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Wednesday June 26 Best Sports Betting Picks For MLB & NBA Draft Predictions

Adam ZielonkaAdam Zielonka|published: Wed Jun 26 2024 13:48
PHOTO USA Today Sports Images

There’s Major League Baseball from noon until night on this hump day, including a doubleheader in St. Louis to bring it to a total of 16 games. For betting purposes, our focus is on the Subway Series and Fenway Park.

But it’s the NBA draft that takes center stage in the sports world tonight. If you’re part of the cadre of bettors who’ve reportedly put money down on Bronny James going No. 1 overall, sorry, I can’t save you. On with the picks:

New York Yankees at New York Mets

If there’s one thing we know at the conclusion of this two-game set, it’s to hammer the over. The red-hot Mets rocked Gerrit Cole on Tuesday and built a 9-1 advantage through six innings. Then the bullpen took over and, um, nearly blew the entire lead. Sure, Aaron Judge won’t hit a grand slam every night, but it was a very Metsy near-catastrophe on their way to a 9-7 win over their rivals.

Wednesday’s matchup pits Yankees rookie Luis Gil against Sean Manaea of the Mets. Manaea has a 6.75 ERA in four June starts, in which the otherwise surging Mets have gone 1-3. And you know that the bullpen will be a problem, especially after Edwin Diaz was suspended.

Gil was roughed up by the Baltimore Orioles his last time out and is probably not going to pitch a shutout either. But he’s otherwise played like a Rookie of the Year candidate, and in general, the Yankees will be on high alert to make sure they’re not swept out of Citi Field. We’ll use DraftKings’ moneyline/total parlay to squeeze more value out of this one.

The pick: Yankees moneyline/over 8.5 runs, +185 (DraftKings)

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Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox

Let’s stay in the Yankees’ division and pay a visit to Boston. The Blue Jays poured seven runs on the Red Sox in the third inning Tuesday night for a 9-4 win that stopped a seven-game losing streak.

It hasn’t been Toronto’s year, but now the Jays get to face Kutter Crawford, the most homer-prone pitcher in action, on Wednesday. Not only has he allowed 13 long balls this year, he’s given up at least one in seven straight games—and at least two in each of his past three starts.

Who can we target for a dinger Wednesday? The lefty-hitting Daulton Varsho would have been a nice option, as he leads Toronto with 11 home runs this year, but he’s been day-to-day with back tightness. Instead, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the play. Vladdy is 4-for-9 all-time against Crawford, and he’s hit 10 homers in 41 games at Fenway Park. The Green Monster isn’t a deterrent, as he showed Monday with this 471-foot missile.


The pick: Vladimir Guerrero Over 0.5 home runs, +260 (DraftKings)

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NBA Draft Round 1 Bet Picks

After months of uncertainty and a draft cycle that saw names like Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland floated as potential No. 1 picks, we now have a better idea of how this draft will begin. French wing Zaccharie Risacher, known for his 3-point marksmanship, is the Atlanta Hawks’ preference at No. 1 over Risacher’s countryman Alex Sarr. Atlanta sent a contingent that included its head coach and general manager to scout Risacher in France earlier this spring. As for Sarr? He didn’t work out for the Hawks at all.

The conventional wisdom is that Sarr won’t make it past No. 2 to the Washington Wizards, who certainly need a big man and a franchise cornerstone who’ll tie their young roster together.

But what about the Houston Rockets at No. 3? Assuming they’re keeping that pick, they don’t have any glaring needs at this stage of their nearly-complete rebuild. That’s where Kentucky freshman phenom Reed Sheppard comes in. The Rockets can afford to add a 3-and-D contributor who doesn’t need to start immediately, and with 52.1 percent shooting from three and 2.5 steals per game at Kentucky, Sheppard is the literal embodiment of 3-and-D.

The pick: Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, Reed Sheppard top 3 exact order in the NBA Draft, -180 (DraftKings)


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