MLB Odds, Picks Today | Pirates vs Cardinals, Rays vs Blue Jays Predictions on Saturday, April 15
Pictured: Wander Franco and Manuel Margot celebrate a win. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
- It's another busy Saturday in MLB with 15 games scattered throughout the afternoon and evening.
- There are two games in particular that have caught the eyes of our analysts: Cardinals vs. Pirates and Rays vs. Blue Jays.
- Continue reading for a full breakdown of our best bets for the MLB slate on Saturday, April 15th.
What better way to enjoy a Saturday than by watching a ton of baseball and sweating out some bets?
Well, you've come to the right place. There are 15 games on MLB's Saturday slate and our experts have found some betting value on a pair of plus-money moneylines.
Continue on to see which bets they are targeting and read about their MLB betting predictions for Saturday, April 15.
Saturday's MLB Best Bets
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our MLB betting staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click the team logos for one the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
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| Specific bet recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our MLB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Pirates vs. Cardinals
Saturday, April 15 2:15 p.m. ET MLB.TV |
Pirates Moneyline (+165)  |
By D.J. James
Roansy Contreras has the potential to be the Pittsburgh Pirates ace. Yes, in recent memory, that may not be saying much, but he does have an impressive arsenal. On Saturday, he faces the St. Louis Cardinals Steven Matz, who had some unfortunate luck with another injury last season.
Both starters have had a tough start. In each of the games he's pitched, Matz has allowed at least four earned runs in just over five innings. Meanwhile, Contreras led off the season with 5 2/3 strong innings against the Boston Red Sox before getting smacked against the Houston Astros in his most recent outing.
St. Louis owns a team wRC+ of 110 off of righties, but Pittsburgh’s is 103 against southpaws — not too far behind. The Pirates are also walking at a 10.7% clip, which is quite impressive in the early going.
Additionally, Contreras primarily uses a slider and the Cardinals have struggled against that this season. St. Louis has an 87.5 mph average exit velocity and a .246 xwOBA against right-handed sliders. Look for Contreras to lean heavily on his slider to manufacture some outs.
The Pittsburgh bullpen is worse with a 4.32 xFIP compared to St. Louis’ 3.29. However, if Contreras is getting the Cardinals to chase, as he does often, the Pirates should be in solid shape to hand the game to closer David Bednar. Take the Pirates at +165, and play them to +130.
Pick: Pirates Moneyline |
What is QuickSlip?
QuickSlip is an Action Network feature that allows users to automatically pre-load their bet slip at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Rays vs. Blue Jays
Saturday, April 15 3:07 p.m. ET MLB.TV |
Rays Moneyline (+100) |
By William Boor
So, the Rays finally lost a game, but there's no reason to jump off the bandwagon. This is still a really good team with talent up and down the roster. After all, they are 13-1 and have a favorable matchup on Saturday.
I love the Rays in this spot as they boast a potent offense and are facing a very fadeable pitcher.
Getting Tampa Bay at plus money is a bet I immediately jumped on. Calvin Faucher, who has yielded three runs over six innings across four appearances this season, will serve as the opener as Tampa Bay opts for a bullpen day. However, I'm making this bet not because of Faucher, but because of Toronto's starter.
The Blue Jays are sending Yusei Kikuchi to the hill on Saturday. Kikuchi gave up six runs over 4 1/3 innings against the Angels in his last start and has pitched to a 6.63 xERA through two starts this season. Yes, that sample size is small, but the 31-year-old lefty also pitched to a 5.63 xERA last season.
Not only is Kikuchi giving up runs, but he's getting hit hard. He ranks in just the 11th percentile in hard-hit percentage and is in the 12th percentile in terms of average exit velocity. There's not a ton to love when looking at Kikuchi's metrics, which make me love the Rays even more on Saturday.
The Rays are averaging over seven runs per game and I expect they'll find plenty of success against Kikuchi on Saturday.
Pick: Rays Moneyline |
What is QuickSlip?
QuickSlip is an Action Network feature that allows users to automatically pre-load their bet slip at FanDuel Sportsbook.
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