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
Ronald Acuña Jr. walloped his 19th home run of the season and walked three times, leading Atlanta to an 11-5 blowout win over the Nationals.
Acuña has caught fire down the home stretch following a prolonged slump coming out of the All-Star break, homering four times in his last 11 games. The 27-year-old generational talent took Nationals lefty MacKenzie Gore deep in the opening frame and wound up reaching base safely in four of his six plate appearances in the one-sided affair. He’s looked like a fantasy superstar again of late, batting an absurd .346 (18-for-52) with four homers, 13 RBI and two steals over his last 15 games.
Nasim Nuñez went 3-for-4 with a solo homer in Monday’s blowout loss to Atlanta.
Nuñez walloped his first career leadoff homer when he took Atlanta ace Chris Sale deep to right field. It was his fourth round-tripper since returning to the big leagues back in early September. He came a few feet shy of his second big fly on the night a couple frames later and finished the one-sided affair with a season-high three hits, reaching base safely in four of his five plate appearances. He’s shown enough down the home stretch to be considered a serious contender for an everyday role next spring.
Michael Harris II went 3-for-5 with three RBI and three stolen bases in Monday’s lopsided win over the Nationals.
Harris kicked off an impressive three-hit performance with a 109-mph line-drive to right field that brought home Ha-Seong Kim from second base in the second inning. He scorched a run-scoring single as part of Atlanta’s five-run outburst in the ensuing frame. He wasn’t done yet as he drove in another run on a fielder’s choice in the fourth before adding a sixth-inning single. The three steals matched his previous career-high mark set back on July 16, 2022 during his stellar rookie campaign. It also puts him one theft shy of reaching the 20-steal threshold for the third time in the last four seasons.
Chris Sale was charged with five runs over five innings on Monday in a win over the Nationals.
Sale received a touchdown and a two-point conversion worth of run support from Atlanta’s offense by the fifth inning and was cruising along, despite coughing up early solo homers to Nasim Nuñez and Dylan Crews, before Andrés Chaparro delivered a bases-clearing three-run single with two outs in the frame that slashed the deficit to three runs at the time. He managed to wriggle out of the jam without any further damage, finishing with six strikeouts and two walks in the shortened outing. He’ll close out the season on Sunday with a home matchup against the offensively challenged Pirates.
MacKenzie Gore was lit up for four runs over two innings on Monday in a loss to Atlanta.
Gore served up a first-inning solo homer to Ronald Acuña Jr. and things only went downhill from there in the abbreviated outing as Atlanta tacked on another run in the second before chasing him from the contest in the ensuing frame after just 71 pitches (48 strikes). The 26-year-old southpaw battled some serious control issues in this one, handing out four free passes, and only notched three strikeouts. The unexpected implosion breaks up a decent late-season stretch for Gore since returning from the injured list back in early September. He’ll attempt to close out the season on a high note when he faces the White Sox on Sunday afternoon.
Cubs released RHP Nate Pearson.
Pearson’s time in Chicago is over after he posted a lackluster 5.05 ERA across 41 innings of work in 30 appearances over the last two seasons. The 29-year-old former top pitching prospect was never able to make it work after converting to a full-time relief role. However, it’s possible there’s still an organization out there willing to bring him in this offseason as a reclamation project.