MLB Picks Today: Expert Predictions & Best Bets for Monday, July 6, inc. Phillies vs Royals & Yankees vs Rays
The 2026 Major League Baseball season keeps rolling along with another rock-solid slate of games on Monday, July 6. The quieter 8-game card includes a couple of fascinating matchups, including a showdown between the Yankees and Rays at 6:40 PM ET. The action gets underway at 2:10 PM ET with a matchup involving the Phillies and Royals, while the main event sees the Diamondbacks and Padres lock horns at 9:40 pm ET live on FS1. Let's break down my MLB best bets for Monday, July 6, while you can also find out our expert MLB picks for EVERY GAME today and throughout the entire 2026 campaign!
MLB best bet: Philadelphia Phillies -1.5 over Kansas City Royals (-105)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -120.
The Phillies have been a completely different team following the insertion of Don Mattingly as the new manager back in late April, and while Philadelphia hasn't quite caught up with the Braves at the top of the NL East, they're certainly close to doing so. It all starts with an elite starting rotation, and few pitchers can match the level of Cristopher Sanchez at the moment. The lanky left-hander has been absolutely dominant for a 2nd consecutive season, as he holds a 2.00 ERA, to go along with high marks in chase rate, walk rate and ground-ball rate. He should have no trouble setting down a Royals offense that is well below average, and the Phillies lineup should see plenty of success against Noah Cameron and a Kansas City bullpen that has struggled to this point. I'll lay it with Philadelphia at this reasonable price.
Get our full Phillies vs Royals predictions
MLB best bet: New York Yankees ML over Tampa Bay Rays (+102)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -105.
We have a high-stakes American League showdown on our hands on Monday, with the top 2 teams in the AL East squaring off in the first of this 4-game series in Tampa Bay. At some point, the Yankees are going to snap out of this extended slump that they've found themselves in, with New York dropping its last 9 games and falling out of first place in the aforementioned AL East. Due to their extremely poor recent form, we're getting a bit of value on the Yankees as underdogs in a game where Cam Schlittler (2.08 ERA, 1.03 road ERA, top 10% chase rate, strikeout rate and walk rate) is getting the ball.
Conversely, the Rays are countering with Griffin Jax, whose 5.37 xERA, .278 xBA and 10.7% barrel rate suggests that he's due for some regression in the near future. All things considered, I'll back the Yankees as short underdogs in a spot where they should get off the mat.
Read our full Yankees vs Rays predictions for today's matchup
