MLB Best Bets for Friday, August 13, 2021

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Yu Darvish was rocked last night and left after 2.2 innings and strikeouts giving us a losing night. Let’s look to rebound on Friday the 13th and make a little spending money for the weekend.

Braves vs. Nationals

Charlie Morton has been a strong addition to the Braves rotation this season. He has been pretty consistent and reliable for about six innings and a few runs. Against the Nationals, he’s been successful in two starts, giving up three runs in 11 innings. He pitched against them in his last start and went six scoreless innings. His opponent in the last game was actually just as strong, Josiah Gray went five innings allowing just a solo home run. Today the over/under is set at 9 runs. The wind is expected to blow out, but I think that only hurts Gray because Morton isn’t as much of a flyball pitcher. I’m playing the Braves -1.5 at -114. The Braves and under 8.5 isn’t a terrible bet at +230 either.

Cubs vs. Marlins

Adbert Alzolay is likely to be one of the faces of the new Cubs youth movement. Today he squares off against the Miami Marlins who also are in the throes of yet another overhaul. You can almost always count on Alzolay to give up multiple runs in a start so I can’t expect a shutout or anything, but I do think this is a chance for the Cubs to end their losing streak and win a game in Miami. They do face Jesus Luzardo who has not been good for the Fish since the trade from the Athletics. Luzardo has given up 10  runs in just over nine innings. Pitching should be aided quite a bit by wind blowing in at 14 miles an hour. I’ll take the Cubs to get just enough hits as this could be something like a 3-2 or 2-1 win today, but with both pitchers, one bad inning could make this “under” game fly over very quickly.

Cardinals vs. Royals

I’m a Jack Flaherty fan. Today he returns to the rotation and takes on the Kansas City Royals. Flaherty hasn’t pitched since May and is looking to get back on track for the start of next season. Mike Minor has been torched by the Cardinals hitters in his experience against them. He has allowed 22 hits in 58 at-bats, which equates to a .379 average. He has given up a run in every one of his starts and given up at least two runs in 18 of his 23 starts this season. There are a few ways I like this game today so I’ll give this as a parlay, or optional three-way play. I like the Cardinals' run line at +112; the Cardinals' moneyline at -146; and the team total over 4.5 at -110. If you parlay them in a combination, great, if not choose which you are most comfortable with. I put them in order of rank/value.