Best Bets on Today’s 15-Game MLB Schedule
The 2023 MLB season is heating up and VSiN has you covered with every way you can possibly bet on a baseball game. Normally, Adam Burke will have daily best bets to give you some ideas of what to back when it comes to moneylines, run lines and totals, while I focus on feeding you all player props. However, Adam needed to take care of something today, so I’m tackling everything before we get back to our regularly scheduled programming. Keep reading to find out how I’m betting four of the games on the MLB schedule for Saturday, August 5.
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MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts have on August 5
Here are our favorite MLB best bets and props for Saturday, August 5:
Atlanta Braves (-155. 10) at Chicago Cubs
This game has the highest total on the board today, so I wanted to find a batter prop here. The one that stood out to me immediately was Christopher Morel to go Over 0.5 hits. This season, Morel is batting .303 with 13 homers and 41 RBIs against right-handed pitching. He has been one of Chicago’s most reliable hitters against righties, and it’ll be righty Bryce Elder on the mound for Atlanta this afternoon. Elder has been very good for the Braves this season, but I still think he’s hittable. There’s a reason the Braves aren’t massive favorites over the Cubs in this one, so Chicago should produce at the plate in this matchup. So, the fact that you only need a single from Morel to cash this bet seems like something to jump on. If the Cubs are going to get it going offensively, Morel will likely be a part of that.
Bet: Morel Over 0.5 Hits (-155)
San Francisco Giants (-185, 8) at Oakland Athletics
This might not be a meeting between two explosive offenses, but I like the Over to hit on this low total. The A’s have been slumping hard over the last couple of days, but the Over is actually 17-8 when Oakland is batting .200 or worse over a three-game span this season. And the Athletics now get to face Ross Stripling, who is 0-4 with a 5.52 ERA this year. With that said, this isn’t exactly the toughest matchup in the world for Oakland. Meanwhile, I can’t imagine the Giants will struggle too much with Paul Blackburn here. Blackburn has given up at least nine hits in two of his last three starts. If he can’t avoid hard contact in this one, this could get pretty ugly. And San Francisco is a lot better against righties than it is lefties, so the Giants lineup will look forward to this.
Bet: Over 8 (-102)
Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Guardians (-155, 9)
Michael Kopech’s swing-and-miss stuff has gotten worse and worse as the season has progressed, but it hasn’t completely disappeared. The righty has still had at least five strikeouts in five of the nine starts he has made since the beginning of June. With that in mind, it isn’t outrageous to think that he’ll come away with five strikeouts in tonight’s meeting with the Guardians. Of course, it should be noted that Cleveland has the lowest strikeout rate in the league against right-handed pitching this year. So, this is one of the worst matchups Kopech can possibly have as far as strikeouts go. But I still believe that his talent will win out in the end. This total is just too low for a guy that has had two 10-strikeout games this season.
Bet: Kopech Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-134)
Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres (-148, 8.5)
The Padres are starting to play some good baseball and now host a Dodgers team that has won four in a row. I like San Diego to make a statement in tonight’s game, with Blake Snell heading to the mound for the Padres. Snell has allowed two or fewer earned runs in each of his last four starts against Los Angeles, so he has been just fine against this imposing lineup. If he turns in another performance like that, he should set his team up nicely for a win. Meanwhile, it’ s expected that Ryan Yarbrough will be on the hill for the Dodgers in this one. They acquired him from the Kansas City Royals, and this will be Yarbrough’s debut for Los Angeles. That’s a pretty difficult spot for the lefty, as his first start with his new team will be in a road game against a division rival. And Yarbrough has never been in a market like Los Angeles. On top of that, San Diego is fifth in the league in wRC+ against lefties, so this lineup can do damage against southpaws.
Quick note: It does seem like it’s possible that Michael Grove will start for Los Angeles. No matter who the Dodgers end up throwing, I like the Padres to win this with Snell out there.
Bet: Padres ML (-148)
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