It’s time to make money off baseball again, folks. Below are five games that are the best baseball games to bet on today.
Clayton Kershaw returns to the mound tonight, eager to bounce back from a rare loss, which he picked up last August 16 in the Dodgers’ loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Will he be unstoppable later against the San Diego Padres? Or will Tyson Ross somehow manage to outduel the reigning National League Cy Young award winner? Read a brief breakdown of that matchup below along with four other games in today’s list of best baseball games to bet on.
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MLB Picks and Predictions for Thursday, August 21, 2014
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Washington Nationals (4:05 PM ET)
Line: Arizona Diamondbacks (+170) at Washington Nationals (-200); total: 7.5– see all MLB lines
[sc:MLB240banner ]Arizona is 0-5 in its last five games, and is on the verge of being swept by the Nationals. The D’backs look to break their slump, as they start Wade Miley (7-9, 4.14 ERA). The pitcher, though, has surrendered 22 earned runs in his last six starts, four of which have gone over the totals. Washington, meanwhile, is unstoppable of late. The Nats carry a nine-game winning streak into tonight’s ball game against Arizona.
Writer’s prediction: The Nats win.
Los Angeles Angels vs. Boston Red Sox (7:10 PM ET)
Line: Los Angeles Angels (-127) at Boston Red Sox (+117); total: 9.0– see all MLB lines
Matt Shoemaker (11-4, 3.84 ERA) faces the Red Sox later, looking to lead Los Angeles into a road sweep of Boston. The Angels are 5-1 in Shoemaker’s last six starts on the road thus far this season. Facing the red-hot Angels (7-1 in their last eight games) is Rubby De La Rosa (4-4, 3.79), who’s coming off a bad outing, giving up six earned runs on nine hits in four innings of duty, albeit in the Red Sox’s 10-7 win against the Houston Astros last August 16th. The Red Sox are 5-1 in De La Rosa’s last six starts at Fenway Park.
Writer’s prediction: The Angels beat Boston.
Atlanta Braves vs. Cincinnati Reds (7:10 PM ET)
Line: Atlanta Braves (-150) at Cincinnati Reds (+135); total: 8.0– see all MLB lines
The Reds are winless in five games, and are returning home tonight after compiling an ugly 1-7 record in a recent eight-game road trip. Cincinnati could get that morale-boosting win in tonight’s series opener against the Braves, whom the Reds have beaten in seven of their last 10 meetings at the Great American Ball Park. The Braves, on the other hand, have seen their winning streak end at five games following a 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh yesterday. They are 4-1 in their last five games following a loss.
San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago Cubs (8:05 PM ET)
Line: San Francisco Giants (-160) at Chicago Cubs (+145) – see all MLB lines
The Giants improved to 3-0 in their last three games after defeating Chicago, 8-3, yesterday. They’ll look to sustain their momentum when they send to the mound Madison Bumgarner (13-9, 3.14 ERA) later for the third and final game of the series. The Giants are 3-1 in Bumgarner’s last four road starts. The Cubs will counter MadBum with Travis Wood (7-10, 4.86 ERA), whose last 10 starts have resulted into a 7-3 record for the team.
Writer’s prediction: The Giants win again.
San Diego Padres vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (10:10 PM ET)
Clayton Kershaw (14-3, 1.86 ERA) is back on the mound tonight, and that doesn’t make the Padres, who have lost four of their last six games, feel any better. That’s because the Dodgers are 9-1 in Kershaw’s last 10 starts. None of those games has seen Kershaw give up more than three earned runs. The Padres, meanwhile, will have Tyson Ross (11-11, 2.70 ERA) on the mound. They are 4-1 in Ross’ last five starts. The Padres are also 4-0 in their last four games against a left-handed starter.
