Alex Verdugo

The Yankees took Justin Verlander deep three times, including a three-run homer by Alex Verdugo, and got six solid innings from Luis Gil to beat the Houston Astros 10-3 on Tuesday night.

The Yankees activated Verdugo from the paternity list Thursday.

Prior to Wednesday's Yankees-Orioles game, manager Aaron Boone gave updates on a number of players including Jon Berti and Alex Verdugo.

Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.We are off to a poor start to the week with MLB, but we have a jam-packed 15-game slate to pick from as we try to get back on track.Let's dive into a few plays that stand out from the rest.Zack Wheeler: Under 1.5 walksWheeler's a machine when it comes to limiting walks. Since the beginning of the 2022 campaign, he's gone under this number in 54 of 75 starts. That equates to an absurd 72% success rate.We've seen a spike in his walks lately, but all the underlying metrics suggest that's just a blip on the radar.Even if you isolate the last three games in which he recorded nine combined walks and throw the rest of his season data out the window, Wheeler has still thrown balls at a below-average rate. The 33-year-old's strike rates are also even better against right-handed batters, which he'll see many versus the Angels.Los Angeles isn't great at generating walks. The Angels sit 26th in walk rate against righties this season, and six of the past eight starters they've faced have avoided issuing multiple walks.With Wheeler facing a righty-heavy team that doesn't walk a lot, this is a great spot for him to get back on track.Odds: -135 (playable to -150)Corbin Burnes: Under 6.5 strikeoutsThe Yankees are nightmare fuel for right-handed starting pitchers. They rank second in xwOBA and walk percentage and lead the league in homers versus righties.New York also strikes out less than 20% of the time, which is hard to believe considering all the power in its lineup.Making matters worse for opposing pitchers is the team's consistency. The Yankees play with the same plate discipline every game.That's why not a single opposing right-handed starter has recorded seven strikeouts in a contest against New York this season.The Yankees have faced 21 right-handed starters in 2024, including Kevin Gausman (twice), Chris Bassitt, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Grayson Rodriguez, and Zach Eflin. And New York didn't allow one of those guys to record seven Ks.Burnes has posted six strikeouts or fewer in five straight starts. He's also posted worse numbers against lefties and will have to deal with multiple good ones in Juan Soto, Anthony Rizzo, and potentially Alex Verdugo (if he returns from paternity leave).I don't see this being a spot where Burnes flips the script and puts forth a ceiling performance.Odds: -140 (playable to -160)Yoshinobu Yamamoto: Over 5.5 strikeoutsThe Diamondbacks are generally a tough opponent to strike out, but their play has dipped lately, particularly against right-handed pitching.Last week versus Arizona, Logan Gilbert and George Kirby combined for 21 Ks over a two-game span, and pitchers Kyle Gibson (six strikeouts) and Lance Lynn (seven) put forth ceiling performances.Yamamoto struck out better than 33% of the batters he faced in April. He's also above 30% against righties and lefties, so it doesn't much matter how the Diamondbacks construct their lineup against him.It's also worth noting that Yamamoto has gone over this number in four consecutive starts, coinciding with his pitch count rising above 80.He's fully stretched out now and routinely throwing 90-plus pitches. With such electric stuff, six strikeouts isn't much to ask.Odds: +115 (playable to -115)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

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