Best MLB bets to consider for Saturday, July 2

Today’s MLB slate is a super-sized one. 17 games are on the docket thanks to doubleheaders in Toronto and Cleveland. Plenty of big-name pitchers will take the mound this afternoon, including Shane McClanahan, Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish. And we’ll start this article talking about Darvish and the Padres, who will take on the Dodgers from L.A. in what could be the game of the day.

Here we’re going to be tracking all the best MLB picks based on the odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook for Saturday’s baseball action.

MLB picks for Saturday, July 2

Los Angeles Dodgers moneyline (-150)

With Friday’s 5-1 victory, the Dodgers have won 13 of their past 14 games against their rivals from the south. L.A. has held the Padres to three or fewer runs in all but two of those games. Darvish certainly gives San Diego a fighting chance; he tossed six shutout frames with only one hit allowed in a home victory over the Dodgers earlier in April. But Dodgers starter Tyler Anderson (8-1, 3.23 ERA) has been pretty solid in his own right this season. And right now, it just feels like the Dodgers know that they own the Padres.

Cincinnati Reds UNDER 3.5 runs (-120)

The Reds dropped Friday’s series opener against Atlanta, 9-1, and they probably won’t have much success tonight against Braves rookie flamethrower Spencer Strider, who was outstanding in general in June. He hit a speed bump versus the Giants on June 21, but Strider allowed only three runs across 21.1 innings over his four other starts last month. Atlanta held its opponent to no more than two runs in three of those four games. Except Cincy to turn in a similarly low total.

Arizona Diamondbacks-Colorado Rockies OVER 12.5 total runs (-105)

That’s a really high total, but with a couple of soft-tossing starting pitchers — Dallas Keuchel and Austin Gomber — who each have an ERA above 6.00 on the mound, a high-scoring game seems quite likely.

Houston Astros OVER -1.5 run line (+140)

For a team that has Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, it’s embarrassing to see how poorly the Angels play on a nightly basis. That includes Friday’s 8-1 loss in Houston, in which Ohtani homered in the first inning and the team mustered just one hit after that. Angels hitters other than Ohtani haven’t had much success against scheduled starting pitcher Jose Urquidy (5-for-27, one extra-base hit), and he should get plenty of support from Houston’s lineup. The Astros have won nine of their previous 11 games, and seven of those wins came by more than one run.

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