Time to jump on today’s MLB Best Bets and Betting Picks! We hit a bit of a stumbling block yesterday as we endured our first losing effort over our last four days of my column thanks to the Atlanta Braves and their continued struggled. While we don’t expect them to continue their slide, losing two of three to the Oakland Athletics is brutal with regard to betting as their offense never showed up. Much the way the Boston Red Sox, though not Masataka Yoshida, let us down as well. Still, we are in a good spot and should be able to rebound, again, without chasing a ton of same game parlay odds. Not too much to work with on a short slate, but let’s get to it.

  • Yesterday’s Record: 2-3
  • Season Record: 76-75-2
  • Bankroll: -6.87

Again, with just seven games on the slate, we’re not looking at a heavy day of betting.

 

 

MLB Best Bets for June 1

Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets 

Max Scherzer returns to the mound for the Mets after posting a 1.00 ERA with a 0.78 WHIP in his three starts (18 innings) since returning from his suspension and faces a Phillies team he’s had tremendous success against over the years. To make matters worse, the Phillies are sporting a .287 wOBA with a dismal 26.8-percent strikeout rate over the past seven days. On the other side, the Phillies will throw righty Taijuan Walker at the Mets who have seemingly turned an offensive corner with their .265 wOBA and .202 ISO over the past week. While Walker has been serviceable over his last two starts, he’s still walking too many guys and routinely pitches to contact. The Mets aren’t a big strikeout team in recent games, so expect them to hit Walker pretty early on, so we’ll back Scherzer and their bats for the first half of this game.

Pick: New York Mets First 5 Innings -0.5 Run Line (-130 on Caesars Sportsbook)

Cleveland Guardians at Minnesota Twins

Maybe it was the Guardians 12-run explosion yesterday that has the odds favoring the over in this game, but with Pablo Lopez on the bump for the Twins and rookie Tanner Bibee, I’m not so sure Vegas has this one right. Lopez has had a few hiccups along the way, but we’re talking about a small-ball Guardians lineup that still doesn’t hit for power and has a .284 wOBA against right-handed pitching. Bibee has been rock-solid through his first six big-league starts, posting a 2.88 ERA with peripherals that indicate success can and should continue. The Twins lineup hasn’t exactly been a powerhouse recently either with just a .118 ISO and 31.5-percent K-rate over the last seven days. And if you’re concerned about a full-game bet, know that both bullpens have been strong lately as well.

Pick: Guardians/Twins under 8 runs (+100 on Caesars Sportsbook)

Cincinnati Reds at Boston Red Sox

We’re going back to the well despite yesterday disappointment. Chris Sale takes the mound for Boston and while the Reds have been solid against lefties this season, this is more about the Boston offense and the fact that Hunter Greene has been getting hit around a lot more lately. He did have a great outing against a Cubs team that has been struggling at the plate recently, but prior to that, he allowed 17 runs over 22 innings (four starts) including seven home runs. The Red Sox are still one of the best-hitting teams at home this season and while they only plated four yesterday, should be able to jump out to an early lead. I’m not sure what happens when we put bullpens in play so we’ll stick to the first half in this one as well.

Pick: Boston Red Sox First 5 Innings -0.5 runs (-115 on Caesars Sportsbook)