Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – May 14th Edition

It has already been a rough season for the Texas Rangers as they sit last in the AL West. It’s about to get worse as third baseman and future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre left Sunday’s game after reaggravating his hamstring. The 39-year-old had recently returned from the DL with the hammy problem. So he’s clearly going to miss a while. Here’s a look at two intriguing matchups this week. Check back for the latest MLB betting odds on gameday.

Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – May 14th Edition

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New York Yankees at Washington Nationals

When: Wednesday, 7 PM ET (ESPN) It’s hard to get to excited about many MLB series during the long 162-game regular season because teams play more than 50 of them. However, not too many are potential World Series previews as this could be – Wednesday is Game 2 of two-game interleague set. The Yankees will lose the DH. It’s the first meeting between the teams since 2015. Washington won’t be quite at full strength as it is without four regulars in center fielder Adam Eaton, who might miss the rest of the season following ankle surgery, second baseman Daniel Murphy, who has yet to play this season with knee troubles, catcher, Matt Wieters, who is on the DL with a left hamstring strain and first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who landed on the DL over the weekend with a right oblique strain. After a bounce-back 2017 campaign, Zimmerman is hitting just .217/.280/.409 with five homers and 16 RBI in his first 115 at-bats this season. The team called up veteran Mark Reynolds from Triple-A to man first base. The 34-year-old slugger slashed .267/.352/.487 with 30 homers and 97 RBIs for the Rockies in 2017.

Who Will Start For the Nationals?

Washington is scheduled to start Tanner Roark (2-3, 3.33) in this ESPN game. The right-hander Tanner Roark took a no-decision after giving up a run on four hits with no walks and four strikeouts in seven innings Thursday against the Diamondbacks. Roark dueled Arizona -backs ace Zack Greinke to a draw and did not give up a home run in a start for the first time since April 18. It was Roark’s best showing since he also tossed seven innings of one-run ball in his season debut April 2. Though his ERA may rise once his .220 BABIP normalizes (.276 for career), Roark has shown no signs of slowing down with a 2.97 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP over his past six starts. It’s Yankees lefty CC Sabathia (2-0, 2.23). Sabathia allowed four earned runs on nine hits while striking out five across four innings Thursday against the Red Sox. His outing was likely cut short by an inning thanks to a moderate rain delay. A former Cy Young Award winner and six-time All-Star, Sabathia is the longest-tenured pitcher on the Yankees’ staff. He turns 38 in July.

Detroit Tigers at Seattle Mariners

When: Friday, 10:10 PM ET (MLB Extra Innings) Some terrible news on Sunday for Seattle during its game in Detroit. Star second baseman Robinson Cano left the game with a broken right hand after being hit by a pitch. Cano was struck by an 88 mph fastball from left-hander Blaine Hardy in the third inning. After a brief examination by the Seattle trainer, Cano left the game and was replaced by infielder Andrew Romine. The Mariners announced that Cano has a fractured fifth metacarpal. He will see a specialist on Tuesday but clearly is going to be out quite a while. Cano, 35, is batting .287 with four home runs and 23 RBIs this season, his fifth with the Mariners. He hasn’t missed a game this season and hasn’t played in fewer than 150 in any of the past 11 years.

Who Will Kick Off on the Mound for Each Team?

This pitching matchup of Seattle’s Felix Hernandez and Detroit’s Michael Fulmer might look familiar as those two faced off Saturday in Detroit, a game won 9-5 by Seattle. Hernandez (5-3, 5.66) allowed five runs on eight hits — including a home run — while striking out seven over five innings in the win in the second game of a doubleheader. Hernandez is struggling mightily with homers (10 allowed in 49.1 innings) and he’s walking batters at the highest rate of his career. Detroit’s Fulmer (1-3, 4.37) took the loss in that one, allowing six runs on five hits and three walks to go with five strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings. Fulmer struggled for the second consecutive outing, this time with big swings from the Mariners. Ryon Healy’s two-run home run in the fourth and Cano’s three-run homer in the fifth helped Seattle salvage a doubleheader split. Fulmer, who gave up two runs or fewer in five of his first six starts, has yielded 11 runs in 10 innings over his past two outings, raising his ERA from 2.80 to 4.37. Five days after the Rangers strung together little hits for a big inning on him, the Mariners did their damage with home runs.

Expert MLB Betting Picks

Take the Yankees to steal one on the road Wednesday and Seattle to beat Detroit again.