MLB Betting Picks and Predictions for Thursday (June 3) Including Reds vs Cardinals
- See the best bets in baseball on June 3, 2021
- St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright vies for his third straight scoreless start at home
- Taijuan Walker and Yu Darvish tangle in a superstar pitching matchup in San Diego
Twelve games are on the MLB docket for June 3, including eight evening matchups after a busy four-game afternoon.
Here are the bets I am making today.
Pick #1: Reds vs Cardinals – Cardinals’ Moneyline
| Team (Pitcher) | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Reds (Gutierrez) | +132 | Over 8.5 (-109) |
| Cardinals (Wainwright) | —>-155<— | Under 8.5 (-111) |
Odds as of June 3 at DraftKings.
Adam Wainwright has been wildly inconsistent this season. He has made ten starts and sports a sub-par 4.22 ERA, overall. But in three of those starts, he went at least eight innings and surrendered either zero or one run.
In his last two starts at home, he’s pitched 16.1 shutout innings, surrendering a scant four hits. That has continued a career-long trend for Wainwright of pitching much better at home (2.85 ERA vs 4.04 ERA away).
He hasn’t had a lot of success against this Cincinnati lineup (.313 average and .827 OPS in 79 total at-bats). But opposite Wainwright will be rookie Vladimir Gutierrez.
The 25-year-old started his MLB career strong, throwing five innings of two-hit, two-walk, one-run ball against the Cubs on May 28. But this will be just his second career start, and it comes against a St. Louis team that is 15-10 at home.
Pick #2: Mets vs Padres – First 3 Innings Under 1.5
| Team (Pitcher) | Moneyline | First 3 Innings Total |
|---|---|---|
| Mets (Walker) | +155 | Over 1.5 (-152) |
| Padres (Darvish) | -180 | —>Under 1.5 (+123)<— |
Odds as of June 3 at DraftKings.
The matchup between Taijuan Walker and Yu Darvish at Petco Park has all the makings of a classic pitchers’ duel. The game total is at just 6.5.
Walker (1.84 ERA, 0.94 WHIP) is finally living up to the potential that made him a first-round pick back in 2010. He hasn’t given up a single run in four of his past six starts, including eight shutout innings against the mighty Braves in his past two. Only five hitters in the San Diego lineup have ever faced him before, and they have a .239 BA and .275 OBP in 38 at-bats.
The other side of the equation is NL Cy Young contender Yu Darvish (2.16 ERA, 0.93 WHIP) facing a Mets team that is third-worst in scoring (3.73 runs per game).
It doesn’t take much to get over 1.5 in three innings: one swing with a runner on base will do it. But at +123, there’s good value on the under here.
Sascha was a hockey player in his youth, a lawyer in his capricious mid-20s, and has been with SBD since 2014. He specializes in football, basketball, politics, baseball, and hockey.
