Ricky Dimon
A new week in Major League Baseball gets underway with an 11-game schedule on Monday. I’m red hot in the early stages of the season, with a 24-15-1 record so far in this best bets piece while going 3-for-5 on Same Game Parlays at +481, +632 and +439 odds and 5-1 on YRFI/NRFI picks. Pickswise’s MLB handicapping team on the whole is 39-21-2 on their best bets. Let’s keep it going as we get into my MLB best bets of the day, while you can also find out our experts’ MLB picks for all the big games on Monday, May 12.
MLB best bet: Milwaukee Brewers vs Cleveland Guardians Under 8.5 (-110)
Odds available at bet365 at time of publishing
The Guardians must feel like they are in the National League. This is the 3rd of 4 consecutive interleague series and this is already their 5th such matchup of the season. To say that the last one did not end well would be a gross understatement. Cleveland took the opener against Philadelphia but scored a grand total of 1 run during losses on Saturday and Sunday. Now the Guardians face a Milwaukee club that has scored 10 runs in its last 4 contests. The Brewers have crossed the plate more than 4 times only once in their last 10 and have not put more than 5 on the board a single time during this stretch.
Monday’s pitching matchup figures to keep these 2 offenses under wraps. Freddy Peralta is taking the mound for Milwaukee and he is 4-2 with a 2.18 ERA and 1.04 WHIP to go along with a 48-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 45.1 innings. Peralta most recently blanked the high-powered Cubs over 6.0 innings on May 4. Cleveland is countering with Ben Lively, who is sporting a 3.46 ERA and has allowed just 1 run through 2 May appearances across 11.0 innings of work.
Read our full Brewers vs Guardians prediction
MLB best bet: New York Yankees vs Seattle Mariners Over 8 (-115)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
You generally have to feel good about the Over whenever the Yankees are involved, especially when the total is set at a reasonable number such as 8. The Bronx Bombers lead all of Major League Baseball with 235 runs scored and they just posted 29 runs in a 3-game series against the Athletics. Monday’s series opener at Seattle pits them against right-hander Emerson Hancock, who is saddled with a 5.70 ERA and 1.56 WHIP while striking out just 17 batters through 23.2 innings.
Fortunately for the Mariners, they should also be able to light up the box score on Monday night. Clarke Schmidt is going for New York and he is 0-1 with a 4.79 ERA and 1.40 WHIP with a dreadful 19-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 20.2 innings. Julio Rodriguez is 3-for-8 lifetime against Schmidt, J.P. Crawford is 3-for-9, Dylan Moore is 2-for-4 with a home run and Rowdy Tellez is 1-for-1 with a homer. Count on both teams contributing to the Over in this matchup.
Read our full Yankees vs Mariners prediction
