Pittsburgh Pirates (34-49, 4th NL Central) at Milwaukee Brewers (47-37, 1st NL Central)
Milwaukee is coming off a bad series loss to the Chicago Cubs yet are still favored in this one at -210. Aaron Ashby (1-6, 4.60 ERA) gets the ball for Milwaukee and Pittsburgh counters with J.T. Brubaker (2-7, 4.28 ERA). It’s not the greatest pitching matchup and that could benefit Pittsburgh, especially since Ashby wasn’t great last week against Pittsburgh. By no means is Pittsburgh the better team but they’ve been playing well and it’s unclear if Milwaukee is deserving of that heavy favoritism. Milwaukee is 26-41 as the favorite this year and that doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence.
The Pick: Pittsburgh ML (+190)
New York Yankees (60-23, 1st AL East) at Boston Red Sox (45-38, 3rd AL East)
New York is the first team to 60 wins and are favored in this one at -130. There’s some good value in New York at that number because Boston has lost three in a row, including a series loss to Tampa Bay. Boston hasn’t played terribly and has gone on some great winning streaks but this is not one of those times, as they’ve dropped seven of their last 10. New York sends out lefty Nestor Cortes (7-3, 2.44 ERA) and Boston counters with Connor Seabold (0-1, 8.31 ERA). Outfielder Aaron Judge and first baseman Anthony Rizzo are day-to-day for New York but both are expected to play.
San Francisco Giants (41-39, 3rd NL West) at San Diego Padres (48-36, 2nd NL West)
San Francisco isn’t seeing the same success as they did last year and San Diego certainly seems like a playoff contender. However, San Diego sends out Blake Snell (0-5, 5.13 ERA), who’s been far from his former Cy Young self. San Francisco has yet to name a starter at this time. In a small sample size, San Francisco is 14-5 as the underdog this year but they’ve dropped four of their last five, including an extra inning loss last night to San Diego. San Diego doesn’t come in with the best form either, playing to a 22-33 record as the favorite.
