14 games, some genuinely hittable arms, and a few marquee pitching matchups that are too good to ignore - Monday's MLB slate is better than it gets credit for, and our MLB best bets today are ready to cash in on it. The nightcap alone gives us Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Michael King in San Diego and Robbie Ray facing Arizona, two of the better pitching matchups of the week. We've paired our top MLB picks with today's GUARANTEED 10x Novig Sportsbook promo code bonus to start the week on the right foot!

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⚾ MLB Picks, Predictions & Best Bets Today, 5/18

The Monday slate tees off at 5:40 PM ET with a wave of early games before the West Coast nightcaps take over. For our MLB best bets today, the most interesting angles sit in two places: see if we can exploit Jose Quintana at Coors Field, which jumps off the page immediately, and the SoCal clash featuring Yamamoto vs. King for Dodgers vs. Padres. Don't miss our MLB expert picks for even more markets and angles across all 14 games.

Andrew Painter gets a tough draw against Cincinnati, but with the Reds also being prone to strikeouts, should we focus our MLB predictions there? Shane McClanahan against Baltimore is another matchup that bears watching, as are all divisional rivalries. Let’s see what made the cut for our MLB best bets today!

 

 

 

🔥 Mets vs. Nationals Best Bet: YRFI - Yes Run First Inning (-129 at Novig)

Let’s not waste any time getting a new week started and snag (another) early cash with a 1st-inning pick. Admittedly, the Washington Nationals weren’t as friendly to us this weekend as they had been…until yesterday. The Baltimore Orioles were able to get after them early and often, and if they can do so, then this is still worthy of one of our MLB best bets today.

Even with Washington not lighting up the first frame against the O’s, they are still the highest-scoring 1st-inning team. That should continue as they remain at their hitter-friendly ballpark against Christian Scott. The New York Mets starter isn’t terrible, but he’s no ace either, hence us remaining comfortable with our MLB best bets today.

Of course, we buried the lead - the Nats are starting Jake Irvin! His 13 runs allowed in the 1st inning are the most of any pitcher this year, so, need we say more? Facing Juan Soto and company, we love starting our MLB best bets today with a Mets vs. Nationals YRFI (-129 at Novig).

🔥 Orioles vs. Rays Best Bet: Shane McClanahan Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-115 at Novig)

We just mentioned the Orioles above, and now they head south for an AL East rivalry series against the Tampa Bay Rays. They were already in Florida taking on cross-state rival Miami Marlins, but it’s now that they get their lefty ace back on the mound. That’s why we’ve got this series as part of our MLB best bets today.

The concern with McClanahan continues to be his pitch count, but we’ve now seen as high as 90 and 80+ in 4 of his last 6 starts. Frankly, it shouldn’t take a ton of pitches to fan 6 Baltimore batters anyway. The lefty just rang up 7 Toronto Blue Jays in his most recent start, which is one of the most difficult lineups to cash in MLB best bets today for K’s.

The opposite is true of the O’s - they have a 29% strikeout rate vs. lefties this season. As he continues to ramp up, we like the value here with Shane McClanahan over 5.5 strikeouts (-115 at Novig) as an addition to our MLB best bets today.
 

 

 

⚾ Best MLB Prop Bets & Other Picks Today, 5/18

Beyond our featured MLB predictions today, Monday's 14-game slate gives you plenty of individual markets to attack. Here are some of the most popular MLB player props for today at Novig Sportsbook:

Home Runs:

Strikeouts (Over/Under):

Total Bases (Over/Under):

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