Ricky Dimon
The week in Major League Baseball continues with a full 15-game slate on Tuesday. It features Red Sox vs Phillies, Yankees vs Blue Jays and Brewers vs Mariners. The Pickswise team has been in fine form so far this season. I’m 50-36-2 record so far in this best bets piece while going 4-for-9 on Same Game Parlays at +481, +632, +439 and +600 odds. Pickswise’s MLB handicapping team on the whole is 104-66-7 on their best bets. Let’s keep it going as we get into my MLB best bets of the day! Also, don’t forget to check out our MLB picks for EVERY GAME on Tuesday, July 22.
MLB best bet: Tigers F5 ML over Pirates (-140)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing
Paul Skenes actually picked up a win on Monday, as Pittsburgh prevailed 3-0 over Detroit. However, it’s a testament to just how inept the Pirates’ offense is that Skenes is still just 5-8 for the season despite boasting a 1.91 ERA. Pittsburgh certainly doesn’t figure to score more than 3 runs on Tuesday with Detroit’s Casey Mize on the mound. Mize is 9-3 with a 3.15 ERA and the Tigers have won 4 of his last 5 starts.
Mitch Keller is going for the Pirates. He is a very good pitcher, to be clear, but he isn’t Skenes. Keller comes in with a horrendous 3-10 record, so you have to like the Tigers’ chances in this one. I like the first 5 innings value more, however, as Detroit’s bullpen pitched a bunch of high-leverage innings on Monday after Jack Flaherty 3.0 innings (Skenes, by comparison, worked 6.0). Give me the visitors to get off to a fast start behind Mize.
Find out our MLB YRFI/NRFI best bets for tonight, featuring Tigers vs Pirates
MLB best bet: Astros ML over Diamondbacks (-130)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
The Astros picked up a 6-3 victory in Monday’s series opener for their second straight win, having wrapped up their series against Seattle with an 11-3 romp on Sunday. Good vibes are likely to continue with Framber Valdez toeing the rubber on Tuesday. Valdez is 10-4 with a 2.75 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 125 strikeouts in 121.0 innings. The southpaw compiled a 2.36 ERA in May, a 1.74 ERA in June and he blanked Texas across 6.0 innings in his most recent start on July 12. Valdez is simply rolling right now.
Houston boasts a winning road record in 2025, while Arizona is a modest 25-25 at home. Diamondbacks starter Eduardo Rodriguez has been especially bad at Chase Field. He is saddled with a 6.32 home ERA this year, and he has not been much better overall (3-6, 5.94 ERA). Jose Altuve is 9-for-27 lifetime against Rodriguez with 2 home runs and 2 doubles; Chas McCormick is 4-for-12 with a homer and a double. All things considered, Houston has great value to rack up another win on Tuesday.
Read our full Astros vs Diamondbacks prediction
