Wednesday’s MLB Predictions and Betting Tips – April 21, 2021

The Dodgers and Mariners get the day off after battling each other on Tuesday afternoon. I bring this up because every other team in the league is in action on Wednesday. The Pirates and Tigers will play a double-dipper in Detroit after last night’s game was snowed out, bringing the total to 15 games on the day.

Let’s jump right into some MLB predictions for Wednesday.

No fluff or justification here – just straight up MLB picks for April 21^st. However, I wouldn’t advise you getting money down on all 15 games just so you can say you “covered your bases.” The better plan is to carefully pinpoint the games that you can spot an edge in.

That could mean spotting a discrepancy in the price or having a difference of opinion in a pitching matchup. There are all sorts of ways to extract value, including targeting the plus-money dogs.

Anytime you can latch onto a home team at +134 to win a baseball game outright, you should probably take a look. Especially when the visiting team is playing out of their league and doesn’t even have a winning record.

Austin Gomber strolls into Wednesday afternoon’s game in Coors Field on the heels of back-to-back quality starts featuring at least 95 pitches in each. Frankly, I was hoping to find the Rockies listed in the +120 range to beat the Astros – I was delighted to see one of the best MLB betting sites install Colorado at +134.

Let’s start with the fact that the A’s have a better record than the Twins, they’re playing at home, and Kenta Maeda is no longer “unhittable” like he was for the bulk of 2020.

Maeda, Minnesota’s starting pitcher on Wednesday, has surrendered 20 hits through his first three starts of the year. The 33-year-old right-hander didn’t allow his 20^th hit until his 7^th start a season ago.

The Athletics are as hot as any team in the league – passing on them as a home underdog versus the Twins wouldn’t make any sense.

Rounding out my MLB upset picks on April 21^st is the Atlanta Braves going into New York and knocking off the Yanks. Corey Kluber has failed to pitch into the fifth inning in all three of his starts since he started donning the Pinstripes, not to mention, the Yankee bats have been failing as of late. Going into Tuesday’s contest, New York had gone six straight games scoring four or fewer runs.

And let’s not forget that the Braves lead the Majors in home runs – in large part thanks to Ronald Acuna Jr. playing like a man possessed.

Transitioning into the best MLB bets today, I circled the matchup in Cincinnati ever since Tyle Mahle was penciled in to take the hill. The hard-throwing righty is off to a fantastic start through his first three appearances and has made adjustments after tipping his pitches in his last start.

Worth noting – Mahle didn’t allow a single hit 12 days ago against the D-Backs lineup.

I’ll keep my thoughts regarding the Cardinals vs. Nationals game short and sweet because -184 seems like a sweet bargain in this spot. Carlos Martinez is sporting a 7.80 ERA and is 0-3 on the season. The Redbirds have been outscored by a total of 30-8 in the three games Martinez has started.

It’s unlikely Carlos’ luck turns on Wednesday in D.C. against a surging Max Scherzer.

Anything under -200 on the Nats seems more than reasonable.

In the mood to switch things up and go after a total?

Look no further than the over at Petco Park. San Diego’s offense has been lackluster thus far, but seven runs in awfully low in a game that’ll likely require Jayce Tingler to turn to his bullpen early. Dinelson Lamet is making his first start of the season (elbow) and will almost certainly be on a strict pitch count.