It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Immediately following Friday’s first perfect 5-0 day of the year… we responded with our first 0-5 day of the year. Things would’ve been salvageable if the Diamondbacks managed to hold on to a six-run lead vs. the Braves, but such is life. If you’re going to bet on baseball, you have to mentally prepare yourself for some losing days ahead.

Let’s look to get back on the right foot on Sunday. There’s a full slate to choose from, with most of the games taking place in the early afternoon. There’s also a Sunday Night Baseball matchup between the Astros and Rangers that figures to be entertaining.

Let’s dive into five of my favorite options for Sunday’s slate.

MLB Bets Today – Sunday, April 7

Chicago Cubs ML vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (-106; FanDuel)

The Dodgers have been great to start the year, but they’re not invincible. The Cubs managed to get the best of them on Friday, and they’ll have a chance to win the series on Sunday. I like their chances of pulling it off.

The Cubs have a pretty sizable pitching advantage in this matchup. They’ll send Shota Imanaga to the mound, who was brilliant in his first major league outing. He pitched six scoreless innings vs. the Rockies, and his advanced metrics suggest he was as good as advertised. His FIP was just 0.20 in that contest, and he racked up nine strikeouts.

The Dodgers obviously represent a huge step up in competition, but Imanaga should benefit from being left-handed. The Dodgers were worse against southpaws than traditional pitchers last season, and two of their three former MVPs (Shohei Ohtani and Freddy Freedman) are left-handed.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers will turn to Gavin Stone, who has a career 8.50 ERA across 36 innings. When he departs, they’ll hand the ball to a bullpen that has the 11th-worst ERA so far this season. If Imanaga can keep LA’s bats at bay, Chicago’s offense should hold up their end of the bargain.

Houston Astros-Texas Rangers Over 10.0 runs (-114; FanDuel)

Overs have come through at a pretty high clip to start the year. The baseball appears to have a bit more life in it than it did last year, while bullpens have struggled out of the gate. I’m expecting more offense on Sunday Night Baseball.

The Astros will send Ronel Blanco to the mound fresh off a no-hitter in his last outing. Even factoring in that brilliant performance, he still has a career FIP north of five in 67.1 innings. He graded out as just slightly better than average in terms of Stuff+ during his no-hitter, so regression is looming vs. a potent Rangers’ offense. They’re No. 2 in wRC+ vs. right-handers so far this season.

The Astros are No. 3 vs. right-handers, and they have a strong matchup vs. Dane Dunning. Dunning survived in his first start of the year, but he had a ghastly 11.61 xERA in that outing. His Statcast numbers were appalling: 30.8% barrel rate, 97.4 mph average exit velocity, 76.9% hard-hit rate. If he continues to get hit that hard, his ERA is going to plummet.

Ultimately, both of these teams are in a position to score runs. This total is up to 10.0, but I’d play the over to 10.5.

More MLB Bets for Sunday, April 7

White Sox-Royals Under 9.0 runs (+100) – While Overs have been the sharp side so far this season, I’m going with an under in Kansas City. Neither of these offenses is particularly good, and the White Sox will have their best pitcher on the mound in Garrett Crochet. Alec Marsh also pitched well in his 2024 debut, posting a 1.29 ERA, 2.94 xERA, and 2.20 FIP.

Shota Imanaga Over 5.5 strikeouts (-148) – I’m doubling down on Imanaga. The Dodgers are roughly league-average in terms of strikeout rate vs. southpaws, and the Paydirt DFS projections have Imanaga at more than eight in this matchup. That might be aggressive, but six whiffs is definitely within the realm of possibility.

Emerson Hancock Under 4.5 strikeouts (-135) – Hancock has simply not proven he can strike out batters at the major league level. He posted a 4.50 K/9 in 12 innings last year, and he had just one strikeout in 5.1 innings in his first start of 2024. He was better in the minors, but he still wasn’t a strikeout demon against worse hitters. I’d play this to -150.

2024 MLB Bets Record

  • Yesterday: 0-5 (-2.83 units)
  • Season to Date: 17-14 (+0.69 units)

All bets are based on half units unless stated otherwise. Underdogs are risking a half unit, while favorites are to win a half unit. For an example, check out the free Fantasy Life MLB Bet Tracker.