Chicago Cubs at Philadelphia Phillies, 6:40 p.m. ET

• Bet: NRFI (-115 on FanDuel Sportsbook)

The Cubs and Phillies begin a three-game series Monday evening with a Javier Assad-Cristopher Sanchez matchup, and while the projected total is a somewhat elevated 8.0 runs, we should have a good chance of a scoreless first inning given the overall body of work of both starters.

Assad has logged just one start so far this season, allowing a sole hit over 5.2 scoreless innings to the Rays while recording a 3:2 K:BB. In seven opening frames a season ago, Assad pitched to a 1.29 ERA and .192 BAA, allowing only one run to the 27 batters he faced, per Baseball Reference.

Assad holds a solid 3.60 ERA in the first inning overall in his career and has held hitters to a .160 average with runners in scoring position over his big-league tenure as well, so his history of both early-game success and wiggling out of trouble is fairly well established at this point.

Sanchez pitched to some uncharacteristic contact his last time out against the Giants, allowing 11 hits over five innings. However, the talented southpaw still surrendered just two earned runs overall in that span, and over his first two starts against the Rangers and Nationals, he yielded one earned run in 11.1 frames while churning out a stellar 17:4 K:BB, per RotoWire.

Sanchez has allowed just one run in his first three opening frames this season, and over 2025’s much larger sample of 32 first innings, he generated a 1.69 ERA and .191 BAA. Then, the Cubs have opened the season with a 27.8% strikeout rate, .204 average and middling .302 wOBA against lefties, per Fangraphs. Chicago is also averaging the sixth-fewest runs per first inning per road game (0.17), furthering the prospects of a quiet opening frame.

Texas Rangers at Athletics, 9:40 p.m. ET

• Bet: YRFI (+100 on DraftKings Sportsbook)

This AL West series opener features a starting pitching matchup that’s not short on name value. Nathan Eovaldi and Luis Severino take the hill for the visitors and hosts, respectively, and both veteran arms are looking to right the ship after what have been rocky starts to the season.

Eovaldi authored a career-best season at age 35 in 2025, posting a career-low 1.73 ERA and 0.85 WHIP across 22 starts. However, his first two turns this season seemed to suggest that may have been a significant outlier, as he pitched to an 11.42 ERA, 2.19 WHIP and 3.1 HR/9 over 8.2 innings in road matchups against the Phillies and Orioles, per RotoWire. Eovaldi then went a long way to getting the train back on track his most recent time on the mound, as he generated a six-inning quality start against the Mariners at home.

The right-hander’s swing-and-miss stuff has also been in good form even in his rocky outings, as he has 19 strikeouts over 14.2 innings. However, he also has a very spotty history against current A’s bats, surrendering a collective .300 average and .812 OPS to them in 54 career plate appearances, per ESPN. Eovaldi’s also scuffled badly in the first inning so far, pitching to a 9.00 ERA and .400 BAA over his trio of opening frames.

On the other side, Severino has also seen some regression in the early portion of the 2026 campaign. While he’s actually surrendered less hits (11) than innings pitched (13.1) and has posted an impressive 11.5 K/9, Severino has also been guilty of 13 walks on his way to a massive 8.8 BB/9. Severino has also pitched to a 5.40 ERA and 1.80 WHIP despite not yet having allowed a ball to leave the yard.

Severino’s advanced metrics of a .198 xBA and 3.88 xERA, per Baseball Savant, suggest he’s been better than some of his surface numbers imply, but there’s no disguising the fact hitters are seeing the ball well against him – he’s also conceding a career-high 50% hard-hit rate. Severino has also surrendered a .273 BAA and pitched to a 6.00 ERA in the first inning thus far, after giving up 14 earned runs in 27 opening frames a season ago.

Finally, there’s the matter of the history current Rangers hitters have against Severino – they’ve managed a collective .320 average and 1.012 OPS while lacing 11 of their 24 hits for extra bases and knocking in 13 runs.

New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. ET

• Bet: YRFI (-104 on FanDuel Sportsbook)

The Mets and Dodgers open a three-game set out west Monday night with a pitching matchup that has the potential to encourage some offensive fireworks. David Peterson, who’s struggled to recapture his strong 2025 form in the early going, faces off with Justin Wrobleski, who does have a 1-0 mark but has experienced control issues early.

Peterson did open the season in fine fashion, as he blanked the Pirates over 5.1 innings on March 28. However, the left-hander has hit the wall over his subsequent pair of turns, allowing a 9.64 ERA and 2.04 WHIP across 9.1 innings to the Giants and Diamondbacks. Peterson’s advanced metrics suggest he might have been a tad unlucky so far – he carries 4.82 xERA that’s a slight improvement over his 6.14 base figure – but he’s still also sporting a .283 xBA and .347 xwOBA.

Peterson now faces a loaded Dodgers squad whose current hitters have tagged him for a collective .325 average and .911 OPS over 120 career encounters, and who have swatted 12 of their 37 hits against him for extra bases. Los Angeles also has the best record in baseball at 11-5, and the back-to-back champs lead the NL with 91 runs overall.

Wrobleski is making his second consecutive start Monday after having opened the season with a long-relief appearance against the Guardians. The left-hander has been solid while allowing just six hits over nine innings, but he’s also handed out five walks. On paper, the matchup against the Mets has the chance to get a bit tricky for him as well, considering New York’s early body of work versus lefties.

The Mets own a .337 wOBA and 10.5% walk rate against southpaws across 162 plate appearances in the early going. Carlos Mendoza’s crew also is tied for the fifth-most runs per first inning per game (0.75), per Team Rankings, and YRFI bets are 9-7 in the Mets’ games thus far this season (BetMGM). If Wrobleski has any early control issues, the .429 average he’s already allowed with runners in scoring position (nine plate appearances) could rise.