Oakland Athletics at Texas Rangers
Pick: Rangers ML (+133)
Sometimes you have a good handicap and you lose on some bad luck. Sometimes you have a good handicap and you get a little luck on your side! That’s exactly what happened here, as we might have even went against a little sharp money, in order to back the lowly Rangers. The Rangers have been brutal in 2020, with only one bright spot…Lance Lynn! Lynn has been great this year and it felt like the Athletics offense had started to slow down, especially against righties. Lynn only had to face two left handed bats last night, Tony Kemp and Matt Olson, who came into this game hitting .170! On the flip side, the highly touted Jesus Luzardo has been less than impressive on the mound, struggling with his command. For those reasons, I thought it was strange to see the Rangers at any more than +115. 8-game losing streak might do that to you!
If this sounds like a first-five handicap to you, you wouldn’t be wrong. For some reason, I thought it might be alright to put my faith in the horror show that is the Rangers pen. It all looked fine until closer, Rafael Montero loaded the bases with Athletics in the top of the ninth inning and gave everyone flashbacks to the huge grand slam he gave up to Machado just a few days ago. Montero inevitably nailed the save, perhaps benefiting from some “questionable” strike-calls…
Final: 3-2 Rangers
Rafael Montero has 8 called strikes so far in this game, and only one of them was in the strike zone. Luzardo did not get these calls earlier in the game. pic.twitter.com/L0AsjzM5S0
— Alex Hall (@AlexHallAN) August 25, 2020
Kansas City Royals at St. Louis Cardinals
Pick: Royals ML (+152)
Boy, did I think I was clever…Why wouldn’t you pick a dwindling offense going up against one of the more elite pitchers in the league (Jack Flaherty)? Well, let me tell you. After the Cardinals were quarantined and missed over a week of baseball, Flaherty was limited to just 1.2 innings pitched in his first start back. Given that there are already serious concerns about pitcher injuries due to the rushed start of the season, I figured the Cardinals would be in no rush to extend their young ace. The bullpen of the Cardinals has been fairly overworked of late, so I was hoping for runs against them and another strong start from Keller.
Flaherty responded to this analysis by throwing five-innings of one-hit ball on just 65 pitches. The Royals offense has come crashing down to Earth and I could have told you a Brad Keller meltdown was forthcoming based on the underlying statistics. But hey, it was fun while it lasted.
Final: 9-3 Cardinals
Overall:
Daily Record: 5-1 (+3.69U)
Weekly Record: +3.69U
