This article is part of our MLB Picks series.
We have an all-day slate on tap Wednesday, but I'll be focusing on two evening games in AL parks. I'm picking a bit on one aging arm and leaning on a quality one for my two picks, with the latter having atypically struggled in his opening start of the season against a familiar opponent but now drawing a favorable matchup against a lineup that hasn't been exposed to him much previously.
All odds listed are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of 11:30 am ET.
Milwaukee Brewers 
at Baltimore Orioles 
7:05 PM ET
Starting Pitchers: Brandon Woodruff vs. John Means
- The Pick: Under 4.5 runs – first 5 innings (-152) for 1 RW Buck
- Secondary Pick: Moneyline/Total Runs Parlay: Brewers/Under 7.5 total runs (+220) for 1 RW Buck
Two of what have been the most anemic offenses in baseball during the first week of the season clash at Camden Yards on Wednesday evening. Woodruff had what appeared to be a similarly appealing matchup on paper in his first start of the season against the Cubs and surprisingly allowed seven earned runs while striking out just two over 3.2 innings. However, the Orioles have scored just 10 runs through five games and have a .211 average, .297 wOBA and 26.0 percent strikeout rate vs righties thus far.
Means is the Orioles' best arm by far and pitched like it in his Opening Day start against the dangerous Rays lineup. Like his opponent, he'll have a crack at hitters that mostly haven't seen him up close before with the exception of former Rays infielder Mike Brosseau. Milwaukee is hitting just .222 with a .282 wOBA in its first 58 PAs against lefties this season and was similarly lackluster against southpaws on the road a season ago (.240 average, .303 wOBA, 88 wRC+).
Seattle Mariners 
at Chicago White Sox 
7:10pm ET
Starting Pitchers: Robbie Ray vs. Dallas Keuchel
- The Pick: Mariners Over 4 Total Runs (-128) for 1 RW Buck
- Secondary Picks: Ty France To Record 2+ Hits (+180) for 1 RW Buck &
- Mariners moneyline (+102) for 1 RW Buck
The White Sox were dangerous against left-handed pitching last season and have already started pounding southpaws early in 2022 (.324 average, .407 wOBA in 42 PAs). However, Ray is the reigning AL Cy Young winner and has held current White Sox bats to a collective .152/.217/.220 line across 59 career encounters. He also fashioned a 1.35 ERA and recorded 27 strikeouts across 13.1 innings over two starts against Chicago last season and produced a 12.2 K/9 on the road across 85.1 frames. Seattle's bullpen has been mostly effective and hasn't been overworked in the early going, but Ray also stretched out well during spring and went a full seven in his first start, so he could work a good portion of the game if he stays out of trouble.
Keuchel is facing a Mariners squad that's scored all of 12 runs in five games, but that has an array of talented bats that's due for a breakout. The aging left-hander could well be just the pitcher to facilitate it, as he averages less than 88 mph on his fastball these days and is coming off a 2021 season in which he pitched to a career-worst 5.28 ERA while yielding his highest HR/9 (1.4) since his 2012 rookie campaign. Current Mariners bats have had some success against him as well, posting a .286 average against him in 67 career PAs.
