The MLB season churns ahead on Thursday, and we have a nine-game slate to navigate from a sports betting perspective. I'm heading to the prop sheet for today's wall-to-wall action, where I've narrowed in on four MLB player props.
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Thursday’s Top MLB Player Props & Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Lucas Giolito Over 3.5 Strikeouts (-149)
Let's pick it up in this matinee showdown out East between the Padres and Phillies. I'm playing the over on Lucas Giolito against this deflated number of 3.5 strikeouts. The right-hander is far from his elite form that we saw back in the early 2020s, but I still think this is a good buy-low spot on the journeyman hurler.
Giolito will be squaring off against a Phillies side that has been struggling. Over the last week, Philadelphia is 29th in wOBA (.270) and has the third-highest strikeout rate (27.6%). Giolito has found success against their current roster, limiting them to a slash line of .208/.296/.583 over 72 at-bats. Of those 72 at-bats, 24 have ended in punchouts (33.3%).
Samuel Basallo Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-137)
We could see quite a bit of scoring in this Orioles-Red Sox matchup, which pits Trevor Rogers (6.84 ERA) against Brayan Bello (5.63 ERA). I'm expecting Baltimore's Samuel Basallo to get in on the action. I'll take him to log two or more combined hits + runs + RBIs this afternoon.
Basallo has been one of the Orioles’ top hitters over the last week, hitting .375 with a .250 ISO during the seven-day stretch. He has eclipsed this line in three of his last six starts.
Basallo is 2-for-5 (.400) in his career against Bello, with a home run and a double. Baltimore's roster is 29-for-99 (.293) against the right-hander, so there should be ample opportunities for Basallo to drive in runs.
Tyler Soderstrom Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-116)
It has been an off year for Chicago's Shota Imanaga (4.37 ERA), and I'm looking to fade him in this spot against the dangerous Athletics offense.
I'm riding with Tyler Soderstrom to register two or more combined hits + runs + RBIs at Wrigley Field tonight. The clean-up man has done so in three of his last four games, as well as in six of his last nine outings. Soderstrom is 1-for-3 (.333) lifetime against Imanaga.
Andy Pages Under 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (+118)
I'm wrapping up my card with this plus-money play on Andy Pages to go under 1.5 combined hits + runs + RBIs. The Dodgers slugger has been struggling over the last seven days, hitting just .192 with a .267 wOBA.
What stands out most to me is that Pages is just 1-for-14 (.071) against Arizona's Ryne Nelson (4.82 ERA). Los Angeles' entire roster is slashing a measly .194/.273/.357 against the Snakes starter. Let's take a shot on Pages to have a clunker tonight in the desert.
