Top MLB Betting Odds & Picks for Thursday, August 18th (2022)

Aug 18, 2022 - 11:24 AM

Josh Donaldson hit a walk-off grand slam when the New York Yankees were trailing by three runs in the tenth inning yesterday. Is that the kind of jolt the team needed to go on a run and to get back to playing similar baseball as they were playing in the first half of the season?

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

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

Oakland Athletics vs. Texas Rangers RL

The Oakland Athletics have shaken things up quite a bit over the last several days, releasing veteran Elvis Andrus and calling up top-prospect Shea Langeliers. Langeliers is now one of four rookie mainstays in Oakland’s lineup, and while some may be encouraged by the youth movement, we prefer to view it as growing pains are on the horizon.

Oakland’s young lineup will have to deal with Texas’ Dane Dunning (2-6, 4.12), who should have a great chance to improve his solid home numbers. Dunning is 2-1 with a 3.23 ERA in 11 home starts and has held opponents to an impressive .216 OBA in that span. Conversely, Oakland has lost five of Zach Logue’s last six starts, the last three of which have been by a combined 20 runs.

Texas has lost two of three games since firing manager Chris Woodward. However, the Rangers are a combined 8-22 against the top two teams in the A.L. West (Houston and Seattle) but are 17-12 against the bottom-feeders, the Angels and Athletics, and another big win over Oakland should be in store tonight.

Bet: Texas Rangers -1.5 Runs (+110 at DraftKings)  

Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees ML

The Yankees are pretty fortunate that their A.L. East lead still stands at 10.0 games after losing 11 of their last 14. However, one of the biggest reasons for that comfortable lead is that tonight’s opponent, the Blue Jays, has similarly struggled, losing seven of their last ten and nine of their previous 13. Thus, New York’s -140 moneyline odds are still a great value, as oddsmakers are not considering enough just how much Toronto has struggled alongside their division rivals of late.

If one took out Toronto’s record against Boston this season, the Blue Jays are 10-20 against the rest of the division. Having Jose Berrios (8-5, 5.61) on the mound cannot inspire confidence, as he has a whopping 7.50 ERA in 11 road starts, and his .316 OBA is poor enough to wake up the struggling Yankees offense. Aaron Judge is one of four Yankees with a .400 wOBA or better in their career against Berrios. Four different Yankees have homered off him as well, and they should take advantage of the hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium, enough to give newly acquired Frankie Montas (4-9, 3.59) time to settle into his first home start.

New York has won four of its last five home meetings against Toronto, and we expect it to get right against the Blue Jays in this series opener.

Bet: New York Yankees ML (-140 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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