Although May wasn’t the greatest month for my wagers, I am improving. After a dreadful 7-16-1 April, I had a record of 10-14 in May. After losing an abysmal $887.05 in April, I only lost $451.56 this past month. Cheers to me. In total, I have lost $1,338.61 pretend dollars for all of you. That is not good and I am sorry. If you’ve read these articles and faded immediately, you would have made money. I wouldn’t not recommend doing that. Having said that, May was better than April. Here’s to hoping June is better than May. It’s time to make some picks!
Shane Bieber O/U 8.5 Strikeouts
Keeping up with the monthly trend, Shane Bieber (5-3, 3.13 ERA) had 68 strikeouts over six starts in April. In May, he had 42 strikeouts in five starts. Before his last start against the Tigers in which he struck out 12, Bieber had not had a double-digit strikeout game since the end of. . . April. Tonight, he will face the White Sox. In two starts against them this season (both in April), Bieber struck out 11 in each game. To hit the over tonight, he will need just nine punchouts.
As a club, the White Sox are middle of the pack when it comes to striking out. Their team K rate is 23.7 percent. The league’s K rate as a whole right now is 24.2 percent. Bieber’s K rate is a flat-out ridiculous 36.4 percent. After turning a corner against the Tigers last time out (he had allowed 11 earned runs in his previous 22.2 innings pitched before that), I believe Bieber will keep things rolling with another excellent start tonight.
Pick: over 8.5 strikeouts (-124, DK)
Padres at Cubs O/U 8.5
In this pitching matchup, we have Kyle Hendricks (5-4, 4.63 ERA) facing off against Ryan Weathers (2-1, 1.31 ERA). Although Hendricks was much better in May (2.67 ERA) than he was in April (7.54 ERA), let’s consider his opponents. In three of his starts this past month, Hendricks faced the Pirates twice and the Tigers once. Ironically, the Pirates touched him up a bit in those two starts (seven total earned runs). In his other two May starts, Hendricks was excellent against the Dodgers and Cardinals allowing just one earned run in each game. Tonight, with the wind blowing out slightly to left field, I believe some runs will be scored. Although the Padres have scored just six runs total in their past two games, their offense had been hot scoring 35 total runs in the five games previous to those two.
I do not doubt that the Padres will score runs. Hendricks is due for a dud. The Cubs will need to keep up. With Weathers on the mound and an excellent bullpen following him up, the Cubs’ offense may struggle to score. If they can scratch together three or four runs, this over will hit.
Pick: over 8.5 runs (+117, DK)
Rangers at Rockies First Inning O/U 0.5
When it comes to this pick, I like the odds on the under (+110, DK). Pitching matchup-wise, we have Germán Márquez (3-5, 4.47 ERA) and Dane Dunning (2-4, 4.75 ERA). Although both of these pitchers are not particularly good, it’s not like the offenses are otherworldly either. The Rangers have scored six total runs in their last four games. The Rockies were shut out completely on Saturday against the Pirates over two games of a doubleheader. Vegas has this game’s over/under set at ten runs. I don’t know if I agree with it. Yes, they’re playing at Coors Field. And yes, the pitching matchup isn’t particularly inspiring. That said, I think there is a pretty solid chance that this game has a clean first inning. For me, the odds were too good to pass up.
Pick: under 0.5 first-inning runs (+110, DK)
Nathan Hursh Overall Record: (17-30-1)
Net Money (assuming all wagers are $100): –$1,338.61
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)