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 Saturday, July 15:
TOP PLAY
The play: Scottish Open, Rory McIlroy to lead after three rounds
The odds: +145
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Time/TV: Third round tees off at 4 a.m. (Golf Channel)
Our take: Oddsmakers have been on this one from the start. It’s not exactly an out-there claim to make when you predict one of the world’s top golfers to win a tournament in his native United Kingdom. However, Rory McIlroy was the chalk favorite before the Scottish Open, he remained atop the odds boards after a decent first round and he has yet to be de-throned as he now sits alone on top of the leaderboard too.
McIlroy is an excellent golfer (who am I to judge a professional’s golf game from behind a computer screen?), but if there is one thing he struggles with some weekends, it’s sealing the deal. There have been plenty of times when McIlroy has either let a lead slip or failed to seize an opportunity on Sunday. He’s not alone here, it’s just more noticeable with the sport’s biggest stars.
All of this being considered, we’re playing it safe with Saturday’s Best Bet. The 34-year-old has been on a roll the last 36 holes with consistent rounds of four and six-under par. We’ll take McIlroy to be the leader in the clubhouse after three rounds, just as he is after two rounds of play (-10). This way we’re covered if anything silly happens in Scotland on Sunday afternoon.
MLS GOALSCORING PLAY
The play: MLS, Sebastian Driussi anytime goalscorer vs. Sporting Kansas City
The odds: +155
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Time/TV: 8:30 p.m. (Apple TV+)
Our take: We’ve had some horrible luck with MLS money line plays over the past few months. Therefore, we did everything in our power to stay away from picking an outright result for today’s soccer slate. We’ve decided to go the anytime goalscorer route instead.
Austin FC’s Sebastian Driussi took the league by storm last season when he scored 20+ goals in just over 30 appearances. He helped lead Austin to a second-place finish in the Western Conference. The Verde haven’t had as much success this season — Driussi’s struggles with injuries and in front of goal are part of the reason why this has been the case.
Nevertheless, Driussi has found a bit of a groove recently. He’s netted four of his six league goals since the beginning of June and tacked on two assists.
One of the aforementioned goals came against today’s opponent, Sporting Kansas City. Austin FC may have lost that match 4-1 but that’s part of the reason we’re staying away from predicting results. Driussi anytime goalscorer has some good value (+155) considering the circumstances.
HOW WE’VE FARED
• MLB: Shohei Ohtani OVER 1½ walks vs. Astros (WON)
Friday’s record: 1-0
Total for the week: 2-3, 2 pending
Total for July: 9-13, 2 pending
Total for 2023: 159-175, 2 pending
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).
