Padres' bats to come alive vs. Reds
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Tuesday was not our day on the diamond, as we won one of four featured bets.
We'll look to right the ship with three more plays for Wednesday's busy card.
Padres (-125) @ Reds (+105)
Although the Padres have been shut out in back-to-back games, their offense has a great chance to make noise against mediocre Reds right-hander Nick Martinez, who's backed by a bottom-10 bullpen in homers and walks allowed.
Excepting the past couple of games, the Padres have been hitting righties extremely well of late: They lead the league in batting average and OBP versus right-handed pitchers in May and sit fifth in contact rate. They are filling the basepaths.
Facing a back-of-the-rotation arm in the hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park, the Padres should score a handful of runs, providing more than enough support for Michael King.
King has conceded one run or less in three of six road starts this season. The other three came against the Dodgers (twice) and the Rockies - in other words, while facing arguably the best offense in the league and pitching in the best run-scoring park in the league.
The Reds have plated two runs or fewer against 11 of the past 13 right-handed starters they've faced. They're also hitting just .199 versus righties this month. I don't expect their offense to turn it around against King.
Look for the Padres' bats to lead the way in a bounce-back win Wednesday night.
Bet: Padres (-125)
Chris Bassitt: Under 5.5 hits allowed
The White Sox are a dreadful offensive team. They rank 28th in batting average, home runs, and barrel rate versus right-handed pitching this season. They don't hit for average, nor do they generate much power.
Bassitt got knocked around in his first two starts this season, but he's conceded five hits or fewer in five of his last seven games, including four of five on home soil. The only team that's strung together six hits or more against the Blue Jays righty in Toronto is the Dodgers. Call me crazy, but the 15-34 White Sox aren't in the same class.
Notably, a lot of Bassitt's struggles this season have come against lefties. The White Sox only have three: Andrew Benintendi (.190 average), Nicky Lopez (.214), and Gavin Sheets (.243), who probably won't cause Bassitt too much trouble collectively.
Look for Bassitt to chew up innings while keeping the hit totals down for the White Sox.
Odds: +105 (playable to -125)
Austin Gomber: Over 1.5 walks
Gomber's having a miserable time with his control. The Rockies starter walked at least two batters in seven of nine starts this season and 12 of his past 15 dating back to the end of last year. He owns a walk rate of 8.2% this season, which soars over 10% when facing right-handed batters. That's far from ideal heading into a matchup with the Athletics.
The Athletics' projected lineup for this game features eight right-handed bats and a switch-hitter who will likely bat from the right side as well. The A's are also doing a great job of drawing walks versus southpaws: Only the Braves and Reds own a higher walk rate against left-handed pitchers over the past two weeks.
Look for Oakland to continue that trend versus Gomber.
Odds: -120 (playable to -140)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.