The Dodgers took the first game of the 2024 season, but there's still room for more MLB expert picks for this year's Seoul Series in Korea.
We've got a fun pitching matchup in Game 2, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto debuting for Los Angeles against San Diego's Joe Musgrove. I've got two picks for tomorrow morning's Padres vs Dodgers game, with the sportsbooks' latest lines:
MLB Expert Picks: March 21st, 2024
You can jump directly to today's picks here:
Game Time: 6:10 AM ET
Pick 1: Padres ML (+140) vs Dodgers
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s MLB debut is going to be one of the most anticipated starts of this 2024 MLB season. But, I’m not that convinced it’s gonna go well.
In his last two spring training starts, Yamamoto allowed nine runs across 7.2 innings, giving up 14 hits and four walks in that time.
The strikeout stuff is clearly there for Yamamoto, but the control and hitability issues could linger into the early season. So, getting manager Mike Shildt's Padres at +140 here is too easy to pass up. I see this as much more of a coin flip than the odds indicate.
The Padres also didn't use closer Robert Suarez in Wednesday's Game 1 against the Dodgers, leaving them set up to close this one down if it's close late.
Pick 2: Over 8.5 Runs
As I outlined above, I think San Diego's bats are going to be able to get to Yamamoto. And, I don't think Joe Musgrove is primed for a shutdown performance either.
I really hate trusting spring training numbers too much, but you don't really have a choice this early in the season. Like Yamamoto, Musgrove has struggled in spring, allowing a 13.50 ERA in three outings. So, with both players entering without much confidence, I think this one should be an easy over.
Musgrove did start two games against the Dodgers last year, and the Padres allowed four and five runs in those two outings, respectively. So, if Musgrove can get us about halfway to this over, I think the Padres bats can get us home against Yamamoto.
It doesn't hurt that the Dodgers were the second-best over team in baseball last year, either.
