MLB betting picks & top value plays – Wednesday, May 4

The MLB action continues this Wednesday with a slate of 17 games for baseball fans to enjoy. Here are BettingPlanet’s top picks in three of those fixtures.

Atlanta Braves (+1.5, +100) @ New York Mets (-1.5, -120)

Probable pitchers: Ian Anderson vs Tylor Megill

How about those Mets? They are one of two teams to not lose a series yet this year and own the best record in the National League. After losing in game one, they rebounded in game two with a win over the Braves, but with two more games to go, it’s very possible that this could be the series that the Mets finally lose.

The Mets are a very good team with a deep lineup, but Ian Anderson is a top pitcher in the National League even though he hasn’t shown it yet this season. Anderson has pitched to a 4.33 ERA in almost 20 innings this season thus far, it’s only a matter of time before the 2016 first round pick figures it out. Tylor Megill, on the other hand, in his last start faced the Phillies and was a part of that no-hitter on Friday night. Megill has been outstanding in the early part of this season and has been everything the Mets have needed after losing DeGrom for the first half of this year.

Megill took the hill on opening day for the Mets and has impressed ever since, so it’s likely runs will be tough to come by with these two on the hill. We expect this one to be a pitcher’s duel into the later innings where the bullpens will be tested, and the Braves bullpen is much better than the Mets, take the Braves in this one.

Texas Rangers (+1.5, +150) @ Philadelphia Phillies (-1.5, -170)

Probable pitchers: Martin Perez vs Zack Wheeler

This interleague matchup between two interesting teams should be a good one. The Rangers are coming out of an offseason where they spent by far the most money on free agency, and the Phillies are right up there with them. With new talent like Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos taking the field with their new teams, there will surely be a ton of star power in Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

Zach Wheeler is coming off by far his best season as a pro where he finished with a 2.78 ERA in a career high 213.1 innings. Wheeler passed Aaron Nola as the Phillies ace and showed why last year. For as much as the Phillies leaned on Wheeler a season ago, it looks to be biting them now. Wheeler experienced arm fatigue when ramping up this offseason, causing him to miss spring training and take a little while to really ramp up. While Wheeler’s velocity has been down thus far, he has still shown flashes of the pitcher he was a season ago.

In his last outing, Wheeler threw six innings of one-hit baseball against the Rockies, and looks to be through his “spring training”. With Wheeler throwing the ball well, it could be tough sledding for a Rangers lineup that has underwhelmed to this point. With all that being considered, the Phillies are home and they’re behind their ace. Take the Phillies at the -1.5 line.

Cincinnati Reds (+1.5, +180) @ Milwaukee Brewers (-1.5, -220)

Probable pitchers: Vladimir Gutierrez vs Freddy Peralta

There isn’t much here. This is a battle between two totally different teams. The Reds have been putrid this year. They have only won three games and already look ready to pack it in. The Brewers, on the other hand, own the second best record in the National League behind the above mentioned Mets. It’s impressive to see what the Brewers have built up in Milwaukee as they’re by far the favorite to win that division.

This has a lot to do with thinking the Reds are awful and the Brewers are a good team. Sometimes it’s just best to take the obvious choice. Take the Brewers because they’re better. Milwaukee -1.5 at +100 is great value here.

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