MLB Best Bets: Back Two Road Underdogs at Plus Money

Jennifer Piacenti | May 7, 2024

Apr 20, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Kutter Crawford (50) / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Happy Tuesday!  

Let’s have some fun and look at a couple of plus-money dogs that could be worth a wager Tuesday night—all odds according to DraftKings. 

Braves ML +145 at DraftKings   

Sure, the Braves are at home, and yes, Reynaldo Lopez has been excellent to start the season, but +145 for the Red Sox to pull off the upset looks mighty fine to me.

Kutter Crawford gets the start for the Red Sox, and he has been excellent this year. If you’re a fantasy baseball enthusiast, you probably already know this. He was one of my favorite sleepers heading into the season and became a waiver wire must-add some time ago.

But I digress.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Kutter Crawford on April 5, 2024. / Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports

Crawford has a 1.56 ERA this season and isn’t allowing hard contact. His 26.1% hard-hit rate is in the top 3% of the league.   

The Braves have scored the second-most runs per game this season (5.09), but their bats have been cold for the past two weeks. They have managed only 3.18 runs per game across the past two weeks of play. That ranks 27th out of 30 MLB teams. 

The Red Sox have averaged 4.92 runs per game across the last two weeks of play, ranking seventh in MLB. 

The public will be all on the Braves bouncing back at home.  After all, the Braves are 11-4 this season when they are the home favorite. It’s tempting to back the home team, but the +145 is even more enticing. 

Houston Astros ML +105 at DraftKings 

The Yankees swept Houston in the first series of the season at Minute Maid, and now they even get home-field advantage.

So, why are we backing the Houston Astros, whose bullpen has blown nine saves? 

Justin Verlander.

Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander takes the mound Tuesday. / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Verlander has been sharp since returning from the IL, allowing only four earned runs across three starts and 17 1/3 innings pitched.  Not only that, but this Yankees lineup is hitting a collective .158 and slugging a mere .354 lifetime vs. Verlander.

Both teams have hit well recently, and yes, Juan Soto seems to be Houston’s daddy, but for the plus-money payout, I’m willing to bet the road team comes out on top in a low-scoring affair Tuesday. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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