Welcome to the MLB Best Bets and Betting Picks for May 18. It was a little bit of a tough day as we either overestimated Cincinnati Reds starter Graham Ashcraft or underestimated the Colorado Rockies bats and Coors Field. I can handle the New York Yankees not covering the money line and losing to the Toronto Blue Jays, but man, that fifth and sixth inning at Coors was just plain awful. At least we got the Mets/Rays and if you caught me on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio, you could have done a same game parlay with the over and my Pete Alonso prop bet for either total bases or the home run. We’ll forge on today, though it’s a real short slate, so let’s get to the betting picks for today.

  • Yesterday's Record: 1-2
  • Season Record: 57-58-2
  • Bankroll: -7.92 units
 

 

MLB Best Bets for May 18 

Los Angeles Angels at Baltimore Orioles

Though he’s settled down from his early-season disasters with two quality starts in his last three outings, Angels lefty Tyler Anderson still doesn’t impress me. He pitches to a lot of contact and deals with routine command issues, as evidenced by his 1.62 WHIP and not has to face an Orioles lineup that has pounded lefties all season with a .351 wOBA (fifth-highest) and a .183 ISO. The heart of the order should jump all over him pretty quickly. Meanwhile, Baltimore throws Tyler Wells who has taken a strong step forward this season and has allowed just one run over his last two outings (12 innings). You obviously worry about Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, but the rest of the lineup has been inconsistent, at best. The Angels have lost six of their last eight games and averaged just four runs per game. I’m pretty confident in the Orioles winning this one, though I don’t want to leave it up to the bullpen, nor do I want to pay the full game’s money line juice. We’ll also add in a prop bet too! I’ll bet them individually for the record and bankroll in the article, but you can parlay them if you like.

Pick: Baltimore Orioles First 5 Innings -0.5 runs (-105 on DK Sportsbook)

Pick: Ryan Mountcastle over 1.5 total bases (-115 on DK Sportsbook)

Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals have been the hottest-hitting team in baseball with a .384 wOBA and a massive .237 ISO over the last seven days. There is no doubt they are firing on all cylinders, but they are matching up today against southpaw Julio Urias who, after a pair of bad outings at the end of April, has settled down and won two of his last three starts with a 2.29 ERA and a 17:2 K:BB over 19.2 innings. He’s still making a few mistakes and has allowed nine homers over his last six starts, but we’re not expecting the Cardinals lineup to tee off on him, especially when their numbers against lefties have been middle-of-the-road at best. He won’t shut them out, but he can outduel Adam Wainwright in the early innings. The veteran righty is still working his way into mid-season form and has allowed eight runs over his first 10 innings, including two home runs. The Dodgers have won seven of their last eight, they’ve averaged just over five runs per game in that span and they own the third-highest wOBA (.343) with the second-highest ISO (.217) against righties. I expect them to get off to a good start and we’ll throw in another prop for good measure.

Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers First 5 Innings -0.5 runs (-115 on BetMGM)

Pick: Freddie Freeman over 1.5 total bases (-125 on BetMGM)