The 2019 All-Star break is upon us in Major League Baseball, with the Home Run Derby set for Monday night (although without such bombers as Christian Yelich or Joey Gallo taking part, due to concerns about possible injury). In the American League, the Yankees continue to edge away from Tampa Bay in the East, leading by 6 ½ games. In the Central, Cleveland has come back from the dead, winning seven of ten to take advantage of a slump by the Twins and close to just 5 ½ games out of first. In the West, Houston has won seven of ten, but Oakland has held pace to stay 7 ½ games out, while Texas looks to be heading back down to reality, losers of six of ten and nine games back. In the National League, the Washington Nationals have returned to the postseason conversation, winners of eight of ten to slip past Philadelphia into second in the East, just six games back of Atlanta. The Central remains an odd place, with all five teams within 4 ½ games of each other but no team more than four games above .500, as the Cubs currently lead Milwaukee by a half-game at 47-43. In the West, the Dodgers have cooled off, dropping five of ten, but no one has taken advantage, as Arizona has only been able to move one game closer, now 13 ½ games out. We have your MLB betting picks for baseball this coming weekend after league play resumes.
Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – July 8th
Here’s where the Red Sox sit in ESPN’s MLB power rankings at the All-Star break: https://t.co/AJqvxYvSaZ pic.twitter.com/qk3ulf7JMq
— NESN (@NESN) July 8, 2019
Friday, July 12
Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs (2:20pm ET)
- Projected Pitching Matchup: Chris Archer (3-6, 5.49 ERA) (PIT) vs Yu Darvish (2-4, 5.01 ERA) (CHI)
Houston at Texas (8:05pm ET)
- Projected Pitching Matchup: Gerrit Cole (9-5, 3.09 ERA) (HOU) vs Jesse Chavez (3-4, 3.30 ERA) (TEX)