For what it’s worth, yesterday ended up being a very good day.  .  I only had 3 games (4 sides) on my parlay card, the Brewers and Dodgers both won their full games, and the Rangers won their 1^st 5 and full game.  It was a clean sweep and I picked up over 18 units.  It’s still a long way to profitability, but there’s still a chance. 

Today, on the 30^th of August, we still don’t have a single MLB team that is playing .600 ball.  The Dodgers are close but they’re not there yet. 

We have a full slate of games, so let’s get right to it.  Here is my much larger Friday card.

This morning, unlike yesterday, I didn’t do anything stupid, but I spent the morning getting on the right side of the Mts.by running errands and accompanying her to the doctor’s office, so there wasn’t much time for breakdowns.   This is the best I could do.

• BOS @ DET - The Red Sox have a couple of big edges here. First, they are the much better hitting team and second, they probably have the better starting pitcher.  Tanner Houck is having a fine season for the Red Sox, while because of a hamstring injury, Casey Mize, who pitched well as a rookie last season, hasn’t pitched in an MLB game since June 30 and he wasn’t all that good before hitting the IL.
• CHI C @ WASH – I think that the Cubs are better than the Nats. They are the better hitting team and probably have the better bullpen.  The Cubs are also still in contention for an NL wild card spot, 5 games behind the Braves.  I think that the Cubs have the better starting pitcher.  Sotoa Imanaga got off to a tremendous start.  He hasn’t been quite as consistent and he was over the first half of the season, but he has still be more effective than Jake Irvin.  Irvin hasn’t pitched badly, just not as well as Imanaga.
• PITT @ CLEV – After dropping three straight at home to the Royals, the Guardians finally beat the Royals in the 4^th game to retake the lead in the AL Central. The Pirates are dead after getting swept by the Cubs in Pittsburgh.  The Guardians started the season with a surprisingly potent offense, but that offense has hit a wall since the AS break, but they are still hitting better than the Pirates and they also have arguably the best bullpen in baseball.  That leaves the two starting pitchers and Ben Lively has simply been better than Bailey Falter. 
• KC @ HOU – These are two pretty evenly matched teams offensively and in the bullpen. As for the two starting pitchers, both Seth Lugo and Framber Valdez are having really good seasons, but Valdez has the better stat profile.  Specifically, Valdez’s ERA metrics are better than Lugo’s.  Right now, Valdez is looking very much like the quality start machine that he was a few years ago.  Give me Valdez for five innings.
• NYM @ CHI WS – The White Sox are the worst team in baseball an it’s not close. The White Sox have the worst offense in baseball, while the Mets have a top 10 offense.  The Mets bullpen is not very good, but the White Sox pen is even worse.  I’m not all that impressed with Tylor Megill, but Jonathan Cannon hasn’t been any better.  I’m betting against the White Sox.   
• BALT @ COL - This game could be close because the Rockies are, at least, decent and dangerous at Coors.  The Rockies hit much better at Coors, but the O’s are the better hitting team and they should also put up runs at Coors.  The O’s bullpen is shaky, at best, but the Rockies pen is garbage.  I don’t know how Albert Suarez fares at Coors.  Young pitchers tend to struggle there.  However, Austin Gomber hasn’t been very good anwhere.  The O’s are fighting to win the AL East, while the Rockies are dead.  I like the O’s to find a way here, even at Coors.
• SEA @ LAA - The Mariners still struggle to score runs and when they lose that’s usually the reason why. George Kirby is a quality starting pitcher, while Samuel Aldghen is a complete unknown, making his MLB debut.  He won’t face a potent offense, but give me Kirby and the team that’s still playing for something.
• MIA @ SF – The Marlins are awful. They traded everything not nailed down at the trade deadline and a now putting an AAA team out there with predictably lousy results.  They are arguably the second worst team in baseball.  The Giant are still fighting for an NL wild card spot. 6.5 games behind the Braves.  The Giants hit better than the Marlin and their bullpen is better.  More importantly, the Giants have Blake Snell going for them tonight and Snell has been tremendous since early July.  Snell v Adam Oller should be a mismatch