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MLB Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: Sunday (4/23)

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Another exciting week of Major League Baseball comes to an end, with many surprises entering Sunday. Not only do the Orioles and Pirates have the longest winning streaks in each respective league, but the Rays have set the record for longest streak with at least one home run to start a season (21 games).

Here are our MLB best bets for Sunday.

YTD: 21-32-1 (-7.80 units)

Today's Best MLB Bets

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

Los Angeles Dodgers (-134) vs. Chicago Cubs (+114) | O/U 7.5 (-106/-114)

Chicago starts the day 12-8 (which is on pace for 97 wins) and has the best run differential (+48) in the National League. Thus, we are getting tremendous value with the Cubs as underdogs with their best pitcher on the mound against a team he historically has had success against.

Stroman has held current Dodgers to a .209/.284/.263 slash line in 86 combined at-bats, with 21 of the 68 outs coming via strikeout. Stroman has had outstanding success against three of the Dodgers’ most feared hitters, as Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and J.D. Martinez are a combined 12-for-63 with zero home runs against the righty. And while Clayton Kershaw has held current Cubs to a .298/.310/.417 slash line, his 9.4 K/9 rate is on pace to be his second-lowest since 2013, and his 3.42 FIP is on pace to be his second-highest since his rookie year in 2008. In addition, Wrigley Field is one of two ballparks where Kershaw has a record under .500 (2-3 in five starts).

Chicago is a blistering 10-1 in its last 11 games against a left-handed starter, while Los Angeles has won just four of its previous 13 games against teams with a winning record.

Pick: Cubs ML (+114)

Washington Nationals (+215) vs. Minnesota Twins (-260) | O/U 8.5 (-110/-110)

Twins righty Bailey Ober will be called up for his first start of the season to help the team end a disappointing four-game losing streak and to avoid an embarrassing home sweep at the hands of the Nationals. Washington was supposed to face Sonny Gray, whose 10.64 K/9 rate ranks 13th in the league. With the likelihood of more run support today, we are taking a chance at plus-odds (Caesars is at -110 for the same wager) that Corbin can complete six innings for the second time in three starts.

Despite Minnesota amid a slump, we are still backing the Over as Washington sends one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball, Patrick Corbin, to the mound. When Arizona’s Madison Bumgarner was DFA’ed last week, many wondered when Corbin would be next, as he has pitched to a 5.84 ERA in 77 starts since Washington made the World Series. Unfortunately, his numbers have worsened each year since then, as he pitched to a 6.31 ERA last year while losing 19 games. The Nationals have won Corbin’s previous two starts but lost each of his first two starts 7-2, and the fact that every Corbin start has seen at least nine runs scored has us confident backing the Over, especially with a pitcher who was the odd man out of the rotation making his first start.

Pick: Nationals-Twins Over 8.5 (-110)

Boston Red Sox (+144) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (-172) | O/U 8.5 (-105/-115)

Milwaukee’s sizzling 15-6 start is due to a surprising offense that entered Saturday ranked fourth in BABIP (.320) and 13th in hard-hit contact. The Brewers figure to hit plenty of balls hard against Red Sox righty Brayan Bello, who allowed a hard-hit percentage of 63.6% in his first start of the season earlier this week. Bello is 1-4 with a 5.28 ERA in seven road appearances (six starts), so DFS players would be wise to stack their lineups with Brewers.

Only four Brewers hitters have ever faced Bello, but Milwaukee has scored five or more runs in five of its eight home games this year. In addition, the Over is 6-2 in the last eight meetings in Milwaukee between these teams and is 8-2-2 in the Brewers’ last 12 interleague home games, so we expect them to do their part in the scoring today.        

Pick: Brewers Team Total Over 4.5 (-105)

Check out our other best bets for Sunday:


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Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.

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