As we get into the sixth week of the 2023 MLB regular season, some starting pitchers are rounding into shape after a tough start. Others are coming back down to earth after sparkling starts to the season. Still others are still rocking and rolling – and there are also some working their way down to the minor leagues. The starting pitcher plays a key role in a team’s fortunes in a game – which is why they are so important to think about when you consider your MLB betting position on a game. Let’s look at some pitchers that you should stay away from.
MLB Betting News: Pitchers to Avoid after Week 5 | MLB Lines
Every Oakland Starter Except Mason Miller
Drew Rucinski is a free-agent who has three starts so far in 2023. He has allowed a total of 17 runs (13 earned) in those starts, and he has allowed a home run in each one. He did last five innings at Yankee Stadium, but things turned ugly in the fifth and he ended up giving up seven runs (five earned) on the night. Ken Waldichuk has a 7.23 ERA on the season; his best start came on April 18 in Chicago, when he threw five scoreless innings in a 4-0 loss, as the bullpen and the offense both sputtered. The A’s have won four of the five games that he’s started, but he has allowed 12 earned runs on 18 hits, including five home runs, in his last three starts.
So what about Mason Miller? Well, typically for Oakland fans, the decent starting pitcher has now headed to the injured list, retroactive to May 8, with right elbow inflammation. Before that, though, he had a 3.38 ERA. The offense was doing exactly nothing for him, but he threw seven sparkling innings against Seattle on May 2, striking out six and walking out four without permitting a single hit. The bullpen and the offense did him in too, as the A’s lost, 2-1.
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Max Scherzer, New York Mets
Did you think that Scherzer would go to New York and start with a 2-2 record and a 5.56 ERA? We didn’t either. He had two nice outings in the middle of April, holding the Padres and Dodgers scoreless over eight combined innings, striking out nine, walking five and permitting just two hits? Well, he had to leave the Dodger game after three innings, accused of using some sort of illicit substance on the ball. He claimed that it was just a combination of rosin and sweat (and television analyst David Cone performed an on-air experiment showing that this combination could indeed produce sticky fingers), but he still got banned for a start. He came back on May 3 and got shelled in Detroit for six runs on eight hits, including a pair of long balls (and this is pitcher-friendly Comerica Park, not tiny Tiger Stadium). Also, he hadn’t been pitching well before those two solid outings, so tap the brakes before you bet heavy on the Mets if Max is on the hill. He’s 38, so things could be on the decline.
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Zach Plesac, Cleveland Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians are stumbling out of the gate at the start of their defense of their AL Central title, but thanks to mediocrity up and down the division, their 17-20 start only has them 3 ½ games out of first. If they were in the AL East, they would be in last place, three games behind fifth-place New York and 12 games out of first. Zach Plesac’s pitching is one reason for the Tribe’s slow start, with a 1-1 record and a 7.29 ERA. Things were ugly again on Saturday, as he only lasted 3 ⅓ innings in Boston, allowing five runs on eight hits, including a home run. Until Plesac starts finding less of the plate, it’s hard to back him.
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