Let’s get our weekend start off on the right foot by cashing in on a few MLB bets to build our bank roll for the sports betting action across the country the next two days.
I’ve spent the morning looking through tonight’s MLB board to find a few plays that I absolutely love. In this article, I’m going to break them down for you. Follow them or fade them, it’s up to you.
I’m going to try to take advantage of the lopsided matchup between the two starting pitchers tonight by betting the Rays to win the first five innings. Carlos Rodon gets the start for the pinstripes. He has a 5.48 ERA through his first four starts and has had a complete lack of control of his pitches, already issuing 12 walks, the most amongst all Major League pitchers. Unless he figures things out in a hurry, the Rays are going to be able to get to him early and often.
Tampa Bay is starting Drew Rasmussen on the mound, who has been near perfect through three starts, allowing just one earned runs and nine hits in 15.0 innings pitched. To me, that makes the Rays leading after the first five innings a no-brainer of a bet at -105.
Pick: Rays First 5 Innings ML (-105)
I was a big Miles Mikolas fan early in his MLB career but I can’t defend the guy any longer. After a 5.35 ERA across 32 starts last season, he has now allowed an ERA of 9.00 in his first three starts of 2025. The Mets are likely going to light him up in his fourth start of the season tonight.
With that being said, I also want to take advantage of a Cardinals hot offense that ranks sixth in the Majors in OPS and second in batting average. So, instead of picking a side in this one, I’m just going to sit back and root for runs.
Why are the Padres underdogs in this game? San Diego enters tonight leading the Majors in batting average (.274) and rank fourth in OPS (.765). The Astros rank 26th (.216) and 27th (.618) in those two respective categories.
In terms of pitching, the Padres bullpen has been the best in the Majors through the first three weeks of the season, sporting a bullpen ERA of 1.52. The Astros aren’t far behind, but still have a bullpen ERA of almost double at 2.94.
So, the Astros must have a significant advantage when it comes to starting pitchers, right? Not so fast. Kyle Hart has a worse ERA than Ryan Gusto, 5.40 compared to 3.00, but Hart’s 2-0 record shows the Padres can still win with him on the mound.
This is my favorite underdog bet of the day. I think the Padres get the job done on the road.
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You can check out all of Iain’s bets here!
