This article is part of our MLB Picks series.
With Summer Vacations and family obligations ruling the last few weeks, it has been a while since your boy has been seen in this space. I'm back and ready for the MLB stretch run. When we last met, the Brewers were busy getting battered by the Braves, but Austin Riley provided a player prop W for us to salvage the day a bit. In fact, those of you that found and played some of the additional Riley props likely had a day as big as he did. Today, we shift focus to the left coast as Baltimore continues their west coast swing in San Diego.
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Baltimore Orioles at 
San Diego Padres Best Bets
The O's roll into San Diego playing some excellent baseball. They are 37-22 on the road this year, 73-45 overall, and in first place in the ultra-competitive AL East. Tonight, they send out youngster Grayson Rodriguez, who has been a solid addition to the rotation since being recalled in mid-July.
Rodriguez has not given up more than 3 ER in any of his last four starts while keeping his walks down as well. He isn't a big strikeout pitcher, but has done enough to keep his team in games against four formidable lineups in those starts (Rays, Yankees, Blue Jays, Astros). The Padres, meanwhile, continue to be a disappointment, scuffling to a 56-62 overall record including a dismal 3-7 stretch in their last 10 with a team ERA of 5.65. Simply put, Baltimore is the better, hotter team and at this price, I have to jump on them.
MLB Best Bet: Orioles ML (+120) @ DraftKings
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Yu Darvish gets the start for the Padres and is coming off three very good starts. Of course, the fourth was a debacle against the lowly Pirates, and has so often been the case in his career, you just never know what you'll get from Darvish. No current Padres batters have faced Grayson Rodriguez and only a handful of Orioles have seen Darvish. Among them is James McCann who is 4-10 with 3 XBH, including 2 HRs, against Darvish in his career. With very little familiarity between these teams and what I see as an excellent pitching match-up (assuming we get good Darvish tonight), I'm going to roll with the value on the under in this game.
MLB Best Bet: Orioles/Padres UNDER 8.5 (+120) @ BetMGM
I really wanted to find a James McCann prop for tonight, but that seemed like a cheap way to get a win or DNP given the veteran backstop is not an everyday player. So for this article's purpose, I'm looking elsewhere, but I would encourage those of you feeling frisky to have a gander at your favorite books for McCann HR and/or total base props.
Officially, I'm looking at McCann's teammate, Ryan Mountcastle, for the player prop of choice today. Mountcastle has had either two hits, two walks, or a homer in six straight games. I'm no math major, but each of those scenarios add up to greater than two bases. Here's to number seven, especially at plus money!
MLB Best Bet: Ryan Mountcastle OVER 1.5 Total Bases (+145) @ DraftKings
Monday MLB Game Focus for Orioles @ Padres:
Here's a recap of today's Game Focus for Monday, August 14:
- Orioles ML (+120) @ DraftKings
- Orioles/Padres UNDER 8.5 (+120) @ BetMGM
- Ryan Mountcastle OVER 1.5 Total Bases (+145) @ DraftKings
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