Good afternoon gamblers, it's Chris Bengel back with you.
The MLB postseason is just days away and I'm actually going to be invested for the first time in quite a while. As a Phillies fan, it's a nice change of pace to see my team playing meaningful October baseball. It's been 11 seasons since the Phillies have been to the postseason. While I don't know that they'll make a deep run given their pitching deficiencies, anything can happen in October, so we'll see.
Let's wrap up the MLB regular season with some winning bets.
All times Eastern, and all odds via Caesars Sportsbook
🔥 The Hot Ticket
Braves at Marlins, 6:40 p.m. | TV: MLB.TV
- Key Trend: The Braves are 4-1 in their last five road games
- The Pick: Braves (-165)
The Braves overtook the Mets for the lead in the National League East over the weekend and now have a 1.5-game lead over their division rivals. However, the Mets do have one more game remaining than the Braves. So, with these games at a premium, I'm riding with the Braves to win tonight and not leave anything to chance.
The Braves will be sending veteran starter Jake Odorizzi to the mound against the Marlins. I'd be lying if I said it's been a tremendous season for Odorizzi. However, the right-hander has actually been solid for the most part as of late, as he's yielded just one earned run in two of his last three starts. In addition, Odorizzi has surrendered two runs or less in four of his last six starts.
On the other hand, Marlins starter Braxton Garrett has only won once in his last seven starts. It is worth noting that the left-hander has served up at least one home run in three of his last five starts, including in two of his last three outings. Considering that the Braves rank second in home runs in all of baseball, it's quite possible that Atlanta can jump all over Garrett with just a swing or two of the bat.
💰 More MLB picks
Cardinals at Pirates, 6:35 p.m. | TV: MLB.TV
The Pick: Cardinals (-115): -- It may come as a surprise that the Cardinals have dropped their last two games against the Pirates entering Tuesday's contest. However, St. Louis has already wrapped up the National League Central division title, so there's not a ton to play for at this point.
Still, Pirates starter JT Brubaker hasn't become very familiar with the win column throughout the 2022 season. He has accumulated just a 3-12 record to go along with a less-than-stellar 4.58 ERA. To make matters worse, Brubaker has given up at least five earned runs in two of his last four runs, including surrendering five earned runs in a 7-1 loss to the Mets in his most recent outing.
Meanwhile, Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson has allowed just a single run in his last two starts and it happened to be unearned as he tossed eight shutout innings against the Reds earlier this month. The right-hander is a pitcher that throws to contact, which should play into our hand considering that the Pirates rank just 17th in the majors in home runs. Expect the Cardinals offense to get some runs off of Brubaker and get back on track in this one.
Key Trend: The Cardinals are 19-7 in their last 26 games following a loss
Phillies at Astros, 8:10 p.m. | TV: MLB.TV
The Pick: Justin Verlander Over 6.5 Strikeouts (+111): -- As I said up top, the Phillies already clinched the final National League Wild Card spot, so their postseason berth is set in stone. It wouldn't shock me if manager Rob Thomson sat a few starters in anticipation of the playoffs. Either way, I'm very confident in Astros ace Justin Verlander's strikeout prop tonight.
In three of his past five starts, Verlander has managed to register at least seven strikeouts, including an eight-strikeout performance against the Diamondbacks in his most recent start. The Phillies possess quite a few power bats in the form of Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins, so Verlander could get plenty of swing-and-misses. Look for Verlander to enter the postseason on a high note.
Key Trend: Verlander has recorded at least seven strikeouts in three of his last five starts
