This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ PM Newsletter, the ultimate daily sports gambling guide. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday afternoon here.
All times Eastern | Game odds via SportsLine consensus
🔥 The Hot Ticket
Cubs at Mets, 7:10 p.m. | Watch live: MLB.tv
- The Pick: Cubs (-115)
- Key trend: The Cubs have won six of their last eight road games.
The Mets are in free fall mode right now as they've dropped seven of their past eight games which makes it easy to fade them in this spot. During that rough stretch, they're averaging just 3.4 runs per game, and that stretch includes an 11-run outburst against the Cubs on Monday.
On the season, the Mets offense ranks 24th in batting average (.237), while also ranking 20th in runs. To make matters worse, the Mets are sending left-hander David Peterson to the mound on Wednesday, who has also had his fair share of struggles in starts this season. In his 12 starts this year, Peterson has a 6.12 ERA over 57 1/3 innings and while he does have 61 strikeouts in those starting frames, he also allows a ton of baserunners with a 1.622 WHIP in those games.
Meanwhile, the Cubs offense has been thriving in recent weeks. They're averaging 6.5 runs per game over their last six, and have scored at least five runs in six of those contests. Cubs slugger Cody Bellinger has been excellent in eight games this month, batting .500 (15-for-30) with two home runs, 10 RBI, nine runs, and five steals. Bellinger has also went 4-for-7 in the opening two games of the current series against the Mets. I'm looking for Bellinger to continue to pace the Cubs' offense, and help lead them to victory against a floundering Mets squad.
|
|
|
|
|
|
💰 More MLB picks
Braves at Pirates, 7:05 p.m. | Watch live: MLB.tv
- The Pick: Over 9.5 (+100)
- Key trend: The over is 4-1 in the Braves' last five games.
The Braves and Pirates have lit up the scoreboard throughout the opening two games of their series and i'm banking on that to continue in Wednesday's matchup. These two teams have combined to score 27 runs over the past two contests and the over cashed in both of those games.
Wednesday will mark the just the fifth career start for Pirates starting pitcher Quinn Priester. The young left-hander currently owns a staggering 8.69 ERA and has had trouble keeping the ball in the ballpark as he's given up five home runs in those four games. That bodes well for a Braves offense that ranks among the best in the majors. Atlanta leads MLB in home runs, while also ranking third in runs, hits, and RBI on the season. It's quite possible that they'll score early and often when facing Priester.
On the other hand, the Pirates bats have been hot against Atlanta's pitching the past two nights, including chasing Braves' ace Spencer Strider early on Monday after just 2 2/3 innings. Pittsburgh scored 13 runs on 18 hits while also walking 10 times over the first two games of this four-game set. While I'm expecting the Braves to score plenty, the Pirates should contribute enough to help get us past this number.
Giants at Angels, 9:38 p.m. | Watch live: MLB.tv
- The Pick: Shohei Ohtani Over 7.5 Strikeouts (-107)
- Key trend: Ohtani has at least eight strikeouts in four of his last seven games.
When Shohei Ohtani toes the rubber, a dazzling performance is almost always in the cards. And with the Angels facing one of the more free swinging teams in the Giants, Ohtani's strikeouts prop is very enticing.
Ohtani had a rough patch coming out of the All-Star break in which he surrendered 14 earned runs over his first three starts, but he still managed to collect 21 strikeouts over that stretch. He bounced back with 10 strikeouts in a complete game shutout of the Tigers on July 27, before he only lasted four innings due to hand cramping against Seattle in his last start on Aug. 3. Over his last seven starts, Ohtani is averaging just under eight strikeouts per game, and facing the free-swinging Giants -- who've struck out the third-most in baseball this year -- the over is the safer play with this prop.
