Wise n' Shine: MLB picks and soccer predictions for Friday, July 21

Photo of Phil Agius

Phil Agius

MLB

Show Bio

I've been writing about the NFL and a host of other sports for the UK's top daily betting paper the Racing Post for more than 20 years. An incurable Browns fan (1-31 survivor), I also specialise in all kinds of motorsport betting including F1, MotoGP, IndyCar and NASCAR. For Phil Agius media enquiries, please email contact@pickswise.com.
Read more about Phil Agius

Good morning Pickswise Nation and welcome to another fantastic Friday of sports. The Open golf got off to a fascinating start yesterday and we have a busy MLB slate today plus the USWNT’s opening World Cup soccer game and Lionel Messi’s debut for Inter Miami, so let’s get straight to making your next bet better.

About Last Night

Awesome day of baseball picks!
The Pickswise MLB team were on a heater on Thursday, going 8-2 with our game picks, cashing our Best Bet as the Astros beat the A’s 3-1 and also hitting our MLB parlay at +614 odds! On top of that, our expert Keith Schmelter went 2-0 with his MLB best bets. The Braves avoided being swept by the Diamondbacks with a 7-5 win, while the Orioles beat the Rays 4-3 in the 10th.

Harman on the move
Amateur Christo Lamprecht, Tommy Fleetwood and Emiliano Grillo shared the lead after Day 1 of the Open Championship golf, but American Brian Harman has been the man on the move this morning, going 3 shots clear of the field as of 7:30 am ET. Justin Thomas was among the big names to struggle, taking a 9 at the final hole of his first round to finish 11 over par.

You can bet any of our sports predictions at FanDuel Sportsbook, which has a great new-customer offer to take advantage of. If you sign up for FanDuel right now, you can get up to $100 in bonus bets following a $5 wager. Click here to join FanDuel right now.

Today’s Slate

15 MLB games on Friday
We are back up to a full slate of 15 MLB games today, with Cardinals vs Cubs providing some early entertainment at 2:20 pm ET on Apple TV+, which is also showing Padres vs Tigers at 6:40 pm ET. Read all of today’s MLB predictions.

USWNT begins World Cup bid
We have two big, but very different, soccer games tonight and we have predictions for USA vs Vietnam in the Women’s World Cup, as well as Inter Miami vs Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup as soccer superstar Lionel Messi is expected to make his debut for Miami.

Best Bet of the Day

MLB: Minnesota Twins ML over Chicago White Sox (-160)
9:40 pm ET

White Sox starter Lance Lynn has been an over bettor’s delight for the most part this season. He has a 6-8 record with a 6.06 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. He has a big problem with giving up home runs with 24 allowed through 19 starts and that may be a good sign for the Twins, who rank 8th in the MLB for home runs hit. The Twins’ Joe Ryan has an 8-6 record with a 3.77 ERA and 1.03 WHIP and he has pitched better in home games, sporting an impressive 0.82 WHIP through his 9 home starts. Read our full White Sox vs Twins predictions.

You can bet on today’s MLB action over at DraftKings Sportsbook, which has a great sign-up offer where you can bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets instantly! Click here to take advantage and claim your bonus bets right now.

Must-read

Our MLB mega parlay and YRFI/NRFI Best Bets for today are ready to read, and there’s also just still time to tail a couple of our Open golf Day 2 picks. Before the USWNT’s first game, you can still check out our Women’s World Cup betting guide, along with our UFC Fight Night 224 best bets and UFC four-fight parlay for Saturday’s big fights in London.

Read all of our great sports analysis as it arrives throughout the day on the Analysis tab.

Stat of the Day

The USWNT is bidding to become the first team — men’s or women’s — to win 3 straight soccer World Cups.

Quote of the Day

“Having someone that I know very well and is a ginormous mentor for me that I’ve played previously with kind of helped me feel a little bit more at home and at ease.”

Amateur Christo Lamprecht was delighted to have fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen alongside him for his amazing opening round at the Open.

Bet like a Caesar with this awesome new customer offer from Caesars, where you can get up to $1,250 back on your first bet! Click here to join Caesars.

Pickswise is the home of free sports picks, news and best bets. Check out our expert NFL Picks, NBA Picks, Soccer Picks and NHL Picks pages for our latest game picks.

Pickswise
*
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy