Gallery Sports’ Betting Picks for May 12, 2023

Dalton Brown hopes to finish off a topsy-turvy week on the right foot and improve on a 64-61 MLB record with three picks on Friday’s slate.

6:10 p.m. CT: St. Louis Cardinals at Boston Red Sox

The Pick: OVER 10 (-115) at PointsBet

The St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox are opening up a three-game set at Fenway Park on Friday night, and I think both pitchers are in for a world of hurt in this one. James Paxton hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2019, and it is more than fair to wonder whether the 34-year-old will come back and maintain any sort of the form he had before his injuries. Pitching against St. Louis will provide him with an immediately difficult test – the Cardinals rank sixth in baseball in wRC+ against left-handed pitching and are led by righties Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt in the middle of the lineup. Adam Wainwright makes just his second start for the Cardinals after returning from his early-season injury. His first start wasn’t great – over five innings of work, Wainwright allowed eight hits and four earned runs to a Tigers team that usually struggles with right-handed pitching. The Red Sox definitely do not struggle against righties – in fact, Boston ranks second in baseball with a wRC+ against righties of 119. With temperatures approaching 75 degrees, baseballs should be flying over the Green Monster repeatedly Friday night – and I wouldn’t be surprised if both of these aging starters are removed from the game early on.

8:40 p.m. CT: Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics

The Picks: Rangers -1.5 (-111) at FanDuel, Rangers team total over 4.5 (-132) at BetRivers

The Texas Rangers will continue their four-game series with the hapless A’s Friday night in Oakland, and there is hardly any reason to believe that Oakland’s fortunes will turn any time soon. Lefty Ken Waldichuk (7.25 ERA) pitches for the Athletics against lefty Martin Perez for the Rangers. Waldichuk has allowed three or more earned runs in six of his seven starts, five or more earned runs in four of his seven starts, and walked six batters in his last outing. Like several others in Oakland’s rotation, Waldichuk does not look ready for the bigs yet, and I’m expecting the Rangers (126 wRC+ vs. lefties, third-best in MLB) to pound him into submission before doing the same to the worst bullpen in baseball. On the other side of the coin, Martin Perez allowed just two runs in 20 innings to the A’s last season and will be backed up by a well-rested bullpen after Nathan Eovaldi tossed eight strong innings Thursday night. Friday night should be a comfortable one for the Rangers.