We have a small nine-game slate in the majors on Monday, with the first game taking place at 11 AM between the Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox. There are a lot good matchups happening across the league that will feature a ton of betting implications.
On Sunday, we saw New York Yankees starter Nestor Cortes Jr. pitch an immaculate inning against the Baltimore Orioles and record 12 strikeouts. However, it was all for nothing as the Orioles defeated the Yankees 5-0 and won the three-game series. Also happening on Easter, the Tampa Bay Rays snapped their four-game losing streak with a 9-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Here we’re going to be tracking all the best MLB picks based on the odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook for Monday’s baseball action.
MLB picks for Monday, April 18
Oakland Athletics -1.5 vs. Baltimore Orioles (+110)
The Athletics will finally have their home opener tonight after spending the first 10 games on the road. Oakland showed in their last two series against the Rays and Blue Jays that they can score runs and will be competitive. The A’s have won three out of their last five games by 2.3 runs per game.
Now they will go up against the Orioles, who won two out of three games over New York, but are 0-3 on the road. Baltimore opened up the season against Tampa Bay, who won by 3.6 runs per game. Oakland has the better offense and the advantage on with mound with Frankie Montas.
Pittsburgh Pirates Team Total over 3.5 runs (+100)
We’re going to take a chance on the Pirates, who are playing better baseball as of late after their first series against the Cardinals. The Pirates are 4-1 in their last five games and averaging 5.6 runs per game. On the season, Pittsburgh is hitting .266, which is not bad at all, especially considering their lineup.
The Pirates should be able to put some runs on Milwaukee Brewers starter Eric Lauer, who gave up three earned runs in his start against the Orioles. Baltimore went on to win that game 5-4. However, Lauer had success against the Pirates last season with an ERA of 1.47 in four games (three starts).
Houston Astros ML vs. Los Angeles Angels (-150)
The Astros will have Luis Garcia on the mound tonight when they begin a three-game set at Minute Maid Park. Garcia made his regular season debut last week against Arizona, where he allowed two hits and two walks in 4.0 innings pitched. Houston is looking to bounce back after a tough weekend series against Seattle.
Last season, the young starter pitched well at home to the tune of a 2.39 ERA and .210 OBA. But the Los Angeles Angels had Garcia’s number last season as he went 1-2 with an ERA of 4.10 in six games. Meanwhile, the Angels are 4-1 in their last five games and will give the ball to Michael Lorenzen. Lorenzen had a strong first outing against the Marlins and helped LAA to a 6-2 win. It should be a good game between these two AL West squad, with the Astros on the winning side.
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