Our MLB betting experts have looked over the latest MLB odds and made their best bets for Friday, September 1 including picks and predictions for Yankees vs. Astros, Orioles vs Diamondbacks, and Tigers vs. White Sox.
Continue reading as today's best MLB bets can be found below.
Friday'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 on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 8:10 p.m. ET | |
  | 8:10 p.m. ET | |
  | 9:40 p.m. ET | |
Specific betting 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. | ||
Tigers vs. White Sox
By Kevin Rogers
The Tigers walked off past the Yankees on Thursday to avoid a four-game sweep as Detroit travels to Chicago tonight to face the White Sox.
Detroit will be looking to avenge a three-game sweep by Chicago in early June as the Tigers managed only three runs in the entire series.
Eduardo Rodriguez heads to the mound for the Tigers, seeking a second solid performance against the White Sox this season. The southpaw tossed six innings of five-hit ball and allowed one run in a 6-5 home victory over Chicago in late May as Detroit built an early 4-1 lead.
The Sox are in the midst of a 4-19-5 cold stretch in the first five innings in series openers, while scoring one run or less in three of their last four in this situation.
Touki Toussaint is coming off a solid outing against Oakland his last time out by posting five scoreless innings in a 6-2 home victory, ending a streak of four straight starts in which he allowed three runs or more.
Let’s back Detroit at -0.5 in the first five innings against Chicago at -104 at Fanduel. Lay this number up to -110.
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Yankees vs. Astros
By Tony Sartori
It's been a tough year for the Yankees, something that is likely to continue Friday evening.
Left-hander Carlos Rodon takes the mound for New York and should be a good fade candidate. An injury-riddled campaign has led to just eight starts for Rodon, but he has struggled mightily even when healthy.
Through those eight outings, the left-hander is 1-4 with a 5.97 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. Rodon faced Houston once over that stretch and got shelled, allowing five runs through just two and two-thirds innings pitched en route to a 9-7 loss.
Meanwhile, right-hander Justin Verlander gets the nod for the Astros and is putting together yet another strong campaign to add to his already firmly-cemented first-ballot Hall of Fame resume. Through 21 starts, Verlander is 10-6 with a 3.07 ERA and 1.17 WHIP.
His underlying metrics are also strong as the right-hander ranks in the 70th percentile or higher in xERA, xBA and Barrel%.
Not only does Houston boast the pitching advantage, but there is an even bigger gap in the hitting department as the Astros pace the Yankees in every single category across the board outside of home runs. With the stronger pitcher, lineup and home-field advantage, Houston is the team to back in this contest.
But, can they cover -1.5? Considering that each of the Astros' past eight wins and 15 of New York's past 20 losses have come by at least a two-run margin, it is worth the wager.
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Orioles vs. Diamondbacks
By D.J. James
Zach Davies threw for the Arizona Diamondbacks last week for the first time in over a month and did pretty well. Even still, his xERA is 5.06, while his ERA is 6.93 when he has pitched this season. His Average Exit Velocity is 89.9 MPH with a Hard Hit Rate of 41.5%.
His opponent will be Cole Irvin and the Baltimore Orioles. Irvin is not necessarily good, either. He has a 4.78 ERA against a 5.84 xERA this season, but he does have an Average Exit Velocity in the 65th percentile at 88.4 MPH with a Hard Hit Rate of 34.5%. This should be enough to face the weak Arizona lineup.
Arizona has an 82 wRC+ with a .671 OPS since August 1 off of southpaws, like Irvin. Since August 15, those numbers have dropped to .652 OPS with a 73 wRC+.
Meanwhile, the Orioles have hammered righties with a 113 wRC+ and .775 OPS since August 1 and a 123 wRC+ and .807 OPS since August 15.
There is a reason this team sits atop the American League East, even with the unfortunate injury to Félix Bautista. They have four arms below a 4.00 xFIP since August 1 in relief, so this should be enough to back up Irvin’s start, since he only has a 7% walk rate.
Arizona’s collective bullpen xFIP is 4.53 in that same timeframe, so Baltimore blows them out of the water.
Take the Orioles in this game at -118. Play them to -140.
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