Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – July 23rd Edition

How about those Philadelphia Phillies? They came out of the first weekend after the All-Star break with a one-game lead over Atlanta in the National League East and, perhaps more importantly, a six-game lead over the Washington Nationals, who may be starting to unravel, as we saw Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg have a heated dugout argument after Strasburg had another iffy pitching performance last week. In the NL Central, Chicago is still steaming along, winners of seven of their last ten and holding a 3 ½-game lead over the Brewers. The Dodgers are still inching away from Arizona in the NL West, leading by 1 ½ games after Sunday’s action. In the junior circuit, Boston still holds a five-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East, and even though Cleveland has only won five of their last ten, they still lead Minnesota by 9 ½ games. In the AL West, Houston leads Seattle by five games. Let’s take a look at three great MLB betting picks for this week’s action.

Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – July 23rd Edition

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Monday, July 23

N.Y. Yankees at Tampa Bay (7:10pm ET)

Projected Pitching Matchup: Luis Severino (14-2, 2.31 ERA) (NY) vs Hunter Wood (0-0, 2.70 ERA) (TB) Luis Severino has scuffled a bit as of late, giving up seven earned runs in his last 10 innings combined, three against Toronto and four against Cleveland, surrendering four home runs in those games. However, the Yankees’ offense has bailed him out both times, as the Pinstripes won both of those games. Severino has not lost since June 10, when he took a hard-luck 2-0 loss against the Mets. In his two prior starts, he threw 13 ⅔ shutout innings against Philadelphia and Boston, striking out 15. With some time off for the All-Star break, I predict that Severino will be back on his dominant form. Hunter Wood has not pitched more than three innings in any game this season and will start what will likely be a “pitching by committee” game for the Rays. In his last outing, he pitched two innings of one-run ball against Miami, which took place on Saturday night in a 3-2 loss. While this approach might work against some of the lower-tier teams in the league, the Rays don’t have the offense to dent Severino, so I see the Yankees cruising in this one. MLB Betting Prediction: New York 5, Tampa Bay 2

Tuesday, July 24

Boston at Baltimore (7:05pm ET)

Projected Pitching Matchup: Drew Pomeranz (1-3, 6.81 ERA) (BOS) vs Yefry Ramirez (0-3, 3.09 ERA) (BAL) The weak link in the Boston starting rotation has been Pomeranz this season. He permitted at least three earned runs in each start this season, the exception a loss to the New York Yankees. He was shut down after his start on May 31 against Houston thanks to left biceps tendinitis. However, he did throw six solid innings for Triple-A Pawtucket in his rehab start. When he faced Baltimore back on May 18, her permitted five runs (four earned) on seven hits in just four innings. He will face a strict pitch count in his return on Tuesday, as he faces a Baltimore team that is an eye-popping 41 ½ games out of first in the AL East as of this writing. The Orioles counter with Yefry Ramirez, who threw five shutout innings against Texas in his last start before the All-Star break, fanning seven batters and permitting just two hits. He faced Boston back on June 13 and gave up three earned runs on four hits in 4 ⅓ innings. I see Pomeranz having some rust to shake off, but I also see the Red Sox pouncing on the Orioles to score enough to win. MLB Betting Prediction: Boston 9, Baltimore 6

Thursday, July 26

L.A. Dodgers at Atlanta (7:35pm ET)

Projected Pitching Matchup: Clayton Kershaw (3-5, 2.64 ERA) (LA) vs Anibal Sanchez (5-2, 2.76 ERA) (ATL) The NL West-leading Dodgers are across the country on Thursday night to face the hot Atlanta Braves. The Dodgers start Clayton Kershaw, who is 2-1 since his latest return from the disabled list on June 23 (the Dodgers are 4-2 in those starts). HIs last outing was a hard-luck 4-2 loss at Milwaukee on Saturday, in which he permitted four runs, but just one was earned, over six innings, on seven hits. He threw 61 of 88 pitches for strikes, but a catcher’s interference call in the second inning and a two-out error from Max Muncy in the sixth allowed the decisive runs to score. Kershaw faces off against Atlanta’s Anibal Sanchez, and the Braves have won three of the last four games that he started. His last outing was decent, as he permitted three runs on six hits (including a pair of long balls) and struck out eight over six innings, and the Braves took an 8-5 win in Washington. The Braves could well win this series, but I don’t see them breaking through much against Kershaw. MLB Betting Prediction: Los Angeles 4, Atlanta 2