DAILY FREE PICK: MINNESOTA TWINS VS. KANSAS CITY ROYALS

by ODDSFATHER STAFF

MLB is just getting started and we have a game locked and loaded in our sites.

The Twins are out to a hot starts, going 4-2 straight up in their first 6 games.  They very likely will be a better team than the Royals this year.

Injury Report

The Royals are throwing Ervin Santana who is known for giving up the long ball. He demonstrated that in his first appearance of the season, giving up 3 homers in the first 4 innings. Lucky for him, they play in a pitcher’s park.

Meanwhile, the Twins are pitching Kevin Correia who is coming off a very solid start, giving up only 2 runs in 7 innings of work against a tough Tigers team.

Free Pick: Under 8.5 (game #967/#968)

YOUTH VS. EXPERIENCE: SHELBY MILLER VS. RYAN VOGELSONG

by JONATHAN YALES

Starting Pitchers:

Shelby Miller, RHP

The Cardinals’ 22-year-old 2009 first-round selection makes his second Major League start Saturday. Miller beat out Trevor Rosenthal and Joe Kelly during spring training to earn the fifth and final spot in St. Louis’ starting rotation. The right-hander’s only Major League start was last October against the Cincinnati Reds. In the final game of the Cardinals regular season Miller pitched six shutout innings, allowed only one hit and struck out seven against the then 97-64 SU Reds. This spring, Miller started three games, appeared in five and ended spring training with a 3.94 ERA. He pitched 16 innings, allowed 17 hits, five walks and seven earned runs.

Ryan Vogelsong, RHP

The Giants throw-out their 35-year-old veteran to combat the Cardinal’s young starting pitcher. Last season Vogelsong started 31 games, finished 14-9 and pitched 189.2 innings. He set career-highs in strikeouts (158), hits allowed (171), wins and innings pitched in 2012. However, Vogelsong has a history of struggling at the start of his seasons. He is 2-4 with a 6.31 ERA lifetime in April.

The LINE for this game

Last Game:

In the first game of the series Friday afternoon, the Giants defeated the Cardinals 1-0. Barry Zito out-pitched Jake Westbrook in their season debuts. Zito pitched seven scoreless innings allowing three hits, three walks, all while striking out four Cardinals. San Francisco’s starters have gone 26 innings without allowing an earned run.

Notable Injuries:

San Francisco

(1B) Brandon Belt – Flu

St. Louis

(3B) David Freese – Back – 15-day DL

(SS) Rafael Furcal – Elbow – 15-day DL

(CP) Jason Motte – Elbow – 15-day DL

A NEW MLB SEASON IS UPON US: CUBS VS. PIRATES

by MICHAELANGELO MILLER

Line Breakdown

The Chicago Cubs are 1-0 against the spread, going 1-0 Under. The Pittsburg Pirates are 0-1 ATS and are 1-0 Under.

Injuries

The Cubs have placed these players on the 15-day disabled list:

Matt Garza (P) – Side injury

Darwin Barney (2B) – Knee injury

Ian Stewart (3B) – Quad injury

The Pirates have placed these players on the 15-day disabled list:

Brandon Inge (3B) – Shoulder injury

Charlie Morton (P) – Elbow injury

Francisco Liriano (P) – Arm injury

Jeff Karstens (P) – Shoulder injury

Match-Up

The new MLB season is upon us and teams are eager to start their journey towards the Fall Classic, also known as the World Series. In their first match-up of the season, the Cubs beat the Pirates 3-1, behind a stellar performance by pitcher Jeff Samardzija. Due to injuries to starting pitchers Matt Garza and Scott Baker, Samardzija stepped in as starter allowing just two hits through 8 innings and striking out 9 players. This gave the Cubs their fist opening day win in four years. The Cubs are one of baseball’s most beloved teams and the fans must be happy to see them start the season off on the right foot.  Samardzija is now 4-0 all time against the Pirates in his short career. The Pirates faced troubles with Samardzija all afternoon as he kept them at bay with his two-seam fastball and changeup. The just couldn’t get the handle of his combinations and they were left unbalanced the whole game. They only managed two balls out of the infield the whole time Samardzija was pitching. They didn’t even score until the last inning when Alvarez (3B) singled to center and McCutchen (CF) ran it home for the Pirates but that was about the only bright spot for the team. Pirates’ pitcher, A.J. Burnett, didn’t fair too well in his season debut ending with a 4.76 earned run average, allowing 6 hits. The Pirates will look to turn things around quickly as this was but the first of a three game series. They still have plenty of time to get things on the right track and come out on top of the overall match-up.

The Cubs, as a team, have a .182 batting average with a .333 slugging percentage. The Pirates have a .097 BA with a .129 SLG.

Sources: ESPN