On Tuesday, we cashed on Freddie Freeman as he hit his second grand slam of the season and fifth of his career. However, the Reds rallied from five runs down to a 9-8 walkoff victory. It was the first of two walkoff victories in this series, sparked by the arrival of the MLB's No. 1 prospect, Elly De La Cruz. The Dodgers will send ace Clayton Kershaw to the mound to avoid the sweep.
North of the border, the Astros and Blue Jays have split the first two games in Toronto. Corey Julks is bringing a hot bat to the final game of this series and he will look to continue that against Jose Berrios.
MLB Player Props For Thursday, June 8
Clayton Kershaw Over 4.5 Hits Allowed (-120)
| Dodgers vs. Reds | |
| First Pitch | 12:35 p.m. ET |
| Best Line | DraftKings |
This season, Clayton Kershaw is 7-4 with a 3.25 ERA. Kershaw is coming off a strong outing against the New York Yankees in which he allowed two runs on four hits and struck out nine in seven innings. Kershaw has allowed at least four hits in nine of his 12 starts this season. He has gone over this line in seven of 12 starts, including five of his last six.
In addition to the hit rate, what draws me to this prop is that Kershaw will likely go deep into this game. The Dodgers have gotten just eight innings from Tony Gonsolin and Noah Syndergaard over the first two games of this series. Additionally, Kershaw has pitched at least six innings in eight of his 12 starts this season. If he allows .833 hits per inning, he will give up five hits in six innings.
That is with the expectation that he puts together a strong outing. The Reds could get to him a lot sooner if they continue what they have been doing over the first two games in this series. The Reds have scored 17 runs on 23 hits in the last two games. Gonsolin and Syndergaard each allowed five hits before departing. The Reds rank 11th in the MLB in batting average and third in on-base percentage.
Kershaw is allowing 4.9 hits per start this season. Barring a masterpiece performance, he likely allows at five hits.
Pick: Clayton Kershaw Over 4.5 Hits Allowed
Corey Julks Over 1.5 Total Bases (+145)
| Astros vs. Blue Jays | |
| First Pitch | 7:07 p.m. ET |
| Best Line | DraftKings |
In a lineup with Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, and Kyle Tucker among others, it is easy to gloss over Corey Julks. In his first season in the big leagues with his hometown team, he is hitting .261 with five home runs and 22 runs batted in.
However, two of those home runs have come in his past six games. He also had another two-hit game in there to clear this line in three of his past six games.
Today, the Astros will face Jose Berrios, who has strung three impressive starts together to lower his ERA to 3.66 for the season. However, he has allowed seven home runs this season.
Despite being right-handed himself, Julks has done better against like-handed pitchers. Four of his home runs have come against right-handed pitchers this season. He is also hitting .267 against them compared to .233 against left-handed pitchers.
A home run will give Julks four bases, and you can take him to hit one at +700 on DraftKings. However, Julks also has eight doubles and 12 multi-hit games this season. Either of those would give him two bases and cash this over for us.
Pick: Corey Julks Over 1.5 Total Bases
