The MLB season is almost halfway through, and we can say that the most interesting duels lie ahead. We’re only a few weeks removed from the trade deadline, and things will get spicier in the coming days. Before we get close to the trade deal, it is better to talk about the duels that we have ahead. Each year, Major League Baseball creates its schedule around the 4th July.
As we’re already used to, some more than interesting matchups have been created solely for the purpose of Independence Day. Even better news comes our way from one of the world’s leading online sportsbooks. So, if you plan not only to make barbecues and watch baseball, but also to bet on baseball, you need to hear what we have to say.
What MLB Has in Store for 4th of July?
As we said, MLB makes wonders with its schedule come Independence Day. Below we will show you the most interesting matchups in our opinion that will be held on the 4th of July weekend.
New York Mets vs. New York Yankees
The New York derby will be the centrepiece of the 4th of July MLB games. The Yankees are trying to run the table to mount yet another title challenge. With the likes of Max Fried and Clarke Schmidt playing up to standards, they can easily put themselves in a favourable position come the season end. The New York Yankees have had their ups and downs this year, but during the summer, they know how to play to get the results.
The Mets, on the other side of this matchup, find themselves in an unusual situation, where they’re serious playoff contenders. At the moment, they’re playing similarly to their city rivals in terms of pure win/lose statistics. They will even enter this bout with a better record than the Yankees. The Mets’ fans hopes of a rival win will lie in the hands of Griffin Canning and another good performance from him is expected and more than needed for Mets to win this duel.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago White Sox
If you plan on scrolling your favorite online sportsbook during the holidays, and follow MLB through a bettors lenses, and Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago White Sox needs to be on your radar. It is the easiest game to bet on as far as this round goes.
The Independence Day will ironically see a Japanese conqueror in Shohei Ohtani playing his game to perfection and enabling Dodgers an easy moneyline win vs. Chicago White Sox. Last year’s World Series winners, the Dodgers, are one of the top teams this year too. If the likes of Michael Conforto get on the same page with the rest of the roster, the question whether the Dodgers will repeat will have a clear answer.
White Sox are entering this bout as the underdogs, and while they will be motivated to play well on the 4th of July, it is hard to envision them taking anything from this game. A team, which is now famously supported by the newly appointed Pope, have a long way to go before they are once again contenders for the World Series.
Washington Nationals vs. Boston Red Sox
A bout worthy of Independence Day. A Boston team playing one from Washington. While the final winner is hard to predetermine, we can say that all fans of baseball should expect a high scoring game. The Red Sox are taking their wins home on the back of solid performances from Bryan Bello, who is their standout player on the year. The Red Sox are having a fine year, and they will try to assert their playoff aspirations throughout the summer. The 4th of July duel vs. the Washington Nationals is a good place to start.
Nationals fans have nothing to look forward to this season, and they have had nothing to cheer for since the start of the year. Currently, the Washington franchise is one of the worst in the MLB. If they’re to get close to winning this one, they will need another stellar night from their best player of the year, Jake Irvin. The nationals still have a long way to go, to make themselves relevant in the league, but a 4th of July match is a good opportunity for fans to at least see some fireworks.
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Cincinnati Reds
The Phillies are a team to look out for. Besides the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Phillies are the best team in the National League. The ambitions are high in Philadelphia, and we are not expecting their form to drop during the summer. Trea Turner, Castellanos, and Kyle Schwarber are having stellar seasons and are leading the Phillies to the top of the table at the moment. Independence day will pose an ideal opportunity for them to continue all the good work they’ve done so far in the season, and with the Reds opposing them, they have easy prey to hunt.
Cincinnati Reds are a team that is all over the place. As each week passes, they are becoming bigger and bigger underdogs regardless of their opponents. While that might be the case, for the first time this season, they’re on a hot run and will try to compose themselves during the July. With a good run of form, they might even come close to securing a playoff appearance. While at times the results haven’t been there, as far as the team performance goes, they’ve been stellar at times. The likes of Spencer Steer, Gavin Lux, TJ Frield, and De La Cruz have given the Reds fans hope this year, maybe more than any in the previous few seasons.
