MLB Best Bets and Betting Picks for June 15
We love our winning streaks in betting don’t we? My last MLB Best Bets and Betting Picks installment went a perfect 3-0 and while I don’t score it here in the article, I also hit on a +450 home run bet on Christian Walker. We’re still a little behind on the bankroll here, but overall, for the season, I am pushing further and further into the black…or green, depending on how you like to color-code your wins. We routinely talk about the peaks and valleys in betting baseball, so enjoy the streak, maybe tail more picks from the baseball bets for today if you like, throw some MLB props into a same game parlay or something, but don’t go too crazy. Remember, things like an Oakland Athletics seven-game win streak could pop up and ruin everything just like that! Does that happen to us today? I don’t think so. It’s a short slate for Thursday with a mix of day and night games, but we’re reading the tea leaves pretty well on some of these match-ups.
- Tuesday’s Record: 3-0
- Season Record: 91-84-2
- Bankroll: -2.93 units
MLB Best Bets for June 15
Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics
Yes, that’s right! We’re staring down the A’s now that their seven-game win streak is over and their fanbase has been silenced after their “reverse protest” came up about as empty as that horrendous stadium usually is during the season. Even with that win streak, we’re looking at a team that has a .290 wOBA over the past seven days and isn’t swinging the bats with any kind of power. They’re facing Taj Bradley who is coming off a terrible outing against the Rangers, but that’s one of the best lineups in MLB this season. I expect Bradley to bounce back. On the other side, the A’s are starting Paul Blackburn who dominated Milwaukee in his last outing, but is likely to struggle against a Rays team that still leads the league in wOBA against righties and isn’t going to walk out of Akland with a losing series. They put up six runs last night and, actually, I don’t even want to look at the full game here as there is no real value in it. Instead, let’s just talk about the first five innings and some of that value on the run line.
Pick: Tampa Bay Rays 1st 5 Innings -0.5 Run Line (-130 on Caesars Sportsbook)
Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins
While both clubs have been hitting the ball well over the past week, I think this pitching match-up is going to be the featured act today. Matthew Boyd isn’t exactly the be-all, end-all of southpaws, but he continues to rebound well after a bad loss and he is coming off a poor five-inning, five runs allowed game against Arizona. Today, though, he faces a Twins lineup that has struggled all year against lefties, posting a .298 wOBA with an ugly 27.2 strikeout rate. On the other side, we have Sonny Gray who continues to dominate with his 2.25 ERA overall, but an even more impressive 1.71 ERA at home. The Tigers rank dead-last with a .287 wOBA against righties this season and they’re fanning nearly 25-percent of the time against them. I don’t want to get bullpens involved, so we’ll stick with the first five innings, once again.
Pick: Tigers/Twins 1st Five Innings under 4 runs (+100 on Caesars Sportsbook)
Washington Nationals at Houston Astros
While things haven’t exactly been all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows for the Astros since losing Yordan Alvarez, they’ve taken two-straight from the hapless Nationals (I say hapless because they’ve posted a league-worst .255 wOBA over the past week) and now have their best starter on the mound in Cristian Javier. He had a tough outing against the Guardians his last time out, but has allowed just three runs or fewer in 11 of his 13 starts this season. He should have no trouble with this lineup today. Houstin will tangle with MacKenzie Gore and they’ve posted a solid .333 wOBA against lefties all season long and they’ve done it with some decent power as well. I think they grab a decent lead and hold it, thanks to a bullpen that has a 1.74 ERA over the past week (20.2 innings), so I feel good about chasing some plus odds and even a decent prop bet.
Pick: Houston Astros -1.5 run line (+105 on DraftKings Sportsbook)
Pick: Mauricio Dubon over 0.5 runs (+110 on DraftKings Sportsbook)
**all bets are one unit unless specifically mentioned
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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.