Today the weekend kicks off with a loaded slate of 18 MLB games. You can track the latest odds and betting percentages for every matchup using our VSiN Betting Splits.
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In the meantime, let’s examine where smart money is leaning for Saturday’s MLB slate…
2:20 p.m. ET: Kansas City Royals at Chicago Cubs (-185, 9.5)
The Royals (40-84) took Friday night’s Interleague series opener 4-3, cashing as +150 road dogs. In this afternoon’s rematch, the Royals hand the ball to righty Brady Singer (8-8, 4.91 ERA) and the Cubs (62-59) counter with lefty Justin Steele (13-3, 2.79 ERA). This line opened with Chicago listed as a -175 home favorite and Kansas City a +160 road dog. Pros are banking on the Cubs to bounce back with a win, steaming Chicago up from -175 to -185. The Cubs are receiving 84% of bets and 95% of money, indicating a heavy combination of both Pro and Joe support. The Cubs have value as an Interleague favorite, with the lack of familiarity benefiting the better team. Chicago has the better bats (hitting .255 vs .244) and superior pitching (team ERA 4.16 vs 5.18). The Cubs are 10-1 in Steele’s last 11 starts. Steele has a 2.63 ERA at home compared to 3.00 on the road. Singer has a 3.98 ERA at home compared to 6.52 on the road. Chicago is 36-23 as a favorite, 33-30 at home and 42-40 against righties. Kansas City is 37-74 as a dog, 17-44 on the road and 9-21 against lefties. Pros are also leaning over, as the total is 9.5 with the over juiced to -115. The forecast calls for low 80s with 10 MPH winds blowing out to center at Wrigley Field.
8:10 p.m. ET: Chicago White Sox (-115, 12) at Colorado Rockies
The Rockies (47-75) dominated last night’s Interleague series opener, winning 14-1 as -120 home favorites. In tonight’s rematch, the White Sox (48-74) start righty Jesse Scholtens (1-5, 3.20 ERA) and the Rockies send out lefty Kyle Freeland (4-13, 4.94 ERA). This line opened with Chicago listed as a -125 road favorite and Colorado a +105 home dog. Sharps have pounced on the Rockies as a plus-money dog, moving Colorado from +105 to -105. Essentially, we are seeing this line move toward a pick’em after opening with Chicago as the favorite. The public is split, with roughly 50% of bets on both sides. In a vacuum, a line shouldn’t move at all if the tickets are even. So we know this move to Colorado indicates sharp money backing the Rockies off a blowout win. Colorado has the better bats, hitting .249 vs .237 for Chicago. The White Sox are 29-56 as a dog and 23-41 on the road. The Rockies are 22-22 as a home dog, producing an 18% ROI due to the plus-money payouts. Dogs off a blowout win of 10-runs or more are 13-9 (59%) this season with a 24% ROI.