MLB Best Bets for Thursday, May 5, 2022

I did something yesterday that is kinda difficult to do, honestly. I had two pushes and one landslide victory. It still is a winning day, so no complaint there, but getting right on the number for two of the three games is interesting. Let's see what we get today.

Mets vs. Phillies

These games are probably a bit more important than you'd think an early May game would be for a Major League Baseball season. You can't win a division in May, but you can bury yourself and make it really difficult to come back later in the season. The Phillies need to make some progress and start getting on a roll. They have a good chance against Tijuan Walker, a pitcher that they have collectively hit .280 against. One player prop I'm going to take is Kyle Schwarber at +310 to hit a home run. He's 5 for 13 in his career against Walker. All five hits have left the yard. Aaron Nola is going for the Phillies and he is one of their best pitchers. He's had a ton of experience against the Mets and he's held them to a .194 average. I'll play the Phillies at -1.5 at plus money. Pete Alonso at +275 for a homer is also worth a sprinkle.

That was a lot of plays in one paragraph, so to be clear, the official play is the Phillies, the player props are just fun bonuses.

Marlins vs. Padres

The Padres pitching staff leaves a lot to be desired. Nick Martinez has been fine overall, but not exactly someone you want to put your money behind. What you can expect, so far, at least, is that he will go around five innings and allow a couple of runs. For the fish, Jesus Luzardo has responded nicely to start the season after a rough transition from his trade from the A's. There is a really limited sample size of his performance against the Padres, but I'm liking his current form and think the Marlins are the right side today. Play the Marlins at -108.

Rays vs. Mariners

We are going to stay on the West coast for our last play of the day. Robbie Ray has been fine for the Mariners, but he isn't really the stopper the Mariners thought he was. In fact, Ray has really only had a couple of good season. The rest were average or bad. Today, he faces Shane McClanahan. McClanahan is a solid pitcher, but he's having a pretty similar season to Ray. Neither team has had much success against the opposing pitcher, but at this price, I feel like we are getting a good value on the Rays to win the game. I'll take them at -134.