This article is part of our MLB Picks series.
MLB Bets Today: Expert MLB Picks for Thursday, May 2
Five of the six games scheduled to be played across baseball Thursday have early start times. We need to get our wagers in early, so let's get right to it and highlight three that could prove to be profitable.
Mike Barner's season record: 9-5 (+1.22 units)
San Francisco Giants vs. Boston Red Sox Best Bets
Kyle Harrison missed a lot of bats while working his way through the minors. He made 18 starts at Double-A in 2022, recording a 36.4 percent strikeout rate along the way. Across 20 starts at Triple-A last year, he produced a 35.6 percent strikeout rate. He has made six starts for the Giants this season, posting at least five strikeouts in four of them. Two times, he finished with at least seven strikeouts.
The Red Sox are a great opponent to rack up strikeouts against. They have struck out the fourth-most times in baseball. They are also missing one of their best contact hitters in Masataka Yoshida (thumb), who is on the injured list. Finally, the Giants would probably love to get some length out of Harrison after going with a bullpen day Wednesday. The over on his strikeout prop is the way to go.
MLB fans: Get in on the action with the BetMGM bonus code for a first-bet bonus welcome offer worth up to $1,500 when using code ROTOBONUS. BetMGM is one of several leading sportsbooks that accept credit card and PayPal.
MLB Picks for Giants vs. Red Sox
- Kyle Harrison over 5.5 strikeouts (-125) at DraftKings Sportsbook for 1 unit
Miami Marlins vs. Colorado Rockies Best Bets
Luis Arraez is "only" batting .295 through 32 games. That's low for him, given that he hit .354 last season. He still has just a 7.7 percent strikeout rate, so he'll likely get his batting average back over .300 in short order. It helps his case for this game that he will be playing at home, where he hit .376 last season.
Also working in Arraez's favor to record multiple hits Thursday is a matchup with Peter Lambert. For his career, Lambert has a 1.57 WHIP and just a 16.3 percent strikeout rate. Given the plus odds, taking Arraez to finish this game with at least two hits could be well worth the risk.
MLB Picks for Marlins vs. Rockies
- Luis Arraez to record 2+ hits (+150) at FanDuel Sportsbook for 1 unit
Houston Astros vs. Cleveland Guardians Best Bets
Jose Ramirez has only a 4.6 percent walk rate this season. That's very low for him. He has finished with a walk rate of at least 10.1 percent in each of the last four seasons. For his career, he has a 10.0 percent walk rate.
Ramirez does have a walk in both of the first two games of this series with the Astros. In total, he has drawn at least one walk in each of his last four games. Starting for the Astros will be Spencer Arrighetti, who has issued seven walks over 10.2 innings with the Astros. Last season, he had an 18.9 percent walk rate at Triple-A. Given the plus odds that come with Ramirez drawing at least one walk, this might be too good to pass up.
MLB Picks for Astros vs. Guardians
- Jose Ramirez over 0.5 walks (+145) at DraftKings Sportsbook for 1 unit
MLB Best Bets Today Recap
- Kyle Harrison over 5.5 strikeouts (-125) at DraftKings Sportsbook for 1 unit
- Luis Arraez to record 2+ hits (+150) at FanDuel Sportsbook for 1 unit
- Jose Ramirez over 0.5 walks (+145) at DraftKings Sportsbook for 1 unit
