MLB Best Bets for Monday, April 11, 2022

The first full week of baseball is upon us and we are ready to make some noise. With a ton of games each day it can be a challenge to see where we should focus our attention. That’s why I’m here. These are my best bets for the day.

Guardians vs. Royals

The Guardians come into today looking to try and even up the series against the Royals before they head out of town. The first two matches were tight ball games with a two run and one run win for the Royals. Yesterday, the Guardians broke open the offense and scored 17 runs after scoring just one run in their previous 19 innings. Yeesh. Today. The Guardians send Aaron Civale to the bump. Last season he started 21 games going 12-5 with a 3.84 ERA – a pretty solid season overall. He wasn’t great against the Royals though, allowing 7 earned runs in 11 innings. Carlos Hernandez goes for the Royals and he had a decent season last year pitching in both relief and as a starter. As a starter, he was pretty hit or miss, he either seemed to allow one or zero runs, or he allowed four or more. I’m looking at this game to have runs scored from both sides and going to play the over 8.5 total at -118.

Pirates vs. Cardinals

Go ahead and call me crazy, but I like the Pirates today. Zach Thompson started as a starter and then moved to the bullpen, but he was serviceable in both situations. On the other hand, you have Dakota Hudson, a solid pitcher that only threw 8 innings last year and had an altered Spring Training. I think it might take a while for Hudson to settle in and be the pitcher he is capable of. Now, it can be easy to settle in against the Pirates as this is a team most pitchers feast on, but they are coming off a respectable game yesterday. I’m going to hope that momentum continues and take the Pirates ML at +172.

Marlins at Angels

Runs. Runs. Runs. That’s what I expect in this game. Neither starting pitcher is going to be untouchable – even if they both have had some decent starts in their career, neither is known for being a top-of-the-rotation talent. I am a bit curious to see if Lorenzen starts this game or just opens it as he was used solely out of relief last season. You’re going to score runs off Marlins starter Elieser Hernandez, it is just a question of how many. I think it will be more than three for the Angels. I’m taking the over 9.5 on the game.