MLB picks: Orioles vs. Yankees, Giants vs. Diamondbacks

MLB bettors have just eight games to choose from on this first Monday in August, but that doesn’t mean that there’s a lack of solid wagering opportunities! We’ve narrowed things down to our two best bets for the evening.

Leading off is our look at an AL East battle between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees. Then we’ll preview the late-night NL West clash between the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Baltimore Orioles (37-67) at New York Yankees (56-48), 7:05 p.m. ET

It should be a busy night for scorekeepers at Yankee Stadium as Jorge Lopez and the Orioles visit Andrew Heaney and the Yankees.

Lopez worked just two innings in his most recent start, coughing up five runs to a mediocre Miami Marlins lineup. That effort only served to inflate an already-garish ERA to 6.19, and his WHIP to 1.68.

Lopez colliding with Yankees red-hot trade deadline pickup Anthony Rizzo – who’s already homered twice in pinstripes – looks like a recipe for disaster for Orioles fans. Baltimore’s 25th-ranked bullpen by ERA (4.88) is unlikely to make things much better.

Heaney – a far less heralded deadline acquisition for New York – will toe the rubber here. The Bombers are hopeful he can eat up some innings for them down the stretch, but his most recent start in the Bronx does not inspire. The Yankees tagged him for seven runs over three innings when he last pitched here on June 29.

Heaney will have to watch out for hot-hitting catcher Pedro Severino, who’s homered three times over his last three games.

MLB pick: Over

---

San Francisco Giants (66-39) at Arizona Diamondbacks (33-73), 9:40 p.m. ET

After two rough starts in a row against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Anthony DeSclafani gets a serious drop in class on Monday night as he tackles the Diamondbacks.

DeSclafani sports a strong 2.50 ERA on the road this year (13 starts), and is 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA against Arizona in 2021. The San Francisco bullpen shouldn’t have to do much heavy lifting, though they’re more than capable of backing DeSclafani up. This unit is third in the majors by ERA this season at 3.37.

Taylor Widener responds for the D-backs, looking to turn things around after two miserable starts in a row. He’s surrendered a combined 10 earned runs over just 8 1/3 innings in that span.

Behind him is an awful Arizona bullpen that’s second-last in the majors by ERA this season (5.38).

MLB pick: Giants -1.5 runs (-122)