Best MLB Bets Today: Playoff Contenders Square Off Today

Today, we have a pair of bets from matchups between playoff contenders. The first comes from an NL matchup where the San Diego Padres will take on the St. Louis Cardinals. The other is an AL battle between the Kansas City Royals and Houston Astros.

Below, we will share the bets we love from both games, sharing odds taken from FanDuel Sportsbook. If you are new and looking to try FanDuel, be sure to use our custom FanDuel link to earn $200 in Bonus Bets + 3 Weeks of NFL Sunday Ticket with your initial wager of $5+.

Best MLB Bets Today: Padres vs. Cardinals (2:15 PM EST)

Padres ML (-104) at FanDuel Sportsbook

These teams are both hunting for one of the three NL Wild Card seeds, but the Cardinals are quickly falling out of contention. The Padres have been trending in the opposite direction, winning many games to come within a few games of the NL West lead. We expect them to stay hot and add another win tonight.

San Diego will enjoy an advantage on the mound tonight. They will have righty Michael King (11-7, 3.14 ERA, 1.18 WHIP) starting against the Cards. The 29-year-old is having a fantastic August, going 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA.

King was awful until the end of April, posting a 5.00 ERA to close out the month. However, since then, he has gone 9-4 with a 2.53 ERA. He has also been one of the starters in the league when on the road this season, going 8-2 with a 2.79 ERA.

The Cardinals will have Sonny Gray (11-9, 4.07 ERA, 1.13 WHIP) starting opposite King. The veteran was incredible until the end of June when things began to fall apart. He is 1-5 with a 5.89 ERA since June 29 and isn’t showing any signs of turning things around.

Gray has allowed at least five runs in two of his previous three starts, and we expect him to do so again tonight. Considering the Padres' impressive momentum and the fact they lead the league in batting average, we expect the ice-cold ace to struggle. 

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Best MLB Bets Today: Royals vs. Astros (8:10 PM EST)

Astros ML (-164) at FanDuel Sportsbook

The Astros have cooled off since taking the lead in the AL West, but they will get a badly needed win tonight.

The Royals will have Brady Singer (9-9, 3.38 ERA, 1.25 WHIP) starting tonight. The righty was having a good season but struggled badly in August. He is 1-3 with a 6.23 ERA in four starts this month, allowing at least four runs in three.

The Astros lineup was struggling at the plate over the last couple of weeks but broke out to put up ten runs against the Phillies yesterday. While Kyle Tucker remains out, the rest of this lineup still features a ton of talent. With a struggling Singer on the mound, we expect them to keep their momentum from yesterday’s breakout.

Houston will have Hunter Brown (11-7, 3.72 ERA, 1.32 WHIP) on the mound against Kansas City. The 25-year-old is having an incredible August, going 2-0 with a 1.85 ERA over four starts. That includes an outing against Baltimore last week when he held them to just one earned run over six innings. 

The Royals hammered Brown hard when they faced him back on April 11, but he has dramatically improved. He will have the edge over the Royals lineup tonight before turning things over to an Astros bullpen that ranks fourth in ERA.

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