MLB Monday July 7th Betting Picks: Darvish Returns for Padres, Giants Red-Hot vs Phillies

It’s Monday in Major League Baseball, and there is more action on the diamond than usual with 10 games and three late West Coast starts to mix the opportunity for bettors in every market.

There’s an intriguing matchup in the NL West on most nights, but the return of Yu Darvish and the up-and-down effort of Zac Gallen makes Diamondbacks-Padres one to watch.

We’ll outline our best plays in that one as well as another moonlight affair: Phillies at Giants.

Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres, 9:40 p.m. ET

Yu Darvish is back on the mound for the Padres, and San Diego has never needed him more.

Darvish went 7-3 in 16 starts last year, recording a 3.31 ERA and striking out 78 batters in 81 2/3 innings. He was sidelined for about half the year with an elbow injury, followed by time away to attend to a personal matter. Darvish’s return comes as the Padres cope with injuries to Opening Day starter Michael King and Triple-A call-up Ryan Bergert.

Dylan Cease, a 14-game winner last season, has scuffled most of this year, going 3-8 with a 4.62 ERA, but the Padres are staying above water in the West thanks to Nick Pivetta’s career year (9-2, 3.25 ERA).

Darvish is 9-4 with a 3.63 ERA in 19 career starts against Arizona. It’s likely he’ll be limited to 75 pitches Monday and might not stick around long enough to get a win.

But the opportunity for the long ball is there for the Padres against right-hander Zac Gallen (6-9, 5.45 ERA). Gallen was solid Tuesday in an 8-2 win over San Francisco, striking out 10 and allowing just one earned run over seven innings. And he’s 4-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 13 career starts against the Padres. But that includes 12 homers in 74 2/3 innings.

Two of Fernando Tatis Jr.’s five hits in 20 at-bats against Gallen are home runs, and another is a double.

Best Bets:
Over 8 runs (-110, FanDuel)
Fernando Tatis Jr. HR (+340, FanDuel)

Philadelphia Phillies at San Francisco Giants, 8:40 p.m. ET

The Giants have 28 runs and four wins in the past five games, leading them into Monday’s matchup with the Phillies and NL All-Star snub Cristopher Sanchez. Sanchez has 108 strikeouts over 17 starts this season. He has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last seven starts, going 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA.

He’s done very well against San Francisco in his career with a 2-0 record and 1.53 ERA in four games (two starts).

San Francisco turns to right-hander Landen Roupp (6-5, 3.48 ERA). He’s on a run of strong pitching himself, and the Giants have won each of his past three starts. He allowed just two earned runs over his past 15 1/3 innings.

Sanchez throwing a gem should not be discounted given his motivation of being left off the initial list of All-Stars in the National League. But the Giants are hitting on all cylinders and backed Roupp to a win in Philadelphia in April despite a home run from Nick Castellanos.

Best Bets:
Giants +1.5 (-134, FanDuel)
Nick Castellanos 2-plus total bases (+210, DraftKings)