Which three MLB matchups have we decided to play on today?
It’s the first full week of the 2012 MLB
season and with it comes several great baseball matchups and equally strong MLB betting
opportunities.
New York Yankees (0-3) vs. Baltimore Orioles (3-0).
Go figure. The Orioles are perfect while
the New York Yankees are winless and trying to avoid just the third 0-4 start in
franchise history. Baltimore, which will be looking to open 4-0 for the second
consecutive season, is a +150 underdog with the total at 9.5. MLB odds boards opened the Bronx Bombers as -180 favorites for tonight’s 7:05 tilt at Oriole Park in
Camden Yards.
Brian Matusz who earned the final spot
in the rotation with a solid spring will go for the Birds. The Yanks will
counter with Ivan Nova who was so bad during spring training (8.06 ERA in 22.1
innings) that he nearly lost his spot in the starting rotation.
Last season Matusz allowed 11 runs in 6
2-3 innings in two starts versus the Yankees. Nova was second on the team with
16 victories last season with a 3.70 ERA and 2-0 with a 3.55 ERA in four starts
versus the Orioles.
The Yankees have won 13 of 18 against
Baltimore each of the last three seasons with nine of the games playing to the
high side.
Harvey’s Take: I’m playing the ‘over’ tonight. The
Yankees bats are ready to erupt after a quiet opening weekend in TB and the
Orioles are catching Nova at a good time. Play the ‘over’ at 9.5.
Washington Nationals (2-1) vs. New York Mets (3-0)
We’ll keep rolling with our “Big Apple”
themed MLB picks as the Mets and Nats collide at 7:10 PM ET at Citi Field. Washington
behind Edwin Jackson is listed at -105 while Mike Pelfrey and the Mets are
priced at -101 in a game that’s a virtual pick.
Granted it’s just three games but both
sides have to like what they’ve seen so far. You can’t blame New York Mets fans for
being a little giddy. They haven’t been 3-0 in five years and the face of the
franchise, David Wright, had a strong opening weekend going 6 for 9 with a home
run. Lucas Duda homered twice for the Mets who are hitting .320 following their
sweep of the Braves.
The Nationals, who are batting .202,
will face a Mets pitching staff that has a 1.67 ERA. The Mets were 8-10 against
the Nationals last season and dropped six of nine at Citi Field. The
first three games of the 2011 series which were played in New York all topped
the total.
Jackson, who began his career with the
Dodgers, pitched a no-hitter with the Diamondbacks and won a World Series title
with the Cardinals last year. This will be his sixth team in four years. It
makes you wonder why he doesn’t stay in one place very long but at least he’s
working.
Pelfrey had a rough spring training
posting a 7.62 ERA and last year was 7-13 and gave up 21 homers. He’s made 18
career starts against the Nats and is 4-7 with a 4.02 ERA.
Harvey’s Take: Pelfrey’s shown a dramatic regression
over the past three years and in my book, he’s either fade or ‘over’ material.
Tonight he gets the fade and the Nationals behind Jackson get the Benjamin’s.
Atlanta Braves (0-3) vs. Houston Astros (2-1)
The Atlanta Braves and Brandon Beachy (7-3, 3.68
ERA) try for their first win of the year when they visit J.A. Happ and the
Houston Astros. First pitch is set for 8:05 PM ET at Minute Maid Park. Atlanta
is favored by -163 with Houston lined at +157.
Before the season began I told anyone
who would listen that the Braves would be the fourth best team in the NL
Eastern Division and based on the first weekend my forecast is right on.
For starters, I’m not convinced this
group of players will ever recover from last year’s monumental September
collapse. They blew a double-digit lead in the wild card race and lost to St.
Louis which eventually won the World Series. Atlanta’s choke job forever
altered the history of baseball or at least the 2011 season.
The Braves have gotten old, their
starting pitching isn’t what it used to be and the teams in the division have
gotten better.
Houston is still bad and will be for a
long time. Next year, it will be the American League’s turn to take advantage
of baseball’s worst team so Atlanta and the remainder of the NL need to strike
while the irons hot.
The Braves totaled seven runs, 14 hits
and 25 strikeouts at Citi Field in opening with three consecutive losses for
the first time since 2003. They haven’t started 0-4 since losing 10 straight to
begin 1988.
Harvey’s Take: Neither team has done much offensively
to this point so I believe we’ll be safe with the ‘under’.
Good luck on all your MLB plays tonight.