Category: Baseball

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Toronto Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball this season, and I expect that trend to continue tonight at Target Field with Bailey Ober on the mound for the Minnesota Twins. 
 
Read on to see why with my Blue Jays vs. Twins predictions and MLB Picks on Thursday, April 30.

Blue Jays vs Twins predictions

Blue Jays vs Twins best bet: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 1.5 total bases (+115)

With the way Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is swinging the bat, anytime he’s plus money to grab 2+ bases, it’s good value. 

The Toronto Blue Jays slugger leads the majors in hits and batting average this season and has three multi-hit performances over his last four games, while averaging 2.5 bases per game in that stretch. 

Two pitches that Guerrero has handled well this season are the four-seam fastball and the changeup. His average is well above .500 on both of those pitches, which are the two most frequently deployed pitches of Minnesota Twins starter Bailey Ober. 

Ober is a contact pitcher who doesn’t generate a whole lot of whiff, ranking in the 57th percentile in xBA and the 55th percentile in xBA.

This is all music to Vladdy’s ears, as he typically finds grass when he makes contact, ranking in the 99th percentile in xBA.

COVERS INTEL: Guerrero owns a .403 batting average and a 1.027 OPS against the Twins’ current pitching staff.

Blue Jays vs Twins same-game parlay (SGP)

I'll continue to pound Guerrero props and take him to cross the plate at least once.  The lineup is finally starting to hit behind him, and he has 11 runs scored over his last 10. 

The Twins own a .143 batting average with a 36.6% strikeout rate against the splitter. Add Under 2.5 earned runs for ace Kevin Gausman, who has an electric split and has been 5-1 to the Under on this prop in 2026.

Blue Jays vs Twins SGP

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 1.5 total bases
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 0.5 runs
• Kevin Gausman Under 2.5 earned runs

Blue Jays vs Twins home run pick: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (+510)

I’m betting a half unit on today’s home run pick with Ober on the mound.

He has kept the ball in the yard this season, allowing just three home runs in six starts. However, he was one of the worst in baseball at suppressing homers in 2025, allowing 30 long balls in 146 1/3 innings. Only three pitchers who threw at least 140 innings had a higher HR/9 than him last season.

Guerrero has been a great fastball and changeup hitter this season, boasting 70% hard-hit rate against the change, which is Ober's most used pitch against righties.

Blue Jays vs Twins odds

• Moneyline: Blue Jays -135 | Twins +115
• Run line: Blue Jays -1.5 (+130) | Twins +1.5 (-150)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-115) | Under 7.5 (-105)

Blue Jays vs Twins trend

The Toronto Blue Jays have covered the Run Line in 7 of their last 10 games (+5.25 Units / 43% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. Twins.

How to watch Blue Jays vs Twins and game info

Blue Jays vs Twins latest injuries

Blue Jays vs Twins weather

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The Mets and Nats traded blowout wins in the first two games of the series. That sets the stage for a rubber match on the last day of April. The Nats will look to win another road series, while the Mets will look to avoid another embarrassing home series loss.

Blake Butera usually likes to spread out righties and lefties, but not today. He has six straight lefties to start his lineup, and then two switch hitters after that. Jacob Young is the only true righty in the lineup, and he is in the 9 spot. Jose Tena, Luis Garcia Jr., Jorbit Vivas and Drew Millas will be in there after not playing yesterday. Brady House is out despite his grand slam. Miles Mikolas will be getting the start today. He does not have an opener ahead of him in this one.

The Mets have made a couple alterations. Mark Vientos is at first base, which pushed Brett Baty to right field and Carson Benge to center. Luis Torrens will be doing the catching in this one instead of Francisco Alvarez. Freddy Peralta was a big offseason addition for the Mets, and he will look to propel his new team to a series win.

