Friday’s MLB best bets, top odds & parlay picks – July 29, 2022

Playing starring roles in Major League Baseball (MLB) on Friday are Miami’s All-Star starter Sandy Alcantara hosting the Mets, Dodgers starter Julio Urias pitching at altitude in Colorado, and Cardinals All-Star Miles Mikolas visiting Washington. Here are the best bets on MLB games scheduled for July 29, starting at 6:40pm ET.

Los Angeles Dodgers (-200) @ Colorado Rockies (+170)

Julio Urias is scheduled to start in Denver on Friday, and he’s been great, with a 9-6 record, 2.72 ERA, and 1.00 WHIP. Those are all top-15 in MLB. He’s managed to limit the damage done to him by the Rockies over a large sample size as well. In 186 plate appearances, the Rockies have 53 hits, with 12 doubles, a triple, and six homers. It adds up to a .720 OPS and .268 batting average against. C.J. Cron has done a lot of the damage, going seven-for-20 with two doubles and two dingers. Also enjoying their at-bats are Ryan McMahon (six-for-19 with two doubles and a dinger) and Jose Iglesias (four-of-eight with two doubles and a dinger). Consider any or all for prop bets.

Urias is backed by the third-best bullpen in baseball (1.13 WHIP), so if he does get knocked around, the Dodgers are by no means out of it. Colorado has the fifth-words bullpen in MLB (1.40 WHIP).

The Dodgers have seen less of Chad Kuhl than the Rockies have seen Urias, but they’re hitting about as well nonetheless. Kuhl is 6-5 with a 4.48 ERA and 1.44 WHIP. Against the Dodgers he’s allowed 10 hits in 57 plate appearances including three doubles, a triple, and two homers. It adds up to a .706 OPS and .218 batting average against. Kuhl rarely goes long in games, however he did pitch a complete game shutout against the Dodgers in Denver on June 27. His last start lasted just 2.1 innings, and he’s allowed 17 earned runs in his four starts spanning just 17 innings in July.

Stay away from the first five innings, but take Los Angeles on the moneyline.

St. Louis Cardinals (-200) @ Washington Nationals (+170)

Miles Mikolas is better than his 7-8 record, as indicated by his 2.87 ERA and 0.99 WHIP (11th overall). Against the Nationals he’s been nasty. Washington batters have 18 hits in 62 at-bats against him, with just two doubles and three dingers. That’s a .537 OPS and .220 batting average against, but three players are responsible for the bulk of the damage. Victor Robles is four-of-six, Juan Sotoa is three-for-eight with a double and a dinger, and Josh Bell is eight-for-28 with a double and two dingers. Consider all three for player prop bets.

Anibal Sanchez is still at it, which is impressive enough for the 38-year-old. He’s 0-2 with a 6.30 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 10 innings pitched this season. He’s struggled with Albert Pujols in his career, but who hasn’t? Pujols is 11-for-28 with two doubles and dinger against Sanchez. Corey Dickerson is also four-of-10 with two doubles and a dinger, but most of the active Cardinals are unfamiliar with Sanchez. That shouldn’t be a problem for the team with the fifth-most hits in all of baseball, though.

Take St. Louis in the first five innings, on the moneyline, and to win by two or more runs. The Cardinals’ bullpen is far better than the Nationals’, and Washington stinks at scoring runs (fifth-fewest in MLB). Parlaying Los Angeles and St. Louis on the moneyline pays just +125, so you might want to add another leg or two to that parlay.

New York Mets (-140) @ Miami Marlins (+120)

Chris Basitt looks good on paper. He’s 7-7 with a 3.72 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. He’s held the Marlins to a .199 batting average and .577 OPS against despite Bryan De La Cruz going five-for-seven with three doubles and a dinger. Definitely bet on him to have multiple total bases on Friday. That all adds up to a 1-2 record with eight earned runs allowed to Miami over 19.2 innings pitched.

Sandy Alcantara looks great on paper and in person. He’s 9-4 with a 1.81 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. He struck out 10 Pirates in his last start despite going only six innings. He usually goes seven or more. But against the Mets, he’s allowed 47 hits in 192 at-bats, including 13 doubles, a triple, and five homers. Francisco Lindor seems comfortable against him, going seven-for-22 with two doubles and a dinger. Yet the Marlins are 2-1 against the Mets in his starts against them, including a 2-0 extra-inning win in New York on July 10, in which Alcantara pitched seven shutout innings.

Take Miami on the moneyline. Parlaying the Marlins with the Cardinals and Dodgers pays +395.

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