Top MLB Picks and Predictions Today (Rangers Upset, Two Totals to Bet on Thursday)
How should you bet the Major League Baseball slate on Thursday?
Well, the BetSided team has you covered with previews for every game, including some of our to picks for the games on April 14.
Here are today's top plays, with all odds via WynnBET:
Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals Prediction and Pick
This is a simple pick for me. Neither of these teams have been great at getting people to cross the plate this season. The Royals are better than the Tigers, but they are still 19th in the majors in runs per game. Detroit is 22nd.
When it comes to hits and giving yourself a chance to score runs, both of these teams are in the bottom third of baseball.
Zach Greinke is coming off a performance in which he only gave up one run in five innings. Casey Mize didn’t have as good of a day, giving up four runs on four errors. However, I don’t expect him to have that many errors this time out.
With equal juice on both sides, I’ll take the under.
Lean: UNDER 8.5 (-110) -- Donnavan Smoot
You can find Donnavan Smoot’s full betting record here.
Los Angeles Angels vs. Texas Rangers Prediction and Pick
Ohtani is going to be the trendy pick on Thursday, especially after his first start went so well. He pitched 4.2 innings of 4 hit ball and allowed 1 run. Now, he faces a Rangers team that has stumbled out of the gate, but are they undervalued?
Texas will turn to Dunning to stop the bleeding with the team sitting at 1-4 in a crowded AL West. Dunning has been far better at home in his short career, pitching to a 3.09 ERA. Texas did bring in star-studded position players like Marcus Semien and Corey Seager this offseason to bring some explosiveness to the lineup and Ohtani has struggled in the past with pitching deep into games, and on the road. Ohtani's ERA jumps from 2.18 at home to 5.40 on the road over his career, and Texas may be in a prime position to jump on him early.
I like the Rangers as small underdogs.
LEAN: Rangers +125 -- Reed Wallach
You can find all of Reed's bets HERE!
Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees Prediction and Pick
Even though this is a good pitching matchup on namesake alone, I lean to the OVER in this matchup between two of the better offenses in baseball.
The Yankees and Blue Jays are both top 10 in baseball in OPS, and they are No. 1 and No. 2 in the league in home runs so far this season. These two teams combined for 10 runs on Wednesday with their two best pitchers on the mound, so I don’t see much changing in this matchup.
Not only that, but the Yankees’ bullpen is getting taxed early in the season with extra inning games and limiting pitch counts on starters, and Luis Severino is no exception to the pitch count rule.
Since he is coming off multiple seasons missed due to injury, I expect New York to be extra careful with how it eases him into this season.
I’ll take the OVER with no real lean on a side in this one.
Lean: OVER 8.5 (-110) -- Peter Dewey
Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record in MLB this season here.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers Prediction and Pick
This early in the year, I rely heavily on starting pitching to predict the outcome of games. Everything else is just hit or miss this early in the season. Based on that idea, this game will be a breeze to profit from.
Woodruff didn't just have a bad debut, it was a complete disaster. He gave up seven earned runs in just 3 ⅔ innings against the Chicago Cubs, It took him 59 pitches to amass a 17.18 ERA and get the hook. I fully expect him to do better against the Cardinals, but I’m still not expecting anything close to a quality start.
At the ripe age of 40, Wainwright came out and tossed a gem to open the 2022 season. He threw six innings of scoreless ball against the Pirates, striking out six and not walking a single batter. Sure, it was against the Pirates, but the Pirates are fifth in the MLB in batting average right now.
One other reason I am going against the Brewers is they are 0-5 on the run line to start the year. I think with Woodruff on the hill, the Brewers fail to cover this game as favorites.
Pick: Cardinals +1.5 -- Matt De Saro
Follow all of Matt De Saro’s betting picks HERE