Top MLB Betting Odds & Picks for Tuesday, April 12 (2022)

So you thought betting on baseball was easy? No team is left undefeated or winless through the first four games of the season (five teams have played five games). Thus, all four teams that lost 100+ games last year (Orioles, Rangers, Pirates, Diamondbacks) have all won at least one game to this point and cashed huge moneyline odds in the process. Conversely, last year’s two NLCS participants, the Braves and Dodgers, are both under .500.

Of course, the season is young, but these scenarios are a small reminder that even the best teams in the league lose 60+ games each year, while the worst teams often win a minimum of 50 games over the long season.

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 >>

Cleveland Guardians-Cincinnati Reds O/U 8.5
Only six starting pitchers from Opening Day are making their second starts today, but two of those oppose each other today in this game. Cleveland’s Shane Bieber (0-0, 1.93) faces Cincinnati’s Tyler Mahle (1-0, 0.00) after each had masterful first starts. However, the two lasted a combined 9.2 innings in their first starts, which means each bullpen will be responsible for plenty of outs with Bieber and Mahle not fully stretched out.

Many will be quick to back the under, considering each pitcher’s successful first starts, so a play on the over is likely to be heavily contrarian. However, Cleveland’s offense has scored 27 runs over the last two games, and Cincinnati’s offense knocked around a dominant Braves pitching staff, scoring six runs in three of the four games in their opening series. Thus, we think these two offenses stay hot and push enough runs across today to exceed this projected total.

Bet: Guardians-Reds OVER 8.5 runs (-105 at DraftKings)  

Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals (-1.5) RL
The St. Louis Cardinals come into this series opener against the Kansas City Royals well-rested after rain forced the postponement of their series finale with the Pittsburgh Pirates. St. Louis covered the -1.5 runline in both of their wins over Pittsburgh, and the Cardinals have been dominant in series openers dating back to last season, winning seven of their previous eight. St. Louis is also 4-1 in their last five interleague games and has won five of their last seven home games against the Royals.

Meanwhile, Kansas City comes into this series opener beat up after allowing 27 combined runs over the last two games against Cleveland. Over the previous two games, Royals starters lasted only five combined innings, so their bullpen is taxed entering this series. Look for St. Louis’ right-handed dominant lineup to jump on lefty Daniel Lynch early.

Bet: St. Louis Cardinals -1.5 Runs (+110 at DraftKings)  

Houston Astros ML vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Diamondbacks starter Madison Bumgarner pitched the only game Arizona has won to this point, as they beat the Padres on Opening Day but lost the next three. Bumgarner did not earn the win as Arizona needed a ninth-inning rally that day, but he kept his team in the game while Yu Darvish was busy no-hitting the Diamondbacks through six innings. Thus, while oddsmakers have confidence in Bumgarner (which is why the moneyline odds are so low), we have absolutely no confidence in a Diamondbacks offense that scored just seven runs over the final three games of its series with San Diego.

Houston’s Luis Garcia finished second in the A.L. Rookie of the Year voting last year after going 11-8 with a 3.48 ERA. He struck out a whopping 9.7 batters per nine innings last year, and we look for him to be a big reason the Astros open this mini two-game series with a victory.

Bet: Houston Astros ML (-150 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.