Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: Wednesday, April 12, 2017, Opening Line Report

by Alan Matthews - 4/11/2017

Corey Seager deserved to win National League Rookie of the Year in 2016, and he's going to win an MVP Award or two before his career is done. That said, I would have liked to have seen what kind of numbers Washington's Trea Turner would have put up in a full season. He finished second to Seager in the ROY voting after batting .342 with 13 homers, 40 RBIs and 33 steals in 324 plate appearances. He's going to be a perennial All-Star. Alas, the Nationals are going to be without him for the next 10 days or so as he was placed on the DL Monday, retroactive to Sunday with a hamstring strain. Turner, who moved to his normal position of shortstop this year, had scuffled so far in batting .158, but he'll certainly be missed. Outfielder Michael A. Taylor has been recalled from Triple-A to take Turner's place on the roster.

Rays at Yankees ( -107, 8.5 )

A 1:05 p.m. ET matinee. The Yankees got bad news on Monday when they announced catcher Gary Sanchez, who was so good as a rookie in 2016, is now expected to miss around four weeks with a Grade 1 strain of a muscle behind his right biceps. Austin Romine and Kyle Higashioka will share duties behind the plate for the next month. The Rays start young lefty Blake Snell. He was a bit shaky in his 2017 debut, allowing five runs and but only three hits over 6.2 innings vs. the Blue Jays. One of those three hits was a grand slam. Snell went 0-1 with a 4.70 ERA at Yankee Stadium in 2016. Jacoby Ellsbury is 3-for-9 off him. Jordan Montgomery won the Yankees' No. 5 spot in the rotation this spring and makes his big-league debut here. The 24-year-old lefty was 14-5 with a 2.13 ERA in the minors last year. Montgomery was drafted in the fourth round of the 2014 MLB Draft after leaving South Carolina.

Key trends: The Rays are 1-5 in Snell's past six on the road. The "over/under" is 5-2 in his past seven pitching on five days of rest.

Early lean: Rays and under.

White Sox at Indians (-220, 8.5)

The Pale Hose signed veteran lefty Derek Holland this past offseason with the hopes that he would pitch well into July and turn into a trade piece. So far so good as he pitched well in a loss to the Twins in his White Sox debut, allowing two earned and four hits over six innings. Last year while with Texas, Holland was 2-0 vs. Cleveland with a 1.50 ERA in two starts. Edwin Encarnacion is 7-for-17 against him with three homers and eight RBIs. Cleveland's Danny Salazar struck out nine in his season debut but allowed five runs in 5.2 innings in a no-decision at Texas. He has a 3.74 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings in his career vs. the White Sox. Jose Abreu is 6-for-16 off him with three homers and four RBIs.

Key trends: The Indians are 5-1 in Salazar's past six vs. the White Sox. The over is 4-1 in his past five at home in the series.

Early lean: Indians and over.

Orioles at Red Sox (-160, 10)

Boston has put outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. on the 10-day disabled list with a hyperextended knee suffered on Saturday. He was hitting .286 with two RBIs after a breakout 2016 season. That's one less worry for Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez. He was not good in his debut, allowing five runs and seven hits over 4.1 innings in a no-decision on a very cold night vs. the Yankees. Jimenez was 0-2 with a 5.28 ERA in three starts vs. Boston a year ago. Pablo Sandoval is a career .359 hitter off him with two homers in 39 at-bats. It's knuckleballer Steven Wright for Boston. He allowed four runs and seven hits over 6.2 innings in a no-decision in Detroit in his season debut. He was 2-0 last year vs. the Orioles with a 2.76 ERA and a complete game. Adam Jones is 2-for-9 off him with a homer.

Key trends: The Red Sox are 6-0 in Wright's past six vs. the AL East. The over is 7-3 in Jimenez's past 10 on the road. The over is 4-0-1 in Wright's past five at home.

Early lean: Red Sox and over.

Dodgers at Cubs (-142, TBA)

MLB Network game and the Cubs will hand out World Series rings to their players before this one. Apparently the ones given to the players have a whopping 108 diamonds each, referencing that the Cubs in 2016 broke a 108-year drought between World Series championships. The Cubbies go with veteran right-hander John Lackey, who frankly did very little for the team in the playoffs. Lackey was 7-4 with a 2.62 ERA at Wrigley last year. He beat the Cardinals in his 2017 debut, allowing three earned over six innings. The Dodgers' Adrian Gonzalez is 7-for-20 off him with four RBIs. L.A.'s Brandon McCarthy threw only 40 innings last year due to injury. He beat the Padres last week, giving up two runs and four hits over six innings. Only a few Cubs have faced him. Jason Heyward is 2-for-3 with a homer.

Key trends: The Dodgers are 4-0 in McCarthy's past four. The Cubs are 6-2 in Lackey's past eight at home. The over is 6-0-1 in Lackey's past seven.

Early lean: Dodgers.

Diamondbacks at Giants (-123, 8)

Shelby Miller was a complete bust in 2016 for Arizona and he wasn't exactly great in his 2017 debut, allowing three runs and five hits over 5.1 innings vs. Cleveland in a victory. I suppose that's progress considering Miller did get the win, something he did not accomplish in 10 home starts last year, when his ERA was 7.39 at Chase Field. Overall, his first victory did not come until his seventh start last year. Miller was 0-3 in 2016 vs. the Giants with a 5.49 ERA in four starts. Brandon Belt is just 1-for-18 against him with six strikeouts. San Francisco's Matt Cain hasn't been good for a few years and wasn't in his season debut, a no-decision in San Diego in which Cain gave up four runs and six hits over 4.1 innings. He's going to be on a very short leash in 2017. Cain is 14-8 with a 3.47 ERA in his career against the Diamondbacks. A.J. Pollock is 6-for-15 off him with two doubles.

Key trends: The Giants are 9-4 in Cain's past 13 at home vs. Arizona. The over is 4-0-2 in his past six on Wednesday.

Early lean: Giants and over.

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Start:	November 23, 2024 @ 2:30 PM
Expert:	Tony George
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