Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – June 11th Edition

We’re just past the one-third mark of the MLB regular season, and we have tight races in just all of the six divisions. Two of the division races are tied (the American League West and the National League East) and two have just a half-game of separation (as the Yankees led the Red Sox in the AL East and the Brewers lead the Cubs in the NL Central). In the NL West, the Diamondbacks lead three teams (Colorado, San Francisco and the Dodgers) by 2 ½ games, and Cleveland has the largest division lead of any team, ahead of Detroit by four games. Let’s look at your best MLB betting picks for the coming week.

Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – June 11th Edition

MLB Power Rankings: The AL and NL Central powers are starting to get it togetherhttps://t.co/O8IFFoKc8R pic.twitter.com/6uxZXpFmh6

— CBS Sports MLB (@CBSSportsMLB) June 11, 2018

Monday, June 11

San Francisco at Miami (7:10pm ET)

Projected Pitching Matchup: Madison Bumgarner (0-1, 3.00 ERA) (SF) vs Wei-Yin Chen (1-3, 5.86 ERA) (MIA) San Francisco sits at 32-32 in the National League West and just got Madison Bumgarner back from a lengthy stay on the disabled list. His season debut came on June 5 against Arizona, and he pitched well, giving up two runs on eight hits, striking out three. However, his counterpart, Patrick Corbin, outpitched him, and the Giants fell by a 3-2 margin. Bumgarner was on a fairly tight pitch count, leaving after 82 pitches, which was not surprising given that he made just two rehab starts. However, against Miami, he will face a much less frightening batting order. The Marlins will counter with Wei-Yin Chen, who has struggled for the Marlins this season. Chen has had decent stuff at times but has only finished five innings three times in his eight starts on the season. In his last start, he allowed two runs on six hits in 4 ⅓ innings, but in that fifth inning, he gave up a walk and a single. Three of those six hits went for extra bases. His start prior to that just lasted 1 ⅔ innings as he permitted four runs on four hits in an 8-3 loss to San Diego. He will see some bigger bats against the Giants, so we should see another early night for Chen. MLB Betting Prediction: San Francisco 6, Miami 1

Tuesday, June 12

N.Y. Mets at Atlanta (7:30pm ET, ESPN)

Projected Pitching Matchup: Jason Vargas (2-4, 7.71 ERA) (NY) vs Mike Foltynewicz (5-4, 2.31 ERA) (ATL) The New York Mets are largely viewed as upcoming sellers in the trade market thanks to their 27-34 record at this point in the season, and Jason Vargas has contributed to several of their losses. His last two starts, though, have been some of his better ones, as he allowed two runs on five hits against Baltimore on June 5 (taking a hard-luck 2-1 loss) and getting a win in Atlanta on May 30, throwing five shutout innings and scattering a pair of hits. However, he also took a shelling from Atlanta back on May 3, giving up six runs on 11 hits in 4 ⅔ innings in an 11-0 whipping. His ERA is dropping, but he still has a way of getting too much of the plate with his pitches. Mike Foltynewicz has emerged as the staff ace in Atlanta. He has only permitted more than one earned run on one occasion since May 4 — and that was in his last start, when he gave up two runs on five hits in a 3-1 loss to San Diego. However, his start before that was a gem, as he threw a complete-game shutout, scattering a pair of hits and fanning 11 in a 4-0 win over the Braves’ rivals in the NL East race — the Washington Nationals. In that loss to the Padres, he induced 25 swinging strikes and fanned eight. I see him mowing down enough Mets for Atlanta to win. MLB Betting Prediction: Atlanta 4, N.Y. Mets 1

Wednesday, June 13

Boston at Baltimore (3:05pm ET)

Projected Pitching Matchup: Chris Sale (5-4, 2.83 ERA) (BOS) vs Andrew Cashner (2-8, 4.98 ERA) (BAL) The Boston Red Sox visit Baltimore in a midweek series as they look to get past the Yankees in the standings (who will be facing the Washington Nationals). Chris Sale starts on Wednesday afternoon for the Red Sox; his last start was terrific, as he fanned 10 and gave up just one run on six hits. However, the Red Sox couldn’t score at all, so Sale took a hard-luck 1-0 loss. His last two starts before that were not particularly impressive, as he gave up a combined 10 earned runs in 10 ⅓ innings in losses at Houston and at home to Atlanta. The strong showing against the White Sox gives me optimism about his form, though. Sale’s counterpart will be Andrew Cashner, who has not won since May 21 and, since then, has given up a combined 11 earned runs in three starts, lasting just 17 combined innings. His stuff has been decent, as he has struck out four in each of his last four starts, but he just leaves too much over the plate to put up solid numbers. The Red Sox should be able to take advantage of that. MLB Betting Prediction: Boston 5, Baltimore 0