Top MLB Betting Odds & Picks for Tuesday, July 26th (2022)

Jul 26, 2022 - 11:50 AM

Yesterday was a great day for the books in the world of MLB betitng. Per VSIN’s betting splits, five teams had attracted at least 85% of the tickets and cash on their moneyline odds. Of those five, only the Mariners went on to victory, as the Dodgers, Padres, Astros, and Braves all lost outright.

Will more big underdogs be barking today?

Here are our best bets for Tuesday’s MLB action. (Odds courtesy of DraftKings)

View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet >>

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles: Shane McClanahan O/U Strikeouts

We do not often use this column to tip player props, but this one involving current American League Cy Young favorite Shane McClanahan is too good to pass up.

McClanahan (10-3, 1.71) has been the most dominant pitcher in baseball this season but has been especially unhittable of late, allowing one or fewer earned runs in seven consecutive starts. He has also allowed two or fewer earned runs in 13 straight starts, 12 of which have been quality starts. 

McClanahan leads the league in WHIP (0.795) and hits per nine innings allowed (5.6), which is why he is often able to pitch deep into games. He should be able to limit an Orioles offense whose wRC+ against lefties this season ranks 23rd and who has the third-highest strikeout percentage (25.3%) against southpaws. He struck out seven Orioles hitters over 4.1 innings in his first start of the season on April 8 and we like him to easily surpass this 7.5 projected strikeout total.

Bet: Shane McClanahan OVER 7.5 Strikeouts (-120 at DraftKings)  

New York Yankees vs. New York Mets O/U

The Yankees and Mets meet in the opener of arguably the most anticipated regular-season Subway Series. Recent trends in this rivalry suggest we are in for a slugfest, as the over is 4-0-1 in their last five meetings at Citi Field and 7-1-1 in their previous nine meetings overall. However, tonight’s under-the-radar pitching matchup suggests the under is the right side of the total.

Taijuan Walker’s performance over the last six weeks has allowed Mets fans to breathe somewhat easier over the fact that Jacob deGrom is still not with the team. Walker is 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his previous seven starts, with a 0.91 WHIP and nearly a 5:1 K:BB ratio in that span. He has been a stalwart of a rotation that has combined to throw at least five innings and allow two or fewer earned runs in 14 consecutive starts, helping the Mets to the best collective ERA (2.50) since the calendar turned to July.

Walker is opposed by Jordan Montgomery (3-2, 3.24), who has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 17 of 19 starts this season. The Mets lineup has struggled against southpaws all season, as they rank 23rd in slugging and 21st in BABIP against lefties.

The under is a combined 12-11 for both of these days in games following an off-day, and we like for the under to cash once again as each team has a rested bullpen to nail down the late innings.

Bet: Yankees-Mets UNDER 8 (-105 at DraftKings) 

Washington Nationals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers O/U

We backed the over on the Nationals-Dodgers series opener last night and are going back to the well tonight with an even more favorable pitching matchup.

Nationals starter Josiah Gray (7-6, 4.40) will be motivated against his former club, who dealt him in a package to Washington to acquire Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. Current Dodgers are 3-for-14 against Gray lifetime, but two of those hits were home runs by Trea Turner and Mookie Betts. In addition to their success against Gray, teammates Freddie Freeman and Justin Turner ranked third and fourth in batting average in July, entering yesterday’s series opener. They played a big part in L.A.’s 11-game home winning streak that was snapped last night.

The Dodgers have been underdogs twice this season, both in games that tonight’s starter, Mitch White (1-2, 3.78), toed the rubber. White ranks in the bottom third of the league in walk percentage (9.0%) and does not generate many swings and misses, as he ranks in the 14th percentile in whiff percentage.

Because of Washington’s ability to keep up in the scoring tonight, we like the over to cash for the fifth time in their last seven games.

Bet: Nationals-Dodgers OVER 8.5 Runs (-120 at DraftKings) 

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Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.

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