MLB Lines at Week 4: Winning Parlay Picks for Weekend

 

Driving in 100 runs is a significant accomplishment, and when a team has multiple hitters producing at that level, their offense will be elite. The most 100-RBI hitters any team has ever had in a season is five, and that hasn’t happened since 1936, when the Yankees had such sluggers as Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig. The Dodgers had four last year – just the fourth team in the twenty-first century to have that many. This year, though, they could have six – Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani, Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernandez, and Will Smith. Obviously, it’s early, and projecting that much offense is a risky proposition, but that’s what MLB betting is all about sometimes. Let’s look at a couple of parlay picks from the national pastime for the coming weekend.

MLB Lines Today: Check out these Top Weekend Parlay Picks Bets for some exciting Major League Baseball action! | 2024 MLB Week 2

 

Pittsburgh Pirates at Philadelphia Phillies (4:05 pm ET)

When: Saturday, April 13, 4:05 pm ET
Pitchers: Marco Gonzales (0-0, 2.45 ERA) (PIT) vs Spencer Turnbull (1-0, 0.00 ERA) (PHI)

Gonzalez has looked sharp in both of his starts this season, but bullpen hijinks have taken both of the decisions out of his hands. In starts against Washington and Baltimore, he has 11 combined innings, allowing three runs on nine hits, striking out six while walking two. The Pirates are off to a nice 9-4 start, and the two wins that the team has picked up in Gonzales’s starts have made a difference.

Turnbull has gone two starts without surrendering an earned run so far, and the 7-6 Phillies have won both of his starts. He has thrown 11 combined innings against the Reds and the Cardinals, allowing one unearned run on five hits and a walk, striking out 13. Turnbull came over from Detroit on a one-year deal and has been terrific so far.

 

San Diego Padres at L.A. Dodgers

When: Saturday, April 13, 9:10 pm ET, ESPN+
Pitchers: Matt Waldron (0-1, 3.86 ERA) (SD) vs Gavin Stone (0-1, 7.88 ERA) (LA)

Waldron got torched in his first start, giving up four runs on nine hits, including a home run, and a walk, striking out seven in just four innings of a 6-2 loss to St. Louis. He bounced back in San Francisco on Sunday, holding the Giants to one unearned run over 5 ⅓ innings, striking out five and scattering three hits and a walk. However, the bullpen gave his win away in a 3-2 setback.

The weak link in the 10-5 Dodgers’ rotation has been Stone. He did hold the Cardinals to three runs on seven hits and a walk over five innings in his debut, but he got shelled at Wrigley Field on Sunday, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks, lasting just three innings in an 8-1 loss. He managed to strike out five batters but found way too much of the plate for the most part.

 

N.Y. Yankees at Cleveland Guardians

When: Saturday, April 13, 12:10 pm ET+
Pitchers: Clarke Schmidt (0-0, 4.66 ERA) (NY) vs Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 4.50 ERA) (CLE)

The Yankees have won both of Schmidt’s starts so far this season, but the offense has bailed him out. Against Houston and Toronto, he has 9 ⅔ combined innings pitched, with five earned runs on 13 hits, including a home run, and three walks. He has struck out nine batters so far. The Yankees beat Houston, 4-3, and Toronto, 9-8, but he’s still awaiting his first decision of the young season. The Yankee bats are hot, but can Schmidt keep a hot Cleveland team off the board?

The ageless Carlos Carrasco turned a minor league deal with his original team into a spot in the big-league rotation. He’s still working on stamina at this point, as he has only pitched eight innings over two starts. He lasted five innings in his season debut, holding the A’s to three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out three, but the bullpen betrayed him in a 4-3 loss. He lasted three innings against the Twins on Saturday but looked sharp, allowing one run on one hit and three walks, striking out six. As his control improves, so will his results.

This matchup was pushed forward because of the postponement of Friday’s game in Cleveland. We published a more detailed preview for this game in yesterday’s MLB SU Picks for the Weekend article, but the upshot is this: Gil hasn’t finished five innings in a game yet, while McKenzie’s home ERA is 0.00, and he showed much better stuff in his second start.

