MLB Best Bets for Tuesday, July 6th
Just an absolutely ugly return to the diamond yesterday. The Cubs were blown out, lot of late runs in the other games, and we go down with a goose egg. Let’s get ‘em back today and turn a triple play.
Phillies vs. Cubs
Well, we are going back to Wrigley, but I’m taking the other side of this one. Jake Arrieta has been awful this season. He’s giving up basically two home runs every nine innings, and the wind is blowing out today. Somehow, the Cubs opened as a favorite, and the Phillies have been bet heavily and moved to a favorite. Aaron Nola hasn’t been very good this season either, a 5.32 ERA on the road and slightly higher in night games. Play the over 9.5 runs in this game. The biggest scare here is that the Cubs and their hitting woes continue and can’t contribute anything to the 5 or 6 runs the Phillies should score. Want to go for the big score, play the Phillies and over 9.5 for +195.
Reds vs. Royals
Luis Castillo has a 5.40 ERA on the road, but since the start of June, he’s been significantly more effective. He had a 1.71 ERA in June and had a quality start in his only July outing. Royals hitters have had some success against him, batting .310 against him. Kris Bubic has bounced around between the bullpen and rotation. He’s had some nice outings and some rough ones. So, how do we know which Bubic will be there tonight? We don’t. But the Reds hitters have a .433 average against him. I think runs should be scored in this game, but I trust the Reds to do it more than the Royals, so I’m taking the Reds to get over 5 runs at -124.
White Sox vs. Twins
Carlos Rodon has had a very strong campaign so far and continues to do so. He has taken a step up on the road with a 1.71 ERA and looks to continue that tonight against the Twins. I've seen them quite a bit, and I can tell you that the Twins aren’t hitting Rodon great, but they are at .253. For the Twins, their pitcher, Jose Berrios, has held the Sox to just a .212 lifetime average against him. He gave up 10 hits to them over just five innings in his last start. The Sox are under .500 on the road, but the Twins are also under .500 at home, making this a tough one to call. However, I think the Sox have the edge with Rondon on the mound, even though they are on a small slide, I’m taking the White Sox at -116.