Saturday July 5th MLB Best Bets: Detroit, Dodgers, Padres & More

The MLB is back in action today with a full slate of games and a ton of markets for bettors to explore. But with so many options, it can be tough to identify the best value plays.

That’s where we come in with our top MLB bets for Saturday, July 5. We’ve used the latest odds from FanDuel, but as always, we recommend line shopping to find the best prices available.

Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians

Thursday’s game was a tight one, with the Tigers edging out a 2–1 win and extending Cleveland’s losing streak to eight games. Don’t expect that skid to end today.

Guardians starter Logan Allen isn’t bad—he’s 5–6 with a 4.27 ERA—but he likely doesn’t have enough to stop a red-hot Detroit lineup that’s hitting .297 over the past week. On the other side, Casey Mize should have little trouble containing Cleveland’s struggling offense, which is batting just .202 during that same span.

Detroit should take care of business again—and by more than a run.

Our pick: Tigers -1.5

Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Framber Valdez is a stronger option on the mound than Lance McCullers Jr., but we could see a similar result after McCullers gave up just four hits and one earned run over six innings Friday.

Shohei Ohtani will start for the Dodgers, but only for two innings as part of an opener strategy. After that, it’s back to the bullpen—the same group that gave up 12 of the Astros’ 18 runs in Friday’s game.

It’s hard to imagine that unit getting torched like that two nights in a row, but they also aren’t likely to shut down Houston’s bats.

Our pick: Astros ML

Texas Rangers vs. San Diego Padres

The Padres needed extra innings to edge out the Rangers on Friday, but that was more about Texas struggling at the plate than anything San Diego did well.

Texas managed just five hits and two runs, continuing their season-long struggles against National League opponents (.223 batting average vs. NL teams). Fortunately for the Rangers, Padres starter Stephen Kolek has been shaky at home—posting a 9.20 ERA across three starts with a .310 opponent batting average.

Texas should scratch across a few runs, but not enough to win.

Our pick: Padres ML