There is a great slate of MLB games on Friday night, meaning we have another chance to give out some best bets. All 30 teams are set to take the field, so we will take a look at the series opening matchups for each in order to make some plays.
MLB Best Bets for Friday, May 24th
Best Bet #1) Toronto Blue Jays money line (-116)
With the first best bet, we will be taking the Toronto Blue Jays to get the win over the Detroit Tigers. Toronto is off to a disappointing start to the year, sitting at the bottom of the AL East with a record of 23-26, in large part due to their offensive woes. The Blue Jays ranked just 23rd in wRC+ through the first six weeks of the season and ranked just 25th in slugging percentage, showing that their lack of power led to struggles on offense. However, the tides have started to shift for Toronto, ranking 8th in wRC+ over their past four series behind a power resurgence that has them ranked 12th in slugging. This trend should continue against Tigers’ starter Matt Manning, who ranks just 137th in SIERA among 154 starters with 20+ innings pitched this year and grades out poorly in strikeout, walk, and ground ball rates. Alek Manoah takes the mound for the Blue Jays, who are coming off back-to-back seven-inning, zero earned run outings after having a tough start to the year. He struggled last year but I see him being closer to his 2022 form than his 2023, and regardless he gets a Detroit offense that ranks bottom-half in average and slugging the last four series, while also top-half in strikeout rate. With advantages on the mound and in recent offensive performance, Toronto should get the win on Friday night.
Best Bet #2) Baltimore Orioles First 5 Innings -0.5 runs (-150)
There is a lot of juice on this play, but the spot is too good to pass up for the Baltimore Orioles to have a lead going into the sixth inning when they face the Chicago White Sox. This is because Baltimore will send out ace Corbin Burnes to the mound, who has been elite this year, going 5+ innings in each start and never giving up more than three earned runs. The White Sox offense has been terrible all year and it hasn’t been any better as of late, ranking 26th in wRC+. While Burnes should shut down the Chicago bats, this Orioles’ offense that ranks as one of the best this year and is top-half in wRC+ the last several series should be able to produce against White Sox starter Chris Flexen, who ranks 125th in SIERA and dead-last in Stuff+. Baltimore owns incredible edges on offense and in starting pitching in this matchup, so they should carry a lead to the second half of the game.
Best Bet #3) Cleveland Guardians/Los Angeles Angels over 7.5 runs (-108)
When the Cleveland Guardians head west to take on the Los Angeles Angels, it can be expected that runs will be scored. Cleveland enters the game 13th in wRC+ the past few series, but they are in a good spot to score in bunches due to their pitching matchup with LHP Patrick Sandoval. While Sandoval is amidst a solid three-game stretch, those outings came against no top-10 teams in wRC+ against left-handed pitching and just one in the top half, something that isn’t true of the 6th ranked Guardians due to their 3rd best in MLB slugging percentage against southpaws. On the other side of the matchup, the Angels offense comes into the contest with the 7th-best wRC+ over their last four series and gets a favorable matchup with Cleveland starter Logan Allen, who is 90th in SIERA but 149th in Stuff+ with low whiff and strikeout rates. Both teams have solid offensive advantages over the starters, so there should be eight or more runs put up in this series opener.
Main Image: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