Game Info:

Stadium: Citi Field

Time: 1:10 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

This is a big rubber match for both teams, particularly the Mets, whose season is already teetering. The Nats will look to deliver another big blow to Carlos Mendoza’s group after a 14-2 win yesterday. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

The Dodgers are done with (March and) April, and have allowed the fewest runs in MLB at 3.26 per game. The rotation leads the majors with 5.85 innings per start on average with a sparkling 2.83 ERA.

Superlatives are plentiful among the Dodgers pitchers so far this season:

Tyler Glasnow led the staff in innings (38 2/3) and strikeouts (47), to go with his 2.56 ERA and 2.16 xERA and a rotation-best 32.6-percent strikeout rate. He has an eight inning start and a seven-inning start.

Shohei Ohtani has led the National League in ERA after each one of his five starts, and the only reason his 0.60 doesn’t pace the league at the moment is because his 30 innings are just shy of the Dodgers’ 31 games played.

Justin Wrobleski has a stingy 1.50 ERA (and 3.71 xERA) of his own and like Glasnow has starts of eight and seven innings.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto has a pair of seven-inning starts and has been steady as usual, with his 2.87 ERA (though 4.01 xERA) in his six starts. He’s second on the staff in innings (37 2/3) and third in strikeouts (32).

Among the relievers, Alex Vesia has a 1.69 ERA and 2.74 xERA and 34-percent strikeout rate in his 13 games and 10 2/3 innings. Tanner Scott leads the team with 15 appearances to date, with a 2.03 ERA and 3.99 xERA, with 13 strikeouts and only two walks in 13 1/3 innings. Jack Dreyer (3.46 ERA, 2.90 xERA) and Will Klein (2.77 ERA, 2.20 xERA) have each pitched 13 innings, with a 21.6-percent strikeout-minus-walk rate for Dreyer and 20 percent for Klein.

Today’s question is who is your Dodgers pitcher of the month for March/April?

Former Rutgers baseball player Brian Fitzpatrick was called up from Triple-A Nashville to the MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers last night, pitching 1.1 innings in the team’s April 29th game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was the first time that a former Scarlet Knight appeared in an MLB game since both Brian O’Grady and Patrick Kivlehan played for the Padres in 2021. This is also the first Rutgers call-up to the MLB since O’Grady did it in 2019.

A 10th-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft by the Brewers, Fitzpatrick has appeared in 81 games across all levels of the Brewers farm system, posting a 3.49 ERA in 172.2 innings. 

In his first game for the Brewers, he pitched for 1.1 innings, surrendering 2 hits and 1 walk with zero strikeouts over that time. Arizona would end up winning the game 6-2, tallying four runs in the fourth inning alone.

Fitzpatrick started the 2026 season strong for Nashville, posting a 0.00 ERA in 10.1 innings with 11 strikeouts to just two walks, earning him the call-up to the major leagues.

During his senior season for Rutgers in 2022, he posted a 3-1 record with a 3.91 ERA, 28 strikeouts, and 9 walks in 23 innings. The last game of his collegiate career was a win over Indiana in the Big Ten tournament, where he posted four shutout innings and six strikeouts en route to the Knights’ victory.

Detroit Tigers (15-16) vs. Atlanta Braves (22-9)

Time/Place: 12:15 p.m., Truist Park
SB Nation Site: Battery Power
Media: Detroit Sportsnet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: LHP Framber Valdez (2-1, 3.41 ERA) vs. RHP Bryce Elder (3-1, 1.93 ERA)

Things just keep getting worse for the New York Mets.

After finally snapping their longest losing streak in decades, getting swept at home by the Colorado Rockies and then getting pounded by the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night, New York added another starter to the injured list. 

The Mets announced Thursday morning that Luis Robert Jr. is heading to the 10-day injured list with a lumbar disc herniation. He joins a growing list of Mets on the IL that includes Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco and Kodai Senga. 

Robert, 28, has been battling back discomfort for several days and underwent an MRI on Wednesday. He last appeared in a game on April 26. So the Mets will be able to backdate the IL to April 27.

