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We will be looking this hot streak on another busy Thursday of MLB action!
Look below to find our free MLB Picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!
Baltimore Orioles @ Cleveland Indians – 1.10PM ET
The Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles will wrap up their four game series at Progressive Field on Thursday afternoon, in what will be the first match of today’s MLB schedule.
The Indians are just one win away from a four game series sweep over the Orioles thanks to their 8-7 victory on Wednesday night. Although Baltimore were leading 3-1 at the top of the third, Cleveland piled on five runs at the bottom of the third to take a 6-3 lead into the fourth. Jose Ramirez finished with two runs, two hits and three RBIs.
JOSE RAMIREZ REFUSED TO BE TAGGED OUT 😂🔥
(via @Indians) pic.twitter.com/3XDNgtsDij
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 17, 2021
Jorge Lopez will take the mound for Baltimore on Thursday afternoon. From 13 starts this season, Lopez owns a 2-7 record, 5.64 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 62 strikeouts from 60.2 innings of action. The right hander was tapped for four runs in just 4.2 innings against the A’s in his last outing.
Having already wrapped up the series victory at home , this is expected to be a bullpen day for the Indians. Although they own the 15th best team ERA in baseball (4.05), Cleveland have won six of their last eight games and held opponents to three runs or fewer on four occasions in that span.
Although the Orioles have lost seven consecutive games, coming up against an injured Indians rotation on a bullpen day may be their best chance of snapping that losing streak. Baltimore’s Jorge Lopez has had a far from the perfect season, however the right hander was able to earn the win over the Indians in last week’s meeting (holding Cleveland to just three runs), and we like him to lead the O’s to a win on the road on Thursday. Lopez has also held opponents to three or fewer runs in four of his last five starts.
MLB Pick – Baltimore Orioles (+128)
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Arizona Diamondbacks @ San Francisco Giants – 3.45PM ET
A pair of NL West rivals will conclude their four games series in San Francisco on Thursday afternoon when the Giants host the Diamondbacks for the final match of this set.
San Francisco have extended their winning streak to three consecutive games thanks to their 13-7 win over Arizona on Wednesday. After the Diamondbacks broke out to a 2-0 lead at the top of the first, Brand Belt’s three run homer at the bottom of the fifth gave the Giants their 11th, 12th and 13th consecutive runs and an 11 run lead.
Wednesday’s loss was Arizona’s 13th in a row and it was also their 22nd consecutive loss on the road.
Zac Gallen will make his sixth start of the season for Arizona in the series finale. Gallen is 1-1 with a 3.04 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 32 strikeouts from 26.2 innings of action this year. The right hander has thrown 17 innings in his last three outings, allowing just five earned runs in that time (four of which were in the one game).
Unfortunately for Arizona, San Francisco will counter with NL Cy Young contender Kevin Gausman at the mound on Thursday. Gausman is not the pitcher that you want to come up against when facing a series sweep, as he owns a 7-1 record, 1.43 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 97 strikeouts in 81.2 innings of action. The right hander has allowed just 13 earned runs this season, two of which were given up in his last start.
As much promise as Arizona’s lineup has shown in their past two starts (15 runs), Kevin Gausman on the mound is all but an automatic win for the Giants. The right-hander has allowed one or zero earned runs in all but two starts this season and he has had proven success against the Diamondbacks this year, having thrown five shutout innings last month in a convincing 8-0 win. As well as that, Arizona have now lost 22 consecutive road games and we can’t see them bucking that trend against an NL Cy Young contender on Thursday.
MLB Pick – San Francisco Giants (-192)
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Chicago Cubs @ New York Mets – 7.10PM ET
A pair of first placed teams in the National League will conclude their four game series in New York on Thursday night when the Mets host the Cubs for the final match of this set.
As a result of their 6-3 victory on Wednesday the New York Mets have taken a 3-0 lead over the Cubs in this four game series. Following Kevin Pillar’s solo homer at the bottom of the fifth, New York were out to an insurmountable 6-1 lead.
NL Cy Young favorite Jacob deGrom started for the Mets on Tuesday. deGrom had eight strikeouts in three shutout innings before leaving the game with a shoulder injury. New York’s No. 2 ranked pitching staff closed out the game.
Robert Stock to the loss for Chicago at the mound, allowing five earned runs on four hits in four innings with the ball, while the Cubs lineup managed just one hit in the first eight innings of the match.
Jacob deGrom exits with right shoulder soreness after three perfect innings and 8 Ks. pic.twitter.com/Cv7GrlXyeH
— MLB (@MLB) June 17, 2021
Kyle Hendricks will look to steer the Cubs away from a sweep on the road when he makes his 14th start of the season. Hendricks is 8-4 this year to go along with a 4.46 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 58 strikeouts. Although his 19 home runs allowed are the most of any pitcher in the league this season, Hendricks has won his last six starts after throwing six innings and allowing two runs on three hits in a game that the Cubs won 7-2.
