This article is part of our MLB Picks series.
It is a mighty short Thursday slate in MLB today, but boy, do we have a doozie lined up in Chavez Ravine and I'm all about it! Spencer Strider and the Braves head to LA to take on Lance Lynn and the Dodgers in a clash of National League big dogs. And let's skip over that time last week when I completely misread every game and went 0-3 here, okay? Okay. Moving on to the final day in August!
Atlanta Braves at 
Los Angeles Dodgers
Quick, which of these two teams is hotter? While neither team is exactly slumping, the Dodgers are 8-2 over their 10 games and have outscored their opponents by 29 runs, while the Braves are 7-3 and +22 during that same span. Perhaps splitting hairs, but noteworthy here given the Dodgers' underdog status. Also notable is Lance Lynn's resurgence since donning the Dodger blue. Since his last start as a member of the dumpster fire that is the White Sox (in which he was rocked for seven ER in 4.2 IP), Lynn has given up no more than three ER in his five starts as a Dodger and he's gone 7, 6, 5, 7 and 6 innings in those starts. Spencer Strider is a stud and is on a bit of a heater, but he is also prone to allowing crooked numbers when he's off. At home and at +125, I have to take the Dodgers as a very live home dog.
MLB Best Bet: Dodgers ML (+125) @ PointsBet
Picking up on the previous thought, while Lynn has fared well in LA, he has been quite hittable. He's danced around danger in those five starts, including his last one where he gave up 10 hits in six innings in Boston but only three earned. And, as mentioned above, when Strider is off, he is very hittable, and it goes without saying that both of these offenses are extremely potent. Combined, these teams have gone over today's total in 9 of their last 11 games.
MLB Best Bet: Braves/Dodgers OVER 8.5 (+108) @ DraftKings
There is SO much combined talent on these teams that you could almost throw a dart at the lineups and get lucky with a prop bet on any given day. Right now, nobody on the planet is hotter than Mookie Betts, who is a stupid 22-for-41 (that's .536 folks) over his last 10 games. However, the books are well aware of his heater, leaving very little value on his props. I am going to focus on a member of Atlanta who is almost as hot and has much better value: Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna is 16-38 (.421) over his last 10 games with seven dingers and 15 RBI in that stretch. I can make a case for small bets on his 1+ HR prop (+420 @ FanDuel), his 1+ RBI prop (+170 @ DraftKings), and OVER 1.5 Total Bases (+130 @ DraftKings), but I'm going to go with his 2+ hits prop at +330 today. As noted, even when performing well, Lynn gives up hits in bunches, and Ozuna has recorded two or more hits in five of his last nine games. That is tough to ignore at that value.
MLB Best Bet: Marcell Ozuna 2+ Hits (+330) @ FanDuel
Thursday MLB Single Game Focus:
Here's a recap of my best bets for Braves at Dodgers for Thursday, Aug. 31:
- Dodgers ML (+125) @ PointsBet
- Braves/Dodgers OVER 8.5 (+108) @ DraftKings
- Marcell Ozuna 2+ Hits (+330) @ FanDuel
For up-to-date information on the latest odds and props from multiple sportsbooks, check out the MLB odds page on RotoWire.
