TEXAS @ SEATTLE (TEX -115, 7)
RANGERS F5 ML
It is the long awaited season debut of Jacob deGrom. The former Cy Young award winner had a couple of rehab starts where he was outstanding. deGrom struck out 15 batters in 10.2 innings of rehab work. Tonight, he'll face a Seattle team that strikes out a ton.
The Mariners actually lead the majors in strikeouts per game. They are the only MLB team averaging over 10 Ks per game. Seattle averages 10.16 strikeouts per game. That's one of the reasons why they rank in the bottom third of MLB in scoring. They also rank in the bottom third of MLB in scoring in the First Five innings.
Texas has won 11 of its last 15 games, including last night's series opener. I like the Rangers to ride that momentum and play well with deGrom on the mound. He won't go deep in this game, so I'll back the Rangers in the F5.
UNLV @ KANSAS (KAN -9.5, 57.5)
OVER 57.5
This is a rematch of last year's Guaranteed Rate Bowl. That game was a shootout won by Kansas, 49-36. Get ready for some big numbers again tonight. UNLV likes to go fast and they put up 72 points last week though it was against something called Utah Tech. Don't forget the UNLV defense too. Last year, the Rebels gave up 31 points-plus to the best teams (Boise State, Fresno State, etc.) in the Mountain West.
Kansas played horribly last week at Illinois and was upset by the Illini. This is a veteran Jayhawks team that can bounce back. Remember, Kansas was the No. 4 scoring team in the nation last year and they return QB Jalon Daniels. Head coach Lance Leipold's offenses are built around a strong running game and are very explosive. Look for the Jayhawks to take out some of their frustrations from last week on the UNLV defense. That will help push this total Over.
SAN DIEGO @ SAN FRANCISCO (SD -116, 7)
PADRES ML
The Padres have lost 3 of their last 4 games, but they are still right in the thick of the National League wild card race. Losing 2 of 3 games at home to the Giants last week didn't help, but the Padres are looking for some payback tonight.
Dylan Cease gets the start for the Padres in a rematch of last Saturday's game when he went up against Logan Webb. Cease pitched 6 innings and allowed 4 ER. Webb also pitched 6 innings and he allowed 3 ER. The Giants would go on to win 6-3.
Webb has given up a ton of hard contact recently. He gave up 10 hits in that game against San Diego and 8 in his previous start against Miami. His strikeout numbers have also been low as of late. Cease has pitched against the Giants three times this season and the Padres have lost all three games. I think he figures this one out. He'll have the better bullpen to back him up and the Giants are just 2-6 in their last 8 home games.
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