We have a full 15-game slate today, starting early with Dodgers vs Pirates at 6:40 PM ET at PNC Park on MLB.TV, and closing with Cubs vs Rockies at 8:40 PM ET at Coors Field on MLB.TV.
Our experts have analyzed the matchups and found great options for Tuesday, June 9.
Below are 4 expert MLB best bets today.
MLB Best Bets Today
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our MLB betting staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 6:40 PM | |
  | 6:40 PM | |
  | 7:07 PM | |
  | 8:40 PM | |
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. | ||
Ryan Minion's Dodgers vs Pirates Best Bet
By Ryan Minion
While Eric Lauer’s volatility to start the 2026 season has been concerning, the utter dominance of Paul Skenes gives me faith that runs may come at a premium on Tuesday.
Across his first 13 starts of the season, Skenes ranks ninth among starting pitchers in strikeouts (82) and third in WHIP (0.91).
The Dodgers have the best lineup in baseball, but Skenes should hold his own in this matchup.
Pick: F5 Under 4.5 (-150 or Better)
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Matt Trollo's Yankees vs Guardians Best Bet
By Matt Trollo
Cleveland is a negative-run environment, with a 96 Park Run Factor over the past three seasons. But temperatures around 80, with near-10-MPH winds out toward right-center field, could push the park into neutral or even slightly positive territory.
We do have to be aware of a significant threat of rain. Just be aware that early forecasts are volatile, too.
Cecconi has performed only slightly worse than Cole’s projections and about one-third of a run worse than Cole has performed overall so far.
Even in the absence of Judge, the Yankees still have the slightly better offense.
The Guardians are at home, project a 12 FRV edge defensively, and may have the slightly better and more rested bullpen in this game.
As such, I’m somewhat aligned with the market. If I had more confidence in Cole’s projections and performance, I might see some value in Cleveland at +110 or better.
But since I don’t, I’d look for a larger edge to consider it actionable.
I’m slightly below the eight-run total, but again, without a large amount of confidence in half the equation.
Under these circumstances, I’ve decided to focus on Slade Cecconi and the Yankee offense.
I have a small lean towards the Yankees going under their 4.5 run team total, but the -128 price tag is a deterrent.
The bet I’ve decided on for this game is Cecconi to go over his strikeout prop.
This could backfire in the event of a rain delay, and I wouldn’t deter anyone from waiting for a fresher forecast. But since I’m writing this on Monday night, I opted to take the current price and hope he gets his normal workload.
To start with, the Yankees have been running out six to seven lefties recently, and Cecconi actually has a higher strikeout rate against lefties both this year (20.6%) and last year (22.3%).
The projected Yankee offense has averaged a 23.7% K rate vs RHP since last season, with Jazz Chisholm, Spencer Jones, and Ryan McMahon all above 28%.
While the park has only a minor effect on strikeouts (+2% based on the number of lefties and righties Cecconi is expected to face), scheduled umpire Jacob Metz has increased strikeouts by nearly 9% when he’s behind the plate (although he is a newer umpire). That’s higher than almost any umpire in the league, so I’d expect some regression.
Therefore, I’m conservatively projecting Cecconi for a near 10% increase (park plus umpire), which is about half an extra strikeout, getting him to five a bit more than half the time and showing value on the current number.
Pick: Slade Cecconi Over 4.5 Strikeouts (+100 or Better)
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Kevork Mahserejian's Phillies vs Blue Jays Best Bet
Zack Wheeler returned from Thoracic Outlet surgery, which required the removal of a rib, and has hardly lost a step. He has a 2.31 ERA, backed by a 3.21 xERA, 3.34 xFIP, and 3.44 SIERA.
His ERA is as good as ever, but his peripherals are about a run above his recent years. This is due to Wheeler's drop in strikeout rate this season. He has a 25.4% K rate, his lowest since 2020 (18.4%).
Although this strikeout rate is well above league average and excellent in a vacuum, he is not "as" elite as in prior seasons. This makes him a candidate to provide value today against a Blue Jays offense ranking best in team strikeout rate against RHP (19%).
The Blue Jays are also much better against righties than lefties. They rank league average against righties all season, yet have a top-10 offense in the past two weeks (119 wRC+).
Wheeler has gone under 5.5 strikeouts in three of eight starts this season (four in each). If Toronto can continue swinging a hot, low strikeout bat, they can keep Wheeler under his total, especially if he is knocked out early.
Pick: Zack Wheeler Under 5.5 Strikeouts (+100 or Better)
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Tanner McGrath's Cubs vs Rockies Best Bet
This game triggered one of our Action PRO betting systems, powered by Evan Abrams:
This system has generated a 7% ROI over the past two decades, but is also 6-3 this year.
I'm willing to back this system because I don't believe in Tomoyuki Sugano, who is pitching way above his head in the early going (3.98 ERA, 7.52 xERA, 5.18 FIP, 4.95 xFIP, 4.83 botERA). If I were to project out his future performance, I'd place his ERA closer to 5.50 than 4.00.
While the Rockies are much improved this season, they're still not a good team, and this is a good spot to fade a lousy team behind an overvalued pitcher against an underperforming Cubs team that has a very high ceiling.
Pick: Cubs ML (-170 or Better)
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