MLB Best Bets Today (Back Multiple Underdogs on Final Sunday Slate of First Half)

Sunday MLB slates tend to be the wildest of the week, as teams change up the traditional natures of their lineups to give some everyday players some rest. With more lineups starting to be officially released, expect to see more chaos once finalized.

For today, I like a couple of underdogs to take care of business on the final date of the first half of the season, along with a player prop to continue to stay hot vs. a pitcher he's terrorized over his career.

Odds are listed via consensus sportsbooks.

MLB Best Bets for Sunday, July 17

• Rhys Hoskins OVER 1.5 Total Bases (+120)
• Reds +145 vs. Cardinals
• Cubs +124 vs. Mets

Rhys Hoskins OVER 1.5 Total Bases (+120)

If you've been on the site today, this is a familiar name that keeps popping up, but how can I resist Hoskins at plus-odds in a fantastic matchup?

He's 7-for-14 lifetime vs. Trevor Rogers with three home runs and an OPS of 1.214. He's also cooked lefties all year long, and when you combine both those forces, I don't see it ending well for Rogers and company.

Hoskins also left the yard on Saturday in the Phillies' 10-0 win. Don't fade him when everything sets up too perfectly.

Reds +146 at Cardinals

24-year old right-hander Graham Ashcraft is battling, and its starting to get noticed.

With the exception of a 2.1 inning dud against the Chicago Cubs back on June 30 with the wind howling out (7 ER), Ashcraft has held his own against the San Francisco Giants, New York Mets and New York Yankees in his last three starts; allowing only seven earned runs in 20 innings.

As Peter Dewey points out in his betting preview today, the Cardinals' offense is in the bottom third of the league in OPS over their last 15 games. Meanwhile, Cardinals left-hander Steven Matz has been atrocious in nine starts this year with an ERA north of six and allowing a huge home run rate of 1.93/9 innings.

I think the Reds are sneaky on getaway day.

Cubs +124 vs. Mets

Chicago has lost nine in a row, while the Mets are 7-3 over their last 10 games. Is this the day the Cubs end the streak?

I think so.

Adrian Sampson pitches for Chicago as he continues his career resurgence on the North Side. He makes his fifth start of the season (seventh appearance) this afternoon with a 3.33 ERA and a 3.48 FIP. He's put together the highest K/9 of his career this season, while also limiting his BB/9 and HR/9 to the lowest numbers of his big league career.

David Peterson goes for the Mets, as the 26-year old left-hander has shown dominant stuff over his last five outings. Peterson has racked up 41 strikeouts over his last 27.1 innings; averaging 13.50 K/9. However, his control has also been rough his last few outings, walking eight batters in his last nine innings. That's not something you have to worry about with Sampson.

On a weird weather day in Chicago, if Peterson can't find his fastball command, he might still strike out a bunch of Cubbies, but could also walk the ballpark too. I'll take Chicago as a short home dog to finally bring this losing streak to an end.

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