Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer.
Here are our best bets for Monday, May 15:
TOP PLAY
The play: MLB run total, Brewers at Cardinals OVER eight runs
The odds/bet: +100 ($30 to win $30)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time/TV: 7:45 p.m. (MLB Extra Innings)
Our take: The Cardinals and Brewers are both on three-game winning streaks, and the biggest reason for that is because their lineups have been firing on all cylinders.
The Brewers appear to have the upper hand in the pitching department tonight with Freddy Peralta on the mound, but he’s been somewhat inconsistent this season and could run into trouble against the Cardinals’ hot bats led by Nolan Arenado.
As for the Cardinals pitching, Jack Flaherty has been anything but reliable, so we expect the Brewers to score plenty as well to where the total should hit the over with ease.
MERRILL KELLY K PROP
The play: MLB strikeout prop: Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly OVER 6.5 strikeouts at A’s
The odds/bet: +110 ($11 to win $10)
The book: DraftKings Sportsbook
Time/TV: 9:40 p.m. (MLB Extra Innings)
Our take: Kelly isn’t always a strikeout artist, but he’s seen his strikeout total increase so far to start this season, and he’s got a prime opportunity to keep that going tonight against a vulnerable Oakland A’s lineup.
The A’s lead all of MLB in strikeouts as a team, so Kelly should be able to rack up plenty of K’s in this matchup for the over to hit even though 6.5 is a high total, but we feel like there’s enough value offered here to play it.
HOW WE’VE FARED
Sunday’s best bets
- NBA Playoffs, Philadelphia 76ers money line over Boston Celtics (LOST $13.60)
- English Premier League, Arsenal and Manchester City to win (LOST $7.30)
- NBA Eastern Conference series bet, Celtics over Sixers (WON $43.50)
- PGA AT&T Byron Nelson Championship, Hideki Matsuyama to finish in the top 20 (LOST $10)
Sunday’s profit/loss: +$12.10 (1-3)
Final total for the week: +103.30 (8-6)
Total for May: +$115.10 (15-13)
Total for 2023: -$344.10 (103-118)
NOTE: If a line or odds are minus, it considers the juice one must lay to place the bet. Ex: Team A is -160 on the money line, one would have to bet $160 to win $100 (or $16 to win $10). OR Team B is a 5-point favorite at -110, one would have to bet $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10.)
Conversely, on positive lines, if Team C is +140 on the money line, $100 would bring in $140 (or $10 to win $14).
