This story was originally published by Dead Spin
It’s that day when Pittsburgh Pirates’ baseball is a must-watch: Paul Skenes Day.
The dominant right-hander, worthy of another million-dollar bonus just for making the Pirates relevant again, will be trying to mow down the Seattle Mariners’ hitters.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves have eight losses in their past 12 games. But they surely have to be salivating about opening a series Friday against the woeful Los Angeles Angels, who have dropped five of their past six.
And… she’s back. Everything’s been quiet on the Caitlin Clark front, with the WNBA on an Olympics’ hiatus. But Clark is looking to fire away and hand out assists after a 30-day break in WNBA play.
SEATTLE MARINERS AT PITTSBURGH PIRATES
The Pirates have fallen apart.Â
With 10 consecutive losses, including an 0-6 road trip against the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh can still feel good with Skenes on the mound for the opener of a three-game series against the Mariners.
Skenes is winless over his past four starts (0-2) and due for a victory. But he struck out eight or less in all four of those contests.
It feels like 10 or 11 Ks in six innings are just dying to break out, and the Mariners swing and miss a lot. Six different Seattle players have already fanned 100 or more times, and another (Dylan Moore) has struck out 99 times.
The Mariners just got swept in a three-game set by the Detroit Tigers. It’s also hard to have any confidence in the Pirates. But that right arm of Skenes is what we’re riding as Seattle hitters will often head back to the dugout with bat in hand.
Paul Skenes 10-plus strikeouts, +150 (DraftKings)
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ATLANTA BRAVES AT LOS ANGELES ANGELS
The Braves are vying to gain momentum after a six-game losing streak earlier this month dropped them into the National League’s third wild-card spot. Atlanta just took three of four in San Francisco and looks to keep the success going against the Angels with a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies next on the docket.
Braves rookie Spencer Schwellenbach has struck out 36 batters and walked just two in 26 innings over his last four starts. He’ll be pitted against fellow right-hander Jose Soriano of the Angels, and he’s also hot, with just one run allowed in 12 innings over his past two starts.
The Angels are a complete mess as they play out the final fourth of their 10th straight season, missing the playoffs. Heck, the ‘Rally Monkey’ even received the night off during Wednesday’s 9-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Or perhaps even the scoreboard operation knows you can’t unleash him when you trail by eight runs.
Willie Calhoun batted cleanup for the Angels in Wednesday’s loss. He was designated for assignment the following day. Yeah, Atlanta is going to enjoy this series in Anaheim.
Braves -1.5 run line, +114 (DraftKings)
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PHOENIX MERCURY AT INDIANA FEVER
In Indiana’s last game, Clark set a WNBA record with 19 assists while also scoring 24 points. That gave her double digits in assists in seven of her last nine games, as she has really settled in as a pro.
Clark looked tired early in the season—she had recently completed a 39-game college schedule—and was also clearly feeling pressure due to the gargantuan expectations. But once she got comfortable, the individual performances improved, and the Fever became a better team. Indiana has won eight of its last 13 after a 3-10 start.
The Fever are 2-0 against Phoenix this season and have had mixed success defending U.S. Olympian Kahleah Copper of the Mercury. In the most recent outing, Copper scored 36 points. In the first meeting, she had just seven.
Brittney Griner, another Olympian, had 24 points in the first matchup. The Mercury have won five of their past seven games.
Fever -4 spread, -110 (DraftKings)Â
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