We bounced back nicely last night with our MLB picks, as they were a perfect 3-0! The Orioles, Phillies, and Rangers all made us a little nervous, but they all prevailed in the end.
That nice little sweep brought us to 132-99 on the season. We have a larger card than normal today! Here are 5 MLB best bets for Wednesday, August 30. A few of these are day games, so get those bets in early! Good luck!
Best Bet: Phillies -1.5 (+120)
Geez! Is anyone hotter than this Philly's offense right now? I don't think so! To say these guys are on a serious roll would be a gross understatement. Bryce Harper finally looks healthy and comfortable at the plate again, which is bad news for all opposing pitchers.
Harper and Kyle Schwarber went deep yesterday, and I expect them to stay hot against Reid Detmers today. This Angels team just put 6 guys on waivers, which is a kind way of saying they're giving up on the season. Los Angeles has won just 3 of their last 10.
I like Christopher Sanchez quite a bit. The young lefty does a good job of mixing up his pitches and keeping hitters off balance. Let's lay the run line for plus money!
Best Bet: Orioles -1.5 (+120)
Baltimore gave us a scare last night, but as we predicted, Anthony Santander came up with a big hit at the right time. I don't see any reason why the Orioles don't finish off the sweep today in grand fashion.
I'm not a huge fan of Kyle Gibson, but he's done well all year long and shouldn't have much trouble with this White Sox lineup. Chicago starter Dylan Cease just isn't as dominant as he was last year. I expect this Orioles lineup to give him all kinds of problems.
As we said yesterday, Baltimore's bullpen edge in this game is huge, even with star closer Felix Bautista on the IL. Let's play the run line on this one as well.
Best Bet: Rangers (-150)
Might as well run it back with the Rangers. Hopefully they're busting out of their hitting slump. Mitch Garver came up big with a nice homer late in the game last night. Meanwhile, the Mets continue to ride the struggle bus.
Laying -150 with Dane Dunning isn't something I would normally do, but the Mets called up a young guy from Triple A to make this start. That tells me all I need to know. Even with Dunning's bad regression numbers, the Rangers have the starting pitcher edge.
The Texas bullpen has actually looked great the last couple games after an abysmal two-week stretch. Hopefully they're turning things around. Let's play Texas on the road yet again.
Best Bet: Astros (-130)
I know Framber Valdez has struggled lately and he's not as dominant on the road. However, I'd still take him over Kutter Crawford any day, no offense to Crawford. Valdez threw seven innings of no hit ball against the Tigers last week, which is a good sign that he's figuring things out.
This Houston offense is on fire, and they'll be even better now that Michael Brantley is back in the lineup. The Astros are averaging 9.2 runs per nine innings over their last five games. What is Boston averaging over that stretch? Only 4.7 runs.
Also, I like Houston's bullpen a little bit better than Boston's. Let's lay this reasonable price with the Astros.
Best Bet: Rays (-117)
Zach Eflin may not be a household name, but I think he's a top 10 pitcher. He's 3-2 over his last five starts with an ERA of only 2.00. Jesus Luzardo has been pretty solid for the Marlins, but I still think Eflin is the better pitcher.
The Rays have won 8 of 10 and are finally hitting the ball like they did back in April. The Marlins, on the other hand, have only won 3 of 10 and are struggling to generate any offense.
Jorge Soler had to leave last night's game after fouling off a ball off his hip. His status for tonight's game is unknown, but if he can't go, Miami will have an even harder time scoring runs. Give me the better team at a very nice price.
