Ready for some MLB Best Bets & Betting picks for Friday, August 18? We hit with both picks on yesterday’s slate as Zac Gallen and the Arizona Diamondbacks squeezed out a win while we were right about that pitchers’ duel between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers and easily cashed on the under for that game. So let’s carry that momentum into today which is a much bigger slate with a lot more interesting match-ups. Also, I’ll be on the Bettor Sports Betting Show again today at 4pm ET, so you can find more picks over there as well.

 

MLB Best Bets for August 18 

Milwaukee Brewers at Texas Rangers

We’ve got an interesting money line today in this one. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise to see the Texas Rangers favored, given their hitting prowess all season long, but tonight they face Brandon Woodruff who has a 1.99 ERA over four scattered starts while he was battling injuries all year. Meanwhile, the Rangers are throwing Andrew Heaney who missed a bullpen session earlier in the week due to an illness. You would think the line would be flipped, but with the way the Brewers have routinely struggled against southpaws (.304 wOBA, 27.5% K-rate), we’re going to lean towards Heaney and the fact that Woodruff has yet to face an offense this potent. It’s close, but the favorite wins out.

Pick: Texas Rangers Money Line (-120 on DraftKings Sportsbook)

Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres

This game was good to us last night and given the match-ups on the mound, we’re going to go right back to it today. Brandon Pfaadt continues to pitch to a ton of contact and has allowed seven runs over his last 10.1 innings (2 starts). He faced these same Padres in his last start and allowed three runs over 5.2 innings and we expect the Padres to come back at him and shoot that 1.52 WHIP straight to the moon. On the other side, the Padres are throwing Seth Lugo who fared well in his last time against Arizona, but the Diamondbacks, over the past week have posted a .345 wOBA with a .215 ISO and are swinging the sticks with power – 11 home runs over their last seven games. I’m not sure who wins this one in the end, but I do see plenty of runs coming our way.

Pick: Diamondbacks/Padres Over 8.5 runs (-115 on Caesars Sportsbook)

Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees

The Yankees have lost five in a row and making their way to the playoffs is more than just a daunting task at this point. The culture in the locker room is depressing and even a home series against the Red Sox isn’t going to snap them back into winning mode. Brayan Bello has had some recent struggles, but this Yankees team is posting a dismal .273 wOBA with a .085 ISO over the past week. Even playing for pride doesn’t sound exciting. At this time, the Yankees still haven’t announced a starter, but I can’t imagine it’s going to be a top-flight ace. We’ll go in half-blind and still back the favorite.

Pick: Boston Red Sox Money Line (-110 on BetMGM)

**all bets are one unit unless specifically mentioned.