That coupled with a San Diego win over San Francisco led to a perfect night here at Best Bets, and we even delivered a bonus pick with the Padres and Giants going well under the over-under total of seven runs.
What do we have lined up for an encore? There’s plenty to choose from in a full Friday night of MLB action, so let’s get things started with tonight’s best bets.
Atlanta actually lost a game last night, falling 3-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals after taking the first three of that series. Now, last-place Washington comes into Truist Park coming off a series last month where the Braves stomped the Nats, winning each of the three games by at least four runs.
Charlie Morton (4-3, 4.34 ERA) has cut down on his walks and has had more success over the past month. He’s also struck out at least nine batters in four of his last five starts, giving him 101 on the season in 87 innings pitched. In Cincinnati on Sunday, Morton threw seven shutout innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while racking up 10 Ks.
The Nats have lost seven of their last 10 and have an ERA of nearly five in that stretch. Erick Fedde pitches for Washington tonight. He’s 5-5 with a 4.29 ERA on the season and has had good outings his last three times out, allowing a total of four runs against Miami, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. In a start against the Braves on June 15, however, Fedde was touched up for three runs in just 5.1 innings of work.
Atlanta is 8-4 in their last 12 games, and all eight wins have been by more than one run. We are confident in the trend continuing tonight by taking the Braves on the run line.
The Orioles continued their hot streak last night, bumping their winning streak up to five while the Angels’ rough road trip continued, falling to 1-5 against Houston, Miami, and now Baltimore during this trip. Thursday’s 4-1 win also marked the fifth time that Los Angeles couldn’t manage more than at least two runs in this rough patch.
Tyler Wells (7-4, 3.09 ERA) goes for Baltimore, looking for his fifth great start in a row. In his last four, Wells has given up a total of three runs in a combined 22 innings pitched. Reid Detmers (2-3, 4.66 ERA) will be sent to the mound by the Angels. Detmers is coming off a five-inning outing against Kansas City where he allowed five runs, and he gave up four in 3.2 innings prior to that in a start against the Dodgers. Detmers was optioned after the Royals game on June 21, so we will see how he fares in his return to the rotation.
The Orioles are up to 22-17 at home, while the Angels are now 17-23 away from home. They have struggled mightily for an extended period of time, and Baltimore is playing its best ball of the season. We’re riding the Orioles while they’re hot.
Both the Tigers and White Sox had been scoring some runs in the past week–before last night, when Detroit logged a 2-1 victory in the opener of a four-game series in Chicago. Tonight’s pitching matchup is a good one in name value, but both pitchers are struggling as of late.
Tarik Skubal (5-7, 4.06 ERA) has seen his ERA jump by nearly two runs in just about a month, as he’s allowed at least three runs in each of his last six starts. Last weekend, he went just 4.2 innings against the Royals and allowed five runs. In his first start on the season on April 10, the White Sox lit him up for four runs in four innings pitched as well.
Lucas Giolito pitches for Chicago, and his injury-plagued season has led to a 5-4 mark but a 4.90 ERA. He had a couple of truly awful outings in late June, giving up eight runs to Houston and seven to Toronto, but Giolito has been better in his last two appearances–giving up two runs to the Angels and one to San Francisco this past Sunday.
With both pitchers being shaky as of late and the teams coming off a low-scoring game yesterday, there’s some value in taking the over tonight.
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