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A massive MLB slate littered with excellent betting options sets the stage for a beefy appetizer of college football on Thursday night.

Before we shift gears to the gridiron, the best bets focus solely on MLB action, including player props.

Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

With odds of +1400, this prop for Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes immediately piqued my interest. Over his last five starts, Skenes has recorded 33 strikeouts, including nine in his last outing against the Cincinnati Reds.

He’s 8-2 on the year with a 2.16 ERA across 17 starts. He’s logged 104 innings and has 130 strikeouts, which equates to a SO/9 of 11.3.

Here, he’ll take on a Chicago Cubs team that strikes out 8.5 times per game, which ranks 16th in the MLB.

The Cubs’ recent starting lineups have started with Ian Happ, Michael Busch and Seiya Suzuki in four of their last five games.

If they sport that lineup again in this game, Skenes will face the three most struck-out players on the Cubs’ roster. Busch leads the team with 141, Happ is behind him at 140 and Suzuki is at 124. Happ and Busch are in the top 15 in the league in strikeouts.

All three struck out at least four times over their last five games.

I’ll take a chance at +1400.

Best Bet: Paul Skenes to Record 3+ Strikeouts in the 1st Inning (+1400 at FanDuel)

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Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

That’s right, I’m doubling down on this game. It’s a 12:30 in the afternoon start, so be ready to bet quickly.

With Skenes on the mound for the Pirates, that means there’s a good chance the Pirates come out with a win. Skenes has allowed nine runs over his last five starts and is coming off a six-inning performance where he allowed none to Cincinnati.

Skenes’ first two starts ever game against the Cubs. In his first start, he allowed three runs over four innings, but in the second start on the road against them, he went six innings, allowed nothing, and had 11 strikeouts. The Pirates won 9-3.

Opposite Skenes is Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks. He’s 3-10 with a 6.33 ERA across 18 starts. Over his last five starts, Hendricks has allowed 15 runs, including three in his last outing against the Miami Marlins.

Hendricks had one of his worst starts of the season against the Pirates in May, allowing seven earned runs and 11 hits in less than five innings of work.

Based on the pitching matchup alone, I’ll take the +120 value for the Pirates to win by two runs or more.

Best Bet: Pirates -1.5 (+120 at FanDuel)

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Minnesota Twins vs. Atlanta Braves

The Twins head into this matchup with David Festa on the mound. While he’s 2-3 with a 5.20 ERA, he’s had some solid starts over his last five, allowing two runs or less in four of them and posting 29 strikeouts in that span. He’s also only allowed two home runs.

Offensively, Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton are on the injured list, leaving just one player, Jose Miranda, with a batting average above .259.

They’ll face the Braves, who have Chris Sale on the mound. He’s second in the league in ERA with 2.62 and is 14-3 across 24 starts. He’s struck out 191 batters across just under 143 innings. He’s allowed two runs in four of his last five starts, but he has three games with double-digit strikeouts.

Both teams are averaging more than four runs per game, but I’ll lean under here with Sale on the mound for the Braves and Festa pitching pretty well over his last five starts.

Best Bet: Under 7.5 Runs (-110 at FanDuel)