MLB Sharp Report: Twins-Tigers, Cubs-Pirates Attracting Smart Money

As many bettors are simply attempting to pass by the final day of the week before football returns, sharps are remaining focused on Wednesday's MLB slate.

They've hit moneylines on two divisional matchups, dipping one foot into each league:

• Minnesota Twins vs. Detroit Tigers (6:40 p.m. ET)
• Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (7:05 p.m. ET)

All odds as of 1:40 p.m. ET. Check out PointsBet, where Action Network users get an exclusive 200% deposit match (deposit $50, bet with $150).

Minnesota Twins @ Detroit Tigers

6:40 p.m. ET | Randy Dobnak (1-1, 2.01 ERA) vs. Daniel Norris (3-13, 4.58 ERA)

When two teams separated by 50.5 games get matched up, your safest bet is that the public will be going with the better squad at basically any price.

Nearly 80% of bettors are taking the Twins, who opened at -210 for this evening's game and have the third-highest percentage of bets on Wednesday's slate.

Despite that, though, Minnesota has dropped just inside of 2-1, falling to around -195. That reverse line movement serves as a near-dead giveaway that sharps are backing the home dog.

As confirmation, Sports Insights' Bet Signals — which track and record market moves caused by sharp action — have revealed pro money hitting the Tigers at +192 and +180, putting Detroit in the +175-180 range.

Sharp angle: Tigers (moved from +194 to +175)

Chicago Cubs @ Pittsburgh Pirates

7:05 p.m. ET | Jon Lester (13-10, 4.51 ERA) vs. Dario Argazal (4-5, 5.08 ERA)

Comparing current lines to the opener is a solid starting point when reading the betting market, and it proved very useful in the game above. It doesn't always, however, tell the whole story.

The Cubs-Pirates line, for example, is sitting right around the same number at which it opened, with Chicago a -181 favorite. That's not to suggest that there hasn't been any movement on this line, though.

Two-thirds of bettors have been on the Cubbies since this line opened, and earlier action was even a bit more lopsided toward them. That initially drove the line up to -200, which is where it stood in the early morning Wednesday.

That's also where sharps began to make moves on the Pirates.

Since that point, Pittsburgh — which has drawn 56% of money on its 33% of bets — has triggered three SI Bet Signals to fall from +185 to +167. That bet vs. money percentage discrepancy also tells us that bigger bettors (who are more likely sharps) are going for the plus-money payout.

Sharp angle: Pirates (moved from +185 to +167)