Top MLB Betting Odds & Picks for Tuesday, April 26th (2022)
Major League Baseball bettors often scour over statistics, trends, and recent form when making their wagers. However, other baseball bettors that do a deeper dive analyze things like umpiring crews and how specifically a home plate umpire can affect a game by how they call balls and strikes. As Umpire Auditor pointed out on Twitter, there will be many more bettors with eyes on whatever game Angel Hernandez calls in the near future.
After a small seven-game slate kicked off a new week, we are back with a full 15-game schedule with every team in action on Tuesday.
Here are our best bets for Tuesday’s MLB action. (Odds courtesy of DraftKings)
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet >>
Milwaukee Brewers vs . Pittsburgh Pirates O/U 8
Last week, the Brewers swept the Pirates in a three-game series in Milwaukee and covered the runline in all three games. In addition, all three games stayed under the projected total, as no meeting had more than seven combined runs scored. The under is now 4-0-1 in the last five meetings between these teams, and we like another low-scoring battle to ensue in this series opener.
With wagering on unders in Pirates games, one must always be concerned with their poor pitching. Pittsburgh ranks 27th with a 5.02 team ERA, and their 1.46 WHIP ranks 28th. However, if Milwaukee were to win the NL Central once again, it would likely be on the strength of their pitching, as the Brewers lineup has not been a Murderer’s Row to this point. Milwaukee ranks 27th with a .609 OPS, and they are not as likely to take advantage of Pittsburgh’s poor pitching.
Brandon Woodruff (2-1, 4.30) held the Pirates to just one hit in six scoreless innings while recording nine strikeouts. Meanwhile, Mitch Keller (0-3, 6.23) had his most productive outing of the season against Milwaukee, allowing just one earned run on four hits in 5.1 innings.
The under is 4-0-2 in the Brewers’ last six road games, and we are even more encouraged by this under with the confidence that Keller can turn in another solid start.
Bet: Brewers-Pirates UNDER 8 Runs (-115 at DraftKings)
San Diego Padres vs. Cincinnati Reds ML
The Reds just snapped an 11-game losing streak with Sunday’s series finale victory over the Cardinals. Cincinnati was held to three or fewer runs in ten of the 11 losses and then “broke out†for four runs in the win. Thus, recent trends suggest that the Reds must pitch well to win this series opener.
Cincinnati’s Reiver Sanmartin (0-2, 7.11) makes his first home start after three consecutive road starts against the Braves, Dodgers, and Padres. He was recently tagged for five runs in 5.1 innings against the Padres in a 6-2 loss last Tuesday. However, Sanmartin showed signs of why the Reds organization is so high on him in the start before that, holding the high-powered Dodgers scoreless on two hits over five innings.
In that 6-2 Padres win over the Reds, Joe Musgrove (2-0, 1.89) pitched into the sixth inning, marking the first time in his career he reached the sixth inning in his first three starts. While that should give San Diego backers confidence, it also creates some doubt that Musgrove is due for a clunker.
While San Diego is 9-1 in the last ten meetings against Cincinnati, the Padres are just 1-10 in their previous 11 games following an off day. We are backing the Reds to win a second consecutive game, now that the “monkey is off their back†from a long losing streak.
Bet: Cincinnati Reds ML (+145 at DraftKings)
Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins ML
In recent years, the Twins have owned the Tigers at home, going 20-7 in their last 27 meetings in Minnesota and 37-18 in their previous 55 meetings overall. Both starting pitchers, Eduardo Rodriguez (0-1, 5.27) and Chris Paddack (0-2, 5.00), are looking for their first wins of the season. However, we give the edge to the home Twins in this matchup.
Minnesota ranks 19th in the league in OPS against left-handed pitching, but we do not expect them to be in the bottom half of the league in that category for long, given how right-handed dominant their lineup is. Three of Minnesota’s most important right-handed hitters, Carlos Correa, Miguel Sano, and Gio Urshela, are a combined 17-for-44 (.386) against Rodriguez, and we expect the Twins’ bats to stay hot after scoring 15 combined runs in the last two games.
Minnesota has won four straight games, and considering Detroit scored seven runs in their only three-game road series, we are getting good value with the Twins at -140 odds.
Bet: Minnesota Twins ML (-140 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.