Tag: Johnny Cueto

Fantasy baseball: 5 pitchers worth adding to replace Max Scherzer on your roster

Don’t panic!

Things were just going too well for the Mets, weren’t they?

A nice cushion atop the National League East, one of the best rotations in baseball and an offense to match. Something, inevitably, would have to give. Well, that something just happened to be Max Scherzer’s oblique.

On Thursday, New York announced Scherzer would be shelved for 6-8 weeks after he pulled himself from Wednesday’s game following an injury on the mound. Not even 24 hours later, a nightmare scenario emerged: the Mets would now be without Max for two months—all while already down Jacob deGrom and Tylor Megill.

It’s especially tough news for fantasy managers who could easily pencil in Scherzer for a quality start with 8+ strikeouts every five days. Now that the NL Cy Young favorite is going on the injured list, here’s a look at some pitchers on the waiver wires who should help in the interim.

There might not be any replacing Max, but these guys can make his absence a little easier to manager.

All roster info via FantasyPros.

Johnny Cueto is back pitching and delightfully messing with batters’ timing

It works!

Johnny Cueto is back on the mound, now for the Chicago White Sox, and that means it’s time to sit back and watch him mess with batters by altering his timing.

We’ve seen this work in recent years with the New York Yankees’ Nestor Cortes messing around (just ask Shohei Ohtani!), and Cueto is no stranger to the practice as this awesome YouTube compilation proves.

On Monday night, he was facing the Kansas City Royals and taking a little extra time on his windup, or pausing a bit at the top just to mess with hitters, and it worked. He didn’t allow a run and struck out seven:

This is just delightful:

Amazing.

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San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Thursday’s San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers matchup, with MLB betting predictions, picks and best bets.

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The San Francisco Giants head to Chavez Ravine to tangle with the  Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday at 10:08 p.m. ET in a Dodger Stadium contest that kicks off the 2020 season for both teams. We analyze the Giants-Dodgers MLB betting odds and lines, with betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Giants at Dodgers: Projected starting pitchers

RHP Johnny Cueto vs. LHP Clayton Kershaw

Cueto, who is 126-87 with a 3.35 ERA in his 12-year career, will be making his 297th start.

  • The right-hander pitched just 16 innings – in four starts – late last season after returning from Tommy John surgery.
  • Cueto is backed by what projects as a shaky, bottom-feeder relief corps.

Kershaw went 16-5 with a 3.03 ERA last season, averaging 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

  • The three-time NL Cy Young winner held the Giants to a .581 on-base plus slugging percentage in 2019. Over his career, Kershaw has held current SF batters to a .450 OPS while posting a near-8-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
  • Kershaw is backed by a Dodger bullpen that paced the NL with a 3.85 ERA a year ago. LA relievers logged a fine 2.87 ERA at home last season. That figure was best in MLB by nearly half-a-run.

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Giants at Dodgers: Key injuries

The list of injuries for this one includes …

Giants

  • C Buster Posey (player’s choice) and 3B Evan Longoria (oblique) are two bats missing from an already below-average offense.

Dodgers

  • OF Chris Taylor (arm) is one of just a few LA injuries heading into the 2020 campaign.

Giants at Dodgers: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 8 a.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML)

The Dodgers are the odds-on favorite to win the pennant in the Senior Circuit. They’ll be heavily favored in many a game along the way. But they’re likely getting too much respect in this one. STEER CLEAR of the Dodgers’ -304 price.

New to sports betting? A winning $10 bet on the Dodgers would produce a profit of $3.29.

Run line/Against the spread (ATS)

Cueto has a shaky line against current Dodger bats (.841 OPS allowed), and the Dodgers should win more games by 3-plus runs than anyone in the NL. A year ago, they outscored the Giants 93-45. A DODGERS -1.5 (-150) bet is a good way to ride LA coattails without the hefty asking price.

Over/Under (O/U)

The total is 8 and is priced at -110 both ways. There’s a slight lean toward some value on the OVER, especially if the price starts to shade the Under.

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

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