Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – September 9th

The Tampa Bay Rays are the hottest team in the American League right now, winners of nine of ten — and now a game ahead of Oakland for the first wild card out of the junior circuit. The New York Yankees still lead the AL East by 8 ½ games, and their 94-50 record is tied with Houston for the best record in the AL. Houston leads Oakland by 9 ½ games in the AL West, and Minnesota leads the AL Central by 5 ½ games over the Cleveland Indians, who are 1 ½ games out of the wild card race. In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers have split their last ten games, but they still lead the West by 17 games. St. Louis has moved to a 4 ½-game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central, while Atlanta has won nine of ten to pull out to a nine-game lead over Washington. Washington and the Cubs hold the two wild cards in the National League right now, with Arizona 1 ½ games behind the Cubs. Thinking about including baseball in your sports betting this week? Take a look at our top MLB betting picks.

Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – September 9th

In this week’s MLB Power Rankings, we’re mulling the last big question of the season. ➡️ https://t.co/y2X0WFqp3a pic.twitter.com/6979leH9m5

— Yahoo Sports MLB (@MLByahoosports) September 9, 2019

Monday, September 9

Oakland at Houston (8:10pm ET)

• Projected Pitching Matchup: Mike Fiers (14-3, 3.51 ERA) (OAK) vs Zack Greinke (14-5, 3.09 ERA) (HOU)

Mike Fiers has been Oakland’s top pitcher all season long; the A’s have not lost a game that Fiers started since July 18. He last faced Houston on August 15; despite permitting five earned runs over six innings (and giving up four home runs), Oakland’s bats got going for a 7-6 win. After that rough night, Fiers pitched 10 ⅔ combined innings against the Yankees and the Royals, permitting three earned runs on 14 hits. His last start, on September 3 against the Angels, was a little rougher, though, as he gave up four earned runs on seven hits, including two home runs. Fiers has gotten up for the big games this year, though, as have the Oakland hitters. Zack Greinke has pitched well this year, and after coming over from Arizona via trade, he got wins in his first four starts. However, since then, he has gotten lit up in his last two starts. Against the Rays and the Brewers, he pitched 11 ⅔ combined innings, permitting nine earned runs on 14 hits, including three home runs. Greinke has ace stuff, but he often has a hard time in high-pressure situations, and a late-September game against an Oakland team pushing hard for a wild card counts as one of those situations. Final Score Prediction: Oakland 5, Houston 3

Tuesday, September 10

Chicago Cubs at San Diego (10:10pm ET)

• Projected Pitching Matchup: Jose Quintana (13-8, 4.00 ERA) (CHI) vs Ronald Bolanos (0-1, 3.00 ERA) (SD)

Jose Quintana has started 10 games since July 14, and the Cubs have won eight of them. He has only taken one loss on his record since then, a 7-2 beating by the Nationals on August 24. In those ten starts, he has permitted two or fewer earned runs five times — all coming in his last seven starts. He did give up four earned runs on five hits and a couple of home runs over five innings on September 5 against Milwaukee, but the Cubs’ bats bailed him out by scoring 10 runs in the game. Now he heads west to take on a San Diego team that is struggling to score runs. The Padres will counter with Roland Bolanos, making his second start of the season. He threw six solid innings against Arizona on September 3, permitting two earned runs on five hits, striking out four and walking two. Pitchers tend to have an advantage at least the first time or two through the batting order when they are new to a team of hitters, but the Cubs will have film on Bolanos from this game, so I see Quintana outdueling the youngster. Final Score Prediction: Chicago 6, San Diego 2