TOM STRYKER’S FREE BASEBALL SELECTION SATURDAY, APRIL 29TH
#971 NY YANKEES with Brito (+125) over Texas with Eovaldi at 7:05 PM EST
After last night’s 5-2 loss to the Rangers and with blemishes in four of their last six battles, the Bronx Bombers will come to play here. Surprisingly, New York is in fourth place in the AL East division a jaw-dropping 7.0-games behind Tampa Bay (current leader with a 22-5 mark) and the Pinstripes can’t afford to fall back much more especially with Baltimore and Toronto playing well.
Young right-hander Jhony Brito will take the mound for the Yankees. After getting lit up like a Christmas tree back on April 13th against the Twins, No. 76 settled down in his last two performances against the Halos and Twinkies (once again) allowing just four earned runs and six hits in 7.0 innings. Jhony whiffed four and walked six on his way to an 0-1 tally with a 5.14 ERA. If you take away that dismal performance against Minnesota just 16 days ago, Brito’s other four starts resulted in just five earned runs and 11 hits in 17.0 frames. That’s good enough for a 2-1 record with a solid 2.65 ERA.
Aging righty Nathan Eovaldi will counter for the home team. With five starts in the books in 2023, No. 17 was zapped for 16 earned runs and 34 hits in 27.2 innings of work. Nathan struck out 31 and walked five on his way to a 2-2 mark with a soft 5.20 ERA. In his career, Eovaldi has made 18 appearances against the Yanks and put together a 3-4 tally with a 3.83 ERA.
Plenty of reliable team trends support this wager. New York has won nine of its last 12 when coming off a loss, seven of its last eight in the third game of a series, and 51 of its last 74 when facing an opposing starting pitcher that holds a WHIP greater than 1.30. Meanwhile, Texas has fallen in 42 of its last 57 against AL East foes and eight of its last 10 when competing on Saturday.
The Yankees are just 3.0-games above the .500 mark right now and that isn’t going to cut it in the incredibly competitive AL East division. Expect a determined effort from manager Aaron Boone’s troops here. Take New York with Brito. Thanks and best of luck, Tom.
TOM’S 44-15 MLB ULTIMATE DATABASE WAGER
Checking in off a 2-0 sweep last night that scooped up big wins on Milwaukee (MLB Interleague Game of the Month) and Sacramento in the NBA, Stryker heads back to the yard armed with one diamond dandy that will deliver the mail. Solid pitching supports this power play along with one team trend that holds a magnificent 44-15 mark. Grab Tom’s MLB Ultimate Database Wager for $30.