May 8 MLB Betting Guide

MLB Betting Guide for Saturday, May 8

Saturday gives up a full-day slate of non-stop baseball action, with first pitches starting at 1:05 p.m. Eastern, concluding with the battle of Los Angeles for a 9:07 p.m. nightcap.

Although there are slight weather concerns in New York and St. Louis, it looks like all games will be played in their entirety.

Read below and find out which games you should target.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago Cubs Spread, Moneyline, Total, and Odds

Moneyline: Pirates +166| Cubs -198

Spread: Cubs -1.5

Total: 8

Odds to Win World Series: Pirates +25000 | Cubs +6000

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook today and get your first bet risk-free for up to $1,000.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago Cubs, Analysis, and Picks

Probables: Wil Crowe (Pirates) vs. Trevor Williams (Cubs)

Projected Lineup

In a classic National League Central matchup, the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates square off for afternoon baseball in the Friendly Confines, with the Cubs taking the first game in the three-game series, with a 3-2-win Friday afternoon.

Trevor Williams takes the mound, facing his former team for the second time this season. In his first matchup, a 7-1 loss on Apr. 11, Williams threw 75 pitches in 3.1 innings, allowing five runs on 10 hits, striking out three batters. Making his seventh start of the season today, Williams is 2-2 with a 6.00 ERA, 3.75 WHIP, 23.0% K rate and a 27.8% CSW.

Last pitching in a 13-12 no-decision against the Reds on May 2, Williams threw 72 pitches in 2.2 innings, allowing six runs on six hits, striking out three batters.

Williams, with a career 42.5% ground ball rate and a 50.3% medium hit rate, looks to limit damage and might be in a bit of an unlucky streak, with a 5.12 FIP. He uses a four-pitch mix of fastball (91%), slider (17%), curveball (13%) and changeup (8%). Although his fastball is used primarily in two-strike situations, his slider, which is second with a 26.5% usage in two-strike situations, tends to strike out batters at a higher frequency. Thrown 86 times this season, the pitch has a 55% K rate, 33.7% CSW rate, 52.9% Whiff rate and a 64.7% PutAway Rate.

The Pirates will likely deploy a lineup featuring Adam Frazier, Bryan Reynolds, Erik Gonzalez and Colin Moran at the top of the order. Williams has an 11.4% K rate in 29 at-bats against the Pittsburgh roster with a limited sample.

Wil Crowe takes the mound for the Pirates, making his third start of the season. In his first matchup with the Cubs, a 5-1 no-decision on Apr. 3, Crowe pitched 0.2 innings in relief, throwing 28 pitches and allowing one run on one hit, striking out two batters. He made his last start on May 2, a 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, going five innings, throwing 97 pitches, allowing three runs on three hits and striking out two batters.

This season, his first with the Pirates, he is 0-1 with a 4.66 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 15.9% K rate and a 23.8% CSW. Crowe uses a four-pitch mix featuring fastball (42%), slider (27%), changeup (24%) and curveball (7%). His four-seamer is the go-to pitch for striking out batters. Used in 32.9% of two-strike situations, the pitch has a 33.3% K rate, 29.8% CSW, 28.6% Whiff rate and a 44.4% PutAway rate.

Look for the Cubs to roll out a lineup of Joc Pederson, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo at the top of the order. In three at-bats against the current Cubs lineup, Crowe has allowed only one hit.

Williams should also benefit from the Chicago weather, with winds forecast to blow in from right field at 10 MPH at first pitch. Expect a lower-scoring game with the Cubs taking a 2-0 series lead.

The Bet: Cubs (-198)

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Houston Astros Spread, Moneyline, Total, and Odds

Moneyline: Blue Jays +120| Astros -142

Spread: Astros -1.5

Total: 9

Odds to Win World Series: Blue Jays +2400 | Astros +1800

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook today and get your first bet risk-free for up to $1,000.

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Houston Astros News, Analysis, and Picks

Probables: Steven Matz (Blue Jays) vs. Cristian Javier (Astros)

Projected Lineup

After a 10-4-win Friday night, the Houston Astros look to keep the momentum going tonight in game two against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Steven Matz takes the mound for the Blue Jays, making his seventh start of the season. Matz last pitched in a 5-4 loss to the Oakland Athletics on May 3, going five innings, throwing 92 pitches, allowing five runs on seven hits, striking out six batters. In his first season with the Blue Jays, Matz is 4-2 with a 4.78 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 24.4% K rate and a 30.7% CSW rate.

Matz uses a four-pitch mix of fastball (45%), changeup 28%), curveball (15%) and slider (11%). His changeup looks to be one of his most effective pitches in the arsenal. Only used 11% of the time in two-strike situations, the pitch has a 25% K rate, 40.7% CSW, 29.2% Whiff rate and a 42.9% PutAway Rate.

The Astros will likely use a lineup featuring Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley, Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez at the top of the order. In a very limited sample of two at-bats against the current Astros roster, Matz has recorded two strikeouts.

Cristian Javier will take the mound for the Astros, making his sixth start of the season. He last pitched in a 5-4 no-decision against the Tampa Bay Rays, going five innings, allowing three runs on four hits and striking out four batters with 81 pitches thrown. This season, he is 3-0 with a 1.75 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 19% K rate and a 28.2% CSW rate.

Javier uses a four-pitch mix featuring fastball (57%), slider (24%), curveball (9%) and changeup (9%). He tends to use his slider to strike out batters, used in 34.5% in two-strike situations, the pitch has a 62.5% K rate, 41.8% CSW rate, 51.1% Whiff rate and a 68.2% PutAway rate, thrown 110 times.

The Blue Jays will likely deploy a lineup of Marcus Semien, Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez at the top of the order. Javier has only faced Semien in his career, with Semien going 0-2.

Look for a likely high-scoring affair, with both teams ranked among the top in the league in wOBA, batting average and slugging percentage.

The Bet: Over 9