This article is part of our MLB Picks series.
New York Yankees 
vs. Texas Rangers 
Cortes has been terrific this year, striking out 31 batters over 24.2 innings while pitching to a 1.82 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. Today he faces Jon Gray, the former Rockies pitcher who is off to a terrible start with Texas, allowing 10 earned runs in only 12 innings, and having already gone in the IL with a knee issue. For their part, the Yankees are 11-4 at home and 13-6 vs. right-handers, while currently ranking second behind the Dodgers in run differential, outscoring their opponents by an average of 1.8 runs per game. I've been looking to support Cortes all year, and this looks like another good spot.
MLB Best Bet for Yankees-Rangers: New York Yankees Run Line +100
Chicago White Sox 
vs. Cleveland Guardians 
Michael Kopech vs. Zach Plesac
Kopech has been tremendous thus far while being stretched into a starter's role, firing scoreless outings in 3 of his 5 starts, with a season-worst outing of allowing two runs vs. Kansas City a couple of weeks ago. Meanwhile, Zach Plesac has struggled for the Guardians, allowing 18 baserunners in just 8.2 innings over his last pair of starts. He also struggled badly vs. the White Sox last year, allowing 28 baserunners and 14 earned runs over just 16.2 innings. The White Sox are on a roll right now, having won six games in a row, and appear to hold the edge in this matchup today.
MLB Best Bet for White Sox-Guardians: Chicago White Sox First 5 innings -0.5, -115
Seattle Mariners 
-120 vs. Philadelphia Phillies 
Chris Flexen vs. Ranger Suarez
Flexen has really stepped up his game recently, looking very sharp while allowing a max of two earned runs over his last three starts, with an excellent 19 baserunners over 18.2 innings. He's also looked great at home, pitching to a 2.77 ERA and 0.92 WHIP over a pair of starts. The Mariners have had trouble scoring runs recently, but that could change today, as Phillies starter Ranger Suarez has looked out-of-sorts this year for whatever reason. While he pitched incredibly well last year and came into this season as one of my favorite sleeper picks; he was late reporting to spring training (reportedly due to visa issues) and has just never gotten into a groove, allowing more hits than innings pitched in all but one start, while also seeing his control drop off. He's likely due for a turnaround, because (if healthy) he seems to be a very good pitcher, but given his current status, he's difficult to trust right now. Nice short price here on the home team with a decided (at least currently) pitching edge. Expanding on that point, the Mariners are currently 8-5 at home, while the Phillies are 3-7 on the road.
MLB Best Bet for Mariners-Phillies: Mariners Moneyline (-120)
San Diego Padres 
F5 -0.5, -106 vs. Chicago Cubs 
MacKenzie Gore vs. Kyle Hendricks
Long-time top prospect MacKenzie Gore has looked very sharp this year (including before his call-up), making four starts this far while allowing 0, 1, and 1 earned runs over his last three starts while striking out more than a batter per inning. Meanwhile, Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks has not looked good recently, allowing 17 baserunners over 10 innings in his last pair of starts. Hendricks has also pitched significantly worse on the road (a long-term habit with him), allowing 20 baserunners and 12 earned runs over just 8 innings this year. Good price on the upwardly-mobile Gore tonight.
MLB Best Bet for Padres-Cubs: San Diego Padres First 5 -0.5, -106
Before you place your bets, be sure to use all of RotoWire's MLB resources, like our MLB Lineups page, MLB Weather page, and the best batter vs. pitcher stats.
RotoWire record:
13-19, -5.96 units
