How To Bet Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s MLB Debut

If you feel like the MLB season has crept on you, it’s because it has.

While MLB Opening Day isn’t until March 28 for most MLB teams, the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers are slated to play a two-game series in Seoul, Republic of Korea, to kick off the regular season.

These two games will count toward the regular season MLB standings and will be treated like standard in-season games. What we’re getting at is that these games matter.

These MLB matchups will take place at 6:05 am ET on Wednesday and Thursday. In the first matchup, it’ll be Tyler Glasnow on the mound for the Dodgers, going up against Yu Darvish and the Padres. Los Angeles is -205 on the moneyline, with the total currently at 8.5. However, the Over is juiced to -122 in that game.

Also, note that the Padres will be the home team in the first game but the road team in the second game.

In Game 2 of the series, San Diego will trot out Joe Musgrove to go up against Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers. The Dodgers are a -166 favorite on the moneyline, with the total also sitting at 8.5. Again, that 8.5 number is juiced to the Over at -120.

Keep in mind that the Game 2 odds can change after the results of the first game.

Let’s get ready for some MLB Opening Day baseball!

Notes For Game 1

Tyler Glasnow will pitch his first regular-season game with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was traded to the Dodgers from the Tampa Bay Rays in the offseason and then agreed to an extension of his contract worth $136 million in five years.

Glasnow threw ten innings in Spring Training and finished with a .90 ERA and a WHIP of .70. He also struck out 14 batters in those ten innings.

However, Glasnow only pitched 120 innings last year. He must stay healthy for the Dodgers this season, especially with Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, and Walker Buehler all injured heading into the regular season.

Glasnow will face off against a weaker Padres lineup than last year. The Padres no longer have Juan Soto in the lineup, and the second half of the lineup doesn’t pop out like it did last year.

San Diego has inserted some young MLB players into starting roles. Luis Campusano will start at catcher, and Eguy Rosario will also start at second base. Then there’s Jackson Merrill, who will play in the outfield and likely bat ninth. There’s plenty of potential, but it’s hard to imagine the young guys stepping up in a different country to start the season.

On the other hand, Yu Darvish will pitch for the Padres. Darvish was great in Spring Training, finishing with a 2.89 ERA in 9.1 innings. He also struck out ten batters and had a WHIP of 1.07.

But he’s starting to age. Darvish is 37 years old and is coming off a not-so-good 2023, with a 4.56 ERA and a WHIP of 1.30. With Blake Snell no longer in the picture, Darvish needs to put together a quality season this year.

It’ll be difficult against the Dodgers, who have the best lineup in baseball after signing Shohei Ohtani in the off-season. The Dodgers also added Teoscar Hernandez, who went under the radar.

Only Freddie Freeman has had consistent success against Darvish in his career. Ohtani hasn’t even faced Darvish before. But if that WHIP for Darvish creeps up again, he’ll eventually get in trouble against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Notes For Game 2

In the second game of the Korea Series, Yoshinobu Yamamoto will make his MLB debut. He’ll be under the spotlight on his MLB Opening Day. He signed a $325 million deal that will last 12 years. It was the most lucrative contract for a pitcher in Major League history, and he hadn’t pitched a game.

But he’s 25 years old with many eye-popping stats from his time in Japan.

It just hasn’t carried over yet. Yamamoto is still getting acclimated. In 9.2 innings, he’s got an 8.38 ERA with a 1.97 WHIP. While he’s added 14 strikeouts, the WHIP isn’t what you want to see from someone getting paid more than $300 million.

Yamamoto will earn plenty of strikeouts in every game. But his command in the MLB could be an issue.

On the other hand, the San Diego Padres will start Joe Musgrove, who finished last season with a very respectable 3.05 ERA. However, Musgrove only threw 97.1 innings and 17 games last year. The Padres will need him to stay healthy for 2024 if they want to make a run.

Musgrove doesn’t have too much pressure after the Padres added Dylan Cease to the pitching rotation. But the offense likely won’t provide consistently.

If the Padres are going to win a game in Korea, it’s likely this one. However, Musgrove also didn’t look too sharp in Spring Training. He struck out five batters in just six innings and had an ERA of 13.50. His WHIP of 1.83 was also pretty bad. Browse through the MLB prop bets today. The offenses should be popping by Game 2.

After both teams get more comfortable after Game 1, we expect way more runs in Game 2 of the series. The Over 8.5 is an appealing bet. That number may or may not be there by the time Game 1 is over. Make sure to check the baseball scores to see how Game 1 played out if you haven’t bet on Game 2 yet.

For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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