Since dropping the opener on Thursday, both of our under bets prevailed to get us at 2-1 on the young campaign. For the weekend finale, it’s a trip back to the Pacific Northwest for the conclusion of this opening four-game set between the Cleveland Guardians and Seattle Mariners
A little bit of history will be in play also: Did you realize this is the first Sunday Night Baseball game played off ESPN in decades? That’s because NBCUniversal nabbed the property that is this premium television rights package in the offseason, and now the weekly Sunday night broadcasts will be airing exclusively on Peacock.
Commencing this landmark deal will be an intriguing pitching matchup of starters that many might not recognize. Slade Cecconi gets the ball for Cleveland to kick off his second year with the club, while Emerson Hancock garners his first start occupying the injured Bryce Miller’s slot.
We’ll hope Hancock’s season debut turns out better than it did last season. Filling in under similar circumstances (George Kirby began season on IL), the former No. 6 overall draft pick couldn’t even escape the first inning against the Detroit Tigers almost a year ago to the day.
Detroit hounded Hancock for six runs on seven hits and a walk in the opening frame before he departed with two outs. To be fair, though, Hancock did almost escape trouble a couple of times, and a handful of those hits off him were soft contact.
Notably, Seattle sent down the Georgia product after that contest, and he wouldn’t return to the majors until a few weeks later. Thankfully, Hancock performed better throughout the rest of the slate. His final 10 starts saw the right-hander allow three or fewer runs in all but two of them, including one versus these same Guardians in which Hancock registered seven scoreless innings and scattered only three baserunners.
Hancock logged a 1.42 ERA in his final month of play across seven outings, and that — combined with a solid spring that saw him rank amongst the league leaders in strikeouts (21 in 15 innings) — leads me to believe that he’s finally about to establish himself as a legitimate major league pitcher.
That’s something Cecconi proved during his first ride as a full-time starter. In 23 starts, the 26-year-old notched a respectable 4.30 ERA and 1.19 WHIP, and he’s seemingly resumed from that point after a solid showing through spring training. Cecconi left Florida with a 1.84 ERA in four March assignments.
As highlighted prior to our total bet earlier in this series (and then delivered upon), both teams sport excellent bullpens, each crafting relief work that ranked them in the Top-10 in the majors in each of the last five seasons. Fine starting pitching can lead the way into that desired scenario.
I recommend buying a half run at an acceptable price onto that all-important number offered.
Pick: UNDER 8 (-127, DraftKings)
2026 MLB Betting Record: 2-1, +0.9 unit
Yesterday’s Result: Diamondbacks-Dodgers Under 9 (WIN)
Each bet graded as if it were to win one unit unless otherwise indicated.
Follow me on Twitter/X @MattZylbert for potential additional picks.
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