The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox resume their rivalry with a rare doubleheader on Saturday in the Bronx. In Game 1, the AL East-leading Yankees will send out Domingo German (13-2, 4.08 ERA). The Red Sox (-122), who have lost five straight games, will counter with Chris Sale (5-10, 4.26). Elsewhere on Saturday's schedule, the Chicago Cubs (-136) and Milwaukee Brewers, who trail the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central, meet in a key afternoon matchup at Wrigley Field. And Trevor Bauer makes his debut for the Cincinnati Reds against Dallas Keuchel and the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves (-132). Fans and bettors everywhere are studying the latest MLB odds for those matchups and others on Saturday's slate. And before locking in any MLB picks of your own, be sure to see the MLB best bets from SportsLine expert John Bollman.
Nicknamed "The Executive," Bollman combines MLB front-office experience with a deep statistical background. Last season, Bollman, who has a master's degree in biostatistics, worked in the Toronto Blue Jays' analytics department, focusing on high-performance sports science and player development. He is known for his ability to quantify the unquantifiable.
He has used his unique approach to nail 99 of his last 162 MLB money line picks entering Saturday's action, returning $1,983 to $100 players. He shares these picks exclusively at SportsLine. Parlaying his three MLB best bets for Saturday would pay out more than 4-1.
We can tell you that Bollman is going with the Washington Nationals (-170) against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Bollman knows the pitching matchup favors the Nationals. Washington starter Stephen Strasburg is on fire, winning seven straight starts, the longest streak of his career. Over that time, he has a 2.22 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. Meanwhile, Arizona starter Robbie Ray, who is 0-5 against the Nationals in his career, gave up five runs on five hits in a loss to Washington in June.
In addition, the Nationals are one of the top teams in the majors against left-handers. Against southpaws, Washington ranks second in on-base percentage (.354), fourth in OPS (.817) and batting average (.275), and sixth in slugging (.463).
Bollman has also found value on an underdog, saying this team has a strong probability of returning a win at a lucrative money line price. You can only see which team it is at SportsLine.
So which MLB picks should you make on Saturday for a chance at a payout of more than 4-1? And which underdog should you back? See Saturday's MLB schedule and odds below, then visit SportsLine to get Saturday's MLB best bets, all from the analytics expert who has returned $1,983 to $100 players during his recent run.
Red Sox at Yankees (+101), 1:05 p.m.*
Brewers at Cubs (-136), 2:20 p.m.
Marlins at Rays (-226), 6:10 p.m.
White Sox at Phillies (-312), 7:05 p.m.
Mets at Pirates (+111), 7:05 p.m.
Blue Jays at Orioles (+104), 7:05 p.m.
Red Sox at Yankees (-142), 7:05 p.m.*
Angels at Indians (-227), 7:10 p.m.
Royals at Twins (-227), 7:10 p.m.
Mariners at Astros (-213), 7:10 p.m.
Reds at Braves (-132), 7:20 p.m.
Tigers at Rangers (-111), 8:05 p.m.
Nationals at Diamondbacks (+132), 8:10 p.m.
Giants at Rockies (-131), 8:10 p.m.
Cardinals at A's (-154) 9:07 p.m.
Padres at Dodgers (-260), 9:10 p.m.
*Doubleheader
