We hit on two out of three bets in last Thursday’s MLB tips to take our season tally to 17-12. We’ll be looking for another winning performance this week as we take a look at some of the key games in the MLB this Thursday, the 5th of July and give our betting tips below.
MLB Betting Tips Thursday 5th July
Boston Red Sox at Washington Nationals (1.05am AEST)
The Red Sox recaptured the top spot in the AL East after the Yankees have lost six of their last ten games. They’ll be facing off against the Wizards in the final game of a three game series early on Thursday morning. Boston have won the first two games of the series, scoring 15 runs in the process and they’ll be looking for the sweep on the 4th of July with Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound.
Rodriguez has been disappointing in his last two starts, losing both games and allowing nine runs on 10 total innings pitched. He’ll be hoping to get back to his early season form, which saw him rack up a 9-1 record to start the year.
Erik Fedde will be on the mound for the Nats after picking up his first career win in his last start a week ago. He has been pretty lacklustre so far this year, maintaining a 1-3 record with a 6.00 ERA. I’m backing the Boston hitters to get a hold of him here.
Atlanta Braves at New York Yankees
The Yankees will face off against the Braves in the third game of a three-game series Thursday morning. The Yankees have been a little lacklustre of late, losing six of their last ten games and dropping to second in the AL East. They now trail the Red Sox by four games and will be desperate to get back on the winners list with their ace CC Sabathia on the mound Thursday morning.
Sabathia has a 5-3 record on the season so far with a respectable 3.02 ERA. He was great in his last outing against the Red Sox last week, pitching seven innings and allowing just one run on six hits.
Julio Teheran was great in his last start, allowing just two hits in six shutout innings las week. It was a much better outing than he has displayed for the majority of the season so far, as he currently holds a 6-5 record with a 4.21 ERA. Tough match to call here but hard to look against the Yankees at home on the 4th with CC Sabathia on the mound.
New York Handicap (-1.5)
$2.10
Houston Astros at Texas Rangers (9.05am AEST)
Houston will be looking to sweep the two-game series against their rivals, the Rangers on Thursday morning. Cy Young candidate Gerrit Cole will be on the mound for the Astros Thursday after pitching lights out in the month of June. Through six starts in the month, Cole posted a 4-1 record and a 3.41 ERA to keep him near the top of the AL Cy Young predictor.
He’ll have a tough matchup Thursday morning, however, as he faces one of the Rangers top pitchers of late in Mike Minor. Minor was undefeated in the month of June through four starts with a 2.03 ERA and a big part of the Rangers turn around. Texas have won 7 of their last 10 games but were beaten comfortably by the Rangers on Wednesday.
Tough to see the Astros losing this one with the form that Cole has been in of late. Look for them to sweep the two game series and take momentum into a big series with the White Sox on Friday.
Houston Handicap (-1.5)
$1.98
