MLB Best Bets for Friday, September 3, 2021
We were chugging along yesterday… we had five runs in four innings from the Marlins and Mets and seven runs in seven innings. Of course, that last run never came. Then in the Braves/Rockies game we had a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the third. Unfortunately, the Rockies scored five runs and we lost our bet. Oh well, 1-2 on the night, let’s go 3-0 today.
Mets vs. Nationals
Tonight features a battle of left-handed pitchers. Rich Hill for the Mets takes the mound. Hill has been a consistent pitcher this season with his ERA around 4.00 in each of his splits. He has faced the Nationals three times this season and allowed 9 earned runs in 14 innings. Overall, though, National hitters are only batting .221 off of him in their career. Sean Nolin gets his fourth start this season, and amazingly enough, it is his third start against the Mets. He has allowed six runs in 8.1 innings against them. With the wind blowing slightly in, Hill on the mound, and Nolin looking like he may be getting more accustomed to big league pitching, I think this game stays under the 9 run total that is currently posted. Play the under at -104.
Rangers vs. Angels
The MVP is taking the mound tonight. You read that right, not the Cy Young, the MVP. Shohei Ohtani makes his 11th home start this season and he brings in a 1.92 ERA. Ohtani has given up five earned runs in 15 innings to the Rangers this season. He has yet to allow a home run to any Rangers hitter and is holding their team to a .231 average against him. Glenn Otto pitches for the Rangers tonight, he only has one other appearance this year. In his only other outing, he allowed no runs and only two hits to the Astros. I lean towards the under 7.5 runs in tonight’s game, but there isn’t enough data to make it a strong play. Instead, I like the Angels to beat the Rangers by two or more runs tonight at +104.
Dodgers vs. Giants
A nice battle between the NL’s best happens tonight. David Price goes for the Dodgers and Anthony DeSclafani pitches for the Giants. Price has pitched in three games and started two against the Giants this season, he’s allowed three earned runs over eight innings. DeSclafani has had a great year unless you focus in on his starts against the Dodgers. Against the LA team, he has faced them five times and given up 22 earned runs. Against all of the rest of the MLB, he has given up 29 earned runs. Now, in fairness, he allowed 10 of those runs to the Dodgers in one start. I think the Dodgers should be able to get over four runs in this game and am going to play them at over 4.5 at -102.
