FanDuel Best Bets to consider in NBA, MLB tonight

The Atlanta Braves gave us a sweat on Thursday.

In the end, they found a way to win and we cashed our fourth consecutive FanDuel Best Bet in this column.

Spencer Strider versus Justin Verlander was billed as an intriguing pitching matchup, with a relatively low total set at eight at FanDuel.

As it turned out, Strider was tagged for eight earned runs in just four innings on his own before getting the hook.

Verlander gave up four earned in just three innings as his ERA ballooned to 4.85 this season.

The Mets led 10-7 in the bottom of the eighth.

Anyone who bet New York on the money line probably felt comfortable changing the channel at that point.

Then Travis d’Arnaud hit a two-run home run in the eighth, and Orlando Arcia hit a solo shot in the ninth as Atlanta forced extra innings.

Ozzie Albies walked it off in the 10th inning with a three-run home run for the 13-10 win.

It’s the first time in franchise history in which the Mets have lost three consecutive games in which they’ve held a three-run lead in each game.

It was an absolutely awful beat for anyone who bet Mets money line or took them +1.5 on the run line.

Fortunately, we were on the right side of history, as Atlanta money line was a winner.

The Same Game Parlay option I gave out with the Braves ML and Ronald Acuna Jr. to get a hit also won at -110.

Now we turn the page and hope that we can make it six straight FanDuel Best Bet winners in this column with a couple more picks to consider for Friday night’s action.

This is the Morning Coffee for Friday, June 9, 2023.

Panthers rally to beat Golden Knights in overtime

The Vegas Golden Knights were two minutes and 13 seconds away from taking a 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final.

They had their chances to put the Florida Panthers away in Game 3, but they couldn’t do it.

Instead, the Panthers managed to hang around and keep it a one-goal game for long enough to set the stage for Matthew Tkachuk to tie it late in regulation. 

Carter Verhaeghe scored the winner on Florida’s first shot in overtime.

The Panthers improved to 7-0 in OT this postseason.

They’ve won 10 straight overtime playoff games overall – the second-longest streak in NHL history.

With the win, Florida’s odds to win the Stanley Cup were cut from +420 to +230 at FanDuel.

The Panthers are a -125 money line favourite for Game 3.

Meanwhile, the Golden Knights are +104 to win Game 3 and -270 to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel this morning.

While Vegas let one get away last night, they are still in a good spot overall on paper.

Teams that have a 2-1 lead in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final have gone on to win it all 80 per cent of the time.

The stage is set for a thrilling Game 4 on Saturday night.

 Either Vegas bounces back and takes a commanding 3-1 series lead heading home, or the Panthers double down with a win and turn the series into a best-of-three to determine the winner.

Hit me up @DomPadulaEDGE on Twitter and let me know what you think will happen in Game 4 on Saturday night.

Nuggets the favourite for Game 4 of NBA Finals

Anyone who reads this column regularly knows that I’ve been riding with the Denver Nuggets throughout the playoffs.

I’m on the Nuggets to win the title and Jokic to win NBA Finals MVP.

I’ve also been riding with Denver on the money line and against the spread throughout the postseason.

After cashing another early FanDuel Best Bet with the Nuggets -1.5 for Game 3, I jumped on Denver ML at -152 at FanDuel for Game 4 with a bet that I highlighted in Thursday morning’s column. 

 The Nuggets are up to -162 ML this morning at FanDuel.

Denver is a 3.5-point favourite – the same number they closed at and covered in Game 3 on Wednesday night.

If you didn’t jump on the money line price and you’re looking for an alternate bet for Game 4 at a better price, you can pair Nuggets ML with Jamal Murray 6+ assists as a Same Game Parlay option at -112 this morning.

Murray has registered exactly 10 assists in each of the first three games of the series, so 6+ assists should be a decent floor for Game 4 tonight.

Finally, I also like the Denver team total over 106.5 points at -115 as another FanDuel Best Bet for Game 4 tonight.

This is a major adjustment from some of the team totals we have seen for the Nuggets throughout the playoffs.

 Denver has gone over this mark in each of the past two games and landed on 104 in the lone miss in the series – an 11-point win over the Heat in Game 3.

They’ve gone over this number in 10 of their last 11 games overall.

I’m on the Nuggets team total over 106.5 points for Game 4 tonight.

Two MLB FanDuel Best Bets for Friday night

While I’ve already presented a couple of options to consider for Game 4 of the NBA Finals tonight, there are a couple of MLB bets that I love that I wanted to highlight as FanDuel Best Bets in this column.

Again, one of the most difficult aspects of this job is determining what does and does not deserve to be classified as a FanDuel Best Bet.

There’s nothing worse than cashing a handful of personal bets, then watching the one that you highlighted in this column lose, so I’m going to post my two favourite baseball bets here.

You can play them individually, or parlay them at longer odds if you choose.

First up, I like the NRFI in tonight’s game between the Miami Marlins and Chicago White Sox.

 We cashed the Marlins’ NRFI in Tuesday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles as a FanDuel Best Bet.

Tonight, Miami will start Eury Perez, who is 5-0 to the NRFI this season.

The White Sox will counter with Dylan Cease, who is 11-2 and has cashed the NRFI in five straight starts.

These teams are both above 75 per cent to the NRFI this season, so I’ll make the No Run First Inning between the Marlins and White Sox my FanDuel Best Bet for tonight at -128 odds.

Next up, I’m going to fade the same team I faded when I took that NRFI on Tuesday and then bet on Miami ML on Wednesday in the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals were just swept by the Marlins, and now they have to travel to face the Baltimore Orioles, which are back home after losing two of three against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Tyler Wells has been solid for Baltimore at home this season with a 2.45 ERA over 36.2 innings of work.

Kansas City will counter with Daniel Lynch, who is making just his third start of the season after getting touched up in a 6-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies at home.

The Royals are reeling following their sweep in Miami, and they’ll be in tough against the Orioles on the road. 

 I locked in Baltimore ML at -172 as another FanDuel Best Bet to consider for Friday night’s MLB slate.

For what it’s worth, an SGP+ with all of the picks mentioned in this column gets you +599 odds at FanDuel.

Good luck to anyone who tails and have a great weekend!