MLB Picks: April 9th 2011
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Pick: Cincinnati Reds -101
The 5-2 Cincinnati Reds lost a heartbreaker a couple of days ago to the 1-6 Houston Astros for their first loss of the season. Yesterday’s game was no such thing. The 3-3 Arizona Diamondbacks pounded the Reds 13-2 to take the first of three games at Chase Field. In the second game Bronson Arroyo goes up against Daniel Hudson in what appears a pitching mismatch favoring Cincinnati. Arroyo (104-93 in his career) pitched seven innings allowing three runs in his first start this season while Hudson (9-4 in his career) allowed three runs in six innings during his debut. TAKE CINCINNATI HERE. -Bob Wingerter

Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers -125
LA veteran starter Hiroki Kuroda doesn’t walk anyone, and that’s a huge plus in a big ball park like San Diego, where base runners are hard to find. Kuroda continues to adapt nicely to pitching in the U.S. His strikeout-per-nine-innings ratio has improved in each of his three years in the States, to a career-best 7.29 in 2010. He faces a weak San Diego lineup and is matched up against Dustin Moseley, a converted reliever. The Padres have a poor .298 on base percentage offensively and traded their top offensive player, slugged Adrian Gonzalez, over the winter. Play the Dodgers. -Jim Feist

Pick: New York Mets -127
Washington spoiled New York’s home opener, but I expect the Mets to bounce back strong Saturday. Expect the Mets’ bats to come alive against Washington southpaw Tom Gorzelanny. New York typically hits lefties well. The Mets have seen just 1 this season (Cole Hamels) and they rocked him. The Mets are 5-1 in their last 6 games vs. a left-handed starter and 54-26 in their last 80 home games vs. a team with a losing record. Also, Gorzelanny is just 1-3 lifetime against New York with an ERA of 6.00 and a WHIP of 1.714. The Met’s Chris Capuano has a solid 3.58 career ERA against a Washington club that has struggled against lefty starters. The Nats are just 3-8 in their last 11 road games vs. a left-handed starter. The Nationals are also 21-48 in their last 69 road games and 16-45 in their last 61 games as a road underdog. We’ll bet the Mets. -Jimmy Boyd (Handicapperspicks.com)

The Reds were dropped out of first in the National League Central division but they’ve won three straight games to regain the top spot. A three-game series against the bottom-dwelling Arizona Diamondbacks could be what Cincinnati needs to give some breathing room between them and second place St. Louis Cardinals. Arizona is near the bottom of the money standings having cost baseball bettors -21.13 units on the moneyline and another -16.50 on the runline.
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The line for tonight’s game is closer than their records would suggest with the MLB odds setting the Reds as -115 favorites, the comeback on the Diamondbacks is -105 and the game total is set at 9 runs.

The Reds were bounced from first by the St. Louis Cardinals in a series that had as much animosity as anything the Yankees and Red Sox ever had. Players were kicked out after a bench clearing brawl, there was genuine hate happening and as it happens in these situations, the team that fired the first shot had their butts handed to them. It all began with Brandon Phillips calling the Cardinals a bunch of whiney B’s (I’m paraphrasing). The Cardinals came out motivated and took all three games from the Reds.

The Reds took their lumps but bounced back with a sweep of their own against the Florida Marlins to retake the top spot. Until the Brandon Phillips comment, the rivalry and race in the NL Central was the best story that nobody was talking about.

On the mound tonight for the Reds is Bronson Arroyo. Arroyo has been solid but not spectacular with a 12-7 record and a 3.94 ERA. His numbers have been excellent on road over the past six starts, as Arroyo is 4-1 with 1.90 ERA.

The Diamondbacks have been showing improvement lately, and they just finished a seven game road trip where they won four games. It’s a marked improvement over early in the season but they are still 25 games under .500.

Taking the mound for the Diamondbacks is Daniel Hudson. Hudson was acquired from the White Sox at the trade deadline and it’s been so far so good for the young right-hander. Since the trade he’s 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA including a 7 inning, 8-2 win over the Brewers, he struck out nine in the win.

Both players have been excellent lately, and if Hudson can keep his fine pitching ways about him and combine that with Arroyo’s hot road streak, this game should stay way under the nine run baseball betting total.

MLB Betting Free Pick – Cincinnati Reds/Arizona Diamondbacks Under 9 Runs
Source: BetUS Locker Room Featured on: Handicapperspicks.com