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MLB Best Bets, Picks & Predictions: Sunday (5/7)

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We’ve got a lot of afternoon baseball on the horizon today.

There’s truly nothing better than that.

I know there are NBA and NHL Playoff games on the schedule. But if you’re a die-hard baseball fan like myself, you will also be tracking the action in the MLB. Why not sweat a couple of bets out while doing so?

Here are a couple of best bets for today’s MLB slate.

Check out MLB Home Run Odds for all players in today's games >>

Today’s Best MLB Bets

All wagers are 1 unit
(Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook)

New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays

The only bright spot for the Yankees has been Gerrit Cole.

Guess who’s on the mound tonight? Yup. Gerrit Cole.

Cole is 5-0 with a 1.35 ERA on the season. He’ll face Javy Guerra as an opener and Josh Fleming in the later innings.

Guerra has a 7.20 ERA in ten innings pitched this season. Meanwhile, Fleming has only struck out 16% of batters faced while walking 10.7%.

The Yankees don’t have Aaron Judge in the lineup. But Harrison Bader is back. Bader is a power bat from the right side going up against Fleming. Gleybar Torres has also succeeded against lefties, hitting a .300 ISO in 27 plate appearances.

On the other hand, Cole has a 3.92 xFIP for the Yankees while striking out 25% of batters. He’s limited walks to under 7% and has kept his ISO numbers very low against both sides of the plate. If he’s not allowing home runs, he will be a Cy Young candidate in the American League this year.

The Rays have been super dominant. But I like the Yankees to steal a second straight game. with Cole on the mound tonight.

Bet: Yankees (-118)

Houston Astros vs. Seattle Mariners

I don’t want to get crazy over Bryce Miller’s first start for the Mariners. He had a 1.50 ERA in six innings while striking out 10. But he also faced the Athletics.

It’s still an impressive feat, but expectations for Miller are now sky-high. If he allows three runs tonight, fans will be shocked.

I wouldn’t be.

The Astros have struggled to hit righties. Point blank. But they’ve also hit nearly 25% of line drives against righties and have a lineup struggling to get hits. The lineup still features Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez, Jose Abreu, Kyle Tucker, and Jeremy Pena. Eventually, this team will figure it out.

Meanwhile, the Mariners haven’t been that much better offensively. They’ll face Brandon Bielak, a righty with six strikeouts in four innings. Bielak will likely struggle against lefties more. But the Seattle lefties are striking out over 26% of the time against righties. Bielak has enough strikeout potential to retire the Mariners’ lefties.

I’m taking the Astros at +112.

Bet: Astros (+112)

Also, take a look at our other best bets for Sunday:

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