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There’s another full plate of options on the Friday MLB schedule, with 15 games on tap as several teams try to keep lengthy win streaks going. Every MLB game features dozens of wagering opportunities at the best betting sites, and the MLB betting opportunities are almost endless with so many games across the weekend. In addition to a juicy NL East Braves vs. Phillies rivalry starting Friday night, the Rays and Tigers are both looking for a seventh consecutive victory, with Tampa Bay visiting the Pirates and the Tigers in Boston to face the Red Sox. The Padres have won eight in a row and will be in Los Angeles to take on the Angels.

SportsLine expert Adam Thompson has his top picks for Friday’s games. An analytics-driven exploiter of matchups, Thompson specializes in the NFL, MLB and the NBA. He also has delivered consistent winners in college basketball, horse racing and golf. Over the past two seasons, he’s up over 70 units in MLB and over 60 units in the NBA. 

You can find more of his picks at SportsLine, and in the member-special SportsLine Discord server, a community of sports betting enthusiasts and SportsLine experts.

Here’s Adam Thompson’s best bets and analysis for Friday’s MLB games. 

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Best MLB picks for Friday

  • Cardinals-Astros Over 8.5 (-115, BetMGM)
  • Brandon Williamson, Under 15.5 Outs Recorded (-163, DraftKings)
  • Diamondbacks ML (-132, FanDuel)

Cardinals-Astros Over 8.5

Three of the last four Cardinals games have gone Over this number. Only one Astros games in the last five has gone Over this number, but nine of the previous 10 did.

Neither team has a pitching edge here. For Houston, Peter Lambert gets called up from Triple-A Sugar Land, where he’s been fine. But the 28-year-old right-hander has had stints in MLB from 2019-24 and none went great. Houston’s bullpen owns a 6.56 ERA the past two weeks.

St. Louis’ position isn’t a ton better. Its bullpen ERA in that span is 5.36 and starter Kyle Leahy hasn’t gone more than five innings. Houston is crushing right-handers the past 15 days, with a team OPS nearing .800.

Bettors can take advantage of the BetMGM bonus code for MLB betting on Friday. 

Brandon Williamson, Under 15.5 Outs Recorded

The Reds’ starter against the Twins has three outings and has recorded Over 14 outs just once, a 6.2-inning, three-hit gem vs. the Marlins. He floundered in the other two, however, walking six in just four innings (12 outs) vs. the Angels last time out. 

The Twins’ offense has been a pleasant surprise. It has posted at least five runs in five straight games, and its 5.4 runs per game ranks fourth in MLB.

Minnesota is also crushing left-handers lately, with a .775 OPS the last two weeks. The offensive marks are even more impressive at home.

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Diamondbacks ML

Toronto’s offense is having its issues. The Blue Jays managed just one run in each of their last two games, both 2-1 defeats. They’ve now managed 0-2 runs in seven of 18 games.

This isn’t a good spot for a significant turnaround. Diamondbacks starter Mike Soroka is 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA, and the Arizona bullpen has a 2.74 ERA in April. On the flip side, Eric Lauer has struggled (7.82 ERA) and the D’backs have been owning left-handed starters this month.

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