Top MLB Betting Picks: Cubs, Dbacks, White Sox/Royals for May 5th Games

Cash in on the best MLB bets today as Michael Rathburn draws up his picks, including a look at the red-hot Cubs lineup as they get set to face the Giants.
Top MLB Betting Picks: Cubs, Dbacks, White Sox/Royals for May 5th Games
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Top MLB Bets Today: Cubs, Dbacks, White Sox/Royals for May 5th Action

Previous article 4-0 (+3.98 units)

Season 35-42-1 (-9.01 units)

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Key Trends to Watch in Today's MLB Games

Road Favorites - Dodgers -200 at Marlins

Home Favorites (Largest) -  Royals -230 vs White Sox, Cubs -157 vs Giants

Totals - Dodgers/Marlins, Dbacks/Mets (9.5); Cubs/Giants, White Sox/Royals (7.5)

Weather 

Cooler temperatures across the board, along with 3 games being played indoors. 

Wind blowing in 12 mph in Padres/Yankees and a good chance of rain delay/PPD

MLB Line Movement

Dodgers -47, Braves -15, White Sox -19, Cubs -28, Pirates -24, Dbacks -15  

Bullpen Rankings (updated 5/5/25)

Top 5 (Mets, Padres, Yankees, Dodgers, Astros). These are teams you can feel confident betting in full-game situations. 

Bottom 5 (Angels, Nationals, Orioles, Brewers, Marlins). These are teams you can feel confident betting against in full-game situations. If you want to bet on them, focus on F5s.

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MLB Monday Night Best Bets and Predictions

San Francisco Giants at Chicago Cubs   Picks

The Cubs are the best F5 team in baseball, especially at home with a 10-4-2 record (+$325). Their bullpen is one of the worst so you only want to play them in F5 situations.

Landon Roupp and Matthew Boyd have almost identical numbers, yet one pitcher has a 5.10 ERA (Roupp) and the other has a 2.70 ERA (Boyd), which shows how unreliable that stat can be. Boyd is a lefty, and the Giants are just 2-8 against them. 

The difference in these teams is on offense, where the Cubs are 1st in baseball with 5.94 runs per game. I am going to lay -0.5 runs F5 and get the line within reason. 

MLB Best Bets: Cubs -0.5 F5 for 1 unit (DraftKings -115)

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Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals Picks

I have written a lot about "system" plays, and I keep a word doc of each one. This game falls under the F5 UNDER scenario as we have two solid starting pitchers, two weak offenses, and two weak bullpens. 

Cole Ragans has a 4.40 ERA but is coming off a bad start that ended early with a groin strain. Ragans had been in his 2023/2024 form up until that start. Shane Smith has been a surprise starter for the White Sox who has not allowed more than 3 runs in any start. 

The Royals and White Sox are bottom 5 in runs per game and KC is 14-5-1 to the UNDER in their last 20 overall, 12-2 to the UNDER in their last 14 at home. 

MLB Best Bet: White Sox/Royals F5 UNDER 3.5 runs for 1 unit (DraftKings +120)

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New York Mets at Arizona Diamondbacks   Picks

One of the most overlooked factors in handicapping baseball is a team's travel schedule. The Mets had to play a double-header Sunday in St. Lous, then turn around and head to Arizona and play Monday night. This leaves their bullpen taxed, and they will either have to let Griffin Canning go further in the game than they would like or overwork the bullpen. 

Ryne Nelson's 5.82 ERA is misleading, and he should be headed for positive regression as his xERA is 3.35, FIP 2.19, and xFIP 2.52.  

MLB Best Bet: Dbacks ML for 1 unit (FanDuel -116)

 

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MLB Picks Recap

  • Cubs -0.5 F5 for 1 unit (DraftKings -115)
  • White Sox/Royals UNDER 3.5 runs for 1 unit (DraftKings +120)
  • Dbacks ML for 1 unit (FanDuel -116)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Known as “Rath” in the Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) community, he has helped run operations for two prominent daily fantasy sports startups. Michael has taken his insider knowledge and expertise in daily fantasy sports to the content side. Rath won the 2016 FSWA "Baseball Article of the Year, Online" award and was a finalist for the FSWA Best Baseball Series in 2011.
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