Sunday offers a 14-game slate across the MLB, starting early in Philadelphia with an 11:35 AM ET first pitch between the Phillies and the Diamondbacks, and coming to a close in Chicago at 7:10 PM ET with the Cubs hosting the New York Mets. For today's parlay, I've chosen 3 road underdogs to come out on top with a payout of +849 odds.
Below I'll provide an in-depth analysis of each game and the value that lies within each pick.' For more action, be sure to check out our MLB predictions page which takes a look at some of the games not covered in this article. With that said, let's take a look at Sunday's MLB mega parlay which pays out at +849 odds on Fanduel Sportsbook.'
Kansas City Royals ML over Texas Rangers (+124)
The big news surrounding this afternoon's game between the Texas Rangers and the visiting Kansas City Royals is the return of Max Scherzer. Scherzer will be making his first start for the Rangers since pitching in Game 3 of the World Series last season. After offseason surgery to repair a herniated disk, right thumb soreness, and 3 rehab starts, Scherzer is ready to make his season debut. In Scherzer's last 2 rehab starts with Triple-A Round Rock, he tossed a combined 8.2 innings while allowing 3 earned runs and racking up 13 strikeouts. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said there is no strict pitch count on Scherzer, but one would assume he won't push him too deep into this game considering he has not stretched past 80 pitches in any of his rehab starts.
With that said, Texas might be more dependent upon their bullpen, which currently ranks 22nd with a 4.17 FIP. Kansas City trails closely behind at 4.37. Starting for the Royals is right-hander Alec Marsh, who owns a 4.37 ERA through 13 starts. Marsh is looking to bounce back from a rough start against the Oakland A's in which he allowed 7 earned runs on 7 hits in just 3.0 innings of work. Marsh might have a better day today though, as the Rangers rank 23rd in wRC+ against right-handed pitching this season. While Scherzer is one of the best pitchers of our generation, I tend to fade pitchers making their first start back from an extended absence. I like the value on Kansas City and will back them to begin our parlay.