MLB Today: Javier Among Tuesday’s Best Prop Bets

M3: Albuquerque 1, Round Rock 0 pic.twitter.com/9E5x8Teagt

— Albuquerque Isotopes (@ABQTopes) August 12, 2023

Baltimore can make some MLB news as the Orioles look to join the Atlanta Braves by becoming the second team to win 75 games and it will come against San Diego starter Michael Wacha, a player with a mixed record against many of the Baltimore batters.

Tampa Bay, Seattle, Arizona, Philadelphia, and Houston are the road teams listed as favorites by the MLB spreads on Tuesday, with the St. Louis Cardinals the heaviest of the home favorites.

According to MLB playoff odds, the Atlanta Braves (+325) have the best odds to win the World Series, followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers at +450 and the Houston Astros at +650.

Tuesday’s Best Bets

Take your pick of Orioles who are excited to see San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael Wacha on Tuesday. Four of them are hitting over .300 against Wacha. Take a look at outfielder Cedric Mullins since he has a .438 career average versus Wacha, with five of his seven hits going for extra bases. Mullins is priced at -165 to go over ½ total hits.

Michael Wacha is expected to be activated on Tuesday to face Baltimore per Bob Melvin pic.twitter.com/rFXf7HpihM

— Al Scott (@AlScott1998) August 12, 2023

Strikeouts have been hard to come by for Cristian Javier of the Houston Astros. He has seven strikeouts in 9.2 innings during his first two starts in August. However, he struck out 25 batters in 21 innings in July so with that in mind, take a look at the +105 moneyline for Javier to go over 5½ strikeouts in Tuesday’s game against Miami.

Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras is only hitting .250 in August. However, he hasn’t gone back-to-back games without a hit since July 22-23 so that makes the +130 mark set by the sportsbook for Contreras to go over 1½ total bases against the Los Angeles Dodgers pretty appealing.

Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Guardians knows how to perform when the lights are on. Coming off his two-game suspension, there will be plenty of attention on him so why not roll with the +320 odds for Ramirez to hit a home run against Cincinnati?

Ready to Pitch In

When the season began, it would have been hard to imagine that the most intriguing pitching match in a mid-August game might be the one between Cleveland’s Logan Allen and Graham Ashcraft of the Cincinnati Reds.

Allen is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in his two starts in August. He had a stretch earlier this season when he allowed six hits and no runs in 12⅔ innings over three games.

Ashcraft had a 7.17 ERA on June 24. Since then, he is 3-1 with a 1.94 ERA over his last eight starts.

List of pitchers in the green matchups include

Nick Pivetta
Graham Ashcraft
Logan Allen
Ty Blach

This could be the greatest dinger tuesday of all time.
Thoughts @Paranormal_Bass ?

See you guys at 5:30 est https://t.co/cagQYK7hD0

s/o @BallparkPal pic.twitter.com/JurzbhvpV7

— Eli (@degenEli) August 15, 2023

There will also be a clash of two pitchers with many different results after being acquired at the MLB trade deadline.

Jordan Montgomery is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his first two starts with the Texas Rangers while Lucas Giolito is 1-2 with a 9.00 ERA in his three starts with the slumping Los Angeles Angels.

Battle of Chicago, Take 2

The Cubs and the White Sox might share the same city, but the two Chicago franchises are worlds apart when it comes to the quality of play on the baseball field in 2023.

The Cubs have played their way into the postseason conversation as they are just one game behind Miami and tied in the loss column in the race for the final playoff spot in the National League.

The White Sox are closer to being in last place in the American League Central than landing in first place.

The Cubs took both games when the teams met in July, with Nico Hoerner hitting .625 and Dansby Swanson belting two home runs.

The Cubs could also be getting pitcher Marcus Stroman back for Wednesday’s matchup. He hasn’t pitched since July 31.

Return of Mad Max

There’s nothing like pitching for a team with something to play for that brings out the best in Max Scherzer.

Any fans of the New York Mets who tuned in to watch the Texas Rangers roll past the Los Angeles Angels on Monday might not have recognized the man on the mound.

Scherzer allowed only an infield single and struck out a season-high 11 batters in seven innings as he improved to 3-0 since being traded by the Mets to the Rangers. Scherzer had a 4.01 ERA in 19 starts with the Mets. That number has dropped to 1.80 in the three appearances with the Rangers.

Streaking Right Along

Not only is 23-year-old shortstop Bobby Witt showing why he was the No. 2 overall selection in the 2019 MLB Draft with a .342 average and 17 extra-base hits since the MLB All-Star break, but 23-year-old third baseman Makiel Garcia continues to pile up the hits.

Garcia is batting .383 in 12 games in August and he had his third straight multi-hit effort in Monday’s win over Seattle to extend his hitting streak to 16 games.

Garcia’s streak could have been even longer as he had hits in five consecutive games before going 0-for-4 in a July 25 loss to Cleveland.

He has raised his batting average from .275 to .288 in his last 22 games.

Is Makiel Garcia the next mlb star. Kid is a hitting fool with elite speed.

— Dave Amerman (@DAmerman11) July 2, 2023

Injury Update

Here is a look at the injuries that could impact Tuesday’s action.

The Chicago White Sox have been without their top home run hitter, Luis Robert Jr., for the last three games with a finger issue and it is uncertain whether he will be in the lineup against the Cubs on Tuesday.

The Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers might both be without their starting shortstops on Tuesday. Carlos Correa is slowed by a heel issue for the Twins and Detroit’s Javier Baez has been placed on the bereavement list.

The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to play without designated hitter J.D. Martinez, who is dealing with a hamstring issue.

Toronto third baseman Matt Chapman (finger) is questionable for Monday’s game with Philadelphia. The Blue Jays are already without shortstop Bo Bichette. The good news is that closer Jordan Romano should be available after working his way back from a back issue.

The New York Yankees are waiting to get second baseman DJ LeMahieu back in the lineup as he is slowed by a calf issue.

Atlanta second baseman Ozzie Albies is questionable after missing the series opener with the Yankees due to a hamstring injury.

Colorado outfielder Jurickson Profar is questionable for the matchup with Arizona with a knee injury.

Michael Wacha is expected to be available for his scheduled start for the San Diego Padres against the Baltimore Orioles after landing on the injured list with a shoulder injury.

Los Angeles Angels first baseman C.J. Cron has missed the last two games with a back injury and is questionable for Tuesday’s game with Texas.

Cleveland will have third baseman Jose Ramirez back for Tuesday’s game with Cincinnati after he served his two-game suspension for his fight in a recent game against the Chicago White Sox.

Wilmer Flores missed San Francisco’s last game with an ear infection and he is questionable to take on Tampa Bay on Tuesday.