MLB Betting Value Picks for Monday, April 22

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By: Al Walsh – Follow him on Twitter @14AdotWalsh

We had some great data on the Mets-Phillies and Red Sox-Tigers games for Monday night. Unfortunately, those games look like they’ll be completely washed out by the rain. But don’t you worry, folks. Spread Knowledge will move past the inclement weather and find this MLB goodness for the people!

[7:10 p.m. EST] Under 7.5 – Kansas City Royals at Tampa Bay Rays
KC: Brad Keller – R (2-1, 2.64 ERA)
TB: Yonny Chirinos – R (3-0, 3.26 ERA)

The total on this game has fallen off a cliff from 8.5 to 7.5, with both teams’ IRT subsequently decreasing as well – Rays: -0.7, Royals: -0.4. A big reason for that is because Rays’ outfielder Austin Meadows landing on the injured list, and that’ll certainly hurt this team which has lost four straight games.

Although I don’t think Meadows’ injury is the end of the world, Vegas certainly seems to think there won’t be many runs in this game. Brad Keller (1.17 WHIP) and Yonny Chirinos (0.83 WHIP) have both done a fantastic job of keeping runners off the basepaths this season, thus giving more evidence to the under in this game.

We’ll keep it short and sweet on this one, giving the Rays the advantage because of their bullpen.

* Final Score Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays: 4 – Kansas City Royals: 2 *

[8:10 p.m. EST] Over 9.5 – Minnesota Twins at Houston Astros
MIN: Jake Odorizzi – R (1-2, 4.76 ERA)
HOU: Brad Peacock – R (2-0, 3.94 ERA)

The Implied Run Total (IRT) has jumped up a bit in favor of both teams – Astros: +0.3, Twins: +0.2 – and there’s plenty of artillery to go around to justify such an increase. An Astros’ array of arms that allowed two runs or fewer in five straight games, suddenly coughed up a total of 20 runs in two games over the weekend against the Rangers.

Brad Peacock takes the hill for Houston, and he is typically not someone that will go deep into games. The Astros’ bullpen has been a bit overworked here these last two days, thus setting the scene for a tough battle against the Twins tonight. Not to mention, Peacock is 0-2 with a 4.05 ERA over his career in seven appearances against Minnesota.

Jake Odorizzi goes for the Twins, and while the righty does own a 3-1 mark and 2.12 ERA in five career starts against the Astros, he did get roughed up for six runs and nine hits over 10 2/3 innings against them last season. Minnesota’s bullpen had a busy weekend itself, playing a doubleheader in Baltimore on Saturday and then using three of its better relievers for an inning yesterday.

All of those factors, combined with an Astros’ offense that scored at least seven runs in four of the last five games, make this an appealing bet on the over.

* Final Score Prediction: Houston Astros: 7 – Minnesota Twins: 5 *

[10:07 p.m. EST] New York Yankees at Los Angeles Angels (-104)
NYY: J.A. Happ – L (0-2, 7.23 ERA)
LAA: Matt Harvey – R (0-2, 9.64 ERA)

We could easily call this a logistics nightmare for the Yankees, having to fly all the way across the country after playing a Sunday afternoon game, while the Angels stayed put in Southern California. But have you seen what the Yanks’ lineup is going to look like without Aaron Judge? Yikes!

While Matt Harvey is not the same guy from the days of being labeled the “Dark Knight,” I do think this is an opportune time for him to get back on the good foot. After all, Harvey’s four starts this season have been against solid offenses of the Rangers (twice), Brewers and Athletics, the latter of which was his best. Given the Yanks’ itinerary ahead of tonight’s matchup, I feel like Harvey has an outing that is good enough to get the Halos the victory.

J.A. Happ has not lived up to the billing for the Yankees this season, but he did finally make it out of the fifth inning in his last – something he was unable to do in the first three starts. It’s still worth noting, however, that Happ has allowed six home runs in 18 2/3 innings of work this season — and that’s against the Orioles (twice), White Sox and Red Sox. It’s possible that Happ is motivated to pitch much better with a B- or C-list roster behind him, but I still feel like the Angels are the more talented team in this current-day scenario.

* Final Score Prediction: Los Angeles Angels: 4 – New York Yankees: 2 *