Rangers-Orioles: Odds and Picks for April 24

Texas Rangers vs. Baltimore Orioles
Free Pick: Baltimore Orioles (-128)
Friday, April 24, 2009, 7:05 p.m. ET—MLB Odds
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Vicente Padilla (1-1, 9.64 ERA), the Texas Rangers pitcher for this tilt against the Baltimore Orioles, for the most part has not looked good this season. The velocity of his fastball has been the most troublesome thing to overcome for the veteran righty.

He has not pitched past the sixth inning this season, and is getting hammered by opposing batting orders to the tune of a .359 batting average. That is not a good omen for himself or his team's chances of victory versus a host, the Orioles, that have rolled him up like a cheap carpet in the recent past. Padilla is 2-6 along with an ugly looking 9.62 ERA, which includes an even more horrific 0-4 record along with a massive 16.20 ERA in his last four starts in this series.

Meanwhile, the Orioles will return fire with Koji Uehara (2-1, 5.89 ERA), a hurler that is in revenge mode for an earlier debacle versus the Rangers that saw him get smashed for seven runs in a loss. The native of Osaka, Japan, showed me that he is capable of avenging that aforementioned embarrassment with a top-notch effort, after an impressive performance versus a hot-hitting BoSox lineup in his last start—allowing them just two runs on five hits in seven innings.

Final notes and key trends: The Rangers have lost six of their last seven as underdogs, and are just 2-8 in their last 10 versus right-handers like Uehara. The Orioles have won four of their last five at home versus righties.

Play on the Orioles (money line).