Best MLB Bets Today | MLB Picks, April 19

Chicago Cubs @ Oakland Athletics

• Time: 3:37 PM ET
• Starting Pitchers: Justin Steele (CHC) vs Mason Miller (OAK)
• Moneyline: Cubs (-178) - Athletics (+150)
• Run Line: Cubs -1.5 (-105) - Athletics +1.5 (-115)
• Total: Over 8 (-110) - Under 8 (-110)

Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook

My Pick: Cubs -1.5 (-105)

There is no safer bet in baseball right now than betting against the Oakland A’s. Oakland is a pitiful 3-15 on the season and in the midst of a six-game losing streak. At the same time, the Cubs are off to a promising start and have won nine of their last 12 games. More importantly, Chicago is going for the sweep after out-scoring the A’s 14-1 over the first two games of this series, and a moneyline of -105 is more than fair to pick the Cubs to win again by at least two runs.

Lefty Justin Steele will get the nod for the Cubs on Wednesday. He’s been excellent in his first three starts of the season, going 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA. The southpaw also has a 0.84 WHIP while facing far better offensive teams like the Brewers, Rangers, and Dodgers in his first three starts. Against an Oakland lineup that’s scored six total runs in its last four games, Steele should be dominant and make it easy for the Cubs to earn a comfortable win.

At the same time, the A’s are rolling the dice with Mason Miller, who will be making his MLB debut. While Miller possesses good potential as Oakland’s no. 3 ranked prospect, he has just three career starts at triple-A. Granted, he threw five hitless innings with 11 strikeouts in his only triple-A start this season. But it’ll still be a big step up in competition against the Cubs. Patrick Wisdom has hit his stride with eight home runs this season while Cody Bellinger, Seiya Suzuki, and Ian Happ have also caught fire lately. If the Chicago lineup can strike early, this could be another long day for the A’s.

Minnesota Twins @ Boston Red Sox

• Time: 7:10 PM ET
• Starting Pitchers: Joe Ryan (MIN) vs Corey Kluber (BOS)
• Moneyline: Twins (-135) - Red Sox (+115)
• Run Line: Twins -1.5 (+122) - Red Sox +1.5 (-145)
• Total: Over 9 (+105) - Under 9 (-125)

Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook

My Pick: Twins ML (-135)

The Red Sox took Tuesday’s series opener from the Twins 5-4 and will be hoping to keep it going on Wednesday evening at Fenway Park. Despite sitting last in the AL East, the Red Sox have won four of their last five games. However, they are still hosting the first-place Twins, who have a winning record on the road this year and are bound to snap their three-game losing streak sooner or later. Look for Minnesota to get back on track with a win on Wednesday night.

Joe Ryan has looked like an ace this season, which is why the Twins should feel good about their chances on Wednesday. The 26-year-old has been the winning pitcher in all three of his starts in 2023. He owns a 2.84 ERA and a 0.63 WHIP and has 26 strikeouts in just 19 innings of work. There is also nobody in Boston’s lineup with more than six career at-bats against him, so it might take the Red Sox a little time to figure him out. Even with Boston’s lineup starting to click, they rely a lot on Rafael Devers and the red-hot Alex Verdugo while missing Adam Duvall, who was off to a raging start this year.

The Red Sox will also need a strong start from Corey Kluber, who has been dreadful this year. While Ryan has won all three of his starts, Kluber is 0-3 with a 6.92 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in his first three starts of 2023. While he had one decent start against the Pirates, Kluber has failed to get out of the fifth inning in his two other starts. Of course, the Twins are dealing with some injuries right now, so they’re not at full strength offensively and don’t offer much power. But they have enough firepower to take advantage of a struggling Kluber and may not need a lot of runs with Ryan on the mound to stop their three-game losing streak and beat Boston on Wednesday.

Toronto Blue Jays @ Houston Astros 

• Time: 8:10 PM ET
• Starting Pitchers: Jose Berrios (TOR0 vs Luis Garcia (HOU)
• Moneyline: Blue Jays (-105) - Astros (-115)
• Run Line: Blue Jays +1.5 (+195) - Astros -1.5 (+162)
• Total: Over 9.5 (+105) - Under 9.5 (-125)

Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook

My Pick: Over 9.5 (+105)

In theory, the Blue Jays and Astros should be two of the best teams in baseball. But the Astros are just 8-10 while the Blue Jays have a negative run differential. With both starting pitchers in Wednesday’s rubber match off to uneven starts, this figures to be a high-scoring game. Keep in mind the Astros have hit the over in 12 of their 18 games, including nine of their 12 home games. Toronto is also 7-5 O/U on the road and 9-8-1 O/U overall, making the over on 9.5 runs the best value bet in this game.

Houston’s Luis Garcia makes his fourth start of the season on Wednesday following a disastrous start to the season. He owns a 7.71 ERA and has failed to pitch beyond five innings in any of his starts. He faces a Toronto lineup that's scored at least five runs seven times in the last 16 games, so the Blue Jays are capable of feating on poor pitching. Matt Chapman might be the best hitter in baseball this year while Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero aren’t far behind. That trio has combined for 12 homers and 38 RBIs in 18 games, so they’re capable of doing some damage against Garcia in Houston’s hitter-friendly park.

On the flip side, the Blue Jays haven't been able to rely on Jose Berrios and his 7.98 ERA this year. He got back on track in his last start but has allowed 12 runs on 15 hits over 9.2 innings across his two road starts this season. He also has a problematic history against some of Houston’s hitters, especially Kyle Tucker, who is 4 for 8 with a home run in his career against Berrios. The Astros are also averaging 5.2 runs per game over their last 10 games. That bodes well for their chances to score plenty of runs on Wednesday, pushing the total number of runs in this game to at least 10.

Catch More of our Daily MLB Picks

• Best MLB NRFI Bets, April 19
• Best Prop Bets for April 19