Major League Baseball Picks: MLB Thursday Preview

I have three baseball games on the schedule for Thursday, so let’s get right to them.

Cincinnati Reds (+147) @ Atlanta Braves (5-20: 1:05 PM ET ) (Leake vs. Hanson): Mike Leake was drafted in the 1st round with the 8th pick just last year. Right now he’s 22 years old and 4-0 with a 3.09 ERA for the Cincinnati Reds, playing his home games at one of the best hitter parks in the league. You don’t hear much about him because he’s sitting in Cincinnati – but this kid is legit. He’s finished 6 innings every time out and has given up more than 3 runs just once, less than 3 runs 4 times. He’s started just 7 games. Tommy Hanson is 3-3, but his numbers are even better than Leake’s (2.88 ERA, 1.12 WHIP) and he’s just 23 years old. Talk about two talented pitchers looking to rule the National League for the next decade. This is one of my favorite match-ups of the week. These are two of the hottest teams in the NL, as the Braves are 7-3 over their last 10 and the Reds even better at 8-2. Leake has been money on the road, winning each of his last 2 starts, shutting down the Cubs in Chicago then out-dueling Adam Wainwright in a win over St. Louis. Hanson had one bad inning his last time out, getting the loss against Arizona. But Hanson has just been decent at home this year, while Leake has been better on the road. The Reds offense has also been more productive. The money is in their favor as well. I like the Reds on the road.

Minnesota Twins (+130) @ Boston Red Sox (5-20: 7:10 PM ET) (Liriano vs. Lester): Jon Lester has yet to pick up a win against Minnesota in 4 tries over the last 3 years. Francisco Liriano recently shut down the Red Sox, pitching 7 shutout innings in Boston. Boston’s well publicized demise is a little much, to be honest, as they’re still 21-20 with 3/4s of the season still to come. But a power lefty that pitches well on the road, yeah, I like Minnesota’s chances.

Colorado Rockies (-140) @ Houston Astros (UNDER 6.5) (5-20: 8:05 PM ET) (Jimenez vs. Oswalt): I don’t know which team is more disappointing. I mean, Houston was supposed to be bad, but this bad? They look like the worst team in baseball, and 14-26 in the National League Central seems pretty disgusting. Only the Orioles have a worse record, and at least they are stuck in a division with Tampa Bay, New York, Boston, and Toronto – a little different fire power there. But Colorado should be good – and they have lost 6 of their last 10, and dropped to 19-20 after a solid start to the season. Ubaldo Jimenez is on the mound, but they’ll have to score to win – though not much. Jimenez already has a no-no on his resume this season, and his .99 WHIP and 1.12 ERA are more than impressive. This game should be extremely low scoring. Roy Oswalt has a history of shutting down the Rockies while Ubaldo has a history of shutting down the Astros (and everyone else this year). I’m making two bets here. I like the under, despite the low-low number of 6.5 – and I like the Rockies. They win with Jimenez on the mound.