Top MLB Betting Odds & Picks for Wednesday, April 13th (2022)

Apr 13, 2022 - 11:38 AM

Periodically throughout the season, we will be publishing futures articles with predictions on who will win each division, the pennant, and awards in each league like the Cy Young and MVP. In terms of the Rookie of the Year Award, there may not be much value left at midseason on the National League side, given Chicago’s Seiya Suzuki’s torrid start. Suzuki already is down to just +170 odds to win the NL ROY Award, primarily due to a historic start that ESPN Stats & Info summed up on Twitter.

Seiya Suzuki joins Shohei Ohtani as the only Japanese-born players in MLB history to hit 3 HR over their 1st 4 MLB games. pic.twitter.com/tP1rWS2TFx

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 12, 2022

Here are our best bets for Wednesday’s MLB action. (Odds courtesy of DraftKings)

View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet >>

Washington Nationals Team Total O/U 3.5 Runs

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried was roughed up for five runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings in the team’s 6-3 Opening Day loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Two runs charged to Fried were a product of reliever Collin McHugh allowing a three-run home run with two of Fried’s runners on base. Fried’s final stat line would not have looked as crooked if McHugh retired Brandon Drury instead.

Despite taking the loss, Fried showed arm strength that bodes well for success throughout the year. As Buster Olney pointed out on Twitter, Fried’s average fastball in 2021 was 93.9 mph but was consistently clocked at 96-98 in the first inning.

With today being a day game, it is natural to see teams rest starters on such a quick turnaround, so Washington’s lineup may not be as potent as the one that scored 11 runs in the series opener. Despite that offensive outbreak, the Nationals have scored four or more runs on just two other occasions. The Mets held Washington to six total runs in their four-game series to open the season, which is the kind of success we expect Fried to enjoy today.

Bet: Washington Nationals Team Total UNDER 3.5 Runs (-125 at DraftKings)  

Cleveland Guardians vs. Cincinnati Reds ML

The Guardians offense is on fire, scoring at least ten runs and 37 combined runs over the previous three games. Yesterday’s stars were Jose Ramirez, who drove in six runs (including a grand slam), and rookie Steven Kwan, who has reached base 18 times through the first five games, the most of any player in the first five games since 1901.

What better way to thwart a red-hot offense than to throw an unknown pitcher making his Major League debut at them. Lefty Nick Lodolo was the seventh overall pick in the 2019 draft and will be tasked with slowing down a red-hot Cleveland offense in his first time on a big-league diamond. However, oddsmakers trust his ability as they made the Reds home favorites. That is important in this Guardians-Reds series, as the favorite has won Cleveland’s last 12 games at Great American Ball Park, and we expect that trend to continue this afternoon.

Bet: Cincinnati Reds ML (-125 at DraftKings)  

Houston Astros vs. Arizona Diamondbacks O/U 9

Early signs are that Arizona’s offense will be historically bad this season. Despite playing all five games in the comfort of their home stadium, they have managed just 13 total runs, and in one of the two games where they scored at least four runs, all of those runs came in the ninth inning.

The good news for Arizona is that when they have had Madison Bumgarner or today’s starter, Merrill Kelly, on the mound, they are good at run prevention. Kelly threw four scoreless innings and recorded seven strikeouts in his first start against the Padres. He was one of the lone bright spots in the Diamondbacks rotation last year, throwing quality starts in more than 1/3 of his outings.

Houston counters with Framber Valdez, who also did not allow a run (6.2 scoreless innings against the Angels) on Opening Day.

The under is 5-1 in Houston’s last six games and is 5-2 in their previous seven road games at Arizona. Thus, we expect another low-scoring matchup today.

Bet: Astros-Diamondbacks UNDER 9 (-110 at DraftKings)  

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Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.

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