MLB Picks: April 4th 2011
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Pick: Baltimore Orioles -121
After finishing at the bottom of the AL East each of the last three seasons, the Baltimore Orioles find themselves in an unfamiliar position early in 2011. Young pitching has helped Baltimore to the top of the division and its first 3-0 start in 14 years, and the Orioles will look for that trend to continue when Jake Arrieta takes the mound in their home opener Monday against the Detroit Tigers. Baltimore is winning while just hitting just .222 as a team, the Orioles – off to their best start since 1997, when they last made the playoffs – have allowed a total of just 23 baserunners as their pitching has been great. Detroit’s Rick Porcello will take the mound Monday. He went 4-10 with a 5.91 ERA in his first 17 starts last season and spent some time with Triple-A Toledo. Look for the Orioles to stay undefeated and to win their home opener on Monday afternoon over the Tigers. -Tony Karpinski

Pick: Seattle Mariners +146
On Monday the MLB Free Play is the Seattle Mariners here. What we want to do is plays against home favorites like Texas that won as a home dog and scored 5 or more runs if they are taking on an opponent off a road dog loss and they scored 2 or less runs and the total was 8 or less. These Home favorites have lost outright over 70% of the time the last 7 years. Texas is off to a flying start. However Seattle did well taking 2 of 3 in Oakland. The Mariners have E. Bedard on the mound and he has a decent 4-2 record with a 3.12 era vs Texas. The Rangers counter with Lefty Holland. He did not do well in his last start here vs Seattle allowing 5 earned runs in 6 innings. Look for Seattle to surprise Texas here as a +140 dog. On Monday I have a Big Afternoon totals system that has cashed 27 of 31 times and has a subset that averages 14.3 runs per game in play. I also have the NCAAB Championship Winner out of 2 Perfect scenarios. MLB off to a solid 3-0 start. For the free Play take the Mariners. -Rob Vinciletti