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August 29, 2023
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August 30, 2023
We are nearing the end of baseball season, but before we totally switch gears for the cornucopia of football coming our way in September, there is the stretch run in baseball to consider when looking at sports betting odds. It’s been a rather interesting season as both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will likely miss the playoffs for the first time in three decades, and teams can’t spend their way to success like they can in soccer or basketball. The New York Mets, New York Yankees, and San Diego Padres came into the season with the most expensive payrolls in the sport, but those three teams are all at least five games under .500 and in last place or second-to-last place in their respective divisions.
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Minnesota Twins vs. Cleveland Guardians
Sonny Gray vs. Tanner Bibee
The Minnesota Twins can effectively shut the door on the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central race this week. Minnesota is 69-63 as of Tuesday morning, while Cleveland is in a distant second place in the division with a mark of 62-70. The Guardians have a below average road record of 29-37 coming into this game, while the Twins are 40-27 at home.
Sonny Gray has had a strong season on the mound for Minnesota. The veteran right-hander has lasted at least six innings in each of his last seven starts, and he has been fantastic over the last month with a 2.48 ERA in 32.2 innings over August. His only poor outing came against Pittsburgh two weeks ago, as Gray has bounced back with authority after a rough July.
Once again, Cleveland has found some solid young pitchers to remain competitive. Tanner Bibee has taken over as the Guardians’ ace since Shane Bieber was injured, and he is 10-3 on the season with the most strikeouts on the team. However, Bibee has given up three home runs in his last two starts, and it looks like opposing teams might be figuring the young righty out. Bibee surrendered three earned runs over five innings in his last start at Minnesota back in June, so don’t be surprised to see him get a little roughed up.
MLB SAME GAME PARLAY: MINNESOTA TWINS RUNLINE + CLEVELAND GUARDIANS UNDER TEAM TOTAL
San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds
Logan Webb vs. Hunter Greene
This series could end up being enormous as the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds are right in the middle of the NL Wild Card race. San Francisco has a little bit of a leg up on Cincinnati at the moment, but the Reds are one of the best road teams in baseball this season with a mark of 37-31 outside of Great American Ballpark.
Cincinnati is led by a collection of talented youngsters. Hunter Greene was projected to be the ace at the start of the season, but he was hurt in mid-June and has really struggled in his first two starts since his injury. Greene allowed 15 hits, eight walks, 13 earned runs, and five home runs over 6.2 innings in starts against Toronto and Arizona, leading to two losses for the Reds.
There’s a good chance that Greene starts putting it together right about now though. The hard-throwing right hander is averaging 12.2 K/9, and the Giants don’t have a lot of power in their lineup. San Francisco ranks 25th in the MLB in slugging percentage (.388), and there isn’t a player with more than 20 home runs on the roster.
The Reds have been decent at the plate even with Jonathan India and Tyler Stephenson having somewhat down years. Spencer Steer is having a strong rookie season, and T.J. Friedl is in the middle of his best offensive campaign. Elly De La Cruz has been very exciting since he was called up, giving the Reds a spark, and I think that Cincinnati has what it takes to make the playoffs for the first time in a decade in a non-pandemic shortened season. That makes the Reds particularly juicy as an underdog per the MLB betting odds.
MLB SAME GAME PARLAY: CINCINNATI REDS MONEYLINE + GREENE OVER TOTAL STRIKEOUTS
