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The Bark Bets Newsletter

June 20, 2024: Day baseball: Time to make some hay

Today seems like a good time to lock in early with a few day baseball bets, don't you think? By dinner time, we could already have some winners in our pocket, which works just fine in our book.

Today's picks and sports betting news you need to know
 
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Day baseball: Time to make some hay

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Cole Irvin. Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Today seems like a good time to lock in early with a few day baseball bets, don't you think? By dinner time, we could already have some winners in our pocket, which works just fine in our book.

Cheers to a pair of slow starts on the diamond

Betting: Arizona-Washington under 0.5 runs in first inning (-115 DraftKings)

Starts at 1:05 p.m. ET!

When looking at today's pitcher trends for the No Runs First Inning (NRFI) market, this game quickly pops up as one of the most intriguing spots.

Washington starter MacKenzie Gore has a 43-11 NRFI record over the last four seasons, and at home in that span, he's been a part of a no-run first inning in 82% of his home starts. Over his last 10 games, his NRFI has hit nine times.

On the other end is Ryne Nelson for Arizona, who has a 33-8 NRFI record since 2019, and he has helped hit this prop in 10 straight starts.

Tack on that the Nationals have scored a run at the second-lowest rate this season and we have a lovely bet here to begin our day.


Betting: Baltimore-NY Yankees under 0.5 runs in first inning (-115 DraftKings)

The pitcher trends once again guide our direction here, as both Luis Gil (eight of his last 10 starts) and Cole Irvin (nine of his last 10 starts) have been a part of no runs in the first inning quite consistently this season.

The Orioles have really struggled to get going offensively this season when on the road, scoring a run in just 8.8% of their games, by far the lowest rate in the league.

While the Yankees have been the league's best first-inning offense, the absence of Aaron Judge drastically alters that data. 

We're liking a slow start in this AL East showdown later today.


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In the news ...

Pistons fire Monty Williams after just one season — Last June, Detroit hired Monty Williams to a six-year, $78.5 million contract, and just one year later, he's out as Pistons coach. Detroit went 14-68 last year, and now will be paying Williams nearly $65 million to not coach them. What's more surprising: that money total, or that Detroit randomly waited until now to make a change, when their season has been over for months? The Pistons own the fifth pick in next week's NBA Draft, and they are a league-worst 1000-1 to win the NBA Finals next year. Spoiler: they're not going to.

New Jersey Devils trade for goalie Jacob Markstrom — One of the biggest reasons New Jersey failed to make the playoffs for the second-straight season was the play they got out of their goalies. Well, the Devils have worked to remedy that by acquiring standout goalie Jacob Markstrom from Calgary for a 2025 first-round pick and defenseman Kevin Bahl. Markstrom has been a solid goalie for years now and will look to be a stabilizing force between the pipes for New Jersey next season. The Devils are +1300 to win the Stanley Cup next year.

Texas A&M and Tennessee to meet in College World Series — The College World Series has its final two teams in another SEC-dominated season, as Texas A&M will square off against Tennessee. The two sides have been among the nation's best this season, both inside the top-three national rankings, and we should see no shortage of big moments. Tennessee is the -154 favorite in this best-of-three series.


Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll. Follow him on Substack: griffybets.substack.com.

Quick Picks

1 Gavin Stone over 4.5 Ks 

Stone should be logging some strikeouts today as the Dodgers visit the Rockies, a team that is striking out at the fourth-highest rate against RHP this year. Stone has 5+ Ks in four of his last five, which includes a six-strikeout effort against Colorado. Load up an encore performance from Stone.

Latest Odds:  -165
2 Seth Lugo over 5.5 Ks 

Lugo has been down on his K prop in his past five starts, but there's been some tough teams in there. That is not the case today, as no team is striking out more against righties over the last month than Oakland. The Royals starter has fanned seven and 10 As bats in his past two starts against them. Back him today for a big effort.

Latest Odds:  -150
3 Sam Bennett over 2.5 SOG 

Bennett has yet to hit this mark in five tries in the Stanley Cup Final, but there is some positive regression we like taking a chance on at this price. Bennett has 5+ shot attempts in four straight games. Over the last three seasons, when he logs that type of volume, he's over this line in 80% of his games. A reeling Florida team needs to up the intensity tomorrow, and we like Bennett to be that guy.

Latest Odds:  +114
4 Los Angeles Sparks @ New York Liberty

This is an easy one for us. New York could very well win it all this season, as their 12-3 start has seen elite efficiency on both ends of the court. The Sparks, meanwhile, sit at 4-11 with the league's third-worst net-rating. Expect the Liberty to roll; we're backing them at -14.5.
Thursday, 7:00 PM Eastern SPREAD MONEY LINE OVER / UNDER
Sparks
+15.5 (-115) +900 > 165.5 (-110)
Liberty
-14.5 (-118) -1350 < 165.5 (-118)

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For all the latest betting news, check out the
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