We’re just a few days away from the All-Star break, so that means we need to get in as much MLB betting today as we can. Today’s MLB slate sees several 3 and 4 game series wrapping up, and some of these have been excellent series.
There are at least four games today that have playoff implications, which means this may be hump day for people in the office, but it’s also huge action day for bettors. There are many games to do some MLB betting today but we’ve highlighted our favorite three games, and where we see the best value.
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Wicked Wager is a term coined by our experts that refers to our best betting recommendation(s) for a specific game.
12:20 PM EST New York Mets (+130) @ Atlanta Braves (-155)
Starting Pitchers: C. Bassit (NYM) vs C. Morton (ATL)
The Mets and Braves meet today for the final of their three-game series. The first two games were mirror images of each other, each team winning one game 4-1. The Mets have been up and down in the truest sense of the phrase, winning every other game since June 29th. The Braves on the other hand have been hot. Atlanta has gone 11-4 in their last fifteen games with no sign of slowing. Chris Bassit and Charlie Morton square off today on the mound, and both pitchers give up runs. Both teams have hit evenly in this series so the pitching will be the deciding factor.
The Braves are set as the betting favorites because of pitching and being at home. There are a few interesting angles for MLB betting today in this one, both over/under and the run line. I like the Braves to pull away in this one and win the game by at least two runs, so my first Wicked Wager is Braves -1.5. The Brave’s run line is an excellent opportunity for a plus money bet that should hit. Our second Wicked Wager is on the over/under, which is set at 8. Neither team has gone over 8 total points in a game in the last 5, and we like that trend to continue.
Wicked Wagers – Braves Full Game -1.5 / Full Game o8
7:10 PM EST Chicago White Sox (-120) @ Cleveland Guardians (+100)
Starting Pitchers: L. Giolito (CHI) vs A. Civale (CLE)
These two teams battle it out today, vying for 2nd place in the AL Central division. The once hot Cleveland Guardians have gone 3-7 in their last 10 games and sit at .500. Chicago has been a bit better winning about half of their last 10 games. Let’s forget about trends for a moment and look at this series, which Cleveland has owned, until last night. Last night, the White Sox won 7-0 when their bets finally woke up.
What will happen today? Two bad pitchers take the mound, neither with a winning record this year and both with ERAs of 5+. The points should fly in this one, well eclipsing the current over/under line of 8 runs. Our best bet for this one is full game over 8 runs, and you can call that a Wicked Wager.
Wicked Wager – Full Game o8
8:40 PM EST San Diego Padres (-165) @ Colorado Rockies (+140)
Starting Pitchers: J. Musgrove (SD) vs C. Kuhl (COL)
This third of three should be a thriller, as the first two games of the series already were. Both teams are playing good baseball over the last month and are pretty evenly matched. The pitchers are also both excellent, with an edge going to Musgrove for his 8-2 record this season.
The over/under was set high in this one the first two days, starting at 12 and 11.5 respectively. Both games went under those marks, and Vegas has seemingly caught on with todays set at 10.5. This is still a great value line, as the pitching today is likely to be the best of the series. We predict this game to be a true pitchers duel, and end at the fewest runs so far in this series.
Wicked Wager – Full Game u10.5
How to Bet Baseball
Unlike other popular sports, most wagers placed on MLB games do not involve a point spread. Instead, bettors typically wager on the moneyline, looking to predict the winner of the game straight-up.
The less-popular cousin of the moneyline bet in baseball is the runline wager. The betting favorite will be assigned a -1.5-run handicap, but oddsmakers will offer an appropriate amount of “juice” to make laying the 1.5 runs with the favorite more appealing.
Totals wagers in baseball work very much like totals wagers in other sports. Oddsmakers will assign an Over/Under figure to every game, leaving bettors to determine whether the game in question will be a home run derby or a pitcher’s duel. Totals of 8.5 runs are typical of MLB games, though totals as low as seven runs and as high as 10 runs will pop up throughout the season.