Week 21 Games: Top Pitchers to Watch and MLB Pitcher Prop Bets

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While a lot can happen in the final few weeks of the regular season, you have to say that 5 of the 6 divisions look to be about as close to settled as it gets. What that means is that the battle for Wild Card spots will now intensify, with many teams still very much in the hunt for those precious spots. It will be very much a team effort in the final few weeks for those still in the playoff picture, but we are all well aware that winning and losing very often starts with the pitchers on duty. With that in mind, we are going to look at the schedule for the next few days, as we do every week, and select some pitchers we think you should be keeping an eye on to consider in your MLB betting odds, so let’s get to it.

MLB Top Pitchers after Week 20 of the season | MLB Lines by MyBookie

MLB Week 21: Monday August 28 – Sunday September 3, 2023

George Kirby

Seattle Mariners | #68
Bats: Right / Throws: Right

If you want to talk about a team getting hot at the right time, then you need to talk about the Seattle Mariners. They have been brilliant over the past couple of weeks, going 9-1 in their last 10 games and currently sitting on a 4-game win streak that has moved them to the top of the AL West, where the division battle is as tight as it gets. With the Oakland A’s in town this week, the Mariners have a real shot at extending that streak, starting on Tuesday night with George Kirby on the mound. After a blazing hot performance in the month of July, Kirby has cooled off a little this month, but this is an opportunity for him to get back on track.

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Gerrit Cole

New York Yankees | #45
Bats: Right / Throws: Right

It has been an absolute nightmare of a season for the Yankees, who are now sitting dead last in the AL East. There are very few bright spots to be found in their season, but you do have to say that Gerrit Cole has done all he can to keep the Yankees respectable. Cole is sitting at 11-4 on the season, boasting an ERA of 2.95. He is coming off a stellar performance in a win over the Tampa Bay Rays last time out, and he now has a chance to shine again on Wednesday night versus the Detroit Tigers.

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Spencer Strider

Atlanta Braves | #99
Bats: Right / Throws: Right

One of the biggest series this week will see the Atlanta Braves go on the road to face the LA Dodgers in what might be an early preview of the NLCS. Of course, the playoffs are a whole different ball game, but it will still be fun to measure these two against one another this week. The Thursday meeting will see the Braves send Spencer Strider, a definite Cy Young candidate, to the mound as he looks to improve on his 15-4 record and 3.46 ERA.

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Max Scherzer

Texas Rangers | #31
Bats: Right / Throws: Right

The Rangers are in a massive 3-way battle for the AL West, with the Astros and Mariners also part of the picture. This coming weekend will see the Rangers at home to the Minnesota Twins in what will be a very difficult series, but they have a good shot at winning on Friday night with Scherzer on the mound. Of the 5 starts Scherzer has made since moving to Texas, the Rangers have won 4 times, so he definitely seems to be in a bit of a groove right now.

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I have read enough, I need to place my bet now. What to do?

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The last weeks of action of the 2021 MLB Regular Season are getting closer, it’s time we try to predict what will happen so you can keep betting against the MLB odds.

MLB Predictions for the last weeks of the regular season

My first prediction for the rest of the MLB regular season? Both New York teams will miss the playoffs and both managers, the Yankees’ Aaron Boone and Mets’ Luis Rojas, will not be brought back next season.

Losing 7-6 to the Mets on Sunday night left the Yankees out of playoff spot with three weeks to go in the regular season, as the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays were tied for the first and second Wild Card heading into play on Monday.

“I feel like there’s a ton of confidence within that group right now. The reality is we’ve played really good baseball to get ourselves back into it for a couple of months and just had a terrible week right now, and I am confident that we’ll come out of it and that still even our best baseball is ahead. That’s our focus, and I’m confident that’ll happen,” Boone said.

Many fans who support Boone argue that his teams finished 100-62 (.617) in 2018 and 103-59 (.636) in 2019. But there’s been a stark decline since then with lackluster performances last year and in 2021. Since their 13-game winning streak ended in late August, the Yankees have a dismal 2-9 record and have lost the top AL Wild Card spot, which they led by seven games at one point. If the season ended today, the Yankees wouldn’t even have 90 wins (they’re now on pace to win 89 games).

With 19 games left to go in the 2021 campaign, the Yankees rank seventh in total strikeouts (1,310), sixth in strikeout rate (24.6 percent), and 12th in wRC+ (100). In terms of Statcast’s plate discipline data, the team ranks second-lowest in the league in both swing percentage and zone contact percentage (44.3 percent and 83 percent respectively), and currently ranks 25th in overall contact percentage (75 percent).

It’s not clear when the Yankees might get Aaron Judge back after he left Sunday’s game in the third inning with dizziness. A three-time All-Star, Judge has been the Yankees’ top hitter this season. He is batting .293 with 32 homers and 79 RBIs. Judge recorded his 15th career multi-home run game and fifth of the season on Saturday at the Mets. His five multi-HR games this season are tied for the second-most in the Majors, trailing only Salvador Perez (6) of the Royals. A total of 10 of Judge’s last 25 home runs and 12 of his 32 HRs this season have either tied the game (two) or given the Yankees the lead (10).

The Mets also have fallen out of a wild-card spot after leading the NL East for much of the first half of the season.  Each of the last eight Mets losses have been by one run. That is the longest streak in franchise history. It’s a huge week coming for the Mets, as they host both the Cardinals and Phillies for three-game series.

Perhaps consider a prop on the Cardinals’ Paul DeJong against New York this week. In 24 games and 103 plate appearances against the Mets in his career, DeJong has a .351 batting average and 1.152 OPS. The only teams he’s had more success against are the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers — and he only has played them a combined six times. He’s hit 21 extra-base hits vs. the Mets.

Will we see another no-hitter this season? We think so. Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes and closer Josh Hader combined to no-hit Cleveland on Saturday at Progressive Field. It was the ninth no-hitter of the 2021 MLB season, which is an all-time record. Previously the 2021 season had been tied with the 1884 season with eight no-hitters.

Cleveland has become the first ever to be no-hit three times in the same season. Previously, Cleveland was no-hit by Carlos Rodón of the White Sox on April 14 and then by Wade Miley of the Reds on May 7. Rather amazingly, all three Indians no-hitters came with starter Zach Plesac on the mound for them. Plesac is having a fine season for Cleveland at 10-5 with a 4.45 ERA.

“I don’t even know if that like makes sense to me yet,” said Plesac, who himself took a no-hit bid into the eighth earlier this season at Seattle. “… I think it’s insane … it’s incredible.”

I have read enough, I need to place my bet now. What to do?

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