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All times Eastern | Game odds via SportsLine consensus
🔥 The Hot Ticket
Rays at Marlins, 6:40 p.m. | Watch live: MLB.tv
- The Pick: Rays (-125)
- Key trend: The Rays have won four of their last five road games.
The Rays did the heavy lifting Tuesday and helped the over to cash for us. As a result of their offense thriving, we're going to back them to win this time around.
This is a Rays team that has won seven of their last eight contests, including defeating the Marlins 11-2 in the series opener on Tuesday. Tampa Bay is averaging a lethal 7.9 runs over its last 10 games and has tallied double-digit runs in three of those games. They've also slugged four home runs over their last three games with three of those coming in Tuesday's contest. The Rays will be facing Jesus Luzardo, who owns a massive 7.85 ERA in four starts in August. Luzardo has given up 16 earned runs in those four starts and yielded at least four earned runs in three of those outings.
Meanwhile, the Rays are sending right-hander Zach Eflin to the mound. Eflin has been a tremendous addition to the team's pitching staff this season as he's tallied 13 wins and a 3.55 ERA. The Rays have been victorious in four of Eflin's last six starts. In addition, Eflin is coming off a sensational start against the Yankees in which he surrendered just two earned runs and struck out 11 batters.
With Eflin and the Rays offense in superior form, Tampa should be able to stay in the win column.
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💰 More MLB picks
Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. | Watch live: MLB.tv
- The Pick: Over 9.5 (-110)
- Key trend: The over is 7-1 in the Dodgers' last eight games.
The Dodgers and Diamondbacks will go toe-to-toe in a battle between two teams that can definitely put their fair share of runs on the board. With that said, the over makes a ton of sense in this spot.
The Diamondbacks have young right-hander Brandon Pfaddt on the mound Wednesday. Pfaadt has definitely struggled in 2023 as he possesses a 5.91 ERA. The 24-year old has surrendered at least three earned runs in four of his last seven starts, including serving up six home runs over that stretch. Pfaadt has also yielded at least four earned runs in five of his 13 starts this season, so it won't be a huge surprise if he coughs up a handful of runs.
When it comes to the Dodgers, we're talking about a lineup that has scored the second-most runs in all of baseball. In fact, the over has hit in each of the Dodgers' last six games. They have also slugged the second-most long balls in the majors behind only the Braves. Over the first two games of this series against Arizona, Los Angeles has blasted a mind-boggling six home runs. With the Dodgers' bats on fire, I'm counting on a ton of runs being scored here.
Yankees at Tigers, 6:40 p.m. | Watch live: MLB.tv
- The Pick: Gerrit Cole Over 7.5 Strikeouts (+102)
- Key trend: Cole has registered at least eight strikeouts in four of his last eight starts.
Gerrit Cole's strikeouts prop is often at an elevated number as a result of his reputation as one of the league's top arms. However, I'm still on board with Cole, especially considering the matchup.
Entering Wednesday, the Yankees starter is tied for sixth among MLB strikeout leaders on the year. Cole has been throwing the ball well as of late; he's tallied at least eight strikeouts in four of his last eight starts. The right-hander is coming off of an outing in which he registered 11 strikeouts against the Rays. On top of that, the Tigers have racked up the eighth-most strikeouts in the majors, and they are averaging 11.2 strikeouts over their past five games. Cole should be able to get to the eight-strikeout bar, and you're getting it at plus money.
