MLB Sunday betting picks & best odds – July 31, 2022

Playing starring roles in Major League Baseball (MLB) on Sunday is Atlanta All-Star Max Fried hosting Merrill Kelly and the Diamondbacks, Jake Odorizzi starts for Houston in Seattle, and Jose Berrios and the Blue Jays host the Tigers. Here are the best bets on MLB games scheduled for Sunday, July 31st starting at 12:05 p.m. Eastern.

Detroit Tigers @ Toronto Blue Jays

Jose Berrios hasn’t been his old self this season. While he’s 7-4, his 1.37 WHIP is the highest since his rookie season, as is his 5.20 ERA. The Blue Jays have won all five of his starts in July, however, and Berrios is looking to stay perfect this month. He should have a pretty good chance to do so, as he stifled the Tigers during his tenure in Minnesota. Detroit batters are just 28-for-1232 with five doubles and two dingers – a .458 OPS and .170 batting average against.

Harold Castro is responsible for seven hits in 14 at-bats, including two of the doubles. Robbie Grossman, Berrios’ former teammate in Minnesota, is seven-for-15 with two doubles and a dinger. Consider placing player prop bets on either or both to have multiple hits and multiple total bases on Sunday.

Garrett Hill is expected to start for Detroit, and he’s 1-2 with a 5.57 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. He will have unfamiliarity on his side the first time through the lineup, but Toronto’s got the third-best team OPS and the most hits in MLB (914). Take Toronto in the first five innings and on the moneyline. Consider parlaying those bets with…

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Arizona Diamondbacks @ Atlanta Braves

Atlanta All-Star starter Max Fried is scheduled to take the mound, and he’s been great. His 10-3 record is tied for sixth-best in the bigs, and his 1.73 ERA is 13th. Against the Diamondbacks, though, he’s truly struggled. Arizona is 10-for-25 with a double against Fried. That’s a .478 batting average against. Four Diamondbacks have two hits off Fried, and all six who have faced him all have a hit, including Luke Weaver, who is 1-for-1.

Merrill Kelly will counter for Arizona, who is 10-5 with a 3.04 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. That’s pretty darn good considering the Diamondbacks’ third-worst offense when it comes to scoring runs (738). Kelly has pretty much owned Atlanta, holding the Braves to six hits in 29 at-bats with just one homer allowed.

Consider taking Arizona in the first five innings and on the moneyline. Kelly went eight innings in his last start against San Francisco, and he’s completed six or more innings in his last nine starts. The Diamondbacks are 7-3 over his last 10 starts and have covered the 1.5-run spread in six of them, so do with that information what you will. Parlaying Arizona and Toronto on the moneyline pays a sweet +293.

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Seattle Mariners @ Houston Astros

Seattle might have made the biggest splash before the MLB Trade Deadline on Aug. 2nd, but Luis Castillo won’t help them in Houston on Sunday. Jake Odorizzi is on the bump for the Astros, and he’s had Seattle hitters guessing. In 97 at-bats, the Mariners have just 21 hits and five extra-base hits. That’s a .216 batting average and .608 OPS against. Odorizzi might only be good for five innings, but Houston has the best bullpen WHIP in baseball along with the Mariners (1.12).

This one will come down to who’s ahead after the first five innings, and while George Kirby has been good this season, he still has to carry the eighth-worst run-scoring offense in baseball (409) despite its 15th-ranked team OPS. The Astros have the fifth-best team OPS (.745) and have scored the 12th-most runs.

Take Houston in the first five and on the moneyline. A moneyline trifecta featuring Houston, Arizona, and Toronto pays a sweet +579.

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There are the best MLB bets for Sunday, July 31st. Get your bets in before first pitch at 12:05 p.m. Eastern and please gamble responsibly.

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