MLB Best Bets Today (Alek Manoah & Lance McCullers Jr. to Dominate Matchups)
Happy Friday everyone!
Our aggression paid off yesterday, with two of our plus-money props hitting. Sadly, Brandon Woodruff didn’t complete the sweep for us, but that’s okay. We had a winning day on Thursday that set us up for an even better Friday.
I’m going back to my regular well of strikeout props today, with three locked and loaded for you.
Let’s get to it.
MLB Best Bets Today
Alek Manoah OVER 5.5 Strikeouts – Toronto Blue Jays vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
** UPDATE ** now at 6.5 strikeouts
Manoah is pitching tonight, so you know I have to bet on him. He’s hit the OVER on this line in his last three games and now has a fantastic matchup today. The Pirates are one of the easiest teams to strikeout, as they rank 29th in strikeout percentage and 28th in strikeouts per game.
I’m a huge fan of this prop, as we get to back a hot hand and fade a bad team all at once.
Lance McCullers OVER 5.5 Strikeouts – Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels
McCullers has only cleared this line once since returning to the lineup, but he’s playing the Angels tonight. Every editor here at BetSided has pretty much subscribed to the strategy of taking a pitcher’s strikeout OVER whenever they are playing the Angels.
Los Angeles averages the most strikeouts per game and has the highest strikeout rate in baseball. McCullers is an ace and has the easiest matchup of any pitcher on the slate.
Luis Castillo UNDER 5.5 Strikeouts – Seattle Mariners vs. Cleveland Guardians
Castillo has cleared this line in four of his last five starts and even struck out 10 batters against the Guardians his last time out. Still, I’m expecting a tougher day this time out, causing him to hit the UNDER.
The Guardians are the hardest team to strike out in MLB. They strike out less than seven times a game. I doubt Cleveland will give up nearly all of its strikeouts to one pitcher, so I’ll back them instead of Castillo.
You can find Donnavan Smoot’s full betting record here.