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
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.
Endy Rodriguez (finger) had his splint removed this week.
Rodriguez suffered a lacerated right index finger on April 14th. Now that he is out of his splint, he “is playing catch and doing a slightly modified swing.” Once he can progress to taking full swings, we’ll have a better sense of the timeline for his return.