It’s every MLB baseball fan’s favorite two words: Opening Day. It’s a chance for hope, and a clean slate for all 30 MLB teams as they vie for the 2022 World Series title.
It’s also a chance to make some bets, whether that be on the run line, an over/under total or a team total. And if you haven’t yet gotten in your season-long MLB win total bet yet, there’s still time!
There are seven games on the Opening Day docket.
MLB Opening Day Odds, Schedule and Starting Pitchers
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs
Run Line: MIL: -1.5 (-110) | CHC: +1.5 (-110)
Moneyline: MIL: -160 | CHC: +135
Over/Under: 10.5 (+100)
Brewers vs. Cubs Opening Day Starting Pitchers: Corbin Burnes (MIL) vs. Kyle Hendricks (CHC)
Brewers vs. Cubs Game Time: 2:20 p.m. EST
Brewers vs. Cubs Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Cleveland Guardians vs. Kansas City Royals
Run Line: CLE: -1.5 (+135) | KC: +1.5 (-160)
Moneyline: CLE: -120 | KC: +100
Over/Under: 8 (-120)
Guardians vs. Royals Opening Day Starting Pitchers: Shane Bieber (CLE) vs. Zack Greinke (KC)
Guardians vs. Royals Game Time: 2:20 p.m. EST
Guardians vs. Royals Location: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Run Line: PIT: +1.5 (-125) | STL: -1.5 (+105)
Moneyline: PIT: +165 | STL: -200
Over/Under: 8 (-110)
Pirates vs. Cardinals Opening Day Starting Pitchers: JT Brubaker (PIT) vs. Adam Wainwright (STL)
Pirates vs. Cardinals Game Time: 4:10 p.m. EST
Pirates vs. Cardinals Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis. MO
New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals
Run Line: NYM: -1.5 (+125) | WSH: +1.5 (-150)
Moneyline: NYM: -130 | WSH +105
Over/Under: 9 (-105)
Mets vs. Nationals Opening Day Starting Pitchers: Tylor Megill (NYM) vs. Patrick Corbin (WSH)
Mets vs. Nationals Game Time: 7:05 p.m. EST
Mets vs. Nationals Location: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves
Run Line: CIN: +1.5 (-115) | ATL: -1.5 (-105)
Moneyline: CIN: +170 | ATL: -200
Over/Under: 8.5 (-110)
Reds vs. Braves Opening Day Starting Pitchers: Tyler Mahle (CIN) vs. Max Fried (ATL)
Reds vs. Braves Game Time: 8:08 p.m. EST
Reds vs. Braves Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels
Run Line: HOU: +1.5 (-185) | LAA: -1.5 (+150)
Moneyline: HOU: +105 | LAA: -130
Over/Under: 8.5 (-120)
Astros vs. Angels Opening Day Starting Pitchers: Framber Valdez (HOU) vs. Shohei Ohtani (LAA)
Astros vs. Angels Game Time: 9:38 p.m. EST
Astros vs. Angels Location: Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA
San Diego Padres vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Run Line: SD: -1.5 (-105) | ARI: +1.5 (-115)
Moneyline: SD: -165 | ARI: +135
Over/Under: 9 (+100)
Padres vs. Diamondbacks Opening Day Starting Pitchers: Yu Darvish (SD) vs. Madison Bumgarner (ARI)
Padres vs. Diamondbacks Game Time: 9:40 p.m. EST
Padres vs. Diamondbacks Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
2022 Opening Day Predictions and Best Bets
With a lighter schedule than the typical MLB Opening Day slate, thanks to a few postponements, it’s important to pick your spots in the first game of the season. Here are my three MLB Opening Day best bets for the 2022 season.
MLB Opening Day Best Bet: Milwaukee Brewers -1.5 (-110) vs. Chicago Cubs, available at BetMGM
Corbin Burnes was outstanding versus the Cubs in three starts last season, striking out 36 batters in 20 innings in 2021, while picking up the win in two of those contests. The Brewers’ offense also mashed against the Cubs’ Opening Day starter Kyle Hendricks in his last two appearances vs. the Brew Crew last season. This makes me think that Milwaukee should be able to get the bats going early on against a pitcher who pitches to contact. The total in this game (10.5 runs) is high for a reason, and it’s mainly because Milwaukee is expected to score a fair amount.
With Burnes’ dominance over the Cubs — he had at least 10 strikeouts in all three games against Chicago last season — I’ll take the Brewers -1.5 (-110) to get my Opening Day started.
MLB Opening Day Best Bet: Cleveland Guardians vs. Kansas City Royals Under 8 (-120), available at BetMGM
Shane Bieber has pitched well against Kansas City in his career, and the Guardians likely aren’t going to be much better hitters than they were when they were the Indians. Cleveland hit just .238 a season ago, and the Guardians ranked just ninth in the American League in runs scored. Royals’ Opening Day starter Zack Greinke can still get the job done as well, with a 3.49 career ERA at Kauffman Stadium.
Bieber, who has been as close to an automatic under as it gets when he takes the mound, held the Royals to three runs or less in all three appearances last season. So as long as the Guardians aren’t putting up an 8-spot on Opening Day, this one has a good chance to hit.
MLB Opening Day Best Bet: St. Louis Cardinals Team Total Over 4.5 (-105), available at BetMGM
The Cardinals didn’t have any problems hitting Pirates’ Opening Day starter JT Brubaker last season, batting .299 and saddling him with a 6.65 ERA in four games. And that’s before the St. Louis hitters get into the Pirates’ bullpen, a unit that projects to be very weak in 2022.
The Cardinals also scored 95 runs against the Pirates in 19 meetings last season, an average of exactly five runs per game. That’s enough for me to make this one of my best bets on 2022 MLB Opening Day.
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