Written by Keith Gaxiola
We have an action packed Sunday ahead of us with 15 games over 7 hours, a baseball lover’s dream.
The NL Central 1st place Cardinals wrap up their series against the surging Red Sox, the Yankees face the Blue Jays in a key divisional matchup, and the Dodgers try to right the wobbly ship against the Cleveland Guardians.
Last week, I was 4 for 6, which brings my overall record to 9 for 12. Some tough picks today but ride with me and let’s see if we can’t make a buck.
Odds provided by Bet365 Sportsbook New Jersey.
1:35 PM EST St. Louis Cardinals (+135) @ Boston Red Sox (-155)
The St. Louis Cardinals sit atop their division, and face a red hot Red Sox, who have won 7 of their last 10 games. St. Louis has played pretty mediocre baseball over the last two weeks, but their offense is loaded with talent, and they have the best corner duo in MLB with Nolan Arenado at 3B and Paul GoldSchmidt at 1B. Arenado has gone deep in each of the first two games, so I like Arenado over .5 homeruns at plus money for a little bonus player prop best bet.
Andre Pallante, who owns an impressive ERA of 1.46, has pitched well over 37 innings this year, and will get the start for the Cardinals. I think his luck runs out against the streaking Red Sox bats, and gets hit hard, giving up 3 runs minimum in his start. The Red Sox plan to start Nick Pivetta, and if you look at his overall record and ERA, you’re probably thinking, “this dude is going to get shelled”. However, if you take a closer look, you’ll see he’s a completely different pitcher than the one from earlier in the season. Pivetta is 6-1 over his last 7 starts with a 2.06 ERA. He will silence the Cardinals offense later today, which came alive during their resounding Saturday night win.
This is a tough choice after the last two games have gone over but both teams will want to close out this series quickly and move on, so I’m taking the under in this one.
Best Bets – BOS ML / Full Game u9 Runs
1:37 PM EST New York Yankees (-160) @ Toronto Blue Jays (+140)
This divisional game starts just two minutes after the Cards @ Sox, so you’ll have to flip channels for this one. The Yankees just can’t seem to lose (Sorry Red Sox fans), and after winning 12-3 on Friday and 4-0 on Saturday, they will complete the sweep today. Their pitching and hitting are running like a well-oiled machine, and there’s just no stopping them. The Blue Jays haven’t played horribly as of late, but they’re 4-6 over the last 10 games and are just unlucky to have to face a team that is dominating the entire league.
It continues to look like it’s the Yanks at the top, and then everyone else far, far below.
Luis Severino (4-1) faces off against Yusei Kikuchi (2-3). Severino has pitched well since coming back from injury, while Kikuchi has never found the same success as he had while playing in Japan. I think both pitchers give up some runs, but Kikuchi will surely feel the wrath of the Bronx Bombers. Aaron Judge, who is the front runner of the AL MVP race, and leads the league with 25 home runs, propels his team to yet another victory.
Best Bets – NYY ML / Full Game u9 Runs
4:10 PM PST Cleveland Guardians(+140) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (-160)
I thought the Dodgers were on the right track after sweeping the Angels in their short two-game series, then dropped the first game on Friday against the Guardians 0-2.
Offense and pitching looked solid last night, and they won by a score of 7-1, but the victory was overshadowed by the news of Mookie Betts being placed on the Injured List. He missed the first two games of the series because of a “rib contusion”. Turns out, after an MRI, he has a fractured rib that’ll probably take a couple of weeks to heal.
The Guardians have played well recently, and after a rough start to the year, have turned things around. Over their last 10 games, they’ve gone 8-2, but I think the Dodgers take the third game of this series.
Shane Bieber starts on the mound for the Guardians today, and he hasn’t been as good as in recent years, but he’s still a solid pitcher. I expect the Dodgers to strike first, and cash in at least a few runs. I have a feeling LA’s offensive success carries over from yesterday. Andrew Heaney is scheduled to make his first start in two months, and I don’t expect him to be as sharp as he was before he was sidelined to injury. Because of this, I’m hammering the over.
Best Bets – LAD ML / Full Game o7.5 Runs