2 Parlays July 22: Today's an 'A' Day for Oakland
New York Mets vs. Boston Red Sox
Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Fenway Park in Boston
& Philadelphia Phillies vs. Cleveland Guardians Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Progressive Field in Cleveland
Who Starts for the Mets?
Max Scherzer starts for New York tonight.
As evident in his 3.99 ERA, Scherzer is not the pitcher he used to be.
His ERA was not this bad in a season since 2011.
This decline is noteworthy because the name Max Scherzer might prejudice bettors to invest in the Mets, when there is in fact no basis for this bias.
Scherzer's Arsenal
Scherzer throws a fastball, slider, changeup, curveball, and cutter.
He is the usual Scherzer in that he relies most heavily on his fastball.
But he is not the usual Scherzer in that this pitch is now very hittable.
Last year, his fastball yielded a .212 BA and .370 slugging rate.
This year, opponents are hitting .277 and slugging .454 against this pitch.
Boston's Lineup
Hitting-wise, Boston's outlook is solid tonight because it ranks eighth with a .434 slugging rate against Scherzer's pitches from righties.
Watch out, among others, for Justin Turner, who carries a 15-game hitting streak into tonight's contest.
In his career, he is 3-for-8 with two home runs against Scherzer.
Who Starts for the Red Sox?
Boston starts James Paxton tonight.
Paxton throws a fastball, cutter, curveball, and changeup.
While his fastball is serviceable, his other pitches are dominant.
Opponents hit .157 against his cutter, .133 against his curveball, and .111 against his changeup.
Paxton's outlook is solid tonight because the Mets rank dead-last with a .378 slugging rate against his pitches from lefties.
Who Starts for the Phillies?
Zack Wheeler starts for Philadelphia tonight.
Wheeler's form has declined relative to the strong stretch he enjoyed mid-June.
Despite facing mediocre or bad lineups, he's allowed at least three earned runs and at least one home run in each of his last four starts.
Guardians' Lineup
Cleveland is hitting extremely well right now, averaging eight runs per game in its last four games.
During this four-game stretch, they boast a league-best .593 slugging rate against Wheeler's pitches from righties.
Who Starts for Cleveland?
The Guardians start Tanner Bibee tonight.
Bibee enters tonight's game in strong form, having allowed four earned runs in his last four games combined.
Impressively, he has sustained his strong form even against tough matchups on the road, such as Texas.
The Guardians are a great underdog tonight. We can take the extra run for our parlay.
Best Bet: Parlay Red Sox ML at -117 & Guardians RL at -160 at +201 odds with BetOnline
Chicago White Sox vs. Minnesota Twins Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Target Field in Minneapolis & Houston Astros vs. Oakland Athletics at 9:07 p.m. ET at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland
Who Starts for the White Sox?
Dylan Cease starts for the White Sox tonight.
Cease enters tonight's contest in strong form: he has yielded an FIP (like ERA but factors out fielding) below 3.30 in four straight starts.
Moreover, he has yielded an FIP below 3.50 in six straight starts.
During this most recent stretch of play, he has thrived against the Dodgers, Rangers, and Braves.
So he could not be more well-tested ahead of tonight's game.
Cease's Arsenal
Cease throws a fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup.
His success must come as no surprise given the quality of his stuff.
For example, his fastball places in the 80th percentile in velocity and in the 95th percentile in spin rate.
These numbers suggest that his fastball is relatively hard for batters to keep up with and track.
Twins' Lineup
Minnesota's hitting outlook is negative tonight because it matches up poorly against Cease.
The Twins rank 20th with a .401 slugging rate against his pitches from righties.
Who Starts for Minnesota?
Sonny Gray starts for the Twins tonight.
Gray is going to have to be really good to keep up with Cease.
But his most recent starts show a tendency to allow his opponents to be very productive.
He's allowed a combined total of 11 earned runs in his last two starts.
Who Starts for Houston?
Cristian Javier starts for the Astros tonight.
Javier has yielded an ERA of well over 5.00 in four straight starts.
In three of those starts, he yielded an ERA of over 13.00.
Matchup History
One may say that his outlook is nonetheless strong against Oakland.
But Javier was fortunate to allow only one run in his one previous meeting against the A's.
In that start, he yielded a 6.48 FIP (like ERA but factors out fielding), which shows how much difficulty he had individually.
Who Starts for Oakland?
Paul Blackburn starts for the A's tonight.
He's coming off a bad-luck start in which he yielded a high BABIP (batting average of balls in play) despite minimizing hard contact.
His 3.28 FIP shows how well he performed individually. He is due to be more fortunate tonight.
Especially with luck on his side today, he'll thrive against a Houston lineup that ranks below-average against his pitches from righties.
Best Bet: Parlay White Sox RL at -180 & Athletics RL at +104 at +217 odds with BetOnline
New York Mets vs. Boston Red Sox
Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Fenway Park in Boston
& Philadelphia Phillies vs. Cleveland Guardians Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Progressive Field in Cleveland
- Max Scherzer is not who he used to be
- James Paxton has a great matchup advantage
- Tanner Bibee's form is, in multiple respects, superior to Zack Wheeler's. Cleveland is also hitting very well.
Who Starts for the Mets?
Max Scherzer starts for New York tonight.
As evident in his 3.99 ERA, Scherzer is not the pitcher he used to be.
His ERA was not this bad in a season since 2011.
This decline is noteworthy because the name Max Scherzer might prejudice bettors to invest in the Mets, when there is in fact no basis for this bias.
Scherzer's Arsenal
Scherzer throws a fastball, slider, changeup, curveball, and cutter.
He is the usual Scherzer in that he relies most heavily on his fastball.
But he is not the usual Scherzer in that this pitch is now very hittable.
Last year, his fastball yielded a .212 BA and .370 slugging rate.
This year, opponents are hitting .277 and slugging .454 against this pitch.
Boston's Lineup
Hitting-wise, Boston's outlook is solid tonight because it ranks eighth with a .434 slugging rate against Scherzer's pitches from righties.
Watch out, among others, for Justin Turner, who carries a 15-game hitting streak into tonight's contest.
In his career, he is 3-for-8 with two home runs against Scherzer.
Who Starts for the Red Sox?
Boston starts James Paxton tonight.
Paxton throws a fastball, cutter, curveball, and changeup.
While his fastball is serviceable, his other pitches are dominant.
Opponents hit .157 against his cutter, .133 against his curveball, and .111 against his changeup.
Paxton's outlook is solid tonight because the Mets rank dead-last with a .378 slugging rate against his pitches from lefties.
Who Starts for the Phillies?
Zack Wheeler starts for Philadelphia tonight.
Wheeler's form has declined relative to the strong stretch he enjoyed mid-June.
Despite facing mediocre or bad lineups, he's allowed at least three earned runs and at least one home run in each of his last four starts.
Guardians' Lineup
Cleveland is hitting extremely well right now, averaging eight runs per game in its last four games.
During this four-game stretch, they boast a league-best .593 slugging rate against Wheeler's pitches from righties.
Who Starts for Cleveland?
The Guardians start Tanner Bibee tonight.
Bibee enters tonight's game in strong form, having allowed four earned runs in his last four games combined.
Impressively, he has sustained his strong form even against tough matchups on the road, such as Texas.
The Guardians are a great underdog tonight. We can take the extra run for our parlay.
Best Bet: Parlay Red Sox ML at -117 & Guardians RL at -160 at +201 odds with BetOnline
Chicago White Sox vs. Minnesota Twins Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Target Field in Minneapolis & Houston Astros vs. Oakland Athletics at 9:07 p.m. ET at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland
- Dylan Cease shows strong form, whereas Sonny Gray and Cristian Javier do not
- Javier can't count on being as fortunate tonight as he was in his last meeting with Oakland
- Paul Blackburn has a favorable matchup tonight
Who Starts for the White Sox?
Dylan Cease starts for the White Sox tonight.
Cease enters tonight's contest in strong form: he has yielded an FIP (like ERA but factors out fielding) below 3.30 in four straight starts.
Moreover, he has yielded an FIP below 3.50 in six straight starts.
During this most recent stretch of play, he has thrived against the Dodgers, Rangers, and Braves.
So he could not be more well-tested ahead of tonight's game.
Cease's Arsenal
Cease throws a fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup.
His success must come as no surprise given the quality of his stuff.
For example, his fastball places in the 80th percentile in velocity and in the 95th percentile in spin rate.
These numbers suggest that his fastball is relatively hard for batters to keep up with and track.
Twins' Lineup
Minnesota's hitting outlook is negative tonight because it matches up poorly against Cease.
The Twins rank 20th with a .401 slugging rate against his pitches from righties.
Who Starts for Minnesota?
Sonny Gray starts for the Twins tonight.
Gray is going to have to be really good to keep up with Cease.
But his most recent starts show a tendency to allow his opponents to be very productive.
He's allowed a combined total of 11 earned runs in his last two starts.
Who Starts for Houston?
Cristian Javier starts for the Astros tonight.
Javier has yielded an ERA of well over 5.00 in four straight starts.
In three of those starts, he yielded an ERA of over 13.00.
Matchup History
One may say that his outlook is nonetheless strong against Oakland.
But Javier was fortunate to allow only one run in his one previous meeting against the A's.
In that start, he yielded a 6.48 FIP (like ERA but factors out fielding), which shows how much difficulty he had individually.
Who Starts for Oakland?
Paul Blackburn starts for the A's tonight.
He's coming off a bad-luck start in which he yielded a high BABIP (batting average of balls in play) despite minimizing hard contact.
His 3.28 FIP shows how well he performed individually. He is due to be more fortunate tonight.
Especially with luck on his side today, he'll thrive against a Houston lineup that ranks below-average against his pitches from righties.
Best Bet: Parlay White Sox RL at -180 & Athletics RL at +104 at +217 odds with BetOnline
