MLB Picks Today: Best Bets for Nationals vs. Red Sox and Dodgers vs. A's

It’s scorching hot out there today! Let’s try to get back on the winning track with today’s MLB Picks.

Season Record 39-40-1, -3.65 Units

Nationals at Red Sox

Nationals F5 (+115 bet365)

The Red Sox are kind of hot lately as they’ve won their last 5, They’ll start Connerly Early and the rookie lefty has been pretty good for them this year with a 3.59 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. He’s scuffled a bit in June however as he has a 5.05 ERA and 1.46 WHIP, though his K-BB% of 17.4% is actually a shade better than in the first two months. He also hasn’t been as good at Fenway as he has just a 4.54 ERA at home.

He gets a tough assignment tonight as the Nats lead MLB with a 114 wRC+ against lefties. They’ve also cashed tickets as they’re 18-5-3, 53% ROI on the F5 moneyline when a southpaw starts. It’s not totally explicable as their two best hitters are James Wood and CJ Abrahms and they’re both lefties. But they’re each fine vs. southpaws, with 119 and 115 wRC+ respectively, and they’re mixing and matching well with the rest of the lineup.

The Nats start Cade Cavalli who has a 4.00 ERA and tends to mix gems with clunkers. He was very good his last time out, yielding 2 ER in 6 IP vs the Phillies with 1 walk and 7 K’s. Let’s hope he’s on point again, and stick with the F5 to avoid the Nats awful bullpen.

Dodgers at A’s

Dodgers F5 -0.5 (-104 BetRivers)

LA of course needs no introduction. But I will say they’re actually as healthy as they’ve been in a while. Will Smith remains out but besides that everyone is available as Teoscar Hernandez returned last night and Tommy Edman is back as well. Despite always getting the odds tilted towards them, the Dodgers have still cashed in this spot, going 27-17 on the F5 run line as favorites with a 14.9% ROI.

And they face an extremely banged up A’s team. Brent Rooker, Tyler Soderstrom, Jacob Wilson and Zack Gelof are all on the IL, leaving Nick Kurtz pretty unprotected by their remaining lineup. They’ve dropped 3 in a row and 8 of their last 10. They do start their “ace” tonight, but its Jeffrey Springs and he’s struggled with a 5.52 ERA this year that balloons to 6.43 at home. Let’s ride with the defending champs.