Best Bets Aug.4: MLB Odds + Betting Picks

Sports are back in full swing with an almost overwhelming amount of options to bet on. Here are a couple of my strongest spots on the board for Tuesday’s betting card along with analysis on the play and the best place to take the bet, courtesy of the Awesemo OddsShopper tool. Let’s get into some MLB odds and betting picks, as well as NBA odds and betting picks for tonight’s action.

Odds shopping is the best way to make sure you’re finding the best bang for your betting buck. Please enjoy our new, FREE website that shows you what each sports betting odds are in real-time. You can sign up, track your bets, get notifications when a line moves and see how much money your’e making over time. Check it out right HERE.

MLB Odds + Betting Picks

Cleveland Indians at Cincinnati Reds: Cleveland Moneyline (-144)

We’re backing Shane Bieber here, who’s underpriced for Cleveland after a dominant start to 2020. Bieber has been pretty much untouchable through two starts, allowing seven hits and one walk in 14 shutout innings, striking out a ridiculous 27 batters along the way. Cleveland is 2-0 in his starts, winning both 2-0. Bieber could use some run support, but I think we’ll see it against Tyler Mahle. Mahle went just 3-12 last season with a 5.14 ERA. He made an appearance against these Cleveland bats, getting smoked in an eventual 11-1 loss.

I saw this one being priced around -200, and it was actually -162 or worse on all books when I started writing this. But FanDuel has stepped up with a line that blows the other books out of the water. I’d make sure to lock this one up soon if you plan on it because money should start to come in on FanDuel to bring this one back to the market price.

Houston Astros at Arizona Diamondbacks: Houston Moneyline (-135)

Madison Bumgarner seems to be getting a little too much respect on his name here, leaving the Astros at a very short price. The Diamondbacks have lost both of Bumgarner’s starts by at least three runs partially due to his poor starts and partially due to the bullpen. He’s just lost a ton of velocity since he was in his prime, which makes sense with the injuries over recent years. The Astros aren’t the lineup to serve up meatballs to, as they are consistently among the top home-run-hitting lineups in baseball and averaging 5.78 runs per game (second in MLB). On the flip side, I don’t think anybody actually knows who Christian Javier is, but he’s had a tremendous start to his MLB career. He threw one clean inning out of the bullpen against Seattle, but then he was fantastic against an extremely talented Dodgers’ lineup, giving up just two hits and one run in 5.2 innings.

PointsBet checks in with the best MLB odds here at -135, and FanDuel is really the only other book close. Obviously, we don’t want to think about losing, but saving yourself juice on losses is a huge part of bankroll management.

NBA Odds + Betting Picks

Orlando Magic vs. Indiana Pacers: Over 225 (-110)

Who’s the NBA’s top offense since the All-Star break? Surprisingly the Magic, who started the season as one of the best under bets in the NBA. The Magic are averaging 130 points in the two bubble games, with their game totals hitting the over by more than 27 points per game. The Magic have gone over in 14 consecutive games with an average score of 239 during that span. Every game during that 14-game stretch has seen at least 225 points. The Pacers are kind of “the other guys” in this situation, but they’ve done nothing to deter us from this play. The Pacers are playing at good pace, and T.J. Warren has been a dominant scorer in two bubble games. While the total went under against the Wizards, the Pacers did go over by 28 points in an upset win over the 76ers.

FanDuel is not only offering us -110 here, which are the best NBA odds out there, but also a free half point. Most other books have this one set at 225.5. While we want to see 226-plus and win this one outright, we also give ourselves the out of turning 225 on the nose from a loss to a push by playing this on the right book.