Top 3 MLB Betting Picks for Sunday, August 22 (2021)
Welcome back for another Sunday, friends. We cashed all three of our bets last week and have been riding quite the heater for about a month now. Let’s see if we can keep that momentum today. Football is ramping up, and the NFL preseason is already almost over, but we still have about six weeks of regular season baseball to finish out. Let’s finish things out strong and see if we can target teams and pitchers heading in different directions today.
Here are my top betting plays for Sunday, August 22. Have questions or want to talk baseball or betting? Feel free to reach out on Twitter @mikeMaher.
View the best player prop bets for today's slate with our MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet >>
Atlanta Braves ML (-160)
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-1.5
-115
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o 10.0
-115
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-160
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+1.5
-105
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o 10.0
-115
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+140
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We cashed in on the Braves moneyline last Sunday, and we’re going right back to the well this Sunday. The pitching matchup is Touki Toussaint vs. John Means, and those two could not be headed in more different directions. Other than a hiccup against the Brewers, Toussaint has been dominant since returning to the Braves rotation. Means, on the other hand, started the season strong but has not been the same pitcher since returning from a lengthy stint on the injured list. Major League Baseball also started enforcing the use of sticky substances by pitchers during his absence, and Means appears to be one of the pitchers struggling to adjust to the change. Means posted a 5.09 ERA in July and has a 7.43 ERA through 13 1/3 innings in August. Ride the Toussaint wave and look for the surging Braves to take care of business against Means and the Orioles today.
Houston Astros -1.5 runs (+110)
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+1.5
-130
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o 9.0
EVEN
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+155
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-1.5
+110
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o 9.0
EVEN
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-180
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The Mariners continue to hang around in the American League playoff picture, but they’re terrible against lefties. The Astros just so happen to be starting lefthander Framber Valdez today. Valdez has a 3.17 ERA and 1.32 WHIP through 91 innings this season, and the Mariners are countering with Tyler Anderson, who has been surprisingly decent for Seattle since they acquired him at the MLB trade deadline.
But the Astros have outscored the Mariners 27-4 over the first two games of this series, and I’m expecting more of the same today as they look to close out the sweep.
Cleveland ML (-130)
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+1.5
-160
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o 9.0
-115
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+120
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-1.5
+140
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o 9.0
-115
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-130
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I went back and forth about whether or not to target the moneyline or the run line in this one. I’m not as confident in Cleveland’s offense as I am in the pitching matchup, so I decided to play it safer and stick with the moneyline. But if you want to jump from -130 to +140 by giving the 1.5 runs, I think that’s an aggressive play that you can justify based on the payout.
Cleveland is looking to finish off a sweep of the Angels, and they’re sending Cal Quantrill to the mound. After a rough start to the season, Quantrill has been fantastic since the beginning of July. Quantrill posted a 2.86 ERA in July and has a 1.88 ERA in August, and he hasn’t suffered a loss since May 31. The Angels are countering with young lefthander Jose Suarez, who has allowed at least three earned runs in four of his five starts in the second half. He is also still being stretched out, and the Angels are monitoring his innings, so he is unlikely to pitch deep into the game.
That's it for today. Have questions or want to talk baseball or betting? Feel free to reach out on Twitter @mikeMaher.
MLB Prop Bets
- Kyle Seager Prop Bet Odds
- Framber Valdez Prop Bet Odds
- John Means Prop Bet Odds
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Prop Bet Odds
- Ozzie Albies Prop Bet Odds
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Mike Maher is an editor and featured writer at FantasyPros and BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive, follow him on Twitter @MikeMaher, and visit his Philadelphia Eagles blog, The Birds Blitz.