A Plus Money, First Five Play To Kick Off MLB Betting

Padres vs. Dodgers, 6:05 AM ET (Thursday)

I'm not going to lie to you all, I completely missed the fact that the first games of the Major League Baseball season were taking place this week. With all of the hype and hoopla over the NCAA Tournament, I completely overlooked the fact that there is a two-game series between the Padres and Dodgers that actually counts for the regular season. The first game took place this morning and now we get the finale tomorrow morning. Baseball has been very profitable for me over the past two seasons and I hope we can get off to a great start here as we put a play on this game between San Diego and Los Angeles.

The Padres dropped the first game of this series, losing 5-2. The issue was their bullpen, not the starting pitching. The Padres were winning 2-1 until the 8th inning of the game. I wouldn't describe the success of the team as anything special though as their hitting was only able to muster four hits in the game. The Padres left some opportunities on the basepaths that you have to be frustrated by if you're a San Diego fan. On the mound, Yu Darvish did a nice job to start the game, but the team overall gave up far too many free passes. The issue is that the entire team gave up nine walks. In the eighth inning, where the Dodgers did most of their damage, it started with a walk. Then the team issued another walk that loaded the bases with no one out. Today the Padres send Joe Musgrove to the hill. Musgrove has been one of my favorite pitchers to bet on in baseball. Last season he had some injury issues, but still put together a nice campaign. On the season he went 10-3 with a 3.05 ERA. He faced the Dodgers twice last season in May in back-to-back starts, with the Padres losing both of them. He allowed four earned runs in one of the starts where he went 5.2 innings. In the other start, he went five innings and allowed no earned runs on two hits. 

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - MARCH 17:  Shohei Ohtani  #17 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers look on during the singing of the national anthem prior to the 2024 Seoul Series game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome on Sunday, March 17, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

It is almost unfair how good the Dodgers are. Their lineup, on paper, has to be the stuff of nightmare for opposing pitchers. You go into a game facing Mookie Betts, an annual MVP candidate, then you face Shohei Ohtani, a generational talent, and then Freddie Freeman, a great player that has patience and hits for both power and average. Will Smith follows those three, probably one of the top three hitting catchers in baseball, Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernandez, and more afterward. It isn't an easy lineup to navigate. I mentioned the nine walks, but they also were able to get seven hits in the game. Their offseason acquisition, one of them at least, Tyler Glasnow, put together a strong five innings even if he left trailing in the game. The bullpen allowed just two hits the rest of the way and perhaps more importantly, no walks. They will have their other big acquisition, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, take the hill for the Dodgers. Yamamoto has high expectations, and a high price tag. He had stretches of success in his Spring Training starts, but he may struggle a bit to start this season. Once he gets the MLB figured out, he should live up to the expectations. 

I think the Padres can win this game with Musgrove on the mound. I wouldn't be surprised to see Yamamoto strike out quite a few players, but if he gets wild, or the Padres are able to string together hits, they can escape with a win. I don't expect either of them to go deep into the game. I'm going to take San Diego to win the first five innings of the game as I expect Musgrove to get off to a better start than Yamamoto as all of the pressure will be on him. Back the Padres at +145 through five innings. 

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