After going with a pair of stars yesterday, we have a pair of under-the-radar names lined up for today’s MLB slate. For our first play, we’re targeting Xavier Edwards of the Miami Marlins in their matchup with the Arizona Diamondbacks. For our second play, we’re staying in Florida for Jonathan Aranda and the Tampa Bay Rays for their matchup with the Boston Red Sox.
We went 1-1 again yesterday, but I really thought we had our first sweep coming our way with the opportunities Freddie Freeman had to get the job done. Luckily, we still walked away with a bit of profit. Bobby Witt Jr. got the job done early with a solo home run in the third inning. In the Freeman world, he went 2-for-2 in his first two at-bats. The only problem was there was nobody on base because Mookie and Shohei each hit a home run in one of their first two at-bats. In his next two at-bats, there was a runner on second both times, but Freeman failed to get the ball out of the infield. Still, we made a profit for the second day in a row.
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MLB Best Bets Today
- Xavier Edwards 2+ Hits (+210) - .50 Units Bet365
- Jonathan Aranda O0.5 RBIs (+200) - .50 Units Bet365
Xavier Edwards 2+ Hits (+210) Bet365
The Marlins are in the middle of the pack in the NL East, and Edwards is one of the main reasons why. The third-year shortstop is second on the team in batting average and on-base percentage. Throughout his career, he’s preferred hitting against RHP with a .337 batting average and .826 OPS compared to marks of .277 and .681 against LHP. This season, those numbers are even more drastic with marks of .371 and .957 against RHP while those numbers drop to .217 and .457 against LHP.
Tonight, he gets a matchup with a veteran right-hander that has struggled out of the gate. Through three starts, Kelly has completed 15 innings of work while allowing 15 hits, including nine hits to the New York Yankees in only 3.2 innings. RHB are hitting .227 with a .729 OPS against him, but lefties have hit him hard. They’re batting .263 with a .930 OPS behind it. Edwards has two or more hits in five games this season, and three of those outings have come in his last six starts. This is a good matchup for the young switch-hitting shortstop to pepper the ball around the yard.
Jonathan Aranda O0.5 RBIs (+200) Bet365
We haven’t had any luck with these RBI plays yet, but we are getting closer every day. Aranda had been a bench player throughout his first few seasons with the Rays. Now, in his first season as a starter, he’s thriving. Among full-time players, he’s first in all of the MLB in batting average at .395. He has an impressive 1.158 OPS, and he’s knocked in 10 RBIs in 14 games, with six of those coming in his last four starts. Aranda is essentially only a platoon hitter against RHP as he’s only seen six plate appearances against LHP this year, but he’s batting .436 with a 1.247 OPS against RHP. Plus, George Steinbrenner Field has been friendly to lefties.
On the mound for the Red Sox is going to be Walker Buehler. Fresh off of his World Series heroics, Buehler has stumbled out of the gates a bit. He’s allowed 18 hits and 10 runs in just 15.2 innings of work through his first three starts. His career numbers against righties and lefties are just about even, but he’s seen troubling splits so far this year. Righties are batting .250 with a .773 OPS against him, but lefties, in only one more plate appearance, are batting .333 with a .827 OPS. This is a good spot and price for the first baseman in the midst of a possible breakout season.
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