Wise n Shine: MLB best bets for Monday, July 31 plus NFL futures analysis

Good morning, Pickswise Nation. You can expect plenty of entertainment both on and off the baseball diamond on Monday, as the schedule features plenty of great matchups and it’s also the day before the MLB trade deadline. Meanwhile, group-stage competition continues at the Women’s World Cup. It’s another big day in the world of sports, so let’s get right to it and make your next bet better with Wise n’ Shine!

About Last Night

Orioles humiliate Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball
The American League East-leading Orioles scored 7 runs in the first inning at the expense of Luis Severino and the Yankees en route to a 9-3 victory in the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball Game of the Week. Speaking of runs in the first inning, the Braves scored 2 on Sunday after going for 6 on Saturday. Their 8-6 victory over the Brewers finished off a 3-game sweep.

As usual, Verstappen wins
Even at -300 odds, the Pickswise experts saw value on Max Verstappen at the Belgian Grand Prix. And, as expected, the Dutchman took home another F1 trophy on Sunday. He was joined on the podium by Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc.

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Today’s Slate

Best player visits best team
Another week in Major League Baseball begins with a 10-game slate, headlined by Shohei Ohtani and the Angels visiting the league-leading Braves. Also on the schedule are the following matchups: Phillies at Marlins, Rays at Yankees and Orioles at Blue Jays. Don’t miss our MLB predictions. 

Best Bet of the Day 

MLB: Cincinnati Reds ML over Chicago Cubs (+105)
8:05 pm ET, BSOH 

Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott has made 10 starts at the MLB level and has a sub-2.00 ERA with a 27.8% strikeout rate. Abbott is also on a 14-inning scoreless streak heading into Monday’s game against the Cubs. The left-hander has a tough task ahead of him to face a Chicago lineup that has been bashing pitchers left and right since the all-star break, but there is one thing that stands out about its offense: it struggles against lefties. Meanwhile, Marcus Stroman of the Cubs has cooled off in a major way throughout the month of July. The right-hander has surrendered 12 runs, 16 hits and 6 walks in his last 7.0 innings to the Cardinals and White Sox. Check out our full Reds vs Cubs predictions. 

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Must-read

We are ramping up our NFL preseason coverage with a plethora of futures-related articles, and you can find all of them in our NFL Betting Guide. The latest includes analysis of the teams most likely to go from worst to first in their division (the Bengals and Jaguars have done it in the last 2 seasons) plus those that are most likely to miss the playoffs. 

Read all of our sports betting articles as they arrive throughout the day on the Analysis tab. 

Stat of the Day

The total has stayed under in 8 of the Red Sox’s last 10 games.

Quote of the Day 

“The teams that are ranked anywhere between 15 and 40 are the ones that have grown probably the most and are the ones that have made this tournament interesting. Whether it’s Nigeria or Jamaica or South Africa…Philippines — these are the teams that actually show how much [the] women’s soccer game has grown.”

— USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski.

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Pickswise is the home of free Sports picks, news and best bets. Check out our expert NFL Picks, NBA Picks, Soccer Picks and NHL Picks pages for our latest Game picks.