MLB Best Bets for Saturday, April 9, 2022

That was a better day 2-0 (plus a nice plus money win) and one postponement, but hard to not be better after Opening Day. Anyway, we are onto the first weekend of many. Let’s see where we go today.

Orioles at Rays

Yea, no shot I’m playing the Orioles often this year. This is not a good spot for them either. I like the Rays to compete in most games this season. And, you can’t just blindly fade the Orioles and hope to win. I think this is a good spot though. Jordan Lyles, the starter for the Orioles, started poorly, and ended the season pretty well. He only had one spot against Tampa last year and he allowed just three runs in 5.1 innings. Drew Rasmussen is opening/throwing/whatever you want to call it with the Rays and he was successful last year, going 8.1 innings and allowing just one earned run. I like the Rays to win by 2 or more today. Rays -1.5 at -115.

Marlins at Giants

Give me all of the Carlos Rodon. I loved the dude last year on the White Sox and expect him to be even better this year. When he is on the mound he has the stuff to be one of the best. For the Marlins, they have Pablo Lopez. Lopez is not very exciting and not someone to get pumped up about, but he is an okay pitcher. I think maybe the first time through the lineup this game will be 0-0, but the Giants should be able to score the second time through. I’ll take Giants through the first five innings at -0.5 at +100.

Astros at Angels

I’m not going to talk about the game much here (I think the Angels win, but that’s just a lean in my book). Instead, I’m going to talk about the return of Justin Verlander. He looked good in spring training and I think he will be able to pitch pretty well. Throughout his career, Angels hitters have struck out once out of every 4.7 at-bats. Mike Trout, specifically, really struggles against Verlander. I think they will be pretty cautious with his pitch count though and so he won’t be able to rack up a ton of strikeouts. I’m going to take him under 6.5 strikeouts.