MLB weekly best bets: Can Robbie Ray continue stellar run vs. Rays?

Hopefully you've recovered from Sunday night's thrilling finish between the Mets and Yankees, as there's a full slate of juicy bets to make with pennant races heating up.

Here are a few of our favorite plays this week:

Giants over 4 runs (even) vs. Padres
Sept. 13, 9:45 p.m. ET

Can anyone slow down the Giants' red-hot bats? San Francisco has plated six-plus runs in each of its last seven games while averaging 8.9 runs on 12.1 hits during that span. That's no fluke either, as the club's lineup ranks fourth in wOBA (3.28) and slugging percentage (.439) this season.

On paper, Yu Darvish is a worthwhile foil, though he's been struggling mightily since the start of July. Over his 10 starts since then, the Padres ace owns a 6.84 ERA after allowing at least one home run in nine of those outings.

This bet will hit in a hurry if the Giants get the long ball going on Monday.

Athletics over (TBD) at Royals
Sept. 14, 8:10 p.m.

It's been a rough beginning to Royals rookie pitcher Jackson Kowar's career, as he's made five starts at the MLB level and has posted a 9.53 ERA. His first stint in the bigs went so poorly that Kansas City sent him back down for over two months before calling him up again on Sept. 1.

Manager Mike Matheny is letting him work deep into games even as he struggles. Kowar lasted six innings in each of his last two starts, and he conceded six runs with a pair of homers against the lowly Orioles during Tuesday's 7-3 loss. He's also walked three batters in both of his September starts.

The Athletics roughed up the Royals prospect to the tune of four runs through 1 1/3 innings on June 12, and they've scored an average of 5.9 runs per game over their last 12 contests. Expect fireworks at Kowar's expense in this one.

Rays under (TBD) at Blue Jays
Sept. 15, 3:07 p.m.

Is Robbie Ray on track to win the AL Cy Young? He's certainly trending that way after posting a 1.86 ERA and 2.25 FIP across his last nine starts and striking out 78 batters over 58 innings (12.1 K/9), all while holding them to a .197 batting average and just four home runs.

Yes, the Rays' bats have been impressive lately, but the club has scored just six runs across 27 innings over Ray's four starts against Tampa this season. The Rays will be hard-pressed to do much better given how well the Blue Jays lefty is pitching down the stretch.

C Jackson Cowart is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on Twitter (@CJacksonCowart) or email him at cjackson.cowart@thescore.com.