Our baseball betting experts have come through with four MLB best bets for the Saturday, July 5, slate of games.
Three rivalry games are among their Saturday MLB picks and predictions: Cardinals vs Cubs, Yankees vs Mets and Giants vs Athletics. There's also a total pick for the last game of the night: Pirates vs Mariners.
Continue below to find our MLB best bets for Saturday.
MLB Picks, Best Bets, Props, Picks, Predictions — 7/5
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 2:20 p.m. | |
  | 4:10 p.m. | |
  | 10:05 p.m. | |
  | 10:10 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. | ||
Cardinals vs Cubs Team Total Pick
Here’s meteorologist Kevin Roth’s forecast for this game: “90 degree temps and winds blowing out in Wrigley Field at near 15mph; that's bomb weather.”
Let’s go.
Roth’s WeatherEdge tool only has 18 historical games matching these conditions, but the data is tremendous.
WeatherEdge shows a silly 112.9% bump in home runs and a 44.1% boost in scoring. It’s a small sample size, so we don’t need to be married to those exact numbers, but we can expect an excellent offensive environment.
Drew Pomeranz will open for the Cubs, but he’ll likely only go an inning. Jordan Wicks was recalled and is a strong candidate to cover the bulk of the innings.
Wicks has a career ERA over 5.00. His SIERA over three MLB seasons is 4.68.
The Cardinals been middling against lefties since the start of May, ranking 18th in wRC+, but the matchup against Wicks should help them improve on that mark.
Pick: Cardinals Team Total Over 4.5 (-143)
| | | |
Yankees vs Mets: Aaron Judge Prop Prediction
By Brit Devine
Getting a plus number on Aaron Judge against Mets starter Frankie Montas is simply too good to pass up.
Montas has an ERA of 12.05 in his six minor-league rehab starts and hasn't shown much of anything in his two starts at the MLB level this year.
Judge had a down June to take a fall from his .400 average, but he is still the best hitter in baseball and should be able to feast against Montas.
I would play this to -120.
Pick: Aaron Judge Over 1.5 Total Bases (+105 to -120)
| | | |
Giants vs Athletics F5 Pick
By Brit Devine
Athletics starter Luis Severino is having some trouble pitching in Sutter Health Park.
Of 71 qualified pitchers, when looking at just home pitching statistics, Severino has allowed the fifth-highest wOBA, the second-highest ERA, the fourth-most hard contact, and the third-highest batting average. He has allowed three or more runs in seven of his 10 home starts as well.
The Giants match up well against him, with solid left-handed bats in the lineup alongside very capable right-handed bats.
Matt Chapman should be back in the lineup for the Giants. I'm looking for the Giants to produce from the start.
Pick: Giants F5 Team Total Over 2.5 (-125)
| | | |
Pirates vs Mariners F5 Total Prediction
By Kyle Murray
The Mariners have some high-powered bats, but they also lack depth at times.
Pirates starter Mike Burrows has not been bad this season, and I think he is due for some positive regression, as he has a 3.76 xFIP compared to a 4.73 FIP.
Luis Castillo gets a good matchup — he has struggled against lefties at times but will face a projected Pirates lineup that has just three LHHs.
Pick: First Five Innings Under 4.5 (-120)
| | | |
