I usually wait for the first week of the MLB season to play out before I start my MLB betting line posts. I did rather well over the last few years when I have done these and I hope I can help lead some people in the right direction. My picks are against the spread and I also do over/under lines. Will the Red Sox make it two in-a-row against the Yankees? Can the Indians keep up their offense? Here are the MLB betting lines & predictions for April 9th, 2011.
Philadelphia Phillies +1 1/2 (Roy Oswalt) vs. Atlanta Braves -1 1/2 (Brandon Beachy) - Over/Under 7 1/2
Phillies - Over
After the way that the Braves rocked Cliff Lee yesterday, the Braves will be bet heavy today. The Phillies are a veteran team and will have revenge on their mind. You have to have a short memory in the MLB and they will get to Beachy early in this contest. The O/U is set at 7 1/2 and if this game goes the way I think, it will go over. The smart bet would be a parlay on the Phillies moneyline & the over.
New York Yankees +1 1/2 (Ivan Nova) vs. Boston Red Sox -1 1/2 (Clay Buchholz) - O/U 10
Red Sox - Under
The Red Sox started off bad this year, but they came out yesterday and took care of Phil Hughes early. Ivan Nova has better stuff than Hughes has right now, but you don't want the Red Sox to gain any confidence. Buchholz should handle the Yankees hitters and stretch the winning steak to two.
Kansas City Royals +1 1/2 (Bruce Chen) vs. Detroit Tigers -1 1/2 (Phil Coke) - O/U 9 1/2
Tigers - Over
Can you look at these starting pitchers and honestly think that they won't score a combined 10 runs? I'm scared at what Miguel Cabrera will do to Bruce Chen. The Tigers will win outright, cover, and this game will go over.
Tampa Bay Rays +1 1/2 (Wade Davis) vs. Chicago White Sox -1 1/2 (Philip Humber) - O/U 9
White Sox - Over
Wade Davis was rocky in his first start and the White Sox offense have looked very good. The Rays notched their first win last night, thanks to a Matt Thornton blow-save. The White Sox will bounce back and take care of business.
Chicago Cubs +1 1/2 (Matt Garza) vs. Milwaukee Brewers -1 1/2 (Chris Narveson) - O/U 8 1/2
Cubs - Under
Matt Garza's Cubs debut had flashes of greatness. He stuck out double-digit Pirates, but still had a few dumb mistakes. Chris Narveson also had a good debut, but the Cubs bats have looked in mid-season form, if only their bullpen was in the same shape.
Washington Nationals +1 1/2 (Tom Gorzelanny) vs. New York Mets -1 1/2 (Chris Capuano) - O/U 8 1/2
Mets - Under
If this game was being played in any other park with these two pitchers, the line would be 10, but Citi Field is huge. Gorzelanny vs. Capuano might get ugly, but as long as they keep the ball down, it'll go under. I might want to stay away from this bet, these teams are so inconsistent.
Oakland Athletics -1 1/2 (Gio Gonzalez) vs. Minnesota Twins +1 1/2 (Nick Blackburn) - O/U 8
A's - Under
Gio Gonzalez was the buzzworthy pitcher in fantasy baseball this year and he will have a solid year. The Twins are just trying to get healthy, so Oakland has a slight edge in this game.
Cincinnati Reds -1 1/2 (Bronson Arroyo) vs. Arizona Diamondback +1 1/2 (Daniel Hudson) - O/U 8 1/2
Diamondbacks - Over
I learned a rule in Vegas last year...never bet on Bronson Arroyo! It doesn't help that he is still dealing with mono, that's a huge red flag. I really like Daniel Hudson in this contest.
Los Angeles Dodgers -1 1/2 (Hiroki Kuroda) vs. San Diego Padres +1 1/2 (Dustin Moseley) - O/U 7
Dodgers - Under
Kuroda has had solid numbers of the last calendar year, but he doesn't get much respect. It will help him that the game is at Petco Park, the Padres will have a hard time going yard against him.
Toronto Blue Jays -1 1/2 (Brett Cecil) vs. Los Angeles Angles +1 1/2 (Scott Kazmir) - O/U 9
Blue Jays - Over
Name the last time that Scott Kazmir looked like a pitcher that should be on a contender? I'll wait...
Cleveland Indians +1 1/2 (Justin Masterson) vs. Seattle Mariners +1 1/2 (Doug Fisher) - O/U 7 1/2
Indians - Over
Masterson looked great his first time out this year and they rocked the Mariners yesterday. Seattle looks bad and Cleveland wants to pound their former skipper (Eric Wedge).
St. Louis Cardinals +1 1/2 (Jaime Garcia) vs. San Francisco Giants -1 1/2 (Matt Cain) - O/U 6 1/2
Cardinals - Under
This game should be very low-scoring, since both Garcia & Cain looked very good in their debuts. The Cardinals will miss Matt Holliday, but the Giants bullpen, mostly Brian Wilson, hasn't been dominating.
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