The Yankees and White Sox will play the final game of their three-game series, with the Yankees looking for the sweep. Below, I explain why I don't expect the Yankees to have any trouble accomplishing that feat. I also highlight why the Braves' bats should come to life and how the Angels can pull off a minor upset over the Athletics. Here are the best MLB picks for Thursday, June 18th.
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Thursday’s Best MLB Picks & Predictions
(Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook)
Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees
The Yankees have demolished the White Sox in this series, scoring at least 10 runs in each of the first two games and winning each contest by at least five runs.
While the White Sox bats could easily come to life against Yankees starter Ryan Weathers, a pitcher who has allowed at least five earned runs in three consecutive games, I still don't think they'll be able to keep score with the Yankees for the third consecutive game.
Sean Burke will be on the mound for the White Sox, and he's in the middle of a pretty bad slump. He's allowed two home runs in back-to-back games and has allowed seven earned runs in just 8.1 innings across those two starts. Burke has now allowed at least three runs in six starts this season, with four of those performances coming in his last seven appearances.
Though Burke has only allowed nine home runs this season, allowing four in his last two starts before facing the league's top home run-hitting team is worrisome. Take the Yankees to overcome Weathers' struggles and sweep the White Sox in a convincing fashion.
Pick: Yankees -1.5 (+130)
San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Braves
Maybe oddsmakers are frightened by the Braves' recent offensive struggles, but I'm surprised to see the price for their team total over 4.5 runs sitting at +110. The Giants have lost eight consecutive games started by Landen Roupp, allowing at least five runs in all but one of those contests.
Roupp has allowed 13 earned runs in 14.1 innings this month, allowing four to the Cubs last Friday and eight to the Brewers on June 1st. He's now allowed at least four earned runs in four of his last eight starts.
The Braves have scored five or fewer runs in seven consecutive games, but they still would have hit this over in three of those games. That includes last night's 7-5 loss to the Giants. The Braves haven't been their best of late, but this is still the sixth-highest scoring team in the Majors. I'll back them to break out of their slump against a struggling pitcher.
Picks: Braves Team Total Over 4.5 Runs (+110)
Los Angeles Angels at Athletics
The Angels are 15 games below .500, but I believe there is a lot of value in backing them to beat the Athletics tonight. Though the Athletics lead the season series 3-1, three of the four games between these two teams have been decided by one run.
I like Jose Soriano more than Gage Jump in this matchup, giving the Angels the pitching advantage. While the Angels are the most strikeout-prone team in the league, the Athletics have also struggled to make contact, striking out 626 times this season, ninth-most in the league. Soriano has struck out 92 batters in 87 innings, and he's struck out 25 Athletics in 94 at-bats.
Jump has never faced the Angels, and while he's been solid at times, he has also allowed at least three runs in two of his four starts this season. The Angels have been streaky of late, but I'll take them to get the better of a young starter who has shown some blemishes. Especially since I don't think the offense will need to score much to win this game.
Pick: Angels Moneyline (+113)
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.