Chad Hartsock
ConsultantChad's Picks
The Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies cap off a series on Wednesday afternoon after splitting the first two games. The Phillies, of course, came into this series as one of the hottest teams in the league, pulling themselves back above .500 after their dismal start. They have played this series without Kyle Schwarber (illness), and that has really impacted their offense. The Reds are a tough team to figure out, as they are wildly inconsistent in their production. This makes them hard to bet on because they will absolutely embarrass you sometimes, but they also have the ceiling to beat anyone. I like the Reds on the Money Line on Wednesday.
Andrew Abbott takes the ball for the Redlegs. He had a sluggish start to the season, but he has turned in 4 consecutive strong starts. It seems he has settled in finally, and it is helpful that he is a lefty facing Philly. The most dangerous bats in the lineup are lefties, and Abbott should neutralize them a bit. Aaron Nola toes the slab for the home team. With Nola, it feels we are trying to squeeze the last drop of juice out of a once-great fruit. In 4 of his last 5 starts, Nola has failed to finish 5 innings, and he has given up 5 or 6 runs in 3 of those starts. He is hard to trust. Especially if Schwarber continues to miss time, the Reds are the play here.
Reds vs Phillies Prediction: Reds ML (+125) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.
My favorite rivalry in baseball right now is the Los Angeles Dodgers vs the San Diego Padres. With the win last night, the Padres pulled half a game ahead of the Dodgers in the NL West, which only adds to this rivalry. These games are must-watch, with lots of energy and spice. On Monday, the Dodgers gave Yamamoto the standard treatment, where he pitches lights out, allows barely anything, but the offense refuses to score. Happens all the time. Michael King was exceptional on the other side though, and it pushed the Padres’ winning streak to 4 straight (and ended a 5-game winning streak for the Dodgers). Look for the Dodgers to rebound on Tuesday, and this is a spot where you can either hammer the Money Line or roll the dice on the Run Line. I’ll take LA to win.
Emmet Sheehan and Giffin Canning will toe the rubber. This should be a lopsided mismatch. Sheehan had a rough start to the season, but he has allowed 2 runs or less in 4 of his last 5 starts. He is far better than Canning, who I am surprised to find pitching for the Padres. He has made 3 starts this month, allowing 6 runs in each of the last 2 outings. It is not likely that he will find better results against the mighty Dodgers. I am not sure how you would make a case for the Padres tonight with Canning on the mound, whom most of the Dodgers have also seen several times. Give me Sheehan and the Dodgers to win this one and even the series.
Dodgers vs Padres Prediction: Dodgers ML (-160) available at the time of publishing. Playable to -180.
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The Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays continue their series on Tuesday after the Rays exploded for a 16-6 victory on Monday night. It was a day when every ball was hit hard, and everything found a hole. The win also meant that the Rays passed the Braves for the best winning percentage in baseball. Naturally, most of the betting world will back them to win again tonight, and that is probably enough reason to go the other way. I will take the Orioles on the money line.
Kyle Bradish and Giffin Jax will face off on the mound. Bradish has been pitching well of late, and Baltimore certainly needs him to pitch more like a staff ace. Jax, on the other hand, has worked most of the season out of the bullpen but has recently slid over to the rotation for a couple of starts. Obviously, he won’t stay in the game long, both because of pitch count limitations and because Tampa just never lets pitchers go through a lineup a third time. So we can expect to see a lot of the Rays’ bullpen. I’m not sure if it matters much tonight, but the O’s do get Jackson Holiday back in the lineup. The lineup is starting to look a bit more like it was supposed to for Baltimore. Still, I will back Bradish and the Birds to even the series.
Orioles vs Rays Prediction: Orioles ML (+100) available at the time of publishing. Playable to -110.
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