Ricky Dimon
The week in Major League Baseball continues with a full 15-game slate on Tuesday, August 12. The lineup features Phillies vs Reds, Cubs vs Blue Jays, Red Sox vs Astros and Padres vs Giants. The Pickswise team has been in fine form this season. I have a 60-45-3 record so far in this best bets piece while going 4-for-10 on Same Game Parlays at +481, +632, +439 and +600 odds. Pickswise’s MLB handicapping team on the whole is 122-90-8 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 today.
MLB best bet: Texas Rangers ML over Arizona Diamondbacks (-146)
Odds available at bet365 at time of publishing
The Rangers are 13 games over .500 at home; the Diamondbacks are 5 games under .500 on the road. That alone has to make you gravitate toward Texas, which unsurprisingly emerged victorious in the series opener on Monday – albeit in a 7-6 extra-inning thriller.
Expect Tuesday’s rematch to be more straightforward for the home team. Jack Leiter is taking the mound and he is sporting a 3.60 ERA in Arlington compared to a 4.60 mark on the road. The 25-year-old compiled a 3.43 ERA in July and comes in with a 3.52 August ERA through 2 appearances. Arizona is countering with Anthony DeSclafani, who has not worked more than 4.1 innings in any outing this season. That does not bode well for the Snakes, because they own the league’s 5th-worst bullpen ERA at 4.84.
Read our full Diamondbacks vs Rangers prediction
MLB best bet: Boston Red Sox vs Houston Astros Over 8.5 (+100)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing
A pitching matchup between Boston’s Dustin May and Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti points to a high-scoring affair. May was acquired from the Dodgers prior to the trade deadline and promptly surrendered 3 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk in 3.2 innings during a 7-3 loss to the Royals last week. Arrighetti is making his 2nd start since April after missing 4 months due to a broken thumb on his pitching hand. The righty faced Miami last Wednesday and gave up 5 earned runs on 11 hits and 1 walk in 3.2 innings on the way to a 6-4 loss.
Look for Alex Bregman – against his former team – and Roman Anthony to do some damage. Bregman has hit safely in 4 of his last 5 games after going 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBIs in Monday’s series opener. Armed with a new contract, Anthony went 2-for-5 with a homer, 2 RBIs and 2 runs. He is on a 4-game hitting streak he has hit safely in 12 of the last 13 contests. Four of Boston’s last 5 games have produced at least 9 runs; 6 of Houston’s last 8 have done the same.
Check out ThatGuyBets’ MLB YRFI/NRFI best bet for today, targeting Red Sox vs Astros
