Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – September 10th Ed.

Cleveland Guardians All-Star Jose Ramirez joined the 30-30 club (homers and steals) on Sunday to boost his AL MVP hopes. He is the first player to join the club this season and the first 30-30 player since the LA Angels’ Mike Trout had 49 steals and 30 homers in 2012. Ramírez is the third Indian with a 30-30 season, joining Joe Carter (1987) and Grady Sizemore (2008). Here’s a look at two intriguing MLB matchups this week. Check back for the latest MLB odds at our online sportsbook.

Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – September 10th Edition

Winning 98 games is fun. pic.twitter.com/5IhLYcEYRF

— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) 10 de septiembre de 2018

Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox

• When: Tuesday, 7:10 PM ET (MLB Extra Innings)

We will see something rather unusual here with Red Sox ace Chris Sale as the lefty will be used as an “opener,” in his return from the disabled list. The Sox plan to limit Sale to either two innings or 40 pitches and then replace him with Nathan Eovaldi. Sale has made just one start since late July due to shoulder troubles that landed him on the DL twice. In the middle of one of the best stretches of his career, Sale developed mild inflammation in his left shoulder, leading to his placement on the 10-day disabled list on July 31. He came back and made one start, on Aug. 12, striking out 12 over just five innings and 68 pitches, but he went back on the DL with the same diagnosis on Aug. 18. Sale is 12-4 with a 1.93 ERA in 146 innings. Before the injury, he was the leading contender for the American League Cy Young Award. He might not win that now because the Sox are only going to let him extend by one inning in each following start (so he’ll go three innings next Sunday vs. the Mets). The goal is obviously to make sure he’s fully healthy and ready to go by the time the playoffs roll around. Over the weekend, the Red Sox officially shut down second baseman and former AL MVP Dustin Pedroia for the season. Pedroia, 35, played only three games this season after undergoing a cartilage-restoration procedure on his left knee last October. The surgery was expected to keep him out for approximately seven months. He returned to the lineup May 26 but was back on the disabled list June 2 with soreness in the knee. The Sox have been going with Ian Kinsler at second. Toronto starts Aaron Sanchez (4-5, 5.17). He picked up the win Wednesday against the Rays, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks across six innings. He struck out eight. Sanchez served up a pair of solo homers to Kevin Kiermaier and walked in a run, but it was a step in the right direction for the right-hander, who had allowed 11 runs over his previous two starts (8.1 innings). It was his first quality start in three appearances since returning from a two-month stay on the disabled list. Sanchez has struggled this year vs. Boston with a 6.19 ERA and 0-1 record in three starts. The Jays could be without OF Randal Grichuk for a while. Grichuk had to leave Sunday’s game against the Indians after running into a security guard’s stool while diving for a foul ball. He is in concussion protocol and will undergo follow-up imaging on his face to see if he suffered any fractures. The 27-year-old Grichuk remained on the ground for several minutes and was spotted with a bloody nose and swelling around his left eye socket.

Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals

• When: Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET (MLB Extra Innings)

Pretty meaningless series opener between these bad American League Central rivals so why are we previewing it? It’s because of young Royals right-hander Jorge Lopez (2-3, 4.40). Lopez came within three outs of a perfect game in the Royals’ 4-1 win over the Twins on Saturday night. Lopez delivered 24 consecutive outs to nearly became the first Puerto Rican to throw a perfect game in MLB history before a walk and single in the ninth spoiled things. He kept Twins hitters off-balance with a mix of curves, sinkers, sliders, and changeups, but he fell three outs short in his shot at throwing baseball’s 300th no-no (including the postseason). The 25-year-old made just his seventh big league start, his fifth for Kansas City since he was acquired from Milwaukee in the late-July trade that sent Mike Moustakas to the Brewers. In the bottom of the ninth, Lopez walked Max Kepler on a 3-1 fastball. Robbie Grossman then smacked a clean single to center field on a 1-2 changeup. Lopez was removed after 110 pitches, 11 more than his previous high. Kansas City has never thrown a perfect game and there haven’t been any in the majors since Seattle’s Felix Hernandez threw the 23rd in history, against Tampa Bay on Aug. 15, 2012. The gap between perfect games is the longest since Catfish Hunter’s for Oakland against the Twins in 1968 and Len Barker’s for Cleveland versus Toronto in 1981. Bret Saberhagen pitched Kansas City’s most recent no-hitter, against the Chicago White Sox in 1991. The Twins go with rookie lefty Stephen Gonsalves (0-2, 11.68). Gonsalves was chased after giving up five runs in just 2 1/3 innings Friday against the Royals. Gonsalves held the Royals scoreless for the first two innings before things unraveled for him in the third. He gave up a two-run double to Alex Gordon and a go-ahead single to Jorge Bonifacio before being pulled. Alan Busenitz then allowed a three-run homer to Salvador Perez. The Twins actually came back to win the game, but it was another shaky outing for the 24-year-old.

Expert MLB Betting Predictions

Take Boston and Kansas City.