MLB Picks, Predictions | Our ‘Payoff Pitch’ Best Bets for Tuesday, July 30
Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images. Pictured: San Francisco pitcher Robbie Ray.
Another Tuesday in July means another loaded Major League Baseball slate.
Action Network experts BJ Cunningham and Tanner McGrath joined the "Payoff Pitch" podcast to discuss their favorite MLB bets for today's games, including a side for Rangers vs. Cardinals and two picks for A's vs. Giants.
Check out the full episode of "Payoff Pitch" below, and continue reading for both of their MLB picks and predictions for Tuesday, July 30.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7:45 p.m. | Rangers ML (-120) |
  | 9:45 p.m. | Giants ML + Over |
Rangers -120 at Cardinals
7:45 p.m. ET ⋅ MLB.TV
While Texas' Max Scherzer doesn't have the same elite stuff he once had, he has done a great job of learning how to pitch without that elite fastball.
He has been very effective with his location and moving the ball around the zone. His slider has been as good as ever with a 116 Stuff+ rating and a whiff rate over 45%.
Most importantly, he faces a Cardinals team that's the third-worst in xwOBA against right-handed fastballs. I think Scherzer has a decent matchup tonight against Lance Lynn, who takes the ball for St. Louis.
Lynn's Atuff+ numbers are just as bad as Scherzer's this year, but he isn't doing nearly as good of a job of locating pitches.
With the Rangers' performance against right-handed pitching this year, I think they're a little undervalued here at -120.
What is QuickSlip?
QuickSlip is an Action Network feature that allows users to automatically pre-load their bet slip at FanDuel Sportsbook.
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Giants -182 + Over 7.5 vs. Athletics
9:45 p.m. ET ⋅ MLB.TV
Robbie Ray returned for the Giants last week after his Tommy John injury and was pumping 95 mph fastballs, topping out at 97 mph.
He looked elite against one of the best offenses in baseball and held the Dodgers to one run with eight strikeouts across five innings. He looks like a completely different pitcher and a potentially dominant one.
I think its time to buy Ray, and I love him in this spot against Oakland's JP Sears, who has kind of fallen off after a hot start in April.
Sears has a 6.6 ERA across his past seven outings and just got torn up for seven runs in his most recent start against Houston. The Giants have had far more success against left-handed pitching and rank second in WRC+ this season against southpaws.
I think this is a great opportunity for the Giants' bats to take advantage of a pitcher who throws a ton of upper-third fastballs, which they excel at hitting.
The Giants' bullpen has been underwhelming on the season, but they're head and shoulders above the A's group without Mason Miller right now.
While the A's have been the hottest offense in the league over the past month, they still can't stop hitting. I think we're going to get some pretty intense hitting weather. The ballpark model has this total close to 8, so I'm going to go with the Giants and the over.
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