I almost didn’t pick anything today – all the more exciting K games were day games and my 9-5 gets in the way there. That said – I promised 3 picks and will give 3 picks!
Diamondbacks @ Marlins, 6:40 pm ET
Madison Bumgarner is back, one start removed from his kinda no-hitter, and I think he’s aiming for a 9 inning one – but who cares? We’re here to pick strikeouts, not wins or any of those other meaningless stats. BumG is looking better than he has for years and I’m here for it. The over/under for Ks on him and Pablo Lopez is the same 5.5. Lopez has been all over the place – striking out 9, then 7, then 2 – making him a tough call. That said, I like the matchups for these pitchers and will take the rare OVER on BOTH. Best I’m seeing is +100 for the over on FanDuel for Bumgarner and -121 at BetRivers.
Rays @ Angels 9:38 pm ET
Sad to see a great hitter go down like this, but Albert Pujols hasn’t been himself for a few years now. It was inevitable the Angels would have to release him given how he’s hitting – I hope he re-signs for a day with the Cards to retire. I don’t think any of that drama will impact this game. Andrew Heaney has been throwing heat this year, but his problem is consistency. Yes, he has 34 K over 24 innings, but his last outing he only went 3.1 and struck out 5 – and it was against the Mariners! You’d think that would scare me since tonight he’s facing a much better team in Tampa Bay, and you’d be right. The over/under is set at 7.5 and I’ll take the under at -103 from Barstool Sportsbook.
Come back again — same bat-channel — Batman out!