N. L. Central Saturday Odds and Picks

Mike Leake

The National League Central teams are all in action on Saturday. None of them are facing one another. Three of the teams are in inter-league play against the A. L. West this weekend. On Friday, the N. L. Central won two of three from the A. L. West when the Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros 3-1 and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-2. In a rematch of the 2011 World Series, the Texas Rangers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2. In National League play, the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0 and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Cincinnati Reds 11-5. So the bottom three teams all gained a game on the top two on Friday.  That doesn’t mean a whole lot unless you are a fan of the Pirates who moved into second place 3 games behind the Cardinals and a half game ahead of the Reds

Bookmaker has odds on today’s games involving the N. L. Central:

Atlanta Braves at Milwaukee Brewers- Braves are -1.5 +110 and the Brewers are +1.5  -130 ATS. Moneyline is Atlanta -150 and the Brewers are +130. Over/Under is 8.5 with over Even and under -120. Tim Hudson starts for the Braves vs Donovan Hand. Hudson is 4-6 with a 4.17 ERA and Hand is 0-0 with a 3.38 ERA. We like the Braves to come back and get a much needed win today. Take the Braves -150 and the under -120.

Cincinnati Reds at Arizona Diamondbacks- Reds are +1.5 -185 and the D-Backs are -1.5 +165 ATS. Moneyline is the Reds +111 and the Snakes -131. Over/Under is 8 with over -115 and under -105. This is a great pitching match-up between the Reds Mike Leake who is 7-3 with a 2.64 ERA and Patrick Corbin for the D-Backs who is 9-0 with a 2.28 ERA. Those sound like All-Star game numbers. We will go with the Reds +111 just because at 9-0, Corbin is about due to lose one. We will also take the under -105.

Houston Astros at Chicago Cubs- The Astros are +1.5 -165 and the Cubs are -1.5 +145 ATS. Moneyline is Houston +130 and Chicago -150. Over/Under is 9 with over -115 and under -105. Bud Norris starts for Houston with a 5-7 record and a 3.64 ERA. Travis Wood will start for the Cubs at 5-6 with a 2.74 ERA. We will go with the Cubs at home -150 and the under -115.

Texas Rangers at St. Louis Cardinals- Texas is +1.5 -145 and the Cards are -1.5 +125 ATS. Moneyline is Texas +155 and St. Louis -175. Over/Under is 8 with over -115 and under -105. Shelby Miller will start for the Cards at 8-4 with a 2.08 ERA. Martin Perez is 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA and gets the nod for the Rangers. We like St. Louis -1.5 in this one and the over -115.

Pittsburgh Pirates at Los Angeles Angels- The Pirates are +1.5 -205 and the Angels are -1.5 +175 ATS. Moneyline is Pittsburgh EVEN and the Angels -120. Over/Under is 7.5 with over -115 and under -105. Francisco Liriano at 5-3 with a 2.44 goes for the Bucs and Jerome Williams at 5-2 with a 3.14 goes for the Angels. We are going with the Angels -120 and the over -115.