MLB Best Bets For Today, 6/8 - Expert Picks, Predictions, & Props
Welcome to another weekend of MLB best bets and baseball predictions! Our top MLB bets today feature the MLB London game with the New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies. We also make some picks for the Baltimore Orioles vs. Tampa Bay Rays matchup. Plus, we wrap up our Saturday baseball betting card with some top MLB props. Enjoy the weekend baseball as we cash our MLB picks!
MLB Picks, Predictions, & Best Bets Today, 6/8
As always, be sure to shop around for the best odds and lines at different sportsbooks. The odds in this article below are accurate as of this writing. Without further ado, let’s check out my MLB best bets and baseball predictions for Saturday, June 8th!
Phillies vs. Mets Prediction Today, 6/8
Baseball is back in the UK this weekend for the 2024 MLB London Series featuring the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets. It’s a standalone game on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 pm ET. All eyes will be on this one, so let’s get some action on it.
Before we get into anything about the Phillies or Mets, it’s important to mention the trend of these London games being higher-scoring. There have been four MLB games in London (two in 2019 and two in 2023) and all four have seen 10+ runs scored. Even with London Stadium’s extended outfield walls for last year’s games, the Cubs and Cardinals combined for 12 and 10 runs in the two matchups.
Ranger Suarez starts for the Phillies and as impressive as he’s been this season, this weekend is a good time to sell high. Besides pitching in a hitter-friendly park, Suarez is coming off an injury scare. The left-hander exited his last start early after getting hit in the pitching hand with a liner in the second inning. He’s not seriously hurt and is in line for this regular turn in the rotation, but it should give us some pause. It’s worth noting that Suarez didn’t throw a bullpen session this week and instead just played catch.
Furthermore, Suarez is also likely due for some negative regression. The Phillies left-hander has a dominant 1.70 ERA so far but his 2.65 FIP is almost a full run higher. His success is hard to ignore, but this is still the same guy who had a 4.18 ERA last year and a 3.65 ERA the season before. Suarez’s .218 BABIP is unsustainable and tell us he’s been a bit lucky.
The Mets, meanwhile, are crushing left-handed pitching lately. They have a .405 wOBA, 170 wRC+, .232 ISO, .318 BA, and 17.4% K rate vs. lefties over the past two weeks. This is the best offense in baseball against southpaws during this recent span and could give Suarez some issues. New York is also among the top-10 lineups in the league against left-handers for the season overall.
On the other side, the dangerous Phillies lineup should get to Sean Manaea as well. The Phils have top-5 numbers against left-handed pitching themselves this year with a .334 wOBA and 117 wRC+ in the split. Over the past two weeks, they have a .339 wOBA, 121 wRC+, and .218 ISO against lefties. Manaea has a 3.63 ERA and 4.06 xERA this season and is prone to bad outings like his 6 runs allowed last time out.
Expert Phillies vs. Mets Picks
- Over 9.5 Total Runs (-122 FanDuel Sportsbook)
- 1st 5 Innings Over 5.5 Runs (-115 FanDuel Sportsbook)
Orioles vs. Rays Prediction Today, 6/8
The Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays face off on Saturday afternoon in an AL East showdown. The starting pitching matchup of Kyle Bradish vs. Tahj Bradley has us looking at the road team here. Some key splits and trends point in that direction as well.
Bradish is coming off his worst start of the season by far with 5 runs allowed over just 2.2 innings. Coincidentally, that outing also came against Tampa Bay. Even so, bank on the bounce back from one of the MLB’s breakout pitchers. Before that last start, the Orioles right-hander had a 1.75 ERA over his first 5 outings. He still has a 2.11 FIP and 2.64 xERA (compared to a 3.12 ERA).
We’re getting Bradish on extra rest too, as his regular turn in the rotation was scheduled to be Thursday. He’ll face a Tampa offense that’s struggled against right-handers all year (.295 wOBA). Over the past month, specifically, the Rays have a .283 wOBA (28th in MLB), 87 wRC+ (26th), .111 ISO (30th), and .627 OPS (28th).
