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MLB Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: Saturday (7/22)

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We have a fantastic baseball slate ahead of us today, including a trio of games underway before 2:30 p.m. on the East Coast. I'm keying in on the first three games of the schedule and rolling with these three best bets. Let's make some money on these matinee matchups!

MLB YTD: 66-119 (-2.58 units)

Today's Best MLB Bets

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Kansas City Royals (+210) vs. New York Yankees (-255) | 8.0 (+100/-120)

The Yankees snapped their four-game slide last night, beating the Royals in the series opener 5-4. They'll turn to Gerrit Cole this afternoon while Kansas City counters with Brady Singer. First pitch for this American League tilt is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET from Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY. 

I'm keeping it simple here and riding with the Yankees on the run line. Cole's in fantastic form this year and is currently the favorite to win the A.L. Cy Young Award at +200. The right-hander enters this game at 9-2 with a 2.78 ERA and 1.09 WHIP.

His task is taking on a Kansas City side that's arguably the worst team in baseball. Sure, the Athletics get a ton of attention for being the worst, but you can almost make a case for the Royals being just as bad. They're 25th in team batting average (.232) and 29th in OPS (.666). On top of that, Cole has great head-to-head numbers against Kansas City, limiting them to a slash line of .182/.196/.236 over 55 at-bats. He's going to turn in a big-time start today, and it shouldn't take much to cover the run line in this spot.

Bet: New York Yankees -1.5 (-113)

Colorado Rockies (+144) vs. Miami Marlins (-172) | 8.5 (-118/-104)

The Marlins are still winless since the All-Star Break, going 0-7 over that stretch. Miami dropped last night's series opener to the Rockies in a 6-1 affair. The pitching matchup for game two features a battle between Chase Anderson and Johnny Cueto. This one gets underway at 1:10 p.m. ET from LoanDepot Park in Miami, FL. 

I'm rolling with the over in this spot. As for the baseline stats, Anderson comes into this game with a 6.26 ERA and 1.50 WHIP, while Cueto owns marks of 9.00 and 1.50, respectively. Anderson has really fallen off after a respectable start with the Rockies. The right-hander has given up 27 runs over his last five starts, which span just 18.1 innings of work. Furthermore, the current Miami roster is slashing .340/.417/.491 against him over 53 at-bats. 

As for Cueto, he's making just his third appearance of the year, and the right-hander has surrendered four earned runs over 4.0 innings pitched. As for his head-to-head numbers, the Rockies are slashing .261/.346/.370 against him over 46 at-bats. I’m riding with the over because we have a pair of pitchers who aren't in great form and have poor head-to-head numbers. 

Bet: Over 8.5 (-118)

St. Louis Cardinals (-120) vs. Chicago Cubs (+102) | 9.5 (-110/-110)

The Cardinals and Cubs have split the first two games of their four-game weekend series. Chicago won yesterday's contest 4-3, while St. Louis cruised to a 7-2 victory on Thursday night. Today's game is set for 2:20 p.m. ET from Wrigley Field, and we have a pitching matchup between Miles Mikolas and Michael Fulmer. 

The Cardinals are playing excellent baseball (finally), and I'm rolling with them on the moneyline today. Let's start with their offense, which over the last 15 days is ranked second overall in team batting average (.284) and fourth in OPS (.820). They lead the league with 110 hits over that timeframe. It appears that the Cubs are opting for a bullpen game with Fulmer going. That bodes well for St. Louis as the Cubs' arm barn 26th in FIP (4.84) over the last 30 days.

On the flip side, Mikolas has been excellent in July. The right-hander owns a 2.82 ERA and 0.76 WHIP over four starts this month (22.1 IP). He also has great head-to-head numbers, as Chicago is slashing just .238/.278/.325 against him over 126 at-bats. Only seven of those 126 at-bats have gone for extra-base hits. This may be a tight rivalry game, but I expect the Red Birds to prevail in Wrigleyville. 

Bet: St. Louis Cardinals Moneyline (-120)

Make sure to check out our other best bets for Saturday:


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