Ask any soccer bettor: the most stressful part about a soccer bet is stoppage time. You know that both teams are desperate for the result, but you don’t know how long you’ve got to survive if you’ve already got the result you want in play.
And I got crushed by this twice on Wednesday, as my Union Berlin exited the semifinals of the DFB-Pokal with a 2-1 loss to RB Leipzig after conceding in the second minute of stoppage time, ruining my double chance bet and the efforts to win the tournament. At the same time, Everton was rescuing its game against Leicester City, ruining my “No” on both teams to score.
And that turned my day into an 0-3 start, making things look like a complete train wreck that only seemed to get worse when the Angels tagged Houston for six runs in the first inning with me holding an Under 8.5 play. Fortunately, nobody scored the rest of the way and the Orioles continued to be incompetent at the plate, allowing me to win my last two bets and turn a bad day into an acceptable one.
We’ll try to bounce back with a parlay win; here are my best bets for April 21.
EARLY MLB PARLAY: YANKEES-TIGERS U9, ORIOLES TTU 3.5, NATIONALS ML, +425
The Yankees haven’t been doing much at the plate, as only one of their 12 games has gone over eight runs without needing extra innings. They’ve also got the right opponent in the Tigers, who have just six home runs on the year, worse than any American League team except Baltimore.
Speaking of the Orioles, they came in under 3.5 runs on Wednesday in a win, as they managed a 1-0 decision against the Athletics. I think they’ll again struggle to score and so will the Diamondbacks, which should put the Nationals in position to bounce back.
LATE MLB PARLAY: CARDINALS-MARLINS U8.5, PIRATES-CUBS O8, MARINERS ML, +385
It’s bold to take an under when one team is throwing a bullpen game, but the St. Louis bullpen has been lights-out this season, leading the majors in ERA. With the Marlins sending Pablo Lopez to the mound, I think this will be a low-scoring contest. The Pirates and Cubs don’t have the same situation at all, as Bryse Wilson and Mark Leiter haven’t had much success to start the season. Throw in that the wind will head out to right field, and the over should be in play.
Finally, Seattle goes for the sweep against a terrible Texas team, which is always worth adding to the parlay. I like how the Mariners have started the year, and I don’t see things getting better for the Rangers.
NHL PARLAY: RANGERS-ISLANDERS U6, STARS TTU 2.5, KINGS ML, +295
I’m going to use the same logic I have with the Orioles on the Stars: Dallas isn’t scoring. The Stars haven’t scored more than two goals in five straight games, and they’ll likely struggle again against the Flames. The Rangers and Islanders are almost always a certain low-scoring tussle whenever the New York rivals face off, and the Kings have won seven of nine against the Blackhawks and appear to have Playoff Jonathan Quick back on the ice. I’m riding with them here.
