Boy, things are not going well for the Atlanta Braves. Blake Snell and the Los Angeles Dodgers are not inclined to make it better.
After last night’s 3-1 victory, the Dodgers are looking to bring home the sweep and start the season off 8-0. The Braves fell to 0-6 as their early season disaster continues. As if the records weren’t disparate enough, the pitching matchups hammer home the chasm between these teams.
On one mound, you have Bryce Elder, recently called up from Triple-A to replace the injured Reynaldo Lopez. On the other, you have Blake Snell, the two-time Cy Young award winner who inked a five-year $182 million deal with the defending champs in the offseason. And while I do feel some pity for Atlanta, we might as well bet on their failures.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Los Angeles is the home favorite at -258, and the run total is set at 8. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bet for this contest.
Top Blake Snell Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
8+ Strikeouts Thrown (-120)
I know, it’s crazy: The all-time leader in K/9 will punch some guys out tonight. What a hot take artist you are, Charlie!
There are two reasons this has extra value to me. In his first start, Snell only punched out two batters across five innings. The books aren’t foolish, and they know that doesn’t happen to him; in fact, he had two or fewer strikeouts just once last year in 20 starts. Still, it nerfs the juice ever so slightly.
Two, this Braves lineup has struggled in their careers against Snell. Their 1-4 hitters are 5-for-32 with 14 strikeouts. What’s worse for Atlanta is that the 5-9 hitters have little experience and still struggled. That group is 1-for-10 with two punchies. All of this adds up to a high strikeout outing for the Dodgers’ new rotation weapon.
Under 17.5 Outs Recorded
This may seem incongruous to the first line. Eight strikeouts in fewer than five innings is a narrow path to count on for most pitchers. For Snell, it’s par for the course, especially in the early season.
Last year it was exacerbated due to his late start to the season, but the pattern held. Blake didn’t pitch past the 5th inning until his seventh start of the year. I would put my money on Snell going five innings and no longer, especially if LA can put the hurt on Elder. A tidy five innings filled with strikeouts works just fine for us.
