MLB Today: Ride Dodgers, Mariners as Road Faves
The Seattle Mariners had no problems extending their winning streak to seven games and the MLB predictions list the visiting Mariners as the favorites once again versus the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.
On the other end of the spectrum, the struggling New York Yankees can’t go the rest of the season without winning, right? The Yankees turn to Carlos Rodon to try to snap an eight-game losing streak.
Arizona’s Zac Gallen and Blake Snell of the San Diego Padres, the two front-runners according to the Las Vegas odds in the National League Cy Young Award race, will both be on the mound on Tuesday.
Six of the nine teams listed by the MLB spread as favorites won on Monday. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins are the road favorites on a busy Tuesday.
According to MLB playoff odds, the Atlanta Braves (+325) have the best odds to win the World Series. The championship odds for the Los Angeles Dodgers have recently moved from +450 to +400.
Tuesday’s Best Bets
The New York Mets pulled off a bit of a shocker by opening the series with the National League-leading Atlanta Braves with a 10-4 win. Look for the Braves to rebound, especially with struggling Mets pitcher Tylor Megill set to start.
Matt Olson has gone seven games without a home run so don’t be surprised to see the National League home run leader pay out at +300 by hitting his 44th home run of the season.
There have been plenty of youngsters who have made their MLB debuts this season. However, the veterans can still get their opportunities. It will be worth watching Pittsburgh’s 36-year-old outfielder Andrew McCutchen going up against 41-year-old Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Wainwright has had a disastrous 2023 season with a 3-8 record and an 8.42 ERA. He has also allowed 15 home runs in 16 starts. McCutchen has three home runs and 11 extra-base hits in his career against Wainwright so keep that in mind when looking at the +680 odds for McCutchen to hit a home run on Tuesday.
Taijuan Walker is not the biggest strikeout pitcher as he has four Ks in 12 innings in his last two starts. However, he is facing a San Francisco team that has one of the worst team batting averages in August so the +115 number set by the sportsbook for Walker to go over 4½ strikeouts is rather tempting. For those who truly believe in Walker, there is a +220 moneyline attached to Walker striking out at least five Giants in a win by the Phillies.
Cy Young Contenders Hit the Mound
Those who bet online and are following the National League Cy Young Award race will have plenty to monitor on Tuesday with the two front-runners both set to start.
Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondback is priced at +175 by the MLB betting lines to win the Cy Young Award and he will get the start versus Jon Gray and the American League West-leading Texas Rangers.
Snell (+225 in the Cy Young odds) meets up against the Miami Marlins and Jesus Luzardo.
This will be the sixth time this season that Gallen and Snell will pitch on the same day.
The previous results were not overly impressive.
The last time it happened came on July 20, when Snell pitched well enough to win with five hits and one run allowed. However, the Padres lost to Toronto 4-0. Gallen surrendered five hits and three runs in seven innings. He did not factor into the decision in a 7-5 loss to Atlanta.
Snell is 0-3 with a 3.91 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 25.1 innings in those five previous starts. The Padres lost all five games.
Gallen is 0-3 with a 7.62 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 26 innings with Arizona going 1-4 in those games.
There are other notable pitchers set to start on Tuesday.
Former Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander will be pitching for the Houston Astros against the Boston Red Sox.
Cleveland’s Noah Syndergaard, who began this season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, is facing his former team.
Wild Time Ahead
The race for the final couple of playoff spots in the National League will be entertaining, to say the least.
The Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers are pulling away in the National League East and West Division races while the Milwaukee Brewers lead the hard-charging Chicago Cubs by 2½ games in the National League Central Division.
Defending National League champion Philadelphia has some breathing room in the wild-card race. However, there are five teams separated by just two games for the final two postseason berths.
The Cubs and San Francisco Giants currently hold down the final two wild-card spots. Arizona is just a half-game back of the Giants, Cincinnati is a game back and Miami 1½ games out of the final playoff spot.
San Francisco is just 3-7 over the last 10 games with Cincinnati and Miami going 4-6. That has opened the door for Arizona (8-2 in the last 10) to make its move.
The Cubs (-165) are looking good to make the playoffs. The odds for Miami (+170) and Cincinnati (+200) aren’t quite as promising.
In the American League, Seattle is a game ahead of Toronto with Boston four games back in the battle for the final playoff berth.
Older Brother Comes Out On Top
Typically, a matchup of two sub-.500 teams vying to stay out of the cellar in the National League Central Division would not be garnering much interest. However, both the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals feature a Palacios brother.
Joshua Palacios drove in a career-high five runs to lead the Pirates to the 11-1 win over St. Louis on Monday.
Joshua, playing for his third team in as many seasons, hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning and added a two-run double in the eighth inning.
St. Louis’ Richie Palacios came into the game as a pinch hitter and singled in his only at-bat.
It was the first team the brothers faced each other at the MLB level.
Is Eight Enough?
Eight is the number of choice on Tuesday as the Seattle Mariners go after their eight win in a row and the New York Yankees look to snap an eight-game losing streak.
Catcher Cal Raleigh hit two of Seattle’s four home runs in a 14-2 win over the Chicago White Sox to improve to 70-55. The Mariners have been listed by the MLB odds as the favorite four times during the seven-game winning streak and are favored once again on the Moneyline to win on Tuesday as rookie Bryan Woo pitches for the first time since Aug. 3.
The Yankees have been outscored 51-20 during the losing streak and were favored in just three of those contests.
Injury Update
Here is a look at the injuries that could impact Tuesday’s games.
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vlad Guerrero Jr. left the last game with a finger injury and it is uncertain if he will be in the lineup against Baltimore on Tuesday. Guerrero leads Toronto with 72 RBIs and is tied for the team lead with 18 home runs.
Baltimore outfielder Anthony Santander is questionable for Tuesday’s game versus Toronto after missing the last two games. Santander has driven in a team-best 65 runs for the American League-leading Orioles. The Orioles are already without outfielder Aaron Hicks.
Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duren has missed the last two games due to a toe injury and he is questionable for the matchup with Houston. The good news is that pitcher Tanner Houck is expected to make his scheduled start after landing on the injured list with a facial fracture.
New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon (hamstring) is expected to be activated off the injured list in time to make the start against the Washington Nationals.
Atlanta second baseman Ozzie Albies is not expected to return until September with a hamstring issue.
San Francisco Giants shortstop Thairo Estrada is questionable with a hand injury that forced him to miss the last two games. Pitcher Ryan Walker is on the paternity list.
St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar (abdominal) is on the injured list.
Milwaukee outfielder Sal Frelick (hamstring) is questionable for the matchup with Minnesota.
For the Pirates, outfielder Henry Davis landed on the injured list while pitcher Colin Holderman is questionable for Tuesday’s game against St. Louis.
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Jason Heyward is questionable to face Cleveland on Tuesday with a hip injury that resulted in him missing the last two games.
Minnesota Twins infielder Jose Miranda is on the injured list with a shoulder issue.
The odds and predictions in the article are based on the time of writing and publication. They may differ as to when the actual event takes place.