Meanwhile, the Orioles should provide run support against Bradley. The Rays’ righty just coughed up 9 runs to Baltimore last time out and is now rocking a 5.81 ERA this season. Bradley has had a few good starts in 2024 but this is a tough matchup. The O’s are among the league’s top-5 offenses against right-handed pitching this year. Over the past two weeks vs. righties, they lead the majors in wOBA (.368), wRC+ (143), ISO (.225), batting average (.287), and OPS (.855).
Let’s back Baltimore on the moneyline for both the full game and the first five innings. The Orioles are 11-2 over the past 13 games with all 11 victories coming by multiple runs. The Rays are just 5-10 over their past 15 contests with all 10 losses by 2+ runs. You can look at the O’s runline too.
Expert Orioles vs. Rays Picks
- Orioles Moneyline (-145 BetMGM)
- Orioles 1st 5 Innings ML (Odds not posted at time of writing)
Best MLB Player Props Today, 6/8
- Brayan Bello Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-120 BetMGM)
- Andrew Abbott Under 5.5 Strikeouts (-110 DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Luis Castillo Under 2.5 Earned Runs (-125 BetMGM)
Player News
Teoscar Hernández went 4-for-5 with two doubles, four RBI, and two runs scored to lead the Dodgers to a 15-2 win over the Marlins on Tuesday.
Hernández continues to come through with runners on for the Dodgers as he drove in four on Tuesday on four hits, including two doubles. The 32-year-old slugger is up to an MLB-high 31 RBI while slashing .297/.313/.613 with nine homers and two steals across 116 plate appearances.
Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a solo homer, two runs scored, one steal, and a walk against the Marlins on Tuesday.
Ohtani sent the first pitch he saw out of the yard with a solo homer off Sandy Alcantara to lead off the first inning. He drew a walk in the second and stole a base before scoring on a double by Teoscar Hernández. The 30-year-old superstar is up to seven homers and eight steals while slashing .288/.392/.550 across 130 plate appearances.
Jack Dreyer allowed one run with three strikeouts over two innings as the opener against the Marlins on Tuesday.
Dreyer got the start as the opener with the Dodgers’ rotation thinned by injuries. He gave up a run in the first inning on a triple and a base hit, then struck out two batters in a clean second inning before he was relieved by Matt Sauer. Sauer went on to toss five innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts to put himself in line for the win.
Sandy Alcantara allowed seven runs with two strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings in a loss against the Dodgers on Tuesday.
Alcantara’s struggles to start the season continued on Tuesday against the Dodgers. Shothei Ohtani took his first pitch out for a solo homer in the bottom of the first inning. Los Angeles added two more runs on the board before Alcantara got out of the opening frame. They’d add four more runs before he was pulled with two outs in the third. The 29-year-old right-hander ends the day with an 8.31 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, and a 19/17 K/BB ratio across 26 innings.
Xander Bogaerts went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored in the Padres’ 7-4 win over the Giants on Tuesday.
Bogaerts put the Padres on the board early with a base hit in the first to score Manny Machado from second base before coming around to score on a hit by Jose Iglesias. Bogaerts later extended the lead with a two-run blast off Randy Rodríguez in the seventh for his first home run of the season. The 32-year-old shortstop is hitting .253/.342/.364 with 13 runs scored, eight RBI, and four steals over 114 plate appearances.
Willy Adames went 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored against the Padres on Tuesday.
Adames led off the fourth inning with a solo homer off Nick Pivetta to put the Giants on the board. He later led off the sixth with a double and scored on a base hit by Jung Hoo Lee. It was one of Adames’ better days at the plate as he had just five total extra-base hits on the season before adding two on Tuesday. The 29-year-old shortstop is slashing .212/.286/.305 with two homers, 16 runs scored, and 15 RBI across 133 plate appearances.