Shohei Ohtani and the Angels highlight the best bets for Aug. 15, plus an under play

Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer.

A reminder for those who haven’t signed up yet: Caesars is offering a deal in which one can get a risk-free bet up to $1,500. In other words, if you were to lose your first bet after you sign up, you will receive a credit for one bet equal to the amount of your bet up to $1,500.

Best bets for Monday, August 15:

TOP PLAY

The play: MLB: Angels (money line) over Mariners

The odds/bet: -102 ($30.60 to win $30)

The book: FanDuel

Time/TV: 9:38 p.m. (MLB.TV or MLB Extra Innings)

Our take: The Angels have been gaining momentum recently having won five of their last six, and while they’re 10 games out of the playoffs, they have a shot to play spoiler against a division rival this week.

The Angels begin their upcoming three-game series against the Mariners with Shohei Ohtani on the mound, who’s been pitching at an elite level and dominated the Mariners in his last outing against them in which he threw six shutout innings.

The Mariners will counter that with one of their top pitchers in Luis Castillo, but we’re liking the Angels to keep up their recent hot streak with Ohtani on the mound, they’ve had a renewed sense of confidence since the trade deadline.

MLB UNDER

The play: MLB: Padres at Marlins under 6.5 runs

The odds/bet: -105 ($10.50 to win $10)

The book: BetMGM and FanDuel

Time/TV: 6:40 p.m. (MLB.TV or MLB Extra Innings)

Our take: There haven’t been many lineups in MLB that have struggled as badly as the Marlins in recent weeks, and the path doesn’t get any easier today against the Padres and their ace Joe Musgrove.

The Padres have been scoring runs at a solid clip since their trade deadline reinforcements, but they could find runs hard to come by against Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara, who’s managed to stay dominant on the mound despite the team seemingly crumbling around him.

Expect very few runs to be scored early with a pair of aces on the mound, giving the bullpens some wiggle room, which should allow the under to easily hit despite being set at only 6.5.

HOW WE’VE FARED

Sunday’s best bets

• NFL preseason: Raiders-Vikings over 36 (WON $30)
• PGA FedEx St. Jude Classic: Trey Mullinax to win (LOST $10)
• PGA FedEx St. Jude Classic: Jon Rahm to finish top 10 (WON $45)

Saturday’s profit/loss: +$65 (2-1)

Total for the week: +$40 (7-6)

Total for August: -$132 (11-18)

Total for 2022: -$272.10 (202-233)

NOTE: If a line or odds are minus, it considers the juice one must lay to place the bet. Ex: Team A is -160 on the money line, one would have to bet $160 to win $100 (or $16 to win $10). OR Team B is a 5-point favorite at -110, one would have to bet $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10.)

Conversely, on positive lines, if Team C is +140 on the money line, a $100 would bring in $140 (or $10 to win $14).

Categories: Upstate Action