After the four slowest days in the yearly sports calendar, it is glorious to say that we have all 30 MLB teams in action this evening. As per usual, that means thousands of possible bets on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Allow me to narrow down that scope. Here are a couple of my best baseball picks for Friday.
Los Angeles Angels at Philadelphia Phillies
Jesus Luzardo 7+ Strikeouts (-130)
Jesus Luzardo 8+ Strikeouts (+150)
Jesus Luzardo 9+ Strikeouts (+290)
This is what we like to call a ladder bet, folks. Your preference to risk may vary, so climb off said ladder at any time you want, but I feel like tonight is a matchup that Jesus Luzardo can really exploit — maybe even for double-digit strikeouts. Let’s go through what we know.
First and foremost, Luzardo is a strikeout pitcher. The left-hander comes into Friday’s action in possession of an 81st percentile strikeout rate (27.3%) and an 81st percentile whiff rate (30.1%). He’s also no stranger to huge strikeout totals, as the southpaw has registered at least seven strikeouts in six of his last 10 starts. For 2025 as a whole, Luzardo has 10 or more strikeouts on four occasions, including a season-high 11 strikeouts against the Nationals back on March 29.
Let’s be clear, though. These bets are just as much about the Angels as they are Luzardo. Los Angeles has been one of MLB’s most strikeout-happy clubs in 2025, finishing the season’s first-half with a 25.9% strikeout rate and a 12.1% swinging strike rate that sit second among all teams. Somehow, things have been even worse for the Angels’ lineup when opposed by a left-hander. Within the split, Los Angeles sports a 28.2% strikeout rate — easily the highest figure in baseball.
Chicago White Sox at Pittsburgh Pirates
White Sox ML (+133)
I don’t blame you if this is a game you just want to ignore completely, but at the same time, how many chances do we get to fade the Pirates as massive favorites?
I simply can not get behind any aspect of Pittsburgh’s roster at the moment. The Pirates have been underwhelming in the run scoring department all season long, ye the past 30 days have been even more hellish than usual. Within that span, Pittsburgh not only sports the National League’s lowest wRC+ (72), but the whole MLB’s lowest ISO (.103). That’s what happens when you’re the lone squad to hit fewer than 20 home runs in a month-long stretch. For context, Seattle’s hit 47 homers in that same length of time.
Then there’s Bailey Falter. Don’t be fooled by a 3.79 ERA for the lefty. Falter has been outperforming his expected statistics all season long, but he’s been especially fraudulent in his past five starts. It’s a stretch of 22.1 innings where Falter has pitched to a 5.24 ERA and a 7.20 FIP. Heck, it’s a span where Falter’s given up as many opponent extra-base hits (13) as he has strikeouts (13). That’s never a good sign!
The White Sox aren’t much better in the grand scheme of things, yet they do have some bats that have thrived against LHPs in 2025: Edgar Quero, Luis Robert Jr. and Austin Slater. They’re also at plus-money. Not to simplify the process to too extreme a level, but that’s still the main draw here.
