MLB Best Bets for Sunday, July 17, 2022

Not the best day yesterday as we go 1-2. With the All-Star break looming, we don't have a game of the week to look forward to tonight, and most games start rather early. So, we only will have two plays for today.

Mariners vs. Rangers

Chris Flexen has been a fun, under-the-radar guy to watch this season. Flexen has a solid three-game quality start streak. Prior to this little run, he had seven consecutive starts where he didn't allow more than three earned runs, and he completed the fifth in all of them. Glenn Otto, on the other hand, has not been reliable for the Rangers. He's completed six innings just twice this season. Since his return, he has gone 15.1 innings and allowed 15 earned runs. This is a game the Mariners should have the advantage in and take with ease. I think the moneyline is a reasonable -135. I will sprinkle a run line bet in there too at +125.

Diamondbacks vs. Padres

Merrill Kelly has been fantastic for the Diamondbacks, all things considered. Aside from 2020 when he only made five starts, this is easily the best I've seen him look. If Arizona wanted to trade him, I'd think there was a market for him. He's had some bad starts, but they usually are rebounded from with solid starts. I expect him to allow a few runs today, probably not more than three though. We have a low total in this game (7) and in 11 of his past 13 starts, the total has met or exceeded this number. On the other side, Mike Clevinger has a 4.40 ERA at home. He's also allowed four earned in both of his last two starts. He's only had nine starts for the Padres this year and seven of them have had seven or more runs scored. Play over 7.