MLB Bets Today - MLB Picks For Friday, April 26th
It’s a sneaky-good day to be a sports fan. We’ll have plenty of options to choose from on Friday night, with the NFL Draft, NHL and NBA playoffs, and MLB all available for our viewing pleasure. It’s a great night for bopping around, so make sure to do your thumb exercises and throw a fresh set of batteries in the remote for precautionary reasons.
On the diamond, there are 14 games to choose from on Friday, and all but one will start at 7:10 p.m. ET or later. Let’s dive into a few of my favorite options for Friday’s slate.
MLB Bets Today
Toronto Blue Jays ML vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (+106; FanDuel)
The Dodgers haven’t been as dominant as expected so far this season. They did manage to sweep the Nationals in Washington, but that’s not exactly an achievement. It still puts them at just 16-11 for the year, which puts them well-below their preseason expectations.
The Dodgers have some significant holes, with starting pitcher being one of the biggest. They’re merely 11th in Team ERA this season, with Gavin Stone standing out as one of their weaker starters. Stone will get the ball on Friday, and he brings a 6.00 ERA to the mound. His advanced metrics aren’t quite as poor, but a combination of poor control (5.0 walks per nine innings) and inability to miss bats (19.0% strikeout rate) makes him susceptible to bad outcomes.
On the other side, the Blue Jays will turn to a quality veteran starter in Chris Bassitt. Nothing Bassitt does jumps off the page, but he’s on pace for a sub-4.00 ERA for the seventh straight year. Ultimately, I’ll take my chances with him and the Blue Jays as home underdogs.
New York Mets ML vs. St. Louis Cardinals (-130; BetMGM)
The Cardinals are an aging team, and they’ll be at a pitching disadvantage in this contest. They’ll send Miles Mikolas to the bump, who has been a disaster so far this season. He owns a 6.49 ERA, and his 5.82 xERA suggests he hasn’t been particularly unlucky.
Jose Butto will start for the Mets, and he’s had a breakout campaign in 2024. He owns a 1.65 ERA through three starts, and his advanced metrics are also impressive (2.59 FIP, 3.50 xERA). Butto possesses an outstanding changeup, which has allowed him to rack up 11.57 strikeouts per nine innings.
The Mets should also have the edge offensively. They’re 13th in wRC+ against right-handers this season, while the Cardinals are all the way down in 25th. Add it all up, and -130 seems like a very fair price tag.
More MLB Bets for Friday, April 26
Guardians-Braves Under 8.5 runs (-115)
These have been two of the best offenses in baseball this year, averaging more than 11 runs per game combined. That said, Mother Nature trumps a good offense any day of the week. The winds are expected to be blowing in hard from center field, which should help keep the ball in the ballpark.
Nationals ML at Marlins (+115)
The Marlins have scratched Jesus Luzardo from this start, so the team will employ a bullpen game instead. The Marlins’ relievers have combined for the seventh-worst ERA this season (4.73), so that doesn’t bode well for their chances of winning. Miami hasn’t done much offensively this season – they’re averaging the third-fewest runs per game – so getting the Nationals as underdogs feels like a strong value.
Diamondbacks-Mariners Over 7.5 runs (-115)
The Mariners will send Emerson Hancock to the bump on Friday, who owns a 6.10 ERA through his first four starts. The Diamondbacks will have their ace on the mound in Zac Gallen, but he hasn’t been the same pitcher so far this year. He was 11th in Stuff+ and seventh in Pitching+ in 2023, but he’s 73rd and 63rd in those categories among pitchers with at least 20 innings this season. The offenses should be able to put some runs on the board.
2024 MLB Bets Record
- Yesterday: 2-3 (-0.45 units)
- Season: 52-52-3 (-4.425 units)
All bets are based on half units unless stated otherwise.
Underdogs are risking a half unit while favorites are to win a half unit. For an example, check out our free Fantasy Life MLB Bet Tracker.
