Nine games between 18 teams are on tap for Thursday’s MLB slate. That includes a terrific pitching matchup at Fenway Park between Bryan Woo’s Mariners and Garrett Crochet’s Red Sox. Later, Drew Rasmussen and the Rays will look to earn a road win over Diamondbacks ace Corbin Burnes. Before the start of this evening’s contests, here are three MLB bets worth placing on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Giants -1.5 (+150)
A stellar start in San Francisco has continued this week, with two wins in three games vs. Milwaukee. Now, the Giants will hope to earn a victory in the fourth game of their series with the Brewers. Taking the mound on Thursday is breakout candidate Landen Roupp. An excellent spring training has carried into April; through four starts, the righty has notched a 4.09 ERA and 29 strikeouts.
Roupp’s FIP of 3.25 suggests that he’s gotten a bit unlucky so far. The same can’t be said for Milwaukee hurler Tobias Myers, making his first start of the year. Last season, the 26-year-old pitched to a 3.00 ERA, despite a FIP of 3.93. In his one start vs. San Francisco, Myers was hit for three runs in five innings of work. A bit of rust should also be expected after missing the last three weeks due to an oblique injury. This afternoon, back the better team with a pitching advantage at home.
Nationals ML (-115)
Two straight wins over the Orioles should have Nationals fans pumped up entering Thursday. Despite a mediocre 11-13 record, Washington looks more formidable compared to last season’s squad. The opposite is true of Baltimore, a group with clear issues on the mound. Corbin Burnes is gone, while Zach Eflin (lat) and Grayson Rodriguez (elbow, lat) are on the IL. That leaves the Orioles with one of baseball’s thinnest starting rotations.
Cade Povich will get the nod for Baltimore on Thursday. Since entering the league last season, the righty has posted a dismal 5.42 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. It’s impossible to feel confident about the O’s when the 25-year-old toes the slab. On the other side, Washington will send out de facto ace MacKenzie Gore. The fireballer can struggle with his command, but he does possess massive upside. Through five starts, Gore has surrendered only 11 runs over 29.0 innings (3.41 ERA). A sweep for the Nationals sounds bold on paper, but they have a decisive edge in this inter-league showdown.
Rangers vs. Athletics under 8.5 runs (-112)
Strange but true statistic: the Athletics are scoring more runs per game than the Rangers. While it’s difficult to see that trend lasting the entire season, Texas is in a slump at the plate. Big bats such as Adolis Garcia (106 wRC+), Jake Burger (56 wRC+) and Marcus Semien (32 wRC+) have all disappointed so far. That should give A’s starter J.T. Ginn some confidence tonight. The right-hander owns a 4.09 ERA over ten career appearances in the majors.
The Rangers will hand the ball off to superstar Jacob DeGrom on Thursday. The 36-year-old is coming off his best outing of the year, seven innings of one-run ball vs. the Dodgers. He’ll look to carry that positive momentum into tonight’s AL West matchup. The Athletics are only averaging 3.91 runs per game at home, the sixth-lowest mark in baseball. An ace of DeGrom’s caliber should have little difficulty dominating a mediocre lineup. As long as Ginn contains Texas’ hitters, the under is a late-night wager with plenty of potential.
