MLB picks: Indians vs. Cardinals, Mariners vs. Angels

Let’s go hunting for some value on the moneyline as we make our MLB picks for Friday night. Up first is an interleague matchup between the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals, followed by an AL West clash between the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels.

Cleveland Indians (19-12) at St. Louis Cardinals (11-11), 8:15 p.m. ET, FS1

Highly-touted pitching prospect Triston McKenzie will make his second big-league start for the Indians on Friday night against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. If he performs as well as he did on debut here, Cleveland should cruise to victory.

McKenzie allowed just one run on only two hits and a walk to the Tigers last Saturday. He was economical on the mound as well, needing just 80 pitches to get through six strong innings. St. Louis’ lineup has been nothing to write home about in 2020, as they’ve plated only 4.09 runs per game, 24th in the majors. McKenzie will be supported by an Indians bullpen that’s third in baseball by ERA this season (2.57).

Daniel Ponce de Leon, who’s been having trouble pitching deep into games for the Redbirds, is McKenzie’s opposite number. His inflated walk rate (7.5 per nine innings) has gotten him into serious trouble. Ponce de Leon has lasted a grand total of 11 2/3 innings in his first three starts of the year, surrendering seven earned runs in that span (5.25 ERA). Cleveland’s patient lineup, third in the majors in walks (136), should jump out to the lead sooner rather than later in this one and never look back.

MLB pick: Indians moneyline

Seattle Mariners (13-20) at Los Angeles Angels (10-22), 9:40 p.m. ET

The Angels shouldn’t be favored to this degree over anybody seeing how they’ve played in 2020. Underdog bettors will want to hitch their wagon to the Mariners in this one.

Seattle has won five of their last six games heading into Friday night. Their offense has been putting on a show, plating 44 runs in that span (7.33 per tilt). Center fielder Kyle Lewis, left fielder Sam Haggerty and catcher Austin Voth have combined to go 25-for-66 (.379) over this stretch with five homers and 14 RBI. They should feast on L.A. starter Andrew Heaney, who’s 1-2 with a 5.52 ERA through his first six outings.

Nick Margevicius (1-1, 4.12 ERA) has seen mixed results since being stretched out as a starter by the Mariners, delivering a quality start against the robust Astros lineup before allowing four runs in 5 1/3 innings of work against the Rangers’ moribund offense. But his solid 1.02 WHIP suggests he’s a viable prospect. Margevicius catches Angels All-Star Mike Trout at just the right time – the three-time MVP hasn’t hit a home run since Aug. 17 (nine games) and is 5-for-33 (.152) at the dish in that span.

MLB pick: Mariners moneyline