After an 0-3 Friday in baseball, we're piping mad and ready to bounce back. For most of the night, it looked like we'd end up at 2-1. Texas led 4-0 over Oakland, and Atlanta led 4-1 over Houston.
Unfortunately, both teams blew the big leads, and we wound up with the golden sombrero. That's how it goes in the gambling game sometimes, especially when betting on MLB. Overall, we're at 10-10 on the young season and ready for a big week!
Here are 4 MLB Best Bets for Monday, April 24. Best of luck with your picks!
Best Bet: Red Sox (-110)
This BoSox offense has impressed the heck out of me so far this season. They rank 3rd in runs scored, 7th in home runs, and they don't strike out that often. We're expecting the Red Sox bats to do some major damage against Dean Kremer in this game.
Kremer has been knocked around a bit already this season. The 27-year-old has a FIP of 6.54, and he's been leaving too many of his pitches up in the strike zone. That could spell trouble against guys like Rafael Devers and Alex Verdugo.
Devers is hitting .385 with a homer against Kremer in his career. Verdugo's numbers are even better, at .375 and 2 home runs. We'll bank on Boston putting together another solid offensive performance tonight.
Best Bet: Rangers (-110)
Texas may have let us down on Friday, but we have no trouble backing them against a lowly Reds team. Nathan Eovaldi has been a bit unlucky this year, but his FIP is at 2.27, which is a good sign. We're thinking that Eovaldi won't have any trouble with this scuffling Cincy lineup.
The Rangers are playing some solid ball at the moment, as they've won 6 of their last 7 games. Adolis Garcia has supplied lots of the power, as he's hit 7 homers and driven in 28 runs so far. Marcus Semien is also hitting .298 with 4 homers, which is pretty good for a guy who normally starts off slow.
Nick Lodolo is a promising young lefty for the Reds. The problem is that the Cincy offense just isn't scoring many runs. They rank 22nd in runs scored and 26th in OPS. Let's lay the small number with Texas!
Best Bet: Diamondbacks (-120)
Arizona is another team that's been a nice surprise so far. The D'Backs have some fierce young players, and they're hitting the ball quite well. Arizona ranks 10th in runs scored, 6th in batting average, and they strike out less than 8 times per game.
The Royals have been riding the struggle bus to the tune of a 5-17 record so far. The offense has been a mess, and it won't be easier with Franmil Reyes out on paternity leave.
Another weakness of Kansas City has been its abysmal bullpen, which has an ERA of 6.51. Look for rookie phenom Corbin Carroll (.280, 4 HR) to be the sparkplug for Zona tonight. Let's play the D'Backs!
Best Bet: Cardinals (-115)
The Cards haven't gotten off to a great start, but we still think they'll end up being the class of the NL Central. The Giants have also struggled out of the gate with an 8-13 record. At first glance, it looks like SF has the pitching edge with veteran Alex Cobb on the hill.
However, a closer look at the metrics tells us that this pitching matchup is about even. Cobb has a FIP of 2.86, but St. Louis starter Jordan Montgomery has a FIP of 2.88. Monty's hard-hit rate is also much lower than Cobb's (45.8% vs 50.8%).
We also like that the Cards' bullpen is much stronger than the G-Men's. St. Louis relievers have an ERA of 3.32 and a WHIP of 1.25. San Fran's bullpen has an ERA of 5.29 and a WHIP of 1.40. Let's back the Red Birds in this one!
