Kevin Davies
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It’s the final weekend of the regular season! The postseason begins next week, but the NL Wild Card race is still going as 3 teams are battling for 2 spots. I’ve chosen 3 of my favorite picks for today to create a 9/1 parlay at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Orioles ML (+102)
Braves -1.5 (+108)
Padres ML (+160)
Parlay odds: +992
Baltimore Orioles ML (+102) over Minnesota Twins
The Twins had one of the worst September collapses that I can remember in recent years. Minnesota had a 95% chance of making the postseason when the calendar flipped to September, but a complete breakdown on offense led to the Twins fighting for a postseason spot and eventually knocked out. With their loss last night, the American League Wild Card race is over and the Orioles, Royals, and Tigers are locked into the three spots. Minnesota’s season is over and I’m expecting a few more losses on their record before they leave for the offseason. Minnesota is starting Zebby Matthews for his 9th and final start of the year, and the rookie hasn’t been overly impressive with a 5.71 ERA and a 5.56 xERA so far. Plus, Matthews is backed by a Twins lineup that is hitting just .219 in September – the third worst mark in baseball. Baltimore will utilize a bullpen game tonight and that should put together a stronger performance than Matthews.
Atlanta Braves -1.5 (+108) over Kansas City Royals
Unlike the American League, the NL Wild Card race is still going. The Padres have punched their ticket to the postseason through the top Wild Card spot, but there are still 3 teams fighting for 2 spots. The Braves, Mets, and Diamondbacks are all even in the race and every game from now on is a must-win for each team. Atlanta is currently taking on the Royals and they won the series opener 3-0 behind a fabulous outing from Max Fried. They will try to win the series with Reynaldo Lopez returning to the mound tonight for just his 6th start since the beginning of August. Although he’s been out of the rotation for the last few weeks, he gets a generous spot against a slumping Royals team. Kansas City has lost 8 of their last 11 games and rank 30th in batting average, OPS, and wRC+ in September. I’ll happily back the Braves to win by multiple runs again tonight.
San Diego Padres ML (+160) over Arizona Diamondbacks
The Padres have secured their spot in the postseason and have only a few days left before October baseball begins. However, their last few games won’t be easy since they are facing the Diamondbacks who are in the midst of the NL Wild Card race. The Snakes lost last night to Yu Darvish and the Padres and can’t afford to lose again, but I think the same result will happen since they have Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound tonight. E-Rod has been terrible in his first season with the Snakes as he owns a 5.56 ERA with a 5.85 xERA in 9 outings. More recently, he is 1-4 with a 6.00 ERA and 1.79 WHIP in 5 starts in September. Hitters have a .310 batting average and .289 xBA against the southpaw this month so I’m expecting the Padres lineup to continue the trend with a win tonight.
