The MLB Best Bets have gotten off to a strong start here in the 2023 season and with a full slate of games here on Sunday (4/2), we’re looking to keep that momentum rolling. We’re coming off a strong 3-0 day thanks to strong offensive outputs from the Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers and this slate appears to be flush with potential for winning MLB betting picks for today and building our bankroll. Let’s get it.

  • Record: 7-2
  • Bankroll: + 3.53 units
 

 

MLB Best Bets for April 2 

Detroit Tigers at Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays thumped the Tigers yesterday 12-2 and have now outscored them 16-2 through the first two games of the season. Today they’re throwing lefty Jeffrey Springs who really turned heads last season with a 2.46 ERA,  9.58 K/9 and a 40.9-percent groundball rate which was more than five-percent higher than the year before. Now, I’m not saying that Springs is on Shane McClanahan’s level, but the Tigers really struggled against the southpaw and are likely to struggle again, especially with the uptick in velocity and strikeouts we’ve seen from Springs during the preseason. For Detroit, lefty Joey Wentz joins the rotation and will be tasked with holding down the Rays lineup. Tampa didn’t wreck lefty Eduardo Rodriguez in the first game, but they should be able to handle Wentz who pitches to a fair amount of contact and has had command issues in the past. No value on the money line, so we’ll back the Rays bats today.

Pick: Tampa Bay Rays -1.5 Run Line (-115 on DK Sportsbook)

Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs

This battle of the NL Central hasn’t had much in the way of fireworks as the Brewers and Cubs have split the first two games and combined for just eight runs in total. But the wind is blowing out at Wrigley today and we all know how the ball carries. The Brewers will throw lefty Eric Lauer who was absolutely dismal this spring, posting an 11.57 ERA and a 2.49 WHIP over 11,2 innings. He only served up one home run, but he posted a 1.53 HR/9 last season and the Cubs lineup is very righty-heavy today. Meanwhile, the Cubs will throw Jameson Taillon who makes his debut on the North Side and while he had some shining moments as a Yankee over the last two seasons, he’s also had some trouble keeping the ball in the yard. I don’t like to invest in sluggish offenses, but it’s early in the season and we’re going to back Mother Nature here.

Pick: Brewers/Cubs over 9 runs (-110 on BetMGM)

Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals

Anyone who has watched Joey Ryan throw for the Twins this spring has got to be excited about the prospect of a dominant breakout campaign. The 26-year-old righty looked great last season, posting a 3.55 ERA with a 9.24 K/9 over 147 innings, and he’s looked even more impressive this spring. Ryan has shown an uptick in velocity across all of his pitches and dominated with a 2.16 ERA and 20:3 K:BB over 16.2 innings. The Royals aren’t striking out a ton here to start the season, but they’ve been held scoreless in their first two games and have just a .217 wOBA against the righties they’ve faced. The Twins offense isn’t exactly knocking the cover off the ball, but they probably will today against Brad Keller who finished the spring with a 4.95 ERA, a 1.40 WHIP and three home runs allowed. Last season, left-handed hitters posted a solid.324 wOBA against him but righties, an even more impressive .349 mark. They’ve got a real nice, balanced lineup coming at him and while few people like betting on a sweep, especially this early in the year, we’re going to do just that. We could play it safe and pay the juice on the money line, but we feel pretty confident in a breakout performance by the Twins bats.

Pick: Minnesota Twins -1.5 Run Line (+105 at Caesars Sportsbook)

**all bets are one unit unless specifically mentioned