One of the best days in all of America is upon us! Opening day for MLB! Be sure to check the injury report and other relevant information close to game time as they picks will change with new information!
Tampa Bay Rays at Florida Marlins
The battle of Florida kicks off opening day and should be a good series. The Rays have reshaped their core rotation but still have a decent rotation to remain competitive. Glasnow gets the opening day nod for the Rays. Easy to see why as the 27 year old ace has stuck out 10 batters in a little under 6 innings in Spring Training. Glasnow was excellent last season with a record of 5-1 while striking out 14.3 per nine innings.
Glasnow will face Alcantara. Alcantara has been stellar in Spring Training striking out 19 batters through 12 2/3 innings. He finished last season 3-2 and an ERA of 3.00. Not terrible but clearly management is stoked on him to outperform Glasnow.
The Tampa Rays are the -150 favorite on the moneyline. The Marlins are a scrappy team who can put up runs in a hurry, however I believe Glasnow will come out slinging and will be backed up by a defense that help them go to the World Series. I’m taking the Tampa Rays ML in this spot.
Saint Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds
The Cardinals are beginning a new era with their 8x Golden Glove winner Nolan Arenado. The Cards opened up their checkbook this season to make a run for the World Series. The Cards will start Flaherty has come out hot the past two seasons although his middle of the season last year was one to forget. The oddsmakers for NL Cy Young award has him in the top 10 with odds to win at +1300.
On the other side, the Reds will start Castillo who finished last season 4-6 with an ERA of 3.21. Not terrible given the Reds aren’t the team they were a couple of years ago. It seems they are opting for a rebuild given their recent trade of Bauer.
The Reds are the slight favorite on the moneyline at -115. The Cards are the underdog due to being the road team, however they are the more talented team and Flaherty can easily start out strong. The play is the Cardinals -105.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies
The World Series champs will start the season on the road in Denver against a Rockies team that opted for a rebuild. They traded their best hitter to the Cards and have not been good defensively as of late. They will start Marquez who hasn’t been all that great in Spring Training letting up several runs in each of his starts.
The Dodgers got even better this season to help them defend their title. The Dodgers are strong hitters and have excellent pitching. They will start ol’ reliable, Kershaw. Kershaw is clearly the better pitcher in this matchup and his resume speaks for itself which is why he gets the opening day nod.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the heavy favorite at -220. The Dodgers have the edge on defense, pitching, and hitting. Dodgers ML is the no brainer while the Dodgers RL is also worth a look.
Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees
This should be an excellent matchup. The Blue Jays have gotten immensely better in the past couple of years and proved that by having a winning record last year of 32-28. The Blue Jays are young with a ton of talent and can pack a punch if their bats are fired up. They will start ace Ryu, who has been excellent in Spring Training letting up 4 runs in 10 innings.
The Yankees will counter Ryu with Cole, who has been one of the best pitchers in baseball recently. Like Ryu, he has also been on fire letting up only 5 runs in roughly 17 innings. The Yankees were relatively silent in the offseason as management is confident in their squad to perform. They can hit better than anyone but pitching has been their weak spot. With Cole getting the nod, it shouldn’t be a problem opening day.
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The Yankees are naturally the -175 favorite at home. However, I am anticipating a close game to the ace pitching matchup and excellent batters on both sides. The Yankees ML is the play but the Toronto RL also looks favorable.
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