We’ve got a full slate that starts with some day baseball, features a World Series, and concludes with an ace in a great enviorenement.
Our MLB predictions have you covered on what should be a competitive day on the diamond.
Phillies at Giants: Christopher Sanchez To Earn The Win
“To win” markets are dangerous in this era of inning/pitch management, especially in the year, but I don’t mind chasing these odds through a true ace in Cristopher Sanchez.
He’s a ground ball specialist with 17 K’s in 11.1 innings this season who is taking the bump at Oracle, a pitcher’s park: how exactly is San Francisco going to break the scoring seal?
It’s early, but they own the bottom barrel rate in the sport, so even on the off chance that they make consistent contact against the southpaw, I’m not sweating the damage that will come of it.
Sanchez hasn’t coughed up more than a single earned run in seven of his past eight regular season starts and with Robbie Ray allowing power over the past year when runners are in scoring position, this is essentially a wager on a talented Phillies offense making one impactful swing.
I’ll dance. Philly’s standout has been an efficient pitcher throughout his career and if he an get a little bit of run support early, he’ll have all of the leverage he needs to rattle off his third straight sparkling start to open 2026 and earn his first W in the process.
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Dodgers at Blue Jays: Under 7.5 total runs
Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed two runs on four hits (one home runs) with two strikeouts and a walk across six innings in a 4-1 home loss against the Guardians on Wednesday. It was his second straight quality start.
Yamamoto surrendered 14 home runs over 173 2/3 innings across 30 starts last season. This year he’s surrendered two home runs in two starts, but I anticipate him to get this under control, particularly at Rogers Centre, where he enjoyed plenty of success in the 2025 World Series, as he gave up just two runs on 10 hits with 15 strikeouts and two walks over 17 2/3 innings.
Kevin Gausman has a 3.57 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in nine career appearances (eight starts) against the Dodgers with 47 strikeouts and 16 walks across 45 1/3 innings, but he’s been lights out this season, posting an 0.75 ERA, 0.25 WHIP and 2.74 xERA after two starts.
This is a strong spot to take the Under, given Yamamoto’s dominance at Rogers Centre in the 2025 World Series and how sharp Gausman has been through his first two starts this season. With both pitchers in form and capable of limiting damage, this projects as a lower-scoring matchup.
Reds at Marlins: Sandy Alcantara to record over 7.5 strikeouts
That’s a high number by all means, but if there’s one pitcher who can do that based on the way he’s been pitching so far in 2025, that’s Alcantara. The star hurler has opened the 2026 campaign on a sizzling note and has yet to allow an earned run through 16 innings and two starts, posting 12:2 K:BB and a 0.56 WHIP.
He faces a favorable matchup against the Reds, a team that has been historically bad on the road in recent years, and Alcantara shouldn’t have problems hovering around this strikeout line. He had seven punchouts in a complete-game win over the White Sox in his last start.
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