Fifteen games are on the Major League Baseball slate on Saturday, May 17, and our betting experts are all over it with three MLB best bets.
Saturday's MLB picks and predictions include two moneyline bets on road underdogs, plus a spread pick for Angels vs Dodgers, which features the season debut of Clayton Kershaw.
Find our MLB best bets and parlay for Saturday below.
MLB Best Bets, Picks, Predictions Today — 5/17
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 4:05 p.m. | |
  | 9:10 p.m. | |
  | 1:05 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our MLB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Mets vs Yankees Best Bet: Back Road Underdog
By Bet Labs
In interleague matchups early in a series, road underdogs often hold unseen advantages. In this case, that's the Mets as road 'dogs on Saturday against the Yankees.
These games introduce travel and scouting uncertainty, and early games feature lineups and matchups unfamiliar to bettors and models.
Public perception tends to lean too heavily on home-field advantage. Interleague games introduce more unpredictability due to differences in lineup construction and unfamiliar opposing pitchers.
When combined with road dog pricing, it creates exploitable inefficiencies in early matchups.
Pick: Mets Moneyline (+110)
| | |
Nationals vs Orioles Best Bet: Value on Nats Moneyline
By Bet Labs
Sticking with the theme from the Mets-Yankees game, road underdogs playing interleague (non-conference) games have historically been undervalued by oddsmakers.
Since 2016, despite winning only 43.3% of these games, these teams have generated a consistent positive ROI of 4.6%. This trend has proven reliable across five consecutive seasons, indicating market inefficiencies in how these specific matchups are priced — likely due to lack of familiarity between leagues and public overconfidence in home and favorite teams.
In interleague play, road underdogs have shown themselves to be profitable on the moneyline recently. They have only a 43.3% win percentage, but those teams have turned a 4.6% ROI for bettors since 2016 and have been profitable in five consecutive seasons.
It's also hard to not like the Nationals at plus money in this spot against Orioles starter Kyle Gibson, who enters Saturday with a woeful 13.11 ERA over three starts spanning 11 2/3 innings. The Orioles have lost each of his starts.
Pick: Nationals Moneyline (+130)
| | |
Angels vs Dodgers Spread Prediction
By Nick Galaida
Since Mike Trout last played on April 30, the Angels have a league-worst 6 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. Bad news, as they are facing on the best ever on Saturday in Clayton Kershaw, who is making his season debut.
