William Burns - Betting Expert

(#977) Pittsburgh Pirates @ (#978) Kansas City Royals // UNDER //. 

Mitch Keller (3-10, 3.64 ERA) vs. Seth Lugo (6-5, 2.65 ERA). 

Even though Keller has 10 losses, it's hard not to acknowledge that he's actually got pretty solid numbers otherwise. Keller is coming off an absolute gem, when he threw seven shutout inning against the St. Louis Cardinals. He's been fantastic as of late, just doesn't get the run support that he needs in order to win too many games. 

That might be a problem again today against another stellar pitcher in Seth Lugo. I've mentioned before that Lugo "is and has been one of the most consistent pitchers over the past five years. As a matter of fact, his highest ERA in a season over that span is 3.60 which is much better than league average." Expect another low scoring contest when he's on the mound. 

Burns' Prediction: 4-1 Royals.

(#958) San Diego Padres // ML //. 

Merrill Kelly (7-4, 3.55 ERA) vs. Nick Pivetta (9-2, 3.25 ERA) . 

With the Diamondbacks winning last night, I believe that the Padres will respond on Tuesday and be able to even up the series. Merrill Kelly has been a bit shaky recently despite the pair of quality starts. In my opinion, giving up three runs in six innings should not be considered a QS. It's a 4.50 ERA which would most likely be a below average ERA at the end of the year. He's given up 12 earned runs (15 total) over his past four games. 

Looking at the Padres, Nick Pivetta has been a winning machine this year. With his 9-2 record, not much can go wrong from him at the moment. I expect more excellence like he's shown in his past couple of starts, going 13 inning and giving up just a single run. Hammer the Padres on Tuesday evening. 

Burns' Prediction: 7-3 Padres .

(#969) Texas Rangers // ML //. 

Nathan Eovaldi (5-3, 1.75 ERA) vs. Jose Soriano (6-5, 3.72 ERA)

Although Texas hasn't been all that great this season, pitching has been what it's been great at so far. Not only has DeGrom looked unstoppable for the most part. But, Nathan Eovaldi is not far behind, if behind at all. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't have as many innings pitched, which makes it easier. But, Eovaldi owns an ERA in the 1.00's which is ridiculous for any pitcher to accomplish throughout a season. 

On the other hand, Jose Soriano is about as inconsistent of a solid pitcher that there is in the MLB. Yes, he's coming off a dominating performance against the Braves. But, he gave up eight earned runs to the Nationals prior to that. He also allowed 12 baserunners in five and two thirds of an inning when he faced the Rangers back in April. 

I don't think that people are talking about the loss of manager Ron Washington enough. Even though he's not the best manager out there anymore, he's a known manager and his presence will be missed in the dugout. The Angels got swept against the Blue Jays in their most recent series and I could see them struggling dearly over the next month plus with all of these hard matchups incoming. Give me the better pitcher on Tuesday. 

Burns' Prediction: 5-1 Rangers.

(#975) Chicago Cubs // ML //. 

Shota Imanaga (5-2, 2.78 ERA) vs. Simeon Woods Richardson (4-4, 4.41 ERA) . 

Scorching hot at the batters plate right now, the Cubs scored 28 runs in their most record three game set against the Cardinals. That series included an 11-0 win on Sunday evening to close it out. Today, the Cubs have probably their best arm on the bump in Shota Imanaga. I'm very high on the Japanese pitcher as I believe that he's one of the best in the game right now. His injury was a huge miss, but luckily the Cubs didn't seem to miss him with how hot they are at the plate at the moment. 

On the other hand, Simeon Woods Richardson is on a significantly lower level than Imanaga. Yes, he's had flashes of brilliance if you will from last season. Even recently, he's been strong. However, those two outings were against offenses that are much worse than Chicago's. The Cubs are tied for the MLB's most runs per game at the moment. If they give Imanaga any sort of run support in this one, they'll be victorious. 

Burns' Prediction: 6-3 Cubs.

(#8245) Taylor Fritz @ (#8246) Karen Khachanov // OVER //. 

So far in Wimbledon, Taylor Fritz has had a very up and down first four games. His first two went five sets after he lost the opening set in both. In one of those, he came back from down two sets to love. In his last couple of matches, they've been done rather quickly. In the Round of 16, his opponent retired in the second set. Therefore, he should be well rested for this quarterfinal match on Tuesday morning. 

On the other hand, Karen Khachanov may be the underdog, but he's not going to go away without a fight. He's also won two five setters in this tournament. He's also beaten Fritz in both meetings vs. each other in the past which should give him a ton of confidence. 

I believe that these two players match up very well against each other and we could be in for an all out war. Neither player gives up easily and there will be fireworks. Expect lots of hard hitting and I wouldn't be shocked if it goes the distance. Hammer the "over."

Burns' Prediction: 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 Fritz .