MLB Picks: Opening Day Parlay
It feels like forever since we’ve seen competitive Major League Baseball games, but the time has finally arrived with Opening Day upon us.
We open up with last year’s World Series champion, the Nationals, hosting this year’s favorite in the Yankees.
For the nightcap, we go out West where NL West rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants meet to close out the festivities.
2-Team Parlay - $50 Wager Would Return $199.53
New York Yankees at Washington Nationals
(2u) Yankees -1.5 @ +130
- Gerritt Cole hasn’t lost a regular season start since May 22, 2019
- Max Scherzer has a 4.04 ERA in 7 career starts against the Yankees
The marquee matchup here is Cole vs. Scherzer. The last time these two met on the mound, Scherzer came out on top in Game 1 of the 2019 World Series. This time, Cole will be donning pinstripes, making his first ever start as a Yankee.
Scherzer is one of the best pitchers in baseball and has been for the past five years, but his career numbers against the Yankees are pretty poor, for his standards.
With both teams throwing out their aces, this will come down to whoever has the stronger lineup, and that’s the Yankees. With Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu, there’s too much talent on the Yankees roster to expect them to be held in check, and I think the departure of Anthony Rendon is going to be a huge problem for the Nats this year.
I toyed with the -130 here on the moneyline, but I expect the New York offense to give it a comfortable cushion by the end of nine innings, so I’m laying the 1.5 runs at +130.
San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers
(2u) Dodgers -1.5 @ -136
- Clayton Kershaw has a 1.05 career ERA on Opening Day
- The Dodgers had a +273 run differential in 2019 (2nd in MLB)
It really isn’t fair for other teams when you take a look at what the Dodgers are building out in LA. They already had the best offense in the NL last season, then they went out and added Mookie Betts to their stacked lineup.
They have one of the best young bats in the league in Cody Bellinger, and he’s protected by the likes of Justin Turner, A.J. Pollock, Joc Pederson and Corey Seager.
Not only is their lineup out of this world, but they’re trotting out perhaps the best Opening Day starter in MLB history. In eight career Opening Day starts, Clayton Kershaw has a 1.05 ERA, has allowed multiple runs just twice and the Dodgers are 7-1.
The Giants lost their best pitcher this offseason in Madison Bumgarner, and catcher Buster Posey has opted out of the 2020 season. This is a Giants team in the middle of a rebuild, and things could get ugly Thursday night.
The Dodgers at -286 on the moneyline is too short for my taste. I’ll take them -1.5 @ -136 in a game they could easily win by five runs.