Picks Summary
- • Orioles vs. Lions: Orioles -1.5 (+120) at Bet365
- • Rays vs. White Sox: White Sox ML (+130) at Bet365
- • Yankees vs. Rangers: Rangers ML (+140) at Bet365
Three aces look to move to 5-0 on the season in a busy Thursday. Here is all you need to know for your MLB picks.
Baltimore Orioles vs. Detroit Lions
Thursday, April 27, 2023 – 06:40 PM EDT at Comerica Park
Kyle Gibson Pitching Like Bob
He may not be related to the Hall of Fame fireballer, but Kyle Gibson has been pitching like Bob Gibson so far this season. He is 4-0 in five starts with the Orioles this season and has gone at least five innings in every start, posting a 3.60 ERA, nearly two runs lower than last year’s mark with Philadelphia.
The big difference for Gibson is a new pitch. Like many MLB pitchers, he’s mastered the sweeper, a slider-type pitch that moves horizontally and is baffling batters. He throws it about a quarter of the time, but it’s accounted for nearly half of his 24 strikeouts this season, and hitters swing and miss at Gibson’s sweeper more than 40% of the time.
The Tigers have already gotten a good look at Gibson and his sweeper. He struck out 11 Detroit batters in 6.1 innings in his last start, part of a three-game Orioles sweep of Detroit in Baltimore. The Orioles pitchers were dominant that series, holding Detroit to one run in each of the games, and Baltimore starters allowed just one earned run.
The Tigers’ offense has done its part in helping Baltimore pitchers look good. They have scored the fewest runs in MLB and rank near the bottom in most offensive categories, including batting, slugging, and home runs. Detroit will send winless Joey Wentz, 0-3, 7.56, to the mound.
The Pick
The Orioles should be able to beat up Wentz and get the win. We’ll give the runs to help improve our payout.
MLB Pick: Orioles -1.5 (+120) at Bet365
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox
Thursday, April 27, 2023 – 07:10 PM EDT at Guaranteed Rate Field
Don’t Call It a Slump
What happened to the Rays? After sending historians to the record book to try to put their hot start to the season in perspective, the Rays have lost—gasp—back-to-back games. That may not seem like much, but since they’d lost just three of the first 23 they played, a pair of losses is a pretty significant change of fortunes.
The Rays will likely be happy to say goodbye to the World Champion Houston Astros, who beat them the last two nights, even if It means hitting the road. Tampa starts its trip in Chicago against the White Sox.
They’ll try to regain their winning ways with Shane McClanahan on the mound. The lefty is 4-0 with a 1.86 ERA. McClanahan is starting his second straight game against the Sox. He struck out 10 in a dominant performance that earned him a no-decision last time out, although the Rays did end up winning.
McClanahan set an MLB record for the pitch-tracking era (dating back to 2008) by getting 32 swing and misses by White Sox batters, most of them on his changeup, which has been unhittable this year.
White Sox starter Dylan Cease starts his second straight game against the Rays. Last time out he gave up a first-inning home run and threw 101 pitches in four-plus innings, getting pulled two batters into the fifth inning in a no decision. Cease is 2-0 in five starts with a 2.73 ERA.
The Pick
After being held below two runs just twice in their first 23 games, the Rays were shut out in their back-to-back losses. Tampa players and manager Kevin Cash said it was merely a matter of facing two good pitchers. They’ll face another good one in Cease. We’ll take a flier on an upset.
MLB Pick: White Sox ML (+130) at Bet365
New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers
Thursday, April 27, 2023 – 08:05 PM EDT at Globe Life Field
Will Cole’s Train Keep On Rolling?
The Yankees snapped a three-game losing streak by scoring a season-high 12 runs to salvage the final game of a three-game series with the Twins on Wednesday. After losing the season series to Minnesota for the first time since 2001, the Yankees now head to Texas for four against the AL West-leading Rangers.
Texas returns home after getting swept in three straight by the last-place (before their sweep) Reds in Cincinnati. Texas will snap a string of nine straight games against losing teams, facing the last-place A’s and last-place Royals before the Reds series.
The Yankees will start Gerrit Cole, who has been dominant this season, going 4-0 with a 0.79 ERA. He’s also allowing just 0.79 runners an inning. After leading the majors in home runs allowed last season, Cole has not been taken deep yet this year in 34 innings pitched.
The Rangers counter with lefthander Andrew Heaney, who is 2-1 with a 4.34 ERA, although he’s pitched much better in recent outings after a slow start to the year. He’s given up just two earned runs in his last 16 innings.
The Pick
The Rangers are home dogs, and they’ve been outstanding when little is expected of them this year. They’ve gone 5-3 as underdogs and, in the three games where they were the biggest moneyline underdogs, they’ve won twice. Cole has been great, but the price is too high, so we’ll pick the upset.
MLB Pick: Rangers ML (+140) at Bet365
