It’s a glorious slate of games on Friday in baseball as 28 teams are taking the field. It was a smaller slate of games on Thursday due to Mother Nature unleashing her wrath on the northeast which caused several games to be postponed, but we’re in for a long day of baseball today. Before we get into the games, let me introduce myself. For those that don’t know me, my name is Keith, and I finished up +62.6 units in the regular season last year with my Pickswise picks. And now, let’s get into my MLB best bets for Friday, and be sure to also visit our MLB predictions for all of today’s games.
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Tampa Bay Rays -1.5 over Oakland Athletics (-105)
Available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
Not only are the Rays the only undefeated team left, but they’re also a perfect 6-0 on the run line. Tampa Bay has an average winning margin of 5.17 runs in their 6 games, and their smallest victory came by 4 runs. Heading into Friday night’s game, the Rays rank 5th in batting average and 1st in OPS as their lineup has started the season on fire. The Rays were hoping for Randy Arozarena to continue his World Baseball Classic success and for Wander Franco to take a big step in year 3, and they got what they were hoping for and more. Arozarena is hitting .364 and Franco is hitting .417, and they are filled out by a lineup that has Yandy Diaz hitting .333, Josh Lowe hitting .429 and Jose Siri hitting .333.
In an attempt to break Tampa Bay’s undefeated streak, Oakland will send Ken Waldichuk to the hill for his 2nd start. But if this start is anything like his 1st, it will be another big win for the Rays. Waldichuk was shelled for 6 runs and 9 hits in 5.2 innings against the Angels last week, but the most concerning part was the lefty allowing 3 home runs. Allowing 3 home runs in a game is never great, but the fact that he did it in Oakland Coliseum makes it even worse. Oakland’s home park was ranked as the 2nd-hardest park to hit a home run in last season, which means the blasts he allowed were bombs off the bat.
Waldichuk will be backed by one of the worst offenses in baseball, as their young lineup ranks 28th in batting average, 26th in on-base percentage and 26th in OPS. Tampa Bay won’t stay undefeated for much longer, but their first loss shouldn’t come on Friday night.
Check out our expert’s MLB YRFI/NRFI best bets for Friday
Washington Nationals F5 ML over Colorado Rockies (+104)
Available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing
I am very, very low on Jose Urena. He has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball in the last few seasons, and playing at Coors Field has only made it worse. Urena made 8 starts at Coors Field last season and had a 6.30 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. He allowed 15 extra-base hits as opponents slashed .311 with a .859 OPS. And while Coors Field definitely can affect a pitcher, it’s not the only park that Urena struggles in. His season debut was in San Diego, which was considered the 2nd-most pitcher-friendly park in baseball last year. However, the Padres still rocked him for 4 runs and 5 hits along with 4 walks in just 2.1 innings. It won’t get any easier for Urena against the Nationals, who have a combined .389 batting average in 19 plate appearances against the Rockies starter in their careers.
Washington will counter with MacKenzie Gore, a young lefty that was the key piece in the Juan Soto trade last year. The Nationals are hoping for Gore to grow and become a great tandem with Josiah Gray, and he started on the right foot with a solid outing against the Braves. In 5.1 innings, he allowed just 1 run on 3 hits along with 4 walks and 6 strikeouts. The Nationals have the starting pitching advantage, and instead of worrying about two bad bullpens, I’m taking Washington to win the first five innings.
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Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 over Arizona Diamondbacks (-130)
Available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
Clayton Kershaw has dominated the Diamondbacks in his career. That success continued in his season debut against Arizona as he racked up 9 strikeouts and 1 run in 6 innings. The veteran’s infamous curveball had a 45.5% whiff rate and had the young Arizona roster swinging out of their shoes. Kershaw had the same success against the Diamondbacks in 2022, as he had a 0.69 ERA and a 0.692 WHIP in 2 starts against the NL West foe. Along with Kershaw shoving against Arizona last week, the Dodgers offense was putting up fireworks against Madison Bumgarner, who happens to be tonight’s starter as well.
Bumgarner and the Diamondbacks lost 10-1 to Kershaw and the Dodgers last Saturday. And while a lot of the blame could be put on the Arizona offense for not providing Bumgarner with run support, the southpaw put his team in a hole early. He allowed 5 runs in the first inning, and it seemed like Arizona didn’t have a chance after that first frame. After Bumgarner left the game, the Diamondbacks’ bullpen allowed 5 more runs. A below-average bullpen will only make it harder for Arizona, and before Thursday night’s game, the Diamondbacks’ arm barn ranked 20th in ERA and 19th in WHIP. With the Dodgers guaranteed all 9 innings to bat, I’m expecting another big win for Los Angeles.
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