Daily Sports Betting Preview 7/22/2020: MLB Betting, PDC World Matchplay, Snooker WCQ’s

• The MLB is almost here, and exhibition betting odds mark today’s Daily Sports Betting Preview.
• The PDC’s World Matchplay continues today, with several compelling matches.
• The Snooker World Championship Qualifiers bring seven interesting matches to the table today.

LAS VEGAS - Welcome to this midweek edition of the Daily Sports Betting Preview, where three betting opportunities are examined on a daily basis.

Today’s Preview starts off with a look at the MLB’s “spring training” exhibition games, as baseball gears up for a return.

Then, in the world of PDC darts competition, there are several matches worth paying attention to as part of the World Matchplay competition.

Finally, snooker’s World Championship Qualifiers bring several interesting betting opportunities to the table today.

There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started!

MLB “Spring Training” Betting

The MLB is raring to go - home runs are being hit, balls are being thrown at players from the disgraced Houston Astros - baseball is back!

Spring training generally happens, well, in spring, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent labor dispute, it is effectively happening now.

The sportsbooks are so happy to see MLB return that they are offering odds on all of the exhibition games happening today.

There are several games, the earliest of which starts at 4:00 p.m. EST and the latest of which starts at 9:40 p.m. EST.

The early game is between the Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves, and tonight’s final game is between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Angels.

Let’s take a look at both of these games, in order.

This is a matchup that, on paper, should favor the Atlanta Braves pretty heavily. The Braves currently have the third shortest odds to win the World Series at +1200.

These odds put them tied with the Houston Astros, and only behind the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, the two premier contenders this year.

The Braves, led by young superstar Ronald Acuña Jr., look to be a dominant, seriously competitive team in this shortened season.

The Marlins, on the other hand, do not look competitive in the slightest. Their World Series odds languish at +25000, the third-lowest in the league.

In fact, according to the online sportsbooks, they could be the worst team in the National League - they have +20000 odds to win the NL Pennant, which ties the Pittsburgh Pirates for longest odds in the NL.

And yet, because this is baseball, and because this is “spring training”, the Braves are only barely favored on the moneyline.

Talk about mild moneyline favorites. The Angels here are the barest of favorites, with -130 odds, while the Padres clock in with +110 odds.

The Angels, as they have for a while now, boast the best player in baseball in Mike Trout, who recently signed the biggest contract in baseball.

Trout’s individual dominance has not brought the Angels any sustained success, however, as they tend to languish just outside of the playoffs, never really getting over the hump.

On the odds boards, the Angels are one of the teams with +2000 odds to win the World Series, along with the Mets, the A’s, the Nationals, and the White Sox.

The Padres are not much worse on those odds boards, at +3000 to win the World Series.

That said, neither of those numbers is what anyone would call inspiring for those who wish to bet on the Angels or the Padres.

In this matchup, it makes a lot more sense that the lines are relatively even - these are two teams who, while not at exactly the same level, are fairly close to each other on paper.

Baseball’s return should be great for MLB bettors, but it should also be good business for the online sportsbooks - there’s a lot to wager on now.

PDC Betting Odds

The PDC has managed to continue running with relatively few interruptions during the majority of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They have done this mostly via playing from home via the PDC Home Tour, and they’ve innovated on the concept of playing darts competitively.

The current PDC event is the World Matchplay competition, and there are some interesting odds to check out.

On the moneyline, the famed Peter Wright is -200, as he likely should be, against Glen Durrant. There is something to be said about Wright’s name recognition moving his odds, and that is certainly worth considering for darts bettors.

On the spread, Wright is favored by 2.5, but the shading on this spread suggests that he might not actually be favored to win on that spread.

PDC bettors have a lot to consider with this matchup.

Snooker World Championship Qualifiers

The Snooker World Championship is fast approaching, and the Qualifiers for it feature some serious competition.

Seven separate snooker matches have the betting odds close on them at 2:00 p.m. EST, and should provide a lot of entertainment to snooker bettors.

The one with by far the most lopsided odds is a match between Hamza Akbar and Amiri Amine.

Let’s check out those extremely heavily weighted odds.

Amine, a 26-year-old, has been playing professional snooker since 2019, and has racked up a top 64 finish in that time at the 2020 Gibraltar Open. He is currently ranked 124th in the world.

Hamza Akbar, meanwhile, is a former Pakistani national champion but has had well-publicized visa problems that have prevented him from competing on the main snooker tour at several points.

However, the sportsbooks seem to have respect for his skill here, favoring him at an incredible amount: -2025.

This is a genuinely prohibitive number to wager on for the casual sports bettor, and Amine’s longshot odds might look enticing as well.

There are a lot of betting opportunities in the snooker world, and this is but one.

Happy Betting!