MLB parlay of the week: July 6th – 10th 2015

IT’S Monday and that means it’s time to check out the upcoming week of baseball action.

The MLB All-Star Game and Home Run Derby are next week, so teams will be looking to end the first half of the regular season on a good note. Obviously, we don’t have the odds for the games yet this week, but here’s how to use these best bets in a parlay.

One of our partner books – 5Dimes.eu — offers “open parlays”. An open parlay allows you to leave vacant spots on your parlay to fill at a later time. This allows you to place our “MLB parlay of the week” with ease, so head on over to the 5Dimes Sportsbook.

Plus, by using our links, you’re eligible for reduced juice on MLB money lines, run lines and over/under bets.

So, what games am I targeting this week?

Athletics vs. Yankees predictions for July 7th 2015

First Pitch: Tuesday, July 7th 2015 at 7:05pm ET

Venue: Yankees Stadium in the Bronx

The New York Yankees (44-38) are leading the AL East and want to keep it that way leading up to the All-Star break. They open up a series with the Oakland Athletics (38-47) who are last in AL West and 6.5 games back of a wild card playoff spot.

Sonny Gray (9-3) will take the mound for Oakland, while Nathan Eovaldi (8-2) will start for the Yankees in the series opener.

These two teams played a four-game series at the end of May and the Athletics won the series (3-1). Gray picked up a win in the first series, as he pitched 8 strong innings (4 Hits / 2 ER’s). Eovaldi gave up 11 hits (3 ER’s) in his previous start against OAK.

Oakland are 20-21 on the road, which is better than their home record (18-26) by a mile. The Yankees have been great at home (23-15) – they average 5.61 runs scored at Yankee Stadium, but the pitching has been poor and they allow 4.71 runs at home.

New York’s bats have been slowing down, though. They’ve scored three or less runs in six of their last seven games. Gray gives the A’s an edge on the mound and they’ll likely be priced as a small favorite. Bet on the Athletics to open up the series with a win.

Best Bet: Oakland Athletics ML

Braves vs. Brewers predictions for July 8th 2015

First Pitch: Wednesday, July 8th 2015 at 2:10pm ET

Venue: Miller Park in Milwaukee

Two of the hottest teams in baseball open up a series tonight (Monday, July 6th), but we’re targeting the final game of the series on Wednesday afternoon. The Milwaukee Brewers (36-48) host the Atlanta Braves (40-42).

The Braves send Julio Teheran (6-4) to the mound and the Brewers send Mike Fiers (4-7).

Milwaukee have won eight in a row, including a 5-0 record in July. The Brewers have averaged 8.4 runs scored per game in July, while only allowing 3.4 runs per game. Atlanta are 4-1 in July, thanks in large part to excellent pitching so far this month.

I’m hoping the Braves can win at least one of two against the Brewers before Wednesday’s game, as I want to get a good line on Fiers and the Brewers. Fiers is only 4-7, but he has only allowed more than 2 runs twice in his last 11 starts.

Teheran has been hot and cold all season and with the way the Brewers are hitting – they should get to him early.

Atlanta won the first series against Milwaukee this season (3-1), but the Brewers are finally playing some baseball. Milwaukee is still last in the NL Central, despite the lengthy winning streak, but they’re slowly closing in on the wild card contenders.

Best Bet: Milwaukee Brewers ML

Blue Jays vs. White Sox predictions for July 9th 2015

First Pitch: Thursday, July 9th 2015 at 2:10pm ET

Venue: U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago

The Toronto Blue Jays (43-41) are just two games back of the Yankees in the crowded AL East. They open up a series tonight against the Chicago White Sox (36-43) on the road, but this prediction is for the Thursday game.

Chicago had high off-season expectations, but those have dwindled at this point. The Sox are last in the AL Central, but they have been pretty good at home (20-16). The Jays have struggled on the road all season (17-23) and need to improve away from Toronto.

Toronto were the hottest team in the MLB in June, but they’ve cooled down (4-6 in L10).

I believe the Blue Jays will end up with a split in this series and they’ll lose the final game on Thursday. R.A. Dickey (3-9) has a 5.02 ERA this season and the White Sox have already hit him hard this year. Dickey gave up 8 hits and 5 ER’s in 5 innings.

Jeff Samardzija (5-4) has a 4.33 ERA and he hasn’t lived up to expectations yet. However, he’s 3-1 at home (3.06 ERA) and he has already shutdown the Blue Jays once this season. Samardzija went 7 strong innings and only allowed 1 ER.

Best Bet: Chicago White Sox ML

Padres vs. Rangers predictions for July 10th 2015

First Pitch: Friday, July 10th 2015 at 8:05pm ET

Venue: Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

The Texas Rangers (41-42) are on a 3-game losing streak at the time of publishing. Texas plays a short two-game series against the D-backs this week before opening up a home series against the San Diego Padres (39-45) on Friday night.

Texas are only three games out of a wild card spot in the American League and they can’t afford losing to teams like the Padres at Arlington Park if they want to make the MLB playoffs. However, I’m betting on SD to win and they should be plus money.

Wandy Rodriguez (5-4) takes the mound for Texas – he has a 4.23 ERA this season. His last two home starts have been poor – he has given up 13 runs in his last 9 innings pitched at home and he still hasn’t won a single game at home this year (0-4).

Odrisamer Despaigne (3-6) is scheduled to pitch for SD – his ERA is 4.75 this year. Despaigne doesn’t strikeout many batters (46 SO’s in 83.1 IP’s), but the Rangers batters have been asleep all month, plus the pitching has been progressively worse.

San Diego are a team I rarely bet on, but the Rangers don’t look right heading into the All-Star break.

Texas have been terrible at home too (15-22), while the Padres are a better road team (21-23) than home team (17-22).

Best Bet: San Diego Padres ML – check the odds at 5Dimes!

Head over to 5Dimes and place an open parlay starting with the Athletics tomorrow night – leave three open spots so that you can fill in the other three MLB picks throughout the week.

Remember, a couple of the games are day games on this week’s parlay.