The Daily Sweat: Marlins, one of baseball's best stories, look to sweep Red Sox
As the halfway point in the Major League Baseball season approaches, the Atlanta Braves have been the best team in the National League by a significant margin.
But there’s another NL East team worthy of some praise: the Miami Marlins.
Not much was expected of the Marlins when the season began. It’s a franchise that hasn’t finished with a record above .500 in a full season since 2009. But that looks like a streak set to end this year.
Entering Thursday's series finale with the Boston Red Sox, the Marlins are 47-34, the third-best mark in the NL. They’ve won four straight and are 18-7 in the month of June as they look to sweep the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Luis Arráez has been the story for the Marlins as he hovers around a .400 batting average. After a 1-for-5 outing in Wednesday's 6-2 win, his average dipped to .396. The next closest in batting average in the majors is Braves star and MVP candidate Ronald Acuna Jr., who is hitting a mere .331.
It has been a historic start for Arráez, and the Marlins’ lineup got a boost this week when Jazz Chisholm returned to action after a stint on the injured list. In his first two games back, Chisholm has gone 4-of-8, including a solo homer to center Wednesday.
On Thursday, the Marlins will have Jesus Luzardo on the mound opposite Boston’s Brayan Bello. Both pitchers have been performing well. Luzardo has allowed only two runs in 13 innings over his past two starts. Bello has been even better, giving up only four runs in 20 2/3 innings over his past three outings.
BetMGM lists the Marlins as slight road favorites in this matchup. The Marlins are -115, and the Red Sox, who have lost six of their past seven, are -105.
Even at 13 games above .500, the Marlins aren’t getting much respect from the betting market. At BetMGM, the Marlins are +4000 to win the World Series, +2000 to win the NL pennant and +3000 to win the NL East. The Marlins are 6.5 games behind the Braves in the divisional standings but have worse odds than the Phillies (+2000), who are playing well sit 10.5 games behind the pace.
What else is going on in baseball?
In all, there are 12 games on the MLB schedule for Thursday, including the New York Yankees following a historic outing from Domingo Germán on Wednesday.
Germán tossed the 24th perfect game in MLB history as the Yankees blanked the Oakland Athletics 11-0. There’s a quick turnaround Thursday with a 12:37 p.m. local start in Oakland. The Yankees are -185 favorites at BetMGM. The A’s are +150 underdogs.
Additionally, the three teams jockeying for position atop the NL West standings are all in action Thursday. The Arizona Diamondbacks (48-33), San Francisco Giants (45-35) and Los Angeles Dodgers (44-35) are within three games of one another in the division.
The Diamondbacks have the Tampa Bay Rays in town to close out a three-game series. The Rays have the best record in baseball and beat the D-backs 3-1 on Wednesday, thanks to a three-run rally in the ninth. For the series finale, it’s a pick'em at BetMGM, with both teams listed at -110 on the moneyline.
Meanwhile, the Giants are looking to get a road series win over the Toronto Blue Jays. The Giants took the first game of the series 3-0 on Tuesday before the Blue Jays won 6-1 on Wednesday. The Blue Jays are -150 favorites for Thursday’s meeting with the Giants at +125.
Elsewhere, the Dodgers are trying to close out a series win over the lowly Colorado Rockies in Denver with rookie Emmet Sheehan on the mound for his third career start. The first two went quite well, as he has allowed only three hits and two runs through 12 innings. The Dodgers are big favorites at -210 at BetMGM. The Rockies, who will counter with Chase Anderson, are +170.
Over in Chicago, the Phillies will try to complete a sweep of the Cubs. The Phillies, who have won eight consecutive road games, are -120 at Wrigley, with the home Cubs listed at +100.
Warriors stars big favorites in 'The Match VIII'
While the Rocket Mortgage Classic got underway in Detroit, more headlines in golf will be devoted to the eighth edition of "The Match."
This version of the charity golf event will feature a showdown between stars of the Golden State Warriors and Kansas City Chiefs. For the Warriors, it’s Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. For the Super Bowl champion Chiefs, it’s Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
The Curry-Thompson pairing is a big favorite at -300. Mahomes and Kelce are +220 underdogs at BetMGM.
