Mike Yastrzemski vs Kansas City Royals
- The Yaz Man has homered twice off Royals starter Michael Lorenzen in just five plate appearances.
Kyle Tucker @ Miami Marlins
- Tucker has faced Marlins starter Ryan Weathers only twice during his career. He’s failed to record a hit, but he did make contact with a ball that registered over 96 MPH off the end of the bat. In the midst of a three-week slump, this looks a good spot for the Cubs’ big free agent signing to return to form.
DJ LeMahieu vs Texas Rangers
- Whether LeMahieu earns a spot as the DH in the Yankees’ lineup remains to be seen, but with a whopping six homers off Patrick Corbin, manager Aaron Boone would be crazy to leave him in the dugout.
TBD (ATL) vs Mitchell Parker (WAS)
The Braves are starting to make some noise in the NL East after a sluggish start saw them nearly 10 games below .500.
Six wins from their last 10 has Atlanta back in the green in terms of wins and losses, and they look a good bet to add to their winning streak with the Nats sending righty Mitch Parker to the mound.
The 25-year-old was a name to watch at the start of the season, but he’s really fallen off through the month of May, allowing a combined 13 earned runs across three starts to go with eight walks.
The Braves got to him last week when they scored four runs in as many innings, so with a superb 3-1 record following an off day, I think Atlanta is a great bet here H2H.
Tarik Skubal (DET) vs Erick Fedde (STL)
Skubal is making his 10th start for the Tigers coming off a rough five-run outing against the Red Sox last week.
In saying that, the reigning Cy Young winner still struck out 11 and walked only one batter, so it’s no real surprise to find Detroit has short as $1.55 in betting as they currently sit atop the AL Central with a 4.5 game lead.
For the Redbirds, their form has been just as good over the last two weeks, winning eight of their last 10 games. Erick Fedde has thrown back to back scoreless outings on the road against the Nats nad Phillies, while he’s also allowed only three homers on the year.
Skubal’s crooked 10.29 ERA at Busch Stadium is worth factoring in, but given most of that damage came back in the weird 2020 season, I think the Under is the best play here with both arms firing their best stuff.
Michael Lorenzen (KC) vs Hayden Birdsong (SF)
I feel pretty good about entertaining the Giants here following yesterday’s 3-1 loss to start this series.
Low-scoring games have become commonplace whenever the Royals are involved, but we could see the Giants put up a big number on the scoresheet with Lorenzen struggling to keep the runs down on the road this year.
Kansas City’s veteran right-hander allowed five earned runs in Baltimore to start the month and another four in Houston last week, ballooning his road ERA out to 5.35 on the season.
So far, the Giants have gone 12-7 this year after a loss, so I’m happy to take the slight value on offer here.