Best MLB Bets Today – Free (Saturday 8/5)

Welcome to another Saturday edition of MLB best bets! The “Shohei Sho” did indeed keep moving along Friday, as Shohei Ohtani landed us in the winners circle once again. Saturday afternoon, we will look to keep our winning streak alive as we head to Game 3 of a weekend series between the New York Yankees Houston Astros in Yankee Stadium. 

Houston Astros @ New York Yankees

Nestor Cortes will make his long-awaited return to the Yankee rotation Saturday. Cortes will look to provide the guys in pinstripes with a much-needed boost as they head down the stretch of what has so far been a disappointing season. Here, we’ll look to attack Cortes with a dangerous bat in the Houston lineup that has fared pretty well against him, Yordan Alvarez. 

Alvarez has once again starred at the plate for this Astros this season, even while dealing with injuries causing him to miss time. Alvarez enters Saturday with a .294 AVG, 20 HRs and a 1.017 OPS. He has immediately made his presence felt since returning from the IL, averaging .407 at the plate with 11 hits, 3 HRs and a .778 SLG over his last seven games. In four career plate appearances against Cortes, Alvarez has a .500 AVG with a single, home run and 3 RBIs. The pitch mix will once again play a key role in Saturday’s matchup — below, I’ll break down Cortes go-to pitches against LHB. 

MLB league average ISO: .140.

Best Bet

Yordan Alvarez over 1.5 Total Bases (+115, DraftKings Sportsbook) — 1-unit wager
Yordan Alvarez over 1.5 Hits+Runs+RBIs (-130, DraftKings Sportsbook) — 0.5-Unit Wager 
Yordan Alvarez 4+ Total Bases (+220, FanDuel Sportsbook) — 0.25-Unit Wager 

Yordan Alvarez has been dominant against LHP this season, with a .333 AVG, .299 ISO and 1.021 OPS. Since returning from the IL, Alvarez has covered at least two total bases in five of eight games, with at least four total bases in three of those games. We’ll back Yordan to stay hot and give Nestor Cortes a nice welcome back to the rotation Saturday afternoon.