I’m going to steal a page from the NBA’s book and label Moneyline Monday as a schedule loss, because we just didn’t have enough games on the slate to make a worthwhile bet happen. The best we did yesterday was with the valueless White Sox, as the Royals couldn’t push the final run across in the ninth or 10th. Luckily, we’ve got a normal slate today, so we’re back at it. Here are our Totals for Tuesday for August 10.
RAYS-RED SOX OVER 9.5, -110
The Boston bullpen blew it against the Blue Jays on Sunday, and I’m not liking their situation here in following Eduardo Rodriguez, who has really struggled at Fenway this season. Rodriguez’s overall ERA is 1.5 runs higher than it was in 2019, and a large reason for that is because he just hasn’t pitched well in Massachusetts. Luis Patino hasn’t pitched well away from the Trop and seven of the past nine between these teams have gone over the total, so this game should feature plenty of offense.
ORIOLES UNDER 3.5, +155
Casey Mize is coming off two rough starts in three games, but the exception was a 6-2 win over the Orioles in which he held Baltimore to one unearned run in seven innings of work. The Birds scored three or less in five of their past nine games, including twice against Detroit, so another low-scoring offering from Baltimore is in the cards as long as Mize is working with his best stuff.
CARDINALS-PIRATES UNDER 5 F5, -110
Steven Brault looked solid in his first game of the season after missing most of 2021 with a left lat strain, and J.A. Happ actually pitched pretty well with a decent team backing him up. The reason I’m playing first five here is that I don’t want to deal with what either team is going to throw after they get past these pitchers. Happ gave up two runs in five innings last time, then watched as the Braves erupted for five runs off the Cardinals’ bullpen, and with their season lost, the Pirates have little reason to care about the non-Brault portion of this contest.
GIANTS OVER 4.5, -110
Zac Gallen has seen the Giants three times this season. In all three games, San Francisco has tagged him for at least three runs and then picked up at least four off the Arizona bullpen. In two out of three, Gallen was out of the game by the third inning, leaving San Francisco with at least 16 outs to work with against the majors’ worst bullpen. I’d be a bit more aggressive if the game was in Phoenix, but I think there’s a very good chance the Giants won’t be batting in the ninth, so I’ll stick with 4.5 instead of bumping the total up a run.
