The NFL’s return might be the headliner on Thursday night, but there’s plenty of MLB action unfolding, too — and it starts in the early afternoon.
The latest: At 1:10 p.m. ET, the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins both look to avoid a third consecutive loss in their respective series. Blake Snell will pitch for the San Francisco Giants in the afternoon, while Reynaldo Lopez’s Atlanta Braves play at home later on.
Check out the latest MLB odds for Thursday, Sept. 5.
MLB odds: Sept. 5
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Minnesota Twins vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Houston Astros vs. Cincinnati Reds
Seattle Mariners vs. Oakland Athletics
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Francisco Giants
Washington Nationals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Miami Marlins
Colorado Rockies vs. Atlanta Braves
Los Angeles Angels vs. Texas Rangers
Detroit Tigers vs. San Diego Padres
Betting insights
- Minnesota’s Pablo Lopez is 5-1 with a 2.01 ERA over his past seven starts. Tampa Bay tagged him for five runs over 4.0 innings back in June, but some of the Rays’ key players from that game have since been traded away (Randy Arozarena, Isaac Paredes). Tampa’s current lineup is 10-for-53 (.189) against Lopez with 10 Ks and two extra-base hits.
- The Diamondbacks’ offence is on a prolonged heater, but so is Snell. Arizona is averaging 6.8 runs over its past 40 games, posting an .874 OPS as a team in that span. Snell, meanwhile, has a 1.30 ERA and a .372 opponent OPS since the start of July.
- Only four of MLB’s 30 teams have a sub-.500 run line record as underdogs … and Colorado is one of them. Atlanta has covered a -1.5 spread in both matchups of this series.
- San Diego outlasted Detroit, 6-5 in extras last night. Now the Padres turn to left-hander Martin Perez, who tossed 8.0 innings of one-run ball against the Tigers in April. Detroit has a 94 wRC+ against lefties (21st in MLB).
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.