Welcome to Memorial Day! While Heat vs. Celtics Game 7 will take center stage tonight, Major League Baseball has plenty of daytime action.
Our staff provides you with two best bets for pre-NBA games, including a pick for the Pirates vs. Giants matchup at 5:05 p.m. ET.
Dive in below and formulate your MLB betting card.
Monday's MLB Best Bets
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 the team logos for one the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
  | ||
  | ||
| Specific bet 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. | ||
Rangers vs. Tigers
Monday, May 29 1:10 p.m. ET MLB.TV |
Nathan Eovaldi Over 6.5 Strikeouts (+112)  |
By Nick Shlain
One of my favorite bets on the Memorial Day MLB slate is Nathan Eovaldi over 6.5 strikeouts (+112 on FanDuel).
Eovaldi has a road matchup against a Tigers team that strikes out quite a bit. Detroit’s projected lineup has combined for a 24% strikeout rate against right-handed pitching this season.
Six hitters in Detroit’s lineup have a strikeout percentage of at least 21 against right-handers.
On Sunday, Dylan Cease only lasted four innings, but still managed to strike out eight Tigers.
Eovaldi, who has a 25% strikeout percentage this season, has gone over this total in four of 10 starts. While 6.5 is a high total, the odds are good enough to take a shot in a plus matchup.
Pick: Nathan Eovaldi Over 6.5 Strikeouts (+112)
Pirates vs. Giants
Monday, May 29 5:05 p.m. ET MLB.TV |
Giants F5 -135  |
By Sean Zerillo
I’m still waiting for a complete Rich Hill implosion. The 43-year-old lefty has generated 16 strikeouts in his past two starts, even though he’s throwing the ball slower than ever.
His xERA (5.50) expects a pullback from his 4.27 ERA. His line-drive rate (26.8%) is one of the highest marks in the league, and it’s a matter of time before an offense bats around on him in the first or second inning.
He does catch a decent matchup against the Giants — who rate as a bottom-10 offense against lefties, compared to a top-10 team against righties.
But he’s a replacement-level pitcher, while Anthony DeSclafani is a league-average arm. And the Pirates are also in their lesser split offensively.
Bet the Giants F5 moneyline up to -135 and play the Over 8 up to -120, or Over 8.5 to -102.
I projected the total at 8.8 with 12-14 mph winds blowing out to left field at Oracle Park. As a result, the right-handed bats for the Giants hitters should get a decent power boost against Hill.
Pick: Giants F5 -135 |
What is QuickSlip?
QuickSlip is an Action Network feature that allows users to automatically pre-load their bet slip at FanDuel Sportsbook.
