The MLB regular season got underway with three games on the schedule on Sunday. Most of the games were close, although there was one blowout. The Los Angeles Dodgers earned an 11-run win over the San Diego Padres. That’s what happens when Jhoulys Chacin is your Opening Day starter. Fast forward to Tuesday and while we will have plenty of action to choose from we decided to focus on all three rematches from Sunday’s action as well. Here is a look at our MLB betting picks for Tuesday’s action.
New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays
Tuesday, 7:10 PM ET
The Rays were able to get to Masahiro Tanaka early and often in their 7-3 win over New York on Sunday. That could be bad news for C.C. Sabathia heading in to his first start of the season. Tanaka gave up seven earned on eight hits in just 2.2 innings of work before he got the hook. Sabathia will likely last longer than that but there is reason to doubt his potential heading in to this game. Sabathia finished last season with a 4.04 ERA after the All-Star break. He was torched for a 5.52 ERA in his appearances against Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, Jake Odorizzi was excellent after the All-Star break when he posted a 2.71 ERA in 14 starts. Odorizzi went 2-1 with a 2.29 ERA against the Yankees last season. If he can pick up from where he left off, there is a good chance the Rays could move to 2-0 to start the season.
MLB Betting Pick: Tampa Bay
Seattle Mariners @ Houston Astros
Tuesday, 8:10 PM ET
Houston has one of the most potent offenses in the majors on paper. However, the Astros will need more from their pitchers in order to succeed this season. Lance McCullers Jr. has posted a 3.22 ERA in each of the last two seasons so he has been pretty reliable. Meanwhile, Hisashi Iwakuma has shown flashes of brilliance but finished last season with a career-high 4.12 ERA. Iwakuma was 1-2 with a 3.52 ERA against Houston last season. The Astros offense is even better than it was a year ago so this could be a higher scoring game.
MLB Betting Pick: Houston
Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis Cardinals
Tuesday, 8:15 PM ET
After blowing a lead with three runs allowed in the ninth inning, the Cardinals rallied for the walk-off win over the Cubs in their opener. Seung-Hwan Oh was knocked around for three earned runs, but he got out of the inning with the score tied at three and ended up picking up the win when Randal Grichuk homered in the bottom of the ninth. St. Louis will need another solid pitching performance from Adam Wainwright on Tuesday. However, Wainwright struggled last season and it won’t be easy to take down the defending World Series champions twice in a row. Jake Arrieta will be on the bump for Chicago, so look for the Cubs to bounce back with a win.
MLB Betting Pick: Chicago
San Francisco Giants @ Arizona Diamondbacks
Tuesday, 9:40 PM ET
San Francisco started a new season with the same major issue that plagued them all of last year. Mark Melancon blew a save in the bottom of the ninth and Arizona walked off with a pair of RBI singles. The Giants absolutely need Melancon to be the lockdown closer they signed him to be. If he struggles, San Francisco could be in big trouble. The blown save spoiled the efforts of Madison Bumgarner, who hit two home runs to help his cause. Johnny Cueto isn’t likely to hit a home run in his start, but he should be able to keep the Diamondbacks offense in check. Meanwhile, Patrick Corbin will start for Arizona. Corbin posted a 3.66 ERA in 19.2 innings of work against San Francisco last season so he should be able to keep them in this game. The Giants need more from their bullpen in order to lock this game down. Cueto will put them in line for the win, but it will be on the bullpen to finish the job.
MLB Betting Pick: San Francisco
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