MLB weekend best bets: Fade Luzardo amid worrying run with Marlins
Entering the final weekend in August, we've carried an 11-6-1 run over the last few weeks and love the value in a few spots heading into the final month of MLB's regular season. Here are our best bets over the weekend:
Athletics under 3 runs (+105) vs. Yankees
Aug. 27, 9:40 p.m. ET
If you're still skeptical of Gerrit Cole returning to his old self, it might be time to adjust your expectations. The New York Yankees ace struggled mightily across June and July - which coincided with MLB's crackdown on foreign substances - but has been dominant since, boasting a 2.92 ERA in his last six starts with a ridiculous 56 strikeouts across 37 innings (13.6 K/9).
His six innings of scoreless ball against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday marked his second start with no earned runs in that six-game stretch, and he should have no issue stifling an Oakland Athletics lineup averaging 2.9 runs across its last 10 games.
White Sox -1.5 (TBD) vs. Cubs
Aug. 28, 7:10 p.m.
This series has been noncompetitive in three meetings this season, with the Chicago White Sox winning all three by a margin of two, four, and six runs, respectively. Those three losses were part of the Chicago Cubs' grisly 6-19 record (24%) since the MLB trade deadline when the front office shipped away everything that wasn't nailed to the floor.
The White Sox have been roughly a .500 team since the deadline but are finally realizing their offensive upside with a healthy lineup, as evidenced by a 10-run outburst in Thursday's win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Saturday starter Lance Lynn has led his team to seven wins in his last nine starts and should benefit from strong run support and a floundering Cubs lineup in this one.
Reds over (TBD) at Marlins
Aug. 29, 1:10 p.m.
Something isn't right with Marlins youngster Jesus Luzardo, who was once a prized prospect for the A's before they shipped him to Miami at the deadline for a couple months of Starling Marte. Since the deal, the 23-year-old lefty owns a 9.67 ERA with five home runs allowed and nearly as many walks (17) as strikeouts (20), and he's yet to reach the sixth inning in any of his five starts.
The last thing Luzardo needs is a meeting with the Cincinnati Reds, who hung a combined 21 runs on the Marlins in their four-game series last week and roughed up veteran starter Brett Anderson in Thursday's win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Luzardo will be lucky to last five full frames on Sunday.
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.