We turn to the rubber tonight for a simple little bankroll builder on a few pitchers piling up some strikeouts. Seems simple enough for us on this fine Thursday afternoon, so let's dig in.
Build your bankroll with this alt-Ks play today
First leg: Chris Sale 7+ Ks
Chris Sale has once again been one of the best strikeout pitchers in baseball this season, owning elite metrics in Ks/inning, swinging strike rate and CSW (Called Strikes + Whiffs).
That helps to explain why he's averaging 7.6 strikeouts per game, hitting this 7+ mark in 11 of 14 tries. Last time he saw the White Sox, Sale finished with seven strikeouts, and things look favorable on his end today.
The Atlanta lefty is facing a Chicago team that fans at the seventh-highest rate on the year against LHP, and they've also struggled to hit left-handers well at all. Sale should work deep into this one, giving him plenty of opportunities to hit this number.
Second leg: Jack Flaherty 6+ Ks
Speaking of elite strikeout pitchers, Detroit's Jack Flaherty is most definitely in that bucket. He sits in the 90th percentile for Ks/inning, the 87th percentile in swinging strike rate and the 96th percentile in the aforementioned CSW. Those are superb numbers that really paint a picture of just how dominant Flaherty can be on the mound.
Flaherty has 6+ strikeouts in 12 of 14 this season, averaging 7.7 Ks/game, and four straight RHP have finished with 6+ Ks against the Angels.
Together, this duo comes in at -122 on FanDuel when combined. Feel free to go one number higher if you'd like, we prefer these floors on each pitcher's strikeouts tonight.
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In the news ...
First round of NBA Draft in the books — The first round of the NBA Draft was last night, with Zaccharie Risacher going first overall to Atlanta and fellow frenchmen Alexandre Sarr going second to Washington. The biggest surprise may have been Memphis grabbing Zach Edey with the ninth overall pick, cashing our under 15.5 bet on Edey's draft position from earlier in the week. Minnesota traded up to secure the rights to Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham at eighth overall, who fits in nicely with their existing core that went to the Western Conference Final this past season. The second round is tonight, so get ready to be inundated with Bronny James coverage all day (and probably tomorrow).
Knicks re-sign OG Anunoby — The Knicks have been active as the offseason begins, adding Mikal Bridges on Tuesday and re-signing Anunoby to a massive five-year, $212 million contract yesterday. That, coupled with Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle, gives New York a loaded group focused on position-less basketball in an attempt to compete with the Celtics out of the East. The Knicks are now +850 to win next year's title, tied for the third-best odds, and they're +400 to win the East.
Round of 16 set for Euros 2024 — Group play is over and we're on to the round of 16 in the Euros, with action beginning this weekend. The headlining matchups are France vs. Belgium, Austria vs. Turkey and Spain vs. Georgia. England is currently favored to win at +350, followed by Spain at +450.
Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll. Follow him on Substack: griffybets.substack.com.