Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week (April 25th, 2022)

By Hank Blaine • April 25, 2022

We saw history over the weekend when Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera joined the 3,000-hit club, its 33th member. Alas, we may not see another player get there for many years. The Mets’ Robinson Cano leads active players with 2,631 but he’s 39 and just isn’t very good these days. Here’s a look at a few early-week series around the majors. Check back for MLB odds.

Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week (April 25th, 2022)

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San Francisco Giants vs. Milwaukee Brewers

When: Monday, April 25th, 2022. 6:10pm ET
Where: American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI
TV: NBCS BA, Bally Sports Wisconsin
Radio: KNBR 680 (Giants) / WTMJ 620 AM (Brewers)
MLB Betting Odds: San Francisco Giants (+170) / Milwaukee Brewers (-200)

So this is weird: A one-game series. We are going to see strange things like this because MLB has to make up the games that were wiped out with the season starting a bit later than expected due to the lockout. The Brewers really get hosed as they flew home from one Pennsylvania location (Philadelphia) to play a single game then have to fly back to Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) for the next series. The Brewers were to play in a 3-game series from April 4-6 vs. the Giants. They will make up the other 2 games in a doubleheader on September 8.

We will see one of the top pitching matchups of the early season in reigning NL Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes (1-0, 2.37 ERA) and maybe the early favorite for the 2022 award in first-year Giants lefty Carlos Rodon (2-0, 1.06). He was excellent last year with the White Sox but left in free agency.

Burnes gave up two runs over seven innings in last Tuesday’s win over the Pirates. He didn’t walk a batter, struck out 10n, and only allowed four hits, including solo home runs from Daniel Vogelbach and Josh VanMeter. After a shaky first start of the season, Burnes has completed seven innings in back-to-back starts.

If the Brewers have a lead entering the ninth inning, the game is probably over. Josh Hader has gone 7-for-7 in save opportunities and has not allowed a run in his seven innings. Opponents are 2-for-23 (.087) with 2 walks and 10 strikeouts off him. Hader needs just 8 strikeouts to reach 500 for his career. He has 492 in just 289.1 innings (15.30 K/9IP). Hader was the fastest pitcher in MLB history to reach 400 career strikeouts as he did it in just 234.2 innings. The fastest to 500 career strikeouts is Aroldis Chapman in 292.0 innings.

San Francisco has only yielded seven home runs this season, fewest in the majors. Those seven homers have accounted for only nine runs and of the seven homers, only two have come with runners on the bases.

The Giants will not have outfielder Mike Yastrzemski as he was placed on the COVID injured list Sunday. Yastrzemski was the first Giants player to test positive for COVID-19 this season. He will remain in Washington for 10 days or until he records two negative tests. The 31-year-old Yastrzemski went 1-for-2 in a 5-2 Giants win Saturday and is hitting .267 with a homer and three RBIs.

MLB Betting Pick: Brewers

Kansas City Royals vs. Chicago White Sox

When: Tuesday, April 26, to Thursday, April 28, 2022.
Where: Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago, IL
TV: Bally Sports Kansas City, NBCSCH
Radio: KCSP 610 (Royals) / WMVP 1000 AM (White Sox)
MLB Betting Odds: TBA

It’s the first meeting of the season between AL Central rivals. Perhaps no team in the majors has been hit harder by injuries so far than the Pale Hose. The latest issue happened to outfielder Eloy Jimenez, who was be placed on the injured list Sunday and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a strained right hamstring, the club announced.

Jimenez required a cart to leave the field during Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Twins after he stumbled running through the first-base bag on a groundout. Saturday’s game marked his 11th game of the year, during which he’s batted .222/.256/.333 with a home run and a double in 39 trips to the plate. Jimenez for his career had hit .268/.314/.500 with 56 home runs in 999 big-league plate appearances entering Saturday. His contributions have been worth an estimated 3.4 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball Reference. It’s already his fourth stint on the IL in his big-league career.

Last year, a ruptured left pectoral tendon kept him out of action beyond the halfway point of the season. He eventually returned to play 55 games down the stretch, but he only hit at around a league average level with a line of .249/.303/.437, 101 wRC+.

Lance Lynn, Garrett Crochet, Yoan Moncada and a handful of other players are already on the shelf. Ace Lucas Giolito had been a part of that group as well, though he was activated Sunday.

The White Sox have gone 57-30 (.655) at home since 2021 (4-2 this season), the best record in the American League. The Sox have outscored the opposition, 435-327, during that span and own a 3.52 ERA (302 ER/771.0 IP).

Kansas City avoided disaster when All-Star catcher Salvador Perez was hit on the hand by a pitch Saturday but X-rays came back negative. He tied for the big-league lead in homers last season and is off to another solid start.

MLB Betting Pick: White Sox win series.

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