MLB Betting: Thursday Best Bets

MLB Betting: Thursday Best Bets

This article is part of our MLB Picks series.

Previous: 2-2, -.38 RWBucks
Overall: 123-95-1, +11.73 RWBucks

Athletics at Royals, 2:10 p.m. EDT

Paul Blackburn vs. Daniel Lynch

The first two games of this series have seen 22 and 17 total runs. With the pitching matchup of Paul Blackburn vs. Daniel Lynch, I see more of the same this afternoon. The Royals are hitting .290/.347/.466 over their last 12 games while averaging 6.1 runs per game. They also only strikeout 19.5 percent of the time. The A's are hitting .278/.338/.464 over their last 14 games and averaging 6.4 runs per game.

Both teams bullpens have been heavily used the last two games, which makes this even more likely to be another high-scoring game.

BET: Over 10 runs (-110) for 1 RWBuck

Giants vs. Padres 3:45 p.m. EDT

Kevin Gausman vs. Ryan Weathers

Gausman has regressed some over his last six starts with an ERA of 4.13 and 1.19 WHIP, but these teams are headed in opposite directions and the numbers are staggering.

The Giants are 11-2 in their last 13 games, hitting .289/.381/.534 for seven runs per game. Just three of those 11 games have been decided by one run or less, and they have surpassed four runs in 11 of 13. The Padres have been terrible in their last 30 games, going 9-21 and hitting only .207/.288/.341 while averaging 3.4 runs per game.

We are less than three weeks away from the end of the regular season and oddsmakers are still disrespecting the Giants.

BET: Giants -1.5 (+155 DraftKings) for 1 RWBuck

BET: Giants over 4.5 runs (+100 BetMGM) for 1 RWBuck

Astros at Rangers, 8:05 p.m. EDT

Framber Valdez vs. Glenn Otto

On a short slate it forces you to look at every game to find an angle. When I see two divisional teams this late in the season, I know I can rely on some head-to-head data. The Astros have won 13 of 18 in the series. Twelve of 18 games in this series have gone over the 8.5 run total. The games in Texas show us the value on the over as the average runs scored has been 10.4. Valdez has been up and down recently and Otto got bombed against the A's his last start.

BET: Over 8.5 runs (-110) for 1 RW buck

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Rathburn
Known as “Rath” in the Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) community, he has helped run operations for two prominent daily fantasy sports startups. Michael has taken his insider knowledge and expertise in daily fantasy sports to the content side. Rath won the 2016 FSWA "Baseball Article of the Year, Online" award and was a finalist for the FSWA Best Baseball Series in 2011.
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