MLB Best Bets and Betting Picks for June 1
Time to jump on today’s MLB Best Bets and Betting Picks! We hit a bit of a stumbling block yesterday as we endured our first losing effort over our last four days of my column thanks to the Atlanta Braves and their continued struggled. While we don’t expect them to continue their slide, losing two of three to the Oakland Athletics is brutal with regard to betting as their offense never showed up. Much the way the Boston Red Sox, though not Masataka Yoshida, let us down as well. Still, we are in a good spot and should be able to rebound, again, without chasing a ton of same game parlay odds. Not too much to work with on a short slate, but let’s get to it.
- Yesterday’s Record: 2-3
- Season Record: 76-75-2
- Bankroll: -6.87
Again, with just seven games on the slate, we’re not looking at a heavy day of betting.
MLB Best Bets for June 1
Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets
Max Scherzer returns to the mound for the Mets after posting a 1.00 ERA with a 0.78 WHIP in his three starts (18 innings) since returning from his suspension and faces a Phillies team he’s had tremendous success against over the years. To make matters worse, the Phillies are sporting a .287 wOBA with a dismal 26.8-percent strikeout rate over the past seven days. On the other side, the Phillies will throw righty Taijuan Walker at the Mets who have seemingly turned an offensive corner with their .265 wOBA and .202 ISO over the past week. While Walker has been serviceable over his last two starts, he’s still walking too many guys and routinely pitches to contact. The Mets aren’t a big strikeout team in recent games, so expect them to hit Walker pretty early on, so we’ll back Scherzer and their bats for the first half of this game.
Pick: New York Mets First 5 Innings -0.5 Run Line (-130 on Caesars Sportsbook)
Cleveland Guardians at Minnesota Twins
Maybe it was the Guardians 12-run explosion yesterday that has the odds favoring the over in this game, but with Pablo Lopez on the bump for the Twins and rookie Tanner Bibee, I’m not so sure Vegas has this one right. Lopez has had a few hiccups along the way, but we’re talking about a small-ball Guardians lineup that still doesn’t hit for power and has a .284 wOBA against right-handed pitching. Bibee has been rock-solid through his first six big-league starts, posting a 2.88 ERA with peripherals that indicate success can and should continue. The Twins lineup hasn’t exactly been a powerhouse recently either with just a .118 ISO and 31.5-percent K-rate over the last seven days. And if you’re concerned about a full-game bet, know that both bullpens have been strong lately as well.
Pick: Guardians/Twins under 8 runs (+100 on Caesars Sportsbook)
Cincinnati Reds at Boston Red Sox
We’re going back to the well despite yesterday disappointment. Chris Sale takes the mound for Boston and while the Reds have been solid against lefties this season, this is more about the Boston offense and the fact that Hunter Greene has been getting hit around a lot more lately. He did have a great outing against a Cubs team that has been struggling at the plate recently, but prior to that, he allowed 17 runs over 22 innings (four starts) including seven home runs. The Red Sox are still one of the best-hitting teams at home this season and while they only plated four yesterday, should be able to jump out to an early lead. I’m not sure what happens when we put bullpens in play so we’ll stick to the first half in this one as well.
Pick: Boston Red Sox First 5 Innings -0.5 runs (-115 on Caesars Sportsbook)
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Dillon Dingler went 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI on Friday night, helping to lead the Tigers to a come-from-behind 7-6 victory over the Twins in Minneapolis.
The Tigers were staring at a 4-1 deficit heading into the sixth inning but they made quick work of that with a pair of walks and three consecutive singles to start the frame, with Dingler’s RBI single tying the game at 4-4. He also led off the fifth inning with a single and scored his club’s first run on a throwing error by Matt Wallner. Dingler has been absolutely sizzling at the plate to open the season, slashing .387/.406/.677 with a pair of homers and eight RBI.
Colt Keith went 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI on Friday night as the Tigers triumphed over the Twins.
Keith played a role in the Tigers’ four-run rally in the sixth inning, reaching on an infield single to load the bases with nobody out. He then scored the tying run on Dillon Dingler’s RBI single. The 23-year-old infielder also drove in a valuable insurance run with a two-out RBI single off of Justin Topa in the seventh inning. With the two-hit attack, he’s now hitting .200/.385/.250 with zero home runs, two RBI and no stolen bases.
Tommy Kahnle snagged his second save of the season on Friday night, escaping the ninth inning with a one-run lead intact against the Twins.
Kahnle made things interesting by allowing a one-out single to Trevor Larnach and a two-out infield single to Edouard Julien. He then surrendered an RBI ground ball single to Ty France that trimmed the lead to one run before ralling to get Mickey Gasper on a ground ball to first to end it. Kahnle has allowed just one run through his first five innings on the season while registering a 5/0 K/BB ratio. While many have speculated that the Tigers’ bullpen will be full of chaos in 2025, it has been Kahnle that has emerged in a traditional closer’s role to open the season. He’s worth a look in any fantasy leagues where he may still be hanging around on the waiver wire.
Reese Olson struggled with his command in a no-decision against the Twins on Friday evening, allowing four runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings.
Olson also issued three walks on the night while striking out three. He threw just 48 of his 90 pitches for strikes in the ballgame, which contributed to his early exit. The Twins scratched out a run against him in the second inning on an RBI single off the bat of Ty France, then broke the game open with three more in the fifth while chasing him. Olson got 10 swings and misses on 90 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 23 percent. He’ll look to bounce back as he brings a 6.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and a 13/8 K/BB ratio (15 innings) into Wednesday’s battle against the Brewers in Milwaukee.
Byron Buxton had a terrific night at the plate in Friday’s loss to the Tigers, going 1-for-4 with a solo homer, walk, three runs scored, two RBI and a stolen base.
Buxton worked Reese Olson for a leadoff walk to start the second inning then stole second base and raced around to score the game’s first run on an RBI single by Ty France. He then plated a run with a fielder’s choice in the fifth inning and scored on Edouard Julien’s RBI double. Buxton also clobbered a 394-foot (108.1 mph EV) solo shot off of Beau Brieske in the seventh that pulled the Twins to within a run at 6-5. Even with the strong night though, he’s hitting just .178/.229/.356 with two homers, six RBI and three stolen bases on the season.
David Festa pitched well in a no-decision against the Tigers in his season debut on Friday night, allowing just one unearned run on three hits over 4 2/3 innings.
Festa struck out four batters on the evening while allowing only one free pass. The only run that the Tigers scratched out against him came on a two-out single by Gleyber Torres on which Matt Wallner overthrew the third baseman allowing Dillon Dingler to score. The 25-year-old right-hander got nine whiffs on 64 pitches in the ballgame, registering a CSW of 28 percent. He’ll look to build off of this strong first start when he takes on the Braves in Atlanta on Friday.