We’re back with two MLB plays for today with one of the better slates we’ve seen so far this season. For our first play, we’re heading to Sacramento where we’ll find Lawrence Butler of the Athletics taking on the San Diego Padres. For our second play, we’re finding another California team in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Will Smith in their matchup with the Washington Nationals.
Monday should have been a 1-0 day after Brendan Rodgers was scratched from the lineup, but we couldn’t get there. Hunter Greene gave it his best effort. He pitched 8 ⅔ innings while racking up seven strikeouts. Throughout the game, he had seven different players who got into two-strike counts but got out of it in one way or another. The read was right, but we didn’t get the result we wanted.
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- Lawrence Butler 3+ Total Bases (+215) - .50 Units DraftKings
- Will Smith O0.5 RBIs (+165) - .50 Units Bet365
Lawrence Butler 3+ Total Bases (+215) DraftKings
Butler had his breakout season last year with a .262 average and 22 home runs in his first full season at the big-league level. While it is still early, he looks to continue that trend this season. Through 12 games, he’s batting .277 with four of his 13 hits going for extra bases. Additionally, the team’s home stadium, Sutter Health Park, has seemed to be a hitter’s park early on. In five games, four of the five have featured double-digit runs, and the other had nine runs between the two sides.
On the mound for the Padres is expected to be RHP Randy Vasquez. While Butler hasn’t necessarily had a preference against right or left-handed pitchers, Vasquez has. At this point in his career, he’s allowing LHBs to hit .317 with a .878 OPS while holding RHBs to marks of .233 and .686. While it has only been two starts this year, Vasquez has had 19 plate appearances against RHB. They’re 0-for-13 with six walks and four strikeouts. In 25 plate appearances against LHB, they’re 6-for-22 with three walks and one strikeout. The numbers aren’t overwhelming, but enough positive signs are pointing us in the right direction on this one.
Will Smith O0.5 RBIs (+165) Bet365
The Dodgers are one of the league’s best teams, and they’re loaded with lots of big names. Despite that, we’re going with one of the lesser stars in Smith. Smith has been absolutely thriving in the heart of this Dodgers’ lineup. He’s batting .400 through 11 games, and he’s turned in RBIs in three of his last five. Now, he gets a matchup that he along with the rest of the lineup has had a strong amount of success against in the past.
The Nationals are sending Jake Irvin to the mound today. In 62 plate appearances against the Irvin, the Dodgers are batting .333 with 8-of-19 hits going for extra bases. In nine appearances against Irvin, Smith has three hits, and he has an average exit velocity over 100 mph. The four players in front of Smith have combined to go 11-for-30 against Irvin. After winning eight straight games, the Dodgers have lost four of their last five, and this is the perfect recipe for them to get things rolling again.
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