Stacy Revere/Getty Images. Pictured: Corbin Burnes.
Weekend baseball is some of the best baseball, so it’s no surprise that it’s also some of the best baseball to bet.
Our MLB experts came through with two picks for Friday night’s games in an attempt to get the weekend started off on the right foot. The action starts with A’s vs. Yankees in the Bronx at 7:05 p.m. ET followed by Brewers vs. Rockies at Coors Field at 8:40 p.m. ET.
Check out both picks, and feel free to use the table below to navigate to either game.
MLB Odds & Picks
| Click on a game to skip ahead | |
| A’s vs. Yankees | 7:05 p.m. ET |
| Brewers vs. Rockies | 8:40 p.m. ET |
A’s vs. Yankees
| Pick | A’s ML +130 |
| Book | William Hill |
| Pitchers | James Kaprielian vs. Jameson Taillon |
| First Pitch | 7:05 p.m. ET |
Kenny Ducey: I’ll admit that I’m riding a bit of a narrative here, with James Kaprielian facing the team that drafted him in the first round in 2015 and traded him away a couple of years later for Sonny Gray as he dealt with an elbow injury.
With that said, you’d be absolutely justified in taking Kaprielian as the underdog here with how poor Jameson Taillon has pitched and with how wonky this Yankees offense has looked.
Now, I know fading the Yankees is not exactly the most fun prospect in the world after they just went to Buffalo and swept the Blue Jays. With that said, they haven’t won a game in a weekend series at home in nearly a month. This offense is still lost and had the benefit of facing some mediocre pitching over the past few days.
Kaprielian should be a much tougher ask.
He flaunts a 2.50 ERA in six starts, striking out 25.7% of hitters and allowing just a .302 xwOBA. Those aren’t ace numbers, but they’re damn good — and he’s shown the type of composure necessary to handle a start of this magnitude. Rarely has he taken the A’s out of a ballgame.
Meanwhile, the A’s offense should crush Taillon, whose hard-hit rate has climbed to 43.2%. Few teams make as much quality contact as the A’s, and it’s also noteworthy they rank just outside the top 10 in weighted runs created per 100 pitches against the fastball with 0.24.
Taillon throws that pitch over 52% of the time, and it’s been the bane of his existence this year, yielding six home runs. The A’s are the move.
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Brewers vs. Rockies
| Pick | Under 10.5 |
| Book | BetRivers |
| Pitchers | Corbin Burnes vs. Antonio Senzatela |
| First Pitch | 8:40 p.m. ET |
Jeff Hicks: Imagine betting the under at Colorado, right? I am because Corbin Burnes is a stud and Antonio Senzatela is OK (surprise!) at home.
Burnes’ road ERA is an even 1.00 with an impressive .113/.157/.194 slash line against. Senzatela has a 3.83 home ERA and has allowed two home runs in 47.0 innings pitched.
The Rockies have had issues at home despite their perceived offensive advantage. Colorado is tied for the second-lowest wRC+ at home versus right-handers and somehow has a top 10 BABIP. The Rox are shockingly inefficient.
Milwaukee also owns a bottom-10 road wRC+ against righties and strikes out 26.6% of the time.
Both pitchers should have productive outings against questionable offenses.
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