NIGHTENGALE: Fired already? MLB's best managers know 'unfairness comes with the job'

The Brewers came out hot in last night’s game but were unable to hold on for the series win against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Today’s rubber match pits veteran starter Brandon Woodruff against right-hander Michael Soroka.

Woodruff, the longest-tenured member of the Brewers’ starting rotation, has been a steady presence through five starts. He carries a 3.77 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP into today’s game. Woodruff took the loss in his last outing, allowing five hits and three earned runs through five innings against the Pirates.

Soroka, who the Diamondbacks signed to a one-year, $7.5 million dollar contract in the offseason, has been worth every cent thus far. Arizona has won four of his five starts this season, with Soroka picking up the win in all four. He currently sports a 2.60 ERA and has already accumulated 0.8 bWAR on the season.

Brice Turang is hitting second again, so that opens up the leadoff spot for Garrett Mitchell. Mitchell had a hot start to the season, but he’s struggled with pitches in the top third of the zone and opposing pitchers have adjusted accordingly. Mitchell’s batting average is now down to .230, with just two hits over his last seven games (19 at-bats).

William Contreras and Jake Bauers will hit third and fourth, respectively. Tyler Black, who had a three-hit day in the series opener, will DH and hit fifth. He’s followed by Luis Rengifo and Sal Frelick, who has two hits and three runs scored so far this series. Rounding out the bottom of the lineup are Greg Jones (-0.6 bWAR in 17 at-bats) and David Hamilton, playing shortstop today.

As usual, you can catch today’s game on Brewers.TV, WTMJ 620, and the Brewers Radio Network. First pitch is set for 12:40 p.m.

The Cincinnati Reds will take on the Colorado Rockies on Thursday afternoon in Great American Ball Park in the series finale, a rubber match that will determine who claims the series victory. In it will feature former Red Michael Lorenzen on the bump for the Rockies, a mound he’ll share to start with lefty Andrew Abbott.

Abbott has struggled mightily on the back of his All-Star performance in 2025, and this would be an excellent spot to get back on the good foot.

First pitch is set for 12:40 PM ET. Lineups for both clubs are listed below.

Go Reds!

The St. Louis Cardinals will continue their PNC Park party week on Thursday as Hunter Dobbins will get his first start for St. Louis this season and he will be up against a guy you may have heard of named Paul Skenes who gets the start for Pittsburgh. First pitch is scheduled for 11:35am central time.

Mets lineup

Bo Bichette – 3B
Juan Soto – DH
MJ Melendez – LF
Mark Vientos – 1B
Brett Baty – RF
Marcus Semien – 2B
Carson Benge – CF
Luis Torrens – C
Ronny Mauricio – SS

SP: Freddy Peralta (RHP)

Nationals lineup

James Wood – RF
Luis Garcia – 1B
Daylen Lile – LF
CJ Abrams – SS
Jose Tena – DH
Jorbit Vivas – 3B
Nasim Nunez – 2B
Drew Millas – C
Jacob Young – CF

SP: Miles Mikolas (RHP)

Broadcast info

First pitch: 1:10 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

Are you ready for 6+ hours of Orioles/Astros action? Well, too bad. You’re getting it anyway.

Last night’s rainout has set up the Orioles’ first doubleheader of the season. They’ll play their regularly scheduled 12:35 game followed by the makeup game about half an hour after the first one finishes.

Last season the Orioles played five doubleheaders, getting progressively better at them as the year went on. The O’s were swept in the first two, split the next one, and did the sweeping in the last two. The only time the O’s and Astros have ever played each other in a doubleheader was on Sept. 29, 2018, when Houston won both games.

The scheduled starting pitchers from Wednesday’s rainout, righties Chris Bassitt and Peter Lambert, will both take the hill in the first game this afternoon. Lambert, a former Colorado Rockies washout, is back in the U.S. after pitching in Nippon Professional Baseball in 2025. He’s filling in for a more high-profile Japanese import, Tatsuya Imai, who landed on Houston’s injured list after three ineffective starts and reportedly has had trouble adjusting to MLB and American culture. As someone who wanted the Orioles to sign Imai, I’ll admit he probably wouldn’t have improved the Orioles’ fortunes up to this point in 2026.

