TOM STRYKER’S FREE BASEBALL SELECTION FRIDAY, AUGUST 27TH
#907 CINCINNATI with Miley (-137) over Miami with Thompson at 7:10 PM EST
With a little confidence off yesterday’s 5-1 win at Milwaukee, the Big Red Machine will travel to South Beach and steamroll the overachieving Marlins. Miami enters this contest off back-to-back home wins over Washington and this will prove to be a tough encore for manager Don Mattingly and his troops.
Southpaw Wade Miley will take the bump for the Reds. In four August starts against the Marlins, Cubs, Braves, and Pirates, No. 22 was nicked for seven earned runs and 20 hits in 23.2 innings of work. Miley struck out 19 and walked nine on his way to a 2-0 record and a respectable 2.66 ERA. Pitching under the lights has worked out well for Wade too. At night, Miley has been scratched for only 31 earned runs and 83 hits in 95.0 frames. That shakes down to a solid 8-2 mark with an elite 2.94 ERA.
Greenhorn right-hander Zach Thompson will counter for the Marlins. Matched up against the Reds, Cubs, and Padres in his last three performances, No. 74 was cracked for seven earned runs and 11 hits in 15.0 frames. Thompson whiffed eight and walked five on his way to an 0-1 tally with a 4.20 ERA. Pitching at night hasn’t worked out too well for Zach either. Under the lights, Thompson has been tagged for 15 earned runs and 29 hits in 36.2 innings. That’s bad enough for an 0-4 record with a 3.68 ERA.
A number of reliable trends support this investment. Cincinnati has won 11 of its last 13 after scoring five runs or more in its previous contest, 29 of its last 40 when priced as a favorite, 15 of its last 21 when facing a right-handed starter, and nine of its last 13 when coming off a win. On the other side of LoanDepot Park, Miami has dropped 10 of its last 11 in this series, 23 of its last 31 in the first game of a series, and 39 of its last 57 when priced as an underdog.
With an 8.5-game deficit in the NL Central standings but still in control of a Wild Card spot, the Reds will roll a Marlins bunch that rests 22.0-games under the .500 mark. Take Cincinnati with Miley. Thanks and best of luck, Tom.
TOM’S 64-25 MLB LINE SHOT SMASH OF THE WEEK
Currently on a blistering 36-16 baseball run and off eight consecutive wins, Stryker heads back to the diamond armed with one Best Bet that serves up serious blowout potential. Solid pitching supports this money-maker along with one lucrative 64-25 trend. Grab Tom’s MLB Line Shot Smash of the Week for $30.