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 Wednesday, July 5:
TOP PLAY
The play: MLB: Tigers (-1.5) over Athletics
The odds: -111
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Time/TV: 6:40 p.m. (MLB Extra Innings)
Our take: The Tigers suffered a painful 1-0 defeat yesterday against the A’s, but we expect them to bounce back tonight thanks to the return of ace starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez.
Rodriguez was off to an excellent start before a finger injury sidelined him for over a month, but he’s set to return tonight and should pick up right where he left off in what projects as a favorable matchup.
The Tigers lineup should feast against struggling A’s starter Ken Waldichuk, so we’ll take the run line here since we feel like the Tigers have enough going for them to win by multiple runs.
CARDINALS-MARLINS OVER
The play: MLB, Cardinals at Marlins OVER nine runs
The odds: -105
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Time/TV: 6:40 p.m. (MLB Extra Innings)
Our take: The Cardinals’ pitching staff has been among the worst in MLB, and we don’t see that changing tonight against a Marlins lineup that’s feasted against them so far in this series.
Young Cardinals starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore will be on the mound, and while he’s had some good moments, he’s struggled to eat innings and will likely force the Cardinals to turn to their shaky bullpen early on.
The Cardinals lineup should also thrive against inexperienced Marlins starter Bryan Hoeing, so we’ll take the over since the bats should have plenty of opportunity to drive in runs on both sides.
HOW WE’VE FARED
• MLB: Marlins (-1.5) over Cardinals (WON)
• MLB, Rockies (money line) over Astros (LOST)
Tuesday’s record: 2-2
Total for the week: 2-2
Total for July: 5-2
Total for 2023: 155-164
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).
