MLB Betting: Saturday Best Bets

Juan Blanco likes Zack Wheeler against the Rockies among his best bets for Saturday.
MLB Betting: Saturday Best Bets
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Previous article: 2-2, -0.29, RWBucks          
Season: 74-77-7, -9.45 RWBucks

I'm honing in on a pair of Saturday games where I expect the playoff hopefuls to outperform their respective non-contending opponents with both offense and superior starting pitching. Odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook.

Blue Jays at Orioles, 4:35 p.m. EDT (Game 1)

Starting Pitchers: Hyun Jin Ryu vs. Keegan Akin

The Pick: Ryu Over 4.5 strikeouts (-120) for 1 RWBuck

Secondary Pick: Blue Jays -1.5 (-135) for 1 RWBuck

Ryu has actually been an appreciably better pitcher on the road (7-4, 3.09 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 0.9 HR/9) and is 3-1with a 3.33 ERA against Baltimore in four starts. He's also needed only 5.0 and 5.2 innings on the two occasions he's exceeded 4.5 Ks versus the O's, so the seven-inning duration of this game shouldn't hinder him much. Meanwhile, Akin has allowed a. 270 average and 1.076 OPS in 56 career encounters with current Toronto bats and has a 1-3 record and 6.23 ERA at home this season.

Rockies at Phillies, 6:05 p.m. EDT

Starting Pitchers: Kyle Freeland vs. Zack Wheeler

The Pick: Wheeler over 6.5 strikeouts (-160) for 2 RWBucks

Secondary Pick: Phillies to score first and win (+135) for 1 RWBuck

Freeland has admittedly salvaged what looked like a completely lost season early, but after a long string of mostly strong starts, he was walloped by the Giants for seven earned runs his last time out. The Phillies could be similarly dangerous, as they've posted a .271 average, .813 OPS and .349 wOBA against lefties at home in the second half. Wheeler bounced back from some recent rocky starts to shut out the Brewers over six frames last time out and faces a Rockies squad with a .220/.292/.386 slash line, .295 wOBA and -11.5 wRAA in the second half against righties on the road.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Winner of the FSWA 2016 Newcomer of the Year Award, Juan Carlos Blanco has been playing fantasy sports for over 20 years and covers NBA, MLB, NFL, CFL and Arena Football for Rotowire.com, including serving as the beat writer for teams in multiple sports. He has previously written for KFFL.com and remains an avid season-long and daily fantasy player in multiple sports as well.
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