitt is a good way to capitalize on that on the cheap.

Adrian Sampson ($6,400): The A’s destroyed Sampson earlier this year, but Sampson has dominated at home. He has allowed just two earned runs in is last five home starts combined. The A’s have owned the Rangers overall, but Sampson has the best chance at stopping it. Just don’t look at Sampson’s career numbers against the A’s.

My picks: Scherzer, Bassitt; Lauer, Bassitt

DENVER, CO – AUGUST 21: Nolan Arenado #28 of the Colorado Rockies follows the flight of a third inning RBI double against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field on August 21, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

Steven Matz has been pulverized by the Rockies, and not just on the road. We all know that Arenado destroys lefties, and Matz is no exception. Arenado is 5-12 with four homers and 12 RBI against Matz, so lock and load on Arenado. Trevor Story looks nice, but he’s expensive. Charlie Blackmon is 8-13 against Matz, so he is worth a look if he makes his return to the lineup tonight.

Jack Flaherty has a 6.20 ERA on the road, and has not fared well against the Cubs this season or in his career overall. He’s racking up the strikeouts, but I still think Flaherty could give up too many runs for our liking. Anthony Rizzo is 7-11 with two homers and five RBI against Flaherty, so use him. I really like Addison Russell and CarGo on the cheap here as well.

Jon Lester has been strong enough at Wrigley that I’m calling off the dogs as far as a stack goes, but I still want some exposure. Jedd Gyorko and Matt Carpenter have both homered three times against Lester in his career. Marcell Ozuna has taken Lester deep twice. Goldy is 6-12 with ahomer and four RBI. Matt Wieters is hitting .327 in 52 at bats with nine RBI. The Cards look to be the stack of the night.

I am talking out of both sides of my mouth here, but this is a short slate and I am here to entertain and inform. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t at least touch on how poorly Sampson has pitched against the A’s. Laureano, Stephen Piscotty, and Matt Chapman have all homered off of him and the A’s have ten runs in just 31 at bats.

The Angels are hitting lefties hard lately, and they hit Kikuchi hard even when they weren’t hitting lefties well. Calhoun and Cesar Puello both homered against Kikuchi. Mike Trout drove in three runs and Pujols drove in two. There is plenty to like for the Angels tonight.

Seattle’s offense has been mostly pathetic lately, but I think they are going to light up Dillon Peters. Even without Haniger, there is plenty of right handed power. Domingo Santana, Edwin, Tim Beckham, and Mac Williamson can all hit. And don’t count out Kyle Seager. He has the most homers for left handed batters against left handed pitching since the start of the 2015 season.

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 14: Anthony Rendon #6 of the Washington Nationals rects after flying out to end the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park on April 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. Pittsburgh won the game 4-3. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB one-off plays:

Jon Gray has only started one game against the Mets, and it was a good one for him. However, I have few issues paying more than five figures for Gray. First off, he has a 4.89 ERA on the road. Second, this start was delayed because of a “hot spot” on his middle finger. Finger issues can cause a pitcher to be pulled from a game prematurely. That’s the last thing we want when paying five figures for a pitcher.

As for the Mets, I like Conforto here, but not much beyond that. Mostly because I don’t really know where to go. I don’t like the price on Alonso. Amed Rosario looks like a good play again though.

More from FanSided

I may punt with Brandon Crawford of Joe Panik, but I wont go out of my way to use Giants against Rich Hill. That seems like a good way to lose money.

Shark has good numbers against the Dodgers, so I’m not gung ho about attacking him. However, Cody Bellinger hits damn near everything. He and Joc Pederson are the only two Dodgers I would touch though.

Shin-Soo Choo is the only Rangers player that has looked like a major league against Bassitt, and he may not even play. If Choo is in the lineup, he’s worth a look though.

Wil Myers has smacked two homers against Mad Max so far. Machado and Hosmer have homered against Scherzer as well, but Machado is just 4-31(.129) with 15 strikeouts against Scherzer. He’s far more likely to don the golden sombrero than to hit a homer tonight.

Trea Turner and Rendon are worth a look with a lefty on the hill, but they are damn expensive zeroes if Lauer continues to dominate at home.

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