Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – July 29th Edition

A team has finally shown some interest in winning the National League Central division, as the St. Louis Cardinals roared briefly into the division lead over the weekend, settling back into a tie with the Chicago Cubs after Sunday’s action. The Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers had been scuffling back and forth on top of the division, and then the Cardinals won 8 of 10 to move into first before dropping Sunday’s game. In the NL East, Atlanta still leads somewhat comfortably, on the Nationals by 5 ½ games and the Phillies by 6 ½, and the Los Angeles Dodgers still lead the NL West by a ton, now up on San Francisco by 14 ½ games. In the American League, Houston has started to pull away from the Oakland A’s again, winning eight of ten and leading the division by eight games. Minnesota has just about seen their huge lead over Cleveland in the AL Central dissipate, as the lead had dropped from 11 games to just one, before extending it back to two games. In the AL East, the Yankees have only won five of their last ten, but Tampa Bay has only won four, so the Yankee lead is now 8 ½ games on the Rays (and nine on Boston). For those of you who incorporate baseball in your sports betting, don’t miss our primo MLB betting picks of the week.

Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – July 29th Edition

With just days to go until the trade deadline, the Giants and A’s have surged in the latest edition of the MLB power rankings (via @PavlovicNBCS)https://t.co/V3wpzIIL18 pic.twitter.com/fiCCyjwbfS

— NBCSAuthentic (@NBCSAuthentic) July 29, 2019

Tuesday, July 30

Houston at Cleveland (7:10pm ET)

• Projected Pitching Matchup: Justin Verlander (13-4, 2.86 ERA) (HOU) vs Shane Bieber (10-3, 3.44 ERA) (CLE)

Justin Verlander seems to have righted the ship, and just in time. He had gone six starts in which he had permitted at least three earned runs (and five starts in which he had permitted at least one home run, until his July 14 start at Texas. In his last three starts, he has thrown 18 combined innings, permitting just four earned runs on 14 hits, striking out 30 while walking just four. His last start was particularly dominant, as he threw six innings, permitting just two hits and one unearned run in a 4-2 win over the Oakland A’s. Houston seems to have shaken off the malaise that hit them around the All-Star break and looks poised to contend for the pennant. Cleveland had a bizarre Sunday, as starter Trevor Bauer had a dreadful start, lasting just 4 ⅓ innings against a Kansas City team that does not have a lot of big bats. When manager Terry Francona came to pull him, Bauer threw the baseball over the center field wall from the pitcher’s mound in a bizarre outburst. Shane Bieber has emerged as the Indians’ ace with the loss of Corey Kluber to injury and Carlos Carrasco to leukemia treatment. Bieber has not taken a loss since June 20 and has picked up wins in four of his last six starts. His last outing was a gem, as he threw a complete-game shutout in Toronto, permitting just a single hit and striking out 10 while walking just one. In his start before that, though, he got pounded for five runs in 5 ⅔ innings by Kansas City. Which Bieber will show up on Tuesday night? MLB Betting Prediction: Houston 4, Cleveland 1

Seattle at Texas (8:05pm ET, MLB Network)

• Projected Pitching Matchup: Mike Leake (9-8, 4.25 ERA) (SEA) vs Ariel Jurado (6-6, 4.83 ERA) (TEX)

Mike Leake has pitched feast or famine in his last four starts. He shut out the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Angels for 16 ⅔ combined innings, including a one-hitter against the Angels. However, those same Angels had battered him for seven runs on eight hits in ⅔ of an inning the start before he shut them out. In his last start, he held Texas to three runs on nine hits in a 5-3 victory. With Leake set to face the same Rangers again, it will be interesting to see which version of his stuff shows up. Ariel Jurado picked up his sixth win of the season on July 25 — and his first win since June 27. In the Rangers’ 11-3 win in Oakland, Jurado threw seven innings, permitting three runs on three hits, striking out six and walking two. Jurado had permitted 10 earned runs combined in his last two starts, both against Houston, so the Rangers are hoping that Jurado can continue to find the edges of the strike zone. MLB Betting Prediction: Texas 5, Seattle 3