How will Shota Imanaga perform when his Chicago Cubs take on the Washington Nationals? Can Clayton Kershaw put together a great start for the Los Angeles Dodgers, as he battles the Arizona Diamondbacks? And will Francisco Lindor extend his hitting streak to 10 games when the New York Mets take on the Chicago White Sox?
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How will Shota Imanaga perform when his Chicago Cubs take on the Washington Nationals? Can Clayton Kershaw put together a great start for the Los Angeles Dodgers, as he battles the Arizona Diamondbacks? And will Francisco Lindor extend his hitting streak to 10 games when the New York Mets take on the Chicago White Sox?
Here are the best PrizePicks plays for Friday, August 30.
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This Season: 97-71-7
Imanaga has struck out 140 batters in 140.1 innings this season. However, in two of his last three games, he's failed to strike out one batter per inning. In fact, in his last start against the Miami Marlins, he only managed three strikeouts in 7.0 innings. It was the first time this season that he struck out fewer than six batters when pitching at least 7.0 innings.
The Nationals have the fifth-fewest strikeouts in the league, so perhaps we should be backing Imanaga to go Under tonight. However, the Nationals also don't score many runs, so it's unlikely that Imanaga will be chased early. He's coming off a low-strikeout start, but that shouldn't stop him from getting back to his usual rate of one strikeout per inning.
Kershaw has only pitched in six games this season, and while he's had a few solid starts, he was shelled his last time out. Against the Tampa Bay Rays, Kershaw allowed nine hits and five earned runs in just 5.0 innings. He did strike out five batters in that start.
For Kershaw to hit this Over tonight, he'll need to pitch at least 6.0 innings. He's only done that once so far this season. However, it's clear that the Dodgers are ready for Kershaw to pitch deep into a game, he just has to have good stuff for them to keep him in. Kershaw has struck out 23 Diamondbacks in 84 attempts in his career. It's not a great ratio, but as long as Kershaw doesn't have a performance like his last time out, he'll go deep enough to hit this low number.
Lindor doesn't have any history against White Sox starter Jonathan Cannon. Based on how Cannon has pitched this season, it's not hard to see how this matchup should go. Cannon has allowed 98 hits and 13 home runs in 90.2 innings. He also has an ERA of 4.57.
Meanwhile, Lindor is in the middle of a nine-game hitting streak. He's recorded multiple hits in five games during that stretch and topped 1.5 total bases seven times. Lindor will likely hit this number against Cannon. However, if he doesn't, the Mets will chase Cannon early enough that Lindor will have time to take advantage of a terrible bullpen.
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.
