Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – July 22nd Edition

The New York Yankees have finally built a commanding lead in the American League East, moving to 30 games above .500 and nine games ahead of Tampa Bay in the division. The AL Central continues to get closer, as the Cleveland Indians have crept within three games of the Minnesota Twins, erasing eight games of the Twins’ lead since June 21. In the AL West, the Oakland A’s are charging hard, now within 6 ½ games of Houston. In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers are now 32 games over .500 and lead San Francisco and Arizona by 16 games in the West. The NL Central remains the tightest division, as the Chicago Cubs lead Milwaukee by two games. In the NL East, Atlanta has moved to a comfortable 6 ½-game lead over Washington. We have two primo MLB betting picks for you to consider from the national pastime as the trade deadline approaches.

Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – July 22nd Edition

Remember when the @Indians were 29-30 and 11½ games out of first place? Yeah, they don’t either. https://t.co/04EJWB5jHq

— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) July 22, 2019

Monday, July 22

Chicago Cubs at San Francisco (9:45pm ET)

• Projected Pitching Matchup: Alec Mills (0-0, 4.50 ERA) (CHI) vs Shaun Anderson (3-2, 4.87 ERA) (SF)

Alec Mills makes his second start for the Cubs this season on Monday night. In his debut, on July 16 against Cincinnati, he permitted three runs on five hits over six innings, including a home run, while striking out six and walking one, taking a no-decision in a game the Cubs would come back to win, 4-3. In 2018, he pitched seven times, starting twice, posting a 4.00 ERA. He has struggled so far in Triple-A in 2019, putting up a 4.73 for the Iowa Cubs. He uses a pitch that he calls the stop-change, an extremely slow curve ball that will baffle hitters, at least the first time through the order. Can he eat up enough innings to help the Cubs? Mills’ counterpart is Shaun Anderson, making his 13th start in 2019. The Giants have won the last four games Anderson has started, although he only has the decision in one, and his ERA has climbed from 3.86 to 4.87 over his last three starts. In those games, he as permitted 13 earned runs on 22 hits over 13 ⅓ combined innings, including a pair of home runs. He has 12 strikeouts against six walks over those starts, and he has finished five innings just once. If the Cubs bring their bats, they should be able to cool down a Giants team that has won eight of ten. MLB Betting Prediction: Chicago 6, San Francisco 2

Tuesday, July 23

Colorado at Washington (7:05pm ET)

• Projected Pitching Matchup: Jon Gray (9-7, 4.11 ERA) (COL) vs Stephen Strasburg (12-4, 3.52 ERA) (WAS)

Jon Gray put together a terrific run for the Colorado Rockies between June 13 and June 29, picking up four wins in four starts (although he did walk three in ⅓ of an inning in a relief appearance on June 16 in a 14-13 loss to the Padres — but none of those runners scored). Then he started getting shelled, as he has permitted 11 earned runs in his last three starts, throwing 17 ⅓ combined innings, permitting 23 hits (including four home runs), striking out 13 and walking five. His last start was particularly disappointing, as he gave up six runs on 11 hits, including a pair of long balls, in 5 ⅓ innings against San Francisco on July 17. Now Gray and the Rockies, who have dropped seven of ten, head to Washington to take on a surging Nationals team. Stephen Strasburg helped his own cause in his last start, driving in five runs and going 3 for 3, including a single and a home run in the same inning. Strasburg was the first pitcher to hit a home run and get another hit in the same inning in nine years, and he also threw an “immaculate inning” in that game for the first time in his career, striking out the side on just nine pitches. He did permit three runs in that game, over 5 ⅓ innings, but in the two games before that he had thrown a combined 13 ⅓ innings of shutout ball against Philadelphia and Miami. He has wins in five straight starts and eight of his last nine, showing that his stuff may well be coming on at just the right time. MLB Betting Prediction: Washington 5, Colorado 1