It’s the end of the work week, and it’s time for an action-packed Friday slate of MLB games! The day begins in Pittsburgh with a southpaw showdown between Andrew Abbott and Bailey Falter and ends with a highly anticipated matchup between the Rays and Dodgers. Let’s get right into my 3-leg MLB parlay picks for Friday, August 23, while you can also check out our MLB picks for today!
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Texas Rangers ML over Cleveland Guardians (+114)
It's been a rough few weeks for the Guardians. Their trade deadline acquisition, Lane Thomas, has been pitiful at the plate and created a hole in the middle of the lineup. Even Steven Kwan has fallen into a bit of a slump! Since August 1, the Guardians’ lineup ranks 29th in batting average, 28th in OPS and 29th in wRC+ against right-handed pitchers. And on Thursday, the Cleveland lineup managed just 1 hit against Gerrit Cole and the Yankees bullpen. The slump seems to be extended for the Guardians, and it's coming at a bad time since Nathan Eovaldi and the Rangers are coming into town for the weekend.
Eovaldi was a hot name thrown around at the trade deadline but was kept since the Rangers still had postseason hopes. Unfortunately for the Guardians, Eovaldi has had plenty of success against their lineup in his career. Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor, Andres Gimenez and Austin Hedges are a combined 8-for-43 (.186) with just a .180 xBA. At plus-money odds, it's worth fading the struggling Guardians.