Look to Martin Perez to rack up the K's

Well, our home run targets didn't come through, but we did get 8 HRs in those two games, giving us back $40 in free bets! Not a bad deal all things considered, and we had some fun doing it. 

On to a new day in baseball. Wednesday is chock-full of day action throughout the league, and we'll be turning to the pitcher prop market to find us a few good looks to bet on.

Martin Perez over 5.5 Ks (+105 DK) — The Rangers lefty gets our day going with over 5.5 Ks the recommended play. Perez has exceeded 5.5 in three straight starts and five of his past seven. At home, he has a solid base of strikeout success, with 5+ in seven straight starts in Texas. As a team, Baltimore is striking out at the 8th-highest rate vs. LHP this past month. Perez has stacked some nice strikeout games when facing a generous opponent, and with that situation in place again, we're backing him to go over this afternoon.

Sandy Alcantara over 7.5 Ks (+140 DK) — This is by far our favorite value play of the day, currently at +140 on DraftKings. Alcantara has logged 10+ Ks in three of his last five starts. The two unders in that stretch were both against a Mets team that doesn't strike out much against RHP. Alcantara draws the Reds today, a team striking out at the 4th-highest rate against RHP. The Marlins pitcher faced Cincinnati twice last season, finishing with 11 and 12 Ks in those two starts. At 7.5, we love the +140, and we see this as a good opportunity to ladder up his props if you so please.

Shohei Ohtani over 8.5 Ks (-116 FD) — This is one of those lines that feels too good to be true. Could it be a trap? Perhaps, but Ohtani has fanned 10+ batters in six straight starts. Oakland is striking out at the 10th-highest rate against RHP over the past 30 days. So we are getting both a phenomenal hit rate and a favorable opponent; what's not to love? The answer is nothing; this is one of our favorite picks of the day. 

Joe Ryan over 5.5 Ks (+100 DK) — This game is at 1:10 p.m. ET, so if you are reading this and able to get it in on time, then cheers to you for being one of the first to open Bark Bets today! We normally wouldn't include a game this early in the newsletter, but we really like Joe Ryan's strikeouts today. Ryan is over this 5.5 total in two straight starts and has gone for 9 and 7 Ks in his two starts against Detroit this season. He gets the Tigers again, a team that is striking out at the sixth-highest rate against RHP in the last 30 days. At even money, we love this play.

In other news ...

Catching our breath after yesterday's MLB trade deadline — Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day in baseball. We tried our best to cover it before Tuesday's Bark Bets went live, but we couldn't get to all of it. The bombshell was that Juan Soto was traded to San Diego, instantly making the Padres a serious contender for a World Series this season. The Phillies added an arm to their rotation, acquiring Noah Syndergaard from the Angels. To get a better gauge on the ramifications across baseball, check out the biggest winners and losers after yesterday's trade deadline.

Miami Dolphins stripped of 2023 first-round pick for tampering — On Tuesday, the Miami Dolphins were forced to forfeit their 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 third-round pick. The punishment stemmed from an NFL investigation that found the team violated tampering rules with Tom Brady and Sean Payton when both were still under contract for different teams. The report mentions that Brady was offered a role with the Dolphins back in 2020 that would have given him an ownership stake, an executive position and a spot as their starting quarterback. While no tangible impact should be made on Miami's on-field product this season, losing an asset like a first-round pick is sure to hamstring the franchise a bit moving forward.

Final event of the PGA Tour's regular season gets going tomorrow — The Wyndham Championship will start Thursday morning in Greensboro, N.C., the final event before the playoffs begin. The field is a bit limited, given so many golfers have a secure spot in the postseason, but that doesn't mean we can't find betting value. Will Zalatoris is the betting favorite at +1600, and at some point the young golfer has to bring home a tournament win. Even as a favorite, 16-1 odds offer a nice payout, and we'd hate to miss Zalatoris' first Tour win.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll