With a full 15-game slate in the MLB, there’s plenty of value on the betting board. I’ve added a couple of best bets for some of the later matchups after reviewing all the games.
Here are my top two MLB bets that you’ll want to consider for today’s slate for August 31.
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Sunday’s Best MLB Picks & Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Baltimore Orioles at San Francisco Giants
The Baltimore Orioles will roll with Tomoyuki Sugano today. The right-handed rookie has limited his last 116 batters to a .123 ISO and wOBA of .276 over the previous month. His strikeouts aren’t high, but he’s not allowing much quality contact. Overall, he’s given up a .256 BABIP to his last 116 batters.
Meanwhile, the Giants have four batters hitting a wOBA of no better than .143. They’ve also walked below 10% of the time against righties over the last month. Sugano looks good on paper today.
On the flip side, it’ll be Justin Verlander for the Giants. Verlander has struck out nearly 23% of batters over the last month. He’s also allowed just a .100 ISO and wOBA of .292 in the previous 30 days.
The veteran righty is finally getting into a groove and will now face an Orioles lineup that has collectively hit just a .148 ISO over the last month. The Orioles also have four players who have struck out at least 29.4% of the time against righties.
Both starters look good on paper. Let’s back the Under 8.5.
Pick: Under 8.5 Runs (-122)
Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies
The Atlanta Braves lost their entire pitching staff earlier this year, but that allowed Hurston Waldrep a chance on the mound. The rookie right-hander has been absolutely elite. He’s limited his first 113 batters to a .029 ISO and wOBA of .225 with 44.4% of ground balls and 24.7% of fly balls.
He really doesn’t walk many batters, which is a good thing, especially since he’s facing a Phillies projected lineup that has walked only 6.4% of the time over the last month.
Conversly, Jesus Luzardo is expected to pitch for the Phillies. The left-hander has allowed a .154 ISO and wOBA of .301 over the last 30 days. He’s also struck out 31% of batters.
This is good news when facing the Braves. The Braves have struggled badly against lefties, earning a .087 ISO over the last month with the projected lineup. Without much power, it’ll be hard for the Braves to put together a lot of runs.
In fact, the Braves’ projected lineup has five players who have struck out more than 25% of the time over the last 30 days against lefties. Again, Luzardo is one of the best strikeout pitchers in the MLB, as he’s added more than 30% of strikeouts over the last month. The lefty looks really good.
Ultimately, this game could be another pitchers' duel. Let’s take the Under.
Pick: Under 8.5 Runs (+102)
