Pete Alonso @ Philadelphia Phillies
- Alonso has taken Phillies starter Aaron Nola deep on five occasions.
Ezequiel Tovar vs Chicago Cubs
- Tovar has recorded 2 hits and 4 at-bats against Cubs starter Javier Assad, including a double registering an average exit velocity of 94.6 MPH.
Kevin Newman vs Milwaukee Brewers
- Newman has taken Freddy Peralta deep in the past and also recorded a pair of doubles over the course of 15 plate appearances.
This is a big series starting Saturday between two NL East rivals.
The Mets are the hottest team in the league right now, and although they won’t catch the Phils atop the division, they are in the driver’s seat to snag a Wild Card spot and contend.
Veteran lefty Jose Quintana is a big reason for New York’s recent turnaround, particularly over the last three weeks where he’s allowed just one earned run in as many starts.
The 35-year-old blanked the Reds last week across six innings, similar to his start three weeks ago against the Padres in San Diego.
Philly is one of the best teams in the league against southpaws, but Quintana has kept them in check allowing a combined five earned runs across two starts this season.
He’s yet to have a Phillies hitter take him deep, so on the back of his recent success, I’m backing Quintana’s arm to do the talking in a Mets win.
- Tip: Back the Mets to Win @ $2.35
- Player Pick: Jose Quintana Under Strikeout Total
Garrett Crochet takes the rubber for his 30th start of the season hoping to bounce back from a rough outing against the Red Sox last week.
Chicago’s left-hander gave up four earned runs in just two frames, far and away his worst start since giving up seven runs to the Cubs close to a month ago.
The A’s have been better than most thought they would be heading into the season, but with only five wins from their last 10 games, alongside a the fact they rank 26th in the league against left-handed pitching, this looks like one of the rare spots where you can bet the White Sox with confidence.
- Tip: Back the White Sox to Win @ $2.05
- Player Pick: Garrett Crochet Over Strikeout Total
Jacob deGrom is slated to make his first start of the season for the Rangers on Saturday after missing most of the year due to Tommy John
The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner has looked sharp in four rehab starts, allowing just runs across 10 2/3rd innings to go with 15 strikeouts and only three hits allowed.
As I wrote yesterday, Seattle has been scoring runs for fun over the last week though, currently ranked Top 5in the category alongside a strikeout percentage that ranks in the bottom half of the league.
A pitcher of deGrom’s caliber could easily come out and dominate, but I’m willing to bet on some rust from the 36-year-old on the road.
- Tip: Back the Mariners to Win @ $1.95
- Player Pick: Jacob deGrom Under Strikeout Total