Many of the teams in Major League Baseball are involved in divisional skirmishes over the weekend. The American League East is still topsy-turvy, as the only team above .500 is the 10-3 Tampa Bay Rays, as two of the favorites to win the World Series are still struggling. The Yankees sit at 5-7, and the Red Sox are 4-9. Cleveland has figured things out and moved to 8-4 to lead the AL Central, while the hapless Royals have already lost 10 games out of their first 12. Seattle continues their white-hot start at 13-2, but none of the teams in the AL West, largely considered one of the softest of the six, are under .500. In the NL Central, the Cardinals and Brewers are tied atop the division, while the Cubs are 3 ½ games back, and the San Diego Padres have moved into the lead into the NL West. Philadelphia was leading the NL East until they took a pair of shellackings from Washington and now are behind the Mets. Which games should you include in your sports betting for this weekend? Take a look at our picks.
Top MLB Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions for the Weekend
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Saturday, April 13
Baltimore at Boston (1:05pm ET)
Projected Pitching Matchup: Andrew Cashner (2-1, 5.28 ERA) (BAL) vs Rick Porcello (0-2, 13.50 ERA) (BOS)
Andrew Cashner has either pitched lights out or has been knocked around when he has taken the mound for the Orioles. He got shelled on Opening Day by the Yankees, giving up six runs on six hits over four innings in a 7-2 loss. He held the Blue Jays scoreless over six innings in a 2-1 win on April 2, but then the A’s touched him up for four runs on nine hits, with a couple of home runs, in a game the Orioles would win with their bats, 12-4.
The Orioles head to Boston looking to be the third consecutive team to knock Rick Porcello around. The Mariners did it on March 31, torching him for nine runs (four earned) on six hits, over 2 ⅔ innings, and then the Diamondbacks did it over 4 ⅔ innings, lighting him up for seven runs on ten hits, including a pair of home runs. Will the former Cy Young winner find his form, or will he keep leaving fat pitches out over the plate? We will see on Saturday afternoon. In the meantime, the Red Sox have the lineup to put up runs on Cashner.
Final Score Prediction: Boston 8, Baltimore 5
Colorado at San Francisco (4:05pm ET, FS1)
Projected Pitching Matchup: Kyle Freeland (1-2, 5.40 ERA) (COL) vs Madison Bumgarner (0-2, 3.32 ERA) (SF)
The Rockies are just 3-10 out of the gate this season, and Kyle Freeland’s pitching hasn’t helped a whole lot. He did throw seven solid innings in a 6-3 win in Miami on Opening Day, but then he has given up 10 runs on 10 hits in 9 ⅔ combined innings in losses at Tampa Bay and at home to Atlanta, and now the Rockies look to start climbing up the division ladder with a series in San Francisco.
Madison Bumgarner has had some tough luck and has left some fat pitches over the plate so far this season, as his offense didn’t give him any help on Opening Day, as the Giants fell to the Padres, 2-0 despite seven solid innings from the ace. Since then, he has pitched a pair of 6-5 losses, one to the Dodgers and the other again against the Padres, in which he has permitted 10 runs on nine hits (although only five of the runs were earned, permitting three home runs over that stretch. Can Bumgarner lead his team to a win against the Rockies? Given his penchant for coming through in the clutch, I like him against a Colorado team that is struggling.
Final Score Prediction: San Francisco 6, Colorado 3
