Top MLB Odds, Picks & Predictions: Thursday (5/23)
It’s Thursday, which usually means the lightest MLB slate of the week. Today, there are eight games and 16 teams in action across the Majors. Things get started in Pittsburgh at 12:35 p.m. ET and wrap up in Chicago with first pitch scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Here are our top MLB picks for Thursday, May 23.
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Thursday’s MLB Best Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Seattle Mariners (+130) @ New York Yankees (-155) | O/U 8 (-105/-115)
The Yankees and Mariners will wrap their series with a matinee in the Bronx, N.Y. The Yankees finally got a win to try and force the split. The starting pitching has been exceptional in this series, but the second-best bullpen has been struggling, including Clay Holmes, who allowed his first runs in his 21st appearance. Luis Gil has been living up to his hype after years of dealing with injuries and now has four straight quality starts, allowing one run or fewer in each.
The Mariners have a lot of power in that lineup, and they’ve been showing it off in this series with six home runs in three games. Still, what hurts them is the all-or-nothing mentality, as they are last in strikeout percentage and have 29 in this series. Luis Castillo had a rough start to the season but looks like an ace again, as he has a 2.04 ERA, and teams are batting .184 in his last seven.
Luis Castillo has had great success against this roster with a .156 average. Gil has a small sample size, but the M’s are batting .182. Look for the low score in a short turnaround.
Bet: Under 8 (-115)
Texas Rangers (+180) @ Philadelphia Phillies (-218) | O/U 8.5 (-105/-115)
The Phillies’ 36-14 record is the best start through four games since the 2001 Mariners, who finished with an MLB-record 116 wins. They are the only team in baseball that is in the top three in runs scored per game (5.44) and ERA (3.15), allowing them to have an MLB-best +90 run differential and +16 in their last three games. Zack Wheeler has been great besides the outing against the Marlins; in his previous six starts, he has a 2.21 ERA and a 2.92 FIP. The total walks have been unusual at 2.8 per nine, his worst since 2018.
The Rangers are slumping and have dropped out of first place in the American League West, as they sit three games behind the Mariners. Last offseason, they bolstered the pitching staff, which helped them to the title. However, they are dealing with injuries, including Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Nathan Eovaldi. Meanwhile, Andrew Heaney is still looking for his first win of the year, but he’s been much better recently, with a 2.49 ERA in his last four starts.
Heaney has left with leads or at least the team in contention in those games, but the league’s worst bullpen has been imploding, including in this series. Look for the Phillies to pull out the brooms.
Bet: Phillies -1.5 (-105)