MLB Games Of The Day For Wednesday, August 10

One thing we know is that the Houston Astros are far and away the best team in the AL West, and it really isn't close. Yes, the Seattle Mariners have been doing their very best in trying to catch up, but they are double digit games back. What's crazy is that is second place in this division, with everyone else so far behind that they might as well throw in the towel and get their golf swings ready.

Justin Verlander is one the mound for the Astros in this one. In his last game, he allowed two hits and one walk while striking out five over six shutout innings of work to earn the win over the Guardians. He has now gone seven straight starts allowing one or fewer earned runs, winning each contest. He has a 1.73 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 127:23 K:BB through 130.0 innings in 20 starts this year. It's safe to say that he should be one of the favorites for AL Cy Young, and it's astounding what the 39-year-old continues to do at his age.

My favorite bet for this game is Astros -0.5 first five innings. Glenn Otto is pitching for the Rangers, and that is bad juju for them.

Can Noah Syndergaard ever get back to the pitcher he once was? His time with the Angels didn't go well, and his first start with the Phillies also was pretty awful, even though he managed to earn the win. Philadelphia is certainly better than Los Angeles this season, and he should have more help from his offense, but he has just not been very good for a while now. The good news for him is that he gets to face the Marlins offense here, which is among the worst hitting squads in the league. He could have some success here, but his own offense is most likely going to struggle in this one since they have to face one of the favorites for NL Cy Young.

Sandy Alcantara gets the nod to face Philly on the mound. In his last start, he gave up six hits and one walk while striking out three over nine scoreless innings of work to earn the win over the Reds. His performance moved him ahead of Framber Valdez for first in MLB with three complete games this season and lowers his ERA to a National League-leading 1.88. He's been simply magnificent in 2022, and is one of the only good things Miami has going for them this year.

I think Philadelphia will struggle to put up runs against Alcantara, and Syndergaard could keep his woes going with a bad performance against a bad offense. I like Marlins F5 here.

If you couldn't tell already from this article and my previous articles, I absolutely love to analyze pitching and my favorite games are those pitchers duels that everyone else seems to hate so much. That's okay, because the pitcher is the most important position on the field and can be the basis to profitability when betting baseball. In this one, we get another great pitching matchup. Brandon Woodruff gets the start for Milwaukee, and while he hasn't been as great this season as he was last year, he's still reliable and carries a 3.49 ERA into this one against a rather lackluster Rays offense. He's also 9-3, so the Brewers have been winning when he takes the hill. As for the Rays, they have an even more impressive starter taking the ball.

Jeffrey Springs gets the chance to face Milwaukee on Wednesday. In his last start, he allowed two unearned runs on four hits and struck out six over six innings of work to earn the win over the Tigers. For the season, he has a 2.50 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 83:16 K:BB across 22 outings (14 starts), though he's allowed 10 runs (seven earned) through 19.1 innings in his last four appearances. You may not have really heard of him, but he has been really good this season overall. Still, it is hard to argue his recent performance has been shaky compared to earlier in the year.

Woodruff has a 2.08 home ERA this year, and he has been dominating opponents in front of the home crowd. I like Milwaukee's F5 moneyline, that way if both pitchers are on, we get our money back in a tie. I just trust Milwaukee more at home.