Best MLB Bets Today: Locking in on the AL Central

Our bets today involve three AL Central teams. The first is based on a game between the division-leading Guardians and last-place White Sox. The second is based on a matchup between a surprising Royals team and a bad Angels team.

Below, we will share our favorite bet for both games. We’ll be using odds taken from FanDuel Sportsbook, which is currently offering a new player bonus of $150 in Bonus Bets when they sign up and make an initial winning wager of $5+.

Best MLB Bets Today: Guardians vs. White Sox (7:40 PM EST)

Guardians -1.5 (+106 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

This is one of the safest run line bets of the week, as the current price reflects. The reason is the monster talent gap between these two division rivals. Cleveland currently owns the second-best winning percentage (.649) in the AL, while Chicago owns the worst in all of baseball (.222). That alone is a reason to give up the 1.5 runs, but they also will have a major advantage on the mound.

The Guardians will have veteran Ben Lively (1-1, 2.08 ERA, 1.02 WHIP) on the mound tonight. The 32-year-old righty is having the best season of his career across four starts this season. While the ERA is impressive, his drop in WHIP is the more promising sign of future success. Lively has not allowed more than one run in three consecutive starts, and he’ll have no problem extending that streak against an awful White Sox lineup tonight.

The White Sox will also have a veteran pitcher starting tonight: Erick Fedde (2-0, 3.46 ERA, 1.18 WHIP). The righty was a back-end starter for six seasons in Washington, but he started his first season with the White Sox strong. However, his early season magic wore off in his start last week when he allowed five runs across 4 1/3 innings against the Cardinals. 

Given his poor history, we see a similar result playing out against a far more challenging Guardians team that has scored the seventh most runs in baseball.

Bet on Guardians -1.5 (+106) at FanDuel

Best MLB Bets Today: Royals vs. Angels (9:38 PM EST)

Royals ML (-112 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

Our second matchup features another pair of mismatched teams. The Royals are coming off a series win against the NL Central-leading Brewers. They are close behind the Guardians for the lead in the AL Central lead, despite entering the season with low expectations. The Angels also came in with low expectations, but have instead opened with a record of 14-23 and have lost nine of their previous 13 games.

Kansas City will have veteran Michael Wacha (1-4, 5.50 ERA, 1.46 ERA) starting. The 32-year-old has been fantastic the last two seasons, but he’s struggled to find consistency in his first season as a Royal. We don’t expect to see anything incredible but are confident he posts a quality start against an Angels team that had a bad lineup even before they lost Mike Trout.

Wacha won’t have to do much tonight with Reid Detmers (3-3, 4.24 ERA) on the bump for the Angels. The team has high hopes for the 24-year-old after a great rookie campaign, but he regressed last season to finish with a 4-10 record and a 4.48 ERA. While he started off the season with three great starts, things have come apart since then. Over Detmer’s last three starts, he has allowed 16 runs on 20 hits and seven walks across 17 2/3 innings (8.37 ERA). 

The Royals lineup has been hitting the ball hard, and we don’t think they’ll have any problem beating up on the struggling Detmers tonight. 

Bet on Royals ML (-112) at FanDuel

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