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April 27th MLB Odds and Picks – Springer Faces Tough Task in Blue Jays’ Debut

John Perrotto

by John Perrotto in MLB Baseball

Updated Apr 27, 2021 · 11:57 AM PDT

Jose Ramirez, Franmil Reyes, Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians' Franmil Reyes, right, congratulates Cleveland Indians' Jose Ramirez after Ramirez hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Wednesday, April 7, 2021, in Cleveland. The Indians won 4-2. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
  • There are 15 games on the MLB schedule for Tuesday, April 27th
  • Season record: 30-42: -$1,675 (based on $100 wagered per unit)
  • Wagering advice for Tuesday’s games can be found below

A total of 15 games are the MLB schedule Tuesday and the Arizona Diamondbacks will see if they can carry over their outstanding pitching from Sunday.

The Diamondbacks open a two-game home series against the San Diego Padres at 9:40 p.m. ET at Chase Field in Phoenix. Merrill Kelly (1-2, 7.71 ERA) will start for Arizona against Chris Paddack (1-2, 3.50). Kelly can only hope to repeat the performance of his two rotation mates Sunday when Zac Gallen threw a one-hit shutout in the opener of a doubleheader with the Atlanta Braves and Madison Bumgarner followed with a seven-inning no-hitter.

Center fielder George Springer is expected to make his debut for the Toronto Blue Jays when they play the Washington Nationals at 7:07 p.m. at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Fla. Signed to a six-year, $150-million contract as a free agent in the offseason, Springer has been sidelined by a strained oblique and right quadriceps strain. Trent Thornton (0-0, 1.86) goes for the Blue Jays, facing Max Scherzer (1-1, 1.80).

Here are the top three picks for Tuesday.

April 27 MLB Picks

Matchup Pick and Odds at DraftKings Units Risked
Twins vs Cleveland Cleveland (-107) 1 unit
Mariners vs Astros Astros (-195) 1 unit
Nationals vs Blue Jays Under 8.5 (-110) 1 unit

Odds as of April 27th .

Pick 1: Cleveland (-107)

Cleveland and Aaron Civale (3-0, 2.42) host the Minnesota Twins and Kenta Maeda (1-1, 6.11) at 6:10 p.m. at Progressive Field.

Maeda has been tough on Cleveland, winning all three career starts with a 0.50 ERA. He also has 20 strikeouts in 18 innings.

However, so far this season, Maeda hasn’t looked like the pitcher who was the runner-up for the American League Cy Young Award in 2020. In his last outing, Maeda was tagged for seven runs and three home runs in three innings in a loss to the Oakland Athletics. That ended a streak of 14 straight starts in which he had allowed three runs or fewer.

Civale has given up three runs or less in each of his four starts this season. He also has been stingy with baserunners, allowing 14 hits and nine walks in 26 innings for a 0.89 WHIP. Civale has worked at least into the sixth inning in every outing.

Cleveland won the opener of the series 5-3 on Monday night in dramatic fashion. Jordan Luplow hit a two-run home run off Alex Colome to lead off the bottom of the 10th inning.

The Twins have lost three games in a row, seven of their last eight and 12 of their last 14. It gets no easier for the reeling two-time AL Central champions against Civale.

Pick 2: Astros (-195)

The Houston Astros are home against the Seattle Mariners at 8:10 p.m. at Minute Maid Park. Cristian Javier (2-0, 1.32) gets the ball for the Astros against left-hander Marco Gonzales (1-2, 6.04).

Javier has quietly been one of the top pitchers in the AL during the early weeks of the season.

The 24-year-old has pitched five scoreless innings in each of his last two starts, facing the Athletics and Los Angeles Angels. Javier also had nine strikeouts against the Angels.

Javier’s WHIP is also outstanding at 0.88. He has surrendered just nine hits in 13.2 innings while walking three and striking out 20.

Gonzales is coming off his finest performance of the season, though he took a tough-luck loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers while holding them to one run and two hits in seven innings.

However, Gonzales has had problem with the Astros, going 1-5 with a 5.83 ERA in nine career games. Houston is also hitting .276 against lefties this season as opposed to .239 versus right-handers.

The Astros won the series opener 5-2 on Monday night as Jose Altuve had three hits and two RBIs in his return from the COVID-19 injured list.

While it is a large number to lay, Javier has been outstanding this season, the Astros have won four of their last five games and Gonzales’ history against Houston is concerning.

Pick 3: Nationals-Blue Jays under 8.5 (-110)

I have seen enough spring training games in Dunedin over the years to know the ball flies there. Yet I like the under for a variety of reasons.

First and foremost is Scherzer being on the mound. The three-time Cy Young winner has allowed only one run in 19 innings over his last three starts. Scherzer is also 4-2 with a 2.00 ERA against the Blue Jays in 10 career starts.

While Thornton will start, it will be a bullpen game for Toronto. That is a good thing for the Blue Jays as their 2.10 relief ERA leads the major leagues. Toronto also had the day off Monday so their relievers should be rested.

Both teams have struggled offensively of late. In their last seven games, the Blue Jays have scored just 19 runs and the Nationals have tallied but 18.

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