MLB Sports Betting – First Full Week Of Regular Season Action Gets Underway Monday

With the spring training MLB betting ball now well in the rearview mirror, a jam-packed schedule of regular season games should make baseball fans happy. Here is a look at some of the most intriguing matchups for early next week.

Atlanta Braves @ Milwaukee Brewers

While the Braves established themselves as a legitimate NL contender an sports betting year ago, Milwaukee is banking on that a couple of big offseason moves will help them to reach that category as well. The Brewers mortgaged a portion of the farm to bring in Shaun Marcum and Zach Grienke from the AL to boost their starting rotation, but will still need the lower portion of their staff to contribute some solid starts to compete with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central. That will include youngster Chris Narveson, who will get the call on Monday. Narveson reached 14 wins a year ago and looked good this spring, but will be tested against a talented Atlanta order.

MLB Betting Pick: Atlanta Braves

Minnesota Twins @ New York Yankees

Monday, 7:05 PM ET

While everybody seems to be hating on the Yankees, the team is focused solely on proving that they are still better than the other four teams in the deepest division in baseball. New York will send Ivan Nova to the mound on Monday to take on a Twins’ team that is looking to bounce back with Justin Morneau back in the lineup to join Joe Mauer as one of the most powerful tandems in the league. The Yankees will need Nova to be a consistent performer this year after Andy Pettite’s retirement and Cliff Lee’s return to Philadelphia, and he will get his first test of the sports betting bonus regular season on Monday.

MLB Betting Pick: New York Yankees

Boston Red Sox @ Cleveland Indians

Tuesday, 7:05 PM ET

While he could be the ace on about half of the teams in baseball this year, Josh Beckett opens the year in the fourth rotation spot for a talented Red Sox team. Boston may very well be the most improved team in baseball this year, and after watching how they kept it close with the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays to the very end a year ago, that is scary. Cleveland will send Josh Tomlin to the mound to counter Beckett, and he could be in for a very long day.

MLB Betting Pick: Boston Red Sox

Oakland Athletics @ Toronto Blue Jays

The Athletics feel as though they have the pitching staff and enough offense to compete with the defending NL champion Texas Rangers for the division title this season, and will look to flex their muscle Tuesday with Dallas Braden on the mound in Toronto. Braden completes another deep rotation that could have Oakland back in contention for a playoff spot this year, and he should be able to do enough against Toronto’s JJ Reyes. Reyes has been a surprise standout for the Blue Jays since his arrival with the club, but that could end in a hurry once the games that count come around.