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31 August 2023

The races in the American League and both Central Division races tightened up a bit with the Chicago Cubs continuing to defy the MLB predictions with their second-half surge.

Bryce Harper made some MLB news by hitting his 300th career home run while Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees added another chapter to his quest for the American League Cy Young Award.

There are just four games on Thursday’s schedule, but one of them should attract the attention of those making MLB picks. Red-hot Lance Lynn will pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Spencer Strider goes for the Atlanta Braves in a matchup of the teams with the best records in the National League.

Seven teams listed by the MLB spreads as underdogs won on Wednesday. The San Diego Padres are the only home team favored on Thursday.

When making MLB predictions, be sure to check on the status of Miami designated hitter Jorge Soler.

According to MLB playoff odds, the Atlanta Braves (+320) have the best odds to win the World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers (+400), Houston Astros (+650), Baltimore Orioles (+850) and Texas Rangers (+1000) aren’t far behind.

Thursday’s Best Prop Bets

Jake Burger of the Miami Marlins is hitting .326 with nine extra-base hits in 25 games in August. With that in mind, feel free to jump all over the +120 moneyline for Burger to go over 1.5 total bases in Thursday’s game against Washington.

In the same game, go with Miami starting pitcher Braxton Garrett at +165, according to the sportsbook, to have at least five strikeouts in a win by the Marlins.

Marcell Ozuna is tied for second on the Atlanta Braves with 23 runs scored in August and that makes the +125 odds for Ozuna to score a run worth rolling with.

Bryce Harper had Philly rocking after his 300th career homer! �� pic.twitter.com/xicnYsFWJv

The Rich Get Richer

The decision by the Los Angeles Angels to cut loose some recently acquired players, including pitcher Lucas Giolito, begs the question to be asked about which pitchers who were sent packing at the trade deadline have helped or hurt their new teams the most.

Here is a look at some of the biggest names who joined title contenders.

Justin Verlander is 4-1 with a 2.79 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 29 innings in five starts since being acquired from the New York Mets. Houston gave up two of its top four prospects to bring Verlander back to the Astros.
Lance Lynn is 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA since the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired him from the Chicago White Sox while Ryan Yarbrough is 3-0 with an ERA of 1.86 in six games out of the bullpen since going from the Royals to the Dodgers.
The duo of Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery have gone 5-2 in 10 starts for the Texas Rangers. Montgomery has a 2.30 ERA with Scherzer coming in at 2.64.
Michael Lorenzen threw a no-hitter in his second start (first one at home) after being traded from the Detroit Tigers to the Philadelphia Phillies. He is 3-1 with a 4.22 ERA in four starts with the Phillies.
Aaron Civale is 2-1 with a 2.55 ERA in five starts with Tampa Bay.
Paul Sewald has an 0-1 record and seven saves for the Arizona Diamondbacks since the Seattle Mariners made the surprise move of dealing him away.
Scott Barlow is 0-1 with a 4.00 ERA in 12 relief appearances for San Diego while Rich Hill is 0-3 with an ERA of 8.50 since landing with the Padres.
Jack Flaherty is 1-2 with a 6.41 ERA in four starts for the Baltimore Orioles.
Drew Rom is 0-2 with an 8.00 ERA in two starts with the Cardinals while infielder Cesar Prieto could be in St. Louis soon.
Brad Hand has allowed 10 hits and six runs in nine innings since joining the Atlanta Braves.
Jordan Hicks is 1-2 with four saves and a 3.97 ERA since heading from St. Louis to Toronto.
David Robertson does have four saves for the Miami Marlins, but also has an 8.18 ERA in 11 games.

Michael Lorenzen, Nasty 85mph Changeup. �� pic.twitter.com/KaFrrbhHcl
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 29, 2023

Enticing Pitching Matchup in Tinseltown

Lynn has a chance to add to his stats as he is set to start when the Los Angeles Dodgers face MLB strikeout leader Spencer Strider and the Atlanta Braves in a matchup of the top two teams in the National League.

That is the biggest game on a pretty quiet day and night around the MLB parks.

The Braves lead the National League East by 13½ games over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Dodgers, who are 24-4 in August, have built up a 14½-game lead on San Francisco in the NL West.

The visiting Braves are listed by the MLB betting lines as the favorite in Thursday’s matchup.

Closing the Gap

While the Dodgers and Braves continue to pull away in their division races, a couple of other divisions might get a little more interesting.

The Chicago Cubs won back-to-back games against the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers and are now just three games back.

In the AL Central, Cleveland’s Kole Calhoun hit a three-run home run in the 10th inning in a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Twins.

The Guardians still trail Minnesota by five games.

What would a division race breakdown be without an update on the AL West?

With Houston winning its fifth game in a row and Seattle bouncing back with a victory, they are tied atop the AL West. The Texas Rangers, who led the division for most of the season, are a game out of first place.

Big Knocks

Let’s take a look at two of the most noteworthy hits on Wednesday.

Bryce Harper hit his 300th career home run in a 10-8 loss to the Angels. In his five seasons with the Phillies, he has 116 home runs and the rest of them came during his time with the Washington Nationals.

The last player to hit the 300-homer mark with the Phillies was Ryan Howard back in 2012. Before that, the last time it happened came in 1981 when Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt accomplished the feat.

Tommy Edman of the St. Louis Cardinals delivered the walk-off hit for the second game in a row. The last time a St. Louis player did that, it was Albert Pujols doing the honors in 2011.

Edman hit a two-run home run of Josh Hader in the bottom of the ninth inning in Wednesday’s 5-4 win.