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I’ve got eyes on one game that should be a pitchers’ duel and another that should feature a whole lot of offense — at least from one team. Both games have a pair of bets on DraftKings Sportsbook I like.
If you want to sweat out these picks with me, follow me on Twitter: @Nick_Friar.
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs
Freddy Peralta over 8.5 strikeouts -120
First five innings under 3.5 runs -105
There won’t be any early fireworks in Milwaukee on Monday. Freddy Peralta has been rolling all season, Kyle Hendricks is finally back on track and neither offense is doing well against right-handed pitching.
The Brewers have one of the 10 lowest team on-base percentages against righties over the last two weeks, and their team ISO has been a rough .141 during that span. So, Hendricks should be able to build on his already strong June, now coming off back-to-back six-inning shutout performances. His worst inning in 2021 has been the first, but he’s facing a Brewers lineup that’s 18th in first inning runs per game and second-to-last in that category when only looking at home games.
But, the Chicago righty will still only put on the second-best pitching performance at American Family Field Monday. Peralta is in position to dominate the Cubs.
No team is striking out more frequently against right-handed pitching over the last two weeks than the Cubs, and no team has a lower OPS during that span. This has the makings of a lengthy, strikeout-filled outing for the Milwaukee right-hander, who just struck out 10 vs. the Diamondbacks last start — the second time he’s struck out nine-plus in June (nine vs. Arizona on June 14). Peralta threw six shutout innings last time out and has only given up more than one run in one of his last five outings (two vs. Cincinnati on June 16).
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $250K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
Houston Astros vs. Baltimore Orioles
Astros over 5.5 runs -135
Thomas Eshelman over 5.5 hits allowed +125
The Orioles may have snapped their six-game losing streak on Friday vs. Toronto, but the Blue Jays put the Baltimore bullpen to work all weekend. So the Orioles will need Eshelman to put in a little work vs. Houston on Monday. Don’t expect Baltimore to try and stretch him out for five innings — that hasn’t happened in either of his first two starts. But Eshelman should at least last four frames, like he did last time out vs. the Astros — a start in which he gave up eight hits and six runs.
No lineup has been tougher on right-handed pitching than the Astros over the last two weeks. They have the best OPS (.962) and the third-best ISO (.250) against righties during said span. This isn’t a hard offense to back right now.
One last note on the hits allowed prop: Eshelman doesn’t walk batters at a high frequency. I’m always more inclined to take the over on a hits allowed prop when dealing with a pitcher who doesn’t nibble and forces hitters to make mistakes instead.
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