It’s been a long work week and I just want to get in bed and watch baseball… but I see the Bat-signal in the sky calling on me to make my K picks, so here we go.
Diamondbacks @ Braves, 7:20 pm ET
Luke Weaver has been all over the place this season. First outing, 5 IP, 3 K. Second outing, 7 IP, 8 K. Third outing, 4 IP, 3 K. Any normal picker might stay away from this one, but not me! Ronald Acuna Jr., my favorite player right now, is back after an injury and wants to make up for the few games he’s missed. I predict the Braves don’t let Weaver out of the 4th meaning he goes under the 5.5 K line – which I’m seeing at -132 right now.
Pirates @ Twins, 8:10 pm ET
J.A. Happ has yet to hit 5 innings in a start this year and I don’t expect him to go more than 5 against the Pirates tonight. He hasn’t averaged a K/inning in a while – he’s just not that kind of pitcher. The over/under is set at 4.5 and I’m going with the under tonight at -134.
Reds @ Cardinals, 8:15 pm ET
Kwang-Hyun Kim is a fun 32-year old rookie from South Korea, so I’m sticking with my earlier-in-the-year promise not to pick rookie pitchers. Let’s instead look to Sonny Gray, who seems much happier in the NL. Gray has really found his stuff – last year he struck out 72 in 56 innings. In 2019 he struck out 205 in 175.1. He’s only had one start this year – against the Indians – and while he only went 4.1 IP he still managed to strike out 6. I think he stretches further tonight and strikes out even more, making the over 5.5 pick an easy one for me. You should be able to find -159 or better.
See you Sunday — same bat-channel — Batman out!