This article is part of our MLB Picks series.
MLB Picks: MLB Best Bets and Player Props for Sunday, July 30
Oakland Athletics vs. Colorado Rockies
It's a shame the Oakland Athletics aren't relocating to Denver, because there is just something about that sweet mountain air.
In the first two games of this series, the Athletics have tallied 18 runs, giving the brokenhearted fanbase of this 30-win club something to cheer about.
Oakland sends righthander Luis Medina (3-7, 5.50 ERA) to the bump on Sunday afternoon, and while Medina has some uninspiring results in 2023, he's been efficient of late, allowing just five earned runs in his last 17.2 innings pitched. Although pitching in the high altitude in Coors Field is seen as an obstacle for pitchers, Medina appears to have turned a corner in July, posting a 2.70 ERA this month, compared to a 5.88 ERA in June and a 5.56 ERA in May.
Medina's mound opponent will be Ty Blach (0-0, 5.51 ERA), almost certainly to be used as an opener. Blach has not pitched more than three innings in any outing, and the Rockies lefty has allowed a wildly bad .371 opponent average and a 1.71 WHIP in his limited work this season.
The thin air can benefit any lineup, and that includes the bats in the Athletics' hands too. Outfielder Ramon Laureano has collected four RBI in the first two contests of this series, and has fairly large left/right splits, hitting just .185/.263/.331 against righties and .281/.313/.469 against lefties. Laureano could strike early against Ty Blach. Brent Rooker's bat has been heating up as well, with back-to-back multi-hit games, and he's batted .286 with a .913 OPS in July.
Oakland has just one series sweep this season, taking three games from the Milwaukee Brewers, June 9th thru June 11th. The A's will pick up their second series sweep on Sunday.
MLB Best Bets for Athletics vs. Rockies
- Athletics ML (-108 FanDuel)
- Brent Rooker 2+ Hits (+175 FanDuel)
Cleveland Guardians vs. Chicago White Sox
After their loss on Saturday, the Cleveland Guardians are now one game below .500 at 52-53, but they are 10-7 on Sundays. That trend seems profitable, mainly because the Guardians bats seem to come out when the afternoon sun is shining.
Leadoff hitter Steven Kwan has been barreling the ball at a good clip, producing a .379 average (11-for-29) over his last seven games. As the table setter for this unfortunately underwhelming Cleveland offense, Kwan has found success in day games, batting .291 in the day compared to .266 at night. Also, Kwan has hit an impressive .323 this month with a quietly outstanding .855 OPS.
Andres Gimenez has taken over the number two spot in the lineup after the Guardians sent Amed Rosario to the Los Angeles Dodgers. While Gimenez's bat has been inconsistent in 2023, he has produced stronger results in day games, posting an OPS of .767 in the day, 126 points higher than his .641 OPS in night games.
The bat with the largest day/night splits in this Cleveland lineup is Josh Bell. Bell has posted an abysmal .196/.292/.311 slash line in night games, but a very solid .300/.372/.887 slash line in day games.
With a solid meat of the order of Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor, the low-scoring Guardians should find a way to plate a few runners on Sunday afternoon.
The Chicago White Sox have Michael Kopech on the mound for this game, and Kopech has struggled to find any consistency. In his last three outings, Kopech has allowed nine earned runs and walked nine batters in just 11.1 innings. An inability to put the ball over the plate is one way to let a low-scroing offense look much stronger.
MLB Best Bets for Guardians vs. White Sox
- Guardians -1.5 (+112 FanDuel)
- Jose Ramirez 1+ RBI (+110)
Cincinnati Reds vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
This game has slugfest written all over it.
Both starting pitchers, the Reds' Graham Ashcraft (5-7, 5.64) and Dodgers' Michael Grove (2-2, 6.19 ERA) have been roughed up this season. I don't expect that to change on Sunday afternoon, especially against these two solid lineups.
Grove has been absolutely blistered by lefthanded bats, allowing a .333 average and a 1.91 WHIP, and Cincinnati has a few lefty bats to throw at the Dodgers; Elly De La Cruz, Jake Fraley, TJ Friedl and Joey Votto. Although, these lefty bats have been slightly cooled off recently, the matchup is too good to ignore.
After the Reds biggest bullpen pieces got the day off in yesterday's 3-2 loss, the Dodgers better bullpen arms made an appearance. With a fresher bullpen, I like the Reds to steal this potentially high-scoring romp.
MLB Best Bets for Reds vs. Dodgers
- Reds ML (+160 FanDuel)
- Elly De La Cruz 2+ Hits (+200 FanDuel)
Best MLB Bets Today Recap
- Athletics ML (-108 FanDuel)
- Brent Rooker 2+ Hits (+175 FanDuel)
- Guardians -1.5 (+112 FanDuel)
- Jose Ramirez 1+ RBI (+110 FanDuel)
- Reds ML (+160 FanDuel)
- Elly De La Cruz 2+ Hits (+200 FanDuel)