MLB Opening Day: Betting Lines, Pitching Matchups And Trends - RotoGrinders
(USA TODAY Sports)`After a long Winter waiting for Spring to arrive, MLB opening day is finally here. First pitch is Thursday afternoon when the World Series favorite New York Yankees (+600) take on the Baltimore Orioles. There is a full slate of games on Thursday, so we examine the matchups, betting odds and trends for each one.
The Yankees and Orioles are the featured early afternoon game on ESPN. The Yankees have the highest projected win total of 96.5 at FanDuel Sportsbook. The Orioles are on the other end of the spectrum with a win total set at 58.5 – the lowest in the league.
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ESPN’s David Purdum tweeted out Wednesday that at one sportsbook, the Orioles have taken more bets to win the World Series than 10 other teams. Good luck with that one.
Not surprisingly, the Yankees are a whopping -360 home favorite over the Orioles. If that number holds, New York will be the largest opening day favorite in MLB history, surpassing Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers (-355) vs. the San Diego Padres in 2017.
The Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox are the second betting favorites to win the World Series at +650. Houston opens against the Rays in what should be one of opening day’s top pitching duels between Cy Young Award contenders Justin Verlander and Blake Snell. Verlander is 12/1 to win the Cy Young Award, while Snell comes in at 18/1. The Astros haven’t had much success in Tampa Bay recently, going 5-14 in the last 19 meetings.
There are two good matchups in the National League to kick off the season. Bryce Harper and the new-look Philadelphia Phillies host the defending NL East champs Atlanta Braves. Despite winning 90 games last season, the Braves are a +155 underdog in Philadelphia versus Aaron Nola. Julio Teheran gets the ball for Atlanta. The Braves are 5-1 in Teheran’s last six starts vs. the Phillies.
The St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers are both expected to compete for the NL Central title this year. The Cardinals are 16/1 to win the World Series with the Brewers right behind at 18/1. Milwaukee is a slight -120 favorite on Thursday but St. Louis is 13-3 in Miles Mikolas’ last 16 road starts.
Here is the lineup for opening day complete with odds, pitching matchups and betting trends.
All odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
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New York Mets (+120) at Washington Nationals (-139), 1:05 ET
Pitching Matchup: Jacob deGrom vs. Max Scherzer
Betting Trends
Over is 5-1 in Scherzer’s last 6 starts vs. Mets.
Nationals are 6-2 in Scherzer’s last 8 starts vs. Mets.
Mets are 9-3 in deGrom’s last 12 starts vs. Nationals.
Baltimore Orioles (+290) at New York Yankees (-360), 1:05 ET
Pitching Matchup: Andrew Cashner vs. Masahiro Tanaka
Betting Trends
Over is 6-1 in Tanaka’s last 7 starts vs. Orioles.
Orioles are 1-6 in the last 7 meetings.
St. Louis Cardinals (+100) at Milwaukee Brewers (-120), 2:10 ET
Pitching Matchup: Miles Mikolas vs. Jhoulys Chacin
Betting Trends
Cardinals are 0-4 in the last 4 meetings.
Cardinals are 13-3 in Mikolas’ last 16 road starts.
Under is 5-0 in Chacin’s last 5 starts overall.
Atlanta Braves (+155) at Philadelphia Phillies (-182), 3:05 ET
Pitching Matchup: Julio Teheran vs. Aaron Nola
Betting Trends
Phillies are 5-1 in Nola’s last 6 home starts vs. Braves.
Braves are 5-1 in Teheran’s last 6 starts vs. Phillies.
Braves are 6-13 in the last 19 meetings in Philadelphia.
Detroit Tigers (+123) at Toronto Blue Jays (-141) 3:35 ET
Pitching Matchup: Jordan Zimmermann vs. Marcus Stroman
Betting Trends
Under is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings in Toronto.
Under is 6-1 in Stroman’s last 7 home starts.
Tigers are 4-12 in the last 16 meetings in Toronto.
Houston Astros (-136) at Tampa Bay Rays (+117), 4:00 ET
Pitching Matchup: Justin Verlander vs. Blake Snell
Betting Trends
Rays are 4-0 in Snell’s last 4 starts vs. Astros.
Astros are 5-14 in the last 19 meetings in Tampa Bay.
Chicago Cubs (-136) at Texas Rangers (+117), 4:05 ET
Pitching Matchup: Jon Lester vs. Mike Minor
Betting Trends
Under is 8-1 in the last 9 meetings.
LA Angels (-102) at Oakland A’s (-118), 4:05 ET
Pitching Matchup: Trevor Cahill vs. Mike Fiers
Betting Trends
Angels are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings in Oakland.
Over is 4-1 in Fiers’ last 5 home starts.
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Pittsburgh Pirates (+107) at Cincinnati Reds (-130), 4:10 ET
Pitching Matchup: Jameson Taillon vs. Luis Castillo
Betting Trends
Pirates are 8-1 in the last 9 meetings.
Under is 6-1 in Taillon’s last 7 starts vs. Reds.
Colorado Rockies (-148) at Miami Marlins (+128), 4:10 ET
Pitching Matchup: Kyle Freeland vs. Jose Urena
Betting Trends
Under is 4-1 in Urena’s last 5 starts vs. Rockies.
Under is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings.
Cleveland Indians (-122) at Minnesota Twins (+100), 4:10 ET
Pitching Matchup: Corey Kluber vs. Jose Berrios
Betting Trends
Under is 5-0 in Kluber’s last 5 road starts vs. Twins.
Under is 8-2-1 in the last 11 meetings.
San Francisco Giants (+100) at San Diego Padres (-121), 4:10 ET
Pitching Matchup: Madison Bumgarner vs. Eric Lauer
Betting Trends
Giants are 2-6 in Bumgarner’s last 8 road starts vs. Padres.
Under is 20-8-3 in Bumgarner’s last 31 starts overall.
Arizona Diamondbacks (+135) at LA Dodgers (-157), 4:10 ET
Pitching Matchup: Zack Greinke vs. Hyun-Jin Ryu
Betting Trends
Under is 4-1 in Ryu’s last 5 starts overall.
Under is 4-1 in Greinke’s last 5 road starts.
Chicago White Sox (-105) at Kansas City Royals (-115), 4:15 ET
Pitching Matchup: Carlos Rodon vs. Brad Keller
Betting Trends
Under is 5-0-1 in the last 6 meetings in Kansas City.
White Sox are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings in Kansas City.
Boston Red Sox (-200) at Seattle Mariners (+163), 7:10 ET
Pitching Matchup: Chris Sale vs. Marco Gonzales
Betting Trends
Under is 14-5 in the last 19 meetings.
Mariners are 0-4 in Gonzales’ last 4 home starts.