With Philadelphia losing on Wednesday, a whole bunch of NL teams still have high hopes of reaching up and grabbing a Wild Card spot. While half the league is off or traveling on Thursday, we still have three great matchups with playoff implications, and we take at the odds, care of Bovada.
The Cubs (-1.5 +120 RL, -140 ML) still have their division lead, but not by much, as they visti the Reds (+1.5 -140 RL, +120 ML). Cole Hamels (6-3, 2.84 ERA) gets the start against Alex Wood (1-0, 3.18 ERA), with both starts showing great starts after returning from injury. Both teams are hot, so there’s very little to separate these two for a bet. I’ll take Cincinnati to win at home, so pick the money line and the under. (O/U 9.5)
With so many NL teams trying to snatch their spot away, the Phillies (+1.5 -250 RL, -117 ML) hope to bounce back against the Giants (+1.5 -175 RL, -110 ML), who will send the usually reliable Madison Bumgarner (6-7, 3.92). Bumgarner has been responsible for more wins than his record would indicate, and might have another tough outing against Aaron Nola (10-2, 3.60 ERA). One of these two aces will walk away without a win, and I feel like San Francisco has the better strategy going in, so pick them for the money line, with the under (O/U 7.0).
Finally, the Padres (+1.5 -175 RL, -110 ML) are coming off a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to the Mariners, and will face the even more dangerous Colorado Rockies (-1.5 +155 RL, -110 ML). Both teams will need to start picking up wins if they hope to stay in this race, and the Padres hope Eric Lauer (6-8, 4.43 ERA) can get the job done against Jon Gray (10-7, 4.03 ERA). This matchup favors Colorado all around, as Lauer has been terrible in Colorado, and Gray has been strong against the Padres, so pick the Rockies with the over. It’s my lock of the week! (O/U 8.5).
Tonin’s record yesterday: 5-4
Tonin’s record this season: 48-35
