Friday Best Bet recaps
We were going through withdrawals all week as we didn’t write any of these Best Bets columns on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday with the MLB All-Star Break as we snapped a run of 357 straight days of “Tuley’s Takes.”
But I think the time off was just what the doctor ordered as we had a triumphant return on Friday as the MLB regular season resumed. I pushed my top play on the Astros First 5 Innings +140 at the Angels as they were tied 4-4 through five innings, but then won my other three posted Best Bets to go 3-0-1 on the day as the Guardians First 5 +125 at the Rangers, Rockies First 5 +170 at the Yankees and Tigers First 5 +150 at Mariners all cashed at juicy prices as we showed a net profit of $445 based on $100 flat bets, according to the VSiN Pro Picks page. Note: that’s just our “official” record as we trust our regular readers followed along with our suggestion to round-robin our plays. For those who did, I trust you made enough to wipe out the losses so far this month. As it is, our official record stands at 9-14-1 for -270. It was what it is, but again we know our loyal readers know better. Anyway, that’s in the past, and I know everyone will say “what have you done for me lately” (especially those who might not have been ready to follow us again, which is understandable, until we ended our slump). Hopefully that’s happened, so let’s look for more live dogs on Saturday’s MLB card and I think I have two. Note: yesterday, I mentioned the other dogs I considered were the Reds and Cubs, with the Reds pushing and helping us complete some round-robins at reduced payouts (3-teamers paid at 2-teamer price, 4-teamers paid at 3-teamer price, etc.) while the Cubs were the one loser from my six official/unofficial plays as I went 3-1-2 overall. For Saturday, the other dogs I considered were the Rockies (First 5 +135 vs. Yankees) and Tigers (First 5 +180 at the Mariners) and I’ll again use in some unofficial round-robins to really boost the potential payoffs.MLB Saturday Best Bets
Diamondbacks First 5 Innings +135 at Blue Jays: I certainly respect Toronto starter Kevin Gausman (7-5, 3.03 ERA), but I see a lot of value on Arizona with Zac Gallen (11-3, 3.04 ERA) coming off his one shutout inning as the NL’s starter in Tuesday’s All-Star Game and don’t think the Blue Jays (51-41) should be this big of a favorite over the D-backs (52-40) all things considered.
Indians First 5 Innings +120 at Rangers: We cashed with the Guardians First 5 vs. the Rangers on Friday night and we’re willing to back them again. Now, we know Texas ended up pulling away in a 12-4 rout, but that of course was against the Cleveland bullpen. Gavin Williams (1-1, 4.01 ERA) isn’t as reliable for the Guardians as Friday’s starter Aaron Civale, but he’s certainly able to go inning-for-inning vs. the Rangers’ Andrew Heaney (5-6, 4.71 ERA).