As you enjoy Sunday’s full 15-game MLB slate, check out these baseball best bets and predictions! Our MLB picks today feature an NL West battle between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. Plus, we look for bets in the Colorado Rockies vs Toronto Blue Jays game. Also, check out a few MLB player props to lock in for Sunday’s games.

MLB Best Bets For Today: Sunday, April 14

As always, be sure to shop around for the best odds and lines at different sportsbooks. The odds in this article below are accurate as of this writing. Without further ado, let’s check out the MLB best bets and baseball predictions for Sunday, April 14th. 

 

Padres vs Dodgers Predictions Today, 4/14

This weekend’s Sunday Night Baseball matchup is an NL West showdown between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. Yu Darvish toes the rubber for the Padres while James Paxton gets the start for the Dodgers. Let’s see how to bet MLB’s standalone game tonight. 

Paxton, in his first season with Los Angeles, is off to a strong start with a 1.64 ERA through two outings. The veteran left-hander is likely due for negative regression, though. His 4.40 FIP and 3.41 xERA are notably higher than that ERA. Paxton also has an unsustainable 94% left-on-base rate and very low .207 BABIP so far. His 9:6 K:BB ratio is worrisome as well. It’s early but all of the advanced numbers and Paxton’s track record tell us he won’t maintain a sub-2.00 ERA moving forward. 

Meanwhile, San Diego’s offense presents a tough matchup for Paxton here. Against left-handed pitching this season, the Padres boast a .344 wOBA, .790 OPS, and .253 ISO. Their lineup is righty-heavy and should get to Paxton. They’re also averaging over five runs per game so far this year. 

The other side of this matchup should also give us runs because it features the potent LA offense. The Dodgers are averaging 5+ runs per game while crushing right-handed pitching to the tune of a .362 wOBA, .827 OPS, .208 ISO, and .270 BA this season. Yu Darvish has looked shaky in his past two starts with seven runs allowed over 10 innings combined. It also helps that the Dodgers faced Darvish once already this year. 

Let’s take the over for the full game and the first five innings as the offenses set the tone for this Sunday night game. 

Expert Padres vs Dodgers Predictions

  • Over 9 Total Runs (+100 FanDuel)
  • 1st 5 Innings Over 4.5 Runs (-120 FanDuel)
 

Rockies vs Blue Jays Predictions Today, 4/14

The Colorado Rockies and Toronto Blue Jays wrap up a three-game series today after splitting the first two matchups this weekend. Jose Berrios starts for the Blue Jays and Kyle Freeland is on the mound for the Rockies. We’ve seen 24 combined runs from these teams in the first two games of the series and this one should be on the higher-scoring side too.

Berrios boasts 1.45 ERA through three starts so far, but he’s likely due for negative regression. Comparatively, the Toronto righty also has a 5.64 xERA and 3.95 FIP while benefiting from a 98% left-on-base rate. Berrios can be a dominant pitcher at times, but he’s also just as capable of allowing 4-5 runs in any given outing. 

Let’s bank on the Rockies to give Berrios some trouble here. Despite a poor 4-11 record, Colorado’s offense is above average while scoring 4.6 runs per game. Against right-handed pitching this year, the Rockies are a top-5 offense in key categories like wOBA (.345), batting average (.274), and OPS (.777). This lineup can get to Berrios on one of his off days, which he’s due for. 

We can also target the Blue Jays offense to have success against Rockies starter Kyle Freeland today. The left-hander is off to a rough start this year with an ugly 16.03 ERA, including outings of seven and 10 runs allowed. Freeland won’t be this bad all season, but his 7.75 FIP and 8.42 xERA aren’t exactly ideal. Toronto, meanwhile, has a .348 wOBA and .778 OPS against lefty pitching this year – in addition to a low strikeout rate (15.4%) and solid walk rate (9.9%) in the split. 

Freeland could run into trouble against a Blue Jays offense that’s had its struggles this season but is much better vs lefties. Toronto also boasts more favorable numbers at home. Grab the over for the full game and first five innings. 

Expert Rockies vs Blue Jays Predictions

  • Over 8.5 Total Runs (-105 FanDuel)
  • 1st 5 Innings Over 4.5 Runs (-104 FanDuel)

Best MLB Player Props Today, 4/14