@JoeyDuece22 and @SoCalBall Nerd MLB 2023 Collaboration (4-2)

A game in Oakland that features Hayden Wesneski and Kyle Muller. These would be the two respective starting pitchers for the Chicago Cubs and the Oakland Athletics on Monday night. There may not be many people in attendance in this one as Oakland is averaging around 4,000 fans per game!! The fans and city deserve better; Here we are.

Not a lot to love about this game as a fan, but a great spot for the Cubs young prospect to really showcase his arsenal. Wesneski is a top prospect for the Cubs; In his first two starts of 2023 he has a 7.50 ERA but he only went 1 1/3 innings in Seattle as an error in the second inning started a 5 run inning and Wesneski’s day was done. He battled in his first start against a good Reds offense and pitched 4.2 innings allowing 3 earned runs.

Kyle Muller is a young throwing lefty for the A’s with 14 major league starts in his short career. In those starts he has an ERA over 5.00. This is his first year in Oakland and he pitched much better in his two home starts than his road start in Baltimore. At home he has 10+ innings pitched with 3 earned runs on a handful of scattered hits and walks. He managed to get through five innings against a couple decent offensive lineups.

Wesneski has shown his strikeout ability (Prop Fans: Over 4.5 K’s -135) throughout Triple A with a 26.7% strikeout rate (Being compared to Cy Young winner Shane Bieber). This A’s lineup is 10th in strikeouts and in the bottom five of batting average. The A’s will start six right handed bats which plays into the slider and fastball combo of Wesneski. Righties hit just .197 off of Wesneski in 33 innings pitched at the end of the 2022 season.

The Cubs rank in the top 5 of batting average while not striking out a lot, and being aggressive in the stolen base department. Three things they do drastically better than the A’s. Oakland sports the 4th worst bullpen in terms of ERA, and the worst pitching staff overall. The Cubs are 17th in the pen, but the 7th best pitching staff overall. A good spot for the Cubs to improve on these numbers across the board.

Cubs F5 Money-line(-140) and Cubs Full Game Money-Line(-136) are the two plays in this one.

“Bet Only What You Can Afford To Lose”

-So Cal Ball Nerd