Ahaan Rungta
Show Bio
The MLB season is finally here—the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres kicked off the regular season on Wednesday and it is now time for Take 2 of the opening two-game set in South Korea and for us to find betting value on the MLB market. This is our favorite props for Game 2 of the 2024 Seoul Series.
Shohei Ohtani (LAD) Over 1.5 total bases (-110)
Line available at BetMGM Sportsbook at time of publishing. Recommended 0.50u wager.
While off-the-field controversy surrounds Shohei Ohtani and his representatives, nothing is going to distract either team here from the reigning AL MVP being the best hitter in this stacked Dodgers lineup. Last season, Ohtani posted a 196 wRC+, 1.132 OPS, and .374 ISO against right-handed pitching. The fear with backing this market is that pitchers may be ultra-careful against him leading to free passes instead of strikes to hammer. However, I’m expecting Musgrove to attack Ohtani early given that Ohtani is a career 0-for-14 head-to-head against the right-hander and is being protected in the lineup by Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy, who both have an OPS over 1.000 with plenty of history against Musgrove.
Ohtani’s home run prop is by far the shortest in this game and this is a great spot for him to bounce back and barrel up a few baseballs coming off a night where he had two singles.
Read our full San Diego Padres vs Los Angeles Dodgers predictions
San Diego Padres vs Los Angeles Dodgers: YRFI (-110)
Line available at BetMGM Sportsbook at time of publishing. Recommended 0.50u wager.
In Game 1 of the series, the regular season started with a pair of scoreless frames from Tyler Glasnow and Yu Darvish as the public “NRFI” sweat cashed without much of a sweat. Game 2 provides a new matchup between Joe Musgrove and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The Padres offense looks a bit different without Juan Soto but still consists of power bats at the top of the lineup in Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado, who posted a 124 wRC+, 135 wRC+, 137 wRC+ and 111 wRC+, respectively, in the first inning against right-handed pitchers in the 2023 regular season. Yamamoto is by far the favorite to win NL Rookie of the Year as he brings an elite international track record with him to the majors; however, any debut could involve some nerves and Yamamoto’s first exposure to a complete major league lineup may not be smooth sailing.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Dodgers will step up to the plate with a lineup that was already one of the best in baseball last season, posting a 114 wRC+ in the first inning against right-handed pitchers (#2 in MLB) and now sees an upgrade with the addition of Shohei Ohtani. They will face an aging Musgrove who gave up three first inning runs in his last start against the Dodgers.
To aid matters, the expected home plate umpire in this game is Carlos Torres, who is one of the most hitter-friendly ball-and-strike callers in the big leagues. There is a reason this prop is juiced on the “yes” side on most other sportsbooks despite it not cashing in Game 1 of the series. Back the bats to get off to a quick start in this one.
We also have a Padres vs Dodgers Same Game Parlay for today’s game at +693 odds
