A lot has happened in a single day of baseball. The Kansas City Royals found themselves atop the AL Central by a half a game with a win over the Oakland Athletics. On the other hand, the Baltimore Orioles extended their lead over the Yankees and Blue Jays in AL East with another win. At this stage of the MLB season, every game is a must-win situation for the teams hoping to secure playoffs berths.
Today will feature another compelling day in the MLB. We bring you not only the best MLB action, but the best in all of sports for the day as the New York Yankees attempt to tie their series with Baltimore while the Oakland Athletics use the newly acquired ace Jon Lester to rebound against Kansas City. You can also checkout the five best baseball games to bet on today in our daily MLB Free Picks.
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New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles (7:05 PM ET)
Line: New York Yankees (+126) at Baltimore Orioles (-136); total 8.5 – view these lines
[sc:MLB240banner ]The New York Yankees found themselves on the wrong end of an 11-3 beatdown against the Baltimore Orioles to kickstart their three-game series. However, the Yankees will have trusty starter Shane Greene (3-1, 2.89 ERA) on Tuesday night. Greene tossed a shutout with a season-high nine strikeouts on the road against the O’s in July.
The Baltimore Orioles aren’t backing down against the Yankees as they are starting their own excellent pitcher Wei-Yin Chen (12-4, 3.90 ERA). The O’s starter should enjoy some decent run support from the O’s batters who lead the AL with the most home runs (150). Even with the probable absence of dependable hitters Manny Machado (knee sprain) and J.J. Hardy (sprained left thumb), the O’s remain dangerous at the plate with Chris Davis and Jonathan Schoop both hitting multi-run homers last night.
Writer’s Prediction
The Baltimore Orioles’ (-136) bats will cool down against Shane Greene, but they still edge the Yankees to lead the series.
Create a betting account now and enjoy the roller coaster ride which is the second half of the MLB regular season.
Oakland Athletics vs. Kansas City Royals (8:10 PM ET)
Line: Oakland Athletics (-153) at Kansas City Royals (+138); total 7.5 – view these lines
Jon Lester (12-7, 2.44 ERA) will be starting for the Athletics on the heels of back-to-back wins in his two starts for the A’s. He defeated Kansas City in his Oakland debut on August 2nd, surrendering three runs in a little over six innings. He then threw a shutout against the Minnesota Twins, giving out only three hits while striking out eight over nine innings. Lester is 6-0 in his last 10 starts.
On the other hand, Kansas City will be in hot pursuit of a win after their narrow 3-2 win over Oakland to start their series. The Royals are now reigning over the AL Central after winning 16 of their last 19 games. They will be confident hosting Oakland for the second game starting Jeremy Guthrie (8-9, 4.35 ERA). Guthrie shut out the A’s, giving up just three hits and two walks while striking out six on August 1.
Writer’s Prediction
The Oakland Athletics will take their third win starting Jon Lester for another close game against the Royals. Take the total to go under 7.5.
