This is a relatively weak slate of pitching today. It’s headlined by Stephen Strasburg and Adam Wainwright. Let’s dig deeper into Wainwright who took nearly two months to “get right” this season, but he is dealing right now. Since June 3rd, he’s posting a 2.30 ERA and striking out 51 batters in those 54.2 innings. His last three games have been impeccable, where he’s allowed just one earned run over 23 innings. He’s limited opponents to a meager .188 batting average in that span. Tonight he gets the Padres who own the second-highest K% in the last 30 days. Wainwright is also the largest favorite on the slate at -225.
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I’m willing to invest some exposure in Julio Urias. He was knocked around by the Orioles in his last outing, but…who isn’t knocked around by the Orioles? In the five games before meeting Baltimore, Urias was posting a 2.49 ERA and striking out 34 batters over 25.1 innings. The concern has been that the Dodgers are very careful with his pitch count, but he hit 94 and 100 in two of his last three starts so it looks like he is starting to get stretched out. He will battle the Nationals who have been a middle of the road offense this month.
We know how much the Pirates offense has struggled this season, but if they were ever going to have a big night, it would be tonight. They face Matt Garza who didn’t make his first start this season until June 14th. It’s been ugly for Garza who’s posting a 5.74 ERA this season, but an even worse 8.02 ERA over his last four starts. He’s nearly walking more batters (10) than he’s struck out (12) in that span. Opponents could win a hitting title against him as they have racked up a stellar .330 batting average. There’s just not much going right for Garza and the bright spot for the Pirates offense has been at home this season, where they rank 9th in wOBA.
That’s all folks! Be sure to follow me on Twitter for more player analysis and news as starting lineups are released! Commentary based on DraftKings & Fanduel strategy and scoring.