Texas @ ATLANTA
ATLANTA -105 over Texas

BEST LINES: Pinnacle -105 Bet365 -110 SportsInteraction -110 5DIMES -100

Posted at 10:30 AM EST.

1:35 PM EST. This is the first game of a DH with the scheduled starters being Miguel Gonzalez and Luiz Gohara.

Miguel Gonzalez is set to make his debut as a member of the Rangers after waiting out a rain delay last night. He has been hot as of late, going 2-0 with a 1.85 ERA over his last five starts so his stock is high and it sure doesn’t hurt that the Rangers are very warm too. Thing is, Gonzalez still has a terrible 5.51 xERA this season. In his 13 road starts this season he went 3-7 with a 6.23 ERA and 1.62 WHIP. This is a pitcher with few skills that has ridden a wave of good fortune to post some of the most misleading numbers in the game. His 30%/24%/46% groundball/line-drive/fly-ball profile doesn’t figure to play well at this park either.

We scrambled a bit late yesterday afternoon to get some scouting reports on Luiz Gonzalez and posted those findings in our MLB call-up section. 15 hours later and we have some additional info. Gohara was acquired from the Mariners in January 2017 and was seemingly just another very good arm in the deep Braves system. He turned himself into an even better prospect after dominating on three levels of the minors. The hard-throwing lefty has always had the ingredients to be a stud bulldog. However, poor conditioning limited him in the past. While he still has work to do with his large frame, he easily eclipsed his previous career-high in innings. Gohara can reach the 94-98 mph range with his fastball from his three-quarter arm slot. It is a legitimate plus pitch and he’s done a nice job of throwing strikes with it. Adding to his effectiveness is his slider, which is now considered a plus pitch as well. It misses bats due to its late break. Though his changeup is a distant third pitch, it has gained consistency as he’s learned to repeat his delivery and slot more frequently. Gohara is aided by a deceptive delivery which makes him even more dangerous. In a bizarre twist, he has been much more effective against right-handed hitters than lefties despite the lack of an average change-of-pace offering. Gohara is still very young and has some work to do. However, he has vaulted up prospect charts as he’s starting to put everything together. He’s struck out 48 batters in 36 innings at Triple-A Gwinnett before this call-up and we absolutely are willing to gamble on him here because he’s capable of throwing a masterpiece while Gonzalez isn’t even close to being capable.

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Our Pick

ATLANTA -105 (Risking 2.10 units - To Win: 2.00)

Baltimore -1½ +124 over L.A. Angels
San Francisco +100 over San Diego
Toronto +120 over Tampa Bay
Washington +135 over Cincinnati
San Diego under 83½ -105
Boston under 79½ -110