Ricky Dimon
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The week in Major League Baseball concludes with a full 15-game slate on Sunday. The afternoon portion includes Diamondbacks at Red Sox, Phillies at Royals and Mets at Padres before the ESPN Sunday Night Game of the Week pits the visiting Astros against the Orioles.
Below is my mega parlay, and also be sure to check out all of our MLB picks.
Royals -1.5 (+142)
Athletics ML (+124)
Astros -1.5 (+145)
MLB parlay odds: +1228
For this parlay I am going with 2 favorites on the run line and 1 underdog on the money line. Let’s break down each of the 3 legs.
Kansas City Royals -1.5 over Philadelphia Phillies (+142)
The upstart Royals have won 7 of their last 9 heading into the rubber match of this 3-game home series against the Phillies. Kansas City lost on Saturday but should like its chances of bouncing back this afternoon. Seth Lugo is taking the hill and he has been stellar this season, boasting a 14-7 record, 3.02 ERA and 1.09. The Phillies are countering with Kolby Allard, who has made only 3 appearances in 2024 (2 starts). Allard is saddled with a 5.97 lifetime ERA in limited major-league work (258.0 innings dating back to his debut in 2018). The left-hander faces a tough test on Sunday, especially in the form of Bobby Witt Jr. and a currently red-hot Vinnie Pasquantino, who has 5 multi-hit performances in the last 8 games. Kansas City can win this by multiple runs.
Oakland Athletics ML over Milwaukee Brewers (+124)
Oakland is surprisingly not terrible in 2024, at least not by its recent standards. The Athletics are way better than a handful of teams around the league and they are just 5 games worse than the defending World Series champion and AL West rival Rangers. They are 18-14 since the all-star break, so even though they have dropped the first 2 games of this series against Milwaukee they should still be feeling pretty good about themselves. The A‘s will like their prospects on Sunday, too, as Joey Estes is toeing the rubber. Estes boasts a 3.00 ERA in August through 4 appearances spanning 24.0 innings. During this stretch he has mowed down 18 batters while walking just 3. Oakland has not been swept since June 24-26; I think that streak continues.
Houston Astros -1.5 over Baltimore Orioles (+145)
The Astros acquired Yusei Kikuchi at the trade deadline and they will send him back to the mound for a Sunday Night Baseball start. Kikuchi has already faced Baltimore twice this season while pitching for Toronto and has allowed just 2 earned runs in 10.1 innings while striking out 15 batters and walking only 2. The veteran left-hander has been outstanding since moving to Houston, with a 2.42 ERA through 4 starts – and the Astros have won all 4 of those games. Dean Kremer is a solid starter for the O’s, but their bullpen is a liability and they have already used their high-leverage arms a fair amount this weekend. Give me Houston to win big.
