Best MLB Bets Today: Turning an NL Central Clash into Cash

We have a great pair of bets we’ll be breaking down for you today. The first is an NL Central battle between the Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates. After that, the Toronto Blue Jays are heading south to play a surprisingly good Kansas City Royals squad.

Below, we’ll share the best bet for each game along with odds from BetMGM Sportsbook. If you are signing up for BetMGM, be sure to use promo code WSNMGM which will give you a $1,500 First Bet Offer*.

*Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Add’l terms.

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Best MLB Bets Today: Brewers vs. Pirates (12:35 PM EST)

Brewers -1.5 (+145 at BetMGM Sportsbook)

Milwaukee has cooled down since their red-hot start, largely thanks to a slew of injuries to their pitching staff and Christian Yelich. It didn’t show in their sweep of the Cardinals, but it has been apparent during this series with the Pirates. Fortunately for Milwaukee, they’ll have their ace on the mound this afternoon.

Freddy Peralta (2-0, 1.90 ERA) will be on the mound for the Brewers today. He’s been the only reliable arm for the team this season, and he’s currently the betting favorite to win the 2024 NL Cy Young Award. Peralta has always been a great pitcher, but he has gotten even better as the team’s new ace. 

Peralta has been almost impossible to hit this season, owning a 0.76 WHIP across four starts. That will be a problem for a Pittsburgh lineup that has cooled down since their own hot start. While the Pirates have gotten the best of Freddy at home, they have not faced this version of the 27-year-old.

Pittsburgh will start Mitcher Keller (2-2, 4.80 ERA) this afternoon. The righty regressed in 2023, and it appears that trend is continuing this season. While he has delivered two strong outings this year, he’s continuing to allow too many baserunners, with a WHIP of 1.47. That will be a significant problem today against a Brewers team that has dominated him in the past. When facing Keller throughout his career, Milwaukee owns a .386 BA, .438 OBP, .818 SLG, and a ridiculous 1.256 OPS.

Bet on Brewers at BetMGM

Best MLB Bets Today: Blue Jays vs. Royals (2:10 PM EST)

Blue Jays ML (+100 at BetMGM Sportsbook)

This matchup features two teams trending in different directions. First, we have the Blue Jays, who started the season 6-8 but have gone 7-3 since. Then we have the Royals, who started hot but are in the midst of a losing streak. We are going with the hotter team in this one.

The Jays have turned around their season thanks to some starters getting hot at the right time. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and George Springer have all found their stroke, significantly boosting the Toronto lineup. While we wait for each to regain their power (4 combined HR in April), their improved contact means it's only a matter of time. 

The Blue Jays bats should continue to stay hot with Cole Ragans (0-2, 4.32 ERA) on the mound for the Royals. The former Ranger was great for the Royals in 12 starts last season, but he’s reverted back to some of his old bad habits this year. While he has thrown 6+ scoreless innings this month, he was hammered in his other two starts, giving up a combined 10 runs. Ragans had his worst start last weekend against the Orioles, allowing seven runs on nine hits across just 1 2/3 innings.

If that isn’t enough to convince you to roll with Toronto, then let’s talk about their starter tonight. Jose Berrios (4-0, 0.85 ERA) has arguably been the best pitching in all of baseball this season and has not allowed a run over his last 19 2/3 innings pitched. His two starts before that run were almost as good, allowing a combined three runs.

Bet on Blue Jays ML at BetMGM

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