MLB Betting: Friday Best Bets

MLB Betting: Friday Best Bets

This article is part of our MLB Picks series.

Previous article 2-2 -0.15 

Overall 91-74-1 +4.75

Atlanta Braves at Baltimore Orioles 7:05 PM ET

Max Fried vs. Keegan Akin

The Braves enter Friday night against the Orioles on a 13-3 run in the month of August including nine in a row on the road. They are averaging 6.1 runs per game and 7.6 on the road in that stretch. The Braves also get a bump on offense going to Baltimore and adding in the designated hitter.  The Orioles have lost 15 in a row being outscored 145-42 (9.7 to 2.8); just one of those games had a margin of less than three runs. They have allowed less than five runs in a game just once in August in addition to an average of two home runs per game.

Keegan Akin has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball with a 8.13 ERA and 1.82 WHIP. His F5 record is 0-8-2 with -$800 in ROI. He typically goes three to four innings and then hands it off to the Orioles bullpen, which is just as bad. 

BET – Braves over 6.5 (+105) runs for 1 RW buck

BET – Braves -2.5 runs (-110) for 1 RW buck

Boston Red Sox vs. Texas Rangers 7:10 PM ET

Chris Sale vs. Dane Dunning

The Rangers have been a bottom five offense since the trade deadline and outside of Adolis Garcia they present no right-handed power in their lineup. Chris Sale looked great in his first outing back from Tommy John surgery with a five-inning, 89-pitch performance against the Orioles on Saturday. The only runs allowed were two solo homers by two right-handed batters. The Rangers are 1-5 in six road games this month scoring just 2.3 runs per game. 

BET – Rangers under 1.5 runs F5 (-125 DraftKings) for 1 RW buck

Colorado Rockies vs. Arizona Diamondbacks 8:40 PM ET

Austin Gomber vs. Tyler Gilbert

Austin Gomber has defied the odds at Coors Field this year with an incredible home/road split. His home numbers are 5-1 with a 1.70 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and 7.9 K/9 vs. 2.3 BB/9. The Rockies are 41-21 at home and 5-1 against the Diamondbacks outscoring them 41-23 (6.8 to 3.8). The Diamondbacks are just 14-45 on the road, hitting .216/.294/.353. They have only played five road games vs. 12 home games in August, but the road numbers are significantly worse with a 29% strikeout rate. 

I have been riding the Rockies at home and fading them on the road all year. The trend continues especially with a hot Gomber at home vs. a very bad road team in the Diamondbacks.

BET – Rockies -1.5 runs (-110) for 1 RW buck

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Rathburn
Known as “Rath” in the Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) community, he has helped run operations for two prominent daily fantasy sports startups. Michael has taken his insider knowledge and expertise in daily fantasy sports to the content side. Rath won the 2016 FSWA "Baseball Article of the Year, Online" award and was a finalist for the FSWA Best Baseball Series in 2011.
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