L.A. Dodgers @ CHICAGO
L.A. Dodgers -103 over CHICAGO

BEST LINES:  Pinnacle -103 BET365 -110 SportsInteraction -110 5DIMES -105

Posted at 11:45 AM EST.

2:20 PM EST. After a sluggish start to the season, the Dodgers are now four games over .500 and a big reason for that has been the performance of Ross Stripling (RHP). Stripling is an impressive 6-1 with a 1.76 ERA and he's got the goods under the hood to support those surface stats. His xERA is higher, but still elite at 2.69 and his strikeout rate of 10.58 K's/9 and his walk rate of 1.49 BB's/9 are also elite. Back in 2016, Stripling was given a chance to start and posted just 55 Ks and 23 walks in 75.2 innings. This season, he has 78 punch-outs in 66.1 frames while walking just 11. Stripling's first-pitch strike rate is an impressive 71.8%, which leaves him only behind Nathan Eovaldi on today's group of starters. While nobody would confuse Stripling with someone like Max Scherzer, the former is pitching very much like the latter. Usually when a pitcher moves out of the bullpen, one would expect his performance to decline, but that has not been the case with Stripling. There is still great value when backing the 28-year-old especially when he's matched up with an overpriced and overrated starter on the other side. Stripling is the best pitcher in the majors that nobody is talking about.

When Jon Lester (LHP) takes the mound, you are going to pay for his name despite his less than stellar performance this season. Sure he sports a 2.28 ERA, but that surface number is nothing but smoke and mirrors. Lester's xERA is a boated 4.33, which helps to tell the true story of how mediocre he's been in 2018. Lester is also benefiting greatly from an 86.4% strand rate that is totally unsustainable. Lester's stock is also up because he's won four straight starts and six of his last seven. While Lester strikes out guys from time to time, his recent swing and miss rate figures aren’t encouraging and his matinee foe, the Dodgers, have banged out an .899 OPS while scoring 6.7 RPG this month. The market has been cashing tickets with Lester all season, but it does not know how lucky it's been to do so on the overpriced lefty. It's a great time to start fading Lester against this heating up opponent.

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Our Pick

L.A. Dodgers -103 (Risking 2.06 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