MLB Best Bets and Betting Picks for August 20
Back again for the MLB Best Bets and Betting Picks for Sunday, August 20. We don’t get the usual full-slate for a Sunday due to the hurricane situation in Southern California. Many of today’s games were actually moved in as double-headers yesterday, so a bit shorter than usual. We’re looking for a bounce back today as we got tagged by that Texas bullpen again. Remember early in the season they did this to us? Huge bummer. We did hit on the plus-odds for Sonny Gray, so it took the sting away a little, but these Texas Rangers are going to drive me nuts. Rather than lament, let’s look ahead to today’s action.
MLB Best Bets for August 20
Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros
Welcome back to the rotation, Hunter Brown! After being told Brown’s start would be skipped, the Astros opted to push Jose Urquidy back and give Brown the start today against the Mariners. He went through a bit of a rough patch in July but had pitched fairly well until the team went out and re-added Justin Verlander. So for me, today is a pride thing for Brown. He wants to make a statement here and against a Mariners team that is pushing Houston hard for a playoff spot, this would be the perfect time to make that statement. Yes, the Mariners have been swinging some very hot bats right now, but this is still a team that has been average-to-below-average against righties all year. On the other side, I will happily take this Astros lineup against Emerson Hancock and an overworked bullpen.
Pick: Houston Astros -1.5 Run Line (+115 on BetMGM)
San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Braves
We missed on the under in this one yesterday as the Braves got to Logan Webb and the Giants bullpen coughed up a couple of late runs in the eighth to screw us. Today, we’re going back to the well and will back Max Fried and the Braves bats. While veteran Jakob Junis has been a solid reliever over his last few appearances, the Braves are going to jump all over him in this one. They’ve crushed righties all year and continue to do so with a .357 wOBA over the last seven days. Fried had a slight hiccup in his second start back from injury but bounced back in style his last time out. The Giants are posting a feeble .270 wOBA over the past week and have routinely struggled against lefties, posting just a .297 wOBA against them all year.
Pick: Atlanta Braves -1.5 Run Line (-110 on Caesars Sportsbook)
Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Guardians
It’s a tale as old as time – two clubs just completely inept against left-handed pitching all year. The Guardians, a .281 wOBA (second-worst) and a feeble 76 wRC+, facing a Tigers team that sports a .299 wOBA and a 22.5-percent strikeout rate against southpaws. Detroit has averaged three runs per game over their last three and the Guardians have averaged fewer than three over their last five. I’m not completely enamored by Logan Allen or Eduardo Rodriguez, but against each other and these lineups, I’ll lay some action on the under.
Pick: Guardians/Tigers under 7.5 runs (-115 on Caesars Sportsbook)
Player News
Christian Yelich is leading off for the first time this season on Monday against the Padres.
Yelich has been moved up to the top of Milwaukee’s batting order with Jackson Chourio hitting fifth and Sal Frelick moved down to the fifth spot. The 33-year-old has been on a roll lately, batting .296 (8-for-27) with one homer and four RBI over his last seven games.
Brendan Donovan was scratched from the lineup for Monday’s series opener against the Giants.
No word yet on the reason for the move. It’ll be José FermÃn taking over at second base with Lars Nootbaar moving up to the leadoff spot in his absence.
Bruce Zimmermann will start on Tuesday against the Padres.
Zimmermann was called up over the weekend to pitch in long relief for Milwaukee, but he’s going to take the ball on Tuesday in place of an injured Brandon Woodruff (lat) to kick off a bullpen game. It’ll likely be a one-and-done outing for the 30-year-old southpaw as part of Milwaukee’s rotation. He’s not a recommended fantasy option, especially in a road tilt against the playoff-bound Padres.
Masyn Winn (knee) is scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery on Thursday, according to Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol.
Winn was shut down for the rest of the season back on September 13 with a torn meniscus in his right knee that he played through for the majority of the year. The 23-year-old shortstop wrapped up his second big-league season with a .253/.310/.363 triple-slash line with 72 runs scored, nine home runs, 51 RBI and nine stolen bases in 537 plate appearances over 129 games. He’s expected to be fully recovered in time for spring training.
Angels activated RHP Ryan Zeferjahn from the 15-day injured list.
Zeferjahn returns to Los Angeles’ relief mix prior to Tuesday’s series opener against the Royals following a two-week absence with right knee tendinitis. The 27-year-old middle reliever has posted a pedestrian 4.77 ERA and 72/33 K/BB ratio across 54 2/3 innings over 59 appearances this season.
Angels optioned LHP Sammy Peralta to Triple-A Salt Lake.
Peralta heads back to the minors with Ryan Zeferjahn coming back from the injured list for Tuesday’s series opener against the Royals. The 27-year-old southpaw was hit hard in four relief appearances for the Angels after being called up back on September 7.