MLB Best Bets for Saturday, April 4: Piling on the Pirates

Danny Burke

Written by: Danny Burke

Published: Sat Apr 04, 2026, 12:19 pm ET

Read Time: 5 minutes

Oneil Cruz - Pittsburgh Pirates

mlb

Happy Saturday, my friends! We've got a loaded slate of sports today, with plenty of action on the diamond, which is where we'll direct our focus below.

We're coming off a 2-1 night, bringing our overall record to 11-6-1, up +5.42 units. Let's see if we can keep it rolling with some of my favorite MLB bets for Saturday, April 4.

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MLB Best Bets for Saturday, April 4

Jack Flaherty is pitching very well as a member of the Tigers

Cardinals vs Tigers

There's not much time between writing this and first pitch at Comerica Park, but I wanted to squeeze this one in. The game gets underway at 1:10 p.m. ET between the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals, and I'm backing the home side this afternoon.

Detroit picked up a much-needed 4-0 win over St. Louis yesterday, snapping a four-game skid.

As for the Cardinals, they've been one of the more surprising teams to start the season, especially after being pegged as one of the league's worst. I'm not buying it long term, though, and this could be a spot where things begin to regress.

I'll be backing Jack Flaherty and the Tigers on the -1 run line. Typically, I'd lay the standard -1.5, but the weather gives me some pause in this matchup. If this turns into a lower-scoring game, it could be tougher for Detroit to create enough separation to comfortably cover. Instead, I'll lay -114 for the added protection of a potential push.

I'm expecting another strong start from Flaherty, who didn't factor into the decision in his season debut, but allowed just two earned runs on four hits over 4.1 innings at San Diego. It was a solid outing, but he didn't get much help from his offense.

He should have more support this time around, as his offense faces Dustin May, a pitcher who gave up six earned runs in his 2026 debut. His struggles are nothing new, as he's coming off a 2025 season in which he posted a 4.96 ERA and a 14.3% HR/FB rate.

Look for the Tigers to build off yesterday's result and for Flaherty to show out against his former organization.

Best Bet: Tigers -1 (-114)

Orioles vs Pirates

Will Cruz launch another missile tonight at Wrigley Field against the Cubs?

How about this red-hot Pittsburgh Pirates team? Didn't think I'd be writing those words this season, but they're currently in the midst of a three-game win streak, and I'm expecting them to extend it to four.

Pittsburgh defeated Baltimore on Friday, winning 6-5, and beat the Reds 8-3 in consecutive game prior to that. Now, they're in a great position to end up on the right side again, with Carmen Mlodzinski taking the bump. The Pirates' right-hander is coming off a strong performance the other day, tossing eight strikeouts in 4.1 innings against the Mets. He did allow two earned runs and six hits, but his xFIP came out to 0.51.

Mlodzinski was a reliable arm last season, too, compiling a 3.55 ERA and a 3.60 xFIP through 99 innings of work. I'm expecting his success to continue today.

His offense will be facing Shane Baz, a fellow righty, but one that didn't have as great of an opening start to his season. Baz, in his first start as a member of the Orioles, went 5.1 innings against the Twins, allowed seven hits, four runs and finished with a 4.46 xFIP.

Last season with the Tampa Bay Rays, Baz went 10-12, with a 4.87 ERA, but did post a 3.88 xFIP, indicating he should've had better results. Still, there were plenty of red flags, such as his 15.6% HR/FB rate, his 1.33 WHIP and his 9.5% barrel rate.

I think he's an arm that this, currently, hot Pirates' lineup can take advantage of, and I'll be investing in them to do so.

Best Bet: Pirates Moneyline (-108)

Best Bets:

MLB Record: 11-6-1, up +5.42 units

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Danny Burke
Danny Burke

Danny Burke is a betting analyst with a decade of sports media experience. He got his start at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, sharing picks on the local ESPN affiliate. After college, he hosted shows for VSiN in Las Vegas before returning to Chicago to launch 'Rush Hour', the first daily sports betting show from an Illinois casino. He also co-hosted 'Props and Locks' on Fox32’s Bears pregame show and ran 'Bet On, Chicago' on WLS-AM 890.

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