MLB Best Bets Today (Back Tigers' Bats Early, Giants an Undervalued Underdog Late)

Time to get the baseball wagers rolling as the second half of the season begins this afternoon.

There's two doubleheaders on tap today with the Houston Astros hosting the New York Yankees, followed by the Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics twin billing later this afternoon.

The game of the night is the late matchup between two NL West foes, featuring San Francisco Giants ace Carlos Rodón taking on the league-leading L.A. Dodgers and Mitch White at Dodger Stadium.

For today's card of "best bets," I'm focusing in on a prop in Game 1 ahead of the Tigers and A's, followed by a moneyline bet on what I view as a surprising underdog in the Giants-Dodgers matchup.

Odds for today's action are available over at DraftKings Sportsbook:

Top MLB Bets Today

• Robbie Grossman OVER 0.5 Total Bases (-160)
• Giants +146 ML vs. Dodgers

Robbie Grossman OVER 0.5 Total Bases (-160) - Detroit Tigers at Oakland Athletics

I took Grossman's over on total bases for the BetSided team's "Best MLB Props Today" feature, even with the high juice of -160.

Grossman has crushed left-handers all season long, hitting .353 from the right-side of the plate, compared to just .148 from the left-side against right-handed pitching. His OPS is more than doubled as a righty at the dish, and his strikeouts go down nearly 10% while his walk rate goes up more than 6%.

Athletics left-hander Zach Logue has been brutal this year with a 5.16 ERA, and an expected ERA (xERA) nearly a full run higher at 6.04. I'll back Grossman to get into a groove early in his first game back from the break.

San Francisco Giants +146 ML at Los Angeles Dodgers

Several books are already starting to move this line in the direction of San Francisco, but I tailed our guy Joe Summers at +146 odds with one of the best pitchers in the National League on the mound for the Giants in Rodón.

As he points out, the left-hander has the second-best Fielding Independent Pitching, or FIP in all of baseball, along with the eight-best expected ERA (xERA) in the game. Him, along with Aaron Nola and Dylan Cease of the White Sox were considered three of the most blatant All-Star game snubs this year, and with the Giants on the border or being a "buyer" or "seller," this is a meaningful game for Rodón either way.

The Dodgers have gone just 2-4 in White's last six starts, and comes off a game where he allowed six runs and 10 hits to the St. Louis Cardinals.

There's a reason this line is moving towards San Francisco, so I wouldn't wait before it keeps going that direction.

Follow all of Ben's betting plays in real-time HERE!