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Opening Day has arrived and Kenny Ducey of The Action Network is here to give two best bets across the first slate of the MLB season (video above).
The first matchup interesting Ducey is the Houston Astros against the Los Angeles Angels, which enters as a slight favorite.
For Ducey, he believes it’s a good spot to back the host Angels.
Astros vs. Angels prediction
“Anthony Rendon coming back into the Angels lineup is going to be massive – he has a .901 career OPS against lefties,” Ducey explains.
Plus, Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez posted back-to-back five earned run appearances in the World Series. As a result, Ducey likes picking on him in this spot, especially considering the Angels possess a lot of talented right-hand bats.
Anthony Rendon #6 of the Los Angeles Angels doubles during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Getty ImagesFor those reasons, Ducey expects the Angels (-120) to notch a home victory as it kicks off the season.
Padres vs. Diamondbacks prediction
As for his second play, Ducey is backing the Arizona Diamondbacks against the San Diego Padres, which is deploying Yu Darvish on Opening Day.
Just like the Valdez with the Astros, Ducey believes this is a good spot to pick on Darvish.
Yu Darvish throws a pitch for the Padres in 2021 Getty Images“Last season after the spider tack crackdown, we saw Yu Darvish’s numbers spiral out of control,” Ducey says. “This guy was all over the place allowing home runs left and right and wasn’t a reliable guy to bet on.”
Although Diamondbacks starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner has “seen better days,” Ducey doesn’t believe he’ll be intimidated by the right-hand bats in the Padres lineup.
For those reasons, back the Diamondbacks (+140) as underdogs Thursday night.
