Today’s best bets: Mets-Dodgers, Rockies-Marlins highlight top picks from model, experts

Two division leaders in the National League begin a four-game series when the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers host the streaking New York Mets Monday at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers (36-23) lead the NL West by two games over the Padres. Los Angeles is coming off a series in which the club won two of three games against the Yankees. Meanwhile the Mets (37-22) sit atop the NL East by one game over the Phillies and have won seven of their last eight. The Dodgers are -166 favorites on the money line. First pitch is 10:10 p.m. ET.

Elsewhere on MLB’s seven-game schedule Monday, the Colorado Rockies will attempt to turn around their historically poor start to the season when they face the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot park in Miami. The Rockies (9-50) own the worst record through 59 games of any major league team since 1901. They enter Monday’s contest on an eight-game losing streak. Meanwhile, the Marlins (23-34) will hope to continue Colorado’s misery. Miami occupies last place in the NL East, 13 games behind the division-leading Mets. The Marlins are -198 favorites on the money line. First pitch is 6:40 p.m. ET.

Both games are featured in today’s best bets at CBS Sports, along with an MLB slate that includes Mike Trout and the Angels facing the Red Sox. Plus, we’ll share a few bonus Stanley Cup Final, Belmont Stakes, U.S. Open and NFL picks from SportsLine experts as well below, along with featured sportsbook promos from some of the best sports betting apps for those who live in states where betting on sports is legal.

Today’s top betting model picks

• MLB: Dodgers -166
• MLB: Rockies-Marlins Over 8 runs (-110) 
• MLB: Mike Trout Over 1.5 total bases (-105)

Parlay odds at FanDuel: +497

After a series of injuries, Mets righty Paul Blackburn will make his first start since August when he takes the mound for New York against the Dodgers. Blackburn first went to the injured list after being hit by a comebacker on Aug. 23 and missed the rest of the 2024 season with a spinal leak in his back. Inflammation in his right knee and an illness delayed the start of his 2025 season to Monday. His return to the mound won’t be easy, as he’ll face a Dodgers club that leads the majors in almost every key statistical offensive category including runs (343), home runs (97), OPS (.817) and batting average (.268). The SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every MLB game 10,000 times, projects Los Angeles to win 5.3-4.8. Bettors looking to back the Dodgers will want to head to FanDuel, which has the best price (-166).

The model is also backing Over 8 runs in the Rockies-Marlins game. The teams have two of the worst pitching staffs in all of baseball. The Rockies rank next-to-last in the majors in ERA (5.59) while the Marlins are 27th (5.11). Colorado’s Germán Márquez (1-7, 7.13) will square off against Miami’s Max Meyer (3-4, 4.53). The model is projecting 9.4 runs and says that Over 8 hits 56.9% of the time, which is substantially different from the implied probability of 53.1%. The best odds for Over 8 currently are at BetMGM (-110). 

In Boston, Trout enters the first game of the series against the Red Sox on a roll. He has hit safely in five straight games, including a three-hit performance against the Guardians Saturday. He also has performed well at Fenway Park, with 59 total bases in 34 games. The model projects Trout to have 1.9 total bases on Monday, and Over 1.5 (-105) can be found at multiple sportsbooks.

Today’s expert best bets

• MLB: Angels-Red Sox First 5 Innings – Total Runs Under 5.5 (-128) ($)
• MLB: Twins-Athletics Over 9 (-118) ($)
• NHL: Oilers -120

SportsLine expert Matt Severance, who is 24-7 (+725) in his last 31 MLB prop picks, is taking Under 5.5 runs in the first five innings of the Angels-Red Sox game. The Angels’ Tyler Anderson (2-2, 3.39) has been solid this season, while the Red Sox’ Richard Fitts hasn’t allowed a run over his past eight innings. “The Angels have not seen him before,” Severance says. “Boston hasn’t been scoring much since Alex Bregman went down.” Caesars has the best price on Under 5.5.

Bruce Marshall, who is 21-8-2 (+1196) in last 31 Over/Under picks involving the Athletics, likes Over 9 runs in the Athletics-Twins game. Here are the totals for the Athletics’ last four games: 12, 15, 18 and 12. The Over has hit in 10 of the club’s last 12 games. And now the team’s shattered pitching staff returns to hitter-friendly Sacramento. “Even Twins starter Joe Ryan (1.90 ERA last five starts) is unlikely to exit unscathed,” Marshall says. Caesars and BetMGM share the best price on Over 9 runs.

In the Stanley Cup Final, which begin Wednesday, SportsLine NHL analyst Scott Erskine is picking the Edmonton Oilers to knock off the reigning champion Florida Panthers. The Oilers are 12-2 in their past 14 playoff games despite changing goaltenders twice. Connor McDavid & Co. have been hot offensively, having scored at least three goals in 14 of their 16 playoff games, including four or more nine times. “McDavid and the Oilers nearly pulled off the impossible in last year’s Final, forcing a seventh game in which they lost 2-1 after dropping the first three contests, and they seem to be on a mission to claim the Cup for the first time since 1990,” Erskine says.

More betting content

• Horse racing: Belmont Stakes picks
• Golf: U.S. Open projected leaderboard
• MLB: MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year futures picks
• UFL: Playoff picks ($)
• NFL: Futures picks

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Here are promos the other top sportsbooks are offering.