Welcome to Thursday's edition of the MLB Best Bets! Not the usual large slate of games today so the action is a bit limited but there are still some avenues to pursue in today's action. The 2-2 days of betting for me continue as I look for a profitable day and tonight could just be the night between a 1st 5 Innings total, a player prop and a team total runs wager on the docket. This article features a Pittsburgh Pirates team that has forgotten how to score runs, an AL Cy Young front runner in Shane McClanahan and a Kansas City Royals team that may as well pack it in for the rest of the season at this point. Without anymore fanfare here are the bets around the MLB for today, June 22nd! 

  • Friday's Record: 2-2
  • Season Record: 30-21-1
  • Bankroll: +2.88 units
 

MLB Best Bets for June 22

Pittsburgh Pirates at Miami Marlins

These two teams are on a completely different trajectory right now as the Marlins have won 6 of their last 10 games and the Pirates have now lost 9 straight games. The one thing that has been similar lately though for each team has been the lack of run production as the Marlins have scored 4 runs or less in 6 of their last 9 games and the Pirates in their last 2 series managed just 9 runs over those 6 games. Those numbers immediately have me searching for an under bet but I don't want to deal with the bullpens if I don't have to so how about leaning on the two starters tonight in Mitch Keller and Braxton Garrett who are having nice seasons. Keller has an 3.62 ERA with a WHIP of 1.14 and Garrett is holding down a 3.88 ERA with a 1.22 WHIP. With that I will be taking the under but for the 1st 5 Innings of this game with the line set at 4 runs and just hope no one blows up tonight. 

Pick: Pittsburgh Pirates & Miami Marlins 1st 5 Innings Under 4 Runs (-115 on WynnBET)

Kansas City Royals at Tampa Bay Rays 

The Rays are just killing it this season to put it simply as they sit with the best record in the AL East at 52-25. There have been a number of reasons for the success including one of the top offenses in the MLB and of course their pitching has been top notch. No one has been better in these successes than Shane McClanahan who is a front runner for the AL Cy Young award. The Rays ace is 11-1 on the season with a 2.12 ERA and WHIP of 1.10. His strikeout numbers aren't top notch though as his last 3 starts yielded 5 strikeouts a piece. That makes the prop line of 7.5 strikeouts a tough line but pitching against the Royals could get him over the top tonight at plus money. Kansas City has averaged 9.86 strikeouts per game on the road this season, the 5th highest rate in the MLB and over the last 3 games they have struck out 11 times per game. Given that I will take a stab on McClanahan over his K prop tonight at plus money with an addition of the Royals under their team total runs because they are helpless. 

Pick: Shane McClanahan Over 7.5 Strikeouts (+115 on DraftKings)

Pick: Kansas City Royals Under 2.5 Team Total Runs (-120 on Caesars) 

**all bets are one unit unless specifically mentioned.