MLB action on Saturday, June 8, features all 30 teams, including Phillies vs Mets in the MLB London Series to kick off the 15-game slate.
Our Saturday MLB best bets also include picks and predictions on the total for Cubs vs Reds plus a moneyline bet for Astros vs Angels.
MLB Best Bets: Saturday Picks & Predictions (6/8)
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our MLB betting staff is targeting from the Saturday slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific MLB bet discussed in this article.
By D.J. James
The MLB London Series total between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies is set pretty high (10) for a game involving National League Cy Young candidate Ranger Suárez.
That said, both the Mets and Phillies have excelled against left-handers. Suárez has been elite, but eventually, he could see a bit of regression. His opponent will be Sean Manaea, who has been pretty steady over the past few years. Manaea is serviceable, but he allows a good number of fly balls and puts runners on via the walk.
The Phillies have a 112 wRC+, a 9.3% walk rate and a 21.2% strikeout rate off left-handers over the past month, while the Mets have hammered lefties in the past month to the tune of a 129 wRC+ with a 7.9% walk rate and a strikeout rate a touch above 20%.
The wind is also blowing out at London Stadium, a stadium that features a relatively short center-field wall. Given that both of these teams have mashed against lefties of late, there’s value on the Over despite the high total.
Pick: Over 9.5 (+100) | Play to 11
By D.J. James
The Chicago Cubs cannot catch a break with their draw of left-handers. They will face Andrew Abbott and the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday. Abbott has been more than solid for the Reds. The southpaw has a 3.39 ERA and 3.09 xERA. Since 2023, he has lowered his Average Exit Velocity to 87.8 MPH and has a Hard-Hit Rate in the 91st percentile. His strikeout rate is below average, but his walk rate is only 6.4%, another improvement from last year.
His opponent will be Ben Brown, who has fared well for the Cubs outside of his last start against the Reds. Brown has maintained a 3.33 ERA and 4.19 xERA. Cincinnati is much better against lefties but does not necessarily hammer the baseball as a whole. Brown does rank in the first percentile in Average Exit Velocity and Hard-Hit Rate. His ground-ball rate is below average, but his strikeout rate ranks in the 87th percentile. He will miss some bats.
The Reds are about average over the last month against righties. They crushed Brown the last time they saw him but still maintain a sub-100 wRC+ in that timeframe.
In the other dugout, the Cubs are atrocious against lefties. They have a 61 wRC+ with a walk rate under 5%.
The Cubs have been great in relief over the last month, and the Reds should have enough arms to get by after Abbott’s exit. He could go deep here, too.
Bet the Under in this one from 9 to 8.
Pick: Under 9 (+100) | Play to 8
Tyler Anderson is among the most overvalued pitchers in baseball.
He pairs a 2.37 ERA with expected run indicators pushing five. He’s stranded almost 90% of runners this season. His fastball is checking in under 90 mph, he’s striking out nobody (16%), walking everybody (11%), and allowing plenty of barrels (10%).
He’s due for serious negative regression. I hope it finally comes against the hard-hitting Astros, who boast a top-five lineup against both sides.
Pick: Astros Moneyline (-156)
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