The marathon that is the baseball regular season is nearing the finish line. Bet on the MLB regular season while you still can. Below are breakdowns of the five best baseball games to bet on today.
The last week of regular season baseball is giving us some edge-of-your-seat thrills, particularly in the American League’s wild card race. The Oakland Athletics, the Kansas City Royals, the Seattle Mariners, and the Cleveland Indians are all scrambling for wins, hoping to catch the last ride to October. We’ve included all these teams below in our list of five best baseball games to bet on today.
MLB Picks and Predictions for Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees (7:00 PM ET)
Line: Baltimore Orioles (+135) at New York Yankees (-150); total: 7.5– see all MLB lines
[sc:MLB240banner ]Derek Jeter’s final home series got off to a nice start as the Yankees won over Baltimore 5-0 yesterday. Looking to keep the Orioles’ bats from going off tonight is Brandon McCarthy (10-14, 3.93 ERA), who held Baltimore scoreless in seven innings of duty, albeit in the Yankees’ 2-1 loss on September 12. New York is 5-1 in McCarthy’s last six home starts. As for the Orioles, they’ll have Ubaldo Jimenez (5-9, 4.90 ERA) on the mound. The O’s are 5-1 in Jimenez’s last six starts overall.
Writer’s prediction: New York wins.
Kansas City Royals vs. Cleveland Indians (7:05 PM ET)
Line: Kansas City Royals (+101) at Cleveland Indians (-111); total: 7.0 – see all MLB lines
Thanks to Danny Duffy’s solid job, Kansas City gained a crucial 2-0 win over the Indians last night to gain more headway in its chase for a wild card slot in the American League.
Yordan Ventura (13-10, 3.19 ERA) hopes to duplicate Duffy’s brilliance as he steps on the mound later. Ventura is 4-1 with a 1.95 ERA in his last five starts. He’ll be locked in a duel with the Indians’ Danny Salazar (6-7, 4.02 ERA), whose last six starts have resulted to four wins by Cleveland. The Indians have also won in his last two starts versus Kansas City.
Seattle Mariners vs. Toronto Blue Jays (7:07 PM ET)
Line: Seattle Mariners (-162) at Toronto Blue Jays (+147); total: 7.0– see all MLB lines
After surrendering a ton of runs in their 14-4 loss at Toronto last night, the Mariners will have ace Felix Hernandez (14-5, 2.07 ERA) running the show later on the mound. Hernandez is having a blast this September, earning a 1-0 record with a 0.96 ERA in four starts since the beginning of the month. Those numbers, however, isn’t too impressive when juxtaposed with R.A. Dickey’s 4-0 record in his last six starts to go along with a 2.45 ERA in the last five.
Writer’s prediction: Seattle wins.
San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (10:00 PM ET)
Line: San Francisco Giants (+130) at Los Angeles Dodgers (-140); total: 6.0– see all MLB lines
Do the Dodgers have what it takes to solve Madison Bumgarner (18-9, 2.91 ERA)? Bumgarner has been on a roll lately, allowing no more than three earned runs in any of his last six starts, all translating to wins for the Giants. He is 2-0 with a 2.37 ERA in three starts this month. Completing the tasty matchup on the mound tonight is Zack Greinke (15-8, 2.76 ERA), who is 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA in six career starts against San Francisco.
Writer’s prediction: Los Angeles wins.
Los Angeles Angels vs. Oakland Athletics (10:05 PM ET)
Line: Los Angeles Angels (+160) at Oakland Athletics (-180); total: 7.5– see all MLB lines
The Athletics appeared to have rediscovered their touch at the plate after recording back-to-back eight-run outputs in wins over the Phillies and Angels, respectively. Oakland is now 3-1 in their last four games. Despite the loss, the Halos still have a noteworthy 5-1 record in their last six meetings with Oakland. They’ll face Oakland’s Sonny Gray (13-9, 3.28 ERA), who has a high 5.04 ERA in four starts this month.
