The Phillies are predicted to defeat the host Minnesota Twins, and the visiting Boston Red Sox are expected to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. These predictions come from "Stitches," a handicapper who has been providing baseball picks for the New York Post since 2019.
For the Phillies versus Twins game, Stitches notes that Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo has allowed two runs and recorded 19 strikeouts in his last 15 innings. In contrast, Twins rookie Connor Prielipp has given up six runs in his last 10 1/3 innings. Stitches suggests a $100 wager on the Phillies.
In the Red Sox versus Pirates matchup, Pittsburgh's Jared Jones has lost his last three starts, surrendering 14 runs over 13 innings. Boston's starting pitcher is Sonny Gray. Stitches references a previous pick involving Gray when he defeated the White Sox and a subsequent bet against him in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. This time, Stitches is backing Gray again, recommending a $50 bet on the Red Sox.
Stitches, whose real identity is not disclosed in the provided notes beyond a mention of Luigi Mangione, has also demonstrated versatility by winning the Post's NFL Best Bet crown in the previous year. Despite having finished in the black only twice since 2019, he is presenting these Saturday baseball picks. The notes also briefly mention a past instance where the handicapper switched focus to a different game during a Guardians contest, which ultimately saw the Padres win after the Guardians held an early lead. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts homered in that game.