MLB Best Bets for Today: Yankees, Padres, & Phillies | Monday, May 9th
MLB Best Bets for Today: Yankees bats come alive
The MLB season is in full swing and many teams are beginning a new series today. Many pitching matchups today favor the offenses to score plenty of runs. The MLB has seen an extreme decline in overall offensive production to start the season, but as time goes on and hitters get more at-bats, that should even itself out. One thing to look for when dissecting an MLB slate is the recent performances of pitchers. If a pitcher has struggled recently, and the bullpen that pitches after him has struggled, then runs are most likely going to be scored.
Below, you will find three of the best value bets for today's MLB slate.
Bet #1: New York Yankees Team Total over 4.5 (+100) vs. the Texas Rangers
Leadoff LeMahieu this afternoon.
#RepBX https://t.co/Z038WI31Fp
"Leadoff LeMahieu this afternoon." - @ New York Yankees
The New York Yankees have the best record of any American League team, and are half a game behind the Dodgers for the best record in the MLB. The New York offense ranks in the top 10 in the MLB in team offense, with a team batting average of .241. The Yankees offense has performed much better at home this season, which is where they will be playing this game. New York sees a huge increase in offensive production when playing in Yankee Stadium as opposed to other ballparks. At home, New York is hitting .254, as opposed to their .225 average on the road. The Texas Rangers will trot out Jon Gray to start this game. Gray has been less than impressive this season, as he has allowed at least three runs in each of his three starts. The Rangers relievers also have the 12th highest ERA among MLB bullpens, so they aren't effective in big situations. Taking into account the pitching struggles of both Jon Gray and the Rangers bullpen, we're going with the Yankees to score 5+ runs today.
Bet #2: San Diego Padres Team Total over 3.5 (-135) vs. the Chicago Cubs
The San Diego Padres come into tonight's game after a series win against the Miami Marlins. The Chicago Cubs, on the other hand, were just swept in a three-game series with the LA Dodgers. A key factor in tonight's game is how effective Kyle Hendricks can be for the Cubs. Hendricks will start this game, and he has struggled very badly over his last two starts. Giving up a combined 10 runs over those two games, he hasn't been able to produce many swings and misses. The Padres offense hasn't been exactly world beaters over their recent stretch of games, only going over this line of 3.5 once in the last five games. The matchup with Hendricks is one that this team should take advantage of, and they should be able to scratch across at least four runs. Let's go Padres!
Bet #3: Phillies/Mariners over 7.5 (-110)
BYE BALL 👋
#RingTheBell https://t.co/QZguK0Yt8Q
"BYE BALL." - @ Philadelphia Phillies
Both the Philadelphia Phillies and the Seattle Mariners are averaging over four runs a game. The Phillies rank inside the top 10 in the MLB in many important offensive categories such as batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage. The Mariners offense has been less productive, but more opportunistic than the Phillies offense. Seattle will be playing at home tonight, where they have seen better offensive production. Seattle is scoring 5.38 runs per game in their home stadium, so that is a great trend. The pitching matchup indicates runs being scored, as Chris Flexen will pitch for Seattle and Ranger Suarez will go for the Phillies. Both of these pitchers have an ERA above 3.00 and WHIPs above 1.00. These offenses should be able to produce at an efficient rate tonight, as both teams have great matchups.