We're ready to bounce back after a tough 1-2 yesterday in baseball. The Angels let us down against the Orioles and the Fade A's train ran off the tracks with Arizona losing to Oakland. Thankfully, the Yankees cashed for us as a nice +160ish dog to minimize the damage to the bankroll.
Here are 3 MLB Best Bets for Wednesday, May 17. Let's get back to our winning ways! Good luck with your action.
Best Bet: Angels (+130)
Call us gluttons for punishment, but we're going back to the well with the Halos today. Sure, Griffin Canning scares the heck out of us with his 6.38 ERA this season. That being said, Canning's FIP is 5.09 and his hard-hit rate is only 42.3%. We're hoping for some positive regression for him today at Camden Yards.
Kyle Bradish will be starting for Baltimore, and while he has decent stuff, we don't think he should be this big of a favorite. The young right-hander is 1-1 this season with a 4.56 ERA and a hard-hit rate of 48.1%. He looked dominant against the Pirates in his last start, but this Angels lineup is a different beast with Ohtani, Trout, Renfroe, etc.
Even with last night's loss, Los Angeles still ranks higher than Baltimore in runs scored, batting average, OPS, and homers. We'll take another shot with the Angels at the nice price!
Best Bet: Yankees (-110)
Anytime we can get a horse like Gerrit Cole at basically a pick 'em price is a no-brainer. Cole is just 32 years old, and he led all of baseball in strikeouts last year. Toronto has a scary lineup, but we think Cole will keep them at bay tonight. His FIP is only 3.09 this year.
The Blue Jays will counter with Chris Bassitt, who has been the best of their starters this season. He's 5-2 with a 3.49 ERA. However, his FIP is a bit concerning at 4.87. That could mean some negative regression is coming soon.
Even though this Yankees team struggled to start the season, they've played much better of late by winning 7 of 10. New York has also won 5 of their last 7 against the Blue Jays and have won 4 straight against them north of the border. Give us the Yanks!
Best Bet: Cardinals (+102)
St. Louis has arguably been the biggest disappointment of the season so far. The Cards are just 17-26 on the year, but they've righted the ship by winning 7 of their last 10 ball games. Nolan Arenado has been hotter than blue blazes at the plate, as he's homered 5 times over his last 5 games.
Some may think we're crazy for fading Corbin Burnes since he's the ace of the Brewers' staff. Though Burnes has been pretty good, 5 Cardinal players have homered against him in their careers. St Louis ranks 6th in batting average, OPS, and homers.
Matthew Liberatore will make his 2023 debut for the Cards tonight. Though he didn't have earth-shattering numbers last season, we think Liberatore can keep this Milwaukee lineup off balance. The Brewers are hitting just .218 this season against lefties. Let's play the home dog!
