This article is part of our MLB Picks series.
New York Yankees F5 -0.5, -115 at Baltimore Orioles
Nestor Cortes vs. Bruce Zimmermann
Cortes is one of a handful of good young undervalued pitchers I've been trying to key on since last season, and he definitely came through in his season debut, shutting out the Blue Jays through 4.1 innings while striking out five batters (72 pitches). He gets an easier assignment Sunday, and also has good history vs. Baltimore, striking out 18 Orioles in 12 innings (with just two runs allowed) over a pair of September starts last year. Given the pitching matchup and the lineup differential, this is a pretty cheap price to lay on the Yankees having a lead after five innings. Also note that we're getting a bit of a break on the price, as it's not far removed from the full-game run line (the F5 -0.5 run line is generally easier to cover than the full-game -1.5 run line).
Toronto Blue Jays RL -130 vs. Oakland Athletics
Same deal on this one, as I've been looking to back Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah pretty much every chance I get since he got called up last year. He opened the year with another impressive showing against the Yankees (whom he beat in his MLB debut last year), throwing six scoreless innings while striking out seven and allowing only one hit. Now he gets a nice home start vs. Oakland. A's starter Adam Oller got absolutely crushed in his last start, allowing eight baserunners and five earned runs while recording only four outs. Hard not to like the Blue Jays' chances.
Seattle Mariners F5 -0.5, +132 vs. Houston Astros
This is our second chance at betting Matt Brash, who looked sensational during spring while fighting for a rotation spot, then promptly went into Chicago and shut down the White Sox for five innings in his major league debut at a nice underdog price. As was the case last week, the Astros haven't seen Brash yet, which should give him an edge his first time or two through the lineup before hitters can start to adjust. Tough spot vs. a tough lineup, but Brash has been brilliant, and should be backed at short prices until he gives us a reason not to.
