If you’re in the mood to place an MLB wager during your work week, see below for some games and matchups to keep your eye on, as well as some trends that have been lucrative so far this season.
(All betting lines are courtesy of Sports Interaction, and current as of time of publication.)
New York Yankees @ Kansas City Royals
Wager to watch: Taking the under
The Yankees and Royals begin a series at Kauffman Stadium tonight, and bettors should be looking for some low-scoring affairs in this three-game set. Forget about the Bronx Bombers — New York has been an exceptional team to the under this season. The Yankees are 63-46-2 (57.8%) to the under overall, which ranks second in baseball, and an eye-catching 33-21-0 (61.1%) as the visiting team, which is tied for the best mark in baseball. The under is 12-2 in New York’s last 14 road games and 19-6-1 in their last 26 overall.
Kansas City, meanwhile, are 53-48-9 (52.5%) overall to the under this season, 15-8-1 (65.2%) as the home underdog this season, and 8-1-2 in their last 11 games as the home dog. The Yankees, by the way, are favoured tonight on the money line (-184).
Need more on why K.C. games go under at home? The under is 9-1-1 in their last 11 home games against a team with a winning record.
Tonight’s pitching matchup is Jameson Taillon (7-4, 4.04 ERA, 1.21 WHIP) for New York while Carlos Hernandez (3-1, 4.58 ERA, 1.40 WHIP) goes for Kansas City. In two career starts against the Royals, the 29-year-old righty has an 0.68 ERA and 17 strikeouts. The Yankees are scoring 5.38 runs of support for Taillon in 21 starts this season.
Hernandez, meanwhile is coming off a pair of starts where he combined to give up one run in 11 innings on just six hits. The Royals are giving him 5.75 runs of support in four starts in 2021.
All that goes to say: I like the under 10.5 (-118) tonight. Look at taking the under for the remainder of this three-game set as well.
Chicago White Sox @ Minnesota Twins
Wager to watch: White Sox on the run line
The White Sox visit Target Field tonight to kick off a three-game series that looks like a big-time mismatch on the run line. Chicago is 59-53-0 (52.7%) against the spread this season, which is 10th best in the majors. The White Sox are also a respectable 28-26-0 (51.8%) versus the run line as the road team in 2021 and 30-29-0 (50.8%) against the American League Central. Chicago has owned Minnesota this season by going 12-4 straight up and 4-2 at Target Field.
The Twins, meanwhile, have been awful against the spread this season. Minnesota is a putrid 43-69-0 (38.4%) against the run line overall, which ranks dead last in baseball. Believe it or not, they’re even worse as the home team by going a stinky 18-36-0 (33.3%) — that record ties them with Baltimore for the worst mark in MLB. The Twinkies are also 21-32-0 (39.6%) against the AL Central this season.
Tonight’s pitching matchup is Lucas Giolito (8-8, 3.98 ERA, 1.15 WHIP) for the White Sox while Beau Burrows (0-0, 11.00 ERA, 2.06 WHIP) counters for the Twins. Burrows has been lit up by the ChiSox this season and is 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA in two career appearances. Giolito, meanwhile, is 4-2 with a 3.89 ERA in seven career starts at Target Field.
Finally, Chicago is 13-4 straight up in these teams’ last 17 meetings.
These trends are too juicy to ignore. I’m taking the White Sox at -1.5 (-127) tonight, and I lean on taking the North Siders against the run line for each game of this series.
Toronto Blue Jays @ Los Angeles Angels
Wager to watch: George Springer overs on total bases
The Blue Jays and Angels play a four-game set in Disneyland beginning with a Tuesday doubleheader at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
The player to watch from a betting-prop perspective is Toronto’s George Springer, who is slashing .357/.387/.857 over his past seven games with three homers and 11 RBI. Springer is coming off an 11-game home stand in which he had a .409 batting average with five homers and 16 RBI in 44 at-bats.
Right-hander Chris Rodriguez (2-1, 3.86 ERA, 1.36 WHIP) gets the start for the Angels in the first game of the double dip. Springer is slashing .276/.351/.638 with 11 homers and 24 RBI against righties this season.
Feel free to put a little sprinkle on Springer to continue to his hot hitting, and look for overs when it comes to total-bases props.
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