3 MLB Best Bets for Monday 5/20/24

Baseball has you covered if you want a large inventory of options to bet.

From moneylines to run totals to first-five-inning wagers, we have plenty of ways to bet the long, arduous MLB schedule daily. Outlooks can be vastly different due to starting pitchers, and a wealth of advanced stats can let us know if an individual pitcher, a bullpen, or a team is due for positive -- or negative -- regression.

Using numberFire's projections as a guide, which MLB odds from FanDuel Sportsbook are most appealing today?

Note: Lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All stats come from FanGraphs and Baseball Savant unless noted otherwise. Please check here to make sure you're seeing the most updated projections.

MLB Betting Picks

Seattle Mariners at New York Yankees, 7:05 p.m. ET

Yankees Moneyline (-136)

Mondays typically mean new series around the league. Fortunately for baseball fans and bettors alike, an intense four-game set between the Seattle Mariners (25-22) and New York Yankees (33-15) is commencing this evening.

Considering that New York leads the AL East while Seattle paces the AL West, this matchup will highlight premier clubs of the American League. However, the Yanks are on a seven-game winning streak -- what should we expect for the opener in The Bronx?

The projected starters for Game 1 at Yankee Stadium are Logan Gilbert and Marcus Stroman. Gilbert has been a bit more consistent than Stroman in 2024, as the former owns a 3.44 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA). Still, Stroman has been strong this month, allowing only five earned runs over three starts in May. Also, New York has won outright in five of his past six starts.

As one of the hottest sides in baseball, I like the Yankees moneyline (-136 odds) on Monday. When compared to the M's, New York employs a more potent batting lineup. To start this series, the Yanks' .767 team OPS is second-best in MLB. Conversely, Seattle shows a .675 OPS (21st).

With respect to the Mariners, I simply believe New York has too much steam right now. The Bronx Bombers have produced 5.86 runs per game on their current win streak. I anticipate their offense will give Stroman enough support to keep the home team -- NYY is 16-6 at Yankee Stadium this season -- in a favorable position.

Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros, 8:10 p.m. ET

Over 8.0 Runs (-108)

Out in Space City, the Los Angeles Angels (18-29) and Houston Astros (21-26) are set for a divisional clash to start the week. Both teams currently find themselves below .500, but perhaps we can still find an advantageous betting approach at Minute Maid Park.

The probable pitchers for Monday's bid in Houston are fellow southpaws Reid Detmers and Framber Valdez. Given that both the 'Stros (.775 OPS versus LHP) and Halos (.751 OPS versus LHP) have hit lefties well in 2024, I see quality potential in over 8.0 runs.

The venue in this contest will give its benefit to hitters. Minute Maid Park has a few offensive-friendly quirks, such as the Crawford boxes posted just 315 feet down the left-field line and a retractable roof. Overall, the Astros' digs have a 102 HR Park Factor score throughout the past three seasons. In this campaign, these AL West foes both rank within MLB's top 10 for home runs hit.

FanDuel Sportsbook has over eight runs listed with -108 odds, which carries a 51.9% implied probability. When cross-referencing that figure to the MLB game projections at numberFire, the over carries a 54.2% winning behind 9.01 estimated runs. At longer-than-standard odds, I am banking on scoring.

Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. ET

Dodgers -1.5 (-113)

Flipping over the NL West, the Arizona Diamondbacks (22-25) are in Hollywood this week to play the Los Angeles Dodgers (32-17).

Aspects on the diamond have been contentious between these sides over the past few years. With that said, Los Angeles already holds a 2-1 head-to-head advantage against Arizona in 2024, and L.A. has outscored their divisional foe 19-8 over those three games.

When one winning streak ends for the Dodgers, another seems to spark up shortly after. To begin May, they won seven straight games. Currently, L.A. has been victorious in each of their past three outings. Going forward, I like them on the run line (-113 odds) against an inconsistent D-backs team.

On the mound, this game will feature Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3.04 SIERA) and lefty Joe Mantiply (3.87 SIERA) as starters. Yamamoto has been impressive for a rookie, and the Japanese hurler did well in his one previous start against Arizona (0 ER over 6.0 IP). For Mantiply, this will be his first start of 2024 -- all 17.1 of his innings this year have come in relief -- so he's expected to be an opener before leaving the rest to the bullpen.

Sluggers Mookie Betts (.988 OPS), Shohei Ohtani (13 HR) and Will Smith (.307 BA) are still banging the baseball. Also, Betts and Smith have seen Mantiply quite well throughout their careers, with each showing a head-to-head OPS of 1.000 or higher.

The Dodgers are tied for the highest MOV in MLB at +1.7. From there, Los Angeles is 1 of 11 teams to have covered their run line at a 53% clip or better. With respect to all matchups, I think they cover -1.5 runs again on Monday night.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.