Best MLB Series of the Week (Aug 1-7)

As we flip the calendar toward August, we have some real winners in the MLB betting schedule. Division and wild card races are heating up, and the passing of the trade deadline means that some teams have reloaded for the stretch run. Let’s look at some of the most beneficial series of the week for bettors.

Best MLB Series of the Week ( Aug 1-7)

The #StroShow heads to Houston as the @BlueJays begin series vs. Astros. https://t.co/MlUtS8WPwZ #OurMoment pic.twitter.com/MSGLiVfJSg

— Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 1, 2016

Toronto at Houston (Monday – Thursday)

Houston just took a three-game pummeling at the hands of the Detroit Tigers by an aggregate score of 28-8, with an 11-0 loss to wrap up the series on Sunday. The Astros were just 2 ½ games behind Texas in the AL West going into the weekend, but the Rangers dealt Kansas City a four-game sweep to go up by six games in the division. Monday’s game is supposed to feature Doug Fister for the Astros, but his wife is about to go into labor at any moment, which could put the rotation (and the bullpen) into even further chaos. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are set to start Marcus Stroman, the team’s top starter, in Monday’s game. This could be easy pickings for the Blue Jays on the road, as the Astros saw their ace, Dallas Keuchel, get absolutely demolished (once again) in that 11-0 thumping.

NY Yankees vs NY Mets (Citi Field Monday/Tuesday, Yankee Stadium Wed/Thur)

This is one of those rivalry interleague series that shifts sides of town halfway through. You can throw a lot of the traditional predictions out the window when these two teams tangle in interleague play. CC Sabathia starts Monday night for the Yankees on national television. He’s gone from a has-been with an injured groin to the ace he used to be back to average stuff once again. Tuesday might have the most even pitching matchup, as Masahiro Tanaka pitches for the Pinstripes while Jacob deGrom heads to the hill with his plus fastball for the Mets. When the series shifts to Yankee STadium, the Mets send out Steven Matz (with his primo hitting skills — will Terry Collins let him hit instead of using the DH, like the Giants did earlier this year with Madison Bumgarner?). The finale looks like the best matchup for the Yankees, as Nathan Eovaldi starts opposite the aging Bartolo Colon.

Texas at Baltimore (Tuesday – Thursday)

The Rangers look like they’ve found their winning identity again, as they took six of seven from Kansas City over the past two weekends, and seven of their last nine overall. They head to Baltimore in a battle of division leaders, and Tuesday’s matchup features Yu Darvish for the Rangers (who needs to get over that habit of giving up the early runs) and Dylan Bundy for the O’s. The other Ranger ace, Cole Hamels, pitches against the O’s top hurler, Kevin Gausman, on Wednesday night. The series finishes in a battle of present and past Ranger fifth starters, as A.J. Griffin, who has done wonders at the back end of the rotation for Texas, takes on Yovani Gallardo, a former innings eater for Texas who simply lacked the stuff to get past five innings on most nights.