Friday’s 15-game Major League Baseball slate is loaded with enticing matchups. The Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles meet in Camden Yards in an American League playoff preview. Elsewhere, the Kansas City Royals and Philadelphia Phillies begin a three-game series as each looks to inch closer toward a playoff spot. The San Diego Padres host the New York Mets in a series that will go a long way in determining the National League Wild Card picture.
Do any of these games make today’s best bets column? Read on for our MLB best bets for Friday, August 23.
Friday’s Best MLB Picks
(MLB odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Colorado Rockies (+235) at New York Yankees (-290) | O/U 8.5 (-108/-112)
The Colorado Rockies are once again by far the National League’s worst road team, with an 18-47 road record entering this contest. Colorado is 1-12-1 in its last 14 road series. You know the Rockies are a bad team away from home if they even lost two out of three games to the Chicago White Sox in that span.
The Yankees are 1.5 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the American League East. They know this is an ample opportunity to gain even more ground as Baltimore plays against the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers for the next six games. New York’s top two hitters, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, absolutely caught fire in the last series against the Cleveland Guardians, combining to go 8-for-23 with six home runs and 13 RBI.
New York’s poor 14-20 record against left-handed starting pitchers is baked into this line, as is the fact Colorado is 7-2 in Kyle Freeland’s last nine starts. However, with Soto and Judge firing on all cylinders, the Yankees’ offense should explode once again en route to a huge victory.
The Yankees have covered the run line in 53 of their last 94 games (+15.80 units/14% ROI). We expect them to do so again tonight.
Pick: Yankees -1.5 (-130)
Houston Astros (-120) at Baltimore Orioles (+100) | O/U 9 (-102/-118)
Baltimore may be one of MLB’s four 74+ win teams, but it has been overly mediocre for quite some time. The Orioles are just 19-24 since July 4 (the fourth-worst record in the American League) and things seem to be getting worse by the day for them. Injuries are mounting up (Zach Eflin was the latest starting pitcher sent to the IL) and their other big trade deadline acquisition (Trevor Rogers) was just sent to the minors.
As a result of Baltimore’s injuries, the team is left with at a massive starting pitching disadvantage today, as Cade Povich faces Houston’s Hunter Brown. Brown is 10-2 with a 2.33 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 85 innings pitched since June 1st. He has made nine straight quality starts and 13 consecutive starts of at least six innings pitched.
Houston is an American League-best 25-16 in the same stretch since July 4. Its 18-12 record against American League East teams is its best combined record against any American League division. It is a steal to get a team this hot at such low Moneyline odds, especially one that has won nine straight road games (its longest streak in six seasons) and that has profited its Moneyline backers +13.65 units in its last 54 games.
Pick: Astros Moneyline (-120)
Philadelphia Phillies (+114) at Kansas City Royals (-135) | O/U 9 (-118/-102)
Will the Phillies suffer an emotional letdown after their intense series with the Atlanta Braves? Even if that does not factor in much to this series opener, I would not be surprised if Philadelphia overlooks Kansas City with a seven-game homestand against the Astros and Braves looming.
Kansas City’s Michael Wacha lowered his ERA to 3.33 after four consecutive quality starts, the latest of which was his most impressive (six scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds). His changeup has become a devastating weapon. He used it to generate a 60% chase rate and 46.2% whiff rate against Cincinnati. It is a big reason why he has the second-lowest ERA (2.42) of any starting pitcher since May 9. Wacha has also struck out 21.5% of batters in that span while pitching to a 3.87 FIP and 4.23 SIERA.
In Philadelphia’s starting rotation full of All-Stars, the Royals benefit from facing Taijuan Walker today. Walker has made just two starts since coming off the injured list (IL). The Phillies are 0-7 in his last seven starts dating back to May 27.
#Royals Michael Wacha Pitch Quality ⭐️
The quality of this pitch was 7.21 QOP ™️ Value@MichaelWacha #MLB #WelcomeToTheCity https://t.co/8A6xcsSH3V
— MLB Quality of Pitch (@qopbaseball) August 18, 2024
Pick: Royals Moneyline (-135)
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Friday:
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- 2024 NFL Futures Odds, Picks & Predictions
- NFL Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
- College Football Odds & Picks: Heisman Trophy Winner Predictions (2024)
- Top College Football Week 0 Picks & Predictions (2024)
- WNBA Odds, Picks & Predictions: Friday (8/23)
- NFL Preseason Week 3 Odds, Picks & Predictions: Friday (8/23)
- MLB Sleeper Picks Player Predictions: Friday (8/23)
Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.