Opposing Lambert is Bassitt, who finally picked up his first Orioles win in his most recent start, but it certainly wasn’t a good one. He gave up five runs in 5.1 innings in Kansas City and was fortunate that the O’s scored eight runs to support him. Bassitt has a 6.75 ERA in five starts as an Oriole and is now facing a quality offense in the Astros. Yordan Alvarez in particular has crushed Bassitt with five career home runs in just 26 PAs. Chris, please don’t pitch to Alvarez. Game 2 of the doubleheader will feature the Orioles’ Brandon Young against Houston’s Lance McCullers Jr.

Game 1 lineups

ASTROS

SS Carlos Correa
LF Yordan Alvarez
3B Isaac Paredes
1B Christian Walker
2B Jose Altuve
DH Yainer Diaz
CF Brice Matthews
LF Dustin Harris
C Christian Vázquez

RHP Peter Lambert

ORIOLES

DH Gunnar Henderson
LF Taylor Ward
C Adley Rutschman
1B Pete Alonso
RF Dylan Beavers
2B Jeremiah Jackson
CF Colton Cowser
3B Coby Mayo
SS Blaze Alexander

RHP Chris Bassitt

On this episode of The Dodgers Post, Jack Harris and Dylan Hernández break down the Dodgers’ surprising series loss to the Marlins, and the recent struggles from their star-studded offense.

They discuss the slow starts the team’s top hitters have gotten off to, and whether it’s cause for concern despite the club’s strong offensive numbers overall through the opening month of the year.

Then, they break down the team’s performance in April, and pick their player, pitcher, disappointment and interaction of the month.

Finally, they review their latest predictions (not good!) and make more calls for the team’s upcoming trip to St. Louis and Houston.

All that and more, on this week’s latest episode.

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It’s the first doubleheader of the season! After Wednesday’s game was postponed due to inclement weather, the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies will play twice today. It’s a split doubleheader, with the first game starting at 9:35 a.m. PT, and the second scheduled for 2:35 p.m. PT. So you get a two-game gamethread!

Starting the first game for the Giants is their ace, Logan Webb. The 29-year old right-hander is still trying to get his season going through six starts, and is 2-3 with a 4.86 ERA, a 3.31 FIP, and 32 strikeouts against 13 walks in 37 innings. He gave up three earned runs in seven innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers his last time out.

As for the Phillies, they’re also sending a 29-year old All-Star to the mound in the form of left-hander Christopher Sánchez. In six starts this year, Sánchez is 2-2 with a 2.94 ERA, a 2.61 FIP, and 43 strikeouts against 10 walks in 33.2 innings. He got rocked in his last start, giving up six runs in 5.1 innings against the Chicago Cubs.

Things are less clear for the second half of the doubleheader. The Giants have not announced a starter for that game, as they’re mulling their choices between starting Adrian Houser and opting for a bullpen game. Since they don’t have an off-day until next Thursday, they’ll need to go to a bullpen game at some point in the coming days; it’s just a matter of when they want to do it.

The Phillies, however, have named their Game 2 starter: right-hander Andrew Painter. The 23-year old has made four starts, and five total appearances this year, and is 1-2 with a 5.25 ERA, a 3.33 FIP, and 21 strikeouts to six walks in 24 innings. He gave up five runs in 5.2 innings against the Atlanta Braves in his last game.

Per the doubleheader rules, both teams are allowed to add a 27th player to the roster for the day. Both teams have called on a right-handed pitcher from their AAA squad: Trevor McDonald for the Giants, and Nolan Hoffman for the Phillies.

Enjoy the games, everyone! Go Giants!

Game #30 & #31

Who: San Francisco Giants (13-16) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (10-19)

Where: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

When: 9:35 a.m. PT and 2:35 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: MLB Network (Game 2 only)

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM