A baseball-filled Saturday is always exciting, but there's some added intrigue this week as the Cubs and Cardinals face off in MLB's London Series.
That matchup is covered from multiple angles in today's MLB best bets, but it's not the only game in which our experts found value.
There are 15 MLB games on Saturday, June, 24, which means there are numerous betting opportunities. So, let's cut to the chase and detail today's MLB best bets.
Saturday's MLB Best Bets
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our MLB betting staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click the team logos for one the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
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| Specific bet recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our MLB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Cubs vs. Cardinals
Saturday, June 24 1:10 p.m. ET FOX |
Cubs Moneyline (-130)  |
By D.J. James
The Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals are taking their rivalry to London. Justin Steele and Adam Wainwright will start in the first game on MLB's Saturday slate.
Steele has been great for the Cubs. The southpaw owns a 2.71 ERA against a 3.12 xERA. His Barrel Rate is 5.7%, his Hard Hit Rate is 28.2%, and his Average Exit Velocity is 84.7 mph. Simply put, Steele doesn't allow much hard contact, which will be good news against the Cardinals.
That said, the Cardinals haven't looked strong against lefties lately. They own a 66 wRC+ off of lefties and have a .579 OPS in June. That won't get the job done against Steele, who is pitching at the top of his game.
Now, the Cubs haven't been much better, though the have been better. Chicago has a 82 wRC+ and a .656 OPS off right handers in June.
Pair that with Wainwright's struggles and the Cubs are in decent shape. Wainwright owns a 5.57 ERA against a 6.11 xERA and a 11% Barrel Rate. He doesn't allow hard contact and rarely issues walks, but that's where the positive news ends. The Cubs should be fine.
Additionally, the Cubs have the better bullpen. Yes, there is the possibility of the ball flying out of the yard like it did last year in London, but backing the better starter is the right move in this game.
Take the Cubs to -150.
Pick: Cubs Moneyline |
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Cubs vs. Cardinals
Saturday, June 24 1:10 p.m. ET FOX |
Over 13.5 | Play to 14  |
By Sean Zerillo
Major League Baseball returns to London for the first time since 2019 – when the Red Sox and Yankees slugged 10 homers and scored 50 runs across two games at London Stadium.
The total for the first game in the 2019 London series opened at 11 and closed at 11.5 (final score 17-13). The total for the second game went as high as 16.5, but closed at 15 (final score 12-8).
The adjustment was reminiscent of the Mexico City Series in April, where the initial game closed at 15.5 (final score 16-11) before the second game closed at 19.5 (final score 6-4).
The fences in London are slightly different than in 2019 — the center-field wall is seven feet deeper and the power alleys are five feet deeper. However, the massive foul territory was also significantly reduced, leading to fewer foul outs that aid pitchers.
The baseballs this year (2,582 home runs; 1.14 per game) are also much different from those used during the record-setting 2019 season (6776 home runs; 1.39 per game). Still, there is no guarantee the league didn’t send a juiced batch across the pond, as was suspected for those Yankees-Red Sox games and the Mexico City series earlier this year.
I set the Cubs as 56.9% favorites (-132 implied odds) and would back Chicago at -122 (54.9%) or better. However, given the discrepancy between the starters and relievers, I’m higher on the Cubs’ chances in the first five innings (F5). My F5 price target is -139 (projected -151).
I set the total at 14.26, implying a park factor about 60% higher than the major league average run-scoring environment. For context, the initial total (11.5) for the first Red Sox-Yankees game in 2019 was about 25% higher than the league average — on par with Coors Field. For the second game, the expected park factor was closer to +80% (16.5).
Compared to that projection, I would bet over 13.5 to -119, or over 14 at even money. Otherwise, wait for a live over at 13 or better.
Pick: Over 13.5 |
What is QuickSlip?
QuickSlip is an Action Network feature that allows users to automatically pre-load their bet slip at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Rangers vs. Yankees
Saturday, June 24 4:10 p.m. ET MLB.TV |
Rangers Moneyline (-110) |
By D.J. James
The New York Yankees have been one of the worst hitting teams in baseball — especially against right-handed pitching — since Aaron Judge landed on the Injured List on June 7. On Saturday, they'll face one of the best hitting teams in the league, the Texas Rangers.
The starting pitching matchup pits Jon Gray against Luis Severino. Gray has had some issues lately, but Severino has lost whatever semblance of reliability he had in the past. Considering the state of the Yankees lineup, it’s hard to back New York in this one.
Jon Gray has a 2.96 ERA against a 4.14 xERA. He ranks in the 62nd percentile in Average Exit Velocity and the 78th percentile in Hard Hit Rate.
On offense, the Rangers can flat out hit.
Against righties in June, Texas has a 128 wRC+ with an 11% walk rate and a .818 OPS. The Rangers have nine active hitters with a .320+ xwOBA against righties and two others just below.
Meanwhile, Luis Severino has a 6.30 ERA against a 6.34 xERA.
His Average Exit Velocity is 89.7 mph with a 12.5% Barrel Rate and a 44.8% Hard Hit Rate. Severino’s chase rate is below average, and his June ERA is over 9.00.
The Yankees are badly missing Judge. In June, they have the worst wRC+ (70) off righties. Their OPS is .620, and there’s really no power source in the lineup.
Gray is the better starter and while he won’t necessarily produce these same results as the season wears on, he’s undoubtedly better than Severino.
Expect Gray to mow down the Yankees and look for the Rangers to continue their torrid hitting. This won’t be close. Back the Rangers on the moneyline and play them down to -145.
Pick: Rangers Moneyline |
What is QuickSlip?
QuickSlip is an Action Network feature that allows users to automatically pre-load their bet slip at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Rangers vs. Yankees
Saturday, June 24 4:10 p.m. ET MLB.TV |
Rangers Moneyline (-110) |
By Nick Shlain
One of my favorite bets on the Saturday slate is the Texas Rangers moneyline.
The Rangers have a road matchup against the New York Yankees, who aren't playing up to expectations right now. Superstar Aaron Judge is injured and veterans Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, Josh Donaldson and Anthony Rizzo are playing like shells of themselves.
Simply put, the Yankees don't have what it takes to beat the Rangers at the moment. The Yankees got good pitching Friday night, but still lost 4-2 to the Rangers in extra innings.
New York will send Luis Severino and his 5.07 xFIP to the mound Saturday afternoon. Jon Gray, who is slated to start for the Rangers, has been significantly better than Severino this year and boasts a 4.37 xFIP. The Rangers lineup is also significantly better than the Yankees with Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia and Jonah Heim.
I have no confidence in the Yankees to pull themselves out of this funk and see on the Rangers in this spot.
Pick: Rangers Moneyline |
What is QuickSlip?
QuickSlip is an Action Network feature that allows users to automatically pre-load their bet slip at FanDuel Sportsbook.
