Trout poised to outshine Harper again
More than a few of MLB’s cornerstone personalities have bowed out of the 87th annual All-Star Game. Thankfully, Mike Trout and Bryce Harper are ready to regale the Petco Park crowd.
Perhaps the sport’s two biggest standard-bearers lead their respective leagues into battle tonight. Which transcendent talent will pile up the gaudier stats, though? Online sports book Bovada.lv gives Trout odds of -125 to collect more hits, runs and RBIs. Harper, on the other hand, represents a -105 underdog in the would-be standoff.
With two straight Midsummer Classic MVP awards in the bag, it’s no wonder that Trout is favored to take home more hardware this evening. Last July, he kicked off the exhibition by smoking a Zack Greinke fastball out of the park in Cincinnati. Two years ago, the Los Angeles center fielder electrified Target Field with a scintillating triple. The truly scary reality: His boundless bag of tools continues to expand.
If Trout symbolizes the best at his craft, however, Harper looms directly in the rear-view mirror. The reigning NL MVP positively obliterated the rawhide in April, batting .286 with nine dingers and 24 RBIs. May and June, though, brought a cumulative mark of .243.
MLB Quick Links: Scores & Matchups | Injuries | Odds Comparison | Betting Trends | ATS Stats
Harper remains fully capable of stealing the show at any moment, but Trout’s obviously swinging the hotter stick. With all due respect to Ben Zobrist, Kris Bryant and Wil Myers, we’d feel more confident about leaning on Jose Altuve, Manny Machado and David Ortiz around. Take Trout to capture another victory.
TUESDAY MLB FREE PICK: MIKE TROUT -120