Jon Jansen 
Now that we are more than halfway through the Major League Baseball season, we have a fairly good idea now of what teams are contenders or pretenders. We’ll take a bit of that thinking into the 9/1 MLB slate, which also includes a trend that I’ve been on for the past week or so. Glad to join the Win Daily Sports team and for the first time let’s dive into some MLB bets on DraftKings Sportsbook!
White Sox Team Total Over 4.5 (-110)
This is been my favorite bet lately and I’m not going to stop now, especially at 4.5. Since August 16 the White Sox have scored less than five runs only twice in 14 games. That doesn’t stop tonight. First of all, Michael Pineda is making his first start this season because he was serving a suspension to start the year. Any cause for concern would be the success Pineda had last season against the White Sox, posting a 4-0 record and 2.88 ERA in four starts. However, this isn’t nearly the same lineup the White Sox were in 2019. Last season the team was 24th in wOBA and 18th in wRC+. In 2020, the White Sox are 2nd in wOBA and 2nd in wRC+ (behind the Padres in both categories). This is an elite lineup with a couple elite hitters. I have a hard time believing Pineda can shut them down in his first start of the season.
Rays are 7-1 against the Yankees this season. Even the dominant Gerrit Cole could not get the Yankees a win against Tampa Bay. This is an injury-plagued Yankees team and they are up against a surging Rays squad. Since August 18th the Yankees have a .202 average, which is tied for the worst in the entire league during that span, and 26th in wOBA. Concerned about Trevor Richards? Not sure you should be. In two starts against New York, he has held the them to only two runs in seven innings. Rays also tagged five runs on Masahiro Tanaka in his last start against them. This is the third time that Tanaka is going to pitch against the Rays and the Yankees lost both of those outings. Even if you are hesitant because of the pitching matchup, it’s still worth taking a shot on at plus-money.
Phillies Team Toal Over 4.5 (-107)
Phillies mash left-handed pitching and they face one tonight in Patrick Corbin. 4th in slugging, 4th in wOBA and 5th in wRC+ against left-handers this season. The Phillies have posted run totals of 10 and eight in their last two games. While the Phillies are certainly not one of the best teams in baseball, this is one of the top lineups in the league. They rank in the top five in most hitting categories. Patrick Corbin was able to hold the Phillies to two runs in six innings just five days ago. It will be very tough for him to do that again.
Thanks so much for reading my article MLB Betting: 9/1 MLB Slate. You can follow me on twitter @jjansen34 and Win Daily @WinDailySports. Check out more MLB and sports betting articles at Win Daily Sports.
