When looking for the best MLB bets for August 22nd, there are lots of factors to consider.
On Tuesday, the MLB leader in ERA (Blake Snell, 2.65) will face the leader in hits (Luis Arraez, 166).
Fantastic matchups in baseball are like chess games between two grand masters. How will the pitcher attack, how will the hitter counter – who will win the battle?
These are the questions that we love to answer in our daily MLB picks.
That isn’t the only fun matchup on a Tuesday thanks to a full slate of MLB action. Let’s dive into three of our favorite plays for the day…
Seattle Mariners (-165) at Chicago White Sox (+140) – 8:10 PM EST
Nobody is hotter than the Seattle Mariners right now!
The team is en fuego offensively and has shot up the AL Wild Card standings and isn’t stopping there…the Astros and Rangers should be getting nervous about the team from the pacific northwest.
On Monday, the Mariners won 14-2. That’s seven wins in a row – all of them have been on the road and the M’s have scored at least six runs in six of the seven wins.
Now the White Sox starter for Tuesday has been good of late. Mike Clevinger has a 1.57 ERA over his last four starts (23 innings) and opponents have just one home run and a lowly .203 batting average over that span.
Plus, Clevinger is 3-1 at home this year with a 2.00 ERA in 26 innings pitched. Is this the game, the pitching matchup that finally cools off the hottest team in baseball?
We don’t think so. The Mariners bats aren’t about to be shut out by Clevinger and Seattle’s starter Bryan Woo had a strong outing earlier this season against the White Sox going 5.2 innings with nine strikeouts to no walks while only allowing three hits.
We don’t need much convincing on this one – we are just happy the moneyline odds for Seattle are still attractive, for now at least.
Best MLB bets for August 22nd: Mariners ML (-165)
Los Angeles Dodgers (-200) at Cleveland Guardians (+170) – 7:10 PM EST
When the Dodgers are an away favorite this year, the OVER is 24-13-2. That’s the 4th best OVER percentage in MLB.
When the Dodgers play an American League opponent, the OVER is 24-7-3. That’s the best OVER percentage in MLB.
Noticing a trend? Well, it gets even better! The Cleveland Guardians will be starting Noah Syndergaard. In August, opponents are hitting .329 against Syndergaard, with six homers. His ERA is 6.19!
Those are the numbers. The narrative is Syndergaard is a former Dodger and therefore the Dodgers know a lot about him and should be able to attack his weaknesses.
With how Thor has thrown the ball lately, there are a lot of weaknesses!
Now Dodgers starting pitcher Bobby Miller has been brilliant lately and therefore we certainly encourage a Dodgers moneyline bet. But, those are -200 and that may not be attractive enough to some folks out there.
So, as our trends at the top suggested, we also like the OVER in this game. Miller has been so good lately that the OVER is a “sweat it out” play, but we believe the Dodgers offense will do enough (6-7 runs on their own) to need only a few from Cleveland to push the total OVER the top.
Best MLB bets for August 22nd: Dodgers ML (-200) and Dodgers-Guardians OVER 8.5
Miami Marlins (+150) at San Diego Padres (-175) – 9:40 PM EST
The Padres are in chase mode in the NL Wild Card race and the Marlins are one of the teams that sit atop San Diego in the standings.
Padres got a win on Monday against the Marlins and put Blake Snell on the mound for game two of the series. Snell has not been lights out against Miami’s hitters. Josh Bell has homered against Snell, Jorge Soler is 3-for-9, and Luis Arraez is 4-for-4. Combined, Miami’s roster has a .290 average against the San Diego southpaw with 8 RBIs, 11 BBs, and 15 Ks.
That said, Snell shut out Miami through six innings earlier this year, allowing just three hits, three walks, with seven strikeouts. Plus Blake Snell is 5-0 in his last five starts and he hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs since May 19th – that’s crazy!
Marlins starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo has been on the opposite end of the spectrum compared to Snell.
Luzardo has an 11.68 ERA through 12.1 innings in August, opponents are hitting .421, and he is 0-3 in his last three starts. He’s allowed at least four earned runs in four straight games.
Miami is also 20-30 as a road underdog, in case you needed a little extra nudge. Snell’s statline was enough to get us there – we are going with San Diego on the moneyline.
Best MLB bets for August 22nd: Padres ML (-180)
