Top MLB Picks and Predictions Today (Rockies and Mets to Mash in New York)
There's plenty of baseball to wager on this Saturday, with a few island games in the mid-afternoon, followed by 13 more this evening.
After scouring the menu of action, here are the three games on today's slate that the BetSided team is targeting.
Let's dive into our team's favorite betting plays of the day:
San Diego Padres vs. Kansas City Royals Odds, Prediction and Pick
PICK: Padres -1.5 (-135)
San Diego gets to see another Kansas City lefty on the mound today after taking care of Kris Bubic last night. They tagged Bubic with six earned runs on nine hits in just four innings. Now Daniel Lynch has to contend with that same lineup.
Lynch has a 4.58 ERA in 20 starts this season good for a 4-8 record. He averages less than five innings a start which could be a bad sign after K.C. used seven different pitchers in relief yesterday. Though one of them was outfielder Hunter Dozier.
The bullpen could be taxed and will need to cover at least three or four innings even if things go well for Lynch. His longest start of the year is six innings. The Royals have the highest bullpen ERA in the league at 4.86.
The Padres should have their way with the Royals pitching staff for the second straight day. -- Josh Yourish
Colorado Rockies vs. New York Mets Odds, Prediction and Pick
The Rockies may not be heading for the postseason this season, but they sure can hit. The team has the best batting average against lefties this season and are seventh in batting average since the start of August. They are set to face New York's left hander David Peterson, who is filling in for the injured Carlos Carrasco.
Meanwhile, the Mets remain an elite hitting bunch, top five in wRC+ in August. The team is elite at working pitch counts and putting pressure on the pitcher, which can lead to a short outing from Freeland who posts a 2.30 strikeout to walk ratio. If Freeland can't go long, it will be up to the Rockies bottom five bullpen to hold the line against this Mets lineup.
This price is too steep to play New York with Peterson on the mound and the Rockies ability to hit southpaws, but I'm leaning towards the over.
Braves vs. Cardinals Odds, Prediction and Pick
If there was ever a time to lean on both team's starting pitching, this matchup is as ideal as it gets.
Jordan Montgomery has gotten better and better since arriving in St. Louis, allowing only a single run in the month of August. He's upped his K/9 from 7.76 on the season to 8.42, and while his ERA is sparkling at just 0.35, his Fielding Independent Pitching, or FIP is also terrific at 1.72; showing this run is no fluke.
As for Charlie Morton, while he's been known to blow up on occasion, his stuff has been completely nasty of late. Not only has he thrown back-to-back games with double digit strikeouts, he's done it against two of the toughest teams in baseball in swings-and-misses in the Mets and Astros. Morton has also gone a minimum of six innings in his last four starts.
With two dominant starters on the mound, and the wind blowing in at 6-8 mph tonight in St. Louis, I'll happily back the under in a marquee matchup in the National League.