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All times Eastern | Game odds via SportsLine consensus
🔥 The Hot Ticket
Giants at Phillies, 6:40 p.m. | Watch live: MLB.tv
- The Pick: Phillies (-140)
- Key trend: The Phillies have won seven of their last 10 home games.
Phillies starter Taijuan Walker has had a knack for giving up runs in the early innings. However, he always seems to settle down and keep his team in the ballgame. Regardless of how Walker starts, I'm banking on the Phillies to pick up a win here.
Walker has quietly had one of the more solid seasons in all of baseball. The veteran right-hander is tied for second with 13 wins to his credit. The Phillies have also been victorious in 10 of Walker's last 12 starts dating back to June. In four of Walker's last five wins, he has put the Phillies in at least a two-run hole in the first three innings; however, the offense has always rallied behind him. Even if the trend continues, I'm confident the Phillies can pull out the win.
The Giants offense has been struggling lately. San Francisco is averaging just 2.8 runs over its last five contests, including just one run or fewer in two of them. Aside from their offensive shortcomings, the Giants will be sending top prospect Kyle Harrison to the mound for his first career start Tuesday. Harrison, who is the No. 20 prospect in MLB, wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire at Triple-A Sacramento. The 22-year-old hurler has registered a 4.66 ERA and tallied 105 strikeouts in 20 starts on the year. At the least, I'd expect the Phillies' dynamic lineup to be able to scratch a few runs across the plate against Harrison -- and that might be enough considering how the Giants' bats are struggling.
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💰 More MLB picks
Reds at Angels, 9:38 p.m. | Watch live: MLB.tv
- The Pick: Over 9 (-114)
- Key trend: The over is 7-3 in the Angels last 10 games.
Two of the league's top offenses will go head-to-head in Los Angeles, so there's no doubt the over has to be the play in this spot.
The Angels were looking to shore up their rotation when the team acquired starting pitcher Lucas Giolito from the White Sox at the trade deadline. However, Giolito has been roughed up since joining his new team last month. He has a 4.75 ERA in four starts since joining the Angels, and he has surrendered at least four earned runs in two of those outings. He's also given up six home runs in those four starts. Considering the Reds have scored the 10th-most runs in the league, it's quite possible Giolito gets lit up yet again.
Meanwhile, the Reds are sending right-hander Graham Ashcraft to the mound. Ashcraft had been solid of late but still has yielded at least three earned runs in two of his last three starts. He's also been vulnerable to the long ball as he's given up three home runs in his last three starts. That's a huge factor with the Angels ranking third league-wide in home runs.
It's possible that the majority of the runs come off of Giolito, but the Reds certainly could give up their fair share.
Mariners at White Sox, 8:10 p.m. | Watch live: MLB.tv
- The Pick: Mike Clevinger Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-115)
- Key trend: Clevinger recorded at least six strikeouts in two of his last four starts.
The White Sox may have let us down on Friday. Still, I'm extremely confident in starter Mike Clevinger's strikeouts prop against a free-swinging team team like the Mariners.
Clevinger has racked up at least six strikeouts in two of his last four starts, and he is coming off a seven-strikeout performance against the Cubs in his most recent start. It also doesn't hurt that the Mariners rank second in the majors in strikeouts. Seattle is averaging 11.2 strikeouts over its past five games, including registering at least 11 punch-outs in four of those contests. Clevinger has lasted at least six innings in five of his last 10 starts; if he's able to go deep into the game, he should be able to clear the number here.
