Top 3 MLB Odds, Picks & Predictions: Saturday (8/2)
It should be a fun Saturday across Major League Baseball, especially with tonight's MLB Speedway Classic in Bristol, TN. I'll dive into that game, as well as two others, from a sports betting perspective and let you know my top bets on the diamond. Here are my three favorite MLB bets today.
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Saturday's Best MLB Picks & Bets
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Detroit Tigers (-116) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (-102) | O/U 7.0 (+104/-128)
Let's get things started in the City of Brotherly Love, where we have a whale of a pitching matchup between Tarik Skubal and Zack Wheeler. This showdown between the Tigers (64-47) and the Phillies (62-47) gets underway at 4:05 p.m. ET from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA.
Detroit's Skubal is now a -490 favorite to win his second consecutive American League Cy Young Award. Zack Wheeler sits at +200 to win the National League Cy Young Award, and he's looking up at only Paul Skenes (-260) on the betting board. With that said, I'm locking in the under between these two aces.
Skubal has been lights out this season, ranking first in WHIP (0.84), second in ERA (2.09) and third in strikeouts (171). Wheeler is second (0.89), ninth (2.56) and second (172) in those respective categories. Additionally, each pitcher has owned the opposing team in the past. The Phillies are slashing just .133/.170/.156 against Skubal over 45 at-bats. As for the Tigers, they're slashing .105/.128/.105 against Wheeler in 38 head-to-head at-bats. Give me the under.
Bet: Under 7.0 Runs (-128)
Atlanta Braves (-122) vs. Cincinnati Reds (+104) | O/U 8.5 (-114/-106)
The Braves (46-63) and Reds (58-53) travel to Tennessee tonight for a special neutral-site game at Bristol Motor Speedway. The league has sold 85,000 tickets to the game, which means they'll break the previous all-time attendance record of 84,587. Spencer Strider gets the nod for Atlanta, while Cincinnati counters with Chase Burns. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET.
This should be a spectacle tonight at Bristol, but when the dust settles, I expect to see the Braves emerge victorious. They haven't been the better team recently, but they do have a substantial edge in the starting pitching department.
Strider comes in with a 3.71 ERA and 1.22 WHIP, compared to Burns' marks of 6.26 and 1.54, respectively. Offensively, the Braves are better in both wOBA (.321 vs. .301) and ISO (.152 vs. .117) over the last seven days. I anticipate this veteran Atlanta squad to take care of business tonight.
Bet: Braves Moneyline (-122)
St. Louis Cardinals (+118) vs. San Diego Padres (-138) | O/U 8.5 (-115/-105)
The MLB nightcap comes out west tonight with the Cardinals (55-56) and Padres (61-49) squaring off for the second game of their weekend series. Michael McGreevy heads to the bump for St. Louis, while San Diego opts for Randy Vasquez. First pitch is slated for 10:10 p.m. ET from Petco Park in San Diego, CA.
Both of these starters pitched in last weekend's series, and their performances couldn't have been more polarizing. McGreevy (4.91 ERA) got lit up for seven earned runs on nine hits and two walks over 4.2 innings. Meanwhile, Vasquez (3.65 ERA) held the Cardinals to just one earned run on one hit and a walk over 4.2 innings. San Diego won both of those games.
The Padres have been on fire recently as well, coming into the weekend riding a six-game winning streak. They're allowing 1.8 runs per game during the six-game heater. With Vasquez starting and San Diego's bullpen, which is ranked first in ERA (2.96) and WHIP (1.17), it shouldn't take much run support for the Padres to win by two or more runs. I'm taking a +146 flier on the Friars -1.5 tonight.
Bet: Padres -1.5 (+146)