The opening month of the 2026 Major League Baseball season continues with another loaded slate of games on Sunday. The 14-game card includes a couple of showdowns, including Sunday Night Baseball between the Cleveland Guardians and Atlanta Braves. The action gets underway at 1:35 pm ET between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies in a National League showdown.
Here are my best bets for Sunday’s slate, and also make sure to check out our MLB picks for predictions throughout the 2026 campaign!
Arizona Diamondbacks ML over Philadelphia Phillies (+125)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to +115.
Each of the first two games in this series have been decided by just 1 run, and we could certainly see another close game in store on Sunday. With that in mind, the Diamondbacks hold some value at the current number now that the odds have shifted a bit in Philadelphia’s direction. Zac Gallen struggled against the Dodgers to open the season, but he’s responded nicely in the 2 outings since, with just 1 run allowed over his last 11 innings pitched. He’ll be opposed by Andrew Painter, a right-hander who has looked solid in his first few Major League starts. However, the rookie doesn’t generate many whiffs and has a low ground-ball rate, which could be an issue against an Arizona lineup that has seen more success driving the ball against righties compared to left-handed pitching this season. I’ll take a shot on the Snakes to pull the short upset.
Texas Rangers F5 innings ML over Los Angeles Dodgers (-120)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -130.
The first two games in this series have gone the way of the hosts, but the Rangers are operating at a pretty significant advantage on the mound in this one. Jacob deGrom started out slow in his season debut against the Orioles, but the future Hall of Famer bounced back in a major way by tossing 5 innings of 1-hit ball against the Mariners in his last outing. While Sunday’s matchup against the Dodgers presents a much tougher challenge, Los Angeles has made a habit of putting up plenty of runs in the later portion of its games, and I could see deGrom getting off to a hot start before the Texas bullpen fades down the stretch. It certainly helps the Rangers’ case that they’ll get to face Roki Sasaki, who just allowed a whopping 6 runs to the lowly Nationals in his last outing. If Sasaki’s command issues continue, it could be another difficult outing for the Japanese right-hander.
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