MLB (1 Pick)
FOLLOW THE UNIT INSTRUCTIONS
We're going to be taking it a bit slower than usual the final few weeks of the regular season here. We do this every year. With the expanded rosters and half these teams pretty much eliminated from contention it's a very unpredictable time of year. Once the MLB playoffs hit we'll be firing away just about everyday. Last season we made over 35 Units in the MLB playoffs alone.
It's been back and forth lately but a very successful season nonetheless. Those who have placed every MLPC wager this year are currently up 128.55 Units. At just $100 per Unit that's $12,855. As consistent as we've been all season, this is still sports betting. It's not always a smooth ride despite our success.
7:05PM Eastern: BAL/HOU Over 9 (3 Units)
Getting what could very well be an ALCS preview with this 3 game set. Baltimore holds a 2 game lead over TB for the #1 overall seed and divisional lead with 2 less games played. Houston holds a 1.5 game lead over the Rangers for the AL Central with Seattle just 2.5 games back as well.
Baltimore starts John Means. He was okay in his 2023 debut, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and a 2 Homeruns over 5IP. That was against an Eliminated Cardinals team that ranks 20th in OPS in September though. He was also pitching at Home. Now he's going into Houston to face an Astros offense that's averaging 6.13 runs per game with the highest OPS in the Month of September. They're also the 2nd ranked offense vs Left-Handed Pitching this season.
This Houston teams ranks 4th in OBP on the season and they grind out at bats. Means only threw 75 pitches before getting pulled in his debut. Partly for performance but if BAL wants to make a World Series push they're going to need him for October. He'll need to be very efficient to go deeper than 5 innings in this one. The Orioles bullpen was forced to pitch 6 innings yesterday as they played 11 innings against TB yesterday. Not going to see the best of the Orioles bullpen.
Houston will start Justin Verlander. The future Hall of Famer has struggled at home recently. Looking back at his past 4 home starts he allowed 5 ER over 7IP to an awful Oakland A's lineup in his most recent home start, 6 ER over 6IP to a poor Yankees offense, he did shutout the Red Sox over 6IP, but also allowed 3ER over 6IP to a bad Angels offense.
This will be the best offense he's faced at home in some time. The Orioles are averaging 5.93 Runs per game and rank 9th in OPS through the Month of September. Verlander may very well be approaching an innings limit late in the season. He's 40 years old, had major surgery not too long ago, and showed massive signs of fatigue late last year. He posted a 5.85 ERA across 4 playoff starts last season. He pitched 175 innings over 28 starts in the regular season and is current at 143.1 over 24. He missed the first month of the season with a Strain.
