We have a full 16-game schedule in the majors Tuesday, beginning at 6:40 p.m. ET with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds. There are a lot good matchups happening across the league that will feature a ton of betting implications.
We ended last week on a relatively good note, going 1-1 with our best bets for Saturday. Our lone winning bet was Toronto Blue Jays rookie starting pitcher Alek Manoah, who went over 5.5 strikeouts (-115) against the Detroit Tigers. Manoah finished with 8 strikeouts in 6.1 IP as the Blue Jays defeated the Tigers 3-2 in extra innings.
Lastly, we could not ride the Yankees’ hot streak (+100) as they lost 3-2 to the Oakland Athletics, snapping their historic 13-game winning streak. The Yankees have now lost three straight games heading into Tuesday night.
Here we’re going to be tracking all the best MLB picks based on the odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook for Tuesday’s baseball action.
MLB picks for Tuesday, August 31st — Record YTD (42-36)
Toronto Blue Team Total over 5.5 runs (-135) vs. Baltimore
If you are looking for an edge in tonight’s game between the Orioles and Blue Jays, then you need to think about playing Toronto’s TT over 5.5 runs. The Blue Jays have scored more than 5.5 runs in 6 out of 10 games this season against the Orioles. Furthermore, Toronto will be going up against Orioles’ starting pitcher Keegan Akin, who has a 1-8 record and 7.26 ERA in 19 games (12 starts) this season. He has an 8.25 ERA on the road this season and gave up 6 earned runs in only 4.1 IP in his lone start against the Blue Jays. Toronto has one of the best home offenses, averaging 5.38 runs per game.
Cole Irvin over 3.5 strikeouts (-115) vs. Detroit
I am going to out on a limb for this player prop because of how low the number is and the team that Athletics starter Cole Irvin is going up against in Detroit. Irvin is not a strikeout pitcher, but he’s done admirably well for Oakland with 97 Ks in 144.0 IP. The 27-year-old has gone over 3.5 strikeouts in 12 out of 25 starts this season, which includes 2 out of his last 3 road outings.
This will be the second time that Irvin is facing the Tigers as he recorded 6 strikeouts in 6.0 IP in their first meeting on April 17 at the Coliseum. Detroit averages 9.46 strikeouts per game and 8.91 strikeouts per game at home. I think Irvin can at least give us 4 Ks as the A’s need to keep pace in the AL Wild Card race.
Zach Plesac over 3.5 strikeouts (+100) vs. Kansas City
We are going to take another risk on a strikeout prop, but this time at plus money. Cleveland starting pitcher Zach Plesac is not a strikeout pitcher by any means. Instead, he gets more fly ball-outs, which have been in the double digits in 4 out of his last 5 starts. But Plesac still has recorded 73 strikeouts in 107.1 IP for Cleveland this season.
The 26-year-old starter has gone over 3.5 strikeouts in 12 out of 19 starts this season, which includes 3 out of his last 4 starts. Plesac is averaging 4.8 strikeouts per game in his last five road outings. The 6-foot-3 pitcher has faced the Royals once this season, which happened on July 8, where he produced 4 strikeouts in 4.0 IP. Kansas City does not produce many Ks at 7.95 per game, good for third in the majors. But at +100 odds, it’s not a bad bet to play with a low number of strikeouts.
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