New York will send Marcus Stroman to the mound Thursday night. Stroman has thrown like an ace in his 13 starts this season, owning a 6-4 record, 2.33 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 67 strikeouts from 77.1 innings of action. The right hander threw 6.1 innings in his last start, allowing just one run on six hits to go along with eight strikeouts in a 4-1 Mets victory.
With the possibility of a four game sweep on the line and Stroman on the mound, we are going to take the Mets to close this series out with a win at home on Thursday. Hendricks has been in solid form recently, however the right hander has also surrendered the most home runs in MLB this season and we like the Mets lineup to put up a winning score on Thursday with Stroman restricting the Cubs offense. Especially when considering that New York have won six of their past seven games and they have scored 5.43 runs per game in that time.
MLB Pick – New York Mets (-142)
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Cincinnati Reds @ San Diego Padres – 8.40PM ET
The Padres and Reds are set to kick off their four game weekend series in San Diego on Thursday night.
San Diego will be coming into this series looking to bounce back to form after being swept by the Rockies in Colorado. Wednesday’s 7-8 loss to the Rockies meant that the Padres had been outscored 13-19 in the three game series, and it was also their fifth loss of a six game road trip.
As for the Reds, they recently completed a three game series sweep over the Brewers in Milwaukee. Cincinnati outscored their division rivals 14-4 in the three game set, holding Milwaukee to two runs or fewer in each game. The Reds have now won their last six matches.
Wade Miley will take the mound for Cincinnati in their series opener on Thursday. Miley has a 6-4 record from 11 starts this season, to go along with a 2.92 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 51 strikeouts from 61.2 innings of action. The southpaw has thrown 18 innings in his last three starts, allowing just three earned runs on 16 hits in that time.
Joe Musgrove will look to bring an end to San Diego’s losing streak when he makes his 13th start (14th appearance) of the year. Musgrove owns a 4-6 record, 2.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 96 strikeouts from 72 innings of work this season. As solid as he has been this year, Musgrove has allowed six earned runs on 12 hits in 11.1 innings across his last two starts.
Although the recent form of these two teams could not be any more contrasting, the Padres are too strong and talented to see their losing streak continue at home on Thursday. As reflected by his sub three ERA, Joe Musgrove is a more than capable starter that has proven to be tough to score against this season. While offensively, the Padres have been solid recently, with 20 runs in their last four games. Even though Miley has been a consistent performer this year and Cincinnati also possesses a potent offense, we like San Diego to have a form-correcting win in their series opener at home on Thursday with Musgrove at the mound.
MLB Pick – San Diego Padres (-172)
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Milwaukee Brewers @ Colorado Rockies – 8.40PM ET
The Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies will conclude our Thursday night MLB schedule with the first match of their four game weekend series at Coors Field.
Although they own the vastly superior record in the National League, Milwaukee will be the ones looking to bounce back from a three game series sweep in this upcoming series. The Brewers offense failed to fire in their three game set at home against the Reds, as they were outscored 4-14.
Contrastingly, the Rockies continued their surprisingly dominant stretch at home in their most recent series against the Padres. Colorado swept their division rivals in their three game midweek set, outscoring San Diego 19-13 in the series and improving their record at home to 23-14, which is the equal most home wins in the NL West (tied with the Dodgers).
MLB Leaders:
WHIP Hits per 9 IP
1. Woodruff (0.723) 1. Peralta (4.103) pic.twitter.com/dHrZ0MSF0M— IKE Brewers Podcast (@IKE_Brewers) June 14, 2021
German Marquez will look to continue Colorado’s winning streak when he makes his 15th start of the season. Marquez is 4-2 this year to go along with a 4.60 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 80 strikeouts from 76.1 innings. Although he leads the league in starts and complete games, Marquez has struggled to string consistent performances together this year, allowing eight runs on 12 hits in five innings in his last start.
Milwaukee will counter with Brandon Woodruff on Thursday night. In what has been an impressive season from the right hander, Woodruff has a 5-2 record as well as a team best 1.52 ERA and NL best 0.72 WHIP. Woodruff has allowed just four runs in his last 26 innings and he is coming off a win against the Pirates in his last start.
With a three game winning streak behind them and a .622 winning percentage at home, the Rockies undeniably have the superior momentum coming into this series. However, as well as Colorado’s lineup has been performing recently, Brandon Woodruff is as tough a pitcher as there is to score against in the league, and we are going to take Woodruff to continue his good form against a streaky Rockies lineup on Thursday. Especially when considering that Milwaukee had won nine of their last 10 games prior to their recent series against Cincinnati, and they had scored 5.5 runs per game in that time.
MLB Pick – Milwaukee Brewers (-164)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel & Bet365
