Free MLB Picks for Wednesday, April 10, 2019
The Colorado Rockies will be without good-looking young outfielder David Dahl for a while after he left Sunday's game against the Dodgers with an oblique/lower abdomen injury. The 25-year-old is hitting .348 with two homers and six RBIs this season (he had homered in eight of his past nine games dating to last season at Coors Field) but clearly is a bit brittle. A fractured foot cost him more than two months last year, in 2017 he was limited to just 19 minor-league games after suffering a stress reaction injury to a rib during spring training, and he dealt with a long absence in 2015 due to a lacerated spleen. Just another blow to the Rockies, who already have infielders Daniel Murphy (finger) and Ryan McMahon (elbow) and pitchers Tyler Anderson (knee inflammation) and Jake McGee (sprained knee) on the injured list.
Indians at Tigers (+138, 8)
Trevor Bauer had his breakout season last year for the Tribe, and the former UCLA star is showing that's no fluke with a 1-0 record, 0.57 WHIP and 0.64 ERA through two starts in 2019. Bauer has allowed one hit over 14 innings with 17 strikeouts. He was pulled after seven no-hit innings last time out vs. the Blue Jays but said he was OK with the decision as Bauer was at 117 pitchers. Bauer, who isn't bashful, has predicted he will win the Cy Young this year. He might be right. Detroit's Miguel Cabrera is a career .345 hitter off him. Tigers lefty Matthew Boyd (0-1, 3.18) leads the American League with 23 strikeouts in his two starts, whiffing 10 Blue Jays and 13 Yankees - both on the road. Boyd was 0-1 with a 5.28 ERA in three starts last year vs. Cleveland. Jose Ramirez is 5-for-18 off him.
Key trends: The Indians have won Bauer's past four vs. Detroit. The Tigers are 1-5 in Boyd's previous six vs. the Tribe. The "over/under" has gone under in five of Boyd's past seven in the series.
Early lean: Indians and under.
Rays at White Sox (+127, 8.5)
Tampa Bay leads the majors in ERA despite having really only three true starting pitchers. It's Tyler Glasnow (2-0, 0.82) here. He was once a touted prospect with the Pirates, and they gave up on him last season in the Chris Archer trade. Might have been a huge mistake. Glasnow has surrendered just nine hits over 11 innings. Only one White Sox batter has more than a single at-bat off him. Chicago's Reynaldo Lopez (0-1, 10.00) was shelled for six runs, three homers, in five innings last time out vs. the Mariners but avoided the loss. His control has been off with eight walks. Tampa's Kevin Kiermaier is 2-for-3 career against him.
Key trends: The Rays are 2-5 in Glasnow's past seven on the road. The under is 6-1 in Lopez's past seven vs. the AL East.
Early lean: White Sox and under.
Yankees at Astros (-140, 8)
ESPN game. It's new lefty James Paxton (1-1, 4.09) for the Yankees. He has yet to last six full innings, facing Baltimore in both his starts in pinstripes. The 14 strikeouts in 11 innings are nice but the 12 hits aren't. Paxton faced the Astros four times last year as a Mariner, going 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA. George Springer is 8-for-30 off him with three homers. Houston's Collin McHugh (1-1, 2.45) went six innings last time out vs. Oakland, surrendering a run and three hits. New York's DJ LeMahieu is 1-for-4 off him. The former Rockie has been raking for the Yankees thus far.
Key trends: The Yankees are 1-11 in their past 12 in Game 3 of a series. The under is 19-7 in McHugh's past 26 at home.
Early lean: Astros and over.
Dodgers at Cardinals (-118, 8.5)
L.A.'s Cory Bellinger is off to a crazy-hot start as he became just the second player since RBIs began being tracked in 1920 to have at least seven homers and 18 RBIs in the first 10 games of a season. The other was Willie Mays in 1964. Bellinger faces young Cardinals star Jack Flaherty (0-0, 3.86) in this one. Flaherty was a bit off in his season debut in Milwaukee but blanked the Padres over five last time out. Bellinger is 0-for-4 off him with two strikeouts. The Dodgers' Kenta Maeda (2-0, 3.09) has seen his team score a combined 28 runs in his two stars. He went five last time out in Colorado. Paul Goldschmidt has seen him the most by far of any Cardinal, hitting just .214 with no homers in 28 at-bats.
Key trends: The Dodgers are 7-3 in Maeda's past 10 vs. the NL Central. The Cards are 1-7 in Flaherty's past eight. The over is 5-0 in Flaherty's past five.
Early lean: Dodgers and over.
Pirates at Cubs (-152, TBA)
Teams come off a rare Tuesday off with Chicago taking the series opener Monday 10-0, although ace Jon Lester left with hamstring tightness. The Cubs' 72 runs are their most through 10 games since they scored 76 times in the first 10 games in 1954. The Chicago pitching staff has been nothing short of a disaster, though, no thanks to Yu Darvish (0-1, 8.10). In two starts, the most overpaid pitcher in the majors has 11 walks over 6.2 innings. Maybe finally pitching at Wrigley Field will help as his first two outings were in Atlanta and Arlington. Kinda doubt the change of location is going to change anything. Darvish is simply mentally weak, which has a common refrain in his career. He's not physically hurt. Pittsburgh's Francisco Cervelli is 4-for-7 off him with two doubles. The Pirates counter with Jordan Lyles (0-0, 0.00). He made his season debut last Thursday and shut out the Reds over five innings. This will be his first start at Wrigley in six years. Kyle Schwarber has one career at-bat vs. Lyles and went yard.
Key trends: The Cubs are 1-7 in their past eight following an off day. The Bucs are 1-5 in their past six coming off a day off. The under is 7-2 in the past nine meetings.
Early lean: Pirates.
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