After unfortunately missing on a few picks last night, it's time to bounce back and wipe the slate clean for Tuesday's MLB betting picks and baseball best bets. We have every team in action tonight, so there are tons of ways to go with MLB picks, player props, and MLB bets today. My top MLB picks today feature the Baltimore Orioles taking on the Houston Astros, the Pittsburgh Pirates hosting the Atlanta Braves, and then a bonus pick for Game 2 of the Washington Nationals vs Philadelphia Phillies doubleheader. Read on to find MLB bets, MLB player props, and baseball picks for Tuesday night's games. Don't forget to check out the latest MLB weather report and the confirmed MLB lineups when placing MLB betting picks. Plus, the MLB daily projections and MLB Batter vs Pitcher page will help you find the best matchups for MLB player props. Let's now jump into the MLB best bets and baseball betting picks for Tuesday, August 8th.

 

MLB Best Bets for August 8

Houston Astros vs Baltimore Orioles – 7:05 pm ET

The sportsbooks unsurprisingly have the Houston Astros favored over the Baltimore Orioles tonight because of the pitching matchup. Framber Valdez vs Grayson Rodriguez should give Houston the leg up at first glance. Yet, we’re backing the underdogs here with a chance to get the AL East division leaders at plus-money. Valdez is coming off of his no-hitter last time out, but things will be tougher tonight for the Astros left-hander. The Orioles have been a stronger offense vs left-handed pitching all season and boast a .325 wOBA, 107 wRC+, and a lower 21.7% K rate vs lefties since the All-Star break. Valdez, meanwhile, has been worse on the road this year with a 4.11 ERA in away starts compared to a 2.44 ERA at home. Valdez also struggled to a 7.29 ERA across four July outings right before tossing that no-no last week. We’ll likely see regression from him against a dangerous O’s offense that loves to face southpaws. 

On the other side, we can actually be optimistic about Grayson Rodriguez doing his part for the Orioles to win here. The rookie righty seems to have figured things out after a rough start to the season and a demotion to the minors. Since returning to the big-league rotation in July, he has a 2.57 FIP and a .195 batting average against over the past four starts. Plus, he’s faced some good offenses in the Rays, Dodgers, and Blue Jays in this stretch. The Astros offense has much better numbers vs lefties than righties this year. In fact, over the past week, Houston has a subpar .291 wOBA, 84 WRC+, and .196 batting average vs right-handed pitching. We also have a fully rested Orioles bullpen behind Rodriguez after a day off on Monday. There’s definite value in the Orioles to win at home as dogs. 

Pick: Baltimore Orioles Money Line (+110 BetMGM)

Atlanta Braves vs Pittsburgh Pirates – 7:05 pm ET

Last night, the Pittsburgh Pirates shocked the baseball world by lighting up Spencer Strider and holding on to beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-6, as huge underdogs. We’re not totally backing them to repeat as victors tonight, but we are counting on the Pirates offense to at least hold serve. The Braves are starting Yonny Chirinos, who has been shaky as a traditional starting pitcher this season compared to when he was coming out of the bullpen for the Tampa Bay Rays. Chirinos has a 6.67 ERA as a starter and a 2.81 ERA as a reliever. The right-hander has allowed at least three earned runs in five of his six starts this year and he has a 6.82 ERA over his last eight outings overall going back to mid-June. 

The Pirates can get to Chirinos here with an underrated offense right now. Against right-handed pitching over the past two weeks, the Pittsburgh hitters have a .336 wOBA, 110 wRC+, and .223 ISO with a top-tier lineup in the split. They’re also averaging 4.7 runs per game over the past nine contests. So, let’s target this matchup of the Pittsburgh offense vs Chirinos with a couple of picks. The Chirinos earned runs prop doesn’t have great odds, but you can use it as a parlay piece. The Pirates team total has some juicy odds and presents value. 

Pick: Pittsburgh Pirates Team Total OVER 4.5 Runs (+105 DraftKings)

Pick: Yonny Chirinos OVER 2.5 Earned Runs (-165 DraftKings)

Washington Nationals vs Philadelphia Phillies – 7:05 pm ET (Doubleheader Game 2)

Unfortunately, a couple of our picks yesterday got rained out with the Nats/Phillies game moving to a doubleheader today. Well, let’s go back to the matchup with a specific bet targeting the Washington Nationals team total for Game 2 tonight. As mentioned yesterday, Ranger Suarez has had issues at home this year and his splits at Citizens Bank Park are worrisome. The Philadelphia Phillies left-hander has a 5.70 ERA at home compared to a 2.76 ERA on the road, which continues a trend from last year (4.27 home ERA vs 3.20 road ERA). Suarez also just posted a 6.11 ERA in the month of July, which included five runs allowed to the Nats in their last meeting. As for Washington, it’s has been tough on lefties all season (.335 wOBA, 108 wRC+, 18.9% K rate) and is in the better half of their splits tonight. Since the All-Star break, the Nationals also have a .347 wOBA and 117 wRC+ vs left-handed pitching. Suarez should have problems limiting the damage here and the Nats team total is the spot to target. Washington has scored 4+ runs in six of the last eight games and 12 of the past 16 contests coming into tonight. 

Pick: Washington Nationals Team Total OVER 3.5 Runs (-120 DraftKings)