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 Thursday, Aug. 3:
TOP PLAY
The play: MLB money line, Astros over Yankees
The odds: -106
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Time/TV: 7:15 p.m. (Fox)
Our take: I don’t usually fall for the “too good to be true” lines, but call me a sucka; I don’t see how the Astros aren’t at least -150 favorites here – even if the game is in the Bronx.
Houston has shown their commitment to making it back to baseball’s promised land, and they have Cristian Javier going tonight. The team is 14-6 in his starts this season, and they have won four of their past five on the road and four of five overall. (Yankees are 9-12 when Clarke Schmidt starts.)
The Yanks aren’t dead yet in the American League playoff race, but they sure played like they were near the trade deadline (which we’re sure must give their players a ton of confidence).
Coming off a series against Tampa Bay in which they lost two of three at home, it would be a surprise to see them start fast in this series against the defending world champions.
VALUE PLAY ON THE REDBIRDS
The play: MLB money line, Cardinals over Twins
The odds: +118
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Our take: Both teams have been disappointments this season, but the Twins are beginning their fade, having lost six of their past seven games, including being swept by lowly Kansas City. Meanwhile, the public keeps betting on Minnesota when they play teams with lousy records.
Seems like there’s nice value here on the Cardinals at home, and they clearly have been better at Busch Stadium. We’ll take the plus-money line on the home squad in a matchup of fairly equal teams.
HOW WE’VE FARED
PGA, Wyndham Championship: Russell Henley to finish in top 20 (PENDING)
PGA, Wyndham Championship: Aaron Rai to finish in top 20 (PENDING)
Wednesday’s record: 0-0, 2 pending
Total for the week: 3-1, 2 pending
Total for August: 1-1, 2 pending
Total for 2023: 177-195, 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).
