With the Red Sox and Yankees getting Friday off before their London series begins tomorrow, bettors have a 14-game slate of baseball from which to pick their spots.
As it turns out tonight, the sharps' favorite games are also some of the public's favorites, they just don't necessarily agree on the actual plays (surprise).
Here are the three games drawing the most professional action Friday.
Atlanta Braves @ New York Mets
7:10 p.m. ET | Mike Soroka (8-1, 2.07 ERA) vs. Jacob deGrom (4-6, 3.25 ERA)
Sharps will be squaring off with, well, squares in this NL East matchup tonight. With the Braves being 11 games up on the Mets in the division — not to mention having the hotter arm entering this game — it's easy to see how 62% of bettors landed on the Braves, especially at a plus-money price.
Those bettors, however, have generated a lower percentage of actual money (53%), meaning the bigger bets — the ones more likely to be made by sharps — are on the Mets.
Sports Insights' Bet Signals confirm the sharp action, revealing three instances of market-wide movement caused by wiseguy activity at -123, -125 and -134.
That professional action has moved this line from New York -109 to -136 since opening.
Sharp angle: Mets (moved from -109 to -136)
Philadelphia Phillies @ Miami Marlins
7:10 p.m. ET | Victor Velasquez (2-4, 4.40 ERA) vs. Elieser Hernandez (0-2, 4.34 ERA)
Not exactly a star-studded pitching matchup here, and perhaps that's why 81% of bettors are taking the over on a total that opened at 8.5. I guess that's not too surprising considering the public's attraction to overs in most cases anyway, but what might come as a surprise is that this total is now down to 8.
The 19% of bettors on the under have been a loud minority, accounting for 60% of actual money being wagered, once again giving a good indication of how sharps are betting.
The under has triggered three SI Bet Signals of its own, though it's important to note that all three came at the opening number of 8.5. It hasn't been made clear yet whether pros are still finding value at the current number.
Sharp angle: Under (moved from 8.5 to 8)
Arizona Diamondbacks @ San Francisco Giants
10:10 p.m. ET | Merrill Kelly (7-7, 3.93 ERA) vs. Shaun Anderson (2-2, 3.94 ERA)
At 7.5, this is tied for the lowest total on Friday's slate with the Soroka-deGrom matchup (and is actually even lower because of the juice). This one, though, doesn't quite stack up in terms of well-known arms.
Seventy percent of bettors are expecting the bats to put together at least eight runs against Kelly and Anderson, whose combined ERA comes to just under that (7.87).
Once again, though, the money tells the sharp story. The 30% of bets on the under have accounted for 60% of dollars, and the under has drawn five Bet Signals to the over's one.
Like with the matchup above, it's important to note that all five signals came at a total of 8.
Sharp angle: Under (moved from 8 to 7.5)
