Daily Double Of MLB Best Bets For Monday: Rangers At Angels, Phillies At Giants

After a few boring weeks on the sports-betting front, things are going to pick up this month, at least for me. For instance, the Saratoga Race Course's summer meet begins this week, so I'll be betting the ponies for the next eight Saturdays. Plus, the PGA TOUR goes overseas for the Genesis Scottish Open this week, and The Open Championship next. 

With that in mind, I'll try to "Rob Peter (win in my MLB bets) to pay Paul (to cover my Saratoga and PGA TOUR losses)" for the next few days. Although I'm up nearly eight units this season in MLB and have a +23.0% return on investment. Let's discuss my two best bets for Tuesday. 

MLB Betting Card: July 7 

• Texas Rangers moneyline (-130), up to -150, at Los Angeles Angels via Fanatics Sportsbook, risking 1.3 units (u).
• Philadelphia Phillies moneyline (-134), up to -150, at San Francisco Giants via FanDuel, risking 1.34u.

Rangers (44-46) at Angels (43-46), 9:38 p.m. ET 

Season Series: 

• Texas leads 3-0, outscoring LAA 12-4.

Current Form: 

• The Rangers are 5-5 over their last 10 games, 10-10 in the last 20, and 15-15 in the last 30.
• The Angels have lost six of their past 10 games and were swept 3-0 by the Toronto Blue Jays on the road this past weekend.

Starters 

• Texas RHP Jacob deGrom (9-2, 2.13 ERA).
• Angels LHP Yusei Kikuchi (3-6, 2.81 ERA).

I'm not going to overthink the market betting the Angels down from +126 underdogs on the opener at Pinnacle Sportsbook, down to +116 at the time of writing. Typically, I prefer following line movement in regular-season MLB, rather than fading it because the public doesn't move odds in regular-season baseball. 

However, Kikuchi throws weak sh*t and deGrom is a top-three pitcher in MLB, as long as he's healthy. Kikuchi's exit velocity is two mph faster than the MLB average (90.4-88.4 mph), and his hard-hit rate is 3.0% higher (42.3-39.3%). Plus, deGrom is eighth in Stuff+ among qualified starters, according to FanGraphs. 

Meanwhile, the Rangers have better relief pitching by a wide margin. Texas's bullpen is top-10 in WAR, Fielding Independent Pitching, and home runs per nine innings, compared to LAA's bullpen, which is either the worst or second-worst in MLB for those three metrics. 

Ultimately, both lineups are terrible, even though the Rangers have much more star power, while Texas has a huge edge in starting and relief pitching. So, even if the Rangers can't rake Kikuchi, who throws meatballs, they can hit LAA's weak bullpen. 

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Phillies (53-37) at Giants (49-42), 9:45 p.m. ET 

Season Series: 

• Tied 2-2

Current Form: 

• Philly has won six of its previous 10 games, including two of three vs. the Cincinnati Reds this past weekend.
• San Francisco is just 5-5 over its last 10 games but won its set, 2-1, at the Homeless Athletics Friday-Sunday.

Starters 

• Phillies LHP Cristopher Sánchez (7-2, 2.68 ERA).
• Giants RHP Landen Roupp (6-5, 3.48 ERA).

Sánchez is the biggest snub of the 2025 MLB All-Star game. Per FanGraphs, he is third in Stuff+, behind reigning Detroit Tigers RHP and AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and one of the biggest pitching free agents this offseason, Boston Red Sox LHP Garrett Crochet. 

Furthermore, Sánchez is 2-0 vs. the Giants over the past two seasons, allowing just 2 ERs on 8 hits with 19 strikeouts and 2 walks across 13.0 innings pitched. He beat San Francisco 6-4 in April but only gave up 2 ERs while striking out 12 Giants. 

Also, San Francisco is 9-15 vs. left-handed starters this year, and ranks 24th in wRC+, 26th in wOBA, 24th in BB/K rate, and 24th in hard-hit rate against left-handed pitching, according to FanGraphs. Finally, the Giants return home Monday after a 10-game road stand, and teams typically struggle in their first home game after a long road trip. 

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Follow me on X (or Twitter, whatever) @Geoffery-Clark, and check out my OutKick Bets Podcast for more betting content and random rants. I'll add bets to my MLB 2025 betting record via X all season.