In a week, it will be a college football Saturday but for now, we continue to look for the best MLB bets for August 19th.
Baseball will go from the star of the show, the king of the tv schedule, and pastime everyone enjoys to a second place behind some pretty average college football matchups. Every single day we make and record our best MLB bets, including yesterday.
So, before the college football party kicks us off the baseball field, we are going to embrace this as the last Saturday of baseball being king for the rest of 2023 and look for our best MLB bets for August 19th.
Thank you, baseball – you got us from April to August. We love you.
Now, to celebrate baseball and all it has done for us, here are some of the best MLB bets for August 19th.
Boston Red Sox (+150) at New York Yankees (-175) – 1:05 PM EST
The Red Sox-Yankees rivalry may be at an all-time low. Neither team is in the current playoff picture, both teams have serious questions about the future of front office leadership, and the two rivals meet in August with nobody in the country really caring – a rarity for these team this late in the season.
But, the Red Sox weren’t expected to be that good this year. So, Boston’s actually over-delivered in the eyes of many fans who understood that 2023 could be another last place finish. If you had told a Yankees fan in April that his baseball team would be worse than the average Red Sox, the Yankee fan would have been in disbelief.
Currently, many New York fans are in disbelief…and that will continue on Saturday.
Yes, the Yankees start their ace and a serious AL Cy Young contender in Gerrit Cole, who has historically been a stopper when his team is in a slump. But even Cole has failed to keep the Yankees afloat with New York going 3-6 in his outings since the beginning of July.
Oh – and it gets worse because the Red Sox have some hitters who absolutely OWN Gerrit Cole. Heck, you could say Rafael Devers is Gerrit Cole’s “Big Papi.”
Lifetime against the Yankee ace, Devers has had 35 at-bats, 10 hits (.286 average) with seven walks, 14 strikeouts, and a crazy high SEVEN home runs against Cole and 17 RBIs!
That’s right – SEVEN HOME RUNS LIFETIME! Yes, that’s a lot for just 35 total ABs.
But Devers isn’t the only Red Sox who hits Cole well…Tristan Casas has a .600 average and a dinger, Justin Turner has a .444 average, and Alex Verdugo is hitting .281 with two homers off Cole.
The Red Sox want to take the first two of the series in New York. Whether they can get the W off Cole remains a challenge, but covering on the run line should be attainable for Boston.
Best MLB bets for August 19th : Red Sox +1.5 (-137)
San Francisco Giants (+100) at Atlanta Braves (-120) – 7:20 PM EST
The Braves have a 4-game winning streak, have won eight of their last ten games, and are one win away from reaching 80 total W’s on the season.
On the flip side, the once hot San Francisco Giants are starting to fade with only three wins over their last ten games as they are 11 games behind the NL West-leading Dodgers.
But Saturday’s matchup, game 2 of the series is going to be a different story. Look out for the Giants!
For San Fran, Logan Webb takes the hill with a 1.69 ERA in three starts so far in August, and during that time he hasn’t allowed a home run, has 17 strikeouts to just two walks, and opponents are hitting a pathetic .194.
Impressive – and the Giants need an ace-like performance from Webb, who has a history of rising to the occasion in big games.
The Braves starter should only help increase the confidence level for the Giants on Saturday. Yonny Chirinos has a 2-2 record and 6.25 ERA at home with a .294 OBA. Plus, in August he’s got an ERA of 9.20 and opponents are hitting .323.
The Braves might find a way to pull out a late-game win against the Giants, or at least we are wary of that risk. So, we are being conservative even while taking the underdog – take the Giants to cover the spread as one of your best MLB bets for August 19th.
Best MLB bets for August 19th : Giants +1.5 (-190)
Tampa Bay Rays (TBD) at Los Angeles Angels (TBD) (Game 2) – 9:07 PM EST
Zach Eflin against Patrick Sandoval would have many baseball fans jumping at the chance to take the Rays. Considering Eflin is the better pitcher, at least statistically, it would at first blush look like the right decision.
But that’s why we dive into the numbers for you!
Yes, Patrick Sandoval has struggled in August. After a brilliant month of July where he had a 1.04 ERA, in August Sandoval’s ERA has ballooned to 5.02. Would appear to be a fade play.
But then we looked at Sandoval’s numbers against the hitters on Tampa Bay’s roster and we were shocked to find dominance: 35 AB, 6 H, .171 AVG, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 10.
Sandoval is holding Randy Arozarena and Yandy Diaz to under 1.50 batting averages. If the southpaw can be that effective on Saturday, the Angels have a shot.
As for the Rays’ Zach Eflin, he has a losing record on the road, a higher ERA on the road, fewer strikeouts and a higher OBA on the road. Simply put, Eflin is great in Tampa Bay but average to sub-par on the road.
Does that mean we are taking the Angels outright? No. We are being a bit more cautious than that. We are taking Los Angeles, but we will ride with the Angels to cover on the run line.
Best MLB bets for August 19th : Angels +1.5 (-175)
