MLB Best Bets: Thursday, June 2

Teams from New York and the Los Angeles (area) square off in three big games today, as the Mets open a four-game series with the Dodgers that features the two best teams in the National League, and after a rainout on Wednesday, the Angels play a doubleheader against the Yankees in the Bronx.

The Angels are slumping, having lost six straight, and the Dodgers are scuffling coming into this big series as well after having been shockingly swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates at home over the past few days.

What will this Thursday have in store? We take a look at these games and more in our MLB Best Bets for this Thursday in Major League Baseball.

New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Bet: New York +1.5, -135 (Bet MGM)

The Mets’ bats have gotten hot at the right time and have propelled New York to a 9-3 record since Max Scherzer went down to injury last month. They also scored eight runs or more in four of a six-game homestand that saw them sweep Philadelphia and Washington. The Dodgers swept Arizona on the road over the weekend but then dropped three in a row to the Pirates at home.

LA will look to Tony Gonsolin to stop the bleeding, and he is 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA. The Mets counter with Taijuan Walker, who is 3-0 with a 2.83 ERA and has been fantastic in his last two road games, throwing seven shutout innings at both Colorado and Washington last month.

Walker’s strikeout rate is low, which could be concerning for the Mets with the way the Dodgers hit the ball, but New York’s bats have also been on fire. If you’re into maximizing your value, take the Mets +150, as it looks like the oddsmakers have discounted the Dodgers’ struggles against Pittsburgh and expect them to bounce back. But for us, we will give away some value to get the extra run in favor of the Mets.

Los Angeles Angels vs. New York Yankees (Game 2)

The Bet: New York -140 (DraftKings Sportsbook)

After a solid pitching matchup this afternoon between Nestor Cortes and Shohei Ohtani in Game 1, the Yankees seem to have the clear edge in the nightcap. The Angels have lost six in a row coming into this twin bill and have allowed at least six runs in five of those six defeats.

Angels pitcher Reid Detmers is 2-2 with a 4.65 ERA but has an ERA on the road of 8.49. He threw a no-hitter against Tampa Bay three starts ago, but his other three outings in May were not good, giving up 11 runs in 14.1 innings pitched. He’s also allowed seven home runs this season, and the Yankees have slugged 38 bombs in 25 home games.

New York sends Jameson Taillon to the mound, who is coming off a gem against the Rays last Friday, throwing eight scoreless innings in a 2-0 win and allowed just one run in 7.1 innings against the White Sox in his start prior to that.

Given the Angels’ struggles as of late and the lopsided pitching matchup, the odds for this one feel like they should be more in favor of the Yankees than they are, so happily take the -140 here.

Washington Nationals vs. Cincinnati Reds

The Bet: Cincinnati -125 (Wynn Bet)

It’s tough to forget the Reds’ 3-22 start, but the team has done a great job of putting that behind them, going 14-10 since and only losing one series since May 7. Cincinnati comes in off a two-game split with Boston to host a Washington team that was swept by the Mets and has dropped eight of its last 10 games on the road and hasn’t scored in 21 innings.

Graham Ashcraft makes his third-career start for the Reds, having earned his first win on Friday after throwing six scoreless innings against San Francisco. He’s 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in starts against the Giants and Blue Jays.

The Nationals counter with Joan Adon, who is 1-8 with a 6.08 ERA. Walks have been Adon’s main issue, allowing 29 free passes in 47.1 innings. His last outing was a good one, however, holding the Rockies to just one run in six innings in what would be a 3-2 Nats loss over the weekend.

The Reds have won four of their last five at home and the last-place Nats are just 9-16 away from home, so we like the pitching matchup enough here and the trends of both teams to stick with Cincinnati at a favorable -125.