The weekend in Major League Baseball continues with a full 15-game slate on Saturday. We have a big National League West showdown between the Dodgers and Giants on FOX, which is part of an intriguing late afternoon/night schedule that rounds out the proceedings. There is also an American League East clash featuring the Jays and Rays plus an NL Central rivalry game pitting the Cubs against the Cardinals. Although none of those contests are part of this parlay, overall there are plenty of betting opportunities. Let’s take a look at our three-team mega parlay for Saturday.
Tigers ML (+125)
Reds -1.5 (+145)
Indians -1.5 (+125)
Parlay odds: +1140
For this parlay we are going with two favorites on the run line and one underdog outright winner. Here is a breakdown of the three legs one by one.
Detroit Tigers ML over Kansas City Royals (+125)
Detroit lefty Matthew Boyd will make his ninth start of the season and will look to bounce back from a tough outing. In his previous start, Boyd allowed four earned runs on six hits in 6.0 innings but also tied his season high for eight strikeouts. Besides that start, Boyd has been excellent for the Tigers. His 5.3 percent walk rate is the lowest of his career and his 2.46 ERA is easily the best he has recorded. His five-pitch arsenal has been lethal this season and statistically his fastball has been his worst pitch since opponents are hitting .234 against it, but it still has an 18.1 percent whiff percentage. After getting hit on the heel in his start against the Twins, Brady Singer has not been the same for the Royals. In his three starts prior to the injury, Singer had allowed two earned runs in 18.0 innings with only three walks. But since the injury he has surrendered seven earned runs in 9.0 innings with four walks.
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Cincinnati Reds -1.5 (+145) over Milwaukee Brewers
Following a rocky start to the season, Cincinnati’s Sonny Gray bounced back with two strong performances against the Pirates and White Sox. He struggled in last start against the red-hot Giants, but luckily for him the Brewers are ice cold at the plate. In the last 15 days, the Brewers are hitting .201 which is the second-worst mark in the league and they have a .318 slugging percentage, which is the worst in the league during that span. They have Christian Yelich back from the injured list, but the former MVP is hitting just .227 in the last seven games and has struck out in 36.4 percent of his at-bats. The Giants swept the Reds in their four-game series including a 19-4 loss in the series finale, but the Reds bounced back nicely with a 9-4 win last night. The bats were finally present after being fairly absent the entire prior series and now face the lefty Brett Anderson, who has had a lot of poor starts this season. Anderson comes into this matchup with a 4.50 ERA, but a 8.16 xERA, which puts him in the first percentile for xERA.
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Cleveland Indians -1.5 (+125) over Minnesota Twins
In the first game of their three-game weekend set, the Twins claimed a 10-0 victory behind a quality start from Randy Dobnak (6.0 IP, 3 EH, 0 ER). On Saturday, 2020 AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber gets the ball for Cleveland opposite 2020 AL Cy Young runner-up Kenta Maeda. Bieber (4-3, 3.17 ERA, 2.65 xFIP) has yet to face the Twins in 2021 but has dominated the Minnesota lineup previously, sporting a 31.5 percent K rate and 2.50 FIP in 143 plate appearances. Expect Bieber to work at least 6.0 innings, holding the Twins’ inconsistent offense in check for around three times through the order. Maeda (2-2, 5.26 ERA, 4.09 xFIP) has yet to look like his 2020 self as his 7.88 K/9 rate is down from his 10.80 K/9 rate a season ago. He has faced the Indians once already this season, when he suffered one of his worst outings on April 27 (five runs — four earned — on seven hits in 5.2 innings of work).
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