The second half of the 2017 MLB season gets underway on Friday, as all of the teams open weekend series. And we’ve picked out the top MLB betting picks for this upcoming Saturday.
That non-waiver trade deadline of July 31 is fast approaching, and teams that see themselves as close to contending will start acquiring key pieces from the teams that have decided that it is time to fold up the tent for this season and focus on rebuilding for next year, and beyond.
This Saturday, we have three games for you to consider as you put together your MLB betting. Arizona visits Atlanta, Washington visits Cincinnati and the St. Louis Cardinals tangle with the Pittsburgh Pirates in a National League Central matchup.
Saturday’s Top MLB Betting Picks & Predictions
#Dbacks baseball is almost back!
This weekend marks the team’s first-ever visit to SunTrust Park. pic.twitter.com/chJhPlSnOk — Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 14, 2017
Arizona Diamondbacks at Atlanta Braves
When: Saturday, July 15 at 7:10 PM EST Where: SunTrust Park, Atlanta TV: FS-A (Arizona) / FSSO (Atlanta) Radio: KHOV 105.1 (Arizona) / 93.7 FM (Atlanta) Live Stream: MLB.tv Pitching Matchup: Patrick Corbin (6-9, 4.71 ERA) (ARI) vs Mike Foltynewicz (7-5, 3.77 ERA) (ATL) It was just three weeks ago that Arizona, Colorado and Los Angeles sat in a three-team tangle on top of the National League West. Then the Dodgers suddenly slammed down the gas pedal, and they entered the All-Star break with an eye-popping 7 ½ game lead over Arizona — which sits at 53-36, a record that would lead any of the other divisions in the National League. However, the Diamondbacks have dropped seven of their last 10 and are looking for some energy coming out of the break. They start Patrick Corbin, whose nine losses have a lot to do with a lack of run support. In his last six starts, he has permitted no more than three runs apiece. Mike Foltynewicz takes the hill for Atlanta, and he is a big part of the Braves’ climbing out of the basement of the National League East. In 12 of his 16 starts, he has permitted no more than two earned runs, and back on June 30, he had a no-hitter going all the way to the ninth inning against the Oakland A’s. In this battle of resurgent arms, though, I’m going to go with Arizona because of their superior lineup, with sluggers like Paul Goldschmidt and Chris Owings awaiting Foltynewicz.Latest MLB Betting Trends
- Diamondbacks are 4-2 ATS in the last 6 games
- Braves are 6-3 ATS in the last 9 games
- Diamondbacks are 1-5 SU in the last 6 games
- Braves are 2-4 SU in the last 6 games
- The total went UNDER in 6 of Arizona’s last 8 games
- The total went OVER in 5 of Atlanta’s last 6 games
Washington Nationals at Cincinnati Reds
When: Saturday, July 15 at 7:10 PM EST Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati TV: MASN (Washington) / FS-O (Cincinnati) Radio: 106.7 The Fan (Washington) / WLW 700 (Cincinnati) Live Stream: MLB.tv Pitching Matchup: Max Scherzer (10-5, 2.10 ERA) (WAS) vs Luis Castillo (1-1, 3.13 ERA) (CIN) There are a lot of aces that don’t live up to their big contracts, but Washington’s Max Scherzer hasn’t been one of them this year. He sits atop the National League in strikeouts (with 173) and in earned run average. He appeared in the All-Star Game on Tuesday night, throwing a scoreless inning. None of the Cincinnati batters who have faced Scherzer in more than two at- bats have a career average higher than .143 against him. The Reds send Luis Castillo to the mound. In his last start, on Saturday, he picked up his first career victory in the big leagues, scattering three hits over 6 ⅔ innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Castillo has a plus fastball that can hit 100 on the gun, and he has a deceptive change-up. His slider is a work in progress, but he is having success building control with it. Anthony Rendon and Brian Goodwin of the Nationals have only faced Castillo once each — but they went deep against him in those sole career at-bats. The Nationals have much bigger bats than the Reds do, and they also have an ace on the hill, so give me Washington.Latest MLB Betting Trends
- Nationals are 3-7 ATS in the last 10 games
- Reds are 4-2 ATS in the last 6 games
- Nationals are 5-2 SU in the last 7 games
- Reds are 4-2 SU in the last 6 games
- The total went OVER in 4 of Washington’s last 5 games
- The total went UNDER in 9 of Cincinnati’s last 10 games
St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates
When: Saturday, July 15 at 7:05 PM EST Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh TV: FS-M (St. Louis) / AT&T SportsNet-PIT (Pittsburgh) Radio: KMOX 1120 (St. Louis) / KDKA-FM 93.7 (Pittsburgh) Live Stream: MLB.tv Pitching Matchup: Lance Lynn (7-6, 3.61 ERA) (STL) vs Chad Kuhl (3-6, 4.96 ERA) (PIT) Check out that low ERA next to Lance Lynn’s name — those losses come from a lack of run support by that Cardinal offense, by and large. In his last start, he scattered three hits over seven innings against the New York Mets, holding them scoreless in a win. That was his third start of the year in which he went seven innings and permitted no runs — and he did it to the Pirates back on April 17. Chad Kuhl followed up a seven-inning, two earned-run performance against Philadelphia a week ago Friday by coming out of the bullpen on Sunday to throw three innings of one-run ball in a 14-3 pasting of the Chicago Cubs. He has only permitted more than four earned runs in a start once since May 26 — but that came against these same St. Louis Cardinals in an 8-4 loss on June 25. I like Lynn and the Cardinals to prevail in this matchup.Latest MLB Betting Trends
- Cardinals are 2-4 ATS in the last 6 games
- Pirates are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 games
- Cardinals are 8-4 SU in the last 12 games
- Pirates are 5-1 SU in the last 6 games
- The total went UNDER in 4 of St. Louis’s last 6 games
- The total went UNDER in 7 of Pittsburgh’s last 9 games
