Line value, right pitching matchup and powerful statistical data are among the many elements making this Stephen Nover's top April baseball play and his strongest play so far this season! Read and win knowing you have Stephen's expertise, elite information and winning record in your corner.
Member Notes
Today’s Free Picks
| Sport | Game Selection | Game Time |
|---|---|---|
| MLB | (817) Houston Astros at (818) Baltimore Orioles | 6:35pm EDT - Apr 28/2026 |
The PLAY: Over +9 (-105) Action
The Orioles have too many young talented bats to only rank 17th in scoring at 4.4 runs per game. Lately, though, Baltimore's offense has picked up. The Orioles are averaging 6.6 runs in their last five games if you discount a 17-1 loss to the Red Sox.
Houston's starting pitching is decimated. That is why the Astros have to go with a bullpen game here, probably starting Kai-Wei Teng, who has not thrown three innings in a game all season. Houston has the worst bullpen in the majors - and it's not close - with a 6.31 ERA and a big hole at closer with Josh Hader sidelined.
Orioles starter Shane Baz is having trouble with his new team with its hitter-friendly home park after having pitched his entire five-year big league career with Tampa Bay. Baz has a 5.08 ERA and 1.55 WHIP.
Sparked by a healthy and rejuvenated Yordan Alvarez, the Astros rank in the top five in runs, batting average and OPS. Alvarez is leading the majors in batting at .358 and is tied for second in homers and is third in RBIs.
(Editor's note: Stephen Nover has his strongest April baseball play this month today in addition to this free selection. Stephen is enjoying another winning baseball season. Don't miss any of plays.)
Consultant Bio
Stephen Nover is unique among professional handicappers. A multiple award-winning sportswriter for numerous newspapers, including the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nover has one the best combinations of gambling and media sources in the world.
The author of two sports gambling books, "Las Vegas Sports Beat" and "Sports Gaming Beat", along with a book on fantasy football titled, "Winning Fantasy Football", Nover is a former professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas having taught a football handicapping class there. He also was the co-host of the Sunday night sports betting radio show "The Stardust Line" during the 1990's.
Parlaying nearly 50 years worth of professional gambling experience with tremendous knowledge of the players through elite deep-roster Rotisserie leagues and building on copious gaming and media sources - having worked for newspapers in the Midwest, South and West and also for legendary Hall of Fame oddsmaker Roxy Roxborough - Nover is a true Las Vegas wise guy. He helped learn his craft from such masters as Roxborough, Dave Malinsky, Lem Banker and Russ Culver.
Part of what makes Nover so special is the pride he takes in writing his deep-dive analysis, which always is unique, well-researched and sometimes entails out-of-the-box thinking.