Welcome to Thursday's edition of the MLB best bets everyone! The punishing continues for me in the MLB as Tuesday was another disappointing slate of wagers but worry not as I am persistent when it comes to winning money and bets and today is a new slate to dive into. Not the normal large slate we are accustomed to though as 10 games are slated for today and some start as early as 12:30pm ET so don't blink or you might just miss it! Below are a few different bets that include a team total runs wager, a player prop and an under in the 1st 5 innings! Let's just go ahead and dive right in to what I will be betting on today!

  • Tuesday's Record: 1-3
  • Season Record: 44-41-1
  • Bankroll: -1.74 units
 

MLB Best Bets for July 20

Houston Astros at Oakland Athletics 

The Astros may be banged up within their lineup but it doesn't seem to have slowed them down! Houston comes into this game against Oakland winners in 3 of the last 5 thanks to being boosted up by the offense that has scored 35 runs over that stretch which is of course 7 runs per game. That makes me scratch my head seeing their team total number tonight which sits at 4.5 total runs over on DraftKings right now. The number is much too low considering the track record of this offense and given the opponent for tonight in the Athletics who are one of the worst pitching team in the MLB. Hogan Harris will be the opener for the A's today and he has a ballooning 6.51 ERA and 1.47 WHIP so the Astros could get after this prop early and often tonight. Let's not stop here though as I like a player prop for this game as well. Kyle Tucker has been one of the best hitters in the Astros lineup this season and he is slated to hit 3rd tonight and that puts him in perfect position to go over one of my favorite props which is hits, runs and RBIs. His number has dropped to 1.5 from 2.5 tonight and that makes this the perfect chance to pounce as Tucker has gone over 1.5 hits, runs and RBIs in 4 of the last 5 games. Fire up Houston tonight and hopefully they don't flop like many teams have seemed to do lately. 

Pick: Houston Astros Over 5.5 Total Runs (-135 on DraftKings)

Pick: Kyle Tucker Over 1.5 Hits/Runs/RBIs (-140 on DraftKings)

Minnesota Twins at Seattle Mariners 

It's a matchup of two fine pitchers today as the Twins visit the Mariners and Pablo Lopez goes toe to toe with George Kirby! The Twins enter the game in first place in the AL Central with a 50-47 record and much of that success has been on the back of the pitching and defense this season. This is evident because the Twins have gone under in 51.6% of games this season and have scored just 4.35 runs per game, the 11th fewest in the MLB. Lopez does worry me a bit because he has had some blow up spot recently but overall his is a reliable starter that can strikeout a handful of batters a game with 19 over his last 2 starts. On the other end is George Kirby who has been rock steady for the Mariners all season long with his 3.43 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. This has led me to taking the under in the 1st 5 Innings with both teams being lower scoring and the pitchers being on top of their game. The full game total at 8 runs scares me a bit too as there is talent and the bullpens aren't the greatest for each team so let's get the under out of the way early in this one. 

Pick: Twins & Mariners 1st 5 Innings Under 4 Runs (-140 on BetMGM)

**all bets are one unit unless specifically mentioned.