 

 

The big names for the L.A. Dodgers coming into 2024 were Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but Tyler Glasnow was the Opening Day starter and just might be the best addition to the Dodgers’ rotation in the off-season. On Tuesday, he threw seven scoreless frames, striking out 14 batters but only needing 88 pitches. He has a 2.25 ERA over his first four starts. The Dodgers welcome their NL West rivals this weekend when the San Diego Padres head to Chavez Ravine, and that series opener is just one of our primo MLB betting picks from the national pastime for the weekend.

MLB Lines Today: Top Parlay Picks for the Weekend | 2024 MLB Week 2

 

Pittsburgh Pirates at Philadelphia Phillies

When: Saturday, April 13, 4:05 pm ET
Pitchers: Marco Gonzales (0-0, 2.45 ERA) (PIT) vs Spencer Turnbull (1-0, 0.00 ERA) (PHI)

Gonzalez has looked sharp in both of his starts this season, but bullpen hijinks have taken both of the decisions out of his hands. In starts against Washington and Baltimore, he has 11 combined innings, allowing three runs on nine hits, striking out six while walking two. The Pirates are off to a nice 9-4 start, and the two wins that the team has picked up in Gonzales’s starts have made a difference.

Turnbull has gone two starts without surrendering an earned run so far, and the 7-6 Phillies have won both of his starts. He has thrown 11 combined innings against the Reds and the Cardinals, allowing one unearned run on five hits and a walk, striking out 13. Turnbull came over from Detroit on a one-year deal and has been terrific so far.

MLB Parlay Pick: Phillies to win

---

San Diego Padres at L.A. Dodgers

When: Saturday, April 13, 9:10 pm ET, ESPN+
Pitchers: Matt Waldron (0-1, 3.86 ERA) (SD) vs Gavin Stone (0-1, 7.88 ERA) (LA)

Waldron got torched in his first start, giving up four runs on nine hits, including a home run, and a walk, striking out seven in just four innings of a 6-2 loss to St. Louis. He bounced back in San Francisco on Sunday, holding the Giants to one unearned run over 5 ⅓ innings, striking out five and scattering three hits and a walk. However, the bullpen gave his win away in a 3-2 setback.

The weak link in the 10-5 Dodgers’ rotation has been Stone. He did hold the Cardinals to three runs on seven hits and a walk over five innings in his debut, but he got shelled at Wrigley Field on Sunday, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks, lasting just three innings in an 8-1 loss. He managed to strike out five batters but found way too much of the plate for the most part.

MLB Parlay Pick: Padres to win

---

N.Y. Yankees at Cleveland Guardians

When: Saturday, April 13, 12:10 pm ET
Pitchers: Clarke Schmidt (0-0, 4.66 ERA) (NY) vs Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 4.50 ERA) (CLE)

The Yankees have won both of Schmidt’s starts so far this season, but the offense has bailed him out. Against Houston and Toronto, he has 9 ⅔ combined innings pitched, with five earned runs on 13 hits, including a home run, and three walks. He has struck out nine batters so far. The Yankees beat Houston, 4-3, and Toronto, 9-8, but he’s still awaiting his first decision of the young season. The Yankee bats are hot, but can Schmidt keep a hot Cleveland team off the board?

The ageless Carlos Carrasco turned a minor league deal with his original team into a spot in the big-league rotation. He’s still working on stamina at this point, as he has only pitched eight innings over two starts. He lasted five innings in his season debut, holding the A’s to three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out three, but the bullpen betrayed him in a 4-3 loss. He lasted three innings against the Twins on Saturday but looked sharp, allowing one run on one hit and three walks, striking out six. As his control improves, so will his results.

This matchup was pushed forward because of the postponement of Friday’s game in Cleveland. We published a more detailed preview for this game in yesterday’s MLB SU Picks for the Weekend article, but the upshot is this: Gil hasn’t finished five innings in a game yet, while McKenzie’s home ERA is 0.00, and he showed much better stuff in his second start.

