Best MLB Prop Bets Today (Fade Nick Pivetta, Trust Starters in Mariners-Athletics Matchup)
By Peter Dewey
Who doesn't love a good prop bet, especially for one on Sunday Night Baseball in the standalone game?
With a bunch of interesting pitching matchups on Aug. 21, I'm targeting a few starters in today's MLB prop bets after the BetSided team went 1-1 with their picks on Saturday.
Let's jump into today's plays:
Best MLB Prop Bets Record to Date
- MLB Best Prop Bets Record: 197-173-0
Best MLB Prop Bets Today
- Nick Pivetta UNDER 5.5 Strikeouts (-125) – DraftKings Sportsbook
- Seattle Mariners-Oakland Athletics First Five Innings UNDER 3 (+105) – WynnBET Sportsbook
Nick Pivetta UNDER 5.5 Strikeouts (-125)
The Boston Red Sox have a Sunday Night Baseball showdown with the Baltimore Orioles, and they need a win to get back to .500 on the season.
Nick Pivetta (9-9, 4.28 ERA) gets the ball for Boston, and he’s been up-and-down all season long. However, his strikeout prop may be something to take advantage of against a Baltimore team that strikes out less than nine times per game.
Over his last 10 starts, Pivetta has cleared this line just twice, and he only had six strikeouts in each of those games. He’s also faced Baltimore twice this season, and picked up five K’s in both games.
I’ll fade him here given his recent form.
Seattle Mariners-Oakland Athletics First Five Innings UNDER 3 (+105)
The A’s offense is 25th in OPS over the last 15 days, but JP Sears has pitched too well to be this big of an underdog (+197), even against Luis Castillo.
That being said, I don’t trust the Oakland offense enough to take them as nearly 2/1 dogs in this matchup.
Instead, I’m going to look at the first five UNDER, which is set at 3 runs (Over -125/Under +105).
I think there is value on the UNDER, as Sears is coming off a start where he tossed five scoreless innings and Castillo has a 2.18 ERA since joining Seattle at the deadline. The Mariners are also just 18th in OPS the last 15 days, so it’s not like their offense has been dominating games.
Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record here.