April 2nd MLB Odds and Picks – Bauer, Snell Debut With New Teams

• There are seven games on the MLB schedule on Friday, April 2nd
• Cy Young Award-winners Trevor Bauer (Dodgers) and Blake Snell (Padres) will make their debuts with new teams
• See predictions and best bets for Friday’s game, below

Friday’s slate of seven games in Major League Baseball includes the highly anticipated debut of two Cy Young Award-winners with new teams.

Trevor Bauer makes his first start for the Los Angeles Dodgers, facing the Colorado Rockies in Denver, after signing a three-year, $102-million contract as a free agent in the offseason. Bauer won the National League Cy Young last season when he was 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA in 11 starts for the Cincinnati Reds.

Left-hander Blake Snell takes the mound for the first time with the San Diego Padres when they host the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Padres acquired Snell, the 2018 American League winner, from the Tampa Bay Rays in a winter trade for four young players.

Bauer and Los Angeles are the day’s biggest favorite at -278 and the Dodgers-Rockies matchup also features the highest total at 11.5 runs. The lowest over/under is 7.5 runs for the Rays’ game at the Miami Marlins.

April 2 MLB Picks

Odds as of April 2nd.

Pick 1: Rockies +235 (1 unit)

Lost in all the hype surrounding Bauer’s first game with the Dodgers it that the Rockies will be sending someone to the mound who had a fine 2020 season.

Antonio Senzatela was 5-3 with a 3.44 ERA in 12 starts. Though his peripherals led to a 4.57 FIP, the right-hander notched an outstanding 2.10 ERA in five home starts at Coors Field while compiling a 3-0 record.

Antonio Senzatela, Filthy Two Pitch Sequence (86mph Slider and 80mph Curveball). 😷 pic.twitter.com/JHmx2oaJsV

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 18, 2020

Bauer is perhaps the foremost analytical pitcher in the game. However, he can also be emotional. It is easy to imagine his heart pumping fast in his first game with the team he grew up rooting for in Southern California.

Bauer has started just three times in his career at Coors Field and is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA. Not bad numbers at all but it is hard to pass up Senzatela at a great price.

Pick 2: Diamondbacks +205 (1 unit)

The Diamondbacks are another underdog at a great value as they face Snell and the Padres.

Merrill Kelly toes the slab for the Diamondbacks and, like Senzatela, quietly had a fine 2020 season. Kelly went 3-2 with a 2.59 ERA in five starts before undergoing shoulder surgery.

https://twitter.com/YotesGlendale/status/1294481773288538113

The right-hander has won his last four starts against the Padres and been dominant. He has limited them to one run in 26.2 innings for a 0.34 ERA.

Snell is familiar with the Petco Park mound after making three starts there for the Rays last year during the AL playoffs. However, he is bound to have some nerves while pitching a team other than Tampa Bay for the first time in his career.

The Diamondbacks already had success against another big Padres’ offseason acquisition in Thursday’s season opener. They scored four runs on eight its in 4 2/3 innings off Yu Darvish.

Pick 3: Giants-Mariners Over 8.5, -105 (1 unit)

The San Francisco and Mariners combined for 15 runs on Thursday in their season opener at Seattle. The Mariners pulled out an 8-7 when Jake Fraley drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 10^th inning from Jose Alvarez.

Unforgettable. #SeaUsRise pic.twitter.com/8W90VFbT8j

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 2, 2021

Johnny Cueto is scheduled to start for the Giants against Yusei Kikuchi and both can give up plenty of runs.

Cueto has a 5.33 ERA in 16 starts since returning from Tommy John surgery late in the 2019 season. In 41 starts over two seasons since coming from Japan, Kikuchi’s ERA is 5.39.

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