Jerry Lynch, who gained most of his notoriety as a pinch hitter, reached base on nine of the eleven occasions he faced the great Sandy Koufax. So his “slash line” of batting average, on base and slugging looks like this: 714 /.818 / 1.286.

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At the other end of the spectrum, Rico Carty, a .299 career hitter good enough to have won the National League batting title in 1970, was 0-for-18 against Koufax. Willie Stargell, the Hall of Famer, was 2-for-23. It just goes to show you how quirky this whole thing is.

With that in mind, we present winning props for each of four Thursday night games, using the “histories” between the hitter and pitcher as part of our analysis.

MLB Player Props Picks (August 12 2021)

Blue Jays vs. Angels Best Bets

GEORGE SPRINGER (Toronto Blue Jays) OVER 0.5 HITS (-190)

Opponent: LOS ANGELES ANGELS (Starter – Shohei Ohtani)

Time: 9:35 PM ET

The 2017 World Series MVP has been on a nice roll since the All-Star break, hitting .350 with eleven homers in 100 at bats. So he’s another dangerous option in that loaded Toronto lineup.

And to think that as recently as July 16 he was hitting just .186.

One thing about Springer is that he hasn’t been mesmerized by the aura of Ohtani. He’s had four hits in six trips to the plate against him, including a homer. It was tempting, after a two-HR effort on Wednesday, to grab +300 on him hitting another round-tripper, but we won’t get greedy about it.

Live MLB Odds

Yankees vs. White Sox Best Bets

D.J. LeMAHIEU (New York Yankees) UNDER 1.5 TOTAL BASES (-145)

Opponent: CHICAGO WHITE SOX (Starter – Lance Lynn)

Time: 7 PM ET

Lance Lynn has emerged as one of the better starting pitchers in the American League. He has finished among the top six in the Cy Young Award voting in each of the last two seasons. And he currently leads the AL with his 2.04 earned run average.

And there’s no reason to believe he’s losing any form, as in five of his last six starts he has gone at least six innings and allowed just a single earned run.

So on the surface, it would seem a good matchup against DJ LeMahieu, a two-time batting champion. But this head-to-head has been pretty one-sided; LeMahieu, who led the AL in both batting average and OPS last year, is only 1-for-17 lifetime against Lynn, with five strikeouts.

In DJ’s last 14 games he’s got only five extra base hits, and no homers since June 26.

Padres vs. Diamondbacks Best Bets

ERIC HOSMER (San Diego Padres) OVER 0.5 HOME RUNS (+500)

Opponent: Arizona Diamondbacks (Starter – Taylor Widener)

Time: 9:40 PM ET

Yes, the history between hitter and pitcher seems like a ridiculously small sample, but we are going to pull the trigger here anyway.

Eric Hosmer has gone 3-for-5 with a pair of homers against Taylor Widener, who appears very inclined to give up the gopher ball.

Widener has in fact surrendered 2.2 HR’s per nine innings, and his fly ball rate is 35.3%, which is well above the big league average of 23.8%.

MLB Predictions

Rockies vs. Giants Best Bets

BRANDON BELT (San Francisco Giants) OVER 1.5 TOTAL BASES (+135)

Opponent: COLORADO ROCKIES (starter – German Marquez)

Time: 9:45 PM ET

Brandon Belt hasn’t done too badly from the standpoint of home runs, as he’s hit 15 in 192 at bats. He is headed for a career high in that department. He seems to be getting around better; he is pulling the ball 43.1% of the time, which is a big jump from the 30.1% figure he showed last year. And his fly ball rate is his second highest.

He’s had success against German Marquez, with a slash line of .429 / .467 / .714, a by-product of 12 hits in 28 at bats. And Marquez goes innings, averaging just under six per start. So Belt will get in some swings.

Check out our MLB home run props guide and MLB total bases props guide.