MLB Best Bets Today September 5:
Nine MLB games are on the slate for Thursday, as 12 teams enjoy a day off or the friendly skies en route to their next destination. We’ve got a couple lunchtime starts, but seven games get going at 3:37 p.m. ET or later, so there is a good bit of time to navigate the MLB waters before locking in for the start of the NFL season with Ravens vs. Chiefs tonight.
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Article runs Monday-Saturday, odds current from DraftKings at time of publish, SHOP AROUND for the best prices. Tracking sheet is here.
Here are the MLB best bets today for September 5:
Los Angeles Angels at Texas Rangers (-175, 8)
8:05 p.m. ET
AL West rivals square off in Arlington as the Angels and Rangers get together. The Rangers don’t have enough time to get back in the playoff race and the Angels have been virtually eliminated for months, but guys are out there vying for free agent dollars, arbitration money, and playing time, so even these lackluster teams still have something to play for.
The Rangers feel like they’re still driving pretty hard after taking two of three from the Yankees in dramatic fashion. The Angels are going out with a whimper, as they went 9-19 in August and are 17-26 in the second half.
One of the brightest bright spots for the Rangers has been Cody Bradford, who comes in with a 3.21 ERA and 3.44 FIP in 56 innings of work. He’s made nine starts and one hideous relief appearance and has a strong 52/8 K/BB ratio. He allowed five runs in two innings in that July 30 relief outing and has only allowed 13 runs in six starts since.
Bradford has given up some Barrels as a guy who throws a lot of fastballs and a lot of strikes, but he’s done well to mostly minimize hard contact otherwise.
Jack Kochanowicz gets the nod for the Halos today. He’s got a 4.96 ERA with a 5.05 FIP over his 32.2 innings of work. He’s been a decent find for the Angels, especially of late with seven runs allowed over his last four starts. However, he’s allowed a 47.4% Hard Hit% and is skating by with an anemic 8.8% K%. Opposing batters are batting .310 against him and I see very little sustainability to his recent run.
While the Rangers are a bit cost-prohibitive for the full game, I think Rangers 1st 5 run line -0.5 at just -120 is a good look. The Angels bullpen has actually been rather good with flamethrower Ben Joyce, so we get to avoid them and play on Bradford, who faces the third-worst lineup in batting runs against fastballs tonight.
Pick: Rangers 1st 5 Run Line -0.5 (-120)
