Cross-sport parlay: This guy can help us keep things rolling

We started the week off well with a nice +103 win, and if you opted to bet on any of our targets up at a higher number, you likely found some wins as well, with DeMar DeRozan going for 30+ and Freddie Freeman notching three hits. We're thinking the best course of action could be to run it back, though we are going to focus only on the MLB and NHL, with some of these NBA injury reports making things too unclear this morning.

Cross-sport parlay to continue building bankroll

MLB: Carlos Santana to record a hit

Twins first baseman Carlos Santana has gotten off to a solid start this season, notching a hit in all three games. Now, Minnesota begins a series this afternoon with Milwaukee, a team that Santana has racked up the hits against in recent matchups.

In his past six meetings with the Brewers, Santana has piled up nine hits. Now, Santana has his team history intersection meeting another strong trend: his success against Jakob Junis.

Junis just joined Milwaukee this winter, and Santana has loved to see the righty over the years, notching a career .444 batting average in 22 plate appearances. We'll opt for that to continue here to get our day going.

Honorable mention: Freddie Freeman

NHL: Timo Meier to record a point

As we look around tonight's NHL slate, we once again want to target the Pittsburgh Penguins. Yes, the Rangers did not find much success last night, but our man Artemi Panarin was able to deliver.

Pittsburgh is now playing for the second time in as many nights and are allowing 3.8 goals per game on the road over the past 45 days.

Timo Meier on the Devils' top line has been rolling, producing 10 points in his past six games and 11 in his last six at home. Meier has also loved to see the Penguins, notching four points in three meetings against Pittsburgh since joining New Jersey.

Honorable mention: Nazem Kadri

These two together comes in at a solid +141 on FanDuel. Good luck tonight!

In the news ...

Iowa beats LSU; UConn advances as well — Revenge has been served, as Caitlin Clark and Iowa handled business against LSU on Monday night to advance to another Final Four. Clark finished with 41 points in the 94-87 win, and Iowa will now face off against UConn on Friday, who beat USC yesterday. We'll be treated to another star-studded matchup later this week when Paige Bueckers and the Huskies square off against the Hawkeyes for a spot in the title game. Iowa is currently 2.5-point favorites in that one and +330 to win it all. The favorite is the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks at -225, who first will face NC State as 11.5-point favorites. We have to bet on Clark ending her Iowa career with the elusive championship at +330.

Joel Embiid expected to return this week — The Philadelphia 76ers have gotten some huge injury news as it relates to their former MVP center Joel Embiid. The big is expected to play this week after recovering from a meniscus injury since Jan. 30. The Sixers currently sit at eighth in the Eastern Conference, 2.5 games back of the six seed which would help avoid the play-in game. Philly has seven games left to build some momentum ahead of the NBA playoffs, and they are currently +1200 to win the East, the third-best odds behind Boston (-130) and Milwaukee (+320).

Ronel Blanco tosses no-hitter for Houston Astros — We've got our first no-hitter of the 2024 MLB season, the fastest ever to start a season! The honors there would go to Houston's Ronel Blanco, making just his eighth career start, Blanco blanked the Toronto Blue Jays on 105 pitches Monday night. Blanco was given a shot in the rotation thanks to injuries to pitchers Justin Verlander, Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia and Jose Urquidy. It will be interesting if this gem secures Blanco a spot for the entire season. If you wanted to cook up a ridiculous bet, you could bet Blanco to win Cy Young at 150-1 in what would be one of the crazier stories in MLB history.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll. Follow him on Substack: griffybets.substack.com.