Last night, the Athletics jumped out to a 3-0 lead over the Pirates. However, they couldn't hang on as the Pirates rallied for a 5-4 victory. It was the 15th consecutive road loss for the A's, and No. 16 could be on the way as they face Mitch Keller on Tuesday night.
The Reds helped the Pirates move back into first place in the NL Central with a victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Andrew Abbott dazzled in his MLB debut, allowing just one hit while tossing six scoreless innings.
The Reds will be hoping for another outing like that from Luke Weaver. However, the assignment will be a bit more difficult as they welcome Freddie Freeman and the Los Angeles Dodgers to town.
Meanwhile, after splitting a four-game series with the Padres, the Cubs will continue their California road trip with a series against the Angels.
Tonight, they'll face left-hander Tyler Anderson, who may just issue a pair of walks.
MLB Player Props For Tuesday, June 6
Mitch Keller Over 7.5 Strikeouts (+130)
| Athletics vs. Pirates | |
| First Pitch | 7:05 p.m. ET |
| Best Line | bet365 |
Keller has long been one of the game's top prospects since the Pirates made him a second-round pick in the 2014 MLB Entry Draft. It's taken him a while to realize that promise, as he had a 6.12 ERA over the first 203 innings of his career.
However, this season, he's emerged as the ace the Pirates have been searching for since trading Gerrit Cole to the Astros.
This season, Keller is 7-1 with a 3.25 ERA, and he's been been particularly effective with his strikeout pitch.
Keller ranks fourth in MLB with 93 strikeouts in 74 2/3 innings. If you want to go a bit safer for a parlay, Keller has struck out seven in 10 of his 12 starts this season.
He's cleared this line in eight of 12 starts this season, including each of his past seven. He's continued that streak despite allowing 10 runs in his last two starts.
He should find more success against the A's, but they have scored nine runs in the past two games.
I imagine that Keller will be a popular bet today in this matchup. The A's rank second in the majors in strikeout percentage (26.5%) against right-handers this season.
Recently, Astros starter Hunter Brown piled up 19 strikeouts in two consecutive starts against Oakland. Marlins starter Edward Cabrera had 10 strikeouts against Oakland on Friday.
Keller has reached double-digit strikeouts twice this season (10 and 13), and you can play him to get 10 at +425 on bet365 and 11 at +750 on FanDuel. However, I like his chances of recording at least eight tonight and continuing his streak.
Pick: Mitch Keller Over 7.5 Strikeouts
Freddie Freeman Over 1.5 Total Bases (-135)
| Dodgers vs. Reds | |
| First Pitch | 7:10 p.m. ET |
| Best Line | bet365 |
In the weekend series against the Yankees, Freeman saw his 20-game hitting streak come to an end. He was hitless in two of three games and went 1-for-14 in the series.
Despite that, Freeman is still hitting .381 over his past 15 games, and he hit .400 in the month of May.
He has a great matchup to get back on track tonight. Freeman gets Reds right-hander Weaver, who's 1-2 with a 5.36 ERA in eight starts this season. At home, Weaver's ERA jumps to 5.64, and he's allowed seven home runs in 22 1/3 innings.
He's allowed five home runs to left-handed hitters. Freeman doesn't have a home run off of Weaver, but he's 4-for-13 (.308) against him in his career.
Freeman is hitting .345 with 17 doubles, four home runs, 19 runs batted in and a .950 OPS against right-handed pitching this season. In 33 games at Great American Ball Park, he also has a .303 career batting average, seven home runs and 22 runs batted in.
Despite the series against the Yankees, Freeman has hit this line in six of his last 10 games. That's also his exact hit rate for the season, covering in 30 of 50 games.
With a hitter like Freeman playing at Great American Ball Park, I can live with a 60% hit rate.
Pick: Freddie Freeman Over 1.5 Total Bases
Tyler Anderson Over 1.5 Walks (-150)
| Cubs vs. Angels | |
| First Pitch | 9:38 p.m. ET |
| Best Line | DraftKings |
Anderson's last start came against the Cubs' rivals on the South Side. The White Sox rank 30th in the MLB in walks percentage. Despite that, Anderson walked two batters in four innings. The rest of his start didn't go well for him as he allowed six runs on six hits.
Anderson's first season as an Angel hasn't gotten off to the best of starts, as he has a 5.47 ERA and 1.59 WHIP thus far.
Anderson's struggles finding the strike zone have contributed to his WHIP being well above league average. He's issued 25 walks in just 52 2/3 innings.
He's walked at least two batters in nine of 10 starts this season. In four of those starts, he's surrendered three or more walks, with a season-high five coming against the Rangers.
Anderson will face a Cubs lineup that ranks seventh in walks percentage against left-handed pitchers.
It's possible that we get a first inning cash, with Dansby Swanson and Ian Happ batting second and third in the Cubs' lineup. Swanson has drawn 32 walks this season while Happ has drawn 41 walks. They each rank in the top 15 in MLB.
However, if it doesn't cash in the first, Anderson is averaging over five innings and nearly 24 batters per start. If Anderson pitches five innings tonight, he likely gives up two walks.
