This article is part of our MLB Picks series.
MLB Expert Picks and Player Props at DraftKings Sportsbook for Friday, May 27
RotoWire.com's Eric Timm has dug into the best odds available at the DraftKings Sportsbook to identify his MLB bets and MLB player props to target today.
Hello everyone and welcome back to the MLB season. The bats are heating up (and maybe the balls, too?) and while it is early, the separation we talked about last time is real and continuing. As of right now, I count roughly 13 teams that are already playing for next year leaving 17 to fight for the playoffs. Is that good or bad for the sport? I'm not sure, but I do know it does offer us opportunities on the betting front. Oddly, we don't have a full Friday slate with a few teams off today, but it is a great card, so let's get to it.
New York Yankees (ML) (+100) at Tampa Bay Rays
Anytime you can get the Yankees at even or plus money, you have to take a look. While Tampa starter Jeffrey Springs has been amazing, he has yet to face a lineup as potent as the Yanks. Additionally, the Rays are banged up and super-stud Wander Franco is mired in a deep slump. After getting fat on Detroit, Baltimore, and Miami over the last week, Tampa steps up in competition with the Bombers starting tonight. I'm backing the Yanks to kick off the series with a bang.
DraftKings Best MLB Bets for Yankees-Rays
- Yankees Moneyline (+100)
Cleveland Guardians at Detroit Tigers (First 5 UNDER 3.5) (+100) - DRAFTKINGS
Cleveland ace Shane Bieber has dominated the Tigers in his career, holding Detroit to a .203 team average and .589 OPS over multiple starts adding up to 118 at-bats. After some early season struggled, Beebs has gained velocity and looked like his old self in May. Bieber's dominance, combined with the dreary weather forecasted for Detroit tonight makes me believe pitching will dominate and keep this score low.
DraftKings Best MLB Bets for Guardians-Tigers
- First Five Innings: Under 3.5 Runs
Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals
Yes, I'm going back to the well with these two teams one more time. After fast starts by both teams yesterday, the pitchers settled in and dominated the day. I expect Brandon Woodruff and Dakota Hudson to pick up where their fellow pitchers left off yesterday and roll through the first half of this game. Both Woodruff and Hudson have impressive career numbers against each team and both the Cards and Crew lead with pitching and try to do just enough offensively to win. With no strong total trends in either direction, I'll side with strong pitchers with strong histories and strong current form taking on weak offenses.
DraftKings Best MLB Bets for Brewers-Cardinals
- First Five Innings: UNDER 4.0 (-125)
Pittsburgh Pirates at San Diego Padres
In general, the Pirates are almost an auto-play when it comes to unders. They struggle to score but have just enough pitching to keep many games close. San Diego's offense has not been the same as years past, which is understandable given the season-long absence of cornerstone Fernando Tatis Jr. Padres starter Sean Manaea's forward numbers aren't great (2-3, 4.04 ERA) but his 1.12 WHIP and 1.1 K/inning ratio tells me he's had some bad luck. Both Manaea and Pittsburgh starter Jose Quintana have done well against the opposing lineup in their careers, and it seems like Quintana performs well when he heads to the West Coast. I see a nice, tidy 4-1 kind of game at Petco Park this evening.
DraftKings Best MLB Bets for Padres-Pirates
- UNDER 7.0 Runs
RESULTS
Overall: 10-10, -1.36 units