After going 1-1 on Friday's slate, Dalton Brown is 12-7 on the season for +6.31 units and hoping to build on his success with a big weekend of baseball ahead.
By Dalton Brown
7:15 p.m. ET: New York Yankees at Los Angeles Dodgers: OVER 8.5 (-110) at DraftKings
The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees will do battle in the second of a three-game set Saturday evening at Dodger Stadium, and I'm expecting these two high-powered offenses to sore over a second straight total.
New York turns to Gerrit Cole on Saturday, its ace who enters the game with a 6-0 record and a 2.93 ERA - but under the surface, there is plenty of reason for concern. Cole has allowed five or more earned runs in two straight starts, and pitched to an ERA of 5.18 since May 1. Dodger Stadium is no place to pitch for a righty who is not in his best form, either - Los Angeles ranks second in baseball in wRC+ against righties since May 1, and lead the category by a landslide if you zoom out and look at the last three seasons.
On the other side, Los Angeles is throwing rookie Michael Grove to the wolves against a Yankees offense that has improved mightily in recent weeks. Grove pitched to an 8.44 ERA in April, and has been toiling in Triple-A of late. New York is no slouch against righties either, posting a 101 wRC+ since May 1, and saw their lineup get even deeper with Friday night's returns of Josh Donaldson and Giancarlo Stanton. Both of them homered in the series opener.
4:10 p.m. ET: Toronto Blue Jays at New York Mets: Blue Jays First 5 Innings moneyline (-107) at BetRivers
The Toronto Blue Jays will look to make it two in a row at Citi Field over the Mets after Friday night's 1-0 win, and I fancy their chances of doing so with Jose Berrios taking the mound.
Berrios (5-4, 3.86 ERA) seems to finally be putting it together in a Blue Jays uniform after being traded to Toronto at the 2021 deadline. The righty has allowed just one run over 12.1 innings in his last two starts, despite pitching on the road against formidable lineups in the Rays and Twins. He has won three of four decisions since May 1 while posting a 3.19 ERA.
The Mets will counter with Tylor Megill, a pitcher struggling as much as anyone in the league at the moment. Megill's xERA has steadily risen to near 6.00, and his last two starts in particular have been disastrous. The righty surrendered six runs in each of those outings despite facing the Rockies and Cubs, and failed to record an out in the fifth inning of either start. Saturday, he'll take on a Blue Jays lineup that ranks third in the league with a wRC+ of 114 vs. righties. I do not anticipate it going well, and I do not understand this first-five moneyline being near a pick'em. Let's take advantage.