We went with a pair of superstars yesterday, but we’re going with names with a little less star power for our plays on May 6. For the first, we’re heading to the Sunshine State to find Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies against the Tampa Bay Rays. For our second play, we’ll be taking a look at Mike Yastrzemski of the San Francisco Giants against the Chicago Cubs.
We didn’t get a sweep yesterday, but we still walked away with some profit. Shohei Ohtani reached base just once, but he got the job done anyway with a stolen base. Kyle Tucker, meanwhile, just couldn’t get his feet underneath him: He reached base via a walk late in the win over San Francisco, but outside of that, he was one of just two people on his team to go hitless.
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MLB Best Bets Today
- Kyle Schwarber O0.5 RBI (+140) - 0.75 Units FanDuel
- Mike Yastrzemski O1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-110) - 1 Unit BetMGM
Kyle Schwarber O0.5 RBI (+140) FanDuel
Schwarber is the definition of a boom-or-bust hitter, but I think he’s in a great position to deliver us some great production tonight. The Phillies got a rare day off yesterday, and Schwarber gets the chance to continue his strong play over the past week. Over that stretch, he’s batting just .238, but he’s also hit four home runs while driving in eight runs. Of his 29 hits this season, 11 have been long balls
The Rays are sending righty Drew Rasmussen to the bump on Tuesday. Schwarber has had Rasmussen’s number in the past: In eight plate appearance against him, Schwarber is 3-for-8 with a home run, and the three players who should be in front of Schwarber in the lineup are 2-for-5 in their limited appearances. Rasmussen has been better against lefties than righties this season, but Schwarber is seeing the ball well right now. Throw in the fact that George Steinbrenner Field has been favorable to lefties this season, and there are enough positive signs to like this angle.
Mike Yastrzemski O1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-110) BetMGM
Our second play of the day is a little more straightforward. Yaz had been struggling over the last couple of years for the Giants, but he’s figured something out early this season: He’s batting .283 through 31 games, which is the best mark of his career outside of the COVID-shortened season in 2020. Specifically, he’s been loving his matchups with right-handed pitchers, batting .317 with a .976 OPS (those numbers drop to .185 and .575 against lefties). Over the last week, he’s batting .304 with a .360 on-base percentage, and he’s cleared this line in three of his last five games.
The Cubs are sending Colin Rea to the bump for today’s contest. The veteran righty has filled in admirably for Chicago this year, carrying a 1.46 ERA while starting four straight games. He’s allowed just four earned runs in that span, but he’s struggled against lefties this year: They’re batting .273 with a .742 OPS against him, while he’s held righties to marks of .180 and .416.
In six plate appearances against Rea, Yaz is 3-for-5 with two home runs and one double. Of the three batters at the end of the lineup in front of Yastrzemski, two of them are lefties with multiple hits against Rea in the past. This is a good price for a great matchup.
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