Home | News | Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – June 12th, 2023

Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – June 12th, 2023

By Hank Blaine

The New York Mets are an utter disaster right now – could the team with the highest payroll in the major leagues first its manager? Owner Steve Cohen says Buck Showalter is safe for now but it bears monitoring. Here are two intriguing early-week matchups around MLB. Check back for MLB odds.

Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week (June 12th, 2023)

Atlanta Braves vs. Detroit Tigers

  • When: Monday, June 12, 2023, 6:40 PM ET
  • Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH
  • TV: BSSO, BSDET
  • Radio: 680 The Fan (Braves) // WXYT-FM 97.1 (Tigers)
  • Live Stream: MLB.tv
  • MLB Betting Odds: Braves (+106) // Tigers (-122)

Might the Tigers make managerial change soon? AJ Hinch is on a scorching-hot seat with Detroit at 0-9 in July following a 7-5 home loss to Arizona on Sunday as Christian Walker hit a go-ahead double with two outs in a four-run ninth inning. The Tigers had led 5-2 in the eighth. Their nine-game skid is their longest since dropping nine from Aug. 11-20, 2020.

Detroit’s projected starting outfield is on the injured list, led by Riley Greene, a very impressive young player. This skid started when he got hurt. Greene is expected to miss another six weeks or so with a stress reaction in his left fibula. Miguel Cabrera’s fourth-inning single Sunday was his 3,111th hit, moving him past Dave Winfield into sole possession of 22nd on the career list. He needs four more to tie Alex Rodriguez.

The Tigers are a solid 11-11 vs. National League foes this season and have finished with a winning record against NL opponents in each of the last two seasons. But Detroit is 14-16 at home this year. The Tigers are hitting .237/.313/.372 at Comerica Park, while the pitching staff has a 4.64 ERA.

Atlanta and Detroit last met in 2019 the Braves winning two-of-three games. Detroit holds a 14-10 edge in the all-time series, including a 5-1 record at Comerica Park. It might be a bullpen game for the Tigers on the mound, while Charlie Morton goes for the Braves. Atlanta is 17-23 (.425) in games it which it trails at any point this season, the fourth-best record in baseball.

Morton (5-6) allowed four runs on four hits and four walks while striking out five batters over 4.2 innings in a no-decision against the Mets last Wednesday. Morton had trouble getting the ball over the plate, throwing only 58 of 107 pitches for a strike and tying a season high with four walks. The veteran hurler also served up two home runs, including a fifth-inning two-run shot to Tommy Pham that resulted in his removal from the game.

It was the first time this season Morton has failed to complete five frames, and it was also his first no-decision through 12 starts. The right-hander is still hanging on to a respectable 3.89 ERA, but his 1.46 WHIP and 9.1 percent walk rate are concerning indicators. Morton is 1-2 with a 2.00 ERA in four career starts vs. the Tigers and hasn’t faced them since 2019 while with the Rays.

MLB Betting Pick: Braves

READ MORE: White Sox vs. Dodgers MLB Odds, Preview and Prediction – June 13, 2023

New York Yankees vs. New York Mets

  • When: Tuesday, June 13, 2023, 7:05 PM ET
  • Where: Yankee Stadium, New York City, NY
  • TV: YES, WPIX, TBS
  • Radio: WFAN 101.9 FM (Yankees) // WCBS 880 AM (Mets)
  • Live Stream: MLB.tv
  • MLB Betting Odds: TBA

It’s a very interesting time on the schedule for the first Subway Series game of the year because both the Yankees and Mets are a bit broken right now as both remain without their star slugger and are scuffling because of it: Pete Alonso for the Mets and Aaron Judge for the Yankees.

Judge, the reigning AL MVP, injured the toe when he collided with the outfield fence at Dodger Stadium while making a spectacular catch on June 3 and hasn’t played since. On the season, Judge is putting up MVP-like numbers again, with an AL-leading 19 home runs and a 1.078 OPS in 49 games. Alonso has an MLB-best 22 home runs and his .231/.326/.546 batting line translates to a 139 wRC+, indicating he’s been 39% better than league average. His wRC+ has been between 133 and 144 in each full season in which he’s participated.

Mets owner Steve Cohen admitted over the weekend that admitted he is frustrated with the Mets’ struggles and said he thinks the team’s biggest problem is its inconsistent pitching staff but that neither manager Buck Showalter nor general manager Billy Eppler are in danger of being fired despite a record payroll estimated at over $340 million.

“When things get really bad, I’m not going to blow up,” Cohen said. “I don’t think that’s the proper response. I don’t think it solves anything, other than it gives people a one-day story. But it doesn’t really solve anything. There’s plenty of blame to go around from a performance point of view. So blowing up, I’m not sure it solves anything. It would demonstrate, ‘Oh, he really cares. He’s one of us.’ But the reality is it’s not going to solve our problems, and I think in some ways it can be demotivating.”

The Mets are expected to start Max Scherzer (5-2, 3.71) on Tuesday. Scherzer allowed five runs on 11 hits and no walks while striking out 10 batters over 5.2 innings in a no-decision against Atlanta on Wednesday. The three-time Cy Young winner has a 2.35 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 38:4 K:BB over 30.2 frames across his past five starts.

It’s Luis Severino (0-1, 5.75) for the Yankees. Severino took a no-decision in Game 1 of Thursday’s doubleheader against the White Sox, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out six batters over five innings. Severino has now given up six long balls across nine innings over his past two starts after allowing just one home run in 11.1 frames during his first two appearances of the campaign.

MLB Betting Pick: Mets

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*All odds stated are subject to change without prior notice.

READ MORE: Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – June 19th, 2023