After a nice 3-0 Friday sweep, we're now sitting pretty at 88-66 on the year! The Orioles and Dodgers got the job done for us in relatively sweat-free fashion. The Astros also pulled off a nice come from behind win over the Angels at a nice underdog price for us.
Let's keep the good times rolling with 3 MLB Best Bets for Monday, July 17. Good luck with all of your plays on the diamond tonight.
Best Bet: Guardians (-120)
I love fading pitchers in their first MLB starts! That's what we're doing here against the Pirates and Quinn Priester. The 22-year-old probably has a bright big-league future, but his 4.31 ERA in AAA this year is a bit concerning.
Xzavion Curry will get the ball for Cleveland, and he's been pretty solid out of the bullpen this year with a 3-0 record and a 3.04 ERA. The Guardians also have the much better bullpen in this one, by a longshot. Cleveland's bullpen ERA is 3.40, while Pittsburgh's is 4.27.
Lastly, I like Cleveland's lineup a little bit better than Pittsburgh's. The Guardians are averaging 6.6 runs per game against right-handers over their last 5 outings. The Pirates are only averaging 2.8.
Best Bet: Rays (-111)
I hate going against the Rangers because they're lineup is stacked, and they've made us some good coin this season. However, this price is insanely cheap for Shane McClanahan, who leads the majors in wins and ERA.
The powerful lefty has had issues with back tightness, but he should be firing on all cylinders after an 18-day break. Dane Dunning has been sensational for Texas this year, but he got roughed up in his last outing against the Nationals (of all teams)! Look for Yandy Diaz, who leads in the AL in batting average, to provide a spark for the Rays lineup in this one.
Tampa Bay also has the superior bullpen in this matchup. Rays' relievers have a batting average against of only .218, while Rangers' relievers are at .235. Lay the small number with the slightly better team.
Best Bet: Angels F5 (-125)
This is just a hard fade of Luis Severino, who has been awful this season. The former top prospect is just 1-4 with a 7.38 ERA and a WHIP of 1.80! He's given up 7 runs in back-to-back starts, which tells us all we need to know about his current form.
I'm going with the first five innings in this one because I hate the Angels bullpen. The strength of the Yankees is their relievers, so I like getting to take them out of the equation. Griffin Canning doesn't have dynamic stuff, but he's done a pretty good job this season (6-4, 4.62 ERA).
The Angels also have the better lineup in this game, even with Mike Trout on the IL. As long as Aaron Judge is out, this Yankees lineup doesn't scare anyone. Shohei Ohtani leads the bigs in homers with 34 and he should be able to tee off on Severino.
