Two American Showdowns Highlight Sunday’s Baseball Bets

Just a few weeks into the Baseball Bets season, a handful of teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack, with plenty of others are struggling.

Who are those teams? Let’s take a look, focusing on two key American League showdowns on Sunday.

Minnesota Twins (4-8 SU, 6-6 R/L, 3-9 O/U) at Tampa Bay Rays (4-8 SU, 3-9 R/L, 4-8 O/U)
Sunday, April 17: 1:40 p.m., Live from Tropicana Field, Tampa, FL

Betting Odds:
Minnesota:
(Brian Duensing-L)
Tampa Bay:
(Jeremy Hellickson-R)

Simply put, the early part of the 2011 season hasn’t been particularly kind to either Tampa Bay or Minnesota. Two playoff teams from 2010 are struggling, and neither is quite sure where their season is headed.

To Tampa Bay’s credit though, they’ve bounced back from an awful start, and enter the Baseball Bets weekend having won three in a row, including a 4-3 series opener against these Twins on Thursday night. And on Sunday, they’ll send one of the rising young stars of baseball to the hill, in Jeremy Hellickson.

If you don’t know Hellickson’s name, you better get to know it in a hurry, as the 24-year-old could be the future of this Rays pitching staff. Despite being just 1-1 on the year, he was excellent in his last outing against the Red Sox, when he pitched 5.1 innings and picking up the win.

However, if there’s an even bigger reason than Hellickson to take the Rays in your Baseball Bets this weekend, it’s actually the Twins themselves. This offense is struggling quite a bit, ranking dead last in baseball, averaging just three runs a game entering the weekend. And bad news went worse, with catcher Joe Mauer being placed on the 15-day DL this week with leg weakness. The All-Star was struggling as is, hitting just .235 this year.

As much as we’d like to believe that the Twins will eventually turn things around this year, we just don’t see it happening, at least not yet. On Sunday Tampa will prove to be a better team, with a comfortable Baseball Bets run line victory.

Baseball Bets Pick: Tampa Bay Run Line

Los Angeles Angels (7-5 SU, 6-6 R/L, 4-8 O/U) at Chicago White Sox (7-5 SU, 6-6 R/L, 7-5 O/U)
Sunday, April 17: 2:10 p.m., Live from U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, IL

Betting Odds:
Los Angeles:
(Dan Haren-R)
Chicago:
(Mark Buehrle-L)

In the second half of the Baseball Bets doubleheader, we’ve got two more teams trying to figure out their identities. Interestingly, neither the Angels or White Sox would be classified as “struggling,” but neither would say they’ve played to expectations either.

As for Sunday’s matchup between the two clubs, we expect it to come down to pitching, and we expect the Angels Dan Haren to have the edge. Through three starts, there hasn’t been a better pitcher in baseball, with the righty sporting an immaculate 3-0 record and 0.71 ERA. He is coming off one of the best outings of his career earlier this week, when he pitched a complete game one-hitter in a 2-0 victory over the Indians.

Now, if Haren had just made just one great start against the Indians, we’d wonder about his ability to get the win here, but in three starts, he’s clearly established himself as one of the best pitchers in the league on the season. Even going against a White Sox offense that’s averaging an impressive six runs per game, we still like him to silence Chicago’s bats, and help the Angels get a win.

Even on the road, Haren will prove to be the greatest equalizer here. He should very well continue his early season dominance, in a comfortable Baseball Bets victory for Los Angeles.

Baseball Bets Pick: Los Angeles Money Line