MLB Best Bets, Picks & Predictions: Thursday (6/1)
The weather is getting warmer, and we're fully into the MLB season. Let's look at interesting matchups for tonight.
Today's MLB Best Bets
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
San Diego Padres (-132) at Miami Marlins (+174) | O/U 7.5 (-122/+100)
The Padres are having an underwhelming season, and the big-money offense is struggling as they're 24th in runs scored and 29th in batting average. Joe Musgrove had his best start last time, allowing one earned against the Yankees. He still has swing-and-miss stuff, but he's allowing too many runners on and paying for it.
The Marlins are sitting in second place in the National League East and ended the month with a win to set up for the rubber match in this series. Jesus Luzardo is having another spectacular season after putting up some career-bests last year. He’s coming in allowing just one earned run in three of his previous four starts.
This game will feature two strikeout pitchers against two lineups in the bottom half of the league in strikeouts. We saw a low-scoring game yesterday, and it will happen again.
Pick: Under 7.5 (+100)
Philadelphia Phillies (+144) at New York Mets (-172) | O/U 8.5 (-114/-106)
The Mets ended a horrific month on a positive note after grabbing back-to-back wins and looking for the sweep against Philly. The pitching has been excellent in this series allowing just one run, and now they have Max Scherzer on the mound. He's had a couple of bad outings this year, but in his last six starts, he's pitched over five innings and has allowed one run or fewer in five of them.
The Phillies also had a rough May going 10-15, and the pitching got worse by allowing 18 more runs than they did in April. The hitting also regressed by scoring 18 fewer runs. We have the Taijuan Walker revenge game, but he has been unable to replicate last year’s season in Queens thanks to a 5.57 ERA and whiff rate in the 16th percentile this season.
The Phillies are hitting just .207 with a 32.7% strikeout rate lifetime against Mad Max, so expect another great performance from him and a sweep from the Mets.
Pick: Mets -1.5 (+116)
Cincinnati Reds (+144) at Boston Red Sox (-172) | O/U 9.5 (+100/-122)
The Reds' bats have come out in Boston, and they've scored 14 runs in the two games and are looking for the sweep. They will have Hunter Greene going, and we know how electric his stuff is, but he needs to learn how to locate his pitches because he can get lit up when he leaves them over the plate.
May saw a rough end for the Red Sox as they went 6-11 in the last half of the month. The pitching has been their problem all season, although it did improve in May, but they still allowed a 4.36 ERA. Chris Sale has significantly improved from the beginning of the season, and over his last five starts, he's 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA, and opponents are hitting just .172.
Boston's above-average ability to make contact will play well against Greene, who throws the ball around the zone, and they should give Sale enough support to prevent the sweep.
Pick: Red Sox -1.5 (+104)
Also make sure to check out the rest of Thursday's best bets:
- MLB Player Prop Bet Odds, Picks & Predictions
- MLB PrizePicks Player Projections
- NBA Playoffs First Basket Scorer Prop Bet Odds, Picks & Predictions
- NBA Playoffs Player Prop Odds, Picks & Predictions
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