There was an unfortunately free loss with the Yankees on Tuesday, but the Reds got the job done on Wednesday and we are now 22-9 in our last 31 Free MLB picks. Thursday's MLB card is small with a bunch of day games, but we have one game circled as our free pick from 1 of the 5 pitchers with ERA's under 3.00 in their last 3 combined.
Max Scherzer just continues to get the job done posting a 0.83 ERA over his last three starts while the Tigers have gone 3-0. He has faced the Indians three times this year already and has a 2.74 ERA. He also has a 2.21 ERA on the road and a 2.64 ERA during night starts. Indians hitters have a .210 AB and a .577 OPS on 210 AB. We have some good sample sizes there and to go along with it is Scherzer who has a 2.23 ERA on 4 days rest on the road. Scherzer also is on a fresh 4 days rest because he made his last start on 6 days rest. Cleveland's probable starter can not say the same.
Zack McCalister has struggled against some of the Tigers big hitters and he's also failed to go deep into games particularly on 4 days rest. Now he has good numbers at home, but over 6 starts on 4 days rest he's averaged just 5.1 IP and has a 4.93 ERA. It's clear that the Indians will be relying on their bullpen Thursday night and that's not a good sign because they are ranked 24th in ERA. McCallister's solid numbers are a bit misleading because he has a 4.48 xFIP which is nothing compared to Scherzer's 2.93.
Dillon Gee (1-2, 21 IP, 0.76 WHIP, 2.14 ERA)
Bruce Chen (3-0, 18 IP, 0.67 WHIP, 2.00 ERA)
Jose Fernandez (3-0, 23 IP, 0.70 WHIP, 1.57 ERA)
Jeff Samadzija (1-2, 18.2 IP, 1.50 WHIP, 2.89 ERA)
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Jake Westbrook (1-2, 17 IP, 1.47 WHIP, 6.35 ERA)
Note: Today's Free pick along with all of our sports picks will be backed by our third party .
