MLB parlay picks: June 17 | NorthStar Bets

MLB parlay picks June 17: Bet on Skenes, Pirates to start strong vs. Reds

The Pirates have a 5-0-1 record on the F5 moneyline when Paul Skenes starts. Photo by Gene J. Puskar/AP.

Jordan Horrobin

June 17, 2024

It's Paul Skenes day in Steel City, and his Pittsburgh Pirates are part of this three-leg MLB parlay.

The pregame narrative: It's an NL Central-themed parlay tonight, as I'm also backing the St. Louis Cardinals to win — and I'm fading the Chicago Cubs on the run line against the San Francisco Giants.

Check out my MLB parlay picks for June 17.

MLB parlay picks

Parlay: Pirates tie no bet - first five innings + Cardinals ML + Giants +1.5 (+264)

Pirates tie no bet - first five innings (-200): Skenes hasn't been perfect in his first five-ish weeks of MLB action, but he's been as effective as advertised. Pittsburgh certainly has a chance to win every time he takes the mound.

Last year's No. 1 overall draft pick has a 2.43 ERA and 2.58 FIP through six starts, striking out 46 batters in just 33.1 innings. He has allowed no more than six hits and/or three runs in any of his outings.

Pittsburgh is 5-0-1 on the F5 moneyline with Skenes on the mound.

The Cincinnati Reds haven't faced Skenes yet, but they have a subpar F5 record overall (27-32-12), per ATS.io. I think Skenes can continue to roll against a team that has lost four of its past six games.

Other parlay picks

Cardinals moneyline (-162): Sonny Gray hasn't been at his absolute best in recent games, but he's still in better form than Miami Marlins starter Braxton Garrett.

Miami's starting southpaw has a 6.10 ERA so far through six starts — despite tossing a four-hit shutout in one of those outings. Opponents have a .751 OPS against Garrett so far, which would be the fourth-best team mark in MLB.

Gray has a 3.78 ERA over his past six starts, and the Cardinals have won four of them. On the season, his 2.55 FIP is the fourth-best among pitchers with 60-plus innings.

Miami is in a spiral, losing seven of its past eight games to fall to last in the National League. St. Louis is 20-11 since May 12 and currently owns a wild-card spot.

Giants +1.5 (-205): Tonight's matchup between the Giants and Cubs should be a tight one, so backing San Francisco with some cushion feels like a solid play to me.

San Fran has covered a +1.5 spread in five of Jordan Hicks' six road starts this year. And the current Cubs lineup is batting just 3-for-21 (.143) against him with 10 strikeouts).

Also, the Cubs have been brutal when asked to cover a -1.5 run line. They are 8-23 ATS as run-line favourites this season.

Javier Assad (4-2, 2.81 ERA) is having a great year on the North Side, but he's been quite hittable recently.

Assad has a 5.33 ERA in his past five starts, and Chicago failed to cover a -1.5 run line in any of those games.

Picks made at 11:55 a.m. on 06/17/24.

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