We have a full slate of baseball tonight, but that does not mean you should bet on every single game. Tonight, we are here to give you the three best bets from the late-night slate.
The baseball season is already a month old, but it feels like we have only played five games. That is the beauty and the curse of baseball season. There are is always going to be a lot of games to watch, and place a few bucks on, however, sometimes having too many games to place some bets on can be dangerous.
This is why we do not give out a pick for every game. We are here to find the best value, and that is exactly what we did with our three-best plays of the night. Anyway, enough of the boring stuff, let's get straight into the picks.
Here are tonight's plays.
*Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays
Projected Starters:
Yankees: Nestor Cortes (LHP)
Blue Jays: Yusei Kikuchi (LHP)
Pickwatch Experts:
ML: 68% Yankees
RL 57% Blue Jays
Coming into the season, the Yankees were in desperate need of a pitcher not named Gerrit Cole to look like they knew what they were doing out on the mound. The bad news for the Yankees is that Cole Is still being paid $36 million to be nothing more than a fine pitcher. The good news is Nestor Cortes has been elite so far this season.
On the season, Cortes has a 1.31 ERA with a 36% strikeout rate in just 20.2 IP. He has only allowed three earned runs this season and has a WHIP of 0.871. Simply put, Cortes has been a monster, and he has played a big part in the Yankees' early-season success.
The Blue Jays have one of the more exciting lineups in baseball, but they have struggled against lefties this season. As a team, the Blue Jays are slashing .236/.299/.371 with an OPS of .670 and a wRC+ of only 93. On the flip side, the Yankees are mashing southpaws this season. They lead the league in ISO (.237), SLG (.482), HRs (13), and they are second in Hard-hit percentage (36.1%) against lefties this season.
The Yankees are 4-1 SU in their last five games in Toronto, and with Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, and Giancarlo Stanton all mashing the ball during their 11-game winning streak, I like them to win this game pretty easily.
Pick: Yankees ML (-144)
Los Angeles Angels at Boston Red Sox
Projected Starters:
Angels: Reid Detmers (LHP)
Red Sox: Garrett Whitlock (RHP)
Pickwatch Experts:
ML: 79% Red Sox
RL: 59% Red Sox
The Los Angeles Angels have only scored six runs in their last 36 innings, and they are having a hard time finding any consistency in the lineup outside of Mike Trout. With Jo Adell being sent down to AAA, and Shohei Ohtani still struggling at the plate, not much has gone right for the Angels outside of a recent sweep of the Guardians.
It doesn't help that Reid Detmers holds an ERA of 5.19, with a WHIP of 1.096 in just 17.1 IP this season. Luckily, the Red Sox have not been good offensively this season, which is a massive surprise given the signing of Trevor Story to beef up an already beefed-up infield. Against lefties this season. Sox are only slashing .219/.287/.313 with an OPS of only .599 and a wRC+ of 74.
Garrett Whitlock has been solid this season, with a 0.54 ERA and a WHIP of 0.780 in his two starts. While the Angles have been good against righties this season, I like the value the Sox are getting on the run line. Despite their early-season struggles, Boston is 14-10 ATS this season, and in their 10 wins SU so far, they are beating teams by an average of three runs.
If you are like me and think the Red Sox are going to win tonight, but you do not love the value on the ML, getting plus-value on the run line feels like a safe bet tonight.
Pick: Red Sox -1.5 (+146)
Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs
Projected Starters:
White Sox: Lucas Giolito (RHP)
Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (RHP)
Pickwatch Experts:
ML: 79% White Sox
RL: 54% White Sox
As much as I want to beat our experts, I have to agree with how they are betting this game. This is going to be an awesome pitching matchup between two cross-town rivals in one of the most historic stadiums in the country. If you enjoy offense, this game might not be for you.
Speaking on no offense, the Cubs have a team K% of 23.7%, and they are striking out an average of 13 times per game over their last three. The Cubs also have only won three of their last 10. They are putting up 3.9 runs during that stretch. That's not awful, but they scored 21 runs during one of those games. Without that game, they are only scoring two runs per game during this stretch.
After the White Sox's eight-game losing streak earlier in the season, they have started to even out, winning four of their last seven. While Giolito is coming off a rough start against the Angels, he has extended his streak of not allowing more than three earned runs to 12 straight starts.
Both of these teams have been unimpressive to start the season, but the White Sox have the advantage on the mound, and in their lineup. They have won six of their last seven against the Cubs overall, and six of their last seven at Wrigley Field.
