TOM STRYKER’S FREE BASEBALL SELECTION THURSDAY, JULY 8TH
#962 SAN DIEGO with Darvish (-160) over Washington with Scherzer at 9:10 PM EST
Embarrassed off that ugly 15-5 home loss to the Nats last night, the Friars will scoop up a huge win here and close this series out with a 2-2 record. Even with yesterday’s dub, Washington has slipped in five of its last seven games and they’ll have serious trouble in this matchup.
Taking the mound for the home team will be veteran right-hander Yu Darvish. In his last three starts against the Phillies, Diamondbacks, and Dodgers, No. 11 was nipped for six earned runs and 14 hits in 18.0 innings. Darvish whiffed 26 and walked only three on his way to a 1-1 mark and a respectable 3.00 ERA. Pitching under the lights has been a good thing for Yu as well. At night, Darvish has been touched for only 14 earned runs and 37 hits in 62.1 frames. That’s good enough for a 6-1 record and a sensational 2.02 ERA.
Intense righty Max Scherzer will counter for the visitors. Matched up against the Dodgers, Marlins, and Phillies in his last three outings, No. 31 has pitched very well surrendering only three earned runs and 11 hits in 17.0 frames. Scherzer owns a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 23-6 and owns a 2-0 tally with an elite 1.59 ERA. As a guest, Max has pitched well too. With 47.0 innings in the books, Scherzer has been tagged for only 10 earned runs and 27 hits. That equates to a 5-2 record with a 2.30 ERA. Surprisingly, with Mad Max on the mound, the Nats have only won nine of their last 16 games.
Plenty of quality team trends support this diamond investment. San Diego has won 23 of its last 30 home games, 51 of its last 71 when priced as home chalk, and 18 of its last 26 if they scored five runs or more last. On the other side of Petco Park, Washington had dropped 10 of its last 12 when competing on Thursday, six of its last eight after allowing five runs or more last, and nine of its last 13 when playing in the fourth game of a series.
Resting in third place in the NL West a full 4.0-games back of the leader, the Padres need to close the gap before the All-Star break hits. Take San Diego with Darvish. Thanks and best of luck, Tom.
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