MLB Parlay Pick: Take the Guardians to sweep

---

 

  In a fairly shocking move, the Oakland A’s have decided that 2024 will be their last season at the Oakland Coliseum, even though their new stadium in Las Vegas won’t be ready until the 2028 campaign. They’ve been in Oakland for 56 seasons and won four World Series titles there, but they will play the next three seasons at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, which is also the home of the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A team for the San Francisco Giants. Sutter Health Park holds approximately 14,000 fans, much smaller than a major-league venue, but given the fact that the A’s look like a team headed toward its third straight 100-loss campaign and given that fans boycotted Opening Day by tailgating in the parking lot for the whole game, the team shouldn’t have to worry much about overflow plans. Let’s take a look at your best MLB betting options for a couple of MLB parlays this weekend. MLB Lines Today: Top Parlay Picks for the Weekend | 2024 MLB Week 1 Oakland A’s at Detroit Tigers When: Saturday, April 6, 1:10 pm ET Pitchers: Paul Blackburn (0-0, 0.00 ERA) (OAK) vs Kenta Maeda (0-0, 16.20 ERA) (DET) Blackburn looked terrific on Sunday against Cleveland, guiding the A’s (1-6) to their first and only win so far on the young season. He spun seven scoreless innings, scattering a walk and three hits while striking out three. The bullpen tried to cough the game up, which is why he didn’t get the decision, but the A’s offense came around to get the 4-3 win. Kenta Maeda had a rough start to his 2024 campaign, getting pounded for six runs on seven hits, including three home runs, by the White Sox in Chicago. He struck out two and walked one before getting yanked after 3 ⅓ innings. If he finds that much of the plate against Oakland, even the A’s should be able to tattoo him. MLB Lines: Oakland to win Cleveland Guardians at Minnesota Twins When: Saturday, April 6, 2:10 pm ET Pitchers: Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 5.40 ERA) (CLE) vs Joe Ryan (0-0, 1.69 ERA) (MIN) Carrasco is back in Cleveland after a stint with the New York Mets, and his first outing was a bit rough. He gave up three runs on six hits and a walk, striking out three, over five innings. The bullpen gave up the last run in a 4-3 loss to the Oakland A’s – their only win so far in 2024. The Guardians are off to a fast 6-2 start and lead the American League Central. Ryan had a dazzling start to 2024, holding the Royals to a run on three hits and a walk over 5 ⅓ innings, striking out five. It took the Minnesota offense a while to wake up, but they would come back after Ryan had left the game and take a 5-1 win on the road. The Twins (3-3) are favored to win the AL Central, and with outings like that from Ryan, they’ll be in strong position. MLB Lines: Minnesota to win San Diego Padres at San Francisco Giants When: Saturday, April 6, 9:05 pm ET Pitchers: Michael King (0-0, 6.14 ERA) (SD) vs Keaton Winn (0-0, 5.40 ERA) (SF) King makes his third appearance of the season on Saturday. His first outing came as part of the Seoul Series in South Korea; he came on in long relief and allowed three runs on four hits over 3 ⅓ innings, striking out five and walking three. He got the start on Sunday against the Giants and gave up a run on two hits, including a home run, and seven walks while striking out six. He left after four innings in what would turn into a 13-4 pounding of the Giants. Winn got the start in Los Angeles on Monday and gave up three runs on four hits and a walk, striking out six over five innings. The bullpen fell apart in an 8-3 loss down in Chavez Ravine. The Giants have struggled out to a 2-5 start, and they are a game behind the Padres in the NL West standings at this point. MLB Lines: Padres to win Boston Red Sox at L.A. Angels When: Saturday, April 6, 9:38 pm ET Pitchers: Garrett Whitlock (1-0, 1.80 ERA) (BOS) vs Reid Detmers (1-0, 1.80 ERA) (LA) Whitlock had a terrific start to 2024, going five innings and holding the Seattle Mariners to a run on three hits, striking out eight without issuing a walk over five innings in a 5-1 Red Sox victory. Boston has cruised out to a 5-2 start thanks in large part to timely hitting, but Whitlock has a chance to lock down a spot on a rotation in transition. Detmers also had a strong outing to begin his season, holding the Orioles to a run on two hits and three walks over five innings, fanning seven in a 4-1 win. The Angels (4-2) are also getting 2024 started on the right footing, and in a pitchers’ duel like this one, I’m going with the home team. MLB Lines: Angels to win