Today's Board Has Me Nervous, But I Love The Rays And Giants

RECORD

27-50-2 (-8.2 units)

Yesterday wasn't exactly a banner day, but I can't exactly call it a disaster, either. My Christian Vázquez home run prop was the ultimate heat check. Nothing came of that, similar to how nothing will come of the Minnesota Twins if they stumble into the postseason this year. I tried to ride the Chicago Cubs' hot hand, but sadly Steven Matz decided to pitch better than he's pitched in years and shut out the north siders. The Cincinnati Reds saved my ass once again. They were heavy underdogs yesterday against the Dodgers and not only won but ran away with it, winning nine nothing. Graham Ashcraft has been phenomenal for the Reds lately. So we aren't riding high like we were a few days ago following the Ian Happ home run prop, but hope is not lost. I'm not really into today's board, but we have a few picks we can run with. Let's take a look. 

Rays -1.5 (+115) against the Yankees

I'm going against myself here. I've never been a Tyler Glasnow guy. I've always found him to be overrated as a pitcher, largely due to his lack of durability, but really, he's only pitched one elite half-season of baseball. He's more than serviceable, but I've never felt like he's as good as some of his constituents make him out to be. This has more to do with the New York Yankees than the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees are not out of it in terms of the playoff chase, but man, they just seem dead right now. I thought the return of Aaron Judge would inject some life and do them but not really. And tonight, they have Domingo Germán on the mound. I really wish he wouldn't thrown a perfect game. I like it better when good pitchers throw perfect games. German has been a disaster over the last month outside of that perfect game he just happened to throw against Oakland. I still believe the Yankees will be buyers in some capacity, but I don't know if they should be. The holes on that team can't be fixed with a few good trades at the deadline. The Rays have struggled over the last month, but I like their chances this evening. 

Giants -1.5 (+135) against the Diamondbacks

This is a massive series for both of these teams. The Dodgers will end up running away with the National League West, but the wildcard is still very much in play for both the Giants and Diamondbacks. Getting the Giants at plus money as favorites here was very enticing. I would love to know more about the magic pitching lab factory that exists in San Francisco because they seem to be the masters of fixing veteran pictures. At 35, Alex Cobb is having the best season of his career. He made his first All-Star team this season and has been the anchor of the Giants rotation. His underlying numbers aren't spectacular, but he's facing a Diamondbacks team that he faced once before this season, and he completely shut them down, tossing 7.1 scoreless innings. The Diamondbacks have been a fun story this season, but if it's not Zac Gallen or Merrill Kelly on the mound, I don't trust them. They need to make a move for a starting pitcher. But there's nothing they can do about it today. I think Alex Cobb shuts them down. 

I usually go with three plays daily, but I'm not too crazy about this board, so I'm sticking with two. All odds come from the Barstool Sportsbook. Follow Barstool Baseball on all platforms, including our YouTube page.