Major League Baseball Betting Previews – April 6

Carrie Stroup here with your Major League Baseball betting previews for April 6, 2012.  As always you can find all the latest baseball lines at Sportsbook.com here.  Dime lines and up to $250 FREE CASH when you open an online betting account. 

Sportsbook.com Line: Arizona -107 & 7 over -115

The reigning NL West champion Arizona Diamondbacks will look to begin their defense of the division title against last year’s second place team, the San Francisco Giants.

The Giants won 86 games last season despite scoring the second-fewest runs in the majors. But this year’s lineup has far more potential. Phenom catcher Buster Posey is back in the fold after season-ending ankle surgery last year and will join Pablo Sandoval (23 HR, .315 BA) in the middle of the lineup. And on days like Friday when Tim Lincecum, who suffered from poor run support last season going 13-14 with a 2.74 ERA, having Posey back is huge. The Diamondbacks lineup can be dangerous with 24-year-old outfielder Justin Upton looking to build on his 31-HR season from a year ago, and others with the potential to bounce back from rough seasons such as OF Chris Young. The key, though in this game, is Arizona starting pitcher Ian Kennedy’s career success against the Giants. In 10 career starts he has a 1.91 ERA and 0.95 WHIP.

Although Kennedy’s splits may steal the show, Lincecum is not too shabby either. Against the Diamondbacks in his career he is 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA in 18 starts, including 10.7 K/9. Run support was definitely an issue in 2011, but now Posey and Sandoval have two brand new table setters in outfielders Angel Pagan and Melky Cabrera, who was acquired from Kansas City for Jonathan Sanchez in the offseason. Cabrera’s 2011 stats show what a well-rounded player he is: .305 BA, 18 HR, 87 RBI, 102 Runs, 20 SB. Pagan’s inconsistencies forced the Mets to get rid of him, but he was also one of the most undervalued hitters in baseball in 2010. If he can return to that form, the Giants lineup will be much more dangerous this season. 

The Diamondbacks have players throughout their lineup with pop, paced by Upton but including others such as catcher Miguel Montero (18 HR, 86 RBI in 2011) and third baseman Ryan Roberts (19 HR). 1B Paul Goldschmidt, just 24 years old, will look to build on his partial season success of 2011 (8 HR in 156 AB) and newly acquired OF Jason Kubel has 100-RBI potential. Take this deep crew and Kennedy (21-4, 2.88 ERA, 1.09 WHIP in 2011) for the win.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS (0-0) at LOS ANGELES ANGELS (0-0)

Sportsbook.com Line: Los Angeles -210 & 7 over -115

The Albert Pujols era in Los Angeles officially begins Friday as the Angels open up the 2012 season with a meeting with the Royals.

The former Cardinals slugger is expected to lead this Angels team to the playoffs, but there are certainly question marks for the rest of L.A.’s lineup. OFs Torii Hunter and Vernon Wells are in the twilight of their careers, and OF Peter Bourjos and 3B Alberto Callaspo are below-average hitters in terms of everyday players in American League lineups. The middle infield duo of 2B Howie Kendrick and SS Erick Aybar has potential, but neither is an All-Star caliber player right now. On the other hand, the Royals are a team on the rise with several good-looking young players like 1B Eric Hosmer, CF Lorenzo Cain, DH Billy Butler, LF Alex Gordon and 3B Mike Moustakas. K.C. won seven of 10 meetings with Los Angeles last year.

The Royals will be sending veteran lefty Bruce Chen (12-8. 3.77 ERA in 2011) to the mound on Friday. He was roughed up a bit by L.A. last year (5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), but has decent numbers against the Angels in six appearances in his career (1-1, 4.01 ERA, 1.18 ERA). Chen’s stats are outstanding in his three games at Angel Stadium. In those three contests, Chen has thrown 14.1 IP, allowing just eight hits and three runs. This includes a 7.1-inning masterpiece in his last visit in 2010, when he held the Angels to just two hits and one run. Kansas City won seven of the final 11 games Chen pitched last season, and also went 5-1 in Chen’s six April starts last year. The Royals were 10-6 (.625) when tabbed as an underdog with Chen on the mound in 2011, and 12-7 (.632) when Chen was opposed by a right-handed starter.

Jered Weaver (18-8, 2.41 ERA, 1.01 WHIP) will take the mound for Los Angeles on Friday. After going winless against the Royals in 2007 and 2008, Weaver has dominated them in four straight meetings, going 3-0 with a miniscule 0.64 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. He has 32 strikeouts and just six walks in this 28.1-inning span. Weaver has also had fast starts to the season in the past two campaigns, going 8-0 with a 1.77 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in 10 April starts. The Angels were 12-3 at home when Weaver started last year.

- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter