PRTY Favors for Opening Day🎰

Baseball is back baby! As always, B.T.B is here to guide you through a loaded slate of Opening Day games today and tomorrow. I’m generally high on a lot of overs as I feel pitchers will take the longest time to get acclimated to the season with a very odd preseason.

Besides, life’s too short to bet the under. Here’s my advice on how to recoup all the money you lost on 2K sims throughout the past month.

All lines are taken from Caesar’s Sportsbook

Yankees ML over Nationals – 2 units (-135) (Cole v. Sherzer)

Yes, I am a diehard Yankee fan, but even if you aren’t, you should HAMMER the Yanks in the first game of the abbreviated season. Cole v. Sherzer will be a great matchup, Scherzer is 2-3 with a 4.60 ERA (Earned Run Average, arguably the most important stat for pitchers) in 5 career starts in the Bronx. Couple that with a deadly Yankees lineup that could see Gio Urshela batting 9th (yes, the same guy who hit .314 with 21 homers last year), makes me love the Yankees tonight. I’m taking them for 2 units moneyline (ML), with an additional unit on the Over/Under 7.5 Total.

White Sox +1.5 runs v. Twins – 1 unit (-160) (Giolito v. Berrios)

Let me get this straight: The Twins, a team that won 101 games last year and is everyone’s favorite bet to win the AL, is an underdog in their first game against the White Sox, a team that finished 9 games below .500 last year? Hmm, I smell a trap line🤧. Lucas Giolito is turning into a bona fide stud on the mound, and this Sox lineup is expected to be a lot better this year, with Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez, and Yoan Moncada headlining a group of talented young bats (not to mention the timeless parrot keeper Edwin Encarnación). I’ll take the runs with the Sox for 1 unit, and the over 8.5 at +100.

D-Backs ML over Padres – 1 unit (+118) (Bumgarner v. Paddack)

MadBum is definitely one of my favorite pitchers in the game, and in my opinion is criminally underrated after being stuck on an awful Giants team the past couple of years. He hasn’t had double digit wins since 2016, but that included two injury-shortened seasons and a 9-9 season in 2019 with a 3.90 ERA. This man has NEVER had a season with an ERA above 4.00, is only 30 despite having 10 full years in the league under his belt, and I expect the move to Arizona to rejuvenate him. Chris Paddack had a great rookie year, but he hasn’t proved himself the way Bumgarner has. The Padres have more marquee names in the lineup with young stud Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, but top to bottom I don’t see a lot to separate this teams. Give me the D-Backs at plus money all day.

Angels v. A’s over 8.5 runs – 1 unit (-110) (Heaney v. Montas)

The late game in Friday’s lineup should provide great excitement for those like me who will be staying up late to watch their parlays crumble before their eyes. Andrew Heaney posted a 4.91 ERA last year and hasn’t pitched below a 4.00 ERA since 2015. This is also his first Opening Day start. This A’s team has some great hitters like Marcus Semien and Khris Davis, so I’d expect them to put up some runs. Frankie Montas was a dog last year, but the former PED user has never started an Opening Day game either, and with an Angels line-up headlined by the GOAT Mike Trout🐐 , and even with Anthony Rendon likely to miss the game, I think these teams will be able to get the numbers up on the scoreboard to put up double digit runs.

FOR GEEKS: Parlay Yankees ML, D-Backs ML, Astros v. Mariners over 7.5, Indians ML, and Brewers ML (1 unit to make 20.75 Units)

In addition to the picks above, here is a fun little money loser. In addition to the games discussed above, the ‘Stros could put up 8 or 9 runs on their own, the Indians are a LOCK against the lowly Royals, and the Brew Crew are nice value here at +130 against a Cubs team that has a new manager and seems to be struggling to figure themselves out even with a talented roster.

As always, you’re welcome and sorry in advance, and best of luck throughout the season. Look out for more PRTY Favors coming soon.

B.T.B