We have a decent Major League Baseball schedule on tap Thursday, with eight games taking place across the landscape on the intriguing card.
Two of our betting analysts have jumped in the mix with their plays, kicking off with a wager from a matinee featuring the Oakland Athletics taking on the Detroit Tigers.
Our latest selections close out this evening, with a pick coming from the showdown between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox.
So, let's see where our handicappers have landed in these games.
MLB Odds & Picks
Athletics vs. Tigers
Jules Posner: The Oakland Athletics ran into the Detroit Tigers at a good time. Conversely, the Tigers ran into the A's at a bad time. One team has a reputation for quality rebuilds in short period and the Tigers' rebuild presently has its wheels stuck in the mud.
Technically, the A's are going for the four-game sweep in Thursday's matchup and send James Kaprielian to the mound to finish the job.
Since returning from an injury, Kaprielian has had mixed results. His first start was short, as he struggled with command against a patient Cleveland Guardians' offense. He bounced back his next start, striking out seven over 5 2/3innings at Minnesota.
Over the past two weeks, the Tigers have been the worst home offense and the worst home offense against RHP in terms of wRC+ and have only scored six runs at home during that stretch.
While Tigers' starter Beau Brieske has had a challenging schedule to start his career, his FIP at home presently sits at 8.32 thus far as he battled through a shaky five innings against the Colorado Rockies.
The A's offense is nothing to write home about, but seem to favor hitting on the road. Oakland is 13% better offensively on the road, and although that does not mean it's good by any stretch, it has a clear edge in this meeting.
The A's are still considered underdogs, but their moneyline is worth the risk as long as it's in plus-money territory.
Yankees vs. White Sox
DJ James: The White Sox struggled early in the season, but have made their way to 15-14 and 2.5 games behind Minnesota in the American League Central Division. Cy Young hopeful and starting pitcher, Dylan Cease, will throw against Luis Gil and the Yankees.
Part of the Chicago resurgence in the last week or so has been its ability to hit righties. In the month of May, the White Sox stand at the 11 wRC+ collectively, and adding Yoán Moncada back to the batting order the other day helped manager Tony La Russa's lineup construction even more.
Cease has been phenomenal. He has slight trouble with location, but otherwise, he's a top-tier pitcher who will receive Cy Young votes if everything goes to plan. His 1.75 xERA ranks in the 96th percentile and rarely allows hard contact (25%) this season. Considering that the Yankees rank first in Hard Hit Percentage and Exit Velocity, this will help the Chicago greatly.
Not only that, Gil has not made a start and he will be throwing to a White Sox team that has found its way. Outside of Tuesday's blown lead against Cleveland, the White Sox bullpen (2.70 ERA) has been impeccable so far.