What you have above are just some of the top duels that are scheduled for the 4tyh of July weekend. There’s plenty to pick from if you want to watch and bet on MLB in the coming weeks. Some other notable duels include the matches such as Mariners vs. Pirates, Braves vs. Angels, Red Sox vs. Reds, and Rockies vs. Astros. If you want all duels that are scheduled for upcoming weeks in Major League Baseball, you need to pay a visit to Stake.com. Talking about them, let’s see what this online casino and sportsbook has in store.
What Stake Has in Store for 4th of July MLB Games?
Well, it is a mystery. At least at this moment. But, by knowing what Stake is and how they conduct their business, the users on this online sportsbook are in for quite a treat. All we can say is that what’s in question is a one of a kind MLB 4th of July Promotion, available only on the providers of online sports betting. They’re usually quite generous with the amount of bonuses they have for players, and the number of promos they run frequently. If you’re a fan of baseball, you ought to stay tuned.
Also, if you’re new to this betting brand name, which would be weird considering how well established they are at this moment, you first need to learn how to bet on baseball and what options you have on your hands.
How to Bet on MLB & Baseball Bet Types
Just like most other sports, baseball has its perks when it comes to betting. It provides players with more than a few ways to go around with their bets. It is a good enough sport for pre-match bets, and for a variety of in-game ones. Let us quickly walk you through.
Moneyline
The most frequent MLB bet. The reason? It’s the simplest one. It is a bet on one team to win the duel. When a team is heavily favoured like the Dodgers are against the White Sox, the winnings will not amass too much. Yet, if you bet on the White Sox, you could win a lot. But, they will never win, or will they? It is a game of favourites and the underdogs. You pick the one to favour with your bet.
Runs
The Runs bet leads us to a more intricate baseball betting. Within each game you can bet on the number of runs for the evening. The totals are available to players both before the game and during it. Of course, the number that allows you to bet over/under on runs changes as the game progresses.For players who love in-game, live betting. Outlets such as Stake provide the players with an over/under number, and you pick whether you play over or under all depending on the teams facing each other and the odds provided.
Player props
For player props you need to be a real fan of the MLB or at least one of the franchises, as player props require you to know teams and players alike. There are more ways to make these bets. The most frequent ones include betting on a player to make a home run or a number of those. If you favour pitchers more you can make a bet on the number of strikeouts, outs, hits, and walks.
All of these bets are also based on the over/under principle. You get a number provided by your betting outlet and you decide whether to make an over or an under bet. The best part is that you place wagers in-game, which makes it one of the most interesting live betting options available. Most players love to combine different player props into a one slip and create parlays that can rake them in hundreds of thousands if hit, and be nerve wracking fun in the process.
Innings specific bets
Baseball is a game of innings. Of course, the online sports betting companies know this, and thus the users can bet on inning specific wagers. It refers only to an action occurring during a selected inning. This type of betting usually revolves around a specific selection, while it can go beyond it. The bettors usually try to guess whether there will be a run scored during the first inning by one or either team.
Futures Betting
For all of you who are willing to bet on baseball even in the offseason this is the ideal way to do it. Future betting is usually based on betting on a team which you believe is going to win the World Series. There are odds for the WS winner long before the season starts. While betting on the World Series winner is the most popular future bet, you can also place wagers on the division winners, conference winners, and whether the selected group of teams will make it to the postseason. Also, you can bet on the number of games each team is going to win throughout the year, on the same over/under principle.
MLB Betting Tips, Predictions & Strategies
What makes betting on MLB so interesting and exciting is the fact that every game is unpredictable. Even the worst teams in the league jure up 50 or so wins. If you look at the best hitters, they can easily drop below 65% at times, due to the sheer number of games. That’s why you need a strategy when you bet on baseball. Here are some of our tips.
Before each game, you need to do a bit of research. Watch out for both team and individual stats. Data is essential for baseball, and we trust you’ve watched Moneyball. If you did, great! If not, put it on the watch list. Once you’re done with Moneyball, take a look at the injury report, and the expected starting lineups for the teams you want to bet on. When you see who is playing and who is not, you can consider making a bet, but not before you’re sure that there are no adverse weather conditions or one-sided home field advantage.
Now, you can start gearing up for the 4th of July MLB spectacle which lies ahead of us.
Main Image: © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images