MLB Best Bets for Today: White Sox, Guardians, and Mariners | Tuesday, May 17th
MLB Best Bets for Today: White Sox take care of Kansas City
Last night's MLB games were competitive for the most part. Tonight, the same teams will battle it out in the second game of their respective series, with many good games offering bettors the opportunity to profit.
Now that over a month has gone by since Opening Day, many teams are beginning to see an increase in offensive production, which is a relief for baseball fans. Offensive numbers were on pace to be historically low, but they have since leveled out.
Below, you will find three of the best bets for today's slate of MLB games.
Bet #1: Chicago White Sox -1.5 (-115) vs. the Kansas City Royals (Game 1 of Doubleheader)
Cueto fans Salvy to end the inning 🍿 https://t.co/xh4E9upF5l
"Cueto fans Salvy to end the inning" - @ White Sox Talk
Last night, the Chicago White Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals in extra innings. It was a huge confidence booster for Chicago since they are coming off a brutal series loss to the American League-leading New York Yankees. The White Sox will start Dylan Cease, who has been pretty solid to start the year. Cease's 3.55 ERA hasn't jumped off the page; but through five starts, he has faced four offenses that are each in the top 14 in the MLB. In his other start, Cease faced this Royals offense and allowed two runs in six innings of work.
The White Sox won that game by a score of 7-3, covering the run line we're asking of them tonight. Jonathan Heasley will get his fifth career MLB start for the Royals. In five minor league starts, Heasley has a 4.44 ERA and has struggled to make it deep into ball games. Considering that the Kansas City bullpen has the fifth worst ERA in the league, this is not a good recipe for the Royals to win this one. We're going with the White Sox to take care of business tonight!
Bet #2: Cleveland Guardians Team Total over 4.5 (-105) vs. the Cincinnati Reds
Swings and misses are hard to come by up and down our lineup.
Whiff Rate, American League:
1. Steven Kwan: 7.5%
4. José Ramírez: 12.9%
6. Myles Straw: 14.2%
16. Owen Miller: 17.1%
17. Amed Rosario: 17.2%
#ForTheLand https://t.co/XusjTUxjYM
"Swings and misses are hard to come by up and down our lineup" - @ Cleveland Guardians
The ballgame includes the third ranked offense in the MLB and the pitching staff with the highest team ERA and second worst bullpen ERA. The Cleveland Guardians offense has been clicking on all cylinders to start the year. They are hitting .251 as a team and scoring the seventh most runs per game in the MLB, 4.76.
Cincinnati's pitching has been on the opposite ends of the success ladder. The Reds pitchers have a team ERA of 6.04, which is a full run higher than the next team. Connor Overton, the starter for Cincinnati, will make his fourth start of the season. He has been effective to start the year, but it's hard to see the Reds being able to consistently keep the Guardians off the scoreboard. To keep things simple, the Cincinnati Reds pitching staff is bad, and the Guardians offense should have no trouble scoring runs tonight.
Bet #3: Mariners/Blue Jays NRFI (No Run First Inning) (-120)
The pitching matchup in this contest between the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays is one of the best on the slate. Logan Gilbert has been one of the best pitchers in the league to begin the season. Gilbert holds a 4-1 record, with a 2.13 ERA.
Jose Berrios gets a prime matchup against a Mariners offense that has struggled to consistently manufacture runs as of late. Seattle hasn't scored a first-inning run in three straight games, and Toronto has a more difficult pitching matchup than normal. Six quick outs! Let's cash this